VERMONTERS PROCEED WITH SECESSION TALKS

Vermont wants to secede from the Union – or at least some are embracing this movement. According to an article in the New York Sun, the First North American Secessionist Convention in Burlington, VT, organized by the pro-secession think tank, the Middlebury Institute is making plans for a November meeting.

Habeas Corpus, R.I.P. (1215 - 2006)

With a smug stroke of his pen, President Bush is set to wipe out a safeguard against illegal imprisonment that has endured as a cornerstone of legal justice since the Magna Carta.
by Molly Ivins

Cheney Energy Task Force

In case you forgot about it...

Keith Olbermann Terrorized and Gov Tries to Hide it

We have serious reason to worry about Olbermann's safety. Last night, he reported that he'd been threatened, apparently with some anthrax-like substance that required him to be subjected to 10 hours of detention in a hospital. He was discharged with a prescription for Cipro.

ATM for Jesus. Hallelujah!

Jesus is here! Don't tell the Devil!

Prompted by the on-screen instructions, Marshall performed a ritual more common in quickie marts than a house of God: He pulled out a bank card, swiped it and punched in some numbers.

The machine spat out a receipt. Marshall's $400 donation was routed to church coffers before he had found his seat for evening worship.

"I paid for gas today with a card, and got lunch with one," said Marshall, 30. "This is really no different."

Baker came up with the kiosk idea a couple of years ago. He had just kicked off a $3-million building drive, but noticed that few people seemed to keep cash in their wallet anymore for the collection bag.

So he began studying the electronic payment business. He designed his machine with the help of a computer programmer who attends Stevens Creek, and found ATM companies willing to assemble it for him. In early 2005, he introduced the first machine at his church.

Since then, kiosk giving has gradually gained acceptance among his upper-middle-class flock. The three kiosks are expected to take in between $200,000 and $240,000 this year — about 15% of the church's total donations.

"It's truly like an ATM for Jesus," Baker said.

The Muppet Matrix

Watch this!

68-year-old Coupeville woman on a hunger strike over Iraq war

When hunger pangs hit Patricia Brooks, she turns to stitching. Her needle flashes silver as she stitches squares of purple and blue, pink and red. It may also be her message of goodbye to her two granddaughters, ages 5 and 7.

Brooks, 68, who lives in a subsidized senior-citizen apartment in Coupeville, Island County, has been on a hunger strike since Sept. 11. A longtime activist who joined Coupeville Peace and Reconciliation on the street corner at Highway 20 and Main Street, Brooks was frustrated over the lack of progress in ending the war in Iraq.

"I have been in months of despair. My peace group had done everything they could to stop the war but it was having no effect," she said.

So on the fifth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, Brooks stopped eating and started stitching.

7-Eleven drops Citgo gasoline; cites Chavez

"Regardless of politics, we sympathize with many Americans' concerns over derogatory comments about our country and its leadership recently made by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez," 7-Eleven said in a statement.

Newsweek International Editions

Take a look at the NEWSWEEK international covers at the left, along with their headlines.
Europe: "Losing Afghanistan"

Asia: "Losing Afghanistan"

Latin America: "Losing Afghanistan"

US: "My Life In Pictures"

Huey P. Long Quotations

Huey P. Long (born August 30, 1893, Winnfield, Winn Parish, Louisiana; died September 10, 1935, Baton Rouge, Louisiana), known as "The Kingfish", Louisiana governor

"If fascism ever comes to America, it will come wrapped in an American flag."

"Of course we will have fascism in America but we will call it democracy!"

"Every man a king, but no one wears a crown."

"People say I steal. Well, all politicians steal. I steal. But a lot of what I stole has spilled over in no-toll bridges, hospitals . . . and to build this university." -- speech at Louisiana State University

"The only difference I ever found between the Democratic leadership and the Republican leadership is that one of them is skinning you from the ankle up and the other, from the neck down."

"Hard work is damn near as overrated as monogamy."

“I can frighten or buy ninety-nine out of every one hundred men.”

"Sure I carry a gun. Sometimes I carry four. Can't tell when somebody's going to shoot the King."

"I would describe a demagogue as a politician who don't keep his promises. On that basis, I'm the first man to have power in Louisiana who ain't a demagogue. I kept every promise I ever made to the people of Louisiana. None of these exes and belly-achers that have been fighting me down there ever kept his promises when he was in office. It was an unheard of thing in Louisiana until Huey P. Long got in."

