Lil Abner's Schmoo & the FDA

Meat, milk from cloned animals OK'd

FDA study says it needs no labels


By Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times - December 24, 2006

LOS ANGELES -- A long-awaited study by US scientists has concluded that meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring are safe to eat and drink and should be allowed to enter the food supply without any special labeling.

"All of the studies indicate that the composition of meat and milk from clones is within the compositional ranges of meat and milk consumed in the US," the FDA scientists concluded in a report published in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Theriogenology, which focuses on animal reproduction.

The study, however, prompted a sharp reaction from food safety advocates.

The FDA "has been trying to foist this bad science on us for several years," said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Food Safety in Washington. "When there is so much concern among so many Americans, this is really a rush to judgment."

Many ranchers and dairy producers have already cloned animals for meat and milk production, but a voluntary moratorium initiated about five years ago by the FDA has largely kept them and their offspring out of grocery stores and restaurants.

However, ranchers say there is no doubt that some of the animals taken to slaughterhouses in the past couple of years have been fathered by clones.

"There's been lots and lots of them that went into the food chain," said Larry Coleman, who raises limousin cattle in Charlo, Mont., and has made five clones of his prize bull, named First Down. He estimated that at least 10 of their offspring have wound up on dinner tables.

Since Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1996, agricultural scientists have imagined a time when they could dispense with the uncertainties of conventional breeding and make exact copies of their best animals. Cows were cloned in 1998 and pigs followed in 2000.

Consumers greeted the news with a combination of amazement and revulsion.

What Fools These Mortals Be

Do you remember this character? He was the avatar of Hearst Newspapers funny papers when there were such strips as "The Toonerville Trolley, Lil Abner, Jiggs and Maggie, etc. etc. Lil Abner, and later Pogo Possum along with others carried political views of the times, but nothing like found in Puck magazine, and the earlier works of Frederic Nast in the 1850's. These political cartoons are pretty witty and reflect the politics of those times, and some of them look like they would also reflect the current times...

Here are some of the cartoons from Puck Magazine

This character from Shakespeares "Midsummer nights Dream" was created by Bohemian sculptor Carl Buberl, who did the statues of Puck on the Puck Building. He was Bohemian by way of actually coming from Bohemia. Of the 2 statues, one appears to be looking at himself, and the other is aiming his mirror toward the sidewalk. The Puck Building was best known as the home of Puck magazine. Joseph Keppler, a star illustrator at Frank Leslie's Illustrated News, started the magazine in 1876. It was in German the first year. The following year the magazine went to both German and English editions. Color cartoons figured on the front page and the centerfold. Specializing in political and social cartoons, the weekly 10 cent,16 page paper was selling a constant 80,000 copies a week.

The weekly magazine was founded by Joseph Keppler, Sr. in St. Louis and began publishing English and German language editions in March, 1871. Five years later the German edition of Puck moved to New York City publishing the first magazine on September 27, 1876 followed by the English edition on March 14, 1877. The English magazine continued for over forty years under several owners and editors until it was bought by the William Randolph Hearst company in 1916. The publication continued for two more years, when the last edition was distributed 5 September 1918. Typical 32-page issues contained full a color political cartoon on the front cover and a color non-political cartoon or comic-strip on the back cover. There was always a double-page color centerfold, usually on a political topic. There were numerous black & white cartoons used to illustrate humorous anecdotes. A page of editorials commented on the issues of the day, and the last few pages were ads.

Ford's Comments on Iraq War Released

President Gerald R. Ford, center, with Chief of Staff Donald H. Rumsfeld, left, and Rumsfeld's assistant, Dick Cheney, on April 28, 1975. (By David Hume Kennerly -- Ford Library Via Associated Press)

Ford Disagreed With Bush About Invading Iraq

By Bob Woodward
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 28, 2006;

Former president Gerald R. Ford said in an embargoed interview in July 2004 that the Iraq war was not justified. "I don't think I would have gone to war," he said a little more than a year after President Bush launched the invasion advocated and carried out by prominent veterans of Ford's own administration.

In a four-hour conversation at his house in Beaver Creek, Colo., Ford "very strongly" disagreed with the current president's justifications for invading Iraq and said he would have pushed alternatives, such as sanctions, much more vigorously. In the tape-recorded interview, Ford was critical not only of Bush but also of Vice President Cheney -- Ford's White House chief of staff -- and then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who served as Ford's chief of staff and then his Pentagon chief.





On July 28, 2004, former president Gerald R. Ford sat down for an interview with The Washington Post's Bob Woodward. The interview was conducted at Ford's Beaver Creek, Colo., house; the former president agreed that his comments could be published any time after his death. Below are audio excerpts from the interview:

Ford says he does not believe the United States should intervene militarily overseas unless it is directly in America's national interests.

Ford says that, based on the facts as he understands them, he does not think that he would have ordered the Iraq war if he had been president.

Ford says he believes that President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld erred in justifying the Iraq war as one aimed at eliminating Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

Ford says that while he never publicly criticized the Bush administration's war in Iraq, he does think they made a mistake in how they justified the war.




