The Bush Regime is helping Musharraf secure his nukes
From Kay in Maine for White Noise Insanity

Uh huh. Apparently over the past six years, the Bush Regime has spent close to $100 million on this SECRET PROGRAM to help ole Musharraf secure his nukes. You know what that means! No securing has happened over the past six years! Yep. And where did this $100 million come from? Let me guess: from the money stolen over in Iraq that was put in SECRET BANK ACCOUNTS in Dubai with all transactions going through the RNC servers? I bet!

From the New York Times:

But with the future of that country’s leadership in doubt, debate is intensifying about whether Washington has done enough to help protect the warheads and laboratories, and whether Pakistan’s reluctance to reveal critical details about its arsenal has undercut the effectiveness of the continuing security effort.
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The aid, buried in secret portions of the federal budget, paid for the training of Pakistani personnel in the United States and the construction of a nuclear security training center in Pakistan, a facility that American officials say is nowhere near completion, even though it was supposed to be in operation this year.
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A raft of equipment — from helicopters to night-vision goggles to nuclear detection equipment — was given to Pakistan to help secure its nuclear material, its warheads, and the laboratories that were the site of the worst known case of nuclear proliferation in the atomic age.
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While American officials say that they believe the arsenal is safe at the moment, and that they take at face value Pakistani assurances that security is vastly improved, in many cases the Pakistani government has been reluctant to show American officials how or where the gear is actually used.

All that money spent and they still don’t know if the nukes are safe or not. Uh huh. MAYBE THIS IS WHY GENERAL PETRAEUS BETRAYUS IS PICKING NEW GENERALS AS WE SPEAK! Yeah, yeah, when Busharraf wants a war with Iran before he leaves office and when Busharraf loves what Musharraf is doing in his country with his Martial Law plan, well, NEW GENERALS ARE A MUST!

Of course, everything Georgie & Dickie have done over the past seven years has been ONE BIG SECRET, so really, what they tell us in their press conferences about what they’re doing is the exact opposite of what they’re really doing. How can we find out the truth? Oh that’s right! Everything is a secret and the paper shredders have been working non-stop, 24/7, for the past seven years…..so we can’t.

I think Georgie & Dickie want to win real bad next year in the election. They’re gearing up folks! We won’t be worrying about the price of oil or gas this winter or even in the spring, because ole Georgie & Dickie know that there will be bigger fish to fry come next summer! Between nuke attacks on our soil via them and Martial Law via them, where will we have the time to focus on the election? Oh that’s right. All dictators don’t like elections and will do everything in their power to suppress this atrocious democratic tool, just because dictators don’t want to hear the truth about them or their party when their citizens go to cast their votes! Spit. I hate them.

The Young Conservatives
From Todd Mitchell for The Democratic Daily

Eye opening piece in this morning’s Post regarding the next wave of “young conservatives” poised to take up the mantle of the nearly dead ideology known as conservatism.

My favorite quip comes from this young, freshly scrubbed, “go-getter” on illegal immigration.

“When [Daniel Lipian, chairman of the College Republicans at Bowling Green State University] wanted to spark a debate about immigration, he and other College Republicans club members put up a fence in the plaza and hosted a “Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day.” On one side of the fence, he kept out club members wearing T-shirts that said “Illegal Immigrant.” “We were attacked over and over again by the left,” he said.

I’m sure the sophomoric and idiotic theme “to catch an illegal” had nothing do with his “being attacked” at all.

More importantly, the young, mean squares seem split over whom to support in ‘08:

“Nationally, young Republicans are pretty well divided. According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted at the end of last month, 37 percent of Republicans younger than 35 favor former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, 21 percent back Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), 13 percent support former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.), 7 percent are for Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) and 5 percent are for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.”

Like the ideology they are clinging hopelessly to, the Republican party is in disarray and nearly extinct.

But people do change, so I suppose we shouldn’t be too hard on them. Truth be told (and baring my soul for a moment), I really identify with the confusion and tunnel vision expressed by the kids in the piece because I was in the College Republicans back in the 80’s. Yes…heresy! And voted for Ron Paul, a Libertarian, in my first presidential election (before moving left as I got into my 30’s).

There’s hope, in other words, for these kids.

A New Spin on Some Ugly Words
From FranIAm

The words remain ugly, without a doubt. This however, is an entirely different way of looking at it, isn't it though?

One example of how long we've been dealing with this underhanded crap as Dems find their voice while Bush lies to the public again today!
From James Joiner for An Average American Patriot

One example of how long we've been dealing with this underhanded crap as Dems find their voice while Bush lies to the public again!