Regarding the imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, "Quote me as saying that that Imperial bastard will never set foot in Louisiana, and that when I call him a sonofabitch I am not using profanity, but am referring to the circumstances of his birth."

To Governor Oscar K. Allen: “Goddamn you Oscar, don’t you stall around with me! I can break you as easily as I made you!”
“I’m for the poor man – all poor men, black and white, they all gotta have a chance.”

“Don’t say I’m working for niggers. I’m not … ‘Every Man a King’ means every man, niggers along with the rest, but not especially for niggers.”

“There is no dictatorship in Louisiana. There is a perfect democracy there, and when you have a perfect democracy it is pretty hard to tell it from a dictatorship.”

After rejecting a naval appropriations bill in the Senate: “I would prefer to vote this billion dollars to feed the starving rather than for more battleships to kill somebody.”

Criticizing the limitations of Roosevelt’s New Deal: “Not a single thin dime of concentrated, bloated, pompous wealth, massed in the hands of a few people, has been raked down to relieve the masses.”

Long often compared the Democratic and Republican parties to “High Popalorum and Low Popahirum,” two patent medicines with different labels but identical ingredients.

Condolonces to Dario Silva

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) -- The shattered right leg of top Uruguayan soccer player Dario Silva was amputated after he was thrown from his car in a highway accident, hospital officials said Monday.

The 33-year-old forward, a member of the national team, was driving along a Montevideo road that fronts the River Plate Estuary early Sunday when his car struck a light post on a center divider, police said. He hurtled through a side window, and his right leg was caught and badly broken as the light post toppled over the car, authorities said.

Photos: Civil Disobedience at the United Nations

The Bush Crimes Commission Led Civil Disobedience at the United Nations. 15 people were arrested by the police as they tried to deliver the Commission's indictment to President Bush. The Bush Crimes Commission, Not in Our Name, World Can't Wait, and Iraqi Veterans Against the War were among the groups participating.

'Dummy vendors' reap $362m in Iraq

Your Tax Dollars at work! Hooray!



Stuart Bowen, the special inspector-general, said his review of the government's allocation of the $18.2bn fund found 96 incidents of cash being earmarked for projects that did not identify a vendor or contractor. The findings come just one week before the expiration of the reconstruction fund, at which point whatever remains will be returned to the Treasury. Mr Bowen said the government had $826m in remaining funds. Stephanie Kirchgaessner, Washington

Old Fashioned Smack Down!

Court victory lets preserved Ohio 2004 ballots tell new tales of theft and fraud as indictments and convictions mount

Nothing to see here...Please move along.

Ohio election protection activists have won a landmark court battle to preserve the ballots from 2004’s disputed presidential election, and researchers studying those ballots continue to find new evidence that the election was, indeed, stolen. Among other things, large numbers of consecutive votes in different precincts for George W. Bush make it appear ever more likely that the real winner in 2004 should have been John Kerry. Meanwhile, indictments and prison terms are mounting among key players in that tainted contest.

Soldiers in 'guns for coke' scandal

No surpise here, eh?

Chavez: U.S. Detained Foreign Minister

Nice one, US of A!

New York City’s Reservists Are Asked to Return Iraq Pay

When they were called up for military service in the wake of 9/11, hundreds of uniformed city workers in the Reserves faced the suspension of their city health and pension benefits. The city offered them an option: it would keep paying their salaries and continue their benefits, but when they returned they would have to repay the city their city salary or their military pay, whichever was less

Violent Crime Rate Goes Up for First Time in 15 Years Following Massive GOP Cuts for Law Enforcement

The rate of violent crime in America increased last year for the first time since 1991, according to a new FBI report. The increase coincides with dramatic cuts to state and local law enforcement funding by Republicans each year since President Bush took office. The $2.3 billion recently approved by the House amounts to nearly half of the $4.5 billion appropriated in 2001.

In addition to the jump in violent crime overall, the rates also increased last year for murder, robbery, and aggravated assault. The rates for every category dropped steadily under President Clinton and his massive funding boosts for law enforcement.

These findings indicating that Americans are less safe under the Bush Administration come as they continue to spend billions in Iraq while gutting domestic police support and underfunding vital Homeland Security projects.

Neil Cavuto Says Poor Americans Who Accept Heating Oil From Hugo Chavez are Committing Treason

With a graphic that read, "Is it Treason?" over his shoulder, Neil Cavuto opened his show with:

Beware of strangers bearing gifts? Well, not in Harlem and not today. Did Americans who took Hugo Chavez's oil today commit treason? I want you to meet a guy who says yes and another who says nonsense.
After a report from Harlem by Rick Leventhal about Hugo Chavez's activities today, Cavuto turned to New York City Councilman Charles Barron who lauded Chavez and urged George Bush, Democrats, U.S. oil companies, and anyone else to step in to help the poor in his Harlem/Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, all while a chyron at the bottom of the screen read: "Taking Cheap Oil From Hugo Chavez; Act of Treason?"

Very cool!

More here: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Bush Dealt Setback On Opening Forests

DUMBASS!

Survey: M.B.A. students more likely to cheat

Thousands Demonstrate at UN Against Iraq War, Bush

"I am more passionate than ever about the Iraq War because it has ruined our economy," said Thomas Brinson, 63, a Vietnam veteran from Deer Park, Long Island. "It's killing innocent civilians, and the National Guard was deployed in Iraq and they weren't here for natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina."

The anti-war march, organized by the group United for Peace and Justice, started in the garment district on the West Side and stretched along a dozen blocks to the United Nations on the East Side, where there were speeches.

A contingent of a dozen "Raging Grannies" wore colorful hats and dresses.

"After Vietnam I thought the U.S. had learned a lesson," said Lillian Pollack, 91, a retired city schoolteacher. "But Bush was planning this war for two years. He tried to make it look like it was legitimate. But it backfired."

Bush, in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, told world leaders. "My country desires peace." He told Iraqis, "We will not abandon you in your struggle to build a free nation," and he said that its neighbor Iran "must abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions."

James Lovelock Says This Time We've Pushed the Earth Too Far

Death and Taxes

Thanks Allan!

COOL!

Earth Science Picture of the Day for September 18, 2006
The geological formation of the Cappadocia region in the highlands of central Turkey results largely from the eruption of two ancient volcanos, some ten million years ago. Lava and rocks ejected from these volcanoes eventually produced the surface found here today -- an approximately 150 meter deep layer composed mostly of volcanic tuff and ash. Eons of erosion have sculpted the tuff into bizarre chimney or hat-like shapes. Softer, less resistant, layers have long ago succumbed to the effects of wind, frost and rain water, but the harder remnants observed today, while apparently sturdy, are constantly evolving and many of these curious pillars will disintegrate as their bases weaken.

World Can't Wait--Find a protest near you

October 5 - Day of Mass Resistance

On October 5 join us in a day of honest, courageous resistance. What will you do to take responsibility for the future?

Change the course of history. This regime does not represent us and we will drive it out!

Sources: August terror plot is a 'fiction' underscoring police failures

Big Brother is shouting at you

Olbermann: Bush's 'rush' to redefine Geneva Conventions may be mostly about 'covering his own backside'

Vampires in Cuba!

Mashed Potatoes!

Secret Prisons

Lawyer says FCC ordered study destroyed

how likely are you, statistically speaking, to die from a terrorist attack?

In the name of the lager...beer used in British church ad campaign

Beer

Official touts nonlethal weapons for use on American citizens

Nonlethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices should be used on American citizens in crowd-control situations before they are used on the battlefield, the Air Force secretary said Tuesday.

Domestic use would make it easier to avoid questions in the international community over any possible safety concerns, said Secretary Michael Wynne.

"If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation," said Wynne. "(Because) if I hit somebody with a nonlethal weapon and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended, I think that I would be vilified in the world press."

WTF!!!???

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
-- Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

Why British cellists may no longer fly to New York

LONDON - For more than 30 years, Ralph Kirshbaum bought two airline tickets for his trips. The world-renowned American musician, who lives in England, bought one seat for himself, and the other for his strong, silent companion - a priceless 250-year-old Montagnana cello.

But British authorities say Mr. Kirshbaum must now sit alone. Since police broke up an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic flights last month, restrictions have been placed on travelers: Nothing larger than a laptop bag can be carried into airplane cabins. But cellists, violinists, and French horn players are loath to consign their instruments, often antiquities worth millions of dollars, to cavalier baggage handlers and the rough-and-tumble conditions of the aircraft hold.

As a result, hundreds of musicians in Britain are complaining that the measures designed to thwart terrorists are in fact punishing virtuosos with nothing more malicious in mind than a Saint-Saëns solo.

The performers, who shuttle around the world to concerts, rehearsals, and festivals with ancient instruments in tow, are warning that their performances - and even livelihoods - are in jeopardy because the new rules make international travel almost impossible.

S.Korea riot police clear U.S. base protesters

What was our exit strategy after the Korean War? Hmmm???????

NYPD Built Bom

NEW YORK - It was known as Operation Kaboom: Police investigators posed as apple growers and secretly built a 2,400-pound truck bomb to determine how easy it would be for homegrown terrorists to launch an attack with homemade explosives.

Then, they partially detonated it.


of course, they would never use it, just testing out the security of the state.

Mexican officials to burn ballots

Nothing to see here....

The Sixteen Acre Ditch

thx allan

BREAKING: Bush May Declare War on Wide Angle Lenses

Indications add up to government conspiracy

Two FBI agents approached attorney David Schippers with specific foreknowledge about the attacks. His repeated calls to Attorney General John Ashcroft were never returned. An article in New American on March 11, 2002, corroborated the agents' story. They claimed that knowledge of the plot was widespread within the FBI for months before 9/11.

The air defense system breakdown on the day of Sept. 11 was unprecedented. Well-practiced protocols for dealing with suspected hijackings failed to function for an astonishing 90 minutes. The little-known existence of "coincidental" military war games has since been exposed, which undoubtedly caused confusion. And now, the chairman and vice-chairman of the 9/11 Commission claim (in a new book, "Without Precedent") that the military was less than completely honest.

In the words of David Ray Griffin, world-renowned theologian and truth advocate, the agenda and events surrounding 9/11 reveal a "deeply perverted value system" at odds with that of the American people. For the sake of the common welfare, the truth behind 9/11 must be exposed.

Justice for G.I.s?

Three years after returning from Iraq with persistent ailments they believe were caused by inhaling uranium dust from exploded U.S. shells, a group of former New York National Guardsmen finally got their first day in court this week against the federal government.

In a two-hour hearing late Wednesday before Manhattan Federal Judge John Koeltl, lawyers for the eight veterans argued that the Army caused the soldiers' illnesses when it violated its own safety protocols and exposed them to radioactive depleted-uranium dust.

Mexican court fuels voter doubt

MEXICO CITY - Top electoral officials and judges are feeding doubts about the outcome of Mexico's presidential vote by declining to release details about a recount of 4 million ballots and by moving quickly to destroy all 41 million ballots, legal experts said Friday.

U.S. Paid 10 Journalists for Anti-Castro Reports

Really? What a surprise...

Bush: 'History Cannot Judge Me If I End It Soon'

Quotation of the Day

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge you never walk alone." Audrey Hepburn.

Thanks Allan!

Ewe'll be sorry

Damn!

Again, thanks to Allan

"Smoking gun" evidence uncovered in Ohio of massive vote fraud in 2004 election.

In the aftermath of the recount of December 2004, sworn affidavits were signed by three witnesses stating that they observed, on some ballots, white oval stickers over the Kerry-Edwards mark, and the Bush-Cheney oval filled in. The County Prosecutor’s office confirmed this in writing, stated further that there were fewer than 100 such ballots countywide (out of 89,822 ballots cast), and claimed that there had been an FBI investigation into the matter upon the request of Congressman John Conyers, but that the FBI report could not be located.

nothing to see here....

Polling company owner pleads guilty to fraud

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP)_ The owner of a company that had done political and public opinion polls for several candidates has pleaded guilty to fraud for making up survey and poll results.

Tracy Costin, 46, of Madison pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Costin owned and operated DataUSA Inc., a survey and polling firm with offices in West Haven and Guilford.

According to court documents, clients included the campaigns of President George W. Bush, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. and Bridgeport Mayor John M. Fabrizi.


really? no shit? they wouldnt do something like that would they?

How far have median incomes dropped?

HAPPY LABOR DAY!....Courtesy of the Detroit Free Press, here's a handy map showing how far median incomes have dropped over the past six years. And it's good news for most of you: Compared to Michigan and North Carolina you're not doing so badly after all. So stop your sniveling.