Gerald Ford at the National Press Club

Posted Thursday, July 24, 2003.

President Ford Salutes the Vital Role of a Free Press

The nation�s free press contributes greatly to invigorate the tenacity of democracy in America, former President Gerald Ford declared in honoring three journalists who were awarded top prizes from the Gerald R. Ford Foundation at the July 17 NPC Luncheon. This year�s winners of the $5,000 awards are Bob Woodward and Dan Balz of The Washington Post for distinguished reporting on the presidency, and The Wall Street Journal�s Pentagon correspondent Greg Jaffe, reporting on national defense. �Journalists provide the people of our great nation the information, vision and strength that has resulted in the un-precedented advancement and freedom of all our lives,� Ford said. He noted that even though there are difficulties and confrontations for the president to deal with the press, the country is better off because of their work. In closing the luncheon, all attendees joined in singing �Happy Birthday� to the 38th U.S. President.
—JOHN ORAVEC

---------------------------------------

NPC Forum Considers Reporting Weapons of Mass Destruction

The Bush administration used the threat of Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction as a key justification for invading Iraq. Critics are charging that intelligence about those weapons was manipulated and exaggerated to justify the war. How accurately and fairly have the media reported on this controversy and the case for going to war against Saddam Hussein?

On Mon., Aug. 4, 6:30 p.m., the NPC Forums Committee in cooperation with the Newseum will present a panel discussion to consider these questions. Panelists will include:

Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who was sent to Africa by the CIA and concluded there was no Iraq-Niger uranium deal;
Margaret Carlson, Time Magazine;
Gordon Corera of the BBC, and
Jon Wolfsthal of the Non-Proliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Dubya forced to recognise Global Warming

The Times December 28, 2006

Plight of the polar bear forces Bush to recognise climate threat

Tim Reid in Washington

In a stark warning this year, scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Centre said that the total Arctic ice cover had melted back to the lowest level in modern records, and that if melting rates continued apace the summertime Arctic could be ice-free within 80 years.

Last year three environmental groups sued the US Government to force it to review the status of the polar bear. Andrew Wetzler, a lawyer for one of them, the Natural Resources Defence Council, said: “It’s such a loud recognition that global warming is real. It is rapidly threatening the polar bear and, in fact, an entire ecosystem with utter destruction.”

America has come under increasing pressure to take action to cut greenhouse gas emissions. But Mr Bush, who refuses to recognise the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, has balked at setting any mandatory environmental limits on US industries.

After proposing the polar bear for threatened status, the US Interior Department will allow 90 days of public comment on the proposal. If the animal is then added to the endangered species list, all US government agencies will be obliged by law to consider if their actions are adding to global warming.

“This is a victory for the polar bear, and all wildlife threatened by global warming,” Kassie Siegel, a lawyer for the Centre for Biological Diversity, said. “There is still time to save polar bears, but we must reduce greenhouse gas pollution immediately.”




Govt. Sees Polar Bears As 'Threatened'

By JOHN HEILPRIN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, December 27, 2006; 9:25 PM

WASHINGTON -- Polar bears are in jeopardy and need stronger government protection because of melting Arctic sea ice related to global warming, the Bush administration said Wednesday.

The Interior Department cites thinning sea ice as the big problem; outside the government, other scientists studying the issue say pollution, overhunting, development and even tourism also may be factors. Greenland and Norway have the most polar bears, while a quarter of them live mainly in Alaska and travel to Canada and Russia.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on Wednesday proposed listing polar bears as a "threatened" species on the government list of imperiled species. The "endangered" category is reserved for species more likely to become extinct.

"Polar bears are one of nature's ultimate survivors, able to live and thrive in one of the world's harshest environments," Kempthorne said. "But we are concerned the polar bear's habitat may literally be melting."

A final decision on whether to add the polar bears to the list is a year away, after the government finishes more studies.

Such a decision would require all federal agencies to ensure that anything they authorize that might affect polar bears will not jeopardize their survival or the sea ice where they live. That could include oil and gas exploration, commercial shipping or even releases of toxic contaminants or climate-affecting pollution.

Kempthorne, however, said his department's studies indicate that coastal and offshore oil and gas exploration _ heavily promoted by the Bush administration, particularly in Alaska _ shouldn't be curtailed.

"It's very clear that the oil and gas activity in that area does not pose a threat to the polar bears," he said.



On March 16, 2006, Kempthorne was nominated by President George W. Bush to replace Gale Norton as the 49th Secretary of the Interior. On May 10, 2006, Kempthorne's nomination was approved by voice vote by the United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Kempthorne should be replaced by a Democrat who cares about the environment and will speak the truth. He was installed by Dubya, and has followed in the footsteps of Gail Norton, who was also nominated by Dubya. Norton is an ideological extremist who worked for two decades to dismantle the very laws the Interior Department is sworn to uphold. Before becoming Interior Secretary, she espoused the "right to pollute" and other extreme positions, including support of laws allowing polluters to police themselves. As Colorado attorney general, she was hostile to environmental protection

.

