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The Long Road to Democracy
What's so funny? Must be an inside joke. Image cc
Tasks Ignored During the Bush Reign of Horror
Michael Collins
What Obama promised matters. What the people expect matters more. What matters most is the crucial statement of the people. This election was a resounding no vote on executive lying, misdirection, deception, fabrication, and non stop failures. It was also a clear no vote on the unrestrained exercise of power used to attack individual rights promised in the Constitution and the willful neglect of the collective needs of citizens made manifest by their daily struggles.
Snip
There has been nothing but lies from start to finish during the eight year reign of horror with only a few brave politicians speaking truth to corrupt power. They were ridiculed and marginalized as a reward for their bravery.
Snip
Now it's over and there's unfinished business that requires our attention. This business includes the following and much more: End the Iraq occupation. Assign responsibility and consequences. Put a stop the fantasies of empire and actions that will lead to more ruinous overseas adventures.
Care for the wounded. Admit the losses and provide for healing.
Admit that the planet is in peril. Acknowledge our role in causing the problem. Accept leadership in solving it and get to work.
Revive the economy based on real products and services and make sure everyone does well. End the looting by banks and other dubious enterprises and punish those responsible.
Rebuild the United States of America wherever needed.
Provide health care services to citizens and disregard the nonsense about not being able to afford it. It's only fair to ask those who say it can't be done to sacrifice their own health care until they find a solution.
More: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0811/S002...
(The victory margin may be substantially greater if there are missing votes. Imagine that. Right
now it's questions like, how can twice as many Democrats voting in the primaries equal the same
turnout for the general. California will come in at some point but that's the last big block of
votes hanging out. Is there more. Seems like there should be.)
(Wash. DC) In 2004, we were told to anticipate a red versus blue election. It didn’t turn out that way but that was hardly mentioned. By 2008, we were told to expect record voter turnout for the presidential election. Now we’re told that the predictions were wrong, the pictures of long lines, massive early voting, and massive registration increases all went to produce just about the same vote total as reported for 2004.
Does this make sense? What about the enthusiasm that the Democrats generated in the primaries. Primary voters are highly motivated. They tend to vote in very high numbers in the general election following the primary.
Democratic Primaries: 2008 Primary Turnout More than Doubled 2004 Turnout
The 2008 Democratic priThe Green Papers: 2008 2004maries for 34 states showed 34 million voters, twice as many when compared to 2004. In fact, the difference between the two years, 17.6 million, is greater than the vote total for the same 2004 primaries, 16.1 million.
Link: http://usacoup.scoop.co.nz/?p=966
Before the Deluge (these are all supposed to be red) 260,000 McCain 201,000 Obama  After the Deluge (Northern Virginia, Norfolk/Tidewater, Richmond area) There's nothing left to count but Blue Counties - Fairfax, Loudon, Arlington, Prince William
Dysfunctional democracy The underlying issue is that the GOP flat out doesn't regard democracy as legitimate. Everything from the 'voter fraud' fraud to DREs that "misregister" Democratic votes as Republicans (but never the other way around) stems from this. It's impossible to have a functional democracy and good governance if half the power elite and 30+% of the population hold anti-democratic, illiberal, ideologies that range from Straussianism and theocratism to outright fascism. As far as the GOP is concerned, democracy is a tool to legitimate their right to rule rather than a legitimate means to make collective political decisions. Until Republican elites are prepared to accept democracy as a legitimate means of making collective political decisions then there can be no improvement in American politics. Wandering Cynic October 18, 2008 - 6:42pm
The candidate with the most votes deserves to win. It's never OK to let the loser take all. Last week, we found out about the "net new" Democratic primary voters. This is a huge voting block in the largest swing states. It will be about 14% of the electorate this time. Now there's "white shift" - previously committed white Republicans and independents are shifting to Obama according to a recent poll that asks the right questions.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0810/S002...
and on BuzzFlash.NetFrom - Public Policy Polling, Tom Jensen, Oct. 10, 2008
 Along with the new 2008 primary voters and newly registered voters since the primaries, this group is another way of assuring that turnout is up enough to let everybody know who actually wins.
How did this economic crisis happen? What are they really trying to hide with these bailouts? This is very serious but there are solutions that DO NOT include bailing out the people who caused the crisis.
The Money Party (6)
Meltdown Perpetrators Position Themselves
Meet the New Boss - Robin Hood in Reverse -
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Paulson
"A Cascade of Ruin"
Michael Collins
(Wash. DC) Well, they finally did it. The Money Part exposed the nauseating underbelly of first world finance. It's a cross between a Ponzi scheme and a complex math puzzle, all geared to let those in charge rake off as much money as they can, whenever they can, while they leave us out in the cold. Unfortunately, this time their greed and lack of control has the world poised for a systemic economic meltdown. Snip
If this happens, they will have achieved their goal: overshadowing nearly all of the domestic resistance to their schemes of perpetual empire and plunder with a financial meltdown that places survival and subsistence as the highest value. Snip
This teetering derivative market can't be bailed out. There simply isn't enough money. But our rulers think that the banks, insurance companies and stock brokerages heavily indebted and riddled with derivatives can be saved. As Ellen Brown pointed out last Thursday, save them and you stop the full exposure of the derivatives market. You avoid the risk of people finding out that their money and investments are being held by institutions willing to invest in financial products that are, at the least, highly speculative and, at the worst, pure vaporware.
