Thu, 07 Sep 2006 18:00:01 -0700
"Damn that sorry Bill Clinton for letting Al Qaeda attack us like this!"???
No, this was likely still days before Rove began work on his most astounding feat of legerdemain ever, turning Bush's most glaring weakness around and using it to smear the opposition.
"You're right, Tonto. Crime doesn't pay."
rewatched the opening to F-911 the other day- pretty painful stuff. Moore wonders this aloud too- "What was he thinking? Which one of these ______ screwed me?..."
--------------
This is what the general does. He internalizes his opponents—those on the other side of an issue or a battle—so that he may prevail over them. ...
It is not until one reads Holbrooke's book, To End a War, that one finds out that after the APC went off the road, Clark grabbed a rope, anchored it to a tree stump, and rappelled down the mountainside after it, despite the gunfire that the explosion of the APC set off, despite the warnings that the mountainside was heavily mined, despite the rain and the mud, and despite Holbrooke yelling that he couldn't go. It is not until one brings the incident up to the general that one finds out that the burning APC had turned into a kiln, and that Clark stayed with it and aided in the extraction of the bodies; it is not until one meets Wesley Clark that one understands the degree to which he held Milosevic accountable.
Four years later, the general went to war against him after the failure of diplomacy to drive the Serbs out of Kosovo. By this time, he had spent "dozens and dozens and dozens" of hours with Milosevic during the negotiations in Dayton of the accord that ended the war in Bosnia, and then in all the fruitless negotiations thereafter. He knew him; in fact, as he says, "I'm probably unique among twentieth-century commanders, in that I really knew the person I was fighting. So I knew what it would take to beat him, personally. And I knew he was watching me. I knew he watched every briefing. He looked at me to see if I was tired. He looked at me to see if I was discouraged. We were engaged in a war of the mind. Once the fighting started, though, it was a simple straight-line equation. The plan was to gain escalation dominance. Avoid anything that might suggest to Milosevic that the campaign was about to be ended and ratchet up the intensity step-by-step until you broke his will. He wasn't a tough guy. You know what kind of guy he was? He was the kind of guy who said he didn't play sports because his mother wouldn't let him. He was a wuss! He had these . . . soft, puffy white hands."
Esquire, The General, By Tom Junod
I believe he got the one two punch instead... Wes was eloquent on his death, wasn't he? I think he said that with his death, justice iteself was cheated.
I believe he got the one two punch instead... :)
Wes was eloquent on his death, though, wasn't he? I think he said that with his death, justice itself was cheated.
Quite the contrast between the opening post & this one, eh?
A baby kid says: Prez looked like he wanted to cry/pee himself/ General instantly rappels down a mountain/flaming vehicle... so telling. Retrieves a wedding ring. No hesitation. All panther. All the time.
edited
& look at the fundraiser! $41,934!!!
new 2008 poll:
vote for general wesley clark in the upper right side
he's lagging but we can catch up you can vote twice
pass it on !!!!!!!!
Administration Proposes $12 Million Enron Settlement
By Jeannine Aversa
The Associated Press
Thursday 07 September 2006
Washington - The Labor Department proposed a $12 million agreement on Thursday with the estate of Kenneth Lay, the deceased founder of Enron Corp., to settle claims involving mismanagement of workers' pension plans.
The proposed settlement on behalf of participants covered by Enron's pension plans is subject to approval by the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the department said.
Even if the settlement is approved, it is unclear whether all of the $12 million would ultimately be collected.
am I reading this right? Typo perhaps? 12 Million, "M"- Uh... shouldn't that be... 12 BILLION?????????? M is for murder, as in getting away with... Still entertain the notion that the sorry you can't have an autopsy Ken Lay was simply spirited away. To Cheney's undisclosed location maybe? heh
Bush and the Law
Le Monde | Editorial
Thursday 07 September 2006
SNIPPET:
This housecleaning is welcome. But it must not cover up the essential. Mr. Bush defended the CIA's "special program." Finally, and above all, he only bailed out on the most scandalous of his "war against terror" practices in order to pressure Congress to adopt legislation allowing Guantanamo prisoners to be tried by exceptional tribunals. One battle for the law has been won, but the war is not over.
lawyer to ABC:
TPMCafe
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
Senate Democratic leadership threatens Disney with legal and legislative sanctions
Letter signed by:
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid
Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin
Senator Debbie Stabenow
Senator Charles Schumer
Senator Byron Dorgan
Read the letter in full at DU
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
But there is still time for us to get more votes for Murphy in PA-8. I'll be jawboning the Republican neighbors for the next few weeks...