House Democrats distinguished themselves this week when they stood up to the White House’s latest military funding steamroller: approving only $50 billion of the additional $196 billion the president requested for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also set conditions on the funding, including demands that troops start coming home from Iraq within 30 days and that the withdrawal be completed by mid-December 2008.
Senate Democrats quickly brought the House plan to the floor. But, ever the spoilers, Republicans blocked it, as they have other attempts to rein in Mr. Bush’s war-without-end in Iraq. Predictably, the White House — which always prefers fear-mongering to serious debate — accused Democrats of undermining the troops. Even Defense Secretary Robert Gates got into the act, threatening to direct the Army and Marine Corps to begin developing plans to lay off employees and terminate contracts next year unless Congress approves new funding within days.

Lawmakers, regardless of party, and the American people will always stand behind the brave men and women in the armed forces. Congress has already approved some $800 billion in funding since Sept. 11, 2001, for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But that hardly measures the full cost in blood and treasure. More than 800 troops have been killed in Iraq in 2007 alone, making it the deadliest year yet for the American military there. Read the whole story
I heard threats of base closings and cut backs and it reminded me of the last time the chief idiot played this game. Supposedly it was not Political but you know damn well it was and it will be this time too to teach a lesson to those that voted against him. Look at the chief idiots response then look at what he did 2 years ago!
I had the ill fortune of being in the car this morning when the chief idiots address came on this morning chastising the Democrats for making him be responsible and I hope this time they stick to their guns. Senate Republicans on Friday blocked a Democratic bill that sought to link $50 billion in additional war funding to the goal of withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq by the end of next year. And Senate Democrats blocked a Republican bill that would have allocated $70 billion to the war without conditions.

They went on vacation instead. I heard Bush threatening tax increases on the middle class because of Democrats. Since when does he care about the middle class he has purposely been destroying since he got in office. I am so sick of this idiots games just so he can get his way on continue his wars. As I was driving I decided to look at the last time he pulled his crap on the military to get his way. It was sickening to see just one example of the chief babies tactics of I am going to hold my breath until you give me what I want! look at what Iraq war veteran John Bruhns said. It is right on
Anyway, It's sickening, remember this? 10/28/05 Update! A Little more time for the Apolitical Political Bush Base Closings
With the proposed base closings due to be a reality in mid November I thought it was time to just remind us all how crooked these closings were and still are. In light of what is happening right now with the Rove's investigation and implication of Cheney you know the President was involved and as in this situation nothing period gets done without his knowledge or okay and he knows the truth none of us ever will. Right from the get go we discussed the proposed Military base closings. In one of our discussions we talked about the fact that telling the public they had nothing at all to do with Politics was totally false and erroneous.

Bush as we all know , does nothing at all unless it is part of his political game. So once again this master of deception was saying what we wanted to hear and playing his Political game. The facts right off the bat told us again the opposite of what he was saying. We all know this is standard fare for him. The States that came out in favor of him in the 2nd election did well with the proposed Base closings. The bases that came out against him took the biggest hits during the proposed closings. It didn't matter if the bases were exemplary or vital to our military mission. California took a big hit because republican Governor Arnold could not deliver the State for the President. Massachusetts took a hit for the same reason.

Otis in Massachusetts is where the fighters that responded on 9/11 came from. It is one of the best reserve bases in the Nation. He wanted to put all our B1's in one place in his brother's State. That makes good sense. The Bible Belt States did well under the proposed closings. He said as far as he is concerned he thinks the proposals should be final. Political, naw! One and one still equals two as far as I know.
There are many inequities in these proposals. Many we will never know unless some disgruntled individual comes forth with the truth. Regardless of what Mr. say one thing and do another says. He keeps tight reign over what happens in his misadministration. That is precisely why it is so screwed up. Even though he would have us believe he has ne control over most of what happens in Washington and the Pentagon in particular, you know nothing can be further from the truth.

As we all know he is a master political game player. It is his behind the back club to be used against anyone he perceives as having done him wrong. He does a lousy job of disguising this fact. In addition to all his inequities in his administration and in these proposals we can now add this one. Now we are hearing that the money supposedly saved from these closings was false. It was purposely contrived in order to inflate the supposed savings. Why should we be surprised to find the 9 member panel doing the investigation has found the savings inflated by 30 billion?

How much did it cost us this time to find out we were lied to again? I know, just another little oversight. This is standard fare for this administration as we all know. As in all the other instances he will get away with this one too. Someone else's fault not mine, just another victim of circumstances. The poor picked on guy. He suffers from the Rodney Dangerfield Syndrome. He gets no respect. You have to wonder how deep the rot will go in this case too when the truth is eventually to some degree known and what if any the real savings after all was said and done really were.Read more

This has been going on from the getgo How much more of this idiots childish lies can we take?

