The Prosecution of George w. bush for Murder.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu...

15 Awful Things Republicans Would Do If They Had the Chance
The GOP's agenda, if fully implemented, would prove catastrophic. Here's what an unfettered Republican Party would do "for" America.
By Dennis Rahkonen, The Smirking Chimp. Posted November 13, 2009.

Always the political instrument of moneyed elites, and a retrograde societal force, the GOP today is more negatively impactful than ever. Its agenda, if fully implemented, would prove catastrophic. Here's what an unfettered Republican Party would do "for" America:

1) Greatly reduce or entirely eliminate taxes on the rich, thereby forcing hard-pressed working families to painfully make up resulting revenue shortfalls.

2) Bust labor unions, cruelly preventing the collective bargaining that's the key reason why US workers ever won decent wages and benefits.

3) Stubbornly deny the existence of ominous climate change while blithely pumping more pollutants into the environment from lucrative, dirty industries and practices. Although reputable scientists say 350 carbon parts per atmospheric million is the safe limit for sustained life on Earth, Republicans dismiss the frightening fact that we're already at a carbon level of roughly 390 ppm.

4) Remove "restrictive" regulations on everything from investment banks and credit card companies to a broad array of "profit-eroding" consumer protections, leaving the American masses exposed to a host of resulting abuses and dangers.

More:
http://www.alternet.org/story/143917/15_aw...

by Sara Bonisteel (Subscribe to Sara Bonisteel's posts)
Posted Nov 12th 2009 4:30PM
Filed under: Condiments

Miracle Whip is going after Stephen Colbert, after the Comedy Central star made fun of its "Don't Be So Mayo" ad campaign.

The condiment company has purportedly purchased every commercial during Thursday's "Colbert Report" and taken out an open-letter newspaper ad to Colbert saying "we will dominate the airspace on your show ... we will own you."

This comes after Colbert "popped open a jar of mayo whup-ass" during his Oct. 15 show.

The Miracle Whip team seems ready to up the ante in this condiment contest.

"With every commercial break, your viewers will be exposed to hardcore Miracle Whip attitude and revelry. You will see our legion of (as you call them) 'mayo nay-sayers' snarfing sandwiches topped with our one-of-a-kind flavor in a very cool and totally hip way," the newspaper ad which appeared in Red Eye says. "They will be in your face and massively dope. It goes without saying, they WILL NOT TONE IT DOWN. And you will begin to see the soft, bland white walls of the mayo empire begin to collapse under the weight of its own whipped-egg pretentiousness."

More:
http://www.slashfood.com/2009/11/12/miracl... /




See also:

Boston Metro full-page ad from Miracle Whip "attacking" Stephen #Colbert http://pic.gd/b96daf
http://twitter.com/IanDavidB/status/566916...


Miracle Whip to Strike Back at Stephen Colbert
http://www.eatmedaily.com/2009/11/miracle-... /

However, I bet you could do it with a much smaller sail if you were willing to orbit the sun a few times to build up momentum before heading out of the solar system.

Or, you could accelerate them with a laser beam.

In that case, the only problem I see with using a small sail would be decelerating once you reach your destination.

And if I'm right, there's no reason why we couldn't launch an interstellar nanoprobe within a decade or less.

Here's my plan:

Launch a whole series of solar sail nanoprobes, one after the other, to Alpah Centauri.

Each probe would transmit data to the next probe that was launched behind it, eliminating the need for a transmitter powerful enough to broadcast all the way back to Earth. Low-power signals would be relayed back to Earth, using something similar to Internet protocol.

Continue doing this until you have a constant "loop" of 50 or more nanoprobes circulating between Earth and Alpha Centauri.

If Alpha Centauri proves to be "boring," you could simply re-direct all (or some) of the nanoprobes to a different star system.

If we wanted to do a sample-return mission, we could decelerate the probes with a laser beam once they returned to our solar system.

But by the time the probes returned to Earth, hobbyists would be able to retrieve them with their family space ship.

'Hooligan' satirists jailed in Azerbaijan

(CNN) -- Two satirical bloggers who staged an interview with a donkey were sent to prison in Azerbaijan Wednesday, following a two-month trial for assault, the father of one told CNN. Adnan Hadjizadeh 26, and Emin Milli, 30, were accused of hooliganism after an altercation in a cafe in July.

Hadjizadeh was imprisoned for two years and Milli was sentenced to two and a half, Hadjizadeh's father, Hikmet, told CNN by phone from Baku, the capital of the oil-rich former Soviet republic.

<snip>

"Emin Milli and Adnan Hadjizadeh were physically attacked, apparently unprovoked, in a Baku restaurant. Witnesses reported that the two had been discussing their youth movement activities when two strangers approached them, demanded that they stop discussing such matters, and attacked them," Human Rights Watch and other organizations wrote in an open letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev when the trial opened in September.

<snip>

The U.S. State Department criticized the verdict as "a step backwards for Azerbaijan's progress towards democratic reform.

More:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/11/1...

Orly Taitz Shuts Down Fox News, With A Protest



Celebrated chief birther and dentist-lawyer Orly Taitz held a protest outside the Fox News building in New York City today, for publicity. Supposedly Bill O’Reilly called the birthers crazy, and this was very offensive to Orly Taitz. Approximately four people showed up for the protest! Here’s Orly talking to a nice fellow from Africa. CAPTION CONTEST.

More:
http://wonkette.com/412139/orly-taitz-shut...

Bachmann May Have Violated House Rules

You’re not supposed to use House franking privileges to promote party or movement-building events, but Michele Bachmann may have violated that rule.

Could be, at least technically. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s House home-page shout-out to tea party types for her Nov. 5 rally on the West Front steps may have violated the letter of the administration committee’s rules on the use of official, taxpayer-funded websites.

...

Bullet point No. 3 in the Web “Content” section of the rules says member sites: May not include grass-roots lobbying or solicit support for a member’s position.

That’s why the tea party gathering was called a “press event” rather than a “rally”, although Bachmann’s invitation didn’t make it sound that way:

The people need to make a House Call on Washington this week and tell their Representatives to vote no to a government takeover of one-fifth of our economy. This is gangster government at its worst.”

Besides, there was no press availability at the “press event”.

More:
http://www.alan.com/2009/11/11/bachmann-ma...

Hat-tip to: http://twitter.com/cherokee_autumn/status/...
http://twitter.com/PortCityPisces
http://twitter.com/Adenovir
http://twitter.com/AlanColmes

The Man Who Put the Rainbow in ‘The Wizard of Oz’
by Amy Goodman

Thanksgiving is around the corner, and families will be gathering to share a meal and, perhaps, enjoy another annual telecast of "The Wizard of Oz." The 70-year-old film classic bears close watching this year, perhaps more than in any other, for the message woven into the lyrics, written during the Great Depression by Oscar-winning lyricist E.Y. "Yip" Harburg. There's more to the Scarecrow and the Tin Man than meets the eye, and Harburg's message has renewed resonance today in the midst of the greatest financial collapse since the Depression.

Harburg grew up in New York's Lower East Side. In high school, he was seated alphabetically next to Ira Gershwin, and the two began a friendship that lasted a lifetime and helped shape 20th-century American song and culture. Ernie Harburg, Yip's son and co-author of the biography "Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz?," told me, "Yip knew poverty deeply ... it was the basis of Yip's understanding of life as struggle."

<snip>

The film, says Ernie Harburg, is about common people confronting and defeating seemingly insurmountable and violent oppression: The Scarecrow represented farmers, the Tin Man stood for the factory workers, and the Munchkins of the "Lollipop Guild" were the union members. Ernie recalled: "There was at least 30 percent unemployment at those times. And among blacks and minorities, it was 50, 60 percent. And there were bread lines, and the rich kept living their lifestyle."

"The Wizard of Oz" was to be "MGM's answer to ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,' " Ernie recounts. It was initially a critical success, but a commercial flop. Yip Harburg went on to write "Finian's Rainbow" for Broadway. It addresses racial bigotry, hatred of immigrants, easy credit and mortgage foreclosures. In 1947, "Finian's Rainbow" was the first Broadway musical with an integrated cast. It was a hit, running for a year and a half. When Harburg's unabashed political expression made him a target during the McCarthy era, he was blacklisted, and was banned from TV and film work from 1951 to 1962. Ironically, in the middle of his blacklist period, CBS broadcast "The Wizard of Oz" on television. It broke all viewership records, and has been airing since, gaining global renown and adulation.

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/1...

10 Unabashed Quacks in Medical History
- Published November 10, 2009 by Simptimatik - 133 Comments

The history of medicine is a noble one, with an ultimate goal of extending human life and easing human suffering. Unfortunately, medicine also has its share of charlatans, con-men, and incompetents whose greatest evil is to cast doubt on the benefits of any medicine in the minds of laymen. Merriam-Webster defines a “quack” as “a pretender to medical skill”. Presented here are some self-proclaimed, as well as licensed, “pretenders” who may have had the best of intentions, but certainly achieved the worst of results.

<snip>

#8 Bernard Jensen 1908 – 2001

Famous American chiropractor and iridologist who asserts that all of the body’s underlying dysfunctions and toxins can be identified through the iris (colored part) of the eye, despite the fact that the iris does not undergo major changes during a person’s life. Nevertheless, Jensen insisted that darker areas of the iris, or areas that changed from lighter to darker, would be read as indications that there were problems or diseases in the corresponding part of the body. Different areas of the iris would represent different limbs and organs, and the left and right eye would be read differently. For instance, if the bottom of your right eye’s iris had a dark fleck, your right kidney would be in grave danger. You can view one of Jensen’s iridology charts here.

<snip>

#6 D.D. Palmer 1845 – 1913

Father of modern chiropractic, Palmer’s scientific method, leading to his theory that misalignment of the spine is the most common cause of all illness in the human body, boiled down to two incidents: 1) he whacked a deaf janitor with a book during some witty banter, and a few days later the man claimed he could hear better, and 2) he manipulated an undisclosed patient’s spine and “cured” her vague “heart trouble”. On these two incidents alone, Palmer postulated that there was a fluid called “Innate Intelligence” flowing through the body that could heal any ailment and that could be made to flow more easily by unblocking pathways through the manipulation of the spine. As chiropractic is a very common practice today, this will most likely be the most controversial of the entries on this list.

<snip>

#4 John Harvey Kellogg 1852-1943

Immortalized in T. Coraghessan Boyle’s book “The Road to Wellville”, which was later made into a move starring Anthony Hopkins as Kellogg, and the brother of cereal magnate Will Kellogg, J.H. Kellogg, one of the few licensed medical doctors on this list, is well-known as an eccentric and monomaniacal leader of the “health movement”. His sanitarium in Battle Creek drew large numbers of “patients” who apparently volunteered for such masochistic treatments as: complete abstinence from any sexual activity, since it was the source of most illness; yogurt enemas to cleanse the body; marching while eating meals to help digestion; carbolic acid applications to the clitoris to prevent female masturbation; and immersion in freezing water laced with radium. Apparently, he, not Will, was the original Frosted Flake.

More:
http://listverse.com/2009/11/10/10-unabash... /

And THAT is a prime hunting ground for converts.

Let’s Support the Fort Hood Community
https://www.uso.org/donate/custom.aspx?id=...

The Fort Hood community is suffering and this is our opportunity to pull together to help. As the families of the fallen and injured begin the long process of healing, they need our united support now more than ever. Non-profit organizations, businesses and local residents are coming together to help the Fort Hood family through this crisis and the road to recovery. You can help!

100% of these funds will go to help the Fort Hood community; guaranteed! We are working with local officials and organizations on base and off to provide whatever assistance is needed. As the needs change, this assistance will change.

Right now, we’re running the USO Fort Hood center and two USO Mobile Canteens 24/7 to provide support whenever it’s needed. Free Internet and phones, hot coffee and meals, transportation and hotel rooms for families staying with their wounded soldiers, grief counseling, a quiet place to take a break, a shoulder to cry on, or simply a smile and a hug: we are working closely with the garrison command to ensure that whatever is needed will be available.

These needs are great and we are assisting in any way we can. As Robin Crouse, USO Fort Hood's director said, "I'm feeding my soldiers that I feel are on sacred ground right now. We're not gone until they tell us to be gone."

Help us by donating now. Remember, every single dollar raised will support the Fort Hood community.

Thank you for joining us in this cause.



https://www.uso.org/donate/custom.aspx?id=...

Will city pay $100K?
Approval hearing set for Attleboro teen who claims police struck her

ATTLEBORO - A 17-year-old high school senior who said she suffered a broken wrist and other injuries when she was stopped and arrested by police last year is in line for a $100,000 settlement from the city.

Esther Durex, an Attleboro High School honor student and track athlete, said she was struck multiple times when she was stopped and questioned after leaving a party on Leedham Street in October 2008.

<snip>

All charges against Durex were dismissed last week in Juvenile Court, according to her lawyer, John Rego.

<snip>

However, emergency room and toxicology reports from Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, where the girl was treated, portrayed the young woman as cooperative and having no drugs or alcohol in her system.

Durex is a former Miss Teen Rhode Island contestant and has been a participant in charity drives at her school.


Fuck you, Attleboro.

More:
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/20...

An online church would do nothing more than feed them their religious dogma talking points for the week.

Here's a better idea:

Keep the churches, but outsource the clergy to India.

Have an Indian pastor conduct services via television to a brick-and-mortar church in America.

He could take confession, do pastoral counseling, etc., all through an internet connection.