January « 2008 « carapace – Not your father's america

Archive for January, 2008

Friday January 25, 2008 – “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” – President John F. Kennedy

Friday, January 25th, 2008

Bill O’Reilly, extremist windbag, recently said there are no homeless veterans.

Some 200,000 vets who are homeless prove O’Reilly is wrong again. One of those is Vietnam-era vet Levi Cunningham who says O’Reilly or “anyone who would even imply there are no homeless veterans is out of touch with reality.” Along with homelessness, veterans—especially those sent to Iraq and Afghanistan by the Bush administration—are facing great trouble finding jobs and health care. The belligerent Fox News loudmouth’s no-homeless-vets rant set off quite a backlash—and you can join in by signing a letter at FoxAttacks, demanding O’Reilly apologize.

http://foxattacks.com/vets

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Beck on guest who favored tax cuts for lower-income Americans: “Nice of you to join us, Stalin”

Responding to guest Jeff Frankel’s statement that “[a]ll the past tax cuts have gone primarily to the rich, and I think it’s — it is time to give some of it to lower-income, working Americans,” Glenn Beck said, “Nice of you to join us, Stalin. I mean, that is the redistribution of wealth!” This is not the first time Beck has invoked the Soviet Union in characterizing policies or people with whom he disagrees.

Read More

http://mediamatters.org/items/200801230006?lid=35434&rid=2198457

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Families of firefighters killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and members of the Fire Fighters (IAFF) are traveling across Florida to bust the “hero” myth of Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani’s 9/11 actions.

The state’s presidential primary is Jan. 29. Giuliani has built his campaign and public image on his response to the attacks. Al Santora, a retired deputy chief whose firefighter son, Christopher, died in the attacks, says the real story is Giuliani’s “tremendous lack of judgment and failure of leadership.”

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/01/23/fire-fighters-challenge-giuliani-in-florida/

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Exxon guns for all-time profit record

23 Jan 2008

Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, is within striking distance of setting an all-time profit record – again. Analysts are expecting the company to post solid quarterly and full-year earnings next Friday – and if the results top forecasts, Exxon could end up reporting the highest profit ever for a U.S. company. “Exxon is likely to have record quarterly earnings,” said Fadel Gheit, a senior energy analyst at Oppenheimer. “For every $1 [increase] in the price of oil, Exxon makes [another] $125 million for the quarter.”

At:

http://tinyurl.com/yqpdyh (money.cnn.com)

From: CLG News

ConocoPhillips’ 4Q Net Up 37% Amid Record Prices –ConocoPhillips 4Q earnings $4.37B vs year-ago $3.2B 23

Jan 2008

ConocoPhillips’s fourth-quarter net income rose 37% amid record oil prices, better-than-expected refining margins and higher profits from its investment in Lukoil Holdings. ConocoPhillips was the first major U.S. major oil company to report fourth- quarter earnings, setting the stage for a possible strong quarter for Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., which both report on Feb. 1.

At:

http://tinyurl.com/22t9oh (money.cnn.com)

From: CLG News

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How low can oil prices go? -

January 23, 2008
By Stephen S. Poloz, Senior Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and Chief Economist, Export Development Canada

Oil prices have broken below the psychologically-important $90 level, leading speculators who have bet heavily on $100-plus oil to consider bailing out of the market. For real consumers, in contrast, this is good news – and the question is, how much better can it get?
There is a wide dispersion of views on the future. Just a year ago many thought oil prices were headed below $50, while today some believe they are headed above $100. A non-economist might wonder what changed during the past 12 months to account for such shifts. Certainly, the arguments that are made to support forecasts are not new – rapid growth in Asia, political risk in the Middle East, a perception that conventional sources of oil are drying up, and the like.

Consider the connection between economic growth and oil demand, which is not as tight as one might expect. The world economy grew by nearly 5% in 2007, but the demand for oil rose by only 1%. Fact is, since 1975 the world has nearly doubled its ratio of GDP to oil consumption. This is partly due to switches to other energy sources. But even if we use a broader measure of energy use, taking all sources into account, the world has seen a 50% improvement in the last 30 years. For the U.S., overall energy efficiency has doubled, while for China it has almost quadrupled!

http://www.edc.ca/english/docs/ereports/commentary/publications_14193.htm

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It’s the War, Healthcare and the Economy, Stupid

Source: Gallup, January 17, 2008

“Several of the leading presidential candidates have adopted ‘change’ as a campaign theme and have rushed to claim that they themselves are the candidates for change,” notes Frank Newport of the Gallup polling organization. “But exactly what form that ‘change’ should take has been a little murky. Change is such a broad concept that — like a Rorschach inkblot test — an individual can read into it what he or she wants.” To clarify things a bit, Gallup surveyed Americans to ask what type of change they wanted. The three most common answers were: end the war in Iraq/bring troops home (26 percent); healthcare reform (19 percent); and fix the economy/create more jobs (18 percent). Stopping illegal immigration came in fourth, at 10 percent.

…

Complete article at:

http://www.edc.ca/english/docs/ereports/commentary/publications_14193.htm

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Iraq Oil Report – ‘Disputes between Iraq’s national government and Kurdish region keep taking their toll…’

The national Oil Ministry intends to move forward on developing the oil and gas sector, while it cuts out companies who have signed with the Kurdistan Regional Government, deals Baghdad calls illegal. Meanwhile there’s no sign of any breakthrough on the oil law.

Iraq’s Oil Ministry has reportedly cut current and will block future deals as
[...]

You may view the latest post at
http://tinyurl.com/2eo8q9 (iraqoilreport.com)

Iraq Oil Report – ‘Iraqis are left without fuel or electricity’

Plus:

*Iraq Oil Ministry, Big Oil to meet in Jordan this week
*Deadline to register for upcoming oil tenders delayed
*2008 budget delayed, Kurd vs. Arab continues
*Iraq Press Roundup
*Is the surge working? A worthless question.
*and more…

You can’t have one without the other, but with many of Iraq’s power plants shut and refineries stopped, Iraqis have neither fuel nor [...]

You may view the latest post at

http://tinyurl.com/ytfhmv (iraqoilreport.com)

Iraq Oil Report – ‘Are Baghdad-Kurd talks on oil issues about to start again?…’

Plus:
*Oil from Kirkuk expected to restart soon
*National Security chief survives ambush
*What’s in a flag?
*New Baath law reservations
*more…

Iraq’s Kurdish oil leaders are in Baghdad to clear an impasse over oil control, though the national oil minister is reportedly not in town. That could be the point, since some Kurdish leaders have called for Oil Minister Hussain
[...]

You may view the latest post at

http://tinyurl.com/yolumh (iraqoilreport.com/)

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Congressman Paul’s Texas Straight Talk

Constitutional Responses to Terrorism

“It has been over 6 years since the atrocities of September 11 were committed and there are still some very basic measures that need to be taken to bring the perpetrators to justice and make America safer. I have proposed legislation to help with these efforts and will continue to fight in Congress for the safety and security of the American people.”

Click here for the full article: http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2008/tst012008.htm

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three thousand words

Tom Tomorrow: Serious Pundits Discuss the Issues

http://action.credomobile.com/comics/Original%20Image012308.jpg

Jeff Parker: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoons/ParkeJ/2008/ParkeJ20080124_low.jpg

Signe Wilkinson: so you are pro-choice!

http://img.slate.com/media/47/080123_ed.gif

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Thursday January 24, 2008 – “Whoever in the case of a European war was not with me was against me.” – Kaiser William II

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

Study and Database on Administrations’ Case for War in Iraq

Iraq: The War Card, Center for Public Integrity: “Over the past two and a half years, researchers at the Fund for Independence in Journalism have sought to document every public statement made by eight top Bush administration officials from September 11, 2001, to September 11, 2003, regarding (1) Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction and (2) Iraq’s links to Al Qaeda. Although both had been frequently cited as rationales for the U.S. war in Iraq, by 2005 it was known that these assertions had not, in fact, been true. The centerpiece of this project is an exhaustive, searchable, and robustly indexed database of all public statements on the two topics by President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, and White House Press Secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan. These statements were painstakingly collected from the websites of the White House, State Department, and Defense Department as well as from transcripts of interviews and briefings, texts of speeches and testimony, prepared statements, and the like.”

The 380,000-plus-word database presented here allows, for the first time, the Iraq-related public pronouncements of top Bush administration officials to be tracked on a day-by-day basis against their private assessments and the actual “ground truth” as it is now known.

http://www.publicintegrity.org/WarCard/Default.aspx?src=project_home&context=overview&id=945

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Economic Crisis

ROBERT POLLIN, pollin@econs.umass.edu, http://www.peri.umass.edu

Author of the books “Contours of Descent: U.S. Economic Fractures and the Landscape of Global Austerity” and “The Macroeconomics of Saving, Finance, and Investment,” Pollin said today: “U.S. and global financial markets are mired in a severe crisis due to the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble and the subprime mortgage market. A recession is almost certainly on the way, if it hasn’t already begun. … “We need to start seriously discussing a new structure of financial regulations. Rebuilding a stable source of affordable housing credit should be a top priority. There are useful lessons to extract from the old S&L regulatory system … We should also impose taxes on speculative asset trading, including the stock, bond, and real estate markets. We already heavily tax gambling casinos and race tracks. Why should high-rolling on Wall Street be exempt?

“If financial markets feel entitled to rely on government life supports whenever they face troubles, why shouldn’t we invite public controls over the financial system the rest of the time, when these would so emphatically benefit the well-being of the majority?”

Pollin is the Political Economy Research Institute’s founding co-director and professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

From: Institute for Public Accuracy

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GOING BANKRUPT: WHY THE DEBT CRISIS IS AMERICA’S GREATEST THREAT

By Chalmers Johnson, Tomdispatch.com

Welcome to 2008, a year of morally obscene, fiscally unsustainable spending. Watch as the military bloats and our standard of living sinks.

http://www.alternet.org/stories/74620/

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BIG RATE CUTS AND FISCAL STIMULUS TRUMP CONSERVATIVE IDEOLOGY

By Mark Weisbrot, AlterNet

Like Nixon said, “We’re all Keynesians now.”

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/74632/

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Oil prices point to hefty profits

21 Jan 2008

Oil at $100 a barrel came and went in a flash. But crude prices that hovered at or above $90 through most of the last three months of 2007 are expected to mean pumped-up quarterly profits as the largest oil companies report their earnings in coming weeks. The dramatic increase in oil prices — an average of about $91 a barrel throughout the fourth quarter, 51 percent higher than the year-ago period — is expected to produce results that surpass the last three months of 2006. [No worries. On the day that Exxon's next round of record profits is announced, I'm sure another attractive white woman will go missing or Britney Spears will show up at a custody hearing. --LRP]

At:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5472991.html

From: CLG News

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Will Economic Stimulus Measures Stave Off Recession?

By Richard C. Cook

Global Research, January 20, 2008

It is not quite true that the U.S. economy is heading into a recession, even though President Bush and most other politicians seem to be discovering it for the first time. It’s like the famous scene in Casablanca where Louis, the Prefect of Police, shuts down Rick’s nightclub while pocketing his winnings for the night, because, “I am shocked, shocked to learn that gambling is going on in this establishment!”

Actually, as this writer and others have been saying for months, the producing economy—you know, the one where men and women go to work every day to make things of value (not just push paper for financial “services”)—has been in decline for at least a year. This can be measured by the steady decrease of M1, the money available in cash and checking accounts for immediate purchases.

But if you dig a little deeper, it is easy to see that the U.S. never really got out of the recession of 2000-2002 which followed the bursting of the dot.com bubble at the end of the Bill Clinton presidency. This event was marked by the stock market crash starting in December 2000 that cost Americans over a trillion dollars in retirement savings and other forms of paper “wealth” over a period of a few months.

The U.S. producing economy never really came back from that debacle. Instead, the Federal Reserve, under “Maestro” Alan Greenspan, facilitated the blowing of three financial bubbles, upon which the Bush/Cheney ship-of-state has sailed along merrily until recent weeks.

The first of these bubbles, of course, was the housing one, marked by officially-sanctioned fraudulent lending practices leading to the sub-prime mortgage collapse. By 2005, this bubble had been creating fifty percent of all economic growth in the U.S. But now that growth has reversed in a nationwide home price deflation.

The second was the explosion of leveraged debt in the areas of commercial real estate, mergers and buyouts by equity funds, and hedge/derivative fund speculation. This debt has also begun to unravel which is reflected in declining equity values in the stock market.

The third bubble has been the less conspicuous trillion dollars in off-budget spending for the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars which has kept the military-industrial complex in clover. Meanwhile government tax revenues have plummeted due to the Bush tax cuts for the rich and the continued erosion of the U.S. job base and our public and private infrastructures.

It is the bursting of these bubbles, combined with the absence in our economy of an engine to replace the decade-long habit by homeowners of staying afloat by cashing in on their inflated housing equity, which is generating the crisis.

