Cry Freedom: The Blog

Gonzo is gone...zo.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:20:00 +0000

It's true, at least according to the New York Times and an unnamed official.

At 10:30 am EST Soon to be former, may already be former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will be holding a press conference, briefing, statement making session, what ever to announce something that may be his resignation.

If he can remember where he needs to be and when he needs to be there.

No word yet on his plans after leaving the office of The Attorney General. However, given his track record this blogger isn't all together convinced that he will be able to recall that he quit when tomorrow rolls around.

What seems to be clear is that the Spin machine will be hard at work making this man the victim of that evil and wasteful democrat sponsored witch hunt. I really can't wait to hear Alberto Gonzales referred to as a diligent man of the people who worked tirelessly to insure not only our safety from the Crazy Brown Boogeymen, but also to keep our valued civil liberties in place. I cannot wait to hear how he read the constitution of The United States of America every night before bed and prayed to God to give him the strength to uphold it even in the face of Liberal Terrorist Appeasers. I will smile when I read on some blog that everything he has done has been in the best interest of America and that the Liberal hatred of all things Conservative was finally too much for this brave defender of our laws. I look forward to being demonized when I politely or maybe not so politely remind our apeshit crazy brethren and sister-en on the right that the Justice Department under Alberto Gonzales' leadership has been the most ineffective and openly partisan in my life time.

It will all be fun for me as I merrily hum to myself, "Another One Bites the Dust."

I think maybe tomorrow's show will be all about Gonzo, Gonzo Gonzo.

As always, thank you for reading.

Saint Lisa Litchfield

Lost in Bonkers.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:48:00 +0000

There are some opinions, comments and actions that are simply too much for my "WTF?!" meter. There are some blog entries, or Op-Eds or commentaries that leave me wondering about or fearing for the future of this country.

Now, I should know better than to spend substantial time visiting our friends at World Net Daily. However, occasionally my inclination toward mental masochism gets the best of me and I must peruse the wisdom of our ape shit crazy brethren.

Today's gem of objectivity from the Right comes to us from Jill Stanek. She wrote a wonderfully illuminated Op-Ed entitled Liberal mysogynitis. First off, bravo for creating a new world there Jill! Yes, I see what you did there.

Apparently, in Jill World, Misogyny is the Liberal's new favorite word. We use it like most people use toilet paper. And we wield the power of this new word, our favorite word, like a weapon against the pure and virtuous Conservatives.

You know who else loves the word Misogyny? The French!

Now, I do have to chuckle because Jill's arsenal of outrage includes playing the role of the Spelling Police and it's quote worthy so below is an excerpt from her well written and well proofed opinion piece.

This count doesn't include various ways the potheads have misspelled it, including misoginy, mysogyny, missoginist, misogenist, mysogynic, misogenetic, or the French derivatives mysoginie and mysogyne, because the French love the word, too.

Last week, actor Matt Damon sent liberal bloggers into cut-and-paste ecstasy when invoking the work misogynist to address comparisons made betweens spies Bond and Bourne:

You do mean word, don't you dear?

Jill then moves forward with such a stunning leap of logic it almost makes the head spin...or implode.

Of course, according to liberals, the pro-life position is misogynistic. In fact, "Anti-choice is misogyny," said blogger anodyne (which means "analgesic").
If so, this is what it means to love women in the 21st century:
Teaching girls from pre-adolescence they cannot rise above animals to control their sexual appetites.
Pushing the perpetual ingestion of female steroids to avoid consequences of fulfilling that appetite, of which men have more dominant drives. These steroids are so powerful our filtration plants cannot eliminate them from liquid waste, and they are causing fish in our waterways to mutate.
Pushing mega-doses of these steroids either in a pinch after unprotected sex (for which there are no long-term studies) or to stop natural, uniquely female bodily functions that indicate good health – either a menstrual period or pregnancy.
Promoting abortion, of which way more than half being aborted are female, causing such a gender imbalance in Asian and Third World countries, where misogyny truly reigns, that a sex slave trade crisis has emerged.
Disparaging any studies that whatsoever indicate there may be adverse physical or emotional consequences to aborting one's own offspring. Never mind studies, these scorned consequences are simply logical since abortion thwarts nature, maternal instinct and the uniquely female power to begat human life.
Promoting human embryo dissection for experimentation, over half of which are female.
Paying women for their eggs for human cloning experimentation, a horde of which can only be unnaturally matured and retrieved after several weeks of injections of drugs, hormones and steroids (for which there are no long-term studies) that include estrogen, progesterone, leuprolide acetate, follicle stimulating hormone, human menopausal gonadotropins and human chorionic gonadotropin, to name some.
Oh really? Liberals do all of this? We're mutating the fishes of the sea with our Birth Control pills? We actively promote abortion? And we're directly responsible for the gender imbalances in other countries? In fact, we're so nefarious in our evil liberal ways that we've caused a Sex Slave Trade Crisis? (Jill, it is a little unclear here where you stand on the Sex Slave Trade. From this reading it seems that you're feeling pity for the poor overstocked Slave Traders.)

So we disparage studies that illustrate the emotional impact of Abortion? Well hell, we're some evil heartless misogynists aren't we?

These allegations are quite stunning, and of course Jill backs up her assertions with hard evidence...

Actually, she doesn't. What she does is fling vile and inaccurate accusations against all liberals without being able or willing to support them with anything that remotely resembles a fact.

So in Jill world, where she is president for life of Bonkers, liberals are evil criminals advocating the wholesale slaughter of pre-born girl babies and that makes us the real misogynists.

Oh my liberal friends, it looks like we have a terminal case of mysogynitis.

Although in the grand scheme of things it a much better diagnosis than having a terminal case of Psycho Stupid. Sorry Jill.

As always my friends, thank you for reading.

Saint Lisa Litchfield

You have GOT to be KIDDING ME!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 21:09:00 +0000

The following editorialized information comes from an AP article linked at Yahoo News. You can read the full article here.

Once again the White House claims it is above the law. The most recent outrage comes as the Justice Department declares that The White House Office of Administration is not subject to Freedom of Information requests. This stunning revelation comes as a response to a lawsuit attempting to force the Office of administration to reveal any pertinent information or what it may know with regard to missing White House emails.

The Justice Department is arguing that "the Office of Administration has no substantial authority independent of President Bush and therefore is not subject to the FOIA's disclosure requirements."

"In its filing in U.S. District Court, the Justice Department said, "to be sure, OA currently has regulations implementing FOIA and has not taken the position" previously that it is exempt from the Freedom Of Information Act. To justify a change, the court papers rely on a court ruling in the 1990s that the National Security Council was not subject to FOIA. Previously, the NSC had handled FOIA requests."

It is important to note that the Office of Administration had previously been complying with and processing FOIA requests. According to the AP article last year the Office of Information processed 65 FOIA requests. So this news that they are "not subject" to the law comes as an astonishing surprise to me and probably everyone who works in the Office of Administration as well.

Is there no instance where Bush and his boys won't claim to be above the law? Is there any law that they are capable of complying with? With all this secrecy and blatant circumvention of congressional and public oversight is it any wonder that most Americans can say that the Bush presidency is worse than the Nixon presidency without even batting an eye?

Furthermore, while it is true that Americans in general have remarkably short memories there are certain things that we do not, can not and flat out will not forget. For example, we DO remember Nixon and we DO think Bush is worse. We're not going to be forgetting these escapades and attempts by this Administration to create a Unitary Executive Branch in a New American Government. We will not forget that this administration and this party have gleefully, knowingly and willfully subverted the basic tenets that make up the foundation of this great nation.

Is anyone honestly surprised at this latest refusal by the Bush White House to comply with the law of the land? Is anyone honestly surprised that the Bush White House apparently "lost" 5,000,000 emails and now is telling the American people that it does not have to explain how that happened? Is anyone honestly surprised at the growing level of open disdain that this president and his administration not only have show for the people they serve and the constitution of this great country but also the very foundation of what America stands for?

I am not surprised, but I am outraged.

I will not forget and I will continue to blog about and discuss these travesties until November 2008 and beyond. We cannot let this happen to our nation and we must work to correct the abuses that have been allowed to happen regularly under this criminal administration.

I will not forget and to borrow a line from my friend Brian Wolf host of Shakedown Street, I am not letting this go.

As always, thank you for reading,

Saint Lisa Litchfield

If ever I should be killed by a Horny Camel....

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 11:08:00 +0000

Please tell people that I was hit by a bus.

The last thing I want to see while surfing the internets from my suite at The Lake of Fire Resort and Casino is a story about what really happened.

This has to be one of the least dignified ways to die I've ever read about. So, please, I beg of you my beloved readers, listeners and friends, if you ever come across my corpse underneath a 330 pound camel...swear never to tell the truth about what really happened.

Thank you in advance for your small kindness at the time of my death.

Love and stuff,

Saint Lisa Litchfield

Rush Limbaugh: Biggest Idiot on the Planet.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 09:17:00 +0000

We're all aware of the profound disconnect from reality that Conservative pundits, commentators and broadcasters suffer from, however, there are times when the sheer idiocy and logical dysfunction of Rush Limbaugh causes my jaw to hit the floor with a thud, the phrase "what the fuck?" to come out of my mouth in garbled incomprehension and the violent urge to throw things at my television, radio or computer screen washes over my psyche.

I don't, of course, throw things because replacing electronics is expensive and since I am one of those over-educated, elitist, under-employed liberal types, frequent replacement of my television set isn't in the budget. I digress, the point of this entry is the fact that the Pillsbury Dopeboy has struck again, this time psuedo-racist projective comparisons between NFL player, Donovan McNabb and Barack Obama.

A quote from Limbaugh on his 08-17-07 transcript, "You know what, folks? I think it's time for a new name for Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, and until it changes, until the way he's being treated by the Drive-Bys changes, I'm going to start calling him "Barack O'McNabb." I'll tell you why. He's out there saying some of the most ridiculous things. McNabb doesn't say ridiculous things, don't misunderstand, but Obama is saying some of the most ridiculous, dangerous things. What he said about US troops bombing and killing civilians in Afghanistan, I really took him to task earlier this week over that, but nobody else is. He's got all kinds of statements out there that are really impolitic and irresponsible, and the Drive-Bys say, "Well, I'll tell you what he's trying to accomplish. He's trying to set himself apart from Mrs. Clinton." So there is such a desire in the Drive-Bys that Obama do well, like there is in the NFL for people like McNabb to do well, that we're going to call him "Barack O'McNabb."

Holy psycho drug addict, Batman!

But it gets better, not only does our dearly delusional Rush make asinine statements about Obama and by proxy McNabb, showing off his KKK leanings with pride, he also takes a remarkably bold and baseless potshot against Democrats in general with the following quote.

"So the Democrats have their Sunday morning debate, for which they have a large audience because Democrats usually on Sunday mornings are at home. The Republican debate Sunday morning, of course, nobody saw it because they're in church. Democrats don't believe in that, separation of church and state. If you have your political candidates on Sunday morning on TV, you can't go to church without it being a violation of the Constitution. "

Wow.

Seriously, how does he spew this excrement with a straight face? It's worse that there are Red Staters that actually buy in to this wholesale horse shit with a sage, yet sad little nod. Yup, those Godless Liberals are as dangerous to our constitution and way of life as the Crazy Brown Boogeymen.

Now let's get back to that Crazy, Inexperienced, Brown, Senatorial Boogeyman from Illinois who is uppity enough to think he could actually be president. More wisdom from Limbaugh, and by wisdom I mean racism.

"Back to Obama -- or O'McNabb, sorry, Barack O'McNabb -- "who accepts special interest money and played poker with lobbyist pals as an Illinois lawmaker, acknowledged Thursday that he swims in 'the same muddy water' that corrupts Washington, but he pledged to reform the system if elected president. Presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton 'doesn't recognize the problem,' Obama told The Associated Press. 'I have a bunch of friends who were state lobbyists. The fact of the matter is ... I played poker with them, so I don't think that lobbyists are evil,' said the first-term Illinois senator. 'I just think they've got an agenda and you got to be clear about that, and not pretend that they don't.'" So he's going to bring a new voice to Washington. I've never heard that position before, and then, in the New York Times. "Obama Takes Sharper Tone to the Trail" is the headline of the New York Times, and in this story it's really Michelle Obama who is going after Hillary on "truth" and the ability of Hillary to "run her own house."

Get this quote: "Even Michelle Obama presented a contrast here on Thursday as she introduced her husband in an open-air barn at the Cass County fairgrounds. She told a crowd..." (laughing) It's a joke what these people have to go through to be president. Go to (laughing) an open-air barn? What good is an open-air barn anyway? What would you put in an open-air barn? Anyway... "She told a crowd of more than 200 people that family values and trust were important in the next presidential candidate. 'Our view is that if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House,' Mrs. Obama said." She's referring to Mrs. Clinton. "Later, she added: 'This election is about truth and authenticity. There is nothing more important than your word. Truth does matter,'" and she's being lauded for this! She's being lauded for this attack on Mrs. Clinton. She's being lauded for her little tirade the other day on how everybody is just encumbered with fear. Imagine if Karl Rove had said this. The Drive-Bys would have gone berserk. "

First, how is having friends that are lobbyists and then playing poker with your friends who happen to be lobbyists even remotely hypocritical to Obama's pledge not to take money from lobbyists, whether or not they happen to be his personal friends? Is the right so desperately afraid of the success this uppity "Magic Negro" that they have to create hypocrisy where none exists?

These guys are spending so much time trying to invalidate Senator Obama's candidacy, so much time harping on his inexperience, so much time misrepresenting his statements and positions on the issues that a sane, logical person can only conclude that Barack Obama scares the ever loving shit out of them.

Why?

Well, first of all because an Obama presidency might just do exactly what they fear the most and that is to unite this country against the politics of fear. Secondly, because an Obama presidency might reshape this country's foreign policy and take it from cowboy justice to inclusive diplomatic alternatives to war. And finally because Obama himself is the last thing this crazies on the right want a liberal to be and that is moderate. The fact that Obama is also decisive and freely expresses his opinions isn't doing him any favors with the right either.

So while Rush spews his dishonest, twisted rhetoric to his loyal audience of 25 percenters, he continues to look like a complete and unapologetic imbecile to the rest of the world and Obama comes out of the fracas looking better all the time.

So maybe I should be thanking Rush Limbaugh for giving my candidate the airtime but I won't. The positive light that shines on Obama, shines on him in spite of what the smear merchant infotainers are saying about him. Indeed, Obama shines all on his lonesome and all Limbaugh and his ilk are achieving is giving this potential president good press via the law of unintended consequences.

As always, thanks for reading.

Saint Lisa Litchfield

Why Jon Stewart is better than everyone on the planet...

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 07:17:00 +0000

This is why. Not only does he ask really good questions of Stephen Hayes, but he also answers John Gibson's (and Angry Rich's) despicable attack on his patriotism with class. Simply put Jon Stewart rocks hard.

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 23:10:00 +0000

Every once and so often I stumble across something that makes me want to whip out my credit card and go to town. Usually it's in response to seeing an absolutely fabulous pair of shoes, or finding a new awesome fragrance, or a great sale on clothes at some outlet. So you can imagine my suprise and to an extent my chagrin to find myself drooling over, nay, lusting over Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Cleaning Products.

CLEANING PRODUCTS??!?!?!?!???

It has taken me a little while to come to terms with this sudden bout of acute domesticity. I'm not exactly the Patron Saint of Better Homes and Gardens here, so these feelings about Mrs. Meyer's products confuse me, scare me and I have a damn near irresistible urge to seek professional help.

Any one know the number for Merry Maids?

Why am I suddenly having these difficult to control impulses to purchase Mrs. Meyer's products and actively search my home for things to clean? Because they work.

A friend recommended this website to me when I was trying to find reasonably priced green cleaning products (Not as easy as it sounds people). I'm a natural skeptic about the ability of natural cleaning products to naturally clean but I was running low on window cleaner so I decided I would give Mrs. Meyer's Window Spray a try.

I did, it worked, smells yummy (I highly recommend the Lemon Verbena flavor) and a little goes a long way. So at $4.99 for a 20oz bottle it seems pricey, (compared to Windex at an average retail of $3.99 for a 26oz bottle) however, on top of needing less of the product to achieve the same results, the product itself is a ammonia free, the packaging in recyclable and Mrs. Meyer's company is dedicated eco and animal friendly to me it is worth paying the $1.00 more for this product. I cannot wait to try the other cleaning and laundry products. If they all work as well as the window spray did my house will never be dusty with dirty windows again.

Lisa as a Domestic Goddess is a frightening thought, isn't it?

Dirty Pool by the RNC.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 22:51:00 +0000

From TPMmuckraker.com.

"What 83 year-old William Sidwell of Queen City, Missouri found in his mailbox last week scared him. It was a letter from the Republican National Committee, but it seemed to bear grave news: "Our records show that you registered as a member of our Party in Schuyler County, MO," the letter said. "But a recent audit of your Party affiliation turned up some irregularities."

Audit? Irregularities? Was he in trouble? Were they threatening him? Sidwell went immediately to his ask his son, Dennis, a licensed public accountant, for advice. You can see the letter, and the accompanying "Voter Registration Verification and Audit Form," right here. Particularly puzzling to the both of them, Dennis told me, is that his father is a life-long Democrat."

Do the clicky, look at this fundraising letter from the RNC and come back. Go ahead, I'll wait. If you need a moment to recover from the profound shock and disappointment you must be feeling, I completely understand. I sat here with my jaw agape for a few moments myself after reading both the article and the letter sent out by the RNC.

One of the things that jumped right out at me was the Dues Payment.

"And despite several requests, you have never made a dues payment to the Republican National Committee (not even a partial payment)."

I'm going to make some assumptions based on the information that we have from TPMmuckraker. First, these seems to be a letter targeted at elderly registered Democrats. Second, the language of the letter is severe enough that Mr. Sidwell and other's like him would be led to believe that they were in some kind of trouble, or owed money to the person writing the letter. If Mr. Sidwell had not thought to ask his son he likely would have contacted the RNC through one of the avenues listed at the bottom of the first page of the letter to find out how much he owed. Keep in mind this man is in his eighties and the RNC seems to be counting on some age related confusion to garner a few extra bucks.

Now I could be wrong. The RNC could have sent this letter of intimidation out to every registered democrat they could find hoping to capitalize on the overall gut reaction before thoughtful reaction that the majority of Americans are prone to. The bottom line is that this letter is a predatory solicitation from people who neither support nor belong to their cause.

I can promise you that if the DNC had sent out this letter the Republicans would be screaming to the high heavens about how dirty and underhanded the Democratic fundraising efforts are. Just take a look at what John Gibson and Angry Rich over at Fox News Channel had to say about John Edwards "A man who whored his wife's cancer as a fundraising gimmick." I wonder what these paragons of ethical fundraising would have to say about this predatory letter being utilized by their very own GOP?

What the hell is wrong with these people? How is a letter built upon a foundation of carefully hedged fallacies and certain outright lies supposed to reflect well upon the Republican Party? How is this representative of the party of family values?

It isn't. It's just more of the same ugly, un-Christlike, hypocritical behavior.

They should be ashamed, and if you're a member of the GOP, you should be ashamed for them and calling or writing them to protest these disgraceful, deceitful and underhanded tactics. If you're party is that desperate for funds, perhaps it is time to pack it in before an angry populace runs you out of town.

As always, thank you for reading.

Lisa Litchfield

Hotter than...

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:31:00 +0000

It seems that it is so hot in Texas right now that Playgrounds are spontaneously combusting, at least according to an article in the Houston Chronicle.

Mulch at an Arlington playground spontaneously combusted in the Texas heat and it is possible that fires at other playgrounds may have been caused by the same phenomena.

When the Cattle start to explode, it may be time to move. Any suggestions as to where my next residence should be?

Hastert to Retire. Cue 'Another One Bites the Dust'.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 22:23:00 +0000

You know folks, at this rate by November of '08 there will be Mitt Romney, Rudy Guiliani and some dude named Earl left to represent the Republican party.

One has to wonder why, with all the success the Republican's have enjoyed on a number of issues such as the War on Terror, National Security, the Economy, Gay Discrimination and Civil Liberties, so many Republican's are packing it in?

Could it be that reality is finally catching up with them? Could it be they know something that we don't? Perhaps, when congress reconvenes after their vacation, more examples of the Republican's "love of country" will be revealed and these yahoo's want to get out of Dodge while the getting is good?

As always, I will stay glued to the information sources while munching on some popcorn and having a beer as this era of Republican, PNAC policy continues to crash and burn.

Cheers.

Lisa Litchfield

Farwell to the Blossom, Olbermann Style.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:35:00 +0000

Keith Olbermann says goodbye to the Turdblossom. It brings a tear to the eye I tell ya, a tear.

Oh wait, nevermind, it was just an eyelash.

Cry Freedom Does Karl!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:25:00 +0000

Not like that, get your minds out of the bad place!

Tonight at 7PM Central time Cry Freedom, part of The Free World Radio Network, was going to devote the entire hour to Whine and Cheese, however, given Monday's announcement by the White Whale himself Karl Rove that he would be resigning on August 31st, 2007 I've decided our hour together would be better spent discussing our favorite Turdblossom.

Three cheers for massively ugly run on sentences!

Please join me tonight at 7PM Central time for a very special edition of Moby Dick...erm Cry Freedom on The Free World Radio Network, hosted by BlogTalkRadio.

Holy Crap Guys...

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 01:09:00 +0000

MONDAY AUGUST 13, 2007

Okay, so it's been about a month since I've put anything on this blog and I keep saying that I'll be better about that...*looks sheepish* heh, um...sorry?

Now though I really have to stay on the ball. My friends at The Free World Radio Network have been busy over the course of the last month. Hans Meyer, host of Situation Awareness, has designed an awesome home page for our rag tag band of Internet Personalities. So since we're becoming legit, I should pull my weight and actually update my blog more often.

The Free World Radio Network has launched a new show, on August 11th at 11am EST the first installment of The Free World Pub went live and in color( well colorful) on The Free World Radio Network. The Reverend Damien Darko, Hans Meyer, Brian Wolf, Michael Siliman and myself gathered in a virtual darkened pub and discussed Women in Political Blogging, Religion, Materialism among other things for 60 minutes of insight and laughter. If you missed us this week, I recommend tuning in next week and listening to us live. You can also check out the archive of last weeks show by visiting www.freeworldradionetwork.net clicking on programs, scroll down to The Free World Pub and click on the link to the show page on Blog Talk Radio.

On Sunday, Brian Wolf discussed Reverend Fred Phelps on Shakedown Street and will be doing part 2 this Sunday, August 19 at 4PM Pacific where he may have participation from Fred Phelps Jr. I'll keep you posted as this develops.

I'll be resuming my broadcasts of Cry Freedom beginning tomorrow, August 14th at 7PM Central Time with a segment about Whine and Cheese. Conservative pundits and bloggers whining about the hate from the left and then gleefully cutting the cheese all over the same people they accuse of being hateful freedom bashing facists seem a bit hypocritical to you? Yeah it does to me too, so I'll be spending an hour telling you all about it.

Now that the shameless self whoring is out of the way it's time for some shameless opining.

It is hard to know where to begin with the continuing Republican disconnect with reality. I'm also none too happy with certain Democratic Congresspeople right now.

I think I'll tackle Congress and the Protect America Act today.

I was understanding when this fucked up nation remained pretty fucked up seven months after the dems took over with a very slim majority. We in the reality based community understood that there was only so much that could be accomplished with a narrow majority and a President who was hell bent on vetoing just about everything that challenged his very limited vision of the nation and yes, the world. We understood that the bitter, obstructionist Republicans led by Senator Trent Lott in the Senate would and have obstructed as much meaningful legislation as possible in order to perpetuate the myth that this was a do nothing democrat controlled congress.

I'm going to start talking about the updated Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and I'm not upset with some Democrats for the reasons you probably think.

Surveillance serves a purpose, no one can reasonably argue that it doesn't and no one can reasonably argue that FISA didn't need to be updated to include the leaps forward in technology and communication that have occurred since 1978. Reasonable people do not have a problem with this portion of the bill.

What I fail to understand is why any Democrat would vote in favor of giving a pass to acts committed by this Administration in the form of illegal, warrentless wiretapping by now saying that it is okay with their vote. I also fail to understand why any democrat would give broad and unconstrained decision making power as to what would constitute an appropriate use of the provision that allows for warrentless monitoring of communications to and from American Citizens.

In the house of representatives, there were 41 Democrats that did just this.

Jason Altmire
John Barlow
Melissa Bean
Dan Boren
Leonard Boswell
Allen Boyd
Christopher Carney
Ben Chandler
Jim Cooper
Jim Costa
Bud Cramer
Henry Cueller
Lincoln Davis
Artur Davis
Joe Donnelley
Chet Edwards
Brad Ellsworth
Bob Etheridge
Bart Gordon
Brian Higgens
Baron Hill
Nicholas Lampson
Daniel Lipinski
Jim Marshall
Jim Matheson
Mike McIntyre
Charles Melancon
Henry Mitchell
Collin Peterson
Earl Pomeroy
Ciro Rodriguez
Mike Ross
John Salazar
Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin
Heather Shular
Vic Snyder
Zachary Space
John Tanner
Gene Taylor
Timothy Walz
Charles Wilson

In the Senate there were 16 Democrats that voted in favor of this bill.

Evan Byah
Thomas Carper
Bob Casey
Kent Conrad
Diane Feinstein
Daniel Inoyue
Amy Klobuchar
Mary Landrieu
Blanche Lincoln
Claire McCaskill
Barbara Mikulski
Bill Nelson
Ben Nelson
Mark Pryor
Kenneth Salazar
Jim Webb

I did a little experiment with this bill. I did not pay attention to the vote. I did not know who voted how until after it had all been said and done, and before I looked it up I wandered around Blogworld listening to what our dear friends on the right had to say.

"Dems Cave" was the predominate sentiment in various forms around blog world and even to an extent in the MSM and Fox News.

And people wonder why Liberals and Progressives lay claim to the reality based community?

However, what I found distressing is that many of my fellow Liberals and Progressives were falling into the same trap and placing blame at the feet of the wrong people. So, above, I've listed the people who deserve to be blamed. There are 57 Democrats that deserve our anger, the rest of them voted the right way on this bill. The large majority of Democrats in Congress DO care about America and the freedom of her people and voted that way on August 3rd.

This is what happens when you have a very slim majority. This is why sometimes the wrong things get through and why the right things languish in congress. You can't realistically blame Speaker Pelosi or Majority Leader Reid for these things because their power is limited. There is only so much they can do.

It is also vitally important to remember that the Democrats that are voting in the best interest of America need our support. They need us to tell the truth and counter the spin being thrown out by the corporate and conservative machine. They need us to remind people who they are and how they are voting. They need our voices of support.

They also need us to remain calm and call for patience, they need us to remind people that with a slim majority the changes will take time and that unfortunately some changes will not happen unless we get more Democrats in office. These people do not want business as usual, they want change but in order to effect those changes they must not only have the tools but also the power to make better things happen for America.

Am I saying not to be angry? No, you should be angry, especially when a Democrat casts a vote that is clearly against the best interests of our great nation. What I am asking is that you do not lump all your Democratic representatives in with the few who are content with business as usual. What I am asking is that you do not sabotage the potential for change that having Democrats in Congress allows us by propagating dishonest talking points and continuing to allow the conservative loyalists to dominate the dialogue. Do not engage the the act of painting all Democrats with one brush as your conservative counterparts do. YOU are better than that. WE are better than that. Stick to the truth and keep us moving forward.

As always, thank you for reading.

Lisa Litchfield

Zombies ate my links.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:21:00 +0000

That's about the long and the short of it. I will endeavor to get them back up and running sometime today or tomorrow. I'll also be catching up on all the happenings in the US and the world from the last month in an epic post about...

Condiments!

Just kidding, mostly.

Seriously, much has happened and I'll be writing about most of it, paying special attention to the updating of the FISA and what it actually means to you and me.

And because no blog post would be complete without it, we'll be ranting and frothing about Gonzo-gate and the three ring circus we like to call the Bush Administration. Check back later today or tomorrow to read all about it.

Lisa Litchfield

The Free World Radio Network Special Broadcast: Treason in the White House.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 09:14:00 +0000

The man to the left of this text is a Traitor. Perhaps you recognize him. He's been playing at being the President of The United States of America for over six years now.

Here is a brief list of his accomplishments since he put on the big boy suit with long pants and everything in January of 2001.

1. Passively allowed four planes to be hijacked on September 11, 2001. Two of those planes flew into the World Trade Center causing the eventual collapse of the North and South Towers. People are still dying almost 6 years later because of the destruction this man allowed to happen on his watch. One plane flew into the Pentagon, the very heart of our military complex while this man read "My Pet Goat" to school children. The final plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after every day citizens chose to take a stand and try to put an end to the madness of September 11, 2001. This was something their president could have done, but instead he ignored the warnings and as the chaos was unfolding he sat placidly, seemingly untroubled and read to school children.

2. Invaded the sovereign nation of Iraq on the premise that Saddam Hussein was directly linked to the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001 and posed an imminent threat to the United States of America. On January 29, 2003 President Bush uttered these words to the American people, " The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." This assertion had been debunked before the president uttered those damning words to the American People that evening, debunked before February of 2002. You read that right, 2002. Less that two months later, after securing an authorization to use force from congress, on March 20, 2003 this man ordered our military to invade the sovereign nation of Iraq over a lie.

On July 6, 2003 Joe Wilson, whom had been sent to Africa to investigate claims that Saddam Hussein was attempting to purchase Uranium, contributed to an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times entitled What I didn't find in Africa.

On July 14, 2003 columnist Robert Novak outed Wilson's wife Valerie Plame, a covert operative for the CIA, in a column about the choice of Wilson for the Niger trip. Almost immediately accusations started flying about this outing being political payback for Joe Wilson's criticism of the Bush administration's use of fallacious intelligence.

Did the Bush administration reveal the identity of a covered agent in a time of war as payback and a warning to others not to cross them?

3. As this man admitted on Thursday July 12, 2007, "I'm aware of the fact that perhaps somebody in the administration did disclose the name of that person. I've often thought about what would have happened if that person had come forth and said, 'I did it.' Would we have had this endless hours of investigation and a lot of money being spent on this matter? But, so, it's been a tough issue for a lot of people in the White House. It's run its course and now we're going to move on." Apparently, the White House did indeed sacrifice Valerie Plame and all of her contacts around the globe to the wolves.

That is Treason folks.

Tonight at 9PM central time, The Reverend Damien Darko and I will be hosting a special segment of Cry Freedom to discuss the sanctioning of Treason by the President of The United States of America. I urge each of you to call in to participate in this important discussion. The number to call is (646)478-4611.

We must be heard, we must get Congress to act to bring this criminal administration to justice.

The Free World Radio Network

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Sun, 27 May 2007 05:20:00 +0000

Okay all, I am back. I took a little break from the text based blogging to start up a new radio show at Blog Talk Radio. My show is called Cry Freedom and it currently airs on Saturdays at 7PM central time.

Beginning on June 12, 2007 I will be moving to my regular time slot of Tuesday evenings at 7PM Central time.

Two gentlemen that I respect tremendously round out our fledgling Free World Radio Network. The Reverend Damien Darko hosts a show entitled The Dark Side that airs every Friday evening at 7PM Central time and last but certainly not least Brian Wolf hosts Shakedown Street on Sunday afternoons at 4PM Pacific.

I consider myself very fortunate to be in such good company and to be allowed to add my voice to what is shaping up to be a very exciting endeavour. In the coming weeks we will have a web page for the network available with some background info on your hosts and other fun things to read and look at. I'll update my links section as soon as the web page goes online.

You will notice that I have added a new links section for The Free World Radio Network, each of our hosts has their schedule and archived shows on an individual host page. I urge you to spend a little time checking out the shows and please, if you are so inclined, offer some feedback. We cannot do what we do without you the listener.

I've been paying attention to the goings on in the nation of late but there is a lot to keep up with. It is easier for me to work the issues into Cry Freedom but I will try to update this blog on a regular basis as well. I will also copy over my show notes here and add a few fun links that you won't find on my Host Page. Gotta keep it interesting, yes?

That's about it for now, until next text, Live like you mean it.

TreesGoneWild
aka
Lisa Litchfield

A note to Elizabeth Edwards and Tony Snow.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:25:00 +0000

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your families.
Be strong and fight the good fight.

The Texas Youth Commission: A Texas Tragedy.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 07:35:00 +0000

The following opinion piece contains information gathered from a number of sources. Relevant portions of linked articles will be quoted within the text and credited to their source. There is a lot of history to cover before I can get to the meat of my opinion.

As many know, The Texas Youth Commission has been caught up in a storm of allegations of rampant Abuse.

The TYC, originally established as the Texas Youth Development Council in 1949 and changed to the Texas Youth Commission in 1983, has been under fire since the first accusations of abuse at the West Texas State School surfaced on February 18, 2007. As we are now learning, this story goes back much further in the timeline.

On February 1, 2007 during a budget discussion with the State Senate, Executive Director Dwight Harris was asked a pointed question about the allegations of Sexual Abuse coming from the West Texas State School. According to the Texas Observer's contributing writer Nate Blakeslee, Director Harris was unprepared for such a question.

The following is quoted directly from the Texas Observer article:

"The incident was a particularly ugly one, though few people outside the Permian Basin have ever heard of it. Following an investigation by the Texas Rangers and the FBI in February and March 2005, two of the highest-ranking officials at the school—the assistant superintendent, Ray Brookins, and the principal, John Paul Hernandez—were accused of having sexual relations with several students over an extended period. Both men denied the allegations, but investigators collected dozens of statements from students and staff, conducted polygraph tests on students, and collected DNA samples from semen-stained carpet and furniture at the school, according to a TYC inspector who assisted with the investigation. Yet there has been virtually no mention of the case in the media since the two men resigned nearly two years ago, nor have there been any arrests. Harris told the Senate panel that the investigation was closed. He also asserted it was the agency that alerted the Texas Rangers to the case and that his staff had done everything in their power to address the problems at Pyote."

The claims made by Harris are half truths at best.

The investigation is not closed.
It was a volunteer math tutor that contacted the Texas Rangers.
And the investigation by the administration was both slow and lacking.

However, it is understandable that he might have thought so since no action had been taken in the criminal investigation for over a year.

Furthermore, the Texas Observer article states that no arrests have been made in the case and that John Paul Hernandez is presently working as a principal of a charter school in Midland.

The observer points out that the problems at Pyote began when both Brookins and Hernandez were hired on to the facility. They also note that warning signs about both men were overlooked. Brookins had 10 disciplinary actions on his record when he was hired at Pyote. Brookins had so many unpaid parking tickets that the State Patrol finally came to his place of work to arrest him. Chip Harrison, the man who hired Brookins admitted that he did not review Brookins' personnel file before hiring him and that he also failed to review the file before promoting him to assistant superintendent.

Blakeslee notes in his report for the Observer that, "According to the agency’s internal review, as early as December 2003, only two months into Brookins’ tenure, low-ranking Pyote staff members were already complaining that he was taking youths from the dorms late at night and bringing them into the administration building. Brookins was alone with the students for hours, sometimes into the early morning. The visits were ostensibly for cleaning, though other students were already assigned to clean the building during the day. "

And that, "Hernandez was also known for spending time alone with students, often behind locked doors in the education building, according to the internal review."

Despite numerous complaints from administrators, teachers and students the abuse continued for another two years. The actions, abuses, lack of actions read like a Hollywood Movie Script. Brookins rose to power, alienating staff, interfering with Students release dates, bullied a secretary into giving him the key to the student complaint box and using those complaints against the students.

When the TYC finally sent Lydia Barnard in response to a letter sent directly to TYC headquarters in Austin from Billy Hollis, a case worker at Pyote, she reported that each of the allegations were "unfounded". She had once been Brookins supervisor at another TYC facility in San Saba and knew him well. "In her official response to Hollis’ complaint, she chastised Hollis to do his job better and to be more supportive of Brookins. "

Eventually, Mark Slattery, a volunteer math tutor, contacted the Texas Rangers after being contacted by two students with claims that one of them had been "victimized" by Brookins and they knew of at least five other students having similar experiences with the Assistant Superintendent.

Once the Rangers began investigating it took very little time to confirm the allegations against both Brookins and Hernandez. Both men were suspended as the investigations proceeded but neither was arrested. Brookins and Hernandez eventually resigned but neither had been arrested.

Initially the case was sent to the US attorney in San Antonio who decided that state penalties would be greater than federal penalties and thus bounced it back to state attorneys who sat on it for almost two years.

Fast forward to January 22, 2007 when the Texas Youth Commission releases this press release.

"If imitation is the best form of flattery, then Texas Youth Commission employees and all of those who have had a hand in designing and operating Texas’ juvenile correctional system have even more reasons to be proud. The agency has enjoyed national and international acclaim in recent years, and 2007 is shaping up to be no different. When people want to see what works in the world of rehabilitating juvenile delinquents, TYC is among the first places they visit. This month, a movie producer, a documentary film-maker, the Korean Broadcast System, a major media outlet in Houston, and a national French magazine have all visited or scheduled trips to TYC facilities.
“It goes without saying that people all over want to see what we’re doing in Texas. These visitors all contacted us about touring our facilities. In each case, they want to show their audiences what we do in hopes of improving youth treatment programs and reducing juvenile crime in their respective countries and cities,” said TYC Executive Director Dwight Harris. “It’s an incredible compliment to our staff and state leadership that when these people think of successful youth treatment programs, they think of TYC.”
The movie producer from Hollywood has purchased the rights to the life story of a former TYC youth who wrote a manuscript about his experiences, including his time in TYC during the 1990s. The award-winning documentary filmmaker is interested in profiling the Capital and Serious Violent Offender Treatment Program at Giddings State School. These projects are both in the pre-production stages.
The Korean Broadcast System, with as many as 150 million viewers, reaching South Korean and 15 other countries, shot a story at TYC’s West Texas State School in Pyote, Texas. They plan to air the interviews and footage in late January during a program equivalent to 60 Minutes in the United States. They’re profiling treatment programs for the youngest offenders sent to TYC – those ages 10 to 14.
Television audiences in Houston will soon get an in-depth look at the TYC treatment programs. They’ll also hear from rival gang members who would have killed each other four years ago, but have since become best friends in TYC and are now helping each other to changes their lives.
In France, a growing juvenile crime problem has become one of the top issues in the country’s presidential campaign. The elections are in April. A major magazine in Paris will visit several TYC facilities at the end of January and the beginning of February. They plan to produce an in-depth look at how the United States, mostly Texas, successfully rehabilitates young people who chose the wrong side of the law. The article will feature a huge photo-spread. Currently, they hope to visit: Giddings State School, Sheffield Boot Camp, the Marlin Orientation and Assessment Unit, and possibly the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex, the Evins Regional Juvenile Center, and the McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Complex."

Source.

Yes, all was well at the Texas Youth Commission.

Then on January 27, 2007 KXAN in Austin ran this story.

"
There are allegations of prisoner abuse, not in Iraq, but here in Texas youth facilities.
They are Texas youth who are serving time for committing crimes.
Now some parents and juvenile justice advocates allege the system is victimizing the same young offenders it should be trying to help.
"We do not tolerate abuse in any of the Texas Youth Commission facilities," TYC Board Chairman Pete Alfaro said.
TYC leaders admit that didn't stop recent cases of abuse in their Evins unit in the valley.
"There was some abuse, and we regret there was abuse there," Alfaro said.
"The thing is it's been going on, and I've been trying to bring it up to the Legislature the abuse and neglect they've been doing to my son," Austin dad Rick Luna said.
"When I first saw this, I was enraged. I was mad. I was upset," Luna said.
This Austin dad claims he's seen the effects of the problem on his son's body.
"If I did what they're doing to my son, I'd have Child Protective Services all over me," Luna said.
"Last year they had over 1,400 complaints and over 500 of these complaints were actually confirmed that they were actual abuses," Juan Sanchez with the Texas Coalition Advocating Justice for Juveniles said.
Addressing abuse and alleged over representation of youth of color and lack of alternative treatments draws Luna and other parents and juvenile justice advocates to the TYC's board meetings.
"Four years of my son's life are gone it's been wasted," Luna said.
"It's sad that those things have happened there but all I can say is there's always two sides to the story," Alfaro said.
Alfaro says we've been monitoring this and if you look at the last five years for example there's really no increase in abuse at all. Slight increase in neglect.
A TYC statement says the commission has increased oversight and is taking disciplinary action against eight employees since the events at Evins."

Source.

An example for the rest of the world to emulate, of course.

The report for the Observer by Nate Blakeslee is credited for bringing the situation at Pyote to light and the media finally jumped on board almost two years after the Texas Rangers completed their investigation.

On February 23, 2007 Executive Director Dwight Harris resigned.
On February 26, 2007 Senator Hinojosa proposes Senate Bill 103.
On February 28, 2007 Governor Rick Perry fired the Texas Youth Commission Board Chairman and the Executive Director.
On March 01, 2007 Lawmakers met to discuss putting the TYC into a conservatorship and firing the remaining board members serving the TYC. Governor Perry expressed reluctance to do that instead offering the alternative of naming a top official from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as acting executive director. Source.
March 05, 2007 Marc Slattery receives termination letter from TYC. Mr. Slattery was the volunteer math tutor who first contacted Texas Rangers about the abuse at Pyote. TYC officials claim that Mr. Slattery was terminated for not being an active volunteer. Source.
On March 07, 2007 state investigators took control of all 21 TYC facilities.

"The state sent 71 officers from four law enforcement agencies to facilities all over the state. They will investigate allegations of widespread sexual molestation at the facilities and a cover-up of the abuse against children in their care.
They are running background checks and fingerprinting all 4,000 state employees.
A command center was set up in Austin at TYC headquarters.
Officials said the law enforcement agents will remain at all facilities until further notice. Their goal is to make sure the children are safe, computer and employment files are not destroyed, and potential witnesses are not harassed.
This seems pretty severe, until you consider the nearly 7,000 reports of sexual abuse, assault and neglect in the past six years, and not one person has been prosecuted.
Two high-ranking administrators at the Pyote West Texas State School were accused of molesting several boys and were simply allowed to resign. TYC Special Master Jay Kimbrough, appointed by Gov. Rick Perry, said Tuesday that was about to change.
"We want those kids to know and we want anybody that works out there to know we are here," said Kimbrough. "And we're going to stay here, and we're going to come back. And if you're a part of this gig, you need to move on because we're going to find you, and we're going to prosecute you."
Kimbrough said he anticipates TYC employees will be removed from their jobs across the state.
A special prosecutor has been assigned to handle these cases.
Those two administrators from West Texas are expected to be taken into custody. One of them, Ray Brookins, lives in Austin."

Source.

March 07, 2007 Investigators probe abuse allegations at a TYC Halfway House in El Paso.
March 08, 2007 A guard at the Coke County facility was fired when it was discovered that he was a convicted sex offender. David Lewis had a 1999 conviction of Indecent exposure with a 5 year old girl.
March 09, 2007 David Lewis claims he told officials of his sex offender status when he applied for the job.
March 09, 2007 Sylvia Machado, a TYC employee was arrested in San Antonio for shredding documents after investigators orderd employees not to destroy documents.
March 09, 2007 The Texas Ranger who investigated the abuse at Pyote testified before the Legislature. The following is quoted from the KXAN report.

