Mind Vomit by the ikss ~ a journal
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�Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead�
-Lucille Ball
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
--Theodore Roosevelt, 1918
REGISTER TO VOTE
"The time is always right to do what is right"
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The "seven social sins": Knowledge without character,
Science without humanity,
Wealth without work,
Commerce without morality,
Politics without principles,
Pleasure without conscience,
Worship without self-sacrifice."
--Gandhi
"We have not inherited the world from our forfathers -
We have borrowed it from our children."
--Kashmiri, proverb
~~~
I forgot to mention how happy I was to learn that Kenneth Lay (that disgusting piece of shit who used to run Enron) was finally arrested. I�m sure you can imagine my joy at hearing the news. And if you haven�t seen this page from the Smoking Gun, detailing the cretin�s friendship with the Bush family, go look and see.
It�s a wonder he was ever indicted at all, but that goes a long way toward explaining why it�s taken so long, if you ask me. Having friends in high places comes in handy when you�re a crook. And we�ll just have to wait and see what kind of actual punishment (if any) the man ends up receiving.
Do I sound cynical?
~~~
Clean Air for National Parks - Stop Drilling in Wyoming's Powder River Basin
Some 50,000 to 150,000 coalbed methane wells have been proposed for the Powder River Basin. Spanning millions of acres in Wyoming and Montana, it would be one of the largest energy developments in the lower 48 states, threatening scarce western water supplies and polluting grand vistas of the West, including Yellowstone and other national parks. Tell Interior Secretary Gale Norton to preserve our Western landscape and stop damage from Powder River Basin drilling. Take action.
~~~
THE THIN GREEN LINE
Whistleblowing Chief of Park Police Fired
Seven months after suspending her for speaking out about increased safety risks in national parks due to underfunding and understaffing, the Interior Department has fired U.S. Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers. Though she was pressured by her superiors last year to conceal the fact that patrols were being reduced -- they feared political embarrassment for President Bush, who campaigned on promises to spruce up the national park system -- Chambers publicly spoke in December about her safety worries. She was immediately placed on paid leave. She asked the federal Office of Special Counsel, which investigates whistleblower cases, to look into the matter, but it moved so slowly that she filed her own request on Friday to the Merit Systems Protection Board to be immediately reinstated. Hours later, before the MSPB could rule, she was formally terminated. Chambers and her lawyers plan to appeal.
straight to the source: Slate.com, Timothy Noah, 12 Jul 2004
straight to the source: The Washington Post, Karlyn Barker, 10 Jul 2004
get the backstory in Grist: Put on a happy face -- National Park Service employees muzzled on budget shortfalls and other problems -- in Muckraker
~~~
ADMINISTRATION IGNORED IRAQ/AL-QAEDA INTELLIGENCE
The Senate Intelligence Committee released a report on Friday that does its best to whitewash the Administration's role in hyping intelligence by pinning the blame on the CIA.[1] The report distorts the truth by failing to meaningfully investigate "the ways intelligence was used, misused, misinterpreted or ignored by Administration policymakers... in making the case to the American people that war with Iraq was necessary."[2] Those issues, conveniently, will be addressed in a separate report scheduled to be released sometime after the November elections.
Despite its inadequacies, the Intelligence Committee's report illustrates how - in the few cases the intelligence community did get it right � top Administration officials ignored them anyway.
For example, the CIA reported to the Administration that Iraq and al-Qaeda did not have "an established formal relationship."[3] In fact, the Iraqi government actively sought "to prevent Iraq youth from joining Al Qaeda." Yet, Vice President Dick Cheney continues to tell the American people that Saddam Hussein had "an established relationship with al Qaeda."[4]
Also, according to the Intelligence Committee report, George Tenet directly contacted National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and her deputy Stephen Hadley in October 2002 to tell them the President should not say that Iraq had sought uranium from Africa because "the evidence was weak." In a fax sent to the White House, the CIA explained that "this is one of the two issues where we differed with the British." Nevertheless, just two months later, the President publicly declared "[t]he British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."[5]
Sources:
1. "Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq," Senate Intelligence Committee, 7/07/04
2. "Holes in America's Defense," Washington Post, 7/09/04
3. "C.I.A. Warned White House That Links Between Iraq and Qaeda Were 'Murky'," New York Times, 7/10/04
4. "Interview With Dick Cheney," Fox News, 6/28/04
5. 2003 State of the Union, WhiteHouse.gov, 1/28/03
Visit www.misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion.
~~~
And let us not forget that today is the day the House meets to debate the Federal Marriage Amendment to our Constitution.
Shall we pray for an end to this bigotry?
Better yet, click click here to contact your Senators and tell them how you feel.
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~~~~~~~~~~~peace, love and smooches~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Copyright 2002-2005, Howl-at-the-Moon Words
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