Let’s look at the solutions various parties are proposing:

…

Complete article at:

www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7852

Richard C. Cook is a retired U.S. federal government analyst, whose career included service with the U.S. Civil Service Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, the Carter White House, and NASA, followed by twenty-one years with the U.S. Treasury Department. His articles on economics, politics, and space policy have appeared on numerous websites, and he is cited in the Wikipedia article on “Economic Democracy” as one of the world’s leading monetary reformers. His book on monetary reform entitled We Hold These Truths is in preparation. He is also the author of Challenger Revealed: An Insider’s Account of How the Reagan Administration Caused the Greatest Tragedy of the Space Age, called by one reviewer, “the most important spaceflight book of the last twenty years.” His website is at www.richardccook.com .

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Borowitz Report – Bill Clinton Warning Shocker

Bill Clinton Acting ‘Like a Madman,’ Says Kim Jong-Il

North Korean Leader Urges Former Prez to ‘Dial it Down’

Former President Bill Clinton is behaving “like a madman” as he campaigns for his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), and needs to get control over his erratic outbursts, North Korean President Kim Jong-Il said today.

While the reclusive Mr. Kim rarely comments on U.S. politics, the North Korean president said that he felt “compelled” to speak out because Mr. Clinton’s behavior on the campaign trail “had gone too far.”

“When I see him popping off like that, I wonder if he knows that he looks like a lunatic,” Mr. Kim told reporters in Pyongyang. “I really think the guy needs to dial it down a little.”

As a head of state, Mr. Kim said that “it gives him the willies” when he sees other world leaders behaving in a seemingly unhinged manner: “I wouldn’t want people who see Bill Clinton losing it conclude that we’re all a bunch of whackjobs.”

Mr. Kim’s words found support from another head of state, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who said that he, too, was “troubled” by the former U.S. president’s “kooky rants.”

“I would strongly advise Bill Clinton that before he opens his mouth, count to ten first.” Mr. Chavez said.

But perhaps the most somber assessment of the former president came today from British singer Amy Winehouse, who called Mr. Clinton’s antics “a desperate cry for help.”

“Bill Clinton needs an intervention,” Ms. Winehouse said. “I hope it’s not too late.”

Elsewhere, Iran called its recent encounter with American warships an “accident,” blaming the entire episode on Mapquest.

Andy’s Only West Coast Appearance – April 24
Andy makes his only scheduled West Coast appearance Thursday, April 24 at University of California, Santa Barbara. 8 PM at Campbell Hall. Tickets available at https://artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu

Andy with Susie Essman and Jeffrey Toobin – May 13
Andy hosts “Countdown to ’08″ on Tuesday, May 13 at 8 PM at the 92nd St. Y with his special guests Susie Essman (HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Jeffrey Toobin (CNN, bestselling author of The Nine). The Y is located at 92nd St. and Lexington Avenue. For tickets, go to www.92y.org .

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

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three thousand words

Tom Toles: we call it the ‘splurge’

http://img.slate.com/media/97/080122_ed.gif

Mike Smith: adrenaline rush

http://tinyurl.com/3cbzbs (media.lasvegassun.com)

Matt Bors: change!

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoons/BorsM/2008/BorsM20080123_low.jpg

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Wednesday January 23, 2008 – Great liars are also great magicians – Adolph Hitler

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

Two Things Infinite: The Universe And Human Stupidity

By Frosty Wooldridge

Why would anyone in their right mind celebrate adding 100 million more people to the US population when we already suffer more problems than we can solve. Find out why humans continue their ongoing stupidity.

…
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_frosty_w_080118_two_things_infinite_3a.htm

Frosty Wooldridge Bio: Frosty Wooldridge possesses a unique view of the world, cultures and families in that he has bicycled around the globe 100,000 miles, on six continents and six times across the United States in the past 30 years. His books include, “HANDBOOK FOR TOURING BICYCLISTS”; “STRIKE THREE! TAKE YOUR BASE”; “BICYCLING AROUND THE WORLD”; “MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE TO ALASKA: INTO THE WIND-A TEEN NOVEL”; “AN EXTREME ENCOUNTER: ANTARCTICA”; “IMMIGRATION’S UNARMED INVASION: DEADLY CONSEQUENCES.” www.frostywooldridge.com

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‘I think the blood bank is trawling all broker’s floors to recover the blood’ Australian shares in freefall –Sharemarket is now officially in a bear market

22 Jan 2008

Australian shares plunged a massive 7 per cent this afternoon as panic selling set in among investors over an expected slowdown in global growth. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index had shed more than 7 per cent, down 393.6 points to 5186.8 points – its lowest since November 2006 – placing the market on course for a record 12th day of declines. The plunge equated to a $90 billion loss of market value. The latest plunge means the sharemarket has now lost more than 24 per cent of its value since hitting a record high last November and is now officially in a bear market.

At:

http://business.smh.com.au/australian-shares-in-freefall/20080122-1nan.html

From: CLG News

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Bad Reviews for Bush in the Mideast

16 Jan 2008

The disparaging of President [sic] Bush’s eight-day tour of the Middle East by America’s staunchest opponents in the region was hardly unexpected. But Bush was also harshly criticized in countries with close ties to Washington, including some from the very countries that rolled out the red carpet for the visiting President. Only days after he visited Kuwait, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Mohammed Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah was standing beside Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Tehran, declaring: “My country knows who is our friend and who is our enemy, and Iran is our friend.”

At:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1704296,00.html

From: CLG News

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Proof that Bush foreign policy a failure

The Independent: George W. Bush had a chance to bring consistency to his sermons about democracy and start a move away from U.S. oil dependency on a near-medieval kingdom. His fawning visit to Riyadh is a measure of how grievously he failed.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/347608_bushmiddleeast17.html

The Independent is published in Great Britain.

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The state of the Union — crumbling

By Eric Kelderman, Stateline.org Staff Writer

A congressionally chartered panel is calling for a 40 cent hike in the federal gas tax, last raised in 1993, to fix the nation’s aging and overburdened roads and bridges – just one piece of the nation’s critical infrastructure in dire need of repairs costing as much as $1.6 trillion. See what’s at stake in this excerpt from “State of the States 2008,” Stateline.org’s annual report on significant state policy developments and trends released Jan. 16.

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Stoneridge and the End of Enron Deterrence

By David Sirota

January 17th, 2008

Conservative intellectuals typically justify their reactionary legal/judicial agenda by citing the theory of deterrence. They tell us that harsh punishments, mandatory sentences and wide definitions of the criminal accessory designation are the ways to deter crime before it happens, because under such “get tough” measures, potential perpetrators will think twice before committing a crime.

