this blog is a secret message bloggy

this is a test of the emergency broadblogger system this is only a test

WHY WHY WHY HOW??

ALL TEN COUNTS "NOT GUILTY " RIGHT DOWN THE LIST? is this happening... whats going on here.... i need to think more on this... i'll get back to ya... i need to discuss this with my editor and chief

Well I like this site better than new one

Well SEOhhh so bad of a site stinks. I do not know why Hether left this one and went to SEO so bad. . I will blog here if she choses to copy to that site fine. This works for me and has only one step instead of three or four monkey steps. Heather you know I love and respect you. I love your brains,you have great blogs. I give you many manhy way too many e-mails daily when I am around. Sorry about that. But I think they are good stories. It is your job to look at them and be the producer. I will be around next week,yet be at my North Carolina home. Who knows how that will go. I speak with you frequently,on Instant Mess. Tuesday night I understand I am being changed over to another Dsl provider we will se what that mess shows up to be then. So I can blog on SEo fine but the format I think stinks. This is a much better site. It is easy and works. What is SEO a Korean site?? sounds it.. Heather I have done much business and have made some good coin, trust me stop dancing around all the time.stick with one spot .So it's not perfect yet it looked great to me. Stop trying to be ohh so perfect in these sites. You had here penmanship sigs and pictures now what do you have in SEo? JUNK.......... I will continue behind the scene ,just give me an e-mail. Or meet me in a dark parking garage(lol)... Or send the creator of SEO to that dark garage I will gladly beat something into him that moron. Until then see ya .BE good Shctick and Heather... I am out like a fat kid playing dodgeball...

Who wins the race to buy Washington Nationals????

Will it be George I am not an American Soros or Collin Powell group??? So will it be the Sallie May guys or the Soros group?? Humm I cannot stand that Hungarian loser Soros,sorry.He crossed me in a deal once. I am backing the Malek-Jeffery -Zients group personally. I always heard Larry King was in the push to get a team there so I bet his name comes up soon. Price Tag for the team is 400 million with a new stadium in the works worth 535 million... Humm I smell a congressional rip off......... Heather Yanks swept by pathetic Royals...lol... Phillies won........

Social Security price indexing proposal means benefit cuts for workers

Much has been made of the recent Social Security proposal put forth by Robert Pozen, a member of Bush’s President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security, and endorsed by President Bush. Pozen’s suggested changes to Social Security include blending the current wage indexing of benefits with price indexing, a shift that will reduce Social Security benefits for middle-income workers by 22% in 2055 and by 28% in 2085. Indeed, the Pozen proposal will lead to substantial and ever increasing benefit cuts for well over 70% of Social Security beneficiaries, including retirees, widows, and surviving children.

Earlier projections discussing implications of the effects of Pozen’s proposal concern only workers who are either very young or not yet born. As a result, the cost of price indexing for current workers has been missing from the debate. These new estimates focus on current workers and, while remaining consistent with the proposal’s long-run projections, show substantial benefits cuts under the Pozen plan for them as well. These expanded numbers also include estimates for each state for different ages and national estimates for race, gender, and marital status.

Wage indexing versus price indexing

The Pozen proposal cuts projected Social Security benefits by taking advantage of the fact that average wages have grown (and will continue to grow) faster than prices. Because the gap between wages and prices grows over time, the benefit cuts under the Pozen plan deepen over time. Thus, the cuts for those currently employed will not be as large as for those not yet old enough to be employed.

The cuts in benefits for current American workers should be put in the context of other changes in sources of retirement income. Retirement Income: The Crucial Role of Social Security, a recent Economic Policy Institute study by Christian Weller and Edward Wolff, highlighted the declining share of Americans with access to traditional retirement accounts and the dramatic growth of Social Security as a share of middle-class retirement wealth. For instance, for those ages 47 to 55, Weller and Wolff show that about 26% of workers have neither a defined benefit nor a defined contribution pension plan. And, for workers in that age group, the mean value of their private pension plans was less than the wealth they held in Social Security benefits. In that context, the cuts from the Pozen plan would be devastating.¹

The tables below use data on workers gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau on annual income for the three most recent years of data (2001 to 2003). By creating such a large sample of current American workers, we can project the loss of Social Security retirement benefits that specific groups of current workers can expect to receive (see the Technical Appendix for a full explanation of the data and methods). The tables present the proposal’s effects for workers currently married and the expected benefit cuts by state, race, gender, and age.

Under the Pozen proposal, about 6% of workers who earn enough to get the maximum Social Security benefit will have their future benefits calculated using pure price indexing (currently those earning more than $90,000 a year would receive the maximum benefit). The benefit cuts are largest for these workers with the highest earnings. Roughly the bottom 30% of earners—but, importantly, not the bottom 30% of Social Security beneficiaries—will have their benefits calculated using the current method of wage indexing. And the remaining workers—the roughly 64% of those between the bottom and the top of the earning scale—will have their benefits cut, with those at the lower end facing smaller cuts than those at the higher end.

Pozen plan will slash benefits for many current workers

According to testimony by the director of the Congressional Budget Office on May 25 , the Social Security trust fund should be able to pay full benefits another 39 years, through 2044.² Thus, under the current Social Security framework, workers now in their early 40s should receive full benefits in retirement for their expected lifetimes. Anyone older than that would unambiguously suffer from a cut in benefits if Congress passes Social Security reform with the Pozen proposal for indexing benefits.

But while older workers will be hit with reductions in benefits under the Pozen plan, younger workers will take the biggest cuts in benefits. As shown in Table 1, the average cut for today’s 26-year-old workers will be 14.6% compared to current law, and will amount to a reduction in retirement income over their expected retired lives of $71,236 in today’s dollars. Today’s 40-year-old workers will suffer a cut of 7.3%, amounting to a cut of $28,148 in benefits in today’s dollars. Given that under current law, and with current projections, Social Security should be sufficiently solvent to pay full current law benefits, these are substantial and unnecessary cuts.

It is important that policy makers approach any cuts in benefits to current workers with caution. In 1997, the Social Security Trustees reported that the projected 75-year shortfall in Social Security’s finances were equivalent to 2.23% of taxable payroll for the United States. Yet, no changes were made in the program. Over the last eight years, the shortfall estimated by the Trustees’ report has narrowed by 14% to 1.92% of payroll, mostly because the economy performed better than predicted.³ So, if cuts in benefits had been implemented to eliminate the shortfall projected by the Social Security trustees in 1997, those cuts would have been far deeper than necessary, based on what we know about the projections made today.

Marital status and gender under the Pozen plan

Because men have been earning more than women, men will face a greater cut in benefits than women. Young men ages 26-31 can expect cuts in benefits of 13.8%, amounting to a drop in expected retirement income over their lives of $62,686 in today’s dollars (see Table 2). It will be difficult for these men to earn back enough by retirement to offset a cut that large, even with the most generous assumptions about how private accounts might perform.

Married couples will take a bigger cut in benefits than single workers. This is primarily because married men tend to earn more than single men or women. Wives are allowed to claim either their own benefit, based on their work record, or half their husband’s benefit, based on his work record. So, some women who appear to be low wage, actually will take a larger benefit cut. For married couples age 42-54, the cut will be 3.9% each, and will average a cut of $14,373 each in retirement income (as shown in Table 3). Against the backdrop that Social Security would be able to pay these benefits in full, that is a large cut. And, watching the private pension plans of Enron, United, and others vaporize in the wake of the stock markets downturn, those cuts will be difficult to make up from other resources before these workers retire.

Social Security cuts by state

Examining the Pozen proposal through the lens of its impact on individual states yields further evidence of the proposal’s negative effect on Social Security benefits. As Table 3 showed, married couples take a bigger cut than singles. And, as the logic of the Pozen plan protects the bottom third of earners, states with more low earners will have lower cuts than states with more high earners. Part of the reason that some states have deeper cuts than others comes from differences in marriage rates, as well as in incomes.

Projected cuts for states reflect average income for workers, and the share of workers in each state who are married (see Table 4). Among states, current workers in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Delaware will take the greatest loss in Social Security income, though Virginia and Pennsylvania also rank high.

Racial differences in benefit cuts

Again, because the Pozen plan cuts benefits more for workers who make more, racial differences in the size of cuts will depend on racial differences in income. Racial differences in cuts reflect the higher earnings of whites and Asian Americans than of Hispanics and African Americans (Table 5). Despite a smaller cut for African Americans and Hispanics—an average of 2.8% for 42- to 54-year-olds compared to 3.8% for whites and 3.7% for Asian Americans in that age group—the greater share of African Americans and Hispanics who rely solely on Social Security for their retirement income will make these cuts appear larger relative to their total retirement income. (The amount of lost retirement income is projected to be slightly higher for African Americans because a higher share of African Americans are women than is true for Hispanics, and women have longer life expectancies than men.) It bears repeating that the Pozen plan would impose cuts on 42-54 year olds even though projections show that Social Security will have sufficient funds to pay full benefits throughout the expected life of this age group.

Given the certainty that the current work force will face benefit cuts under the Pozen plan, a careful analysis must be made of the impact of those cuts. For instance, 42-to 54-year-olds will face smaller cuts than younger workers, but their cuts are not the direct outcome of Social Security projections showing insufficient funds to cover their benefits. And, cuts for 42- to 54-year-olds will take place when many have been surprised by the sudden drop in their private pension plans and have little time to recover the losses in retirement income that will stem from private plans or cuts in Social Security. Using cuts to balance the Social Security Trustees projections must be weighed carefully in light of the fluctuations in the Trustees’ projections over time. Had cuts been made in 1997 to close the 75-year actuarial shortfall projected at that time, they would have been deeper than what would be required to close that shortfall today.

Research assistance by William E. Spriggs and David Ratner is gratefully acknowledged. Credit for this article goes to Economic Policy Institute Reasearch and Ideas for Working People Thank you!
P.S. I felt the need to post this article on my blog site to help people to understand and underscore the importance of social security and how the Bush Admin. is undermining social security and hurting americans! WAKE UP AMERICA!
Heather

Love letter to Condi [Funny stuff!] Click Here

This is sooooooooo funny!!!!

Another "Bush"in the Whitehouse bushes umm wings????

Well last night on the Larry Zieger Show ,sorry Larry King(his real name is Zieger),George Bush 41 (the father) said he wants Jeb to run. He claims he would be great at it. Well if you think back when asked before GHWB 41 said if two boys ran who would you think would win??He said then Jeb. Today Jeb brushes it off with a laugh and said no I am not running for President. Anyone else notice he never says no I will not be on the ticket as a Vice President???? Humm I see Jeb as a possible VP short list if his silly brother can drag himself out of the fog . Or maybe dump Darth Vader Cheney(who I like) and sign up Jeb as VP now..lol.... Great case of nepotism ,my fault I live in New Joisey were that pay to play brotherly family stuff is common.....

Airline stupidity or a sneaky way to find out your personal credit

Well my mother flew back to Florida yesterday. She flew Spirit air out of Atlantic City(sorry mom I was using my GV SP jet) she had to fly public transportation yuck.....Well to buy a drink on the plane(my mother doesn't drink but lady in other seat did) this is where I think it's strange..You can no longer pay for a drink in cash on Spirit Air,you have to use a credit card or debit card. Wow a bunch of four dollar charges at user fees on your card now. Plus imagine the way this slows down service. The Flight attendant has to swip a card at every seat. Now what is happening to the card reciepts and is there anyway for information to be stolen here????? Or is this a sneaky way the government is trying to find out about people who pay cash at the counter?? I smell a story here and just wonder is all..BTW on my plane ,drinks are free..... But I guess at a 2 mill lease a year I pay for them huh.Plus you can smoke on a private jet... I like Spirit it is an ok airline but,something is strange here I think it has to be a bank kickback for the surcharge fees or big brother is poking his nose in the back door once again.

Laura Bush Presidential Timber? Don't Make Me Laugh!

Op-Ed By Heather

Laura Bush, Desperate Housewife
First Lady Laura Bush stole the show at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner a few weeks back with a surprise comedy routine in which she ripped President Bush and admitted to being a "desperate housewife."

Grabbing the microphone from her husband, the first lady brought the crowd of political heavyweights and Hollywood celebrities to its feet as she let loose a series of one-liners that included digs at her mother-in-law, tales of going to a male strip club, and a colorful allusion to the time George, um, gave a hand-job to a horse, which i found truely insulting, but seemed to pass or perverted humor.

Why do I bring this up? Well it seems the Media, and leaks, perhaps from the whitehouse itself, or the RNC are leaking trial balloons about Laura Bush as a presidential candidate these days and the above prologue is her resumé for the presidency, yes no need to have fiscal training and knowledge, budgeting, knowledge of world events, world history, or even knowledge of world leaders, heck her husbund doesn't either!
On the contrary all you need to be experienced in, is knowledge of timing in delivering one liners on television, charm, a vehicle and the ability to run someone over during your college years, raising two bratty ill mannered daughters that are a belt away from AA and had brushes with the law, and absolutely no knowledge of the military or military training and presto instant presidential candidate for 2008.

Does my bantering sound silly? Yes! You bet it does, about as silly as Laura Bush being a presidential candidate for 2008.

If you want a female candidate try to act serious with a grain of intelligence i know its hard for you right wing extremist neocons but ummmmm duhhhhhhhhh come on thats it scratch your balding heads thats it i see your bulb coming up with an idea that makes sense a little harder now....there you goooooooo yes thats it duhhhhhhh Liddy Dole hey I knew you guys on the right could do it, actually I can think of a few others "Condi" Rice, Olympia Snowe, you may propse an polemic debate over their politics but at least they have a legit political resumé to run on.

Laura Bush may consider herself a "Desperate Housewife" but if she were president we certainly would be a "Desperate Nation".

In ending please spare me any rhetoric replies assumming i am in support of a "Hillary Clinton" nomination and run for the presidency, if you did you would be assumming WRONG! all other intelligent replies to my post would be greatly appreciated. I'm out

Trump/Koreans New York City

Well they are going to sell a big slice of NYC away for 1.8 billion dollars. I knew this but kept my mouth shut sorry Heather yet I have backchanneled hinted this to you a few months ago. DJTE is a stock I can't trust money wise yet I like his practices of telling them like it is.

FEC to take on blogs

WEll move on .org has met it;s match. So have others. It appears the FEC has decided to take on a fundraising issue with blogs. You cannot take money (Soros you scumbag loser) and get a free ride on the internet anylonger. Heather your site is OK if you do not take money for it. I love this law because I have wanted to take out a few sites myself legally(unlike the way I do it now) HEHE....