FUGEE GANJA

WYCLEF Jean is not a fan of President Bush - or of savoir-faire. The former Fugee went on a drunken tirade Saturday night at Mixx in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Vegas after performing with Nelly Furtado at Taj. At Mixx, Jean proclaimed, "President Bush needs to smoke marijuana . . . [Bleep] Bush!" He then leapt into the crowd - which started chanting "[Bleep] Bush!" -

WOW! What an amazing photograph

Explanation: What if your horizon was green? If you've got a camera, take a picture! That was the experience of Jeff Hapeman last week when visiting the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan. On a quiet night toward the northern horizon over Lake Superior was a long lasting diffuse green aurora. The above image was taken in an effort to capture the sense of wonder one gets when watching an auroral display. Auroras are sparked by energetic particles from the Sun impacting the magnetic environment around the Earth. Resultant energetic particles such as electrons and protons rain down near the Earth's poles and impact the air. The impacted air molecules temporarily lose electrons, and when oxygen molecules among them reacquire these electrons, they emit green light. Auroras are known to have many shapes and colors.

The Top 30 Problems with the Big Bang

Haven't read them yet, nor do I know very much about astronomy but it's a curious topic.

Evangelist drowns trying to walk on water

An evangelist who tried replicating Jesus' miracle of walking on water has reportedly drowned off the western coast of Africa.

Pastor Franck Kabele, 35, told his congregation he could repeat the biblical miracle, and he attempted it from a beach in Gabon's capital of Libreville.

"He told churchgoers he'd had a revelation that if he had enough faith, he could walk on water like Jesus," an eyewitness told the Glasgow Daily Record.

"He took his congregation to the beach saying he would walk across the Komo estuary, which takes 20 minutes by boat. He walked into the water, which soon passed over his head and he never came back."

As Red Foreman would say, "Dumbass!"

Big time surf on the East Coast

Stupid Beeaattchhhh

Secretary of State Rice compared the Iraq war with the American Civil War, telling a magazine that slavery might have lasted longer in this country if the North had decided to end the fight early.

"I'm sure there are people who thought it was a mistake to fight the Civil War to its end and to insist that the emancipation of slaves would hold," Rice said in the new issue of Essence magazine.

"I know there were people who said, 'Why don't we get out of this now, take a peace with the South, but leave the South with slaves?'" Rice said.

Dem Candidate Has Guts To Run Ad DCCC Pulled

STATEMENT OF CHARLES SANDERS

The Bush Administration is perhaps the most unnerving, duplicitous band of pirates to ever occupy the White House. Most likely, it will be decades before the full magnitude of evasiveness and paranoia is known concerning how this Administration initiates policy. The Bush people have punished assistants who have become whistle blowers from its very beginning. It fired the photographer who took the picture featured in my new TV spot because it adequately frames the reality of the Bush occupation of Iraq. The American People deserve a representative who will expose surreptitious conduct by its government, whether done in my district or outside of it. And you can help me do it by submitting my action page to call for our troops to start coming home now.

Many Veterans, including myself, do question this unholy war because of the sheer weight of the lies surrounding why it was initiated in the first place. Our heart and prayers go out to the hundreds of Military personnel who sacrificed all to maintain the United States integrity and mandated resolve to bring some semblance of order in this most unstable part of the world. With such a high price being paid, should we allow over the top politicians a pass on accountability? I should hope not. If each American family must take responsibility for its own, then surely each level of government should also be so regulated. It is a fact that most of our soldiers, Marines, sailors and airman were dispatched with inadequate body armor and shielding to protect military vehicles in the most vulnerable areas.

American People Shrug, Line Up For Fingerprinting

Dubya's weekly address

America's youth must serve their country, one way or another

A draft would do more than just harness the energy and idealism of the nation's youth to meet the military's unmet personnel needs. It would also tap more of the resources of the nation's women, heeding their demands for more gender equality by making their obligations more consonant with their rights.

It would give the federal government more flexibility in dealing with conscientious objectors. And it would be fairer to African-Americans and other minorities, who might stop viewing military service as just another job choice.


What do you think?

Officials Slow to Hear Claims of 9/11 Illnesses

Poll says dislike of Bush is strong

Genetically engineered grass found in wild

Klan holds rally at Gettysburg

Gordon Young of the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan also called Saturday for the U.S. to pull its troops out of Iraq and use them to patrol the Mexican border to stop illegal immigration.

The World Knights obtained a permit in July for the two-hour demonstration. The National Park Service granted it under the group's First Amendment rights to free speech.

Leftists disrupt opening of Mexican parliament

Sen. Burns Says U.S. Facing Terrorists Who "Drive Taxicabs"

Burns has got to go!

George Carlin is the Man! Watch this video

"The American Dream. Because you have to be asleep to believe it!"