"Two Pennsylvania Republicans — Reps. Don Sherwood and Jim Gerlach — face an uphill climb to retain their U.S. House seats, a new poll shows.
The poll, which reached about 1,000 voters in each of 30 of the most hotly contested races in the country, found Sherwood, R-10th District, trailing Democrat Chris Carney by 7 percentage points, and Gerlach, R-6th District, trailing Democrat Lois Murphy by 5.
Fitzpatrick vs. Patrick Murphy in the state's 8th District — found Fitzpatrick up 53 percent to 45 percent."
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/state/all-a9_5racessep07,0,1558312.story
Blue State of Mind
That is so crazy- I dare to say, I think I fell through the looking glass awhile ago. Patrick Murphy is superb- I was under the impression that Murphy was surging, but Carney lagging - and the Carney lagging thing is awful because Sherwood is so weak.
I was at the Post Office the other day & someone in front of me had a glossy Sherwood mailer & when I got to the counter I said loudly- "Oh my god- I hope I NEVER EVER get mail from Don Sherwood in my mailbox- I'd never get my hands clean. Please, don't ever let anything of his get into my box by mistake!!!" and everyone in line started laughing, including the clerks.
? I'll be trying to help Lois Murphy a bit against Gerlach & also Carney - kind of split my time between two places. Sherwood has some high-profile gop backers & the district has been gerrymandered in his favor.
How do we get pollsters to include Clark? They list some dark horses who don't get above the margin of error, but they won't include someone who actually won a primary election last time out. Only two other Democrats did that.
Does someone know how the &%$#! we can complain to CNN? I am REALLY MAD ABOUT THIS!!!
(grrr!)
bin ladin is ace in the hole...
the longer he's still out there the longer bushies can prolong "the war on terrorism" and the more bucks for his "defence contractor" corp. buddies. also, the more they spend the more the dems will get demonized for jacking taxes to pay off the massive budget def. moreover, the corporations and their c.e.o.'s as retrobution for having to pay more taxes will give massive layoffs and sent those jobs oversea's then brought back at 25% of the pay unless corp. tax cuts are a reinstated and raised
now go ahead and ask me the right wing feel they don't have to pay taxes??
is it clark after dark yet??
on any other network other than Fox News? What am I missing here? I saw that clip of him on ABC.
won't put him on any "cnn" 08 polls not to mention any attention/ratings this might send to fox, which is why all the media may try to "trash" him or any of his elected supporters. ie: the media will trash any of it's own for getting to cocky and running for office and, to stay with them in the press pits
Go take a few minutes (3?) and go to this link, see this video to tell you what you can do for November 7th.
http://electiondefensealliance.org/SaveRVoteVideo
Citizens getting ready for Nov 7, getting together, taking action, please listen
Election Defense Alliance.org
There's also a bonus! A great theme song at the end of the end, should be our theme in November at the polls...
What a horrid bunch o' crap!! I signed on -- waiting for verification of my account. Now that I'm in process of registering vehicle here and getting a driver's license, I will be voting in NV, instead of absentee OH. And also will be "allowed" to be involved in the election which I couldn't do if I wasn't a "legal" resident.
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
Are you guys still Sequoia there??
I like this Election Defense alliance group. There are encouraging signs now of people starting to organize and come together. (bout time...) Glad you signed up.
but I googled for voting machines here and lookie what came up:
Washoe experiences ballot count problems with missing cartridges
Sept. 10, 2004
Considering that 16 of Nevada's 17 counties were using electronic voting machines for the first time, balloting went remarkably smoothly Tuesday night.
Washoe County, however, was the exception after, later in the evening, election officials were missing nearly 50 of the memory cartridges that inset in the back of the voting machines and record the ballots cast.
Dan Burk and his staff searched through the night and into Wednesday morning, finding that some of the cartridges had been left in the machines while others were misplaced at the election center.
By noon, Chief Deputy Secretary of State Renee Parker said all the cartridges had been accounted for and all the ballots counted.
Secretary of State Dean Heller <----(R-crook) said it was human error and that the machines themselves worked flawlessly statewide.
Parker said some of the cartridges were from machines that weren't used at different polling places. But she said the bigger problem was the lack of procedures for auditing and accounting for the cartridges as they were delivered at the election center.