Katie Couric Proof she is a B@#$%

Well the tapes will be leaked soon here. I have heard them from lets say someone I trust. The truth behind the firing of Tom Touche. Katie pled I knew nothing and had nothing to do with it.Yeah sure you runt hampster looking liberal skank. I heard the cell tape and you are going down(well thats not new I guess for her). She had Tom fired. He was called into an office of his seniors at NBC and was fired. OK no biggie. Well Katie the sly little Whoric she is calls him on his cell phone right after he gets back to his office and says hey Tom I have a Pope story for you. He says wow sounds like a good story ,too bad I cannot help you I was just fired. Her responce??? "what ,that wasn't supposed to happen until friday" That line tells you she ordered it and knew about it. Note to Katie you slutt, never talk on cell phones moron. I speak on cells myself yet I try to keep it short and sweet. You got the Short part but no sweet you 68 million dollar B#$%^

Deep throat Monica Crowley

Well please they have her out tonight as a "Nixon Aid". Come on now. She worked for him from 1990 until 1994. She was not an insider,she worked with him in his last years. She is and probably kept around for eye candy for Tricky Dick Nixon. Hey I can't blame him there in her day I bet she was a piece of tail. In my opinion she was on his later year staff to get a TV job and write a book(which she did) and has recieved that TV job as well. She was on the Nixon staff in his last years to be a piece of "fluff"for the old guy so he could play some grabazz with a young good looking woman. She in my opinion is like an umbrella in a Daqurari ,nice to look at but does nothing for the buzz................. BTW I think Nixon even though before my time was probably onbe of the best we ever have had and the scumbad media caused this...

Hackworth Funeral

Well I attended it today,it was quite a scene.Six hundred plus people in attendance. A few Generals were there ,Emerson,Moore and Falcoln all in attendance. Media scuzzballs wre also there I guess to pay homage for the leaks they got from him. Cathy Crier was there,Cavuto,and G.Gordon Liddy who is all in another TV mess tonight were also there. I flew in and flew out today because I have to attend another azz kissin function the next two days. I will miss a good family friend in Dave and hope all of what he did to bring light to solidiers plights does not go in vain. Godspeed Dave...............

Please Take A Moment To Remember Col. David Hackworth... A True 'Soldier's Soldier'

This nation has lost quite possibly the bravest soldier to ever wear a uniform. Col. David Hackworth not only displayed the heart of a lion in battle, but continued his brave ways long after leaving the Army. He was an outspoken critic of senseless abuses of power on the part of politicians, while remaining a most ardent defender of those who were charged with executing their orders. "Hack" as he was known, succumbed to the ravages of cancer on May 4. Those who were fortunate enough to serve under him and those of us who simply admired his bravery and insight, will never forget him.

Col. David Hackworth was born on Armistice Day in 1930. He became an orphan before the age of one. The only thing he wanted to do was become a soldier. At the tender age of 14, he convinced a stranger to pose as his father and escort him into a recruiting center, where the two lied about his age. In 1944, Hackworth was sailing with the U.S. Merchant Marine in the Pacific. When he turned 15, he joined the U.S. Army and his incredible career began.

Col. Hackworth served in Europe during World War II, the Korean war, and Vietnam. During the Korean War, he received a battlefield commission and before war's end became the youngest captain in the U.S. Army. While serving in Vietnam, Hackworth became the youngest full-bird colonel in that war.

While in Vietnam, Col. Hackworth led a rescue mission to extract several of his own men. The soldiers were pinned down by enemy fire and would have undoubtedly faced death. Hackworth stood on the strut of his helicopter and personally pulled the men to safety, all the while facing heavy NVA fire. The men who he saved that day recommended him for a Congressional Medal of Honor (one of three submissions).

In 1971, Col. Hackworth appeared on the ABC network show "Issues and Answers." In his typical fashion, 'Hack' pulled no punches. He proclaimed to the nation: "Vietnam is a bad war...it can't be won. We need to get out." He went on to predict that the city of Saigon would fall to the communist forces of North Vietnam within the next four years. The colonel had earned the right to say anything he pleased and his prediction was right on the money.

Of course, Hackworth's honesty and candor angered President Nixon and his band of 'yes men' which comprised the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Due to Hackworth's incredible military service, unquestionable character, and overwhelming heroism--neither the President nor the Pentagon could mount a legitimate defense to the colonel's claims. However, following his appearance on "Issues and Answers," he retired from the Army and left the country for Australia.

While in Australia, Hackworth worked tirelessly against nuclear proliferation and for his efforts received the United Nation's Medal for Peace. He returned to the U.S. in the 1980's.

Hackworth was constantly sought out for his great insight on military issues. He became a correspondent and analyst for Newsweek as well as CNN.

As a journalist, 'Hack' was just as outspoken as he had been while in uniform. While giving a speech on his experiences covering the first Gulf War, the retired colonel said: "I didn't see any Japanese soldiers. I didn't see any German soldiers." He complained that American young men were fighting and dying for oil that was "fueling their economy, fueling their industry that's ripping our chops!"

Hackworth was the author of seven books and thousands of hard-hitting articles. For his reporting skills, he earned the prestigious George Washington Honor Medal.

Hackworth wrote a regular column for World Net Daily entitled "Defending America." The column was devoted to exposing wasteful military spending, useless politicians and top military brass, and the lack of military preparedness.

Hackworth described the "battle cry" of his column to be: "No more Vietnams. No more Somalias. No more Koreas. No more fights that see unprepared forces flung onto foreign battlefields to be chewed up like hamburger in a lion's den."

The colonel was also the founder of Soldiers For The Truth. SFTT is a veterans organization which fights for the rights of our men and women in uniform. One of the important causes on which that group is still battling our government is the recognition of Vietnam veterans who are suffering from the affects of Agent Blue. While the Pentagon finally admitted the dangers to which so many soldiers were subjected by the use of Agent Orange--exposure to Agent Blue while just as dangerous, remains officially unrecognized.

Col. Hackworth himself was exposed to Agent Blue in Vietnam and died of bladder cancer. Many Vietnam veterans are suffering from the same form of cancer due to their exposure to the deadly chemical.

Col. David Hackworth was twice awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, as well as ten Silver Stars, eight Purple Hearts, eight Bronze Stars, and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Of all the medals and accolades Hackworth received, he said that he was most proud of his Combat Infantry Badge.

Hackworth's dedication, toughness, and his soldier's heart distinguished him as one of America's greatest heroes. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

To Col. David Hackworth: Thank you for your fierce loyalty and determination. We will never forget you. Nor are we likely to ever see the likes of you again sir!...Godspeed. At Ease Bloggers

Deep Throat Insanity

By Heather Op-ed
Well with so many other more exigent agendas on hand, it seems as though the media has made up its mind the issue of the day perhaps the next several days will be the cogency of "deep throat a.k.a. W. Mark Felt.
Well this does not provide any consternation to me, seeing how the media has a liberal bias tilt to it combined that there was no love loss between the media and president Nixon, so for a while the media will revel in its glory.
Now as for the wacko extremist left in this country calling mr Felt a hero, ie. Chris Matthews, Tom Brokaw etc I find this totally insane, this man was gutless, dishonest, and disloyal to a president, if this no. 2 man at the FBI and he had evidence he should have called in the grand jury and gone public, not as some slimey shadowy figure feeding intell to two second rate rookie journalists at the Post,
doing what he did came seriously close to being criminal...a hero? lol I think not!
Unfortunately this nation does not know what a hero is, its certainly not a person that hides in the shadows swears two reporters to a vow of silence, allows himself to be nicknamed after a trash porn film and is disloyal to a president, he had two choices if he had problems with President Nixon he could have went public and or resign. IF YOU IDIOTS WANT A REAL HERO, TRY COL. HACKWORTH he contributed far more to this country then Mr. Felt and he did not hide in the shadows!
Also its fact that both although Woodward more so than Bernstein has always had credibility problems.
The timing of this is interesting he is rumored to be in ill health and frail and its also intersting that the daughter was encouraging him at his frail age and perhaps not all that mentally sharp to go public, lol do i detect financial motives here? lol or is it just my fertle creative mind at work, well we will see if my feminine intuition proves me correct, time will tell, speaking of time at 7.00 pm and again at 9.00 pm I suppose i will torture myself and watch MSNBC and dare i say the name Chris Matthews and his extremist idiotic babling about Mr. Felt being a hero I suppose my repreieve will be Pat Buchanan, my guess is he will be the only honest one there and a breath of fresh air, oh well i'm out.

New York Times Breaking News Click Here

By Heather
The New York Times & ABC News is reporting that W. Mark Felt assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation may be the infamous "Deep Throat according to family atty. and vanity fair article. Lots of twists and turns here, niether Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward or Ben Bradlee have comfirmed this as of this posting stay tuned

Politics & Crime

By Heather
Political potpourri:

* In Tennessee, the FBI has just completed a sting operation that netted one big fish -- Republican Sen. John Ford, who is just one member of the powerful Tennessee family who has made it in politics.

It never ceases to amaze me how people vote for a name, or a political party, and never consider what the person stands for. For example, Ford has been successfully sued for sexual harassment, lost paternity suits, gave a political job to his girlfriend and was fined for using $15,000 in campaign contributions to pay for his daughter's wedding.

He also is under investigation for receiving $429,000 over two years from a consultant who has ties to the state's Medicaid program. In the latest incident he allegedly took $55,000 to help a fake company get a contract with the state. "You are talking to the guy who makes the deals," he told FBI undercover agents.

How do these people keep getting re-elected? Ford's next deal may be one to stay out of prison, if all this is true.

* Closer to home, in Miami, federal agents seized a 750-pound shipment of cocaine hidden in fake plantains. The fake fruit was hidden among real plantains being shipped from Ecuador.

The fiberglass fakes were filled with drugs and placed among 1,080 boxes of fruit in a refrigerated container. The coke has a wholesale value of $6.1 million.

I don't think the Central American Free Trade Act we are considering says anything about cocaine.

* Have you heard Gov. Jeb Bush may be altering his party's policy on redistricting? At least that's what Democrats are saying after Jeb helped California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to finance a campaign to create an independent redistricting panel in the state that gives us Hollywood, earthquakes and "The O.C."

If Jeb likes the idea in California, surely he'll come back and pitch the same proposal for Florida. Then maybe we wouldn't have a representative who has to make a two-to-three-hour drive from his east coast home to Charlotte County to meet with the other 10 percent or so of his constituents!

Speeders Rewarded with new law.

By Heather
Tallahassee - Gov. Bush vetoed legislation that would have required drivers to move over to the right when other cars are trying to get by them in the left lane. He said the proposed law would have punished people driving at the speed limit who don't yield to speeders...geeeeeeeee Jeb now tell me? who really drives at the limit????, sorry Jeb but vetoing the legislation was a good idea.
I'm sorry but this Lady is putting her high heel pumps to the metal, sorry but I have little time or patience for slowpokes no one, absolutely no one goes 55 mph on I-95 and that includes little 85 year old granny types with their walkers, lol.
Perhaps you would be better advised having the local law enforcement taking brush up courses on thir driving....as they seem to be the worst drivers breaking all sorts of traffic rules in non-emergency situations, now there's a thought!

Congress Passes Compromise Budget Agreement with Medicaid Cuts

The House and Senate have passed a budget resolution for FY2006, setting the stage for $35 billion in entitlement cuts through 2010 and $106 billion in tax cuts. The resolution includes instructions for $10 billion in cuts over the next five years from the Medicaid program. The agreement represents a compromise between the House, which initially passed much larger cuts, and the Senate, which had voted to strip all cuts to the Medicaid program from its version. The budget agreement also calls for the establishment of a federal advisory panel to come up with Medicaid reform measures by September of this year.
I strongly oppose any cuts to the Medicaid program as the budget agreement was negotiated. Please urge Congress to protect Medicaid. While the final resolution does contain instructions for cuts, we should continue to advocate for the most vulnerable of our nation's poorest populations by preserving funding for the Medicaid and other safety net programs. Thanks to those of you who sent letters, and helped to stave off even larger cuts to this vital program for the most vulnerable in our nation.
Although the budget resolution is nonbinding, it is important because it provides a blueprint that lawmakers can use to pass specific tax and spending legislation later in the year. For instance, the resolution assumes $106 billion in tax cuts over the next five years, and explicitly directs Congress to enact legislation providing for $70 billion of those cuts.

On Memorial Day.

Even though this guy did not die in battle a great American hero has checked out of the motel of life. Colonel Hackworth has died. I sent Heather a brief bio on his life. This guy was a great American hero. I will be ta Arlington Tuesday for his full military funeral. I have lost one of my contacts inside. This guy took on all sides he did not like the boot polishers at the Pentegon(often rubbed them the wrong way)yet he always had his boys at heart. I do not know if Hackworth.com is still up as a site but if it is check it out a true military guy who called them like it was. Yes the site is still up and I ask you all to read up on this guy. hackworth.com Wow a great tribute and security for this tuesdays is very high,which tells you there will be some big heavys at the funeral tommorrow. No he did not die in battle. He could take the bullets and the blood and the bombs,the big "C" got him and he died in a clinic in Tiajuanan Mexioco trying any cure I guess. Hey Agent Orange caused it and it was one of his causes. Well Thank you Colonel David Hackworth. BTW Heather Joe Scraborough mentioned him one of the only TV people to have done it.Yet the print media in certain "in the know"papers have mentioned his passing.

Senate games distract from legitimate Problems

By Heather
Neither the far right nor the far left claimed full victory after a group of U.S. senators reached a compromise last week on the use of filibusters.

The agreement, brokered by seven Republicans and seven Democrats, opened the way for up-and-down votes on some of President Bush's stalled judicial nominations.

That would seem like a good thing for those who want more conservatives on the nation's court benches, and a bad thing for liberals.
But the deal also protected the right of Democrats to engage in future filibusters - a technique the minority party uses to block matters from coming to a full vote in the Senate.

So really, really conservative people say the Republican senators betrayed them by letting Democrats have the upper hand.
And really, really liberal people say the Democrats caved in way too easily, opening the door for a bunch of right-wing judges.

Of course, we all know the truth: You won't hear much pontificating about the filibuster deal in the shopping mall, at the local tavern, in workplaces, at sporting events, in laundromats, at Churches or anywhere else where most normal people go about their daily business.

Are we just ignorant and apathetic if we have a hard time caring about this issue?
Maybe so, when it comes to ignorance and apathy toward political machinations in Washington that have no clear link to how we will pay the bills, enjoy more time with our friends and relatives, get or stay healthy, raise our children or do our jobs well.

People shouldn't have to feel guilty for failing to gnash their teeth and bite their fingernails over filibusters and federal appellate court judicial nominees.

Instead, our U.S. senators should feel guilty for focusing so much of their time and energy on the politics of our judges and way too little on serving Americans' real needs.

Somebody has to do something bold in the nation's capital to address the growing disparity between health care costs and what most of us can afford to pay.
We need politicians to get serious and act quickly on a developing energy crisis. They need to get down to business on Social Security reform, protection of the air, land and water, border security and other issues that actually pose a direct threat to the quality of our lives.

That's not to say it's completely irrelevant whether federal courts are loaded with liberals or with conservatives, but the truth is that the vast majority of these judges' decisions have at best an indirect correlation to most people's lives.

It's also true that filibusters are important because they prevent the majority party (Republicans, in this case) from rendering the minority completely meaningless.
But to the regular Joe or Jane, it makes sense that Republicans will set the agenda for the Senate because voters as a whole gave them more seats of power.

What makes less sense is the obsession with power and with winning the political games in Washington.

If Americans could have an up-or-down vote today on whether Congress and the president should quit the games and address our real and pressing needs, you can bet there would be no filibusters among voters.

I just came across this cute cartoon and thought i'd share it.

I just came across this cute cartoon and thought i'd share it.

Muscleman Arnold Politics as usual

I wasn't aware that the cost of living in Sacramento is so high that it warrants giving members of the state Legislature a tax-free per diem of over $50,000 a year. The legislators have accepted a 12 percent pay raise that makes their salary well over $100,000 a year, plus a juicy, bloated pension.

Obviously it was the Legislature that voted all this in, not the taxpayers. Weren't these members of the Legislature the same clowns who were whining not too long ago about public employees' high salaries and pensions being a major cause of the state's financial problems?

Once again, their actions prove that "politician" is just another word for hypocrite, isn't that right Arnold??? No wonder your approval rating is down in dahhhh Callie-furn-neeee-uhhhhh

Memo

Just a reminder to staff and visitors please don't ignore the right side of the blog where my poll is, I appreciate your vote, after all this nation is based on democracy, take advantage of it and please excercise your right to vote, thank you...much appreciated.

"Internet Voting Isn't Safe"

The e-voting saga continues.

Four computer scientists say in a new report that a federally funded online absentee voting system scheduled to debut in less than two weeks "has security vulnerabilities that could jeopardize voter privacy and allow votes to be altered". They say the risks associated with Internet voting cannot be eliminated and urge that the system be shut down.

The report's authors are computer scientists David Wagner, Avi Rubin and David Jefferson from the University of California, Berkeley; The Johns Hopkins University and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, respectively, and Barbara Simons, a computer scientist and leading technology policy consultant. They are members of the Security Peer Review Group, an advisory group formed by the Federal Voting Assistance Program to evaluate a system called SERVE, set up to allow overseas Americans to vote in their home districts. The first tryout is scheduled Feb. 3 for South Carolina's presidential primary.

The four say that "Internet voting presents far too many opportunities for hackers or even terrorists to interfere with fair and accurate voting, potentially in ways impossible to detect. Such tampering could alter election results, particularly in close contests." They "recommend shutting down the development of SERVE and not attempting anything like it in the future until both the Internet and the world's home computer infrastructure have been fundamentally redesigned, or some other unforeseen security breakthroughs appear."

The authors of the report state that there is no way to plug the security vulnerabilities inherent in the SERVE online voting design. "The flaws are unsolvable because they are fundamental to the architecture of the Internet," says Wagner, assistant professor of computer science at UC Berkeley. "Using a voting system based upon the Internet poses a serious and unacceptable risk for election fraud. It is simply not secure enough for something as serious as the election of a government official."

In short, the guys are saying the Internet is just not up to handling something like voting. But they also see the way the SERVE program carries the same flaws as the Diebold and other commercial electronic voting systems that have gotten such bad press in recent weeks (some of the four authors have been in the forefront of exposing those weaknesses). "The SERVE system has all of the problems that electronic touchscreen voting systems have: secret software, no protection against insider fraud and lack of voter verifiability," says Jefferson. "But it also has a host of additional security vulnerabilities associated with the PC and the Internet, including denial-of-service attacks, automated vote buying and selling, spoofing attacks and virus attacks."

After studying the prototype system the four researchers said it would be too easy for a hacker, located anywhere in the world, to disrupt an election or influence its outcome by employing any of several common types of attacks familiar to regular readers:

A denial-of-service attack, which would delay or prevent a voter from casting a ballot through the SERVE Web site.
A "Man in the Middle" or "spoofing" attack, in which a hacker would insert a phony Web page between the voter and the authentic server to prevent the vote from being counted or to alter the voter's choice. What is particularly problematic, the authors say, is that victims of "spoofing" may never know that their votes were not counted.
Use of a virus or other malicious software on the voter's computer to allow an outside party to monitor or modify a voter's choices. The malicious software might then erase itself and never be detected.

Bolton the truth behind the documents wanted.

Well here it is for the ones who do not know what these documnets the Democrats want are all about. Well two senators as I have said before have seen all the documents,Rockefeller and Roberts. They have seen these disputed documents concerning Bolton. The same ones Biden and others have cried about not seeing. Guess why? Well these documents contain an illegal practice. It is not really a bad thing though. It has to do with the NSA and Mr. Hayden. The NSA is not allowed to gather intercepts from American citizens inside this country.(Well they are allowed to do it but they cannot publish it,and they are supposed to black out what they find out). I guesss this blog will become one of them,Global waves hi to MR Mike Hayden. Apparently Bolton demanded some of these supposed to be "blacked out" reports from the NSA. So is all a big deal? The No Such Agency listens to everything its called "white noise" but they are supposed to drop all stuff that they get from legit citizens of the USA. I wish they went through it all. This is what is so damaging to Bolton? Please,the democrats just want a panty waist to go to the UN instead of somebody who tells the UN oil for food freeloaders to go pay your parking tickets to NYC(28 million and counting) and stuff it. I say knock the whole Un into the east river Bolton not just the top ten floors. BTW I like Kofin Annan(most inside the know like him as well) but he has lost control there and needs to step down. BTW I hear Newsweek will probably get this article in their June 6th edition. Be a shame if my side intentionally leaked another story huh?????? Nite Heather Yanks are losing.....

Open Memorial Day Wishes From Our Staff, Shlick, Global Myself To All Vet's and Families

Memorial Day is for us to offer tribute and honor the heroes who laid down their lives to preserve our freedom. If you know someone whose friend/ family member has performed this ultimate act of heroism, wish him/ her with a special message on Memorial Day. Memorial Day on our blog site. Memorial Day is also an event when we can gather with friends and family and reach out with our sincere prayers & warm wishes

I came across the following poem and decided to post it:

A soldier is a nobody, we hear lots of people say.
He is the outcast of the world and always in the way.

We admit there are bad ones from the Army to the Marines,
but the majority you will find, the most worthy ever seen.

Most people condemn the soldier when he stops to take a drink or two,
but does a soldier condemn you, when you stop to take a few.

Now don't scorn the soldier but clasp him by the hand,
for the uniform he wears means protection to our land.

The goverment picks its soldier from the million far and wide,
so please place him as your equal good buddies side by side.

When a soldier goes to battle you cheer him on the way,
you say he is a hero when in the ground he lay.

But the hardest battle of the soldier is in the time of peace,
when all mock and scorn him and treat him like a beast.

With these few lines we close sir, we hope we don't offend
but when you meet a soldier just treat him like a friend.

---Author: The youngest survivor of the Bataan Death March.
At Ease.

Vietnam & Biased Left Wing Media

By Heather
First I would like to wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day, secondly, I wish to thank the everyday unknown veteran of all wars, but especially those of Vietnam who came home to a corrupted ungrateful nation at the time, because of a left wing media that had a warped incorrect view of what the vietnam war was all about, and shamelessly promoting a left wing agenda, I am here to say that it was a just war despite the left wing media's revisionoist coverage of that war. The problem was that policy for the war by beaureucratic politicians was incorrect, but the war was just, necessary, and needed our intervention once President Eisenhower yes him not Kennedy, committed us. My personal acessment is that initially the United States was not ready or had on conception or training early on of what a guerilla warfare was all about, the United States also underestimated the resolve of the North Viet Cong who referred to the war as...Chien Tranh Chong My Cuu Nuoc, which literally means "War Against the Americans to Save the Nation".
===Kennedy and South Vietnam===
The Kennedy administration efforts to contain North Vietnam occurred simultaneously with an effort to modernize the regime of the South. Kennedy strongly believed that if South Vietnam was a stable and democratic country, it would largely discredit the North and its Communist rhetoric. Aid to the South was often made on the condition that the government would undertake certain political reforms. Soon, US Government advisors were playing a prominent role in every level of South Vietnam's government. South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem had little time for these reforms, and was quite uncooperative. He would often go through the motions of these US-prescribed reforms, but in very superficial ways that ended up quite embarrassing for the US. For example, when he ran for election, only one opposition candidate was allowed, and there were widespread allegations of vote-rigging. Diem did not believe that US ideas of democracy were applicable to his government, since the country was still so young and unstable. Kennedy was accused of being overly naive and utopian in his belief that US values could be instantly imported into any country, no matter what their culture or history.

Eventually, the Kennedy administration grew increasingly frustrated with Diem. In an embarrassing incident that was widely reported in the US press, Diem's forces launched a violent crackdown on Buddhist monks. Since Vietnam was a predominantly Buddhist nation while Diem and much of the ruling structure of South Vietnam was Roman Catholic, this action was viewed as further proof that Diem was completely out of touch with his people. US messages were sent to South Vietnamese generals encouraging them to act against Diem's excesses. Though there is some debate as to whether or not this was Kennedy's intention, the South Vietnamese military interpreted these messages as a call to arms, and staged a violent ''coup d'état'', overthrowing and killing Diem on November 1, 1963.

Far from uniting the country under new leadership, the death of Diem made the South even more unstable. The new military rulers were very inexperienced in political matters, and were unable to provide the strong central authority of Diem's rule. Coups and counter-coups plagued the country, which in turn served as a great inspiration to the efforts of the North.

Three weeks after Diem's death, Kennedy himself was assassinated, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was suddenly thrust into the war's leadership role. Newly sworn-in President Johnson confirmed on November 24, 1963 that the United States intended to continue supporting South Vietnam militarily and economically.

I could continue to go on about my personal accessment and opinion and chronology about the war but thats not my point here, however I want to shed(pronounced [mi lie]) light on one important issue here and thats concerning The My Lai massacre.
The press got it wrong it was erronously reported as massacre by American soldiers of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians, mostly women and children, on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War. Becoming a symbol of US-American war crimes in Vietnam, it prompted widespread outrage around the world and reduced public support for the war in the United States. What was wrong about it was the cover up but the actual massacre was needed and in my personal study and research of it Lt. Calley was made a scapegoat for this, it was also reported that his unit engaged in rape of civillians this is simply not true! Did the Lt. turn a machine gun on a ditch full of villagers? perhaps but bear in mind that these so called civillians were not as innocent as the media would lead you to believe, there are many detailed accurate accounts of many U.S. soldiers brutally killed and tortured at the hand of these so called "inocent civillians" which the liberal anti war media ignored or chose not to investigate. There are cases of young teenage female civillians that were bribed by the VC in some cases family members being held hostage, well these so called female innocents would, and i'll try not to be to graphic here, would hide a weapon called a "sai" like a knife between their legs, and approach an isolated soldier and await an oppurtunity to literally pull out the knife and "shank" the soldier once dead, would continue to sever the head of the soldier, bring it to the VC and receive a months rations of food for their families being held hostage by the VC, the VC would take the severed heads and strategically place these severed heads along "the ho chih minh trail to decrease the moral of the American soldier, of course this was never reported by the left wing leaning, anti war media.
Another scenario is the out and out betrayal by the so called inocent civillians that gave away our troop positions to the enemy, which in some instances led to entire platoons being wiped out by the guerilla tactics of the VC, of course this also wasn't reported by the media. there are many other secnarios that I won't mention. I'm not saying this is a justification of what Lt. Calley did, but one can understand the mindset that may have precipated the event, and just perhaps many or even some of those "civillians" weren't so inocent, we may never know the full truth.
In any event I reserve my tears, my love, my respect for the american veterans first and foremost

Memorial Day, Thanks to our fallen soldiers and others.

Lets not forget why we have a three and four day holiday here(9 days if you are in congress). We as free Americans get this free break becuase men and women some who will never be known (CIA,NSA,and other black ops types) gave their lives to protect our way of life. They allow you and I to be on here typing and being able to cry and moan over trivial issues like a stupid senate vote or what poll numbers mean. These guys and gals do not make policy they follow orders,plain and simple. I know many of these fine people some used to work for me. Many of the guys I had working at my old company were in Somolia where 18 lives were lost that October day(thanx Clinton). Well do not take anything out on the troops for the most part simply thank them and remember people everyday give their lives for our way of freedom.

Thank You Dad....

Yankees Batter Bosox!

Well well well...say hey now, "Bronx Bombers" are back!
Yes, those "Bronx Bombers" that were written off earlier this year off a poor start, now winners of 16 of their last 18 ballgames thanks to good pitching and timely hitting. Rookie hitting sensation Robinson Cano hit a two run home run and gunned down Jerimiah Johnson ooops...pardon me, I meant to say Johnny Damon (I keep getting those two mixed up) at home plate with an excellent throw to Jorge Posada after bobbling a ground ball. Then in the bottom of the sixth inning, Sheffield...A.K.A. "The Iron Sheff" whose tiebreaking, three-run drive wound up in the first row of the rarely reached left-field upper deck, put the icing on the cake giving the Yankees all the runs they needed as they went on to beat the blow-hard bosox 6-3

how do they get away with this???

DAN ABRAMS: And if he is acquitted, and I know we've touched on this before, but I assume that would you say to him, "Michael, you can't ever have a child sleep in your bed again," right?
REV. JESSE JACKSON: Oh, yes. I think that some of what he has done is just on the edge. It is high risk. And now me and his family is very acutely aware of what has happened. And I that this type risky behavior will never happen again. It shouldn't have happened in the first place, but certainly it will never happen again.
'The Abrams Report' airs weeknights, 6 p.m. ET on MSNBC
Can they really do this... its like giving michael Jackson his say on the stand.. without him facing the jury...... sneaky sneaky

More Local New Jersey Corruption Exposed (who cares)

Well in a town two doors south of where I live it happens again. BTW my town actually pays for this school district beacuse they bus kids to my town for classes. So I guess my taxpayer money applies here .(still trying to avoid taxes ) (heck maybe I will get a Los Angeles jury on tax fraud,lol).. A disturbance at a local school here had turmoil last tuesday( I was in Worthlinton D.C when this happened) but it is good. A uprising and fear at a school. There is a 911 call to local emergency operators during the school day. OK so kids are in distress? NO. But there is a teacher in distress because a parent came into the school and went "verbally nuts" So the teacher has a panic attack. It causes her to hyper venilate(sic). and she has the school administrator dial 911 for assistance. OK no biggie. Now here is where it gets good. The crazy parent is ranting a raving about his kid (autistic BTW) for mistreatmeant. Humm OK. I understand this ,I have an autistic, cousin myself. I understand a parent protecting his or her child there if mistreated. Yet this is not the core of the story. So does 911 dispatch an ambulance? Well, NO. First thing they do is call the Cheif of Police. Well gues who the ranting parent was? ???? No other than the Cheif of Police himself... Thats who... Humm they called his cellphone and the emergency responce was called off. That is wrong soo wrong.What if this nut Cheif was shooting kids and went off his rocker? But the local 911 gives first call to him he said nahh don't send anyone I will take care of it. My point really is two -fold, First of all most local cops no matter where you live are below moron below GED level jerks with chips on their shoulders. I understand big city cops get no pay don't get me wrong. But the local morons in small towns suck up waaaaayyy to much taxpayer money. Please thirty five thousand dollars to start ,and they have forty mispelled words in a report of a jaywalking case please. They could not get a job at a freggin Texaco (because they would have to make change) yet they are the judge and jury of who is arrested. This happens all over do not fool yourself. The other point I have is where is the democrat teachers union who allows these dopes and their union to get these morons these big paychecks on an issue like this? Well they certainly are not ever going to stick up for a teacher who(BTW was told to vote for a canidate) . They will never take up for the teacher . They will take up for the moron cops. Why because they make good TV come election time.Funny part is the union will use the teachers to elect the same canidates . Where are these union officials? ARe they there for the people they represent and control their pensions? No they are off raising money and supporting a canidate for Govenor and telling those teachers how they must vote.

Hillary aid aquitted.

Well David Rosen beat the rap. Yes this guy who was accused of raising many many of hundreds of millions of dollars for Ms.Hillary was aquitted of illegal campain funding. My problemwith this is...Well It happened in Los Angles Caleeefooorniiaaaa. This is a problem on both sides of the political spectrum. Why should canidates be allowed to raise funds for a senate or congressional seat in a place three thousand miles away from their home state (wherever that is Hiltlery) ?? This party included Cher,Melissa Ethridge(lesbian), Toni Braxton (has declared bancruptcy yet gets to give $$ to Hillary) Diana Ross(nut case drug addict) and the Pitts or now ex pitts Brad and Jenn fake abortion loving Anniston. Well my point is a democrat or any name of almost any high profile case in Hollywood will never be convicted by a jury in that town. Jackson ,Micheal is in Santa Barbra which is white and rich old money . Heck you could have had video tape of this guy taking a huge briefcase of cash and he could have confessed to the Pope in court he would still have been aquitted. Well heck come to think of it they had a video tape in Rodney(I am a loser King of morons case against cops there) and they were still aquitted. ... Heck in Los Angles you could admit to whacking Hoffa (tell them were the body is buried and still be aquitted). Heck you could have kidnapped the Lindbergh baby on NBC and be aquitted... My point though in general is why do we allow our politicans to raise funds outside their own states.Why does Hollywood have any say in a New York Senate race..???????????????????

Did Jello fire Bill Cosby?

i never see Bill on those Jello commercials... I wonder what happend

Left Wing Law

By Heather
Well well well. the ugly no class hollywood left has crawled out from under its rock, this time its fangs were aimed at Tom Delay, and while I am no fan of Tom Delay I do agree with him on some issues, and I see an injustice here.

U.S. House of Representative Majority Leader Tom DeLay accused NBC on Thursday of slurring his name by including an unflattering reference to him on the NBC police drama "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."
DeLay's name surfaced on Wednesday night on the show's season finale, which centered on the fictional slayings of two judges by suspected right-wing extremists.

In the episode, police are frustrated by a lack of clues, leading one officer to quip, "Maybe we should put out an APB (all-points-bulletin) for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-shirt."
In a letter to NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker, DeLay wrote: "This manipulation of my name and trivialization of the sensitive issue of judicial security represents a reckless disregard for the suffering initiated by recent tragedies and a great disservice to public discourse."
The Texas Republican went on to suggest the "slur" against him was intended as a jab at comments he had made about "the need for Congress to closely monitor the federal judiciary."

Now I have a huge problem with this, because its no longer entertainment but political, its NBC, and the producers, writers etc. trying to influence public opinion and policy in sort of a modified form of stealth, and yes they definately slandered Rep. Tom Delay's name.
Clearly this was done deliberately, with subtle malice and contempt for Mr. Delay.

I find what NBC/ Law & Order did, a form of cowardice, it took absolutely no courage to do what they did, and even less intellect, it was literally, as far as I am concerned an act of juvenile behavior, grade school name calling, with no basis in reality, since in real life thats not a comment real NYC police detectives would make.
I propose that if the network and the producers had any real courage and moxie they might have done the following:

1. Call Brian Lamb of C-span

2. Call Mr. Delay's office

3. Arrange for a forum to be televised by C-span

4. Have the persons involved engage in a polemic discussion and debate their differences on policy issues

5. Now I chose C-span because of nuetrality but I suppose any network would have sufficed


There are many other creative scenarios that are in my mind about this, but the above proposal is the proper intelligent nuetral way to handle this, but deep down, I know this kind of behavior is asking far too much of the hollyweird left.
Anyway Mr.Delay no fears, as far as I am concerned being trashed by the hollywood left is a badge of honor, wear it proudly!

Of Thanks and Blogs

By Heather
I get a kick out of your replies because they are not really replies but actual blogs with their own agenda, lol, but i appreciate them just the same thank you Global

Jeter's Great Catch helps Yanks Roll

The Yankees continued to roll wednesday night, Derek Jeter makes a great catch in seventh inning colliding with teamate Robinson Cano. Once again Jeter shows his class coming off of an injury to his forearm only days before. Yankeees went on to win over Detroit 4-2

Bolton Confirmation S.S. Titanic?

By Heather At this posting i like my chances better in three card monte than Bolton's chances of being confirmed by congress, it seems like some "hawk" dems Lieberman and Feinstein, that were for Johm Bolton seem to be defecting also some key republicans Voinavich, Thune because of base closing in his district my pardon the expression but "bolt" lol from his party against Bolton's confirmation. Dont say Heather hasn't told you so when in an earlier blog i mentioned risks and implications the military base closings would have politically, now the chickens have come home to roost, seems like the base closings came to bite Bush in the backside at least as Sen. Thune is concerned at this posting anyway more to come later.

Heather

Have we lost our American spirit?

30 years ago Bush would never even come close to be considered for President.. this country has lost its fighting spirit and is just taking whats dished out... what the hell is going on ? Our freedom is trickling slowly too slowly maybe too gradually out of our hands.... thats why its more tolerable i suppose... but i know we are aware of it.. but people are too afraid to stand up and get on a soap box.. because people like us tend to have accidents... and disappear. Its sick i tell ya its just sick. Why cant it be like the Charles Ingalls days.. where life was hard but simple at the same time.. i mean... yes it was hard work but.. dont you see.. its hard work that creates the Integrity it strengthens the spirit ... it puts the fight back in. Life is too easy... maybe .. its just too easy... things are too easy to obtain.. and things are just handed out. ..such a sick sick sick thing

Accessing victimology in the Michael Jackson trial

By Heather
Well well well, seems like it did not take long for extremist liberalism to rear it's ugly head in the Michael Jackson trial, victimology 101.

It seems like everyone from lawyers to police to legal panelists on cable all news channels to news anchors and correspondents have adapted this victimology approach to this young accuser in the Michael Jackson trial.
If I hear the statement "you have to be careful how you handle him because he has cancer" i will go batty.
Excuse me and please correct me if I am wrong here but barring mental instability, a disease of the month does not absolve someone of responsibility, while my heart goes out to the child because of his physical affliction it does not allow him to be exonerated from legal and criminal responsibilites.
If Mr. Mesereau believes that the "jackson accuser" engaged in any fraudulent activities then he is bound by his profession, loyalty to his client (Michael Jackson in this case) and as an officer to the court, to examine or cross examine the witness thoroughly to the best of his ability, and yes this can be handled diplomatically, yet tempered with firmness.
I for one am sick and tired of kumbiyah sit by the campfire liberal phychotherapy pyschobabble nonsense of whining bedwetting liberials that want to be apologists for every issue from genisis to the present.
Wake up liberals duhhhhhh take off your tie dye shirts your beads, headbands, peace signs, wake up (tap tap on the head) here is an interesting concept for you its called "personal responsibility" i'm sure you are familiar with this concept at least the 60's hippie radicals generation are, you know the idiots that dropped out tuned out and turned on, you guys that rebelled against your parents, church, dressing neatly, shoes school, and you embraced idiot things like drugs, beads, torn jeans, being filthy, beards, dirty bare feet, incense, nutty cults, abnormal sex thinking the world owed you a living, living off the land driving in a v.w. bus, your phoney bogus protest against the war, only because it was an "establishment war" and you guys wanted to rebel against anything the "establishment" stood for.
Your sick degradation of vietnam vets calling our servicemen cradle killers and worse. treating them like dirt when they returned to the USA, yes I know you liberals, spoiled brats all of you took advantage of the WWII generation parents part of it was not your fault Dr "Idiot" Benjamin Spock can take his fair share of the blame with his idiot liberal approach to raising children, well it turns out the great liberal pyschiatrist turned out to be a failure as a parent, geeeeee why am I not suprised at this! Oh well pardon me while i graciously step off my soapbox

My Humble Thanks

By Heather...Wow what a pleasant suprise to see posts from others besides my own! I love it and i am truely grateful to have such intelligent well thought out creative posts, thank you Shlicktaco and Global i give you both 's for effort and and great insight especially the New Jesery post Global, that was so thourough and perceptive I enjoyed it very much.

Shlick, i loved your sharp wit and humor in your post you really know how to turn a phrase well! LOL! Visions of "Dirty Harry" came to mind as I read the post, lol.

Thank you both so much I am truely Blessed

Heather

FIFTH AMENDMENT ABUSE

this system is sooooooooooooooooooo backwards... i mean.. if im gunna get a gun.. do you think i m gonna register it?... lol.. we know what happens to folks that register their guns.. this tells the government exactly who has guns ... so they can at any time confinscate it at their desire... I think not........... then on the other hand if i decide not to register my gun so i can rightfully protect my family... then i am a criminal......... damned if i do damned if i dont...... what an organization.. .. And then we wonder why the cops carry an extra peice with em .. conceiled AND UNREGISTERED.. now gee i wonder why........I'll tell ya why.... because of allllllllllllllllll the stupid red tape all the laws and motions they will have to go through after accidently killing A CRIMINAL not holding his or her weapon at the time blah blah you all know the drill ya know what im talkin about.... .... if you decide to defend your property or protect your family and "accidently shoot the aggressor in the heart at your front porch, ya better make damn sure ya drag his ass inside yer house after the fact.:.
see what we have to do as citizens... what a sick system.. this is.. LOL

NBC news

Neal Shapiro is out at the top job in news there. Well I guess the lefties are unhappy with their blantant left wing tv show Today and its bogus obviously left leaning hosts numbers sinking. What does that tell you about "real"America? It tells those media slime that there is life beyond Wash DC,NYC ,Boston and California Hollywood. That is what it tells them and they are finally I think maybe starting to get a hint on this. Yet I see Tim Robbins giving his "expertise on war " tonight on TV.LOL .......

Oompah Loompa for President???

I believe that we need to have an oompah loompa for president. Bush just cant seem to perform adequately enough.. He is a sorry example of a president.. and goes against every rule and qualification for being a president.. perhaps a midget can do better

This is a new post to Heather's Blogsite

this is a new post on Heathers Bloggette ... Wow This is great! I hope to make many posts here in the future, thank you Heather for your ivitation!

New Jersey explained

Well this could take some time. There are many things wrong with my home state.Corruption trials that reach into the national spotlight,Drug company greed in Trenton,and well, a bunch of losers for politicians. My county Cape May probably one of the smallest and the most southern ,give 13.2 billion a year in tourism money tax dollars alone to the state. Still adding up the other taxes we donate to pay for the crackhead welfare morons in Newark and Union City. Yet because they breed like coackroaches up there they have all the voting say(if they are not in a crack induced comma on election day that is). Two of our four last governors are not elected by the people ,Defranseco (took over for Whitman) and Cody(took over for Mcgreevy(we will get back to him later) were not even elected by the people as they were Lt Govenors and we do not elect them here it is an appointed job. The senate here is a joke,The democrats,cheated in 2002,they had a guy Torecelli(currently dating Senator Maria Cantwell) of course he has dated Bianca Jagger and Patricia Duff too,but all those Stolen Rolexes he got bought off with and Free Italian suits he stole maybe it's easy to get some "arm candy" So in 2002 this democrat is behind by 19 points in the polls for his re-election well what does he do three weeks from election day? Well he has then Govenor Mcgreedy McGreevey(still more on him to come later),appoint a guy in Frank Lautenburg to fill in for him in the election. Well my thing here is disgust,the voters had no say,the primary was long gone by then and the general election was three weeks out ,how is that fair to the republican,who geared his whole campain to Torecelli,and could not compete against Lousenburg? After all Louse em Burg was a popular guy and a former senator who retired because he was too old.But five years later I guess he found the fountain of middle age. Shady there yes.(BTW Torecelli was at dinner the other night,Gallileo in DC with gal pal,and Lautenburg walked in and just gave him a real dirty look) may be something to that too. Now off to our former fruit govenor,in the name of James MCgreedy,this is a guy who promised the teachers union in New Joisey(NJEA) everything under the sun to get elected . BTW you cannot win a election in NJ without this union they are a true power. His first order of business in office after election? Well he turned around and screwed the teachers union with their pants on. Now lets move on to his personal life. He is a closet gay the whole time(we in the know here actually knew this ) we kept our mouths quiet though till it was time to strike. (More on that later too we blew it,not him it). He broke his leg on the beach in CApe May beach in his first year in office while on a beach walk. Well I hear and so have others who do not have the guts as I do to tell this story. He claims he and his wife were walking on the beach at the time and they told the State Police security detail to back off and give them room. Well it was not his wife. It was Golan Chapel and Isreali citizen who two years later turns out to be his gay lover. I hear the State Police detail that day were actually laughing at him because he treated him so nasty. Where is the proof in this,you ask? Well if his wife was with him on that beach, why did it take her four hours to get to the hospital? Back to this Golan Chapel thing,this Isreali citizen was nominated by MCgreevey to become New Jersey head of Homeland SEcurity department,wow an non citizen (who is BTW currently hiding in Isreal) to protect the Homeland security of a US state. Thata was the tipping point for us in the right there. Once we learned this we leaked our secrets about him. Now we did this well in advance of an election where we knew he would have to step down. What does he do ? Does he do the right thing with seven months before an election? No instead of an immediate step down he waits until after the 2004 election to step down that way a non elected LT Govenor gets a free job (he /Codey is a democrat BTW) . Now lets get to the corruption part well this could take 1000 blogs to tell it is so deep but I will try to make it quick because I want to get back to Codey. Here goes the corruption, in Philadelphia right across the border there is a huge corruption FBI investigation ongoing(concerns a democrat black mayor BTW) some people have been convicted already. But they jist of that is that a banker(Vernon Hill(afriend of mine BTW) owns a bank called Commerce Bank. Well it happens he is one of the largest democratic supporters. All his people are involved in these trials(pay to play types stuff). Now it turns out this has crossed to NJ, a state politician named George Norcross has been indicted too and all the same players are involved here too. Heck Kelly Rippas father (who is a dem and a NJ pol) has had his name come up as well,so has Al sharpton on FBI audio tapes. Now what happens is a very long story,but it has terror and drug dealer and money laundering ties as well.Some church got money and that money went to a Osama fund. Back to now current govenor Codey now,this guy who seems to be making some ok steps but as Heather pointed out ,he also has backed some losers bills too. He now wants to take out smoking in public places. Well here is a noble idea give the vote to the people there is plenty of time for the 2006 election. Heck clown you were not elected by the people so what makes you think you should set your policies? Note to Codey your next pal.

Conservatives Make Filibuster Vote a 2008 Litmus Test

By Heather
While the Senate's showdown over the filibuster has many important implications -- from the interpretation of civil rights laws to ultimate makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court -- it's weighing heavily on some key Republicans who also have an eye on the White House in 2008.

Writing in Roll Call, Mark Preston notes that for "individual Senators with presidential aspirations, such as Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE), this week will determine whether social conservatives embrace or shun their expected candidacies."

Along those lines, David Yepsen notes that a "powerful group" of Iowa Republicans sent a letter to "potential presidential candidates" last week telling them that "any GOP senator with presidential aspirations who doesn't support ending judicial filibusters will face consequences in the 2008 caucuses."

Meanwhile, since Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is not a favorite of social conservatives, it's no wonder the 2008 White House prospect is part of the "muddling middle" attempting to broker a deal to avert a crisis.

Heather

Huckabee Tells Friend He's Running for President

By Heather
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) "really is going to run for president, a person close to him told me matter-of-factly at an accidental lunch meeting the other day," writes John Brummett of the Arkansas News Bureau.



"The essence of a Huckabee candidacy would be compelling biography, convenient geography and a philosophical straddle linking social conservatives who'd like his pulpit background and less strident conservatives who'd like his moderation." Hat tip: Blue State Republican.

Heather

ok i got it

gee i hope this worked

Former Democratic Chairman Switches Sides

By Heather
Former North Carolina Democratic Party chairman Lawrence Davis "has switched his affiliation to the Republican Party, saying his personal position on issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion differed from those of Democrats," the AP reports. Bravo & Kudos Mr Davis I admire your convictions and I totally agree

Heather

Deal Averts Filibuster Showdown

By Heather
"Senators from both parties reached a compromise Monday night to avoid a showdown on President Bush’s stalled judicial nominees and the Senate’s own filibuster rules," MSNBC reports.

Said Sen. John McCain: "We have reached an agreement... to pull the institution back from a precipice."

The AP notes that under the agreement, Democrats "would pledge not to filibuster any of Bush's future appeals court or Supreme Court nominees except in 'extraordinary circumstances.'"

Interestingly, the Washington Post notes the group of Senators said the Senate leadership "had signaled it would go along with the compromise."

Instant analysis: McCain is the big winner; Sen. Bill Frist is the loser.

Heather

Pirro May Challenge Clinton

By Heather
Under "heavy pressure" to run against Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in 2006, Westchester district attorney Jeanine Pirro (R) said "that she would not seek re-election this fall but would instead enter the United States Senate race or another statewide contest next year," the New York Times reports.

"Such a half step toward an announcement is unusual, but Ms. Pirro, a Republican, apparently calculated it to be in her interest after weeks of pleas from party leaders in Albany, New York City and Washington who are eager to mold her as a new Republican star in advance of the 2006 races."

The Journal News notes the biggest liability for Republicans: "Pirro carries the baggage of being married to a real-estate lawyer and lobbyist who served time in federal prison for tax fraud. It's a particular liability upstate, where she is not well known."
Heather

Fifth Amendment Abuse Proposed in New Jersey

By Heather
Some things just make me go bonkers this is one of them!
Yes Viginia there is a Santa Claus but there is also a dark side idiot democrats that sponsor idiot bills that need be fillabustered along with the sponsor that should be ballgagged and placed into political exile charged with political doltry.

It looks like the commissars of the People's Republic of New Jersey aren't content with simply working to suppress the Second Amendment rights of their subjects, they want to attack their Fifth Amendment rights also.


A New Jersey state assemblyman has introduced a bill that would allow the government to seize the home or car of anyone whose property contains an illegal firearm.

The legislation, sponsored by Assemblyman Louis Manzo, D-Jersey City, authorizes the forfeiture of "motor vehicle, building or premise" if a firearm is found in it that is not possessed legally per state law – "even if the firearm was not possessed by the owner of the motor vehicle, building or premise," states a summary of the bill, A3998.


Interesting, isn't it? This mirrors the legislation which allows for seizure of property in drug raids...a law I always thought had good intentions but was overly broad. I think it is reasonable that if you can prove the illegal item/act was a significant factor in the acquisition of said property then, by all means, it makes sense to confiscate the property as part of the crime. These sort of laws goes way, way beyond that sort of justification and are a flagrant violation of the Fifth Amendment protection against "private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."


"We currently allow this to take place when illegal drugs are found. This is to keep a landlord or someone driving the car from turning a blind eye to the drugs people in an apartment or passenger in the car is doing," he said. "I think if a landlord knows there is an illegal gun in the house, he or she should do something about it. And this may encourage someone driving a car to keep a person from carrying a gun."

And just how the hell is a landlord supposed to know what is and is not an illegal weapon? I know more about firearms than the vast majority of people and I would have to personally handle, research and possibly even fire a weapon to know if it was illegal. There are tons of weapons that look like illegal weapons which aren't, there are semi-autos which look exactly like machineguns and how would you have any clue if a pistol was illegal? Granted, I'm not all that familiar with New Jersey firearms law and it could well be draconian enough that almost EVERYTHING is illegal...but is it even remotely reasonable to demand that a landlord or average citizen should be expected to have such knowledge at the risk of their hard-earned property?

Once again lawmakers, rather than punish those who willfully break the law or provide law enforcement with the manpower and funds to increase their presence, look for ways to appear concerned and produce results. This law does little more than make criminals out of bystanders and allows the state of New Jersey to steal their property for it's own benefit. If you can establish complicity and direct benefit from someone's actions, then they should be charged with aiding and abetting and dealt with accordingly - this law simply eliminates the need to prove any connection between the illegal act and the person(s) being punished for the act. The passage of this law would be a travesty of justice and one can hope that it never sees the light of day....Gov. Corzie ya listening?

Ban Frenzy Reaches New Heights in the UK

By HeatherThe other day I came across an interesting news clip on MSNBC...that just begged for comment...They banned guns, they banned knives - now a shopping center in England has banned yet another item which it claims presents a threat to it's shoppers...the dreaded and menacing hooded sweatshirt. No, I'm not kidding...


"I think it's marvelous," Bluewater shopper Jill Hopper said of the initiative this week.

"It's such a pleasant atmosphere here; you don't want a whole group of hoodies coming around - it's great they're taking these kids on," the 46-year-old said.


Isn't it amazing that this dimbulb, just like most of the anti-gun crowd, is simply thrilled that someone has made a merely superficial change by banning an item which is merely symbolic of the problem...and done so while doing absolutely nothing to combat that actual problem of violence and gang mentality which causes the problem in the first place.

Really, why not just ban people who have arms from entering the shopping center...arms can be very menacing, especially when they have hands at the end.

In reality, the biggest problem cited with "hoodies" is that wearers can use them to conceal their faces from surveillance cameras (the UK leads the world with over 4 million closed circuit cameras in use) and they actually have targeted almost all headwear except when it is part of "religious attire".

At the end of the article though the author, probably unwittingly, cites the REAL problem which needs to be confronted if they really wish to combat the youth violence issue.


Many "antisocials" are under 18 and know they can't be prosecuted as harshly as adults. And, while the combination of loud music, graffiti, brawling, drunkenness, and petty theft have serious affects on communities, few single crimes carry heavy punishments.

Wow. Actually punish criminals. That would never work, now would it?
Heather!

SNL "Hardball" Comedy Skit on Newsweek

SNL has turned Chris Matthews into a popular parody sketch.
VideoThe new skit is about the Newsweek story and has the usual characters. Here's a question. Are these skits turning Matthews into a farcical character now and undermining his chances to be viewed as a serious Talk show host for NBC? Case in point. Its no secret that Matthews has always had his eye on subbing for Tim Russert on MTP though I can't remember a time when Russert has missed a show. I know many people have problems with him on both sides of the aisle and don't take him seriously already, but there is a majority of people who don't dissect these shows like we do.Enjoy the video...p.s. I also put a link for this funny video SNL "Divertor" Fun House Skit View video here

Robert Smigel brings to light what we already have figured out. While important issues are hitting our country like the economy, deficits, etc... The Divertor is called into action to keep our eye off the ball
...I'm Outta Here...Heather---

Failure of Intelligence: Pakistan

As anyone following the Newsweek Koran/Quran flushing story knows by now, the Pentagon didn't have anything to say about it for ten days after the article was published, until people started dying in Afghan demonstrations. Apparently, the Muslim world reads American weeklies more closely than the US government does.

The New York Times article Tuesday contains this little bit of between-the-lines reporting showing just how out-of-touch (or duplicitious) the American intelligence services are:


The outcry over the Newsweek article apparently began in Pakistan, when Imran Khan, the legendary cricketer turned opposition politician, summoned reporters to a press conference on May 6 to draw attention to it. Once close to the Pakistani president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and a onetime crusader against corruption, Mr. Khan has been vocal in recent years against United States strikes in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"Islam is under attack in the name of the war on terror," Mr. Khan, now one of General Musharraf's most stalwart critics, told reporters. He pressed the Musharraf regime to demand an apology from Washington.

For the next several days, the report dominated the front pages of English and Urdu-language newspapers in Pakistan and became the center of debate in the Pakistan Parliament. Predictably, a coalition of Islamist parties seized on the Newsweek report to accuse General Musharraf's government of colluding with the West against Islam. But the criticism was not limited to the religious right. Legislators from across the political spectrum denounced the reported desecration, and by Friday, May 13, Parliament had passed a unanimous resolution condemning it.


So for a week — beginning the day after the much-touted capture of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, the latest #3 al-Qaeda guy — this was an issue in Pakistan, one of our allies in the War on Terror. It was a big enough issue that it made it to a resolution in their Parliament. Wouldn't that have been an ideal time for the administration to deny that the incident had happened instead of waiting for the situation to get worse? Is anyone paying attention to what's going on over there?
Scott McClellan, Larry DiRita, and the rest of the crowd pretending this is Newsweek's fault should be asked why the administration or Pentagon didn't address this issue when it became a news story in Pakistan. If they claim they didn't know it was an issue, people should consider how it's possible that something could be in the news over there for a week and make it onto the floor of the Pakistani Parliament without someone in the Bush administration knowing about it. Then again, if you can't get the information from someone by desecrating their religious practices, I suppose it's not real information. I'm Outta here, Heather

Lead-Balloon Approval Ratings

NBC News/Wall Street Journal: 47 Percent

Pew Research Center: 43 Percent

Time Magazine: 46 Percent

CNN/USA Today/Gallup: 48 Percent

Associated Press/Ipsos: 47 Percent

FOX News/Opinion Dynamics: 47 Percent

ABC News/Washington Post: 47 Percent

Zogby International: 46 Percent

CBS News: 44 Percent

Harris: 44 Percent
This gives him an average approval rating of 45.9 percent for these 10 polls. Good grief, even Fox News couldn't make their results look better.

Among political operatives, an approval rating of over 70 percent is cause for celebration, 60 to 70 percent means you're doing OK and 50 to 60 percent means your stock is falling with the American people. Less than 50 percent means that Americans generally wish you were doing something else for a living. Yeah, this guy's got some mandate, doesn't he? The Bush implosion LOL I'm Sooo Outta Here! Heather!---

Reply to Mr. Anonymous

Well Mr. Anonymous:
No1 I am not nor have i ever been a Dean supporter so how he relates to my prior post in relation to your most recent comment, I do not know since CAFTA came to be long after he departed as governor. I am specifically talking about CAFTA and how detramental it will be to our nation, yet you choose to go own about about a socialist senator, I fail to see the point your trying to make, is it that any politician that does not go on the CAFTA bandwagon with Bush is a 'socialist' and a 'nut'?
No 2 as for your comment..."Stop just going on the Bush is wrong all the time thing is all." sorry but that i will always do, perhaps Mr. Anonymous maybe you should follow what you preach and stop going on about move on .org, lol anyway I will take the second part of your advice about "core issues" I will follow up about many flawed Bush polices!Perhaps Mr. Anonymous you may have been better served in supplying an answer to my question... 'What ever happened to the "states rights" Republicans?'in relation to the subject of my Local Restrictions Fuel CAFTA Revolt post. I do want to thank you though, Mr. Anonymous for all your posts and interest in my site. Just a memo Yankees defeated the Mets, and Phillies defeated Baltimore Sunday so the Yankees regained the ground they lost taking 2 of 3 from the Mets heehee. Heather!