The theory, of course, doesn’t end up working all that well when applied to crimes that emanate from momentary “passion” and from socioeconomic desperation. A crime of passion is often not deterred by potential punishments because, by definition, a crime of passion is one where the perpetrator is motivated by a blinding explosion of emotion. Similarly, a crime of socioeconomic desperation — stealing food, etc. — is not usually deterred by the threat of jail because such crimes are by definition motivated by perpetrators’ belief that they need to commit the crime to survive.

However, where “get tough” measures can deter unacceptable behavior is in the area of white-collar crime — crime often plotted by emotionless calculation and committed by the very rich (a k a the least economically desperate people in America). And this is why this week’s Stoneridge decision by the Supreme Court is so tragic: A major deterrent to Enron-style white-collar crime was crushed right before our very eyes.

Here are the gory details from the Financial Times:

…

Complete article at:

http://ourfuture.org/blog-entry/stoneridge-end-enron-deterrence

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Subject: 1978: Clandestine Operation of Argentine Military Intelligence in Mexico

Washington D.C., January 20, 2008 – Documents published today by the National Security Archive reveal that Mexico’s secret service captured a squad of Argentine military intelligence operatives and expelled them for spying on [exiled rebel] Montoneros living in Mexico” in January 1978.

At the time, the Mexican press denounced the presence of foreigners attempting to target and assassinate the leadership of the Argentine Montonero insurgents. Today, the documents of the now dismantled Mexican Federal Security Directorate confirm that agents of Intelligence Area 121 in Rosario, Argentina, “were sent [to Mexico] by the authorities in their country.”

http://www.nsarchive.org

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And now for the important news ….

By Argus Hamilton

Rudy Giuliani campaigned in the Florida Everglades Saturday in the state where he urgently needs a primary win. He knows how to curry favor in a swamp. Rudy gave the alligators the day off and wore a cotton golf shirt with a little terrorist on it.

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com

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three thousand words

Nate Beeler: good thing you had all of those credit cards!

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoons/BeeleN/2008/BeeleN20080122_low.jpg

Cartoon du Jour – By Khalil: presidential debates

http://www.bendib.com/newones/2008/january/small/1-19-De-Bates.jpg

Ted Rall: in the beginning people picked candidates by …

http://picayune.uclick.com/comics/trall/2008/trall080121.gif

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Tuesday January 22, 2008 – Fiction is The Truth! The Truth is Fiction!

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

Brokaw falsely claimed Giuliani’s Florida ads “don’t mention terrorism”

Summary: On Meet the Press, Tom Brokaw claimed that Rudy Giuliani’s television ads airing in Florida “don’t mention terrorism.” In fact, just two days earlier, the Giuliani campaign launched a new ad, airing in West Palm Beach, that contains video footage of New York City in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks

Read More

http://mediamatters.org/items/200801200004?f=h_top

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‘Some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge.’ CIA Admits Cyberattacks Blacked Out Cities –85% of U.S. critical infrastructure is controlled by private sector –CIA senior analyst ‘thoroughly weighed’ pros and cons of making information public

18 Jan 2008

The CIA on Friday admitted that cyberattacks have caused at least one power outage affecting multiple cities outside the United States. Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute, said that CIA senior analyst Tom Donahue confirmed that online attackers had caused at least one blackout. Paller said that Donahue presented him with a written statement that read, “We have information, from multiple regions outside the United States, of cyber intrusions into utilities, followed by extortion demands. We suspect, but cannot confirm, that some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge. We have information that cyberattacks have been used to disrupt power equipment in several regions outside the United States. In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities.”

At:

http://www.informationweek.com/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205901631

From: CLG News

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Unraveling the Myth of Al Qaida

By Peter Chamberlin

13 Jan 2008

The myth of “al Qaida” is built on an expansive foundation of many half-truths and hidden facts. It is a CIA creation… In order to explain away the billions of dollars worth of weapons and training that went into the operation, they chose a rich jihadi, a Saudi millionaire named Osama bin Laden, who had been a faithful recruiter and business agent of the Mujahedeen. He was painted as the sole financier of the entire enormous operation that was centered in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Bin Laden may not even have known that he was playing a part in a deceitful CIA global drama until after the fact.

At:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7787

From: CLG News

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The coming financial collapse of the U.S. government: Fed papers reveal what’s in store for Americans

July 17 2006 NOTE Date

by Mike Adams

The bankruptcy of the United States government has been talked about for years by independent observers. If you’ve read the book, “Empire of Debt,” then you know where the U.S. is headed financially. But most people have no idea about the ultimate financial consequences of decades of borrowing and spending by Washington, and they remain irrationally convinced that the status quo will remain intact for eternity. No one in any position of authority, you see, has yet admitted that the U.S. government is indeed going bankrupt.
Until now, that is.

In a remarkable paper posted by the Federal Reserve of St. Louis, and authored by a Boston University teacher named Prof Kotlikoff, it is revealed in blunt, powerful language that the era of borrowing and spending without consequence may soon come to a close. The paper, entitled, Is the United States Bankrupt?, may not remain posted for very long once the public gets word of what it actually says.

http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/06/07/Kotlikoff.pdf

And what, exactly, does it say? For starters, Kotlikoff explains, “Unless the United States moves quickly to fundamentally change and restrain its fiscal behavior, its bankruptcy will become a foregone conclusion.”

The country is bankrupt

…

Complete article at:

http://www.newstarget.com/z019659.htm

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US Gypsum to lay off 60 workers … and more

Bizjournals.com – Charlotte,NC,USA

The closing of United States Gypsum’s production line comes roughly a year after the company shut down its three wallboard manufacturing lines at the
…

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2008/01/14/daily8.html

Potato flake plant closing in Grand Forks | KXNet.com North Dakota …

KXMC – Minot,ND,USA

Officials at the RD Offutt Co. corporate office in Fargo confirmed the closing announcement. The company indicated it would issue a statement later.

http://www.kxmc.com/News/198469.asp

Blue-Collar Jobs Disappear, Taking Away Way of Life

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011608F.shtml

Erik Eckholm, reporting for The New York Times, writes from Jackson, Ohio, “After 30 years at a factory making truck parts, Jeffrey Evans was earning $14.55 an hour in what he called ‘one of the better-paying jobs in the area.’”

Plant Closing To Cost Hundreds Their Jobs – Greenville News Story …

Plant Closing To Cost Hundreds Their Jobs … PICKENS COUNTY, S.C. –

Another Upstate textile plant has announced its closing. …

http://www.wyff4.com/news/15055651/detail.html?subid=10100246

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Business Outlook Survey – FRB Philadelphia

The following information is now available on the Philadelphia Fed’s website:

Manufacturers See Weakening in Activity

Firms participating in January’s Business Outlook Survey reported that activity weakened in the region’s manufacturing sector this month. See the summary and answers to special questions in which the firms were asked to appraise current demand for their products relative to expectations.

January Business Outlook Survey: http://www.philadelphiafed.org/files/bos/bos0108.html

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HOW THE MEGA-RICH TREAT OUR TREASURY LIKE A BUFFET (AND STICK YOU WITH THE BILL)

By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!

Political connections are worth their weight in gold for America’s rich.

http://www.alternet.org/stories/74389/

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David Cay Johnston on How the Rich Get Richer

Fresh Air from WHYY, January 3, 2008 · Investigative reporter David Cay Johnston explores in his new book how in recent years, government subsidies and new regulations have quietly funneled money from the poor and the middle class to the rich and politically connected.

Cay Johnston covers tax policy for The New York Times, where he won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on that beat. His previous book, Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich — and Cheat Everybody Else, was a best seller.

The new book, which expands the inquiry beyond tax policy into a whole range of regulatory machinery, is titled Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You With the Bill).

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17808622

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And now for the important news ….

By Argus Hamilton

Barack Obama raised the ire of Democrats Wednesday by praising Ronald Reagan’s vision. That’s as far as his wife would let him go to carry Nevada. She put her foot down when he tried to put a Confederate flag on the back of his campaign bus.

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com

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three thousand words

MStreeter: … all of the presidential candidates can be fools some of the time …

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoons/StreeM/2008/StreeM20080120_low.jpg

David Horsey: … he’s thinkin’ about votin’ for hillary

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20080121/335cartoon20080121.jpg

Abell Smith: back in the 80′s!

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoons/SmithA/2008/SmithA20080121_low.jpg

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Monday January 21, 2008 – Where facts are few, experts are many. – Donald R. Gannon

Monday, January 21st, 2008

Fake News for the Masses

Source: Brandweek, December 31, 2007

The migration of sponsored video news releases (VNRs) and B-roll footage from television stations to websites is increasing. Major companies are “bypassing the press and going directly to the masses,” in part because of increased scrutiny of fake news, according to Brandweek. An Allstate representative said posting the videos to their website “started as an experiment,” but is now the norm. General Motors’s director of broadcast communications explained, “We’re just trying to get impressions out.” Bev Yehuda of the PR firm MultiVu agreed: “Our customers are no longer reliant on broadcasters to tell their stories.” In related news, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) marked the holiday season with “a series of initiatives to offer consumers tips for avoiding pirated music,” including an alarmist VNR. As Consumerist.com noted, the RIAA video was “leaked (promoted?) heavily by the [public relations] company that produced it,” so “keep your bullshit ‘stealth marketing’ sensors up.”

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US Oil Cos 4Q Seen Lifted By High Oil Prices

Jan 18 2008

Over the next two weeks, major oil companies will report banner-headline profits for the fourth quarter of 2007, led by a sharp rise in oil prices. Earnings for the group are expected to be 15% above the same period last year and up 10% sequentially, according to Oppenheimer & Co. research. During the quarter, oil prices jumped from $80.24 on Oct. 1 to $95.98 on Dec. 31.

At:

http://tinyurl.com/3xrkwy (money.cnn.com/)

From: CLG News

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Oil Profits Could Spark Some Backlash

Jan 17 2008

Already, Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, has predicted it will earn a bigger profit in the fourth quarter than it did in the third, when it earned $3.72 billion, because of higher energy prices. Last February, Chevron reported its third consecutive year of record profits: $17.1 billion for 2006. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial predict Exxon Mobil [expected Feb. 1] to top its year-ago result and post quarterly revenue of $112.7 billion, a 25 percent jump from the fourth quarter of 2006. Exxon Mobil’s $39.5 billion profit for all of 2006 was the largest annual profit by a U.S. company.

At:

http://tinyurl.com/2pr6sr (ap.google.com)

From: CLG News

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Iraq Oil Report – ‘U.S. audit can’t determine how much Iraq ministries spent on capital

projects

Plus:
*Oil Ministry cracks down more on oil firms signing deals with Kurds
*Kirkuk pipeline cutting short planned oil sales
*Oil refineries, power plants have a bad week
*Much, much more

Iraq’s Oil Ministry spent $558 million on capital projects in 2007 to improve its struggling oil sector. Or $500 million. Or only $270,000.

A new report by the U.S. [...]

You may view the latest post at

http://tinyurl.com/2xt8a2 (iraqoilreport.com)

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World Not Running Out of Oil

Carl Mortished
Times Online
January 18, 2008

Doom-laden forecasts that world oil supplies are poised to fall off the edge of a cliff are wide of the mark, according to leading oil industry experts who gave warning that human factors, not geology, will drive the oil market.

A landmark study of more than 800 oilfields by Cambridge Energy Research Associates (Cera) has concluded that rates of decline are only 4.5 per cent a year, almost half the rate previously believed, leading the consultancy to conclude that oil output will continue to rise over the next decade.

Peter Jackson, the report’s author, said: “We will be able to grow supply to well over 100 million barrels per day by 2017.” Current world oil output is in the region of 85million barrels a day.

The optimistic view of the world’s oil resource was also given support by BP’s chief economist, Peter Davies, who dismissed theories of “Peak Oil” as fallacious. Instead, he gave warning that world oil production would peak as demand weakened, because of political constraints, including taxation and government efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Speaking to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil, Mr Davies said that peaks in world production had been wrongly predicted throughout history but he agreed that oil might peak within a generation “as a result of a peaking of demand rather than supply”.

…

Complete article at:

http://www.truthnews.us/?p=1716

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Burning Biofuels May Be Worse Than Coal and Oil

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/010408EA.shtml

Alok Jha, The Guardian UK: “Using biofuels made from corn, sugar cane and soy could have a greater environmental impact than burning fossil fuels, according to experts. Although the fuels themselves emit fewer greenhouse gases, they all have higher costs in terms of biodiversity loss and destruction of farmland.”

Ethanol Dominoes continue to fall

January 04, 2008

More dire predicitions as a result of bad energy policies. From the Financial Post:

A new crisis is emerging, a global food catastrophe that will reach further and be more crippling than anything the world has ever seen. The credit crunch and the reverberations of soaring oil prices around the world will pale in comparison to what is about to transpire, Donald Coxe, global portfolio strategist at BMO Financial Group said at the Empire Club’s 14th annual investment outlook in Toronto on Thursday.

…

“You’re going to have real problems in countries that are food short, because we’re already getting embargoes on food exports from countries, who were trying desperately to sell their stuff before, but now they’re embargoing exports,” he said, citing Russia and India as examples.