She said they were from machines all over the county including Incline Village where some cartridges were left overnight in machines locked up at the elementary school.
In the end, the problem delayed final results in Washoe County but caused no major problems with the accuracy of the count, officials said.
and googling Renee Parker came upon this from Dec. 04:
~ snip ~
CARSON CITY - Nevada's last step in the presidential election - five Republican electors voting for President Bush - occurred Monday minus the tension four years ago when just a few vote switches anywhere in the nation would have changed the outcome...
~ snip ~
"Does anyone want a recount?" Deputy Secretary of State Renee Parker joked, getting laughs from the state's Electoral College members and others gathered in Heller's office - with a line that probably would have produced groans in 2000.
"There's a few straggling lawsuits out there, but I think we can handle those," said Heller, who was just sued by a Democratic activist claiming he's withholding election records that could bring Bush's victory in this state into question. Bush defeated Kerry in Nevada by 21,500 votes, 418,690 to 397,190...
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
Oh cripes, ms. NOT a black widow!!! :(
I'm gonna look that up in a sec. I wanted to post what I found at BBV re: machines used here, but couldn't get here for a while.
This is what we've got:
Voting System: OPTICAL SCAN 143 Units GES ACCU-VOTE ES 2000 Year Purchased: 1995 Last Modified: 2000 Tabulation System: GES ACCU-VOTE ES 2000 Year Purchased: 1995 Last Modified: 2000 Voter Registration System: DIMS. Signature Verification Program/System: DIMS. What's DIMS.?
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
What are the signs and symptoms of a black widow spider bite?
In most cases of a black widow spider bite, symptoms consist only of: 1
* Minimal to sharp pain followed by swelling and redness at the site of the bite.
* Two small fang marks like tiny red spots.
In some cases, severe symptoms appear within 30 to 60 minutes. These include:
* Muscle cramps and spasms that start near the bite and then spread and increase in severity for 6 to 12 hours.
* Chills, fever, nausea, or vomiting.
* Severe abdominal pain.
* Seizures.
* Stupor, restlessness, or shock.
* Severe high blood pressure.
What should I do if a black widow spider bites me?
If you believe you have been bitten by a black widow spider:
* Get medical help immediately. Call your health professional, hospital, or poison information center.
* Remain calm. Too much excitement or movement will increase the flow of venom into the blood.
* Apply ice to the bite area.
* Do not apply a tourniquet. It may cause more harm than benefit.
* Try to positively identify the spider or catch it to confirm its type.
If you're still here and feeling okay, it wasn't a black widow!!
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
I survived!
I like your priorities... first the election equipment, then the black widow bite!! ;-)
I do not have TWO puncture wounds, alas!
Off to sleep now.
Thanks for the info, though. : )
Data Information Management Systems
. . "Those who cavalierly reject the Theory of Evolution, as not adequately supported by facts, seem quite to forget that their own theory is supported by no facts at all." --Herbert Spencer: Nineteenth-century English social scientist
.......
......
....
$41,934
"Some of them put on their cowboy boots and put their feet up on the desk." -Wes Clark
Hardly an hour passes on teevee or radio talk shows where one pundit or propagandist or provocateur mentions "regime change" as the administration's basis for attacking, invading and/or occupying Iraq. From Air America to Fox and everything in between, there is a consonant background dribble of "regime change": you've probably heard it a thousand times and it is spoken so openly and plainly it just gets glossed over as one talking head or another go on to their preferred "Larger Point".
What is COMPLETELY MISSING is a discussion that this kind of act of aggression is wholly illegal under the UN Charter (see Definition of Aggression, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX) and footnotes). Yet, every day we here "regime change" as a reason for the US being in Iraq (overshadowed by "freedom is on the march", "Spreading Democracy" and such similar propaganda).
For some CAD to chew on, I submit to you:
U.S. Aggression-Time Once Again
The Fourth U.S. "Supreme International Crime" in Seven Years Is Already Underway, With the Support of the Free Press and "International Community"
by Edward S. Herman and David Peterson
@ ZNET
May 16, 2006
With the United States having initiated wars in violation of the UN Charter, and hence engaged in the "supreme international crime,"1 against Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Iraq in 1999, 2001, and 2003, one might have expected that its commencement of a fourth aggression only a few years later against Iran would arouse the UN, EU, other international institutions and NGOs, and even the supposedly moral and independent Free Press, to serious protest and counter-action, including referral to the UN Security Council under Chapter VII's "threat of peace" articles and support of possible diplomatic and economic sanctions. This has not happened, and in fact the Bush administration has successfully mobilized the UN, whose "primary responsibility" is the "maintenance of international peace and security," and the EU, as well as the Free Press, to facilitate its fourth attack.