Local Restrictions Fuel CAFTA Revolt

Another day, another blow to the Bush administration's efforts to ram the corporate-written Central American Free Trade Agreement down Congress's throat. This time, it's all about state and local rights - something the White House has paid a lot of lip service to, but is now trying to usurp through CAFTA.

First, New Hampshire became the latest state to pull its support for CAFTA. Specifically, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) was miffed over the pact's restrictive rules that prevent state/local governments from preferential purchasing from domestic/environmentally-friendly producers.

Second, the far-right Eagle Forum is urging Republican lawmakers to reject the deal, potentially peeling off critical GOP votes from President Bush. As the group's alert notes, "Under CAFTA, state legislatures would relinquish their right to regulate utilities, land use, and taxpayer-funded contracts." Additionally, "CAFTA would also prohibit any preference states could give to contractors in their state."

What ever happened to the "states rights'" Republicans? Apparently, when those rights get in Corporate America's way, they cease to be GOP priorities.---Heather

Ike Predicted GOP Demise Over Social Security

Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are...a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 11/8/54

President Bush, a Texas oil millionaire, is trying to abolish social security as we know it, starve unemployment programs, weaken labor laws and gut rural/farm programs. In light of this appalling record, let's hope Ike was right about his party's future.

GOP Hipocrisy

Heather
GOP Denied Plenty of Nominees Up-or-Down Votes
Oh, the hypocisy of Republicans. Now they want an up-or-down vote on all nominees. That wasn't the case in the 90's when Clinton did the nominating. In fact, it's never been the case. Tremendous deference always has gone to the Senators from the nominee's home state.

Denver lawyer Jim Lyons was nominated for the 10th Circuit in 1999. Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard blocked a vote on his nomination. The reason: Allard thought he was too partisan, because he had represented the Clintons and wrote a report on Whitewater. Lyons, a well-respected lawyer, had the support of Colorado's other republican Senator, Ben Nighthorse-Campbell, as well as that of Republican senators from other states. But Allard refused a vote and Lyons eventually withdrew his nomination.
Heather

Bush Hipocracy!

By Heather™ Friday May 20, 2005

Well it seems Mr. (“Pro Family Values Man”) Bush and Karl (Zieg Heil) Rove have followed Luke Skywalker’s path to the dark side if reports are to be believed, Drudge Report, and others, they are going to an upcoming Washington D.C. dinner event with the CEO of a pornography film company that shall remain nameless because I will not give that company any publicity on my watch, and his protogee porn queen on June 14th they were invited to the dinner by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) which is organizing the event.

Over a two-day course of NRCC events preceding the dinner, Mary Carey and Kulkis will be attending a meeting with presidential advisor Karl Rove, giving their recommendations on important national issues….just what we need recommendations from a porn queen and her idiot pimp that bills himself as a CEO, geeee how about calling them what they really are “whore and her whoremaster”

This pimp porn producer of smut and immoral behavior is quoted as saying the following… "I'm honored to be invited to this event," Kulkis said. "Republicans bill themselves as the pro-business party. Well, you won't find a group of people more pro-business than pornographers. We contributed over $10 billion to the national economy last year." It seems like all the evangelical windbags, Falwell, Robertson, Swaggert, Dr. D. James Kennedy have all conveniently remained silent on the issue.

Ms. Carey was quoted as saying the following… "I'm especially looking forward to meeting Karl Rove," Carey added. "Smart men like him are so sexy. I know that he's against gay marriage, but I think I can convince him that a little girl-on-girl action now and then isn't so bad!"…Are these the idiots Bush & co. are surrounding themselves is this the same Bush that attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II with his hypocritical idiot solemn expression on his face?

Kulkis serves as an Honorary Chairman on the NRCC's Business Advisory Council, a group of business people who advocate a progressive, pro-business agenda. His company, which I shall not name, produces hardcore adult videos with a guarantee of "No Fake Boobs & No Condoms." Carey, of course, is the porn star who ran for Governor in the 2003 California Recall Election.

Well, this should be proof positive that the republicans are not concerned about family values just family profits!

Isn’t it interesting that Mr. Catholic anti gay Senator Santorum has been strangely silent on this issue, do I detect a republican conspiracy of silence here?

Karl Rove and Idiot Bush couldn't care less about gays, abortion, Christianity or anything else. They are just profiteers that want to profit while morality in our country declines and will do and say anything to achieve that ultimate goal, lets sacrafice morality for profits.

I would like to go on with this blog but I’m simply too enraged , angry and disgusted to go on!

I AM SO OUTTA HERE!!!!!!!!!!!
HEATHER!

CAFTA - A Bomb for Working Americans

However improbable, the atmosphere in Washington, D.C., is actually even more rarified and unreal than in Hollywood, as shown by the fact that Congress would even consider the Central America Free Trade Agreement now before it.

When a super-expensive, star-studded, ultra-hyped project in Hollywood can't be sold to the public (think Gigli, Waterworld or Ishtar), the heads of top studio executives will roll. Serious accountability is demanded. The media have a field day highlighting every flaw. Needless to say, no one mentions the idea of a sequel, except in bitter jest.

But in Washington, even the super-colossal failure of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the public's eyes fails to produce even a ripple of acknowledgement among either elite policymakers or the media. Public sentiment against NAFTA was overwhelmingly opposed beforehand, and is more strongly against it now (opposition to NAFTA-style deals is opposed by 55% even among those earning more than $100,000).

No wonder. In terms of every promise made by its proponents, NAFTA has failed: An estimated 879,000 jobs have been lost in the US; manufacturing wages have fallen on both sides of the border; nearly 2 million Mexican farmers have been displaced by US-subsidized food imports; already-abysmal environmental conditions have even worsened along the border; and a modest US trade surplus with Mexico has turned into a $45 billion deficit. NAFTA-style "free trade" has amounted to merely exporting US factories and jobs to low-wage Mexico and importing finished products, with most Mexicans getting poorer and seeing US-made consumer goods move further out of reach.

But none of this matters to the elite corporate and political officials who shape economic policy for America. In fact, they are planning a sequel to NAFTA: the Central American Free Trade Agreement with five nations just south of Mexico and the Dominican Republic. And why not? While NAFTA may have been a flop for mere citizens, it was fabulous for the Fortune 500.

Offering a very timely, penetrating and concise preview of the sequel is documentary filmmaker Greg Spotts whose book i must confess I read at Barnes & Noble before purchasing it but, eventually did purchase it (famed for the powerful and passionate American Jobs), with his new book, CAFTA and Free Trade: What Every American Should Know. Although compact, CAFTA and Free Trade manages to skillfully puncture the over-arching myth of free trade so beloved by major media pundits, to examine the increasingly massive role of China as a low-wage producer surpassing even Mexico, and to discuss what passage of CAFTA -- and its bigger brother, the continent-wide Free Trade Agreement of the Americas -- would mean for working Americans.

"Free Trade agreements have been described as tools to open up new markets for American-made goods," Spotts notes, a proposition readily swallowed by free-market fundamentalists in both parties and the media corps. This notion is highly dubious, given that Central America's combined population of 37 million has far less buying power than the three million people of Kansas. Spotts deftly skewers the absurdity of the "market-opening" premise: "Who in their right mind would invest in manufacturing a product using well-paid American workers and then try to sell that expensive product to price-sensitive, low-wage Chinese or Mexican consumers?"

As Spotts points out, "Building a viable consumer class in an impoverished nation is very hard work that can take decades." But US decisionmakers show no interest in the successful European Union model of investing in the public infrastructure (roads, health, education, etc.) and assisting with building real democracy in poorer nations like Spain, Greece and Portugal.

Instead, the "free trade" model is based on short-term plunder, untroubled by concerns about developing local purchasing power. It entails simply providing elaborate investor protections for corporations temporarily setting up shop in low-wage nations to maximize their profits. So don't bother with paying for clean water, sewers or safe streets for your workers in places like Juarez, Mexico, which boasts the biggest concentration of US-owned maquiladora plants, typically paying 60 cents to $1 an hour.

And when an even lower-wage opportunity crops up in, for example, China, where pay may run as low as 20 to 30 cents an hour, just relocate your operation there. While Mexico gained 900,000 low-paying manufacturing jobs between 1993 and 2000, it has since lost about 250,000 of these jobs. US-based and other transnational corporations are now bypassing Mexico in favor of China, which offers a regimented, well-trained workforce at rock-bottom wages.

The Central America Free Trade Agreement is aimed at intensifying the race to the bottom, as it will make the six low-wage nations more accessible to US corporations by providing a robust set of protections for investors on intellectual property rights and a host of other concerns to corporate executives. For example, CAFTA imposes a new 5- to 10-year waiting period before nations like Guatemala can manufacture the generic version of badly-needed pharmaceuticals like anti-AIDS drugs, thereby extending the monopoly of US drug firms.

CAFTA generally represents a step backward when it comes to labor and environmental standards. Where the Generalized System of Preferences guiding trade deals requires nations "to afford internationally recognized worker rights," CAFTA would only demand that each nation enforce its own labor laws. In this context, it would pit the Central American nations -- with weak labor protections and sordid histories -- against each other to ignore enforcement in the hopes of attracting multinational firms.

CAFTA would also uniquely undermine the ability of US states to enforce laws aimed at blocking the outsourcing of jobs, promoting the use of energy-efficient policies or demanding the boycott of governments practicing human rights abuses, as with Burma.

Greg Spotts

Potentially, as Spotts stresses in his urgent new book, the US has the influence to nurture a version of globalization very different from CAFTA. As he puts it, "If we dare to dream, the powerful economic forces that are sweeping the world could be harnessed to build up our neighbors instead of strip-mining their labor.

So you see why I simply had to post this blog after being personally frustrated at bush's babling and lies the other day and how he could masterfully lie to the american people!"
Heather

Only 33% approve of congress' agenda

By Heather™

Voters dissatisified with Bush, congress

"Washington- As the Senate marches on toward nuclear showdown over President Bush's nomineees, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that the American public is dissatisfied with congress and its prioties, with Bush's plan to overhaul Social Security and with the Nation's economy and general direction."

Yankees Continue Their Winning Ways

By Heather™
The New York Yankees won their tenth straight win defying the Las Vegas oddsmakers on the strength of a five hit complete game shutout gem pitched by Carl Pavano, and home run offense provided by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi.

Carl Pavano looked like the Pavano that was the the 18 game winner he was last year with the Florida Marlins as he scattered just 3 hits untill he gave up two more hits in the ninth before getting the remaining out in the ninth for the complete game shutout.

Its begining to look like Yankee pitiching is begining to fround into form with good performances from Musina, Wang, Brown, and now Carl pavano. The Yankees have finally have offense and pitching in synch and harmony.

A-Rod belted a two run homer in the sixth boosting his major league leading total to 13 and And Jason Giambi hit his first homer since mid April and wound up going 3 for 4 with 3 rbi

As for me times are good this current Yankee winning streak is a breath...well...dare i say it well bronx air, there, I said it, and it feels good! Its early in the year, May with it's blossoms, the birds in migration to the north, the promise of summer, pretzels, and beer, the haze in in historic Yankee Stadium smells of cigars, the yells from vendors and fans alike...the trademark Yankee swagger...."yes the boys are back in town" a renewed promise of another Yankee playoff berth springs eternal, things are in order from the Bronx to Tribecca and the U.N. to Trump tower all is well...

It won't be easy for the Yankees to clinch the title this year as it was in years past, just my personal assessment mind you, but in my humble opinion even though i'm a loyal Yankees fan and bleed pinstripe blue, this may be a good thing. For example lets just say the Yankees have an 8 or 9 game lead in their division and they have a series in the last two weeks or so with either second place boston or baltimore, well it doesn't take a Harvard genius to figure out that many key big marquee name players will be "rested" during the series, in preperation for the playoffs, well considering that fans pay mucho dollars for gate admission, i find it unacceptable on many levels, in this age of 100 million dollar contracts there should not be any of this so called "resting" nonsense, pardon me but aren't you paid to play? Or paid to rest? Fans deserve more, they deserve not to be cheated out of the best. There was a line in the movie "League of Their Own" where Tom Hanks uttered "theres no crying allowed in baseball" i'd like to ammend that line to "theres no resting allowed in baseball"
Heather

Health Care USA

By Heather

America's health system is in crisis, leaving out too many and costing too much. Today, 45 million Americans lack health insurance. Millions more are struggling to pay premiums that are growing five times faster than wages, but still seeing their benefits shrink. While some Americans have access to the most sophisticated medical care in the world, others are left to overcrowded emergency rooms, under-funded clinics, or no health care at all – all because they lack the insurance it takes to provide for the care they need. This is wrong. It violates America's deep, long-standing commitment to fairness for all of our citizens - old and young, weak and strong. Unlocking our health care system's potential for everyone in America is the great moral challenge of our time.

One day I happened by Jackson Memorial Hospital which is a public health trust, I was there to visit a friend who was hospitalized there, walking to my destination I traveled through the emergency sector, and what I saw was astounding to put it mildly, I saw an emergency room that was basically a medical quagmire and a nightmare, elderly on gourneys gaunt thin, waiting over 24 hour period just to be examined by a doctor, some walk in patients pleading their case of not being financially able to meet their copay, many sick being turned away from the pharmacy because medicare or medicaid no longer covers a particular medication, a mother in tears because her child has to do without medication, and I pause and reflect, these are the people President Bush never sees the people that are an invisible enigma to him, you see my point; cutting medicaid / medicare is not just a financial statement but its also a social breach, a bond the U.S. Government has with it's citizens that has been compromised, a nation is only as strong as it's citizens and when you compromise the health of its poorest most vulnerable citizens does this benefit our government; no not in my personal opinion.