""I promised each one of these victims that I would do everything in my power as a Texas Ranger to insure that justice would be served, and this didn't happen again," said Texas Ranger Brian Burzynski.
And that was just the beginning.
Lawmakers wanted to know how children at these state-run facilities were sexually abused for so long, and no one did anything about it.
Some say it became crystal clear Thursday when the newly-formed legislative committee grilled the TYC's board of directors. What is clear is that this problem seems to start at the top, and Friday morning, those TYC board members could be on their way out.
"The Rangers would not fail them, and I made that perfectly clear to each one of them," said Burzynski.
It has been nearly two years since this Texas Ranger investigated sexual abuse at the TYC facility in West Texas. Since then, the children in the care of the TYC have been failed by just about everyone."

March 12, 2007 Prosecutors speak out about what they call false claims from the TYC that they did not take action on abuse reports.
March 13, 2007 A Senate Panel voted to fire the TYC board.
March 15, 2007 The Full Senate, with less than ten minutes of debate, voted to fire the TYC Board.
March 15, 2007 A TYC guard was arrested for a sexual assault that occourred while he worked at an adult prison.
The entire TYC board resigns.
March 20, 2007 General Counsel Neil Nichols and TYC Deputy Executive Director Linda Reyes resign.
March 23, 2007 Superintendent of the TYC intake facility in Marlin, Jerome Parsee was arrested for lying to Texas Rangers about allegations of Sexual Abuse at his facility.
March 23, 2007 Termination proceedings begin for Emily Helms of the TYC Legal department over responses she gave investigators.
March 23, 2007 Investigators, Prosecutors and Juvenile Prison officials began a review of almost all Juvenille sentences to see if any were extended unfairly.
March 27, 2007 State Panel votes to appoint TYC Conservator.

That brings us up to today. A lot has happened in the last month. A lot that should have happened four years ago when the Abuse reports first began coming out of Pyote.

But what of Hernandez and Brookins? As of today, according to the information I have been able to find, they still have not been arrested and I have to ask why?

So many grievous mistakes have been made, no mistakes is too kind a way to describe the actions taken or not taken in the wake of these abuse allegations. Incompetence, laziness, ambiguity and hubris all work, all apply.

The most important question is how, after the Texas Rangers concluded their investigation, could these crimes go un-prosecuted for two years? How could the judicial system in this state fail these children so throroughly? And why, why is no one screaming about that? It has been eclipsed by the larger scandal, but it is no less important nor less disturbing. The judicial turned a blind eye to sexual predators working and thriving in this states youth facilities. Their dereliction of duty must be explained and it must be punished.

The failure of the judiciary reached a Federal level, current Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and US Attorney Johnny Sutton failed to prosecute Brookins and Hernandez after the Texas Ranger Brian Burzynski completed his investigation.

"Burzynski presented his findings to the attorney general in Texas, to the U.S. Attorney Sutton, and to the Department of Justice civil rights division. From all three, Burzynski received no interest in prosecuting the alleged sexual offenses. " Source.

"In the Texas Youth Commission scandal, Texas Ranger official Burzynski received a July 28, 2005, letter from Bill Baumann, assistant U.S. attorney in Sutton's office, declining prosecution on the argument that under 18 U.S.C. Section 242, the government would have to demonstrate that the boys subjected to sexual abuse sustained "bodily injury." Baumann wrote that, "As you know, our interviews of the victims revealed that none sustained 'bodily injury.'"
Baumann's letter continued, adding a definition of the phrase "bodily injury," as follows: "Federal courts have interpreted this phrase to include physical pain. None of the victims have claimed to have felt physical pain during the course of the sexual assaults which they described."
Baumann's letter further suggested that insufficient evidence existed to prove the offenders in the Texas Youth Commission case had used force in their alleged acts of pedophilia: "A felony charge under 18 U.S.C. Section 242 can also be predicated on the commission of 'aggravated sexual abuse' or the attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse. The offense of aggravated sexual abuse is proven with evidence that the perpetrator knowingly caused his victim to engage in a sexual act (which can include contact between the mouth and penis) by using force against the victim or by threatening or placing the victim in fear that the victim (or any other person) will be subjected to death, serious bodily injury or kidnapping. I do not believe that sufficient evidence exists to support a charge that either Brookins or Hernandez used force to cause victims to engage in a sexual act."
Baumann's letter went so far as to suggest that the victims may have willingly participated in, or even enjoyed, the acts of pedophilia involved: "As you know, consent is frequently an issue in sexual assault cases. Although none of the victims admit that they consented to the sexual contact, none resisted or voiced any objection to the conduct. Several of the victims suggested that they were simply 'getting off' on the school administrator." Source.

I am saddend beyond the point that I have adequate words to describe at the attitude taken by our US Attorney's office. Saddened more that they chose to ignore the abuse because of politics.

""The letters justify not pursuing these cases because, number one, there is no evidence that any of these juveniles felt physical pain while they were being assaulted, and the letters use the word 'assaulted,'" he said. "And then also, they rejected prosecution because none of these juveniles stated in the investigations that they resisted and objected, which of course the facts of the report show to be the case. This case developed right in the middle of Governor Perry's 2006 re-election campaign. While Texas is a Republican state, and the Republicans expected to win, still at that time, Governor Perry was facing an election challenge from Carole Strayhorn, a third party candidate who was also a former Republican comptroller in Texas."
He continued: "I would speculate that the political powers in Texas and Washington in the Republican Party were not interested in this sex scandal coming to light. Sutton and Gonzales let their political responsibilities outstrip their legal responsibilities, and as a result you had children who were in danger of sexual abuse and were left in that danger."
Angle says that while the U.S. Justice Department and Texas attorney general's office were not prosecuting in this case, they were actively pursuing minor voter fraud issues with only a handful of allegations to go on. " Source.

Were the people served by this? No, they weren't. They were more concerned with partisan politics and winning elections than with the children charged to their care.

They didn't care, these were criminal minors and they had more important things to do. The TYC, the US Attorney, The District Attorneys, the Texas AG all they way up to Governor Rick Perry are culpable in this offensive dereliction of duty.

The TYC is a Texas Tragedy but it is a national failure.

Troop Funding Bill clears House.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 01:16:00 +0000

Link Courtesy of MSNBC.

The House of Representatives passed a Bill that allows the funding President Bush request for continued funding for the war in Iraq. The bill also calls for Troop Redeployment to begin in March of '08 and to be finalized by August of '08. The measure narrowly passed in a sharply divided House by a margin of just 218 for and 212 against.

President Bush has promised to veto the bill, accusing the House of playing "Political Theatre" and "abdicating their responsibility". Bush also said, “These Democrats believe that the longer they can delay funding for our troops, the more likely they are to force me to accept restrictions on our commanders, an artificial timetable for withdrawal and their pet spending projects, This is not going to happen.”

The House is trying to follow the will of the people who elected them. It's convenient to accuse them of failing the troops, but by Vetoing a bill that funds the troops and sets a deadline for redeployment almost five and a half years after an invasion that was supposed to take six months tops, isn't is the President and his policies that are ultimately failing the troops?

If El Arbusto Vetoes the spending bill he will be denying funding to the troops. There are no ifs ands or buts about that one. This man's presidential legacy will be one of short sighted foreign policy, a near successful grab for absolute power to the Executive Branch of Government, disassembling the Constitution, the very fabric of our national freedom, torture of prisoners of war, abuse of the brave fighting men and women of our armed forces by sending them into battle with substandard equipment and now by denying funding because the House is legislating the will of the people and holding him accountable to it.

It's quite a resume.