“Those who have food are going to have a big edge.”

With 54% of the world’s corn supply grown in America’s mid-west, the U.S. is one of those countries with an edge.

But Mr. Coxe warned U.S. corn exports were in danger of seizing up in about three years if the country continues to subsidize ethanol production. Biofuels are expected to eat up about a third of America’s grain harvest in 2007.

http://www.env-econ.net/2008/01/ethanol-dominoe.html

End Ethanol!

By Alan Sullivan

It is sheer madness to burn food as fuel. If it were not subsidized, this industry would not exist. Because it takes a great deal of fuel to raise grain, ethanol does nothing for anyone’s “carbon footprint.”

http://www.seablogger.com/?p=9711

The Great Ethanol Corndoggle

OpEdNews – Newtown,PA,USA

Before even touching a nozzle they have paid at least $3.60 per gallon for corn ethanol through subsidies and tax breaks–the bulk of that to ADM (the Archer …

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rand_cli_080111_the_great_ethanol_co.htm

The Case Against Ethanol

PoliGazette – Netherlands

I’ve long been an opponent of ethanol as a viable source of alternative energy for America. At best it’sa short sighted and inefficient attempt at energy …

http://poligazette.com/2008/01/12/the-case-against-ethanol/

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USGAO – Energy Markets: Increasing Globalization of Petroleum Products Markets, Tightening Refining Demand and Supply Balance, and Other Trends Have Implications for U.S. Energy Supply, Prices, and Price Volatility.

GAO-08-14, December 20.

http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-14

Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0814high.pdf

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National Security Archive Update, January 8, 2008 – White House Must Answer Questions About Missing White House E-mails, Magistrate Judge Rules

http://www.nsarchive.org

Washington DC, January 8, 2008 – In an Order issued today, Magistrate Judge Facciola of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the White House to answer questions about over 5 million missing e-mails generated between 2003-2005. Noting that the need for information the missing e-mails is “time-sensitive” because of the risk that stored copied of the e-mails “are increasingly likely to be deleted or overridden with the passage of time,” the Court demanded answers in a sworn declaration by January 13, 2008 about the location of the missing e-mails.

“To date, the White House has evaded answering questions about whether it permanently destroyed over 5 million e-mails about issues such as Hurricane Katrina, the firing of United States Attorneys, and the exposure of Valerie Plame’s identity as a CIA agent,” commented Meredith Fuchs, the Archive’s General Counsel. “This Order will force the Executive Office of the President to tell the public whether it really erased key records of the nation’s history or whether it has made any effort to preserve the information.”

The order issued today come in National Security Archive v. Executive Office of the President (EOP), et al. Previously, Judge Kennedy ordered the preservation of EOP backup tapes and the consolidation of this case (filed September 5, 2007) with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) v. Executive Office of the President, et al. (filed September 25, 2007).

To date, the White House has had the following to say about the missing e-mails:

“I wouldn’t rule out that there were a potential 5 million emails lost” – Press Gaggle by Dana Perino (April 13, 2007)

“[W]e are aware that there could have been some emails that were not automatically archived because of a technical issue.” – Press Briefing by Dana Perino (April 16, 2007)

“CREW has yet to provide any basis for their assertions — be it their original assertion, or their new claim. We are aware that some e-mails may not have been automatically archived in the past, but they may be available on backup tapes. Unlike what the liberal group CREW has asserted, we’ve never been without a backup system. The Office of Administration at the White House has been maintaining and preserving backup tapes for the official email system.” – Scott Stanzel, White House Spokesman

Visit the Web site of the National Security Archive for more information about today’s posting.

http://www.nsarchive.org

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three thousand words

Rob Rogers: energy bar?

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoons/RogerR/2008/RogerR20080120_low.jpg

Tom Toles: … anything interesting happen while I was gone?

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/uc/20080118/ltt080118.gif

Jack Ohman: they’re the front-runners … of sorts

http://images.ucomics.com/comics/tmjoh/2008/tmjoh080117.gif

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Sunday January 20, 2008 – “If Jesus came back today, I think he’d throw up.” – Jesse Ventura

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

Megachurches make millions

January 14, 2008

You really should read this Senator Charles Grassley’s investigation into megachurches. It’s about time someone pulled down these big-time scams.

http://www.alternet.org/stories/72539/?page=entire

Nearly 2,000 years later, some who claim to speak in Jesus’ name are taking a different view. Consider Bishop Eddie Long, who pastors a megachurch in Lithonia, Ga. With a salary approaching $1 million a year and a nine-bathroom mansion situated on 20 acres, Long’s choice of vehicles reflects his opulent lifestyle: He drives a $350,000 Bentley.

Far from casting out money changers, Long is likely to join them. In a 2005 profile in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he defended his high-flying ways, insisting, “I pastor a multimillion dollar congregation. You’ve got to put me on a different scale than the little black preacher sitting over there that’s supposed to be just getting by because the people are suffering.”

These charlatans tend to hide behind the first amendment and claim that their congregations have a right to worship as they please (which generally seems to mean throwing money to the pastor at his bidding). As the article makes clear, Grassley isn’t interested in challenging them on constitutional issues: he’s investigation financial fraud, not doctrine.

That sounds fair to me. Churches ought to repay their tax exemption by being required to provide full, open, public disclosure of all of their finances.

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/01/megachurches_make_millions.php

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States Rejecting “Abstinence-Only” Funding Federal –Government Has Spent Millions On Sex-’Ed’

Approach, Now 15 States Not Interested 07 Jan 2008 CBS News reports: The government has provided states a $1 billion during the past decade for abstinence-only programs. But many say it just doesn’t work, and they point to the teen birth rate’s first rise in 15 years as proof. A growing number of states are taking a stand and actually rejecting federal abstinence-only funds. New Mexico just became the 15th.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/07/eveningnews/main3680520.shtml

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Exposing Anti-Choice Abortion Clinics

By Amanda Marcotte, AlterNet.
May 1, 2006.

Misleading ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ are appearing across America, aiming to limit or even prevent women from exploring all of their legal health care options. Tools

According to a recent Planned Parenthood email, a 17-year-old girl mistakenly walked into a crisis pregnancy center thinking it was Planned Parenthood, which was next door. “The group took down the girl’s confidential personal information and told her to come back for her appointment, which they said would be in their ‘other office’ (the real Planned Parenthood office nearby).”

When she showed up for her nonexistent appointment, she was met by the police, who had been erroneously tipped that a minor was being forced to abort. The crisis pregnancy center staff followed up this harassment by staking out the girl’s house, phoning her father at work, and even talking to her classmates about her pregnancy, urging them to harass her.
…

http://www.alternet.org/rights/35545/

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“How I Helped Found the Religious Right and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back”

January 11 2008

Frank Schaeffer, the son of the late Christian Right icon Francis Schaeffer, speaks out about how modern fundamentalists have abused his father’s teachings.

By Jeff Sharlet

Last October, I reviewed Frank Schaeffer’s new memoir, Crazy for God: How I Grew Up As One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back for the British New Statesman. Frank Schaeffer produced his father in a series of films, How Should We Then Live? and Whatever Happened to the Human Race?, that are still shown in church basements to this day, foundational texts of the modern Christian Right. Francis died in 1984, and Frank later left the movement he helped build to become a successful novelist and the author of two books about the American military, Keeping Faith: A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps, co-authored with his son, John, and AWOL:The Unexcused Absence Of America’s Upper Classes From Military Service and How It Hurts Our Country, co-authored with former Clinton presidential aide, Kathy Roth-Douquet. I recently spoke with Frank about the religious conservative movement he helped build and how his father’s intellectual heirs may have misunderstood Francis Schaeffer’s teachings.

In Crazy for God you argue that the Religious Right bets against America – to hope for its downfall. Why would they do that?

…

Complete article at:

http://www.therevealer.org/archives/main_story_002908.php

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Is Religion a Threat to Democracy?

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011408E.shtml

Ira Chernus, writing for TomDispatch.com, says: “It’s a presidential campaign like no other. The candidates have been falling all over each other in their rush to declare the depth and sincerity of their religious faith. The pundits have been just as eager to raise questions that seem obvious and important: Should we let religious beliefs influence the making of law and public policy? If so, in what way and to what extent? Those questions, however, assume that candidates bring the subject of faith into the political arena largely to justify — or turn up the heat under — their policy positions. In fact, faith talk often has little to do with candidates’ stands on the issues. There’s something else going on here.”

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Huck’s Constitution

15 January 2008

Huckabee, yesterday: “I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that’s what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than trying to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family.”

http://www.therevealer.org/archives/today_002916.php

HUCKABEE MINES SOUTH CAROLINA’S ANTI-CHOICE SUPPORTERS

By Allison Stevens, Women’s eNews

In the GOP field McCain, Huckabee and Thompson are battling for the staunch anti-abortion vote in South Carolina’s pivotal Jan. 19 primary.

http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/73595/

HUCKABEE REAFFIRMS HIS BELIEF THAT WIVES SHOULD “SUBMIT” TO THEIR HUSBANDS

By Lindsay Beyerstein, Majikthise

Mike Huckabee’s dodge about mutual submission doesn’t fit the Southern Baptist Convention code that he endorsed.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/73676/

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Americans United Asks IRS To Investigate Nevada Church That Endorsed Obama

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Las Vegas Pastor’s Pulpit Endorsement Of Presidential Candidate Appears To Violate Federal Tax Law, Says Church-State Watchdog Group

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate a Nevada church whose pastor called for the election of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama from the pulpit on Sunday.

Obama spoke during services at the Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ in Las Vegas on Jan. 13 in what the Las Vegas Review-Journal described as a “surprise appearance.” Before the Illinois senator arrived, Pastor Leon Smith told the congregation, “The more he (Obama) speaks, the more he wins my confidence, and … if the polls were open today, I would cast my vote for this senator.”

Smith added, “If you can’t support your own, you’re never going to get anywhere…. I want to see this man in office.”

Americans United said churches are tax-exempt and may not engage in partisan politics.

Read the rest of this press release:

http://www.au.org/site/News2?abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=9613

Americans United for Separation of Church and State www.au.org

Religious Right Newspaper Ad Misinterprets Church Politicking Ban, Says Americans United

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Wisconsin Church, Becket Fund Give Misleading Advice On Pulpit Endorsement Of Candidates, Says Church-State Watchdog Group

A full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal today offers grossly inaccurate information about church-based partisan politicking, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

A Wisconsin church and a Religious Right legal group claim in the ad that the Internal Revenue Service is misinterpreting federal tax law to censor sermons about political figures and political issues. The Becket Fund placed the ad on behalf of Pastor Kenneth D. Taylor of Calvary Assembly of God Church in Algoma, Wisc.

In the ad, which takes the form of an open letter, Taylor mocks the IRS and dares the federal agency to investigate his church for a supposedly political sermon he delivered in 2006.

Read the rest of this press release:

http://www.au.org/site/News2?abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=9615

Americans United for Separation of Church and State www.au.org

The Wall Of Separation Blog: The Constitution And ‘God’s Standards’: What Would Jefferson Do?

Yesterday, at a campaign stop in Michigan, Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee expressed his desire that the U.S. Constitution reflect “God’s standards”

“[Some of my opponents] do not want to change the Constitution,” he said, “but I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God, and that’s what we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than try to change God’s standards.”

This comment, combined with Mitt Romney’s “Faith in America” speech, Hillary Clinton’s church appearances, John McCain’s “Christian nation” affirmation and Barack Obama’s gospel tour in South Carolina got me thinking: WWJD?

Read the rest of this blog post:

http://www.au.org/site/News2?abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=9615

Americans United for Separation of Church and State www.au.org

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Evangelical Christian Film Is Inappropriate For Public School, Americans United Tells Alabama Educators

January 15, 2008

‘Facing The Giants’ Movie Is Aimed At Evangelism, Says AU’s Lynn

A church-produced evangelical Christian movie is aimed at evangelism and is inappropriate for public schools, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has told Alabama educators.

After receiving complaints, Americans United has urged officials at Tuscaloosa City Schools to stop showing the film “Facing the Giants.”

“This movie is not educational; it’s evangelistic,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Parents and taxpayers expect our public schools to teach, not preach.”

In a Jan. 15 letter, Americans United attorneys note that the film was shown repeatedly in classrooms last semester at Paul W. Bryant High School and that the school’s principal plans to continue airing it in the future. The movie depicts the story of a losing high school football coach who turns his struggling team around by convincing them that “With God, all things are possible….”

“Facing the Giants was produced by a Baptist church to bring about a single result: Christian conversion…. [F]ederal courts have consistently held that public-school teachers cannot present religious messages to students or use teaching materials that do so,” wrote Americans United Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan, Senior Litigation Counsel Alex Luchenitser and Litigation Counsel Heather Weaver.

The AU attorneys said public schools must be neutral when it comes to religion and may not provide religious instruction to children.

The letter cites an array of quotes from the film that are obviously aimed at proselytizing.