We say that the fourth aggression is already underway, because once again, as in the Iraq case, the United States has been attacking Iran for many months, and not just with verbal insults and threats. It has been flying unmanned aerial surveillance drones over Iran since 2004; it has infiltrated combat and reconnaissance teams into Iran "to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic minority groups" (Seymour Hersh);2 it has bestowed an ambiguous "protected" status upon the Mujahedin-e Khalq, a group which, since 1997, the U.S. Department of State has designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization, but a group that the Washington regime now uses to launch cross-border attacks on Iran from within U.S.-occupied Iraq;3 and it and its Israeli client have repeatedly threatened larger scale and more open attacks. (much more at link...)
Why are the US media so openly bragging about the admin's "regime change" policy, without nary a whimper about the SHEER MAGNITUDE OF DISREGARD FOR INTERNATIONAL LAW? We all saw the world on its feet before the war in Iraq started, and protests continue today. Where is the international outrage? When will the UN call out the US for its blantant international law-breaking?
Chew on that.
SHERROD BROWN for US Senate
DEWINE MUST GO
could it be because it's too late? Is it already the reign of One World Order and the neocon thugs are in charge? And NOT just the neocon thugs in this country. Look at how the f'ing criminals are taking over everywhere. :(
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
"Nick Nolte is so ugly that his family pictures hang themselves."
Why?
John Elliot just announced his guest for tomorrow night would be someone who could be President of the United States, or who could be Vice-President of the United States, or could be Secretary of Defense (my heart stood still because I knew the name) and it is our own Gen. Wesley Clark who will be a guest on that show tomorrow night (or tonight) Friday. In case you aren't familiar with this show, John Elliot has been substituting for the fired Mike Malloy on Air America. (another topic, have you been discussing???) It comes on from 9-12 PM Central time.
The World Needs Wes
John Elliot just announced his guest for tomorrow night would be someone who could be President of the United States, or who could be Vice-President of the United States, or could be Secretary of Defense (my heart stood still because I knew the name) and it is our own Gen. Wesley Clark who will be a guest on that show tomorrow night (or tonight) Friday. In case you aren't familiar with this show, John Elliot has been substituting for the fired Mike Malloy on Air America. (another topic, have you been discussing???) It comes on from 9-12 PM Central time.
The World Needs Wes
John Elliot just announced his guest for tomorrow night would be someone who could be President of the United States, or who could be Vice-President of the United States, or could be Secretary of Defense (my heart stood still because I knew the name) and it is our own Gen. Wesley Clark who will be a guest on that show tomorrow night (or tonight) Friday. In case you aren't familiar with this show, John Elliot has been substituting for the fired Mike Malloy on Air America. (another topic, have you been discussing???) It comes on from 9-12 PM Central time.
The World Needs Wes
John Elliot just announced that he was having a guest tomorrow night who was qualified to be president of the United States, who was qualified to be Vice-President of the United States, who could be The Secretary of Defense (my heart stood still, I knew the name!)
Of course it was our dear General who will be on his show. In case you don"t know, John Elliot is substituting for the fired Mike Malloy on Air America. (another topic, have you been discussing???) Anyway, it comes on here in central time from 9-12 PM.
The World Needs Wes
I have had much trouble trying to post... then it went down on me and I couldn't get back.
I have had much trouble trying to post... then it went down on me and I couldn't get back.
Worth repeating!
John Elliot just announced that he was having a guest tomorrow night who was qualified to be president of the United States, who was qualified to be Vice-President of the United States, who could be The Secretary of Defense (my heart stood still, I knew the name!)
Of course it was our dear General who will be on his show. In case you don"t know, John Elliot is substituting for the fired Mike Malloy on Air America. (another topic, have you been discussing???) Anyway, it comes on here in central time from 9-12 PM.
"Some of them put on their cowboy boots and put their feet up on the desk." -Wes Clark
I'll catch it. I don't know John Elliot. :) But poor Mike Malloy. :(
I'm afraid to post.... dups all over this thread! LOL!
the posts stacked up in the database. When CCN came back up, they all appeared.
I deleted most of the dupes that had no replies and had not been rated in the interest of reducing the number of comments taking up space since the next 'new' GD thread doesn't start till tomorrow at noon CDT.
There is nothing wrong with your computer. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We can reduce the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to... The Outer Limits
"Some of them put on their cowboy boots and put their feet up on the desk." -Wes Clark
Hope all is well and hiccups go away here. :)
Night night!
It was funny 'cuz when I finally got back in, there were like 35 comments. I thought, wow, like the old CAD!! LOL!! Spoo!
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
Paul Krugman Eviscerates David Brooks
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
Nothing like a good eviscerating, I always say.....especially when it's coming from Krugman. Thanks for posting that link. :)
"COUNTRY before Party!" -- Wes Clark
Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats
--Henry Louis Mencken
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"Those who cavalierly reject the Theory of Evolution, as not adequately supported by facts, seem quite to forget that their own theory is supported by no facts at all."
--Herbert Spencer: Nineteenth-century English social scientist
http://www.911pressfortruth.com/story
The Story
“We felt the country was at risk from terrorists and from incompetence…and maybe worse.” —Lorie Van Auken, September 11th Widow
Following the attacks of September 11th, a small group of grieving families waged a tenacious battle against those who sought to bury the truth about the event—including, to their amazement, President Bush. In ‘9/11 PRESS FOR TRUTH’, six of them, including three of the famous “Jersey Girls”, tell for the first time the powerful story of how they took on the greatest powers in Washington—and won!—compelling an investigation, only to subsequently watch the 9/11 Commission fail in answering most of their questions.
Adapting Paul Thompson’s definitive Complete 9/11 Timeline (published by HarperCollins as ‘The Terror Timeline’), the filmmakers collaborate with documentary veterans Globalvision (‘WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception’, ‘Beyond JFK’) to stitch together rare overlooked news clips, buried stories, and government press conferences, revealing a pattern of official lies, deception and spin. As a result, a very different picture of 9/11 emerges, one that raises new and more pressing questions.
What actions were taken by top government officials who received dozens of specific warnings before the attack? Was Osama Bin Laden and his top al Qaeda leadership allowed to escape U.S. forces in Afghanistan? And what has been the reason for the deliberate obscuring of evidence for state sponsorship? Perhaps the most important one of all: Why, five years later, are so many of the families’ questions still unanswered?
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
While ABC is showing their smear campaign this weekend many CBS stations chose not to air an actual documentary on 9/11. Here in Cedar Rapids, under the control of Sinclair (remember them? Swiftboaters extraordinaire) they say there are SWEAR WORDS in the documentary and therefore they are not going to air it because they could get fined by the FCC.
"Some of them put on their cowboy boots and put their feet up on the desk." -Wes Clark
with the old 1-2 punch this week...
I think we all knew that as the election neared, things would get uglier and uglier. The stakes are much too high for the thugs to lose power and they will stop at nothing. We all need to hold on, keep taking deep breathes, keep writing, calling, and gathering here to refresh.
Congratulations to General Clark and many thanks to Clarkies everywhere for meeting, then exceeding the goal for Taking the Hill!! :D
G'nite all.
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
Thursday's "Fresh Air" with Teri Gross has these interviews:
* A TV Producer's View of FCC Indecency Policy
* FCC's Adelstein Discusses Crackdown
* Attorney Describes Challenge of Indecency Rules
* Interest Group Files Complaint Over Emmy Language
Sinclair is taking the coward's way out! It's pre-recorded so they could easily "bleep out" the alleged "bad" words, CYA and still air the documentary.
SHERROD BROWN for US Senate
DEWINE MUST GO
of 9/11: Press For Truth website...
Kristen Breitweiser
09.06.2006
A Letter to Ann Coulter at HuffPo
Long letter, ending thusly:
Ann, I don't want to get into a debate with you. It's not because I am afraid of you or your nasty bullying tactics. I'm not going to debate you because we have many, many more important issues to deal with in our country right now.
But I will leave you with this: We live in America, the world's oldest democracy. Democracy can prevail (is that what you and your friends really fear?), but that requires hard work, as President Bush might say. Every citizen in this country is entitled to his or her beliefs, and every citizen is entitled to participate. We still have the right to speak our minds to effect change (within the parameters of the law, of course). So don't try to silence the voices of victims or anyone else, merely because you disagree with them or feel threatened by their political choices. In my opinion, your method of using intimidation and insults to "win" a debate is truly unpatriotic.Actually, I expect that you will continue to scream and shout and smear as nastily as you want, so long as you think that that kind of behavior sells books. But we have tackled bigger bullies than you and lived through far worse circumstances than your book tour. We're not intimidated by you. We're not running away.
And under no circumstances will we be silenced by your "godless" rantings and ravings.
Kristen Breitweiser
New York City
June 2006
I heart KB! ;)
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right. - Hunter/Garcia
I caught her appearance on the TODAY Show yesterday morning and was truly impressed. She made Ann Coulter look like the lunatic that she truly is. And she didn't have to become shrill in order to do so. Just a few carefully selected words seemed to do the trick. Actually, she came off sounding rather complimentary toward that snarling beast. What a feat!
Kristin Breitweiser is one fantastic example of a truly patriotic American.
"COUNTRY before Party!" -- Wes Clark
Great ad... take a look.
This is well done & so evocative... there's something here we need to tap into & constantly channel... let me think.... Oh yeah. Defending our Constitution! :) I mean that. With everything spinning apart it's tempting to get transfixed by the sheer spectacle of all the broken pieces flying away...
like this one: Palast, Pascarella Face Homeland Security Charges
snip:
Yes, the rumor’s true. Greg Palast is facing a criminal complaint from the Department of Homeland Security stemming from his filming the Hurricane Katrina investigation for Link TV and Democracy Now. The film’s producer, Matt Pascarella, is also facing the legal wrath of Big Brother.
It appears the complaint is about filming a sensitive national security site owned by Exxon petroleum. It seems that photographing major Bush donors is now a federal offense.
Reached at an undisclosed location, Palast says, “Let’s not get over-excited. They haven’t measured us for our orange suits yet.”
During questioning by Homeland Security, Palast asked, “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be looking for Osama? Or for guys with exploding shoes? … We’re journalists.” At Palast’s request, Homeland Security confirmed that Louisiana is, indeed, still part of the USA but did not respond when asked if the First Amendment applies there.
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/09/senate-democratic-leadership-threatens.html
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Senate Democratic leadership threatens Disney with legal and legislative sanctions
by John in DC - 9/07/2006 06:02:00 PM
This letter was sent today by the entire Democratic leadership of the US Senate. This letter is such a major shot across the bow of Disney, it's not even funny. It is FILLED with veiled threats, both legal and legislative, against Disney. US Senators don't make threats like this, especially the entire Democratic leadership en masse, unless they mean it. Disney is in serious trouble.
Read it, then read my analysis of it below:
September 7, 2006
Mr. Robert A. Iger
President and CEO
The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank CA 91521
Dear Mr. Iger,
We write with serious concerns about the planned upcoming broadcast of The Path to 9/11 mini-series on September 10 and 11. Countless reports from experts on 9/11 who have viewed the program indicate numerous and serious inaccuracies that will undoubtedly serve to misinform the American people about the tragic events surrounding the terrible attacks of that day. Furthermore, the manner in which this program has been developed, funded, and advertised suggests a partisan bent unbecoming of a major company like Disney and a major and well respected news organization like ABC. We therefore urge you to cancel this broadcast to cease Disney’s plans to use it as a teaching tool in schools across America through Scholastic. Presenting such deeply flawed and factually inaccurate misinformation to the American public and to children would be a gross miscarriage of your corporate and civic responsibility to the law, to your shareholders, and to the nation.
The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airwaves in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events.
Disney and ABC claim this program to be based on the 9/11 Commission Report and are using that assertion as part of the promotional campaign for it. The 9/11 Commission is the most respected American authority on the 9/11 attacks, and association with it carries a special responsibility. Indeed, the very events themselves on 9/11, so tragic as they were, demand extreme care by any who attempt to use those events as part of an entertainment or educational program. To quote Steve McPhereson, president of ABC Entertainment, “When you take on the responsibility of telling the story behind such an important event, it is absolutely critical that you get it right.”
Unfortunately, it appears Disney and ABC got it totally wrong.
Despite claims by your network’s representatives that The Path to 9/11 is based on the report of the 9/11 Commission, 9/11 Commissioners themselves, as well as other experts on the issues, disagree.