Interested in the Gitmo Playbook?
From Fran for Ramblings

Go here:

Quoting the American Bar Association website:

The manual appears to reveal information that has previously been intentionally withheld. For example, it "indicates some prisoners were designated as off-limits to visitors from the International Committee of the Red Cross, something the military has repeatedly denied," the British news agency writes.

It also addresses the minutia of military prison management. Styrofoam cups, for instance, must be confiscated if prisoners have written on them, apparently because they may then be a vehicle for passing forbidden notes from one prisoner to another. Meanwhile, "(i)f the cup is damaged or destroyed, the detainee will be disciplined for destruction of government property," the manual states.

Just watched a film titled *GITMO*, I can't believe the US has this remote prison. A great quote from the movie:
Why do we need a prison on the other side of the law?

News items I did not know about:

10/5/07 The chief military prosecutor for the Guantanamo Bay war tribunals has resigned, apparently over a lack of prosecutorial discretion.

11/1/07 A private practitioner from Canada who represents a Guantanamo Bay detainee held since the age of 15 has reportedly been banned by his military co-counsel from the client's upcoming arraignment at a military tribunal.

Because of a dispute with co-counsel selected by the Pentagon about how best to handle the defense of Omar Khadr, a Canadian-born Muslim who is now 21, attorney Dennis Edney says he has been told he cannot attend next week's arraignment, according to the Associated Press.

11/8/07 A Marine Corps lawyer has been told by his superiors that he may not testify before Congress about his decision to abandon a Guantanamo prosecution because of his concerns that a high-level detainee was tortured.

Lt. Col. V. Stuart Couch, a former Guantanamo prosecutor who is now a military judge, had decided he could not prosecute a suspected al-Qaida terrorist because believed the detainee's incriminating statements were improperly obtained, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). The detainee, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, was allegedly subjected to beatings, death threats, and threats against his mother.

Why indeed....

Sunday Funnies
From BAC for Yikes!

Slinging Blame Like Only A President Can
From Windspike for Educational Whisper

Ross Perot was spot on when he dubbed the Whitehouse "the Bully Pulpit." You will remember a while ago when the current batch of bullies in this pulpit were suggesting that playing the "blame game" was inappropriate and claimed to take the moral high ground by disavowing said game. Of course, today, in his weekly Radio Address (admit it, you listen like Harry Potter in your closet underneath the stairs so no one knows you do), the President and head bully is slinging blame like only a president can.

It's convenient when you can load up heaping doses of blame for a failure you generated on some one else other than one self. Have a look:
It is clear that Congress's failure to adjust the AMT for inflation was a mistake. Unfortunately, Congress seems determined to compound this original mistake by making another one. Last week, the House passed a bill that provides relief from the AMT -- but raises other taxes. Congress should not use legislation that millions of Americans are counting on to protect them from higher taxes in one area as an excuse to raise taxes in other areas. I will veto any bill that raises taxes as a condition of fixing the AMT. Members of Congress must put political theater behind them, fix the AMT, and protect America's middle class from an unfair tax hike.
Who's to blame that the taxes are too low to cover the cost of a majority of what the President is trying to accomplish? How are we paying for the conflagration in Iraq? Is it fiscally responsible to require the funds to pay for the operations of a government or to hock our nations' future to pay for a war on a nation we never needed to wage?
Congress is also failing to meet its responsibilities to our troops. For months, Congress has delayed action on supplemental war funding because some in Congress want to make a political statement about the war. On Wednesday, the House passed a bill that once again has Congress directing our military commanders on how to conduct the war in Iraq as a condition for funding our troops. We do not need members of Congress telling our commanders what to do. We need Congress listening to our military commanders and giving them what they need to win the war against extremists and radicals. Congress knows I'll veto this bill. During this time of war, our troops deserve the full support of Congress -- and that means giving our troops the funding they need to successfully carry out their mission. I urge Congress to work quickly and send me a clean bill so we can fulfill our obligation to our brave men and women in uniform.
Really, who's fault is it that we are in an intractable war that we are serving in a co-dependent relationship facilitating the current dysfunctional Iraqi government? Who's to blame for getting our country to where it is today? The culpable are usually those that protest and point the fingers the strongest. Threatening a veto and slinging blame, in particular, is a strong signal that the Presidential wagging finger of blame need be pointed in a mirror.

But of course, every good Presidential radio address needs to point to solutions right?
With both of these delays, congressional leaders are choosing political posturing over the priorities of the people. These choices have real-world consequences for our taxpayers and our troops. When members of Congress return from their two-week-long Thanksgiving vacation, they will have only a few weeks left on the legislative calendar before they go home again for their Christmas break. I call on Congress to use the time that is left to do what is right -- and pass AMT relief and fund our troops in combat.
Who is doing the posturing in a political way Mr. President? Last I checked, the priorities of the American people were to bring our troops home from Iraq, but then again, I live in the real world.

Skewing The Facts on Iraq
From Polishifter for Pissed on Politics

Everyone in the press is pretty much unilaterally saying that the surge in Iraq has been a success, that violence is down because of the surge, troop deaths are down because of the surge, and Iraqi deaths are down because of the surge. The press is full of headlines on how things in Iraq are much better without any critical analysis.

Fox news is ready for Bush to declare victory in Iraq and bring the troops home.

But behind all of this everyone is forgetting that Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia is still on stand-down. No one is considering how much the violence in Iraq has dropped because of Muqtada al-Sadr versus the surge. It’s likely that al-Sadr is stock piling weapons just waiting for the day the U.S. leaves Iraq.

It wasn’t that long ago that the media and the Administration warned against interpreting a drop in violence as a sign that the U.S. should leave Iraq. The prevailing wisdom then was the insurgents were holding back hoping we will leave so they can then make their move to take over the country. Then the violence worsened pretty much negating any need for that argument.

It bothers me that the surge is being attributed to the so-called ‘success’ in Iraq when it’s not clear the surge has had any affect at all.

But beyond that, if Fox News wants Bush to declare victory in Iraq and bring our troops home before the ’08 election then so be it. Maybe I should just join in the fray and declare the surge a great success, that our brave leader Bush’s strategery in Iraq was brilliant, and in the battle of the U.S. vs. Iraqi Insurgents the U.S. has won.

Is that what it will take? In order for our troops to come home do we need to give credit to Bush for it to happen? If so, should we all start praising Bush and the Iraq War while celebrating victory so we can finally get our troops home and end the occupation of Iraq?

I love cutthroat bitch
From By Ken Levine

Anne Dudek has gone from "White Chick" to "Pregnant Neighbor" to "Cutthroat Bitch" but more on that later...

Encouraging news that the WGA and producers will go back to the negotiating table after Thanksgiving. Some say CAA's Brian Lourd initiated the call. Others say Alex Rodriguez.

Public opinion could have had an impact. Recent polls suggest more people believe O.J. than the AMPTP.

Let's hope the talks are productive and the producers don't want to spend a lot of time working out minimums for the WB & UPN, formulas for Betamax tapes, and new credit guidelines for hour variety show writers.

I couldn’t be happier that Patric Verrone is our WGA president in this difficult struggle but I just wish he didn’t look so much like Hitler.

There's going to be a big rally on Tuesday afternoon on Hollywood Blvd. We've had actors, writers assistants, and John Edwards participate. Now we invite prostitutes to walk the line with us.

My friend, Darlene Koldenhoven is an extraordinary Grammy winning singer. She recently performed on a bill with Jennifer Holliday and Natalie Cole and the LA WEEKLY said this:

Darlene Koldenhoven let loose a piercing high note near the end of her performance, it may have been the only time in history that an opera singer’s rapturous crowd response was led by someone in the audience yelling . . .YOU BETTER WORK, BITCH!"

High praise indeed!

Koldenhoven, by the way, is her stage name. She performs again December 2nd at the Jazz Factory in LA. She’s also the lead singer of the KRTH radio jingles, which is why she can sing all her big hits in under a minute.

Finally!! All-time home run chump Barry "U.S." Bonds, was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on perjury and obstruction of justice charges after a four-year investigation into whether he lied under oath about his use of steroids. Big debate in baseball circles: should his police record also have an asterisk?

It's now likely the Hall of Fame will not have either the home run king nor the player with the most hits.

My favorite new character on television is "Cutthroat Bitch". Anne Dudek on HOUSE. Previously she starred in WHITE CHICKS and last season was the pregnant neighbor in MAD MEN. You can't say she's typecast.

Speaking of HOUSE, I was thrilled they kicked Michael Michele to the curb. HOUSE marks the eighth series I've found her charmless and cold.

Good news! The LA TIMES has begun its Oscar coverage with a weekly special section called THE ENVELOPE. Meanwhile, strike coverage has been relegated to the Business Section. I somehow can’t see THE DETROIT FREE-PRESS not running stories about an auto strike on page one. But then again GM doesn’t own the DETROIT FREE-PRESS.

And good luck to the stagehands in New York on their strike. Disney flew in a top labor relations negotiator from LA. It's one thing to strike Broadway, it's another to mess with THE LITTLE MERMAID musical.

Next up: My Holiday Movie Preview. Accurate mini-reviews of films I haven't seen.