Bush & Blaire banned from the Church of the Nativity

The Spirit of Christmas: Bush banned from birthplace of Jesus Christ

Global Research, December 26, 2006
- 2006-12-17

"Their entry into the church will tarnish it as [Bush's] hands are covered in the blood of the innocent..."

The Spirit of Christmas consists in spreading Peace and Justice.

The Spirit of Christmas is when War Criminals are banned from the Birthplace of Jesus Christ.

In April 2003 at the height of the military campaign directed against Iraq, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem decided to ban President Bush and Prime Minister Blair from the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

"They are war criminals and murderers of children. Therefore the Church of Nativity decided to ban them access into the holy shrine for ever,"

HI
checking in and on my way for last minute shopping. I do it every year, whether I buy anything or not, and have since I was old enough to shop. I do most of my shopping at garage sales, but there is something about last minute shopping that attracts me every year. Sometimes I even go to Walmart, but never to buy, only as an observer. This is the reality flash. The happenings of Christmas, with expressions of both joy and despair, happyness and sadness, the whole gambit of the emotions.

I gaze at the shelves full of plastic toys and talking super heros, and slip into the past where there were Japanese tin racers and Howdy Doody wind up jumping jeeps. The Japanese wind racer cost 19 cents. It was the same price for many years, as were most items on the shelves. Us kids knew the prices of most items because they didn't change. ZZZzzz...

Hmmm, I wonder if I should buy this Little People set for my granddaughter, she really loves them, and has a bunch of them, but not this one. It's only $34.99 and its Christmas.
Maybe I can find something my grand son will like too...Oh ...thats right i'm just looking.

If only I could go to Woolworths of JJ Newberries, it would be a lot easier. OK...I'm outa here, my Walmart thing is done, and I'm off to the Buy Blue stores.

Merry Christmas to all...G:>

Christmas and the Winter Solstice

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. This antique bottle proclaims that this is a holiday to be celebrated. A holiday that falls on the Winter Solstace and has been a worldwide celebration of people of all races and religions since recorded history. A celebration of love, peace, goodwill, and the beginning of a new year. We can call it what we like, but it has allways been a holiday "holy day". So eat, drink, and be merry as we usher in a new year.






Some history on the winter solstice




The Saturnalia:
The Saturnalia was a major holiday for the ancient Romans, with drinking, gift-giving, bonfires, candles, role reversals for slaves and masters. It lasted a variable number of days from 3-7 or more, depending on how successful the emperor was at legislating.

Hanukkah - Jewish Festival of Lights:
Hanukkah (Hanukah / Hanuka / Chanukah) is a festival of lights that is symbolized by the candelabrum known as a menorah. Hanukkah celebrates a lighting miracle when one night's worth of oil lit candles for 8 days. Special foods and gift-giving are also a part of Hanukkah.

Dies Natalis Solis Invicti :
Mithras was an Iranian Zoroastrian god who was popular with Roman soldiers. Mithras was created by the chief deity, Ahura-Mazda, to save the world. The day of the virgin birth of Mithras was December 25 (the solstice)



In Persian culture
Antiochus and Mithra, with radiate phrygian cap, bas-relief of the temple built by Antiochus I of Commagene, 69-31 BC, on the Nemrood Dagh, in the Taurus Mountains.While in older Zoroastrianism Mithra is seen as a creation of Ahura Mazda, in later Persian culture, Mithra evolved to be an incarnation of Ahura Mazda [1], and in his role as 'Judge of Souls' as the rewarder of good and annihilator of the bad. Mithra was seen as omniscient, undeceivable, infallible, eternally watchful, and never-resting.

Similarly, while in the Sirozeh, Mithra is also referred to as Dae-pa-Meher, or Creator of Meher, this separation between 'Meher' and the 'Creator of Meher' dissolves in later texts and the distinguishing characteristics of Mithra and Meher blend. Mithra, reincorporated as "Meher", thus also becomes the representative of truth and justice, and, by transfer to the physical realm, the divinity of air and light. As the enemy of darkness and evil spirits, he protected souls, a psychopomp accompanying them to paradise. As heat accompanying light, Mithra became associated with growth and resultant prosperity.

Mithra worship spread first with the empire of the Persians throughout Asia Minor, then throughout the empire of Alexander and his successors.

By at least the 3rd century BC, Mithra was identified as the progeny of Anahita, a mother-entity who is not mentioned in the Gathas of the very early Avesta texts, but is described in the fifth Yasht of the newer texts as "the wide-expanding and health-giving". The largest temple with a Mithraic connection is the Seleucid temple at Kangavar in western Iran (c. 200 BC), which is dedicated to "Anahita, the Immaculate Virgin Mother of the Lord Mithras".

The Parthian princes of Armenia were hereditary priests of Mithra, and an entire district of this land was dedicated to Anahita. Many temples were erected to Mithra in Armenia, which remained one of the last strongholds of the Mazdaist cult of Mithra until it became the first officially Christian kingdom.

Royal names incorporating Mithra's (e.g. "Mithradates") appear in the dynasties of Parthia, Armenia, and in Anatolia, in Pontus and Cappadocia.








Coin of Hermaeus, with seated Zeus-Mithra.

Coin of Hermaeus, with Mithra, wearing a radiated phrygian cap.

Hermaeus (ca. 90-70 BCE) was one of the last Western Indo-Greek kings, who ruled in the Hindu-Kush territory of the Paropamisadae, with his capital in Alexandria of the Caucasus, near today's Kabul in Afghanistan.

Press Conference by the President

Still more of the same, hard work, more commitment, more troops, and that we are in it for the long haul. Etc. etc.

OK...So the sock puppet is making another speech, as he listens through his earpiece and attempts to re-iterate some simplified rhetoric to an unbelieving audience. Shouldn't a man in his position be required to have a few viable qualifications? Maybe the highest office in the land should have some kind of examination, like the entrance exam to a university. At least an IQ test along with a drug test and an extensive search of his past records.

Anyhoo...on to the press interview. My first question would be...Mr. President, being the commander in chief of our military forces, who do you answer to, and who writes your speeches? Could it be the PNAC loonies? You certainly don't answer to We The People and you are obviously not, as you put it, speaking from the gut. Could you please remove your earpiece and give me a straight answer, and if not please have the decency to step down, and let someone take your place who can. I was appalled when you were elected in 2000, but I now believe that was an underestimate of your prowess...

~It took Millions $ to poison Litvinenko~

$10 MILLION WORTH POLONIUM USED TO POISON FORMER RUSSIAN AGENT LITVINENKO

British investigators on Litvinenko`s case believe the radioactive substance used to poison former FSB agent cost in excess of 10 million U.S. Dollars, The Times newspaper reported on Monday.

Preliminary results from the post mortem on Litvinenko’s body have discovered he was given more than ten times the lethal dose of polonium 210. Large quantities of the radioactive substance were found in his urine.

“You can’t buy this much off the internet or steal it from a laboratory without raising an alarm, so the only two plausible explanations for the source are that it was obtained from a nuclear reactor or very well-connected black market smugglers,” said an anonymous British security source.

One of the few companies allowed to sell polonium 210 over the internet is United Nuclear Scientific Supplies, based in New Mexico. Experts of the company said it would take at
least 15,000 units of the isotope to kill someone which means the total cost would be more than 10 million U.S. Dollars.

WMD Bush-Blair Lies are again re-affirmed

COMMENTARY: The Iraqi Flim-Flam: Bush-Blair Lies Confirmed Again

Was this obscene war based on lies? Yes.
by CHRIS FLOYD

The Government's case for going to war in Iraq has been torn apart by the publication of previously suppressed evidence that Tony Blair lied over Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. A devastating attack on Mr Blair's justification for military action by Carne Ross, Britain's key negotiator at the UN, has been kept under wraps until now because he was threatened with being charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act.

Mr Ross said in late 2002 that he "discussed this at some length with David Kelly", the weapons expert who a year later committed suicide when he was named as the source of a BBC report saying Downing Street had "sexed up" the WMD claims in a dossier. The Butler inquiry cleared Mr Blair and Downing Street of "sexing up" the dossier, but the publication of the Carne Ross evidence will cast fresh doubts on its findings.

BBC/Blair Battle Timeline

As the American and British governments pointed to the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) to make a case for war with Iraq, some say the American media took the government at its word and didn't dig deep enough to uncover the truth behind the intelligence claims. In Britain, a news report accusing the Blair government of inflating evidence of WMDs erupted into a scandal that shook the BBC, one of the most respected news organizations in the world, to its foundation. What can this battle between the British government and the BBC tell us about the dangers of political influence on independent journalism? Follow the links in the timeline to find more detailed information.


WMD'S~TONY BLAIR~DAVID KELLY~and the BBC

A British Take on Weapons Of Mass Destruction


In the events leading up to the invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, Tony Blair was promoting the same stories about weapons of mass destruction that were being told by the neoconservative's in the US government. In the same way that the Neocons were questioned about WMD's, Tony was confronted with facts that didn't ring true with his accusations that Iraq possesed them. BBC news, a publicly owned news service, known for their true and unbiased reporting, was on the carpet for reporting information that was contrary to that reported by Blair. Before it was over, the head of BBC news resigned, along with two of his best reporters, and David Kelly supposedly commited suicide.

More

Palestinian refugees in Iraq fear for their lives

IRAQ: Palestinian refugees fear for their lives after recent attack

BAGHDAD, 17 December (IRIN) - Palestinian refugees living in Iraq say there is increasing fear in their community after a recent attack on a predominantly Palestinian Baghdad neighbourhood left nine people dead and several injured, including children

UNHCR condemns Baghdad attack; urges countries to help fleeing Palestinians

More than 350 Palestinians are stuck in inhumane conditions on the border between Iraqi and Syria. There seems to be no way out for other Palestinians trapped in the capital. © UNHCR

GENEVA, December 14 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency said here Thursday it was alarmed by a militia attack on a Palestinian neighbourhood in Baghdad which left at least nine people dead, including several children, and it appealed to countries to provide a humanitarian solution for Palestinians attempting to flee Iraq.