My solution to this without having the inhumane cuts the Bush Administration is proposing that would hurt our nation's poorest and suffering would be the following:

Today, employers and individuals are
paying the price for the shortcomings of
our health care system. The average
health insurance premium for a family is
equivalent to the entire salary of a full
time minimum wage worker. This plan
will ease that burden by sharing the costs
of coverage across our nation as a
whole. But doing so requires a national
commitment to securing the necessary
resources.
Because the plan helps all, we
propose that it be financed by all through
a new, broad-based funding source: a
small value-added tax exclusively
dedicated to health system
improvement.
This approach has advantages over
increasing existing taxes because it
encourages savings, is difficult to evade,
and can generate significant revenue at a
relatively low rate.
Targeted exemptions would reduce the
impact on low-income individuals and
lower administrative costs.

Yes, I know its far from a perfect solution but its far and away more humane that dfending Bush's cruel cuts to our nations most vulnerable.
Heather™

Bush Education Cuts

By Heather™
Republicans are sending mixed messages on the importance of education. Over the past few weeks, the Republican Congress has rejected a number of President Bush’s education plans, while at the same time endorsing his proposed spending cuts. With classic Washington finesse, these moves allow the Republican leadership to claim to care about education, while actually cutting programs and giving tax breaks to millionaires.

Recently, the House’s education committee began looking at a bill to reauthorize Head Start—the effective early education program for low-income children and their parents. Unlike last year, the Republican leadership did not include a controversial Bush proposal in the bill, which would have allowed states to use Head Start money as they saw fit, possibly leading to a reduction in quality of services and the number of families served. This sounds like a victory for the progressive community, until we remember that 40 percent of eligible children aren’t receiving Head Start services because Republicans have refused to significantly increase funding for the program.

Similarly, this spring saw both houses of Congress symbolically reject a Bush proposal to kill funding for vocational education. While Bush’s 2006 budget zeroed out funding for vocational education, members of Congress passed bills reauthorizing the Vocational Education Act. Another apparent victory—except for the fact that voc-ed funding has remained practically flatlined for two years and the program needs a significant increase to truly prepare students to succeed in the workforce.

Finally, last month, the Senate passed a budget blueprint rejecting many of Bush’s proposed education cuts and providing a substantial new investment in college financial aid. Although the House’s version allowed for education cuts, this was a real victory, brought about through bipartisan action. But when push came to shove, Republican leadership in the Senate dropped the education funding as they negotiated with House leadership over a joint budget document. In the end, the final blueprint closely followed Bush’s proposal and included $35 billion in cuts to education and training programs over the next five years. It also threatens to stop giving hundreds of thousands of families food stamps and to increase the cost of taking out a student loan. And if you hadn’t guessed already, the blueprint also gives away $106 billion in tax breaks.

With the decision to approve Bush’s overall proposal to reduce spending, Congressional Republicans now have to decide whether they’ll support the president’s specific cuts. In his 2006 budget, Bush proposes killing funding for nearly 50 education programs, and proposes substantially cuts for others. These include adult and family literacy, safe-schools, drop-out prevention, vocational education, college prep and financial aid programs. Republicans have made some bipartisan gestures with the recent reauthorizations and the Senate budget blueprint. However, with the upcoming appropriations process, we will now get to see which GOP members were just paying lip service to education and which have the moxie to really stand up to the president and protect these programs.

Over the next few months, the House and Senate appropriations committees will begin to allocate money to particular programs, and eventually Congress will vote on the decisions these appropriators make. Progressives need to put a face on every program targeted for elimination if we hope to give moderate Republicans a reason to ignore Bush’s dictate to kill these initiatives. Members of Congress need to hear about the student who wouldn’t have gone to college without access to college prep programs, the adult who wouldn’t have learned how to read without adult literacy training, the kid who would have ended up in a gang without counseling or workforce training opportunities.
Heather™

Yankees Regain Winning Ways

By Heather™
Well for anyone that knows me I am a loyal lifetime New York Yankees fan i loved baseball from an early age i was active and played baseball and tennis in in catholic grade school through college.

I inherrited the love for it, i suppose passed on from grandpa to dad finally to me, both grandpa and grandma loved and followed the Yankees as well was dad, my mom slightly less passionate about the game but still a fan, if not an avid one.

Well it seems like the Yankees have regained their winning ways and swagger of late extending their current winning streak to nine consecutive games as of last night defeating Seattle 6-3 with a very good pitching performance from asian rookie sensation Chien-Ming Wang where at one point retired 17 in a row after having giving up two runs in the first inning and offensive support provided this time by a resurging Bernie Williams, who lofted the first pitch by Putz into the stands for a game winning clutch grand slam.

Before the current winning streak the Yankees have amassed, yours truely was calling for the dismissal of manager Joe Torre, yes i am well aware of the success that Torre has had with the Yankees and its hard to put a credible arguement against it especially now, in which my passion to dismiss Joe Torre has tempered to that of ambivalence, i have to credit Torre as he is closing in on being the most successful Yankees manager since Casey Stengal and thats saying alot, but even though its my preference for more of a disiplinarian type manager, Torre does know on an instinctual level to get the most out of his players.

Special kudos go out to Tino Martinez who has hit a plethora of home runs and largely responsible for the current nine game winning streak the Yankees are on, Tino Martinez has always been a Yankees favorite of Bronx fans he has always played with class, a rarity for ballplayers these days, and Tino because of his class talent and most of all his loyalty and talent has always been one of my personal favorites, so it is with fond affection say to Tino Bravo! job well done keep up the good work Tino, your're not getting older...you're getting better!
God Bless America And God Bless the Yankees!

Heather

My Economic Prespective

By Heather
The other day i came across a great article from my favorite columnist Whom I deeply admire and respect and a fellow brother irishman and catholic Patrick J. Buchanan titled "Bushism Imperiled" where he made a very shrewed assessment that piqued my interest and found to be particularly important, Pat makes a very important point where he says:
" as oil and gas prices rise and the Dow suddenly sinks, pointing to a downturn, confidence in Bush’s management of the economy dissipates. The Jan.-Feb. trade numbers suggest this year’s trade deficit will exceed the $617 billion record of 2004—by $100 billion...With Chinese textile imports rising, factories closing, and the dollar down against every major currency, Bush intends to run through Congress his Central American Free Trade Agreement, CAFTA."
I found this highly alarming because if you follow, and are a student of economics any credible economist whether his ideology is from the right or the left will tell you every time this country had a long protracted amount of time meaning at least 5 concurrent years of the U.S. dollar being down among every major currency has lead to at the very minimum a recession and at the most a depression, and yet whats unprecidented is that this happens to be combined with they biggest trade deficit in American history which at some point and it definately will come home to roost, this is almost the perfect formula that will prevent the american gross domestic product from expanding!
I urge Mr. Bush, republicans and democrats to wake up and smell the coffee put ideologies and partisan differences aside and take the necessary steps to to prevent this from happening.

Heather

Hillary Update

By Heather
New York: State Health Commissioner and former US Surgeon General Antonia Novello (R) is considering jumping into the race next year against Senator Hillary Clinton (D). According to published reports, Novello is making calls and meeting with conservative political leaders in the state. Ever since former US Senator Zell Miller (D-GA) endorsed President Bush for re-election last year, Republicans love to tout Ol' Zell as their favorite Dem. While Miller's new book certainly takes shots at his party, yet again, he also wrote some surprising passages that may disappoint his new friends. He wrote that Senator Clinton is "a warrior" who "will position herself much closer to the middle than recent Hillary watchers could have ever imagined ... This will be fascinating to watch." He praised freshman Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) as an "impressive young man who has an unlimited future ahead of him." Then, in an interview with the AP, Miller added that "the 2008 race will be wide open. I don't think you're going to find a Republican who can command the intense, personal loyalty the Republican base had for George W. Bush this last go-around." #2: Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson expressed his preferences for the next Presidential race. He called Senator George Allen (R-VA) "a very attractive guy and could make a tremendous President," described Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) as "a super guy," and called former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani "a very good friend ... and I think he'd make a good President." Surprisingly, Robertson took a subtle shot at Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) "A wonderfully compassionate human being ... . I just don't see him as a future President." It was also clear that -- even though it has been five years since the two men clashed in the SC primary -- Robertson still hates maverick Senator John McCain (R-AZ): "I'd vote against [McCain] under any circumstance," said Robertson. New York Governor George Pataki (R) was busy raising money in recent days at a campaign fundraiser in California. But, as Pataki has yet to indicate if he will seek any office in '06, it begs the questions whether the money is intended for a re-election run or a White House bid.

Presidential Politics

By Heather
Senator George Allen Jr. (R-VA) travelled to New Hampshire on Tuesday to hold two campaign fundraisers. Officially billed as benefitting his '06 re-election run, the visit is clearly intended to stir up interest there in Allen's likely 2008 Presidential run. NRSC Chair Allen -- a former Governor, former Congressman, and son of the late Washington Redskins football coach -- is already seen as an early frontrunner for the next White House race. National Journal last week surveyed a large pool of influential inside-the-Beltway political leaders from both parties to ask which candidates they believed were most likely to win the respective nominations for President. These political heavyweights predicted that Allen is the current GOP favorite with 229 points, followed closely by Senator John McCain at 217 points. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was third (184 points), former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani fourth (129) and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney fifth (109). On the Dem side, Hillary Clinton was the runaway favorite with 388 points. Former Senator John Edwards was a distant second (192 points), Virginia Governor Mark Warner was third (125 points), and Senators Evan Bayh and John Kerry trailed further behind.

Heather

New York Politics

By Heather
In New York, it appears that GOP cannot even import a gubernatorial challenger to take on Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D) next year. Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld (R), who openly toyed with the race last month, said in an internal memo to his business partners that he will not run for any office next year. If Governor George Pataki (R) fails to seek re-election to a fourth term in '06 -- as many anticipate -- the NY Republicans appear to be without any significant candidate. In Ohio, filing closed for the special election for the CD-2 seat left vacant by Congressman Rob Portman (R), who resigned to become the US Trade Representative in President Bush's Cabinet. Eighteen candidates -- 12 Republicans and 6 Dems -- filed for the race. Hamilton County Commissioner Pat DeWine (R) -- son of the US Senator Mike DeWine (R) -- is the frontrunner for the seat. Former Congressman Bob McEwen (R) and State Rep. Tom Brinkman (R) appear to be DeWine's closest rivals. In NYC, it appears Mayor Mike Bloomberg (R) is back from the dead. Polls as recent as a few months ago showed the incumbent trailing former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer -- the Dem primary frontrunner -- by double-digit margins.A new Quinnipiac University poll, however, shows that Bloomberg has bounced back into the lead over Ferrer by a 47% to 38% vote -- signifying the first time ever that Bloomberg is leading Ferrer. The poll showed that Bloomberg led Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields (D) by just five points -- and led the other Democratic hopefuls by margins ranging between 7-12%. In the Dem primary, Fields trailed Ferrer by just 4 points, meaning that she eliminated nearly all of the 26-point lead Ferrer held just two months ago. In Washington State, the GOP challenge to Governor Christine Gregoire's (D) narrow 129-vote victory may finally be drawing to a close. According to the Seattle Times, an analysis of the disputed ballots shows that Gregoire would still have defeated State Senator Dino Rossi (R) using any of the recount methodologies suggested by Rossi's attorneys. In Vermont, a new Research 2000 poll shows that Congressman Bernie Sanders (Independent) is highly likely to win the open US Senate seat by a wide margin no matter which Republican opposes him in 2006. According to the poll, Sanders would defeat either wealthy businessman Richard Tarrant (R), Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie (R) or state National Guard Commander Martha Rainville by landslide margins of 36% and up. In DC, United National Ambassador nominee John Bolton's chances for winning Senate confirmation appear improved. US Senator Linc Chafee (R-RI) now says he will "reluctantly" vote for Bolton. Finally, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) is making a 3-day swing through Iowa. Contrary to his comments earlier this year, Gingrich now says he's "not ruling out" a 2008 White House run.

Heather

The Folly of National I.D. Cards

By Heather™

I regularly encounter people who say the United States should adopt a national ID card. How could such a program not make us more secure, they ask me all the time?

The suggestion, when it's made by a thoughtful civic-minded person like Nicholas Kristof in an artcle i read in The New York Times, often takes on a tone that is regretful and ambivalent: Yes, indeed, the card would be a minor invasion of our privacy, and undoubtedly it would add to the growing list of interruptions and delays we encounter every day; but we live in dangerous times, we live in a new world ... .

It all sounds so reasonable, but there's a lot to disagree with in such an attitude.

The potential privacy encroachments of an ID card system are far from minor. And the interruptions and delays caused by incessant ID checks could easily proliferate into a persistent traffic jam in office lobbies and airports and hospital waiting rooms and shopping malls.

But my primary objection isn't the totalitarian potential of national IDs, nor the likelihood that they'll create a whole immense new class of social and economic dislocations. Nor is it the opportunities they will create for colossal boondoggles by government contractors. My objection to the national ID card, at least for the purposes of this post, is much simpler.

It won't work. It won't make us more secure.

In fact, everything I've learned about security tells me that once it is put in place, a national ID card program will actually make us less secure.

My argument may not be obvious, but it's not hard to follow, either. It centers around the notion that security must be evaluated not based on how it works, but on how it fails.

It doesn't really matter how well an ID card works when used by the hundreds of millions of honest people that would carry it. What matters is how the system might fail when used by someone intent on subverting that system: how it fails naturally, how it can be made to fail, and how failures might be exploited.

The first problem is the card itself. No matter how unforgeable we make it, it will be forged. And even worse, people will get legitimate cards in fraudulent names.

Two of the 9/11 terrorists had valid Virginia driver's licenses in fake names. And even if we could guarantee that everyone who issued national ID cards couldn't be bribed, initial cardholder identity would be determined by other identity documents ... all of which would be easier to forge.

Not that there would ever be such thing as a single ID card. Currently about 20 percent of all identity documents are lost per year. An entirely separate security system would have to be developed for people who lost their card, a system that itself is capable of abuse.

Additionally, any ID system involves people ... people who regularly make mistakes. We all have stories of bartenders falling for obviously fake IDs, or sloppy ID checks at airports and government buildings. It's not simply a matter of training; checking IDs is a mind-numbingly boring task, one that is guaranteed to have failures. Biometrics such as thumbprints show some promise here, but bring with them their own set of exploitable failure modes.

But the main problem with any ID system is that it requires the existence of a database. In this case it would have to be an immense database of private and sensitive information on every American -- one widely and instantaneously accessible from airline check-in stations, police cars, schools, and so on.

The security risks are enormous. Such a database would be a kludge of existing databases; databases that are incompatible, full of erroneous data, and unreliable. As computer scientists, we do not know how to keep a database of this magnitude secure, whether from outside hackers or the thousands of insiders authorized to access it.

