Yes, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, but boy it sure is easier to say Happy Holidays, but damn I don't want to upset Bill O'Reily. Anyways, I am away on vacation until January, so I guess you will all have to survive without my wisdom until then.

But will shrub sign it? He threatened to not sign a three month extension, so I wonder if he will support this six month extension.

"The Senate on Wednesday passed a six-month extension of the terror-fighting USA Patriot Act..."

The six month extension,

"...will allow more time to finally agree on a bill that protects our rights and freedoms while preserving important tools for fighting terrorism," added Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who was the only senator to vote against the original Patriot Act in 2001.

Despite insisting earlier that a short-term extension of the Patriot Act would not be acceptable, Bush seemed to indicate in a late-night statement that he would sign it."

Well I guess that answers that question. Another win for American citizens, and for freedom and liberty.

Now what is happening with this NSA spying thing?... More on that tomorrow.

So much to say and so little time. Tonight we decorated the tree, so I didn't really have much time to write. But let me just say this. The developments of the last few days have been deeply concerned, and I think every American right or left, should take a moment and think about where we are as a country, and where we want to go.

The revelation that shrub has authorized over and OVER the spying on US citizens, is very troublesome. Not because I don't want to have the upper hand on terrorists. Not because I don't want to prevent another attack on us here at home, but because the justification for this spying program just doesn't pass muster.

First of all, shrub is going ape sh*t claiming that the secret court FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) is not good enough to do what he wants as fast as he wants. Well I call bullsh*t! The FISA allows the government to obtain permission to spy on suspected terrorists up to 72 hours AFTER they have begun spying on a suspect. There is no excuse to say that this FISA Act does not allow the government to be nimble enough to get the leg up on these terrorists. Its just empty rhetoric. The truth is this administration is trying to see how much they can get away with, and the public and the congress will just roll over for.

And guess what, I suspect he may just get away with this. He ABSOLUTELY does not need to circumvent the FISA oversight that was created for just this purpose, to have a secret court to air classified info to justify a wiretap, or surveillance on a suspected terrorist or terrorists. See this part is key. Without some sort of court oversight these people answer to NO ONE, and that is not a democracy my friends, no matter how these bastards try to spin it, this is a power grab plain and simple.

Are we going to allow them to do this? Are we going to roll over? If there ever was a time for the media to wake up. If there ever was a time for the citizens of this fine country to wake up. That time is NOW!!!!!!!

WAKE UP!!!!!! They are revoking our rights. They are consolidating the power of the executive branch to an alarming point. If we continue down this path then we are no longer a representative democracy, we are more like a dictatorship. Yes it is true, it may be cliche to say especially in the next few days, but it is true.

Wake up America, we need you now, this could very well lead to a constitutional crisis.

Bush Vigorously Defends Domestic Spying

"Accused of acting above the law, President Bush forcefully defended a domestic spying program on Monday as an effective tool in disrupting terrorists and insisted it was not an abuse of Americans' civil liberties.

Bush said it was 'a shameful act' for someone to have leaked details to the media. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said it was 'probably the most classified program that exists in the United States government' involving electronic intercepts of telephone calls and e-mails in the U.S. of people with known ties to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.

At a news conference, Bush bristled at the suggestion he was assuming unlimited powers.

'To say `unchecked power' basically is ascribing some kind of dictatorial position to the president, which I strongly reject,' he said angrily in a finger-pointing answer. 'I am doing what you expect me to do, and at the same time, safeguarding the civil liberties of the country.'

Despite Bush's defense, there was a growing storm of criticism from Congress and calls for investigations, from Democrats and Republicans alike."

I call B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T, BULLSH*T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am doing what you expect me to do and at the same time safeguarding the civil liberties of the country? Are you f***ing kidding me?! You are systematically dismantling our civil liberties and you KNOW it! We want answers, we want a law saying you can't do this! Help us!

Patriot Act blocked in Senate - Yahoo! News

"A group of U.S. senators, demanding increased protection of civil liberties, defied President George W. Bush on Friday by blocking renewal of the USA Patriot Act, a centerpiece of his war on terrorism.
...
Opponents have suggested that expiring provisions be temporarily extended as now written until congressional negotiators can resolve differences. But Republicans leaders and the White House have vowed to reject any short-term extension."

Why did the Whitehouse refuse to extend the Patriot Act for 3 months to give the congress time to make changes? I wonder? They claim Dems are playing politics with the Patriot Act, I submit that THEY are!

Also:
Shocked Lawmakers Demand Spy Program Probe

"Dismayed lawmakers demanded on Friday that Congress look into whether the highly secretive National Security Agency was granted new powers to eavesdrop without warrants on people inside the United States."