The people of this nation should realize that EL Arbusto has been playing politics with the future of this nation for four years. He has shown at every turn how little he cares for the Citizens of this nation and for the Constitution he swore to uphold and protect.

El Arbusto is a champion of the Saudi royal family, big business and yes, big oil. I am sure he is planning his retirement in a nice secure compound somewhere in South America while the next administration is left to clean up the mess he made of our country and our relationship with the world.

Why should refusing to fund the brave men and women who are fighting his Police Action for profit cause him to lose sleep when he can blame it on other people? He's been pulling that rabbit out of his hat since he took office. America, aren't you tired of that trick yet?

Perverting the Facts: 1984 Citizen Ad Linked to Firm working for Barack Obama

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 00:41:00 +0000

Links courtesy of ABC, MSNBC, FOX NEWS and CNN.

I have read all four articles. I will be dissecting the first paragraphs of each article.

First ABC. This is the very first paragraph in the report filed by Jake Tapper,

"The presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was rocked by revelations Wednesday night that one of its contracted employees was the creator of a scathing YouTube video against his opponent Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., despite Obama's insistence that he had nothing to do with it.

Now lets take a look at the first paragraph from MSNBC's report filed by NBC's Andrea Mitchel and MSNBC's Alex Johnson,

"The creator of the faux-Apple ad against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has been unmasked as a Democratic operative who worked for a digital consulting firm with ties to Sen. Barack Obama, NBC News confirmed Wednesday night - leaving Obama on the spot."

Onward to Fox News and the report filed by Carl Cameron and Corbett Riner,

"WASHINGTON — The anonymous creator of the video comparing a future with Hillary Clinton as president to the world in George Orwell's '1984' is an ex-employee of a digital consulting firm with ties to rival candidate Sen. Barack Obama."

And finally CNN's report on the matter filed by I don't know because I couldn't find a name,

"NEW YORK (CNN) -- The mystery behind who produced an elaborate Internet ad slamming Sen. Hillary Clinton and promoting Sen. Barack Obama has been solved.
Phillip de Vellis, a Democrat and Obama supporter, said he made the video "because I wanted to express my feelings about the Democratic primary, and because I wanted to show that an individual citizen can affect the process."

What is important to note here is the language that is used in four separate reports filed by four separate news outlets.

ABC, by far the most provocative of the group uses phrases like "The campaign was rocked, Scathing Ad and one of it's contracted employees." each of these are at best a stretch of the truth and at worst an outright perversion of the truth.

MSNBC used phrases like, " a democratic operative, with ties to Senator Barack Obama" well I suppose they should get points for leaving out the Senator from Illinois middle name. The term Democratic operative is an outright lie when applied to Mr. de Vellis. He's a man who worked for a business that served Obama's web based campaign. He didn't even work on that account, but his company did. How does this make him an operative?

FOX News's coverage surprised me a bit, they were much more moderate than either ABC or MSNBC, in fact it was almost just the facts. They should have specified that it was a technology firm and not a campaign strategy firm, but the ambigous nature of consulting firm is still very close to the truth.

CNN was just the facts ma'am. No provocative language, no innuendo and no perversion of the facts.

Now, why would four news outlets cover the same story in such strikingly different manner? Why would ABC and MSNBC choose to slant the story so sharply as to make Senator Obama look like he not only condoned the ad but also had a hand in the creative process when there is zero evidence to support those allegations.

It is long past time to hold media accountable to standards of honesty and fairness. The government cannot do this, but the public and sponsors should. If a news source is unable to print or broadcast the news factually they should be relegated to "Tabloid" status.

From a personal perspective I am most disappointed with MSNBC, in the past I have found them to be honest in their reporting. I have drafted a letter to both ABC and MSNBC about the way in which this story was reported. I hope, that if you believe as I do, you will do the same.

Double Plus Good...

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:15:00 +0000

Links Courtesy of CNN and YouTube.

In 2004 Howard Dean tapped into the largely ignored resources of the internet to move his campaign forward in the presidential primary season. He went from being a relative unknown Governor from Vermont to being a Democrat sensation. Since then, more candidates and certainly more potential voters have made use of the internet to air their views and support their candidates.

In the latest leap forward, individual voters are now making their own campaign ads in support of their candidate of choice. A YouTube user, known only as ParkRidge 47, has posted an ad supporting Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois Voting Record) in his bid for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. The Ad depicts Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York Voting Record) in a spoof of an Apple Computer Commercial spoofing the movie 1984. (Just watch the ad.) This ad has turned into the YouTube heard round the world, gaining coverage from every major media outlet in the United States it has raised awareness of the power the Grass Roots internet users have.

All I can say is keep doing what you do people, make your voices heard, make your votes count. It doesn't matter who you support, keep the issues that matter to you out there, campaign hard for the candidate you support. The internet is a great tool to for the common man to help shape the changing political climate.

Testify, but don't swear to tell the truth.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 05:53:00 +0000

Links courtesy of Reuters and MSNBC.

The President has offered to make available Rove, Meirs and their deputies for interviews "in private, without the need for an oath and without a transcript".

Huh?

I have a single, simple question for El Arbusto, if as you say "There's no indication ... that anybody did anything improper." then why not allow these people to testify under oath, on record and to the public?

It pretty much ends there, but not allowing these officials to testify under oath the American people are just going to be more suspicious. Why all the secrecy?

Welcome to oversight El Arbusto. Sucks don't it?

One Mother's Mission.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 08:24:00 +0000

Link From MSNBC/Newsweek.

Tina Richards, mother of Marine Cpl Cloy Richards, has been in Washington DC walking the halls of congress. Last week she became the latest internet face for the Anti-War movement when a discussion with Rep. David Obey (D-Wisconsin Voting Record) was caught on film.

The discussion devolved into an argument. I find that curious because both parties involved want the same thing, they just don't agree on how to achieve that goal. In the wake of this incident Obey issued this statement.

One of the things I believe is being overlooked in the coverage of this confrontation is Marine Cpl. Cloy Richards. Why, in the light of obvious combat related injuries and mental issues are the Marines redeploying this man? How many others in similar situations are being redeployed? Is this how we're getting the extra troops for the Surge?

One thing is for sure, the battle to end the war is eclipsing other important issues and it is my opinion that they should all be addressed. The VA needs to be overhauled, Troops need to be evaluated before they are Redeployed and we should never send a soldier in who cannot do the job because of injuries. Our soldiers are not numbers, they are not robots, they cannot fight indefinitely without suffering cumulative debilitating effects.

We know this war isn't going to be brought to an end tomorrow, in the mean time, while congress is fighting to set a firm date for troop redeployment they also need to be focusing on the welfare of troops still caught in the mix. That goes beyond just funding them, it also means that our Government must see to their care when they come back broken.

The Maiden Post.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Litchfield) — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 08:05:00 +0000

Just what the internets need, another political blog...

I chose Three Sides as the title of this blog because it is appropriate for our times. With all the rhetoric gushing forth from our elected officials it becomes increasingly hard to determine who, if anyone, is being truthful. I often find that the truth lies some where in between the two sides of an argument. To be sure that is not a revolutionary idea, but it is one that seems oft ignored in the political discourse of the day.

I invite comments, criticism and most importantly opposing opinions. This isn't really about me just being able to read the font of my own typing; I want to discuss and even understand where people are coming from. We're divided, but there has to be common ground some where.

Comments will not be moderated, however, I do reserve the right to openly ridicule extremely idiotic comments in the Hall Of Shame.

Have fun and be informed.