For example, the film’s coach tells his players that “football is just one of the tools we use to honor God,” and that “[God] sent his son Jesus to die for us so we can live for Him.” In a locker-room pep talk, he urges his team “to remember what God has brought us…. As long as we honor God, nothing is impossible…. Give your best to God…. Give God the glory.”

The film was produced by Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga. The Rev. Michael Catt, senior pastor of the church, told a gathering at the 2007 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., that 3,000 people have been converted to Christianity by the movie.

“We never got into it [film-making] to make money,” Catt told the Summit pastors’ breakfast. “We got into it to spread the gospel.”

TV preacher Pat Robertson’s “700 Club” reported last summer that Catt spoke at a Southern Baptist Pastors Conference in San Antonio and declared that all aspects of the movie were “bathed in prayer.” (Robertson called the movie “magnificent.”)

Americans United’s letter urges the school officials to uphold the separation of church and state and to take prompt steps to ensure that the film is no longer shown to students in the Tuscaloosa City Schools District.

http://www.au.org/site/News2?abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=9611

Americans United for Separation of Church and State www.au.org

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RADICAL RIGHT WING CHRISTIAN CLERIC EMBROILED IN PERJURY AND ADULTERY SCANDAL

By Steven Reynolds, The All Spin Zone

An update on the sexual scandal involving an 80 year old scion of a big old fundamentalist megachurch in Atlanta.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/73865/

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Priest gets 5 years probation … and more

By Sotto Voce(Sotto Voce)

Though Clark was convicted of sexual abuse and sodomy in 1988 and was put on some restrictions in his ministry, he remained a priest until 2004, when he was removed by the Vatican after it approved stricter rules on abusers in the …

http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com/2008/01/priest-gets-5-years-probation.html

Archdiocese ousts priest accused of sex abuse

Houston Chronicle – United States

The charter was developed after a priest sex abuse scandal became public in Boston in January 2002. The bishops conference later commissioned a nationwide …

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/5451080.html

Church officials sat on abuse allegations

abc13.com – Houston,TX,USA

Back in November, the archdiocese re-assigned a priest for allegedly sexually abusing a youngster between 1989 and 1993. The Houston police sex crimes unit …

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=5891120

Former minister charged with sex abuse of child

The News Journal – Wilmington,DE,USA

By TERRI SANGINITI, The News Journal

A 67-year-old former preacher from Ogletown was arrested late Monday on charges he sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl …

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080115/NEWS/80115026

Church abuse can kill

By endtimespropheticwords

Unfortunately, this type of abuse is not an isolated incident among so-called Christian churches -and all in the name of ‘healing’. To add insult to injury the minister, Bishop David Hemphill, claims, God ‘just took’ the boy. …

<http://endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/church-abuse-can-kill/>

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three thousand words

Trouble Town (Lloyd Dangle): science standards for schools

http://troubletown.com/cartoons/cartoons/ttown.604.gif

Steve Benson” … amend the constitution

http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/commphotos/view.php?id=113151

Matt Newton: … pray god will protect us from harm

http://freethunk.net/land-of-nodd/tornado-pray.jpg

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Archive for January, 2008

Friday January 25, 2008 – “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” – President John F. Kennedy

Bill O’Reilly, extremist windbag, recently said there are no homeless veterans.

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Beck on guest who favored tax cuts for lower-income Americans: “Nice of you to join us, Stalin”

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Families of firefighters killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and members of the Fire Fighters (IAFF) are traveling across Florida to bust the “hero” myth of Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani’s 9/11 actions.

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Exxon guns for all-time profit record

ConocoPhillips’ 4Q Net Up 37% Amid Record Prices –ConocoPhillips 4Q earnings $4.37B vs year-ago $3.2B 23

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How low can oil prices go? -

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It’s the War, Healthcare and the Economy, Stupid

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Iraq Oil Report – ‘Disputes between Iraq’s national government and Kurdish region keep taking their toll…’

Iraq Oil Report – ‘Iraqis are left without fuel or electricity’

Iraq Oil Report – ‘Are Baghdad-Kurd talks on oil issues about to start again?…’

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Congressman Paul’s Texas Straight Talk

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Top 25 Censored news stories of 2007 – #25 US Military in Paraguay Threatens Region

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three thousand words

Thursday January 24, 2008 – “Whoever in the case of a European war was not with me was against me.” – Kaiser William II

Study and Database on Administrations’ Case for War in Iraq

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Economic Crisis

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GOING BANKRUPT: WHY THE DEBT CRISIS IS AMERICA’S GREATEST THREAT

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BIG RATE CUTS AND FISCAL STIMULUS TRUMP CONSERVATIVE IDEOLOGY

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Oil prices point to hefty profits

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Will Economic Stimulus Measures Stave Off Recession?

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Top 25 Censored news stories of 2007 – #24 Cheney’s Halliburton Stock Rose Over 3000 Percent Last Year

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Borowitz Report – Bill Clinton Warning Shocker

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three thousand words

Wednesday January 23, 2008 – Great liars are also great magicians – Adolph Hitler

Two Things Infinite: The Universe And Human Stupidity

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‘I think the blood bank is trawling all broker’s floors to recover the blood’ Australian shares in freefall –Sharemarket is now officially in a bear market

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Bad Reviews for Bush in the Mideast

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Proof that Bush foreign policy a failure

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The state of the Union — crumbling

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Stoneridge and the End of Enron Deterrence

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Subject: 1978: Clandestine Operation of Argentine Military Intelligence in Mexico

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Top 25 Censored news stories of 2007 – #23 US Oil Targets Kyoto in Europe

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And now for the important news ….

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three thousand words

Tuesday January 22, 2008 – Fiction is The Truth! The Truth is Fiction!

Brokaw falsely claimed Giuliani’s Florida ads “don’t mention terrorism”

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‘Some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge.’ CIA Admits Cyberattacks Blacked Out Cities –85% of U.S. critical infrastructure is controlled by private sector –CIA senior analyst ‘thoroughly weighed’ pros and cons of making information public

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Unraveling the Myth of Al Qaida

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The coming financial collapse of the U.S. government: Fed papers reveal what’s in store for Americans

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US Gypsum to lay off 60 workers … and more

Potato flake plant closing in Grand Forks | KXNet.com North Dakota …

Blue-Collar Jobs Disappear, Taking Away Way of Life

Plant Closing To Cost Hundreds Their Jobs – Greenville News Story …

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Business Outlook Survey – FRB Philadelphia

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HOW THE MEGA-RICH TREAT OUR TREASURY LIKE A BUFFET (AND STICK YOU WITH THE BILL)

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