Wow.

Ok a bunch of things to mention tonight.

One:

White House, McCain in deal on torture measure

"Bowing to bipartisan pressure after months of resistance, President George W. Bush agreed on Thursday to back legislation proposed by Sen. John McCain to ban inhumane treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody."

The fact that this administration fought the banning of torture tooth and nail makes me feel sick inside, and dirty. But alas lets look positively on the developments. The administration has finally agreed to support this crucial bill which is a question of morality, morality of this country. But I can't help but believe that this move was not a move having anything to do with shrub or seeing his moral imperative to not become what we are fighting, but of more a political move. He desperately needed some positive news and this and the next item demonstrates this fact. One final thought on this development.

"Rep. Jane Harman (news, bio, voting record) of California, top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, issued a statement saying: 'Today's agreement by the White House and congressional leaders means that interrogators will be given clear, unambiguous rules to follow. ... The fog of law is lifting. America's black eye is finally healing.'"

I truly hope so. Time will tell.

Two:

US to spend $3 bln on New Orleans levees

"The White House said on Thursday it had agreed to spend about $3.1 billion to strengthen the New Orleans levee system, a critical move in reviving the city devastated by Hurricane Katrina in August."

Excellent, my next question is, will this prevent another tragedy like what happened in August from happening again? And how will the citizens of New Orleans respond? Will they rebuild smarter? Will the local government come up with better plans for emergency situations? Will the federal government reform enough to adequately support the aftermath of the next catastrophe? Let's hope so.

Three:

Report: Bush Permitted NSA to Spy in U.S.

"President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States - without getting search warrants - following the Sept. 11 attacks, The New York Times reports.

The presidential order, which Bush signed in 2002, has allowed the agency to monitor the international phone calls and international e-mails of hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States, according to a story posted Thursday on the Times' Web site."

Well this is just great, really. Will someone please stand up and tell these power hungry bastards that we are a free country and we will not stand for having our liberties, our right to privacy chipped away at? Seriously these people will keep doing this. Its wrong, it fundamentally opposed to everything this country was founded on, and if we just keep ignoring it and let them do as they will one day we will turn around and we will have no freedom left. This is the aim, I believe, of these people. Watch out America!

And finally four:

Feingold Now Has Numbers on His Side

"In Congress, where numbers are everything, the math on the Patriot Act suddenly seems to be moving in favor of Sen. Russell Feingold.

He was a minority of one four years ago, when the Wisconsin Democrat cast the lone Senate vote against the USA Patriot Act in the traumatic weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks. The law, he said then, gave government too much power to investigate its citizens. Ninety-nine senators disagreed.

Now add more than two dozen senators to Feingold's side, including the leaders of his party and some of the chamber's most conservative Republicans, and the balance of power shifts."

Also now Senator Chuck Hagel, a senior republican senator has joined the ranks of people speaking up for our rights. Thank you Chuck Hagel for having the moral imperative to stand up against this wrong headedness of the administration. The Patriot Act, CAN be a good thing to protect us, but not before some MAJOR changes are made to it first. The answer is not to blindly approve it like we did in those dark days immediately after September 11th. This time we would be voting to make these laws permanent, and that is not something to rush into.

So he finally starts to take some responsibility, but notice he doesn't use the M word. No no he couldn't do that.

Bush takes blame for Iraq war on bad intelligence

"President George W. Bush took the blame on Wednesday for going to war in Iraq over faulty intelligence but said he was right to topple Saddam Hussein and urged Americans to be patient as Iraqis vote.

'It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong. As president I am responsible for the decision to go into Iraq, and I am also responsible for fixing what went wrong by reforming our intelligence capabilities and we're doing just that,' he said."

Now how about figuring out a way to fix this? I am very glad that the people of Iraq are out there voting as I write this. But lets take this opportunity to draw down our forces, give the insurgents less of a target, protect our troops. I believe we have achieved what we were there to achieve. We brought down that murderer Saddam, we dismantled the political party that exploited the people of Iraq. Now we should become not a presence of occupation, but a helping presence who is out of the spotlight and working behind the scenes to lend a helping hand when our hand is asked for.

But ok georgie, here is your gold star you god damn royal f*ckup! Now go home and stop destroying our country, our reputation, and the good will of the world towards the United States.

Well once again I missed posting on a Monday. What can I say, we made basil pesto chicken pizza last night and had some great Beringer cabernet, and well you know. So anyways I am back tonight, for a short post.

Our president is an ASS.

"Q Since the inception of the Iraqi war, I'd like to know the approximate total of Iraqis who have been killed. And by Iraqis I include civilians, military, police, insurgents, translators.

THE PRESIDENT: How many Iraqi citizens have died in this war? I would say 30,000, more or less, have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis. We've lost about 2,140 of our own troops in Iraq.

Yes.

Q Mr. President, thank you --

THE PRESIDENT: I'll repeat the question. If I don't like it, I'll make it up. (Laughter and applause.)"

Oh this man disgusts me. How many are dead in this war of ours? Oh probably about 30,000, hahahahahaha yeah next question, and if I don't like it I'll just make up a question I like, yuk yuk. Man I am so funny.

He could give a sh*t less about the fact that at LEAST 30,000 Iraqi people are dead. That is obvious from the fact that he chose right then to make a stupid shrub joke. He was obviously concerned that he had messed up and actually told the truth for once and said that 30,000 people were dead. Man I just don't think he cares, and that is what makes me sick the most. This man has taken this country and thrown it under the bus, god how will we ever recover?

And all of you who continue to back this man, my god, what does he have to do to make you stop and say, you know what, he f*cked up? My god!

Oh and just when you thought it was over.

John Hannah Implicates Rove and Others! Fitzgerald Intends To Indict Rove Reports Raw Story

"Short of a last minute intervention by Rove's attorney, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is expected to ask a grand jury investigating the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson to indict Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove for making false statements"

See ya!

It has been 25 years today since John Lennon, Beatle, peace activist, musical genius, was shot and killed outside of his New York City apartment.

Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...

Imagine there's no countries,
It isn't hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Imagine no possessions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.

Well this just disgusts me.

FEMA Official Warned About Unprepared Teams

"FEMA's top official was told more than a year before Hurricane Katrina that the agency's emergency response teams were unprepared for a major disaster and were operating under outdated plans, documents show."

Who is going to take responsibility for the fact that a once VERY together agency that, has been neutered? And this is the reason why many people died in August and September of 2005.

It makes me so mad, but you know what I have gone on and on about this a couple of months ago. So I will stop here.

Oh and one little note:

Fitzgerald Back Before CIA Leak Grand Jury

"Special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald was back before a federal grand jury on Wednesday in the CIA leak case, with deputy White House chief of staff Karl Rove still under investigation."

Burn baby, burn.

Well first off, sorry I didn't post yesterday, we made herbed goat cheese stuffed chicken last night, and that took most of my time. It was GOOD!

Tonight I don't much feel like commenting on the political world as it were. So I will just give you a Cliff's Notes version.

Dean said something, and shrub got all uppity.






Saddam says he won't attend court NO MO!








A German man filed suit against the CIA for wrongful abduction.





And Cheney continues to accuse anyone who questions lord vader himself and shrub on Iraq treasonous villains who must be eradicated. Sound familiar?



Now lets all say a big F*CK YOU! to the overlord for being an anti-America, war-mongering, satanic BASTARD.

Today was World AIDS Day, and Kofi Annan had this to say.

Annan: 'We must do far, far more' against AIDS

"'We must do far, far more,' U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said. 'It is time to recognize that although our response so far has succeeded in some of the particulars, it has yet to match the epidemic in scale.'"

I agree, the evidence is in the details. While much has been done, its the little details that reveal the truth about what we are doing and what we are not doing to beat this disease.

"With just over 10 percent of the world's population, sub-Saharan Africa is home to more than 60 percent of all people infected with HIV. Africa saw about 3.2 million of the almost 5 million new infections recorded in 2005.

'These countries, and many others, are fighting for the lives of their citizens, and America is now their strongest partner in that fight,' he said. The 400,000 getting treatment, he said, was up from 50,000 two years ago.

However, critics including senior U.N. officials say Bush's emphasis on abstinence-only programs has hobbled efforts by playing down the role of condoms."

I hope we can get past this stupid, stupid policy. Yes lets tell people, some in places like tribal areas of Africa, that they should only have sex after marriage. Come on, face reality, and really make a difference. That difference is promoting condom use, saturating the local areas with condoms, so that they are easier to obtain than a soda. Also not letting big pharmaceutical companies charge ridiculous amounts of money for drugs to treat AIDS. It's sheer greed and a lack of a moral compass that drives these companies to have no compassion and refuse in most cases to give these drugs to people who desperately need them.

"The United Nations has long called on wealthy nations to donate 0.7 percent of gross domestic product for development aid every year."

Have countries stepped up and done this? No.

Actions speak louder than words. How will history view our response to this epidemic?