Richard Ben-Veniste, speaking for himself and fellow 9/11 Commissioners who recently viewed the program, said, “As we were watching, we were trying to think how they could have misinterpreted the 9/11 Commission’s findings the way that they had.” [“9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]
Richard Clarke, the former counter-terrorism czar, and a national security advisor to ABC has described the program as “deeply flawed” and said of the program’s depiction of a Clinton official hanging up on an intelligence agent, “It’s 180 degrees from what happened.” [“9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]
Reports suggest that an FBI agent who worked on 9/11 and served as a consultant to ABC on this program quit halfway through because, “he thought they were making things up.” [MSNBC, September 7, 2006]
Even Thomas Kean, who serves as a paid consultant to the miniseries, has admitted that scenes in the film are fictionalized. [“9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]
That Disney would seek to broadcast an admittedly and proven false recounting of the events of 9/11 raises serious questions about the motivations of its creators and those who approved the deeply flawed program. Finally, that Disney plans to air commercial-free a program that reportedly cost it $40 million to produce serves to add fuel to these concerns.
These concerns are made all the more pressing by the political leaning of and the public statements made by the writer/producer of this miniseries, Mr. Cyrus Nowrasteh, in promoting this miniseries across conservative blogs and talk shows.
Frankly, that ABC and Disney would consider airing a program that could be construed as right-wing political propaganda on such a grave and important event involving the security of our nation is a discredit both to the Disney brand and to the legacy of honesty built at ABC by honorable individuals from David Brinkley to Peter Jennings. Furthermore, that Disney would seek to use Scholastic to promote this misguided programming to American children as a substitute for factual information is a disgrace.
As 9/11 Commission member Jamie Gorelick said, “It is critically important to the safety of our nation that our citizens, and particularly our school children, understand what actually happened and why – so that we can proceed from a common understanding of what went wrong and act with unity to make our country safer.”
Should Disney allow this programming to proceed as planned, the factual record, millions of viewers, countless schoolchildren, and the reputation of Disney as a corporation worthy of the trust of the American people and the United States Congress will be deeply damaged. We urge you, after full consideration of the facts, to uphold your responsibilities as a respected member of American society and as a beneficiary of the free use of the public airwaves to cancel this factually inaccurate and deeply misguided program. We look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Sincerely,
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid
Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin
Senator Debbie Stabenow
Senator Charles Schumer
Senator Byron Dorgan
The Senate Democratic leadership just threatened Disney's broadcast license. Not the use of the word "trustee" at the beginning of the letter and "trust" at the end. This is nothing less than an implicit threat that if Disney tries to meddle in the US elections on behalf of the Republicans, they will pay a very serious price when the Democrats get back in power, or even before.
This raises the stakes incredibly for Disney.
Rose DeWitt Bukster: So this is the ship they say is unsinkable. Cal Hockley: It is unsinkable. God himself couldn't sink this ship. - Titanic ( Action Hero's Handbook )
Sometimes, when we get a bit weary of working to elect a Democratic Senator, we think that with a Republican Majority in the Senate, there is little that a Democratic Senator can do.
But this action in going after Disney's awful doing shows what a few Senators in the Senate Minority Party can do.
Thanks for posting the letter in full, early-b. I had read the nytimes etc. article on it, but I wanted to see the actual letter.
Glad you found it and posted it.
Clearsky
My only problem with this letter that supposedly was sent to Disney is that I do not see a link to the original, or something from Reid and them. Do you know if anyone has gotten some verifing proof of this?
pete's sake Kevin get your reading glass prescription updated LOL
:-) the URL is embedded with the comment but here it is again... I don't mind you being a stickler for sources bravo... I think it is great K......
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/09/senate-democratic-leadership-threatens.html
PS I missed the 5 am broadcast - Anatomy of a violin PBS ... and have been kicking myself all morning as I did further research on enabler- codependent after reading Sidney Blumenthal's article Salon.. great details on Condi enabling George.... inside the beltway narratives......
Rose DeWitt Bukster: So this is the ship they say is unsinkable. Cal Hockley: It is unsinkable. God himself couldn't sink this ship. - Titanic ( Action Hero's Handbook )
I think we're at risk with our democracy.
I think we're dealing with the most closed,
imperialistic, nastiest administration in living memory.
They even put Richard Nixon to shame.
--Wes Clark
It just happened, just now.
You mean we and our visitors won't have to scroll more than halfway down that left column anymore just to read and/or write to each other via the General Discussion ???