And when the inevitable worms, viruses, or random failures happen and the database goes down, what then? Is America supposed to shut down until it's restored?

Proponents of national ID cards want us to assume all these problems, and the tens of billions of dollars such a system would cost -- for what? For the promise of being able to identify someone?

What good would it have been to know the names of Timothy McVeigh, the Unabomber, or the D.C. snipers before they were arrested? Palestinian suicide bombers generally have no history of terrorism. The goal here is to know someone's intentions, and their identity has very little to do with that.

And there are security benefits in having a variety of different ID documents. A single national ID is an exceedingly valuable document, and accordingly there's greater incentive to forge it. There is more security in alert guards paying attention to subtle social cues than bored minimum-wage guards blindly checking IDs.

That's why, when someone asks me to rate the security of a national ID card on a scale of one to 10, I can't give an answer. It doesn't even belong on a scale! lol
Heather™

Liberal Psychologists & Psychobable

Liberal Psychologists & Psychobabble

By Heather™

Yesterday as sat before the tv eating a turkey and baby swiss cheese and salad sandwich and homemade soup sharing it with my two Yorkshire Terriers "my babies" I had on MSNBC and they were doing a byline story on a young boy tragically killed

After setting up the story with a review by the local street correspondent the scense shifts to the anchor woman and the "in studio guest" which just happened to be the well known liberal psyschologist Dr. Joyce Brothers.

What deeply upset me is that liberal psychologists have come up with yet another stress related disease. Basically what this was, is a case of one child teasing another about his pitching in a pony league baseball league, so after being teased the child who was teased responds to the teasing not in an old fashioned fist fight like years ago no no he picks up a baseball bat and crushes in the kid's skull and kills him.

Pyschologists want to make this yet another stress related disease...well they are partially correct, the disease is not stress, it's poor parenting its lack of values instilled on the children by their parents, its a lack of christianity, love of God and a lack of respect for human life.

Had the child been endowed with these intangibles and had a clear an well anchored set of fortitudes the outcome would have been far different, as long as parents are not held accountable, as long as we as a nation turn more and more into a godless society these tragic events are inevitable, correct moral and ethical moral codes of conduct must be set in place by parents, no psychiatric drug or liberal psychology or pyschiatrist i.e. Joyce Brothers will be the solution.

Please feel free to respond to my blog if you agree or have an alternative point of view

sincerely,

Heather™

Politics as Usual

By Heather™

Imagine if Congress decided that a single state in the US, such as California, was in desperate needs of jobs and investment and made dramatic changes to boost that state’s economy. Imagine Congress did the following for only 1 US state: Drop the minimum wage to $0.58/hour Exempt them from child labor laws Expand the work week Reduce protection for health, safety, retirement and the environment On top of this, the companies residing in California still have free duty-free access to all of the others states.

In other words, California companies could produce at a fraction of the cost of other states yet would be able to sell directly into all other 49 US states and compete at no additional cost. What would you think of that? You and the other 49 states might agree that this was absolutely ridiculous! But this is exactly what is happening right now with NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). Not with California, but with Mexico at the time NAFTA was passed.

When NAFTA was passed, many people thought the same way you probably do now. The results have indeed been disastrous: The trade deficit with Mexico is now one of the largest of US trading partners (5th largest deficit trading partner) Mexican wages are still a small fraction of US wages Many of our other trading partners have relocated facilities to Mexico to circumvent other trade agreements with the US US manufacturing has lost 4 Million jobs in the past 10 years.

Now CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) has been signed by President Bush and is awaiting Congressional approval. On the basis of the one-sided miserable factual results over the past 10 years, whoever advocates CAFTA and the continuing participation in NAFTA seems to be either grossly negligent as an American or is simply working on behalf of another country.

Please write your congressperson and the President and express your concerns for the future of American jobs and industry. Please take time to write the President and your congressperson about your thoughts and concerns.

Heather™

What the Media Does Not Want You To Know!

Michael Schiavo lawyer
gave to judge's campaign;
George Felos made contribution to
Greer day after key ruling by court in Terri's case:


The judge who tried the Terri Schiavo case and most recently rejected Gov. Jeb Bush's request to intervene, received a campaign contribution from the lawyer pressing for the brain-injured woman's death, raising questions of a conflict of interest. According to Florida's Department of State, Pinellas County Circuit Court Judge George W. Greer received a contribution of $250 for his 2004 re-election campaign from Felos & Felos, the law firm of George Felos. Felos, known as a "right-to-die" advocate, represents Terri Schiavo's estranged husband, Michael Schiavo, who won a court order from Greer to have the woman's life-sustaining feeding tube removed one week ago.

Felos, known as a "right-to-die" advocate, represents Terri Schiavo's estranged husband, Michael Schiavo, who won a court order from Greer to have the woman's life-sustaining feeding tube removed one week ago. The contribution's apparent conflict of interest was raised by an Internet site investigating the Schiavo case, the Empire Journal, and by Rev. D. James Kennedy's group Center for Reclaiming America. The contribution from Felos came May 7, 2004, one day after Pinellas County Circuit Court Judge Douglas Baird ruled "Terri's Law" unconstitutional. The Florida Legislature's measure was designed to enable Gov. Bush to intervene in the previous instance in which Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed. The contribution from Felos was the only one made that day, indicating it was not part of a fund-raising effort. The Empire Journal also reported contributions to Greer were made by three other lawyers who represented Michael Schiavo at various stages in the case. Deborah Bushnell, Gwyneth Stanley and Stephen G. Nilsson each contributed at least $250 to Greer's re-election campaign, as did court-appointed attorneys representing the husband's interest, Pacarek & Herman and Richard Pearse. WND attempted to reach the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, the independent body that investigates complaints against state judges, but there was no response. Felos' office in Dunedin, Fla., also could not be reached. The Empire Journal notes that in Florida, a judge is not required to recuse himself if he receives a contribution from an attorney in a case over which he presides. Nevertheless, a contribution can establish the appearance of impropriety, and the state's code of judicial conduct requires a judge to remove himself in such a case. Ronald D. Rotunda, professor of law at George Mason University, told the Empire Journal he sees such contributions as problematic. He cites a 2002 poll of the American Bar Association concluding 84 percent of all Americans are concerned that the impartiality of judges is compromised by their need to raise campaign contributions. Rotunda said judicial campaign contributions constitute or appear to constitute a tacit quid pro quo in which the judge favors or tilts towards the contributor-litigant.

--Heather

Kaos in Afganistan

When Dubya cites Afghanistan as a success of his alleged pro-democracy policies, he is rarely challenged. Perhaps he should be. It’s rare for US media to shed light on the inner workings of our government’s influence on Afghanistan. But on Wed., the Wall Street Journal did -- in a profile of our Ambassador to Afghanistan, neocon Zalmay Khalilzdad, who will soon become Ambassador to Iraq. WSJ made it clear that Khalilzdad has been running the show in Afghanistan, despite attempts to paint Hamid Karzai as an independent leader of a free country. Some key excerpts: In Afghanistan, “people regard him as the viceroy, and they say that … Karzai doesn’t say anything without checking with him first,” says Peter Babbington, a former British marine who runs the United Nations’ militia-demobilization program in Kabul. Mr. Khalilzad traveled the country to unveil U.S.-funded public-works projects, mediate\ between feuding warlords, and encourage religious and military leaders to join the political-transition process, frequently upstaging Mr. Karzai. He was thought to possess so much control over Afghanistan’s interim government that Iran’s state-run radio dubbed him “the King of the Shadows.”... ...Khalilzad made no apologies for his level of involvement in Afghanistan’s politics, saying he helped avert more bloodshed and instability in the country... ...In the run-up to October’s landmark Afghan elections, opposition figures accused Mr. Khalilzad of trying to clear the way for Mr. Karzai by visiting politicians and urging them to drop out of the race and support Mr. Karzai. Several Afghan politicians derided Mr. Khalilzad for crossing the line into outright advocacy of Mr. Karzai, charges the ambassador denied. Now, it’s very possible that Khalilzad is right that without help in setting up a new government, there would have been more bloodshed and instability than there is today. And it’s also possible that without Syrian troops, Lebanon wouldn’t have ended its civil war in 1990. But there’s a difference between altruistic assistance and selfish interference. In working with the international community to help a nation attain freedom for freedom’s sake, which is in our long-term self-interest, or unilaterally exploiting a country for our narrow self-interest, say, permanent military bases. If the free will of the people is not the paramount concern, if true democracy is not the real goal, then the people will eventually lash out, sooner or later (see Syria). At minimum, with the level of direct involvement Khalilzad had in the Afghan elections -- the sort of involvement we have been condemning Syria for -- it is ridiculous to claim freedom is on the march--

--Heather

Bush Babbles

When Dubya cites Afghanistan as a success of his alleged pro-democracy policies, he is rarely challenged. Perhaps he should be. It's rare for US media to shed light on the inner workings of our government's influence on Afghanistan. But on Wed., the Wall Street Journal did -- in a profile of our Ambassador to Afghanistan, neocon Zalmay Khalilzdad, who will soon become Ambassador to Iraq. WSJ made it clear that Khalilzdad has been running the show in Afghanistan, despite attempts to paint Hamid Karzai as an independent leader of a free country. Some key excerpts: In Afghanistan, people regard him as the viceroy, and they say that Karzai doesn't say anything without checking with him first, says Peter Babbington, a former British marine who runs the United Nation's militia-demobilization program in Kabul. Mr. Khalilzad traveled the country to unveil U.S.-funded public-works projects, mediate\ between feuding warlords, and encourage religious and military leaders to join the political-transition process, frequently upstaging Mr. Karzai. He was thought to possess so much control over Afghanistan's interim government that Iran's state-run radio dubbed him "the King of the Shadows" ...Khalilzad made no apologies for his level of involvement in Afghanistan's politics, saying he helped avert more bloodshed and instability in the country... ...In the run-up to October's landmark Afghan elections, opposition figures accused Mr. Khalilzad of trying to clear the way for Mr. Karzai by visiting politicians and urging them to drop out of the race and support Mr. Karzai. Several Afghan politicians derided Mr. Khalilzad for crossing the line into outright advocacy of Mr. Karzai, charges the ambassador denied. Now, it’s very possible that Khalilzad is right that without help in setting up a new government, there would have been more bloodshed and instability than there is today. And it’s also possible that without Syrian troops, Lebanon wouldn't have ended its civil war in 1990. But there's a difference between altruistic assistance and selfish interference. In working with the international community to help a nation attain freedom for freedom's sake, which is in our long-term self-interest, or unilaterally exploiting a country for our narrow self-interest, say, permanent military bases. If the free will of the people is not the paramount concern, if true democracy is not the real goal, then the people will eventually lash out, sooner or later (see Syria). At minimum, with the level of direct involvement Khalilzad had in the Afghan elections -- the sort of involvement we have been condemning Syria for -- it is ridiculous to claim freedom is on the march
Heather---

Bush Blunders

I have some thoughts on the political situation today. Mainly, I'm very upset to find more evidence to suggest that the current administration is planning a strike against Iran. It's been obvious to myslef and many, many others that they've been planning something for quite sometime. So in June or July when we declare war on Iran or we outsource the job to Israel who will just bomb Iran and ask questions later, I ask this question: China, how do you feel about this? How does it feel to see all that oil you were planning on controlling, being stolen by America? How will China react? We are at the pinnacle of the oil era. This is the begining of the end. $1.50 a gallon may seem pretty harsh now, but just wait until it reaches around 4.50 a gallon within a few years. With the supply of oil so low, the middle eastern region of the world is looking more and more like a place to start "bringing democracy" to the states previously ruled under "tyranny". You know what though, it's also the best place to get oil... Oil China needs, really super bad.
--Heather

Terri Schiavo

A Holy and Blessed Easter to

all that visit here.

May you be comforted and

assured by Jesus Christ Our

Lord's Resurrection.





For those that do not believe

rest assured that in every

heart is planted the seed of

God's love. It will grow and

blossom if you simply accept

that Divine Love and allow it

to grow.



My prayer is that Terri and all

her family and friends be

comforted by this Divine Love

and the Love of The Holy

Family - Our Lord And Savior

Jesus Christ, His Mother,

Blessed Virgin Mary And Foster

Father Joseph. I pray also

that Terri will be allowed to

receive the Blessed Body and

Precious Blood of Jesus Christ

(Holy Eucharist) before she

passes away.





Adjutorium Nostrum In

Nomine Domini Qui fecit

coelum et terram--





Our Help is in the name of the

Lord who made heaven and

earth. Amen.

Concerning Terri Schiavo

Once again I was disappointed the Terri Schiavo case, it seems like its an uphill battle that may have a sad ending, while congress passed legislation for her case to be held in federal court, that being the good news, the bad news is the federal court judge is James D. Whittermore, a Clintion appointee will preside over the case, I have the feeling that he is stalling the case in the hope Terri Schiavo may pass away sparing him a difficult ruling on the case, and also not offending the pro euthanasia pro abortion crowd, call me a skeptic but its how i feel.

May the Good Lord forgive me if i am wrong.

I cannot understand this rush to death in the Schiavo case, would one more hearing do any harm? After all, the parents want to accept full care and responsibility for their daughter, why is the husband so dead set against this, all we have is his word she did not want her life extended via artificial means, no physical proof mind you, just heresay.

Terri is not, i repeat, not brain dead just brain damaged she see's she responds to the enviorment around her she reacts to it...enclosed you will find a picture attached and you tell me if this woman should be put to death.

Bare in mind Christopher Reeve was sustained artificially and we did not put him to death, so why Terri?

-- Heather

Terri's Last Stand

I've been staying up half the night, watching as judge after judge apparently believed murderer-wannabe Michael Schiavo. It's unbelievable. I also saw this morning as people from Operation Save America were arrested for trying to bring water to Terri. I look at it this way--it's better to try and fail than not to try at all. I commend them. It wasn't the type of thing where the people get into a scuffle with the police. Rather, they talked to the officers, and when the officers arrested them, they surrendered peacefully and respectfully. I admire that, really. They were obeying God rather than man.

I'm tired of the judges who say "it's about the law." What's the law based on, guys? The Constitution, which in turn is based on--drumroll please--the BIBLE!!! You really can't separate them.

I sincerely hope, if Terri dies, that her parents pursue murder charges against Michael Schiavo. Terri's going to have justice one way or another!

Heather---