At What Point Does This Become Unacceptable

I see this, and many of us who make the netroots our news home see this on a nearly daily basis across the nation. I am deeply troubled each time I hear it, and say a prayer for the soldier and his/her families. I've cried watching the roll call on Nightline. And the 10 second blurbs on the local news when a soldier, resident of a community in Ohio makes the first few headlines. I realize I am not doing enough. I am outraged, but as yet, am not doing enough.

And yet, I think I am worlds ahead of a good chunk of the population who are immune to this view, and wonder what will it take for the realization of what is happening to sink into the consciousness of the population at large. Is there such an immunity, or aversion to seeing the truth, or stark revulsion of the truth that they simply are not willing to acknowledge this reality? When does the tipping point come that we believe we've had enough?

Commentary on the Hackett Candidacy in 0H-02

I had the opportunity to postthe attached at Kos today. Hackett's cause is not lost. The planets might need to align, but history has proven that we can win this district.

The Length To Which Corporations Own the Government

We all know it's there, but to actually see the rough draft of the arrogance of the their efforts is quite astounding. You just have to hope that there will continue to be a stream of this stuff coming as a result of the president's poll numbers continue to drop through the floor.

The question that I keep pondering is that will there be a tipping point in the MSM where the those in positions of authority realize that the majority of Americans are not comfortable with the bullshit they are being served. In essence, wil there be a time when they say, for economic reasons, they decide that it simply does not make sense to kow-tow the administration's line.

Evidently, it isn't happening any time soon. Hearing David Broder cite Walter Pincus' article on the front page of the Post this morning as an indication that the MSM is, and has been doing there job bordered on the absurd. We will just have to wait and see whether in fact it will happen, but the trending is working in our favor.

TalkLeft: Al Qaeda Capture: Mistaken Identity?

It would appear that we were abit ahead of ourselves. I'm sure we'll find the note on the correction buried on page C16, next to the obits, or near the classfieds (likely in similar point font).

A National Disgrace

Susan over at Suburban Guerilla has a compelling post on an issue that is completely missedin the morass of issues we have before us with this current administration.

Are you a Republican?

Are you a Republican?: "

I am: 3% Republican.

'You're a complete liberal, utterly without a trace of Republicanism. Your strength is as the strength of ten because your heart is pure. (You hope.)'

Are You A Republican?"

Painfully Opaque Ways to Get Money from Already Wealthy

An utterly fascinating investigation here by ABC News. This one must have slipped past the party censors.

I am on occasion pleasantly surprised by the work that Brian Ross does. It is one tiny voice in the vast sea of contrived and slanted corporate media jounalism.

Hoffmania!: The Schiavo Case In a Nutshell

The hypocrisy can be cut with a knife when you read this. It remains a truly stunning set of positions, where you can in one breath speak to the importance of a single individual's right to die, and yet have complete disregard for the balance of the population, struggling with over-whelming debt, bankruptcy, child care, medical care. -- all of the other issues that seem to be directly related to society's ability to "live with dignity."

Gonzales: Torture treaty doesn't bar 'cruel, inhuman' tactics

At what point does this end? There seems to be an infinite amount of abject stupidity mindless cruelty disguised as policy coming from current and future leaders within the Bush administration.

Gonzalez is consigliere, for sure but is serving a role that is beyond the scope of anything we have seen since, I'm guessing, the days of the old bosses in New York and Chicago. He's an errand boy who cleans up, covers up, and subtlely (or perhaps not so subltely) threatens those who may not be working for "the cause."

My guess here: 26 of the 44 Democratic senators will vote against the nomination of Gonzalez to be Attorney General. Is this, along with yesterday's session on Condi, the formation of the spine of the New Democratic Party?

How Many...?

Q: How many Bush Administration officials does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. Any reports of its lack of incandescence are a delusional spin from the liberal media. That light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?

(via Kos)

Pro-Birth vs. Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice

This new word needs to be put into the Pro-Birth, and those who align themselves in such a way need to called out for what they are as described in Daily Kos.

Ohio Official Refuses Interview Over Vote

Blackwell pulls a "Condi" and refuses to be interviewed by lawyers involved in the investigation.

The Fix is In

A nice summary of how little is known about the level of voting fraud went largely undetected in Florida.

Homeless shelters getting Iraq vets - (United Press International)

It's already happening. A troubling reprise of a disturbing development following the Vietnam War. Remarkably, this article is from the Washington Times. Must have slipped through the RW spinmeisters, who would have suggested that these vets were the special undercover agents working to identify potential threats amongst our nation's homeless.

Find the Companies that donated "Blue"

Click here and make the right purchase decision.

Rat Smelled, but does it matter?

This article in Zogby suggest some foul play. But what remains is the complete disinterest of the SCLM to act on the data in any fashion that produces something beyond a "scent" of fraud. We have find actual fraud, don't we??

Keep Hope Alive!

Greg Palast tells up to KERRY WON OHIO
JUST COUNT THE BALLOTS AT THE BACK OF THE BUS.

John Dean's Take on Understanding the 2004 Presidential Election

Denial of the facts, even those that are communicated and validated by the Bush Administration, is a standard behavior trait of the Bush supporter. So says John Dean in this piece from Findlaw.

"The caller had...told her friends that there was no connection between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's Iraq - and pointed out that Vice President Cheney had admitted as much in the Vice Presidential debate, and that the 9/11 Commission's report had so found. But her friends insisted there had indeed been such a relationship; that Cheney had misspoken, and she was wrong about the 9/11 Commission's report."

Our Anger will be met with Their Force

Tanks were deployed at an anti-war protest in Los Angeles earlier this week. This is the new reality that 59MM voted for last Tuesday.

The Guy Who Set the Bar Lower than the Geneva Convention

I'm already getting nauseous, and its only been a week.

It has always been my belief that Americans have a responsibility to set the bar higher in how we conduct ourselves around the world. Admittedly, this is a painfully naive belief on my part, especially with respect to the record of this administration. In the past, when we threw out the playbook, we would at least have the crisis of conscience to hide our efforts (not that I am forgiving that behaviour either). Not any more. We not only work to set the bar lower, we take pride in it, and nominate the guy primarily responsible for that strategy as the new The New York Times > Opinion > Attorney General

"The president is putting his own counsel, Alberto Gonzales, who wrote the famous memo defending torture, in charge of our civil liberties. Torture Guy, who blithely threw off 75 years of international law and set the stage for the grotesque abuses at Abu Ghraib and dubious detentions at Guantánamo, seems to have a good grasp of what's just. No doubt we'll soon learn what other protections, besides the Geneva Conventions and the Constitution, Mr. Gonzales finds "quaint'' and "obsolete.''