"... Dick Cheney isn't sorry about any of it." In his ABC News interview he "betrayed no second thoughts - and certainly no remorse - about the policies pursued by the administration that he both served and, according to some, led.
But Cheney's role is an old, if still developing story. After all, he warned us five days after Sept. 11 that our government would work on the "dark side." He told the late Tim Russert, "We've got to spend time in the shadows in the intelligence world. A lot of what needs to be done here will have to be done quietly, without any discussion, using sources and methods that are available to our intelligence agencies." ...
We the Lobbyists of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Profit, establish Pay-to-Play, ignore domestic Tranquility, provide for the common Media, promote the general lack of Welfare, and secure the Extractions of Payments to ourselves and our Clients, do now usurp and re-establish this Constitution for the United Elites of America.
You know, one thing I get so sick of hearing from all the right-wing loons is how Progressives like myself and many of you are un-American. We have our patriotism questioned on a daily basis. Right-Wing idiots on the radio rail about how we do not believe in the Constitution and the values this country was founded on. Well, details that have emerged in the last couple of days show that the Bush Administration and their shameless enablers in the Republican Party and the former Republican Congress are the ones who really do not believe in the Constitution, or the freedoms granted by it.
Private vs. Public Schools: What's the Difference?
Your goal is to find a school that will meet your child's needs. But how do you choose between a public school and a private school?
[... interesting list of Pros and Cons ...]
The Bottom Line
There are a few fundamental differences between public and private schools, but here's the bottom line: There are great private schools and there are great public schools. The trick is finding the school that best fits your child's needs. You may also want to consider public charter schools or homeschooling. It's a good idea to research the schools that interest you and, to get a true picture of the school, visit in person.
Has Competition from Public Education "killed" the thriving Industry of Private Education?
Hardly!
Neither will Competition from a Public Option in Health Care, "kill" the thriving Industry of Private Insurance -- assuming they actually have a Product, that People are willing to pay for!
Presumption of Innocence (Innocent until proven guilty)
A principle that requires the government to prove the guilt of a criminal defendant and relieves the defendant of any burden to prove his or her innocence.
The presumption of innocence, an ancient tenet of Criminal Law, is actually a misnomer. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, the presumption of the innocence of a criminal defendant is best described as an assumption of innocence that is indulged in the absence of contrary evidence
[...]
the presumption of innocence is essential to the criminal process. The mere mention of the phrase presumed innocent keeps judges and juries focused on the ultimate issue at hand in a criminal case: whether the prosecution has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the alleged acts. The people of the United States have rejected the alternative to a presumption of innocence-a presumption of guilt-as being inquisitorial and contrary to the principles of a free society.
The Chicken-hawks must be getting nervous -- because a few of them have actually started to resort to (-gasp-) Logic!
I've heard a new rationale floating around that fog, we call the Corporate Media, recently, which actually made me think, "Yeah, that makes sense." (sort of)
The New Talking Point goes something like this:
"If we are 'OK' with executing the Terrorists, behind 9/11, WHY do we have a problem with the harsh interrogation of them?"
This morning, a counter argument finally dawned on me --
"What (or Who) gives them the right, to be Judge, Jury, (Tormentor), and Executioner, all rolled into one?
Spiegel Online - 11/14/2006
More than a few bad apples
The human rights groups have not just set their sights on Rumsfeld, though. The suit names 11 other high-ranking US officials, including current US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA director George Tenet, and Ricardo Sanchez, the former commander of all US forces in Iraq. They are all accused of either ordering, aiding, or failing to prevent war crimes.
"There crimes are not the work of a few bad apples," said CCR president Michael Ratner. "They were planned and executed at the highest levels of the US government."
(that pesky 4th amendment... - promoted by poligirl)
NSA 'No Such Agency' apparently continues to operate as there is 'No Such Thing' as a 4th Amendment ...
NSA Whistleblower: Wiretaps Were Combined with Credit Card Records of U.S. Citizens By Kim Zetter - Wired - Jan 23, 2009
NSA whistleblower Russell Tice was back on Keith Olbermann's MSNBC program Thursday evening to expand on his Wednesday revelations that the National Security Agency spied on individual U.S. journalists, entire U.S. news agencies as well as "tens of thousands" of other Americans.
Tice said on Wednesday that the NSA had vacuumed in all domestic communications of Americans, including, faxes, phone calls and network traffic.
Today Tice said that the spy agency also combined information from phone wiretaps with data that was mined from credit card and other financial records. He said information of tens of thousands of U.S. citizens is now in digital databases warehoused at the NSA.
(framing framing framing - it's all about the framing... - promoted by poligirl)
I did some reconnaissance, today:
(I spent an hour watching Hannity, interview Rush, on FOX. ... eewwwh, my eyes and ears! ... my sensibilities!!)
The Spinning was non-stop, of course:
Rush Limbaugh:
He's going to issue an executive order to close Guantanamo Bay, but it isn't going to happen for four years. I think... You used the word "expedient." He plays both sides. He's going to placate the far left fringe kook base, his website people will say, "Okay, he's going to close Guantanamo." But he's not going to close Guantanamo, and he's not going to get out of Iraq in 16 months.
...
So I shamelessly say, "No! I want him to fail." If his agenda is a far-left collectivism -- some people say socialism -- as a conservative heartfelt, deeply, why would I want socialism to succeed?