Life's little serendipitous events.
:)
thank you, blog administrative team
Clearsky
when traffic reaches a certain point,
So the 4 star blogs category, the rating system and several other components of the site may temporarily disappear as traffic increases.
Right now, I suspect that "There are currently 23 users and 1739 guests online." is the reason.
It is not a permanent change.
The BBC World Service is running a series of special reports today on the US after 9/11. The series in titled "A Very American Witchhunt". The Worldservice is on XM radio, shortwave and is available in most cities. You can check at the Worldservice page for local stations with the Worldservice or listen to portions on line.
Barry
Are you safer today than you were five years ago?©
Clark endorses retired admiral’s run for Congress
By William H. McMichael
Staff writer
Retired Rear Admiral Joseph Sestak Jr. shown in November, 2000. Sestak plans to unseat 10-term Republican Rep. Curt Weldon in Pennsylvania’s 7th District this fall. Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark endorsed Sestak’s candidacy today. — Jud McCrehin / Navy Times
One ex-admiral down, one still in the hunt. So it goes for two retired flag officers who’ve tried their hand at this season’s congressional races.
Retired Navy Reserve Rear Adm. LeRoy Collins Jr. hoped to win the Republican nomination for a Florida U.S. Senate seat, but he garnered only 15 percent of the Tuesday primary vote — a distant third to the winner, Rep. Katherine Harris, favored by 49 percent of participating voters. Only 19.4 percent of eligible voters turned out statewide, according unofficial returns compiled by the Florida Division of Elections.
Retired Rear Adm. Joe Sestak, meanwhile, has attracted a retired four-star general and former presidential candidate’s support in his effort to unseat 10-term Republican Rep. Curt Weldon in Pennsylvania’s 7th District this fall. Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark endorsed Sestak’s candidacy today, writing in a press release that Sestak, a Democrat, “knows first-hand what it takes to keep this country safe. Moreover, he has the vision and know-how to foster economic opportunities for Americans so we can better compete in the world economy.”
http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2088647.php
"Some of them put on their cowboy boots and put their feet up on the desk." -Wes Clark
Pols pound 'Path'
Under fire, ABC mulls yanking mini
http://www.variety.com/VR1117949675.html
"The Path to 9/11" is looking a lot like "The Reagans, Part II."
Bill Clinton loyalists are demanding wholesale changes to the upcoming miniseries -- and while ABC is making some snips, the alterations, insiders say, may not please the Dems.
But a bombshell decision may happen anyway: Sources close to the project say the network, which has been in a media maelstrom over the pic, is mulling the idea of yanking the mini altogether.<snip
Link courtesy kos: Richard Cranium's diary
...fascist is, as fascist does, mr. preznit
Reporter Greg Palast faces Homeland Security charges
by A Peaceful Warrior kos
Writing for Greg's website, Zach Roberts reports that Palast is under criminal investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for filming a site owned by Exxon Mobil for a Hurricane Katrina documentary.
Yes, the rumor's true. Greg Palast is facing a criminal complaint from the Department of Homeland Security stemming from his filming the Hurricane Katrina investigation for Link TV and Democracy Now. The film's producer, Matt Pascarella, is also facing the legal wrath of Big Brother.
It appears the complaint is about filming a sensitive national security site owned by Exxon petroleum. It seems that photographing major Bush donors is now a federal offense.
Reached at an undisclosed location, Palast says, "Let's not get over-excited. They haven't measured us for our orange suits yet."
During questioning by Homeland Security, Palast asked, "Hey, aren't you supposed to be looking for Osama? Or for guys with exploding shoes? ... We're journalists." At Palast's request, Homeland Security confirmed that Louisiana is, indeed, still part of the USA but did not respond when asked if the First Amendment applies there.<snip
I want my country back dammit!
...fascist is, as fascist does, mr. preznit
Cripes! I'm sending Syb's post out to everyone. People need to know.
And what is it that Exxon is trying to hide?
"His face just started to turn red," said Tyler, now 13 and in seventh grade. "I thought, personally, he had to go to the bathroom."
For a puzzling seven minutes, the youngsters read aloud from the story "The Pet Goat" while the shaken president followed along in front of the class, trying to come to grips with what he had been told — that a second plane had just hit the World Trade Center and the nation was under terrorist attack.
"He looked like he was going to cry," said Natalia Jones-Pinkney, now 12.