Local militia reportedly shelled the Al Baladiya area for three hours on Wednesday with no attempt by the Iraqi police or multinational forces to halt the attack. The militia also blocked ambulances from taking the dead and wounded to hospital. At least nine people were reportedly killed and many injured during the attack.

"We are very alarmed by this attack and dismayed by the lack of protection given to the Palestinians in Iraq. They have very limited freedom of movement and no possibility to leave the country – unlike Iraqis – to find a safe haven, nor any community to protect them," said Radhouane Nouicer, UNHCR's Geneva-based deputy director for the region.

"We are urgently appealing to the Iraqi government and the multinational forces to provide protection and safety or an alternative safe location for this targeted group. We also ask the world to stop turning their back and provide a humane solution and safe haven to these people who have no way out," he added

Palestinian refugees remain stranded on Jordan border
Report, IRIN, 19 April 2006

Governor gives support to Senator Tim Johnson

Governor Michael Rounds of South Dakota


Associated Press

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., was in critical condition Saturday and resting from brain surgery. In South Dakota, governer Rounds said people were standing behind the stricken lawmaker and he urged patience during Johnson's recovery.

Rounds said Saturday it was not appropriate to talk about the Senate's balance of power changing with the possible appointment of a Republican if Johnson's seat were to become vacant.

There is ample precedent for senators to continue to hold office while incapacitated. Unless Johnson's seat is vacated by his death or resignation, Democrats would retain the majority.

Clouds of dissent over the white house

Snowjob has his work cut out for him, as he tries to cover for the irrisponsible and apparently intellectually challenged president. The self proclaimed "War President" has refused to listen to pappa Bush and is not responding to the advice of the Iraq Study Group. He is now speaking to people of his own choice that will of course agree with him on... I don't want to say this, but, "stay the course" and increase the amount of troops yadayada and etc. Shouldn't there be some kind of intelligence test and drug test given for this the highest position in the country? If Dubya has any sense at all, he will notice the clouds hanging over the white house. "We The People", long ago, have had enough, but here he goes again sh*tting his pants. No wonder pappa Bush cries, when he has to show his face in public.


I HEAR THE VOICES

Dumbyas teleprompter fiasco

World's tallest man uses long arms to save dolphins' lives

BEIJING, China (AP) -- The long arms of the world's tallest man reached in and saved two dolphins by pulling out plastic from their stomachs, state media and an aquarium official said Thursday.

The dolphins got sick after nibbling on plastic from the edge of their pool at an aquarium in Liaoning province.

Attempts to use surgical instruments to remove the plastic failed because the dolphins' stomachs contracted in response to the instruments, the China Daily newspaper reported.

Veterinarians then decided to ask for help from Bao Xishun, a 7-feet-9 herdsman from Inner Mongolia with 41.7-inch arms, state media said.

Bao, 54, was confirmed last year by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's tallest living man.

Chen Lujun, the manager of the Royal Jidi Ocean World aquarium, told The Associated Press that the shape of the dolphins' stomachs made it difficult to push an instrument very far in without hurting the animals.

People with shorter arms could not reach the plastic, he said.



"When we failed to get the objects out we sought the help of Bao Xishun from Inner Mongolia and he did it successfully yesterday," Chen said. "The two dolphins are in very good condition now."

Photographs showed the jaws of one of the dolphins being held back by towels so Bao could reach inside the animal without being bitten.

"Some very small plastic pieces are still left in the dolphins' stomachs," Zhu Xiaoling, a local doctor, told Xinhua. "However the dolphins will be able to digest these and are expected to recover soon."

Letter of condolence & support for Tim Johnson

Senator Tim Johnson

My heartfelt sympathy for you and your family in your recent surgery, and prayers for your total recovery in days to come. It is my wish, and undoubtably the wish of all fellow Americans that you have quality time for recovery that is free from any worries about your job, and that fellow constituents carry out your present agenda untill you feel fit as a fiddle.

As a sitting senator your term doesn't expire untill 2008. So get plenty of rest for the job you'll be returning to. Your country needs you, and demands that you return with renewed vigor for the job that you do so well.

There is a precedent in South Dakota for a Senator having his responsabilities assumed by his staff. In November of 1969,Senator Karl Mundt suffered a severe stroke. He remained in office untill 1972 while,the senator’s responsibilities were shouldered by members of his staff.

Senator Mundts wishes were carried out during his absence from office, which I believe would set a precedent, for your recomendtations being pursued in yours. As you read this please know that "We The People" stand with you, as you have allways stood for us, and we'll be seeing you soon.

-------------------------------------------

Letter to President Nixon

February 17, 1970

Dear Mr. President:

On Behalf of Senator Mundt – who, as you know, is presently ill – and myself, I want to strongly urge that you now give the go-ahead to the EROS program by authorizing the Bureau of the Budget to release to the Office of Geological Survey the $3 million in additional funds allocated by Congress but now frozen by the Bureau. Senator Mundt initiated the Congressional action for these funds and I strongly supported his effort at the time our committee responded favorably to his request.
-----------------------------------------

Recommendations

Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Washington, DC -- U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) today discussed the release of the Iraq Study Group's report. When asked, he reacted to the Group's recommendations as a jumping off point for continued efforts to resolve the United States' involvement in the Iraq conflict:

I think the Iraq Study Group's report is a very constructive contribution to our debate over Iraq. Their description of the circumstances in Iraq as 'grave' and 'deteriorating' are right on.

It is a grim picture of a conflict that has now lasted longer that World War II. The Commission's recommendation that the United States should encourage neighboring countries to be more involved and to engage in diplomacy with Syria and Iran is a positive step.

We have done a great deal for Iraq. Only the Iraqi people and the Iraqi political leadership can make the decisions necessary to adopt democracy. We have rid them of Saddam Hussein, created a situation where a constitution could be written and elections held, but the 'end game' to the situation in Iraq is less military than it is political.

It's my hope that we can begin, very quickly, to redeploy American troops into safer circumstances, with a greater emphasis on training and a handing off of military responsibilities to the Iraqis.

For audio of Johnson's reaction to the Iraq Study Group's report and recommendations, you can visit his Website at http://johnson.senate.gov/soundwaves.html.

Senator Gordon Smiths Pie in the sky? Make mine apple...

I have recently made a speech about the failings of our federal government, and in it have called for change in the handling of the war in Iraq, so while I am experiencing a profound change of heart towards the liberal left, i would like to address a few more problems

I just want to tell everybody that when I speak from the left of center, that I mean that I will work for "We The People".

So..Starting on Jan. 1

I promise to do my best to:


Create a task force on global warming.

Create a government funded program to employ people who are out of work on alternative energy and conservation projects

To never lie.

Create a commitee to oversee lobbying activity, and make it a no money involved activity. Thats right...lobbying will basicly be handled like a charity. RE: Work toward making this an ownership society of small farms with water rights for organic crops and other such useful projects.

Reform the media. There is afterall a lot of information that could be on regular tv and radio.

Return free enterprise to the people. RE: if you would like to build an automobile that runs on hydrolics from a pollution free heat source without a transmission, differential, catylitic convertor, or air bags, that would be ok, even if it gets 200 mpg. And if you catch fish...You can sell them. Believe me, if we can be responsible for carrying our own health insurence, we can also be responsible for what we eat.

And...Many things that I'll be adding later.You tell me...I am afterall your representative in government.

Smaller federal and larger state government?

How many Neoconservatives does it take to change a light bulb?

Answer: TEN

1. One to deny that a light bulb needs to be changed

2. One to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the light bulb needs to be changed

3. One to blame Clinton for burning out the light bulb

4. One to tell the nations of the world that they are either for changing the light bulb or for eternal darkness

5. One to give a billion dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton for a new light bulb

6. One to arrange a photograph of Bush, dressed as a janitor and standing on a step ladder under the banner "Bulb Accomplished"

7. One administration insider to resign and reveal, in detail, how Bush was literally "in the dark" the whole time

8. Another one to viciously smear #7

9. One surrogate to campaign on TV and at rallies on how George Bush has had a strong light bulb-changing policy all along

10. And finally, one to confuse Americans about the difference between screwing a light bulb and the country.And after all is said and done, no one will notice that they never actually managed to change the light bulb.

Senator Gordon Smith had too much koolaide

Gordon Smith & the Grand Old Party

I think Senator Smith drank too much of the koolade. He was about to lose his groceries and was trying to jump out of the car. Nobody even knew who was driving and the fuzz wass closing in on them, as they tried to hide what was left of the Country Club beer. Even Karl was trying to run for it as Dubya had crapped his pants and was passed out in the back seat. Who would have known that those little bitty cans of beer could get you so high exept Rummy, who was still sitting at the bar sipping Oly's.

Anyways, Gordy saved his arse, and spilled the beans on the good old boys, and we know that he wasn't driving the car. I don't think it was Cheney either...he was riding shotgun. Nobody knows how many there were in that car, but there were beer cans all over the white house lawn when the doors opened.

Dubya's Own Iraq Study Group

Bush Seeks More Advice On Iraq

President Meets With State Department Officials, Then With Historians And Generals

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2006

Mr. Bush's remarks echoed his previous statements and gave no indication of any change of strategy.

He defined success in Iraq as "a country that governs, defends itself, that is a free society, that serves as an ally in this war on terror."

"And the reason why that's vital," he said, "is because Iraq is a central component of defeating the extremists who want to establish safe haven in the Middle East, extremists who would use their safe haven from which to attack the United States ..."

Later, in the Oval Office, he was to seek advice from a handful of experts, including Stephen Biddle of the Council of Foreign Relations, Eliot Cohen of the School of Advanced International Studies and three retired Army generals: Wayne Downing, Jack Keane and Barry McCaffrey

~And here's the line-up~

Stephen Biddle

This guy makes sense
____________________

Stephen Biddle "argues that 'calls for a war against "evil" . . . are rhetorical license without meaningful strategic content. "Terrorism," by contrast is a tactic, not an opponent. Declaring a "War on Terrorism" is like declaring a "War on Strategic Bombing" or a "War on Alliances"'. The real opponent is the ideology that underpins al Qaeda's terrorist program. Ultimately, 'the center of gravity in this war thus lies in the hearts and minds of politically uncommitted Muslims'



Eliot Cohen
________

Eliot A. Cohen is a professor at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University. Cohen is the Director of the Strategic Studies department at SAIS and has specialized in strategic studies, the Middle East, Persian Gulf, Iraq, arms control, and NATO. He is a member of the Project for the New American Century and was called "the most influential neoconservative in academe" by energy economist Ahmad Faruqui

Wayne Downing
____________

General Wayne Downing most recently served in the White House as National Director and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism. As the President's principal advisor on matters related to combating terrorism, he was responsible for the close coordination among the military, diplomatic, intelligence, law enforcement, information, and financial operations of our war on terror, and for developing and executing a strategy that integrated all elements of national power.



Jack Keane
________

Since his retirement from the Army, General Keane is currently President GSI, LLC, is senior advisor to Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts and Co. and advisor to Chairman and CEO, URS Corporation. He is a director of METLIFE, Inc and General Dynamics Corporation.

General Keane serves as a member of the Department of Defense Policy Board. He is also a military contributor and analyst for ABC News


Barry McCaffrey
____________

According to an article written by Seymour Hersh published in 2000 The New Yorker, General McCaffrey committed war crimes during the Gulf War by having troops under his command kill retreating Iraqis after a ceasefire had been declared. Hersh's article "quotes senior officers decrying the lack of discipline and proportionality in the McCaffrey-ordered attack." One colonel told Hersh that it "made no sense for a defeated army to invite their own death. ... It came across as shooting fish in a barrel. Everyone was incredulous." [3]

These charges had been made by Army personnel after the war and an Army investigation had cleared McCaffrey of any wrongdoing. Hersh dismissed the findings of the investigation, writing that "few soldiers report crimes, because they don't want to jeopardize their Army careers."

Hersh describes his interview with Private First Class Charles Sheehan-Miles:

When I asked Sheehan-Miles why he fired, he replied, "At that point, we were shooting everything. Guys in the company told me later that some were civilians. It wasn't like they came at us with a gun. It was that they were there -- 'in the wrong place at the wrong time.'" Although Sheehan-Miles is unsure whether he and his fellow-tankers were ever actually fired upon during the war, he is sure that there was no significant enemy fire. "We took some incoming once, but it was friendly fire," he said. "The folks we fought never had a chance." He came away from Iraq convinced that he and his fellow-soldiers were, as another tanker put it, part of "the biggest firing squad in history."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Tuesday, Mr. Bush will meet via video conference with senior military commanders and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, and then host Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi in the Oval Office. On Wednesday, he meets with officials at the Pentagon.


Zalmay Khalilzad
_____________

On December 4, 2006, Bloomberg reported that Khalilzad will soon be leaving his post in Iraq, possibly to replace John Bolton as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

He is a member of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) and was one of the signers of the January 26, 1998, PNAC Letter sent to President Bill Clinton. Khalilzad is also a former board member of Friends of Afghanistan, which received extensive U.S. funding.



Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi
___________________________

Thursday April 27 2006 12:41 GMT

Iraq vice-president sister killed

The sister of Iraq's new vice-president has been shot dead in Baghdad, two weeks after his brother was killed.
Tariq al-Hashemi was elected on Saturday as part of an attempt to build a united Iraqi government, drawn from different religious groups.

He is head of the Iraqi Islamic Party and one of the country's most well-known Sunni Muslims.

His sister Meysoun al-Hashemi and her bodyguard were killed in a drive-by shooting in the capital Baghdad.

One of his brothers was killed on 13 April



Tony Blair
_______

no comment


plus lawmakers from the armed services, intelligence and foreign relations committees.

About Cell Phones and George Orwell

Brothers and sisters: we are so far beyond 1984 that Orwell no longer applies. When I read his book 40 tears ago, it left the impression that there would be no escape from the eye of Big Brother, but we made it to the new millinium, and could actually have a private moment if we paid hiking fees to the government for visiting our wilderness areas. A place where there where there was no 60 cycle per second magnetic hum from the wiring in our homes, business's and streets. A place of exquisite quietness that can't be described but only felt.

That is before the cell phone, which operates on microwaves emmiting from the towers that you see whever you might travel. You can take your trusty cell phone with you into places like the Mount Jefferson Wilderness, and many people do for security, without even considerating the trade off. To be sitting by a mountain lake, and have your only contact with the outside world play a robotic little electronic tune, and disrupt the peace and harmony of the moment is not cool.

Now George Orwell was speaking of the government keeping track of you through your TV set, which did indeed seem like a scary prospect, but the US has taken it out of the living room, and put it on the person of millions of people on this fragile planet.

Cell phone users, beware. The FBI can now listen to everything you say, even when the cell phone is turned off. The FBI has the ability from a remote location to activate a cell phone and turn its microphone into a listening device that transmits to an FBI listening post, a method known as a "roving bug." Experts say the only way to defeat it is to remove the cell phone battery.

"The FBI can access cell phones and modify them remotely without ever having to physically handle them", James Atkinson, a counterintelligence security consultant, told ABC News. "Any recently manufactured cell phone has a built-in tracking device, which can allow eavesdroppers to pinpoint someone's location to within just a few feet," he added.

Lightning Sam Hopkins

I had the privalige of seeing Lightning Sam in 1962 on Grant Street in San Francisco. Went to a night club to see Mose Allison, and this dude with chrome sidewall shades and a towell around his neck came out with a guitar. I thought he was the guy that worked in the rest room. He had a harmonica on his neck, and a drum that he played with his foot. I was an instant fan, and bought a stereo record of some of his work. I even named my dog after him. This dog was half standard poople and half German shepard. The dog catcher stopped by my house one day and complained, that he couldn't catch him because he could jump over any fence. Later they did catch him, but he jumped the pound fence and escaped...true story.

No disrespect meant. Lightning Sam didn't know me, but if he did I would have been honered to have the same name as his dog. I loved both Lightning Sam Hopkins, and Lightning Sam loved Lightning sam too. Lightning Sam was the only dog I've ever known who would growl "hello" when I came home from work. I can't find a picture of him, but he looked a lot like this guy. When he got old his chops turned white. He was a friend to all who came to my house, kids cats dogs chickens ducks and the birds that ate from his food bowl, unless you wore a uniform or a suit, upon which he would take on the appearance of a junk yard dog. I had to dress up for a straight event one day, and when I walked out door, he didn't say hello, but bristled up, and give out with a barely audible GRrr.

More on Bush land buy in Paraguay

Pres. Bush buys 100,000acre ranch in Paraguay

by Prensa Latina

Thursday Oct 19th, 2006 7:57 PM

Asuncion, Oct 18 (Prensa Latina) The land grab project of US President George W. Bush in Chaco, Paraguay, has generated considerable discomfort both politically and environmentally.
The news circulating the continent about plans to buy 98,840 acres of land in Chaco, Paraguay, near the Triple Frontier (Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay) is the talk of the town in these countries.

Although official sources have not confirmed the information that is already public, the land is reportedly located in Paso de Patria, near Bolivian gas reserves and the Guarani indigenous water region, within the Triple Border.

Alto Paraguay Gov. Erasmo Rodriguez Acosta revealed he heard that part of the land purchase consists of an ecological reserve (Fundacion Patria), with which Bush is affiliated.

In its interview with Rodriguez Acosta, neike.com.py reported that he does not have documentation of this affiliation and it could not communicate either with the foundation or with the National Rural Development and Land Institute, in charge of these state lands.

Concern increased last week with the arrival of Bush" daughter, Jenna, and a source from the Physical Planning Department saying that most of the Chaco region belongs to private companies.

The land which is located somewhere near Mariscal Estigarribia is near natural gas reserves, but of more importance, It's near the one of the largest aquafers in N. America.

There is no documented proof available to prove the ownership of the land, and the claims about the military base being used by the US is mostly word of mouth from the Paraguayens.

According to US government:

Airport Unsuitable for Most U.S. Military Aircraft

The June 13, 2005, Clarin article claimed that American “B-52 airplanes” could be used at Mariscal Estigarribia. In reality, the runways are too narrow for them. B-52s typically need a runway width of 150 feet (46 meters) to land and re-engined models will require a runway width of 175 feet (53 meters), according to a June 2004 report (page 28) of the U.S. Defense Science Board Task Force on B-52 Re-Engining. However, the runways at Mariscal Estigarribia are only 131 feet (40 meters) wide.


Both the Us and Paraguay governments claim that neither daddy Bush or W own any land there. But they also claim that the air base in Mariscal Estigarribia is not functional for landing B-52 Aircraft. One of the claims is that the airstrip is only 40 meters wide...not quite enough for a B-52.
True, but only for the small side strip where a plane can park. I scaled the image of the main strip and it looks more like 60 to 80 meters wide. See picture.

~Mr. Smith Goes To Washington~

Oregon Senator Gordon Smith says U.S. policy in Iraq may be criminal

In a major speech on the Senate Floor, Senator Smith called for a rapid pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq.

By Brad Ford...Friday, December 8, 2006

Oregon Senator Gordon Smith has taken a strong stand against the war in Iraq. Smith says he believed the original intelligence information from the White House and believed there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. That turned out to be untrue.

There is a video of Senators Speech...click on the artical above which goes to the Air America site in Portland Oregon...

Thank you Senator Smith for standing up for "We The People". I have seen people from all walks of life standing up to voice their feelings, and your voice in the Senate gives us hope that there will be change, and also that the divide between the political parties that we have experienced through this administration will be history.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~IMPEACHMENT~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~