More: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0809/S002...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0809/S000... ... peace keeping forces in South Ossetia, a breakaway province of Georgia near the Russian border. That region experienced a major war in 1991 and varying tensions since. Russian personnel were in Georgia as part of a multi-national peace keeping regime created by the United Nations and endorsed by the European Union in 2006. Snip Those who insist that Russia started the military phase of this conflict need only check in with the government of Georgia. On Aug. 8, 2008, at 12:35, a Georgia news agency reported that "A senior official from the Georgian Ministry of Defense said Georgia had 'decided to restore constitutional order in the entire region' of South Ossetia." The release went on to say that Georgia took the military action after the South Ossetia refused to accept a cease fire. Snip (The president of Georgia) skipped over some important events (like his troops attacking South Ossetia) and lashed out at the United States and Europe with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice next to him: "So who invited the trouble here? Who invited this arrogance here? Who invited these innocent deaths here? Who is – not only those people who perpetrate them are responsible, but also those people who failed to stop it." CNN, Aug. 15, 2008 (3:41) and U.S. Dept. of State, Aug. 15, 2008. In a clear contradiction to his claimed knowledge of an imminent threat of invasion, the president of Georgia indicated that he had no idea that a Russian military action was about to take place: "When the thing started, I had to rush back, cut my holiday short when the tensions started to raise." (4:41). Snip Giving Georgia a billion dollars may simply recycle those funds to U.S. firms that are doing business there. In addition, this financial reward will reinforce the tactically challenged president of Georgia for his grandiosity and lack of restraint. It may even create the opportunity for yet another Russian smack down followed by outraged reaction from those whose tears are more likely from joy at the ever expanding opportunity to promote the cycle of war and rebuilding around the world paid for by the hard work and taxes of the citizens of the United States. Link: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0809/S000...
You are so right. But they're a match made in, well they're a match.
There's probably much more than even what's come out but that's enough.
I don't know enough about the pregnancy to comment. I was told by a reliable Republican source in the state that they see her hometown as the extreme end of extreme Republican position.
But, I still don't get this. Who takes a polar bear killer as a running mate. That's too easy a shot, way to easy.
I would like to think McCain for showing where he's at in his career right now.
 
They've done everything they could to keep Vince Bugliosi's book under wraps. Even though Vince Bugliosi is the #1 true-crime selling author of all time, it persists. ABC wouldn't take paid advertisements. There have only been two very short cable news stories. CNN did a hatchet job on a 20 minute interview where they tried to make Bugliosi look sympathetic to Bush. No Oprah, no Colbert, no Jon Stewart (yet), no Crossfire, no Olbermann, NO NOTHING ON MSM for this book.
When Bush runs out the clock on impeachment and you're looking for justice, send a copy of this book to your local prosecutor.
 A Review of Bugliosi's - The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder  By Michael Collins The Prosecutor and the President Vincent Bugliosi wants George W. Bush prosecuted for murder. There are others who are complicit in the crime, namely the Vice President and Condoleezza Rice, but Bush is the target of this famed former Los Angeles prosecutor (the Charles Manson case) and best selling author (Helter Skelter and The Betrayal of America as two examples). He is undeterred by the virtual major media blackout on interviews and advertising. He's taking his case directly to the people through alternate media and the internet. Bugliosi constructs a devastating case in The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder. As I write this review, it is still difficult to grasp my sense of shock at this title with this author's name below it. A legendary prosecutor with a near perfect record in big cases, Bugliosi articulates one of the most revolutionary ideas imaginable in a mix of today's otherwise vapid and obtuse political thinking. But first, the book and how the prosecutor makes his case. He wastes no time in following up on the shock generated by the title. In the first sentence, we're told: "The book you are about to read deals with what I believe to be the most serious crime ever committed in American history - - the president of the nation, George W. Bush, knowingly and deliberately taking this country to war in Iraq under false presences, a war that condemned over 100,000 human beings, including 4,000 American soldiers, to horrific, violent deaths." (V. Bugliosi, p. 3) Snip The Birth of the Public Servant While a trial and conviction of George W Bush for murder would be an event of momentous proportions, it would pale in comparison to enduring impact due to the precedent established. Presidents could no longer offer up the lives of soldiers and civilians sent to a war that was stated for anything other than national defense or imminent danger to the country. More of the review: http://tinyurl.com/688gnp Permission to reproduce in whole or part with attribution of authorship and a link to the article. And just published: "Scoop" Review of BooksPreviously An Interview with Vincent Bugliosi Part 1 Part 2AND Buzz it if you get a chance]
Link: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0808/S001...
Tuesday, 12 August 2008, 11:10 am
Column: Michael Collins
Michael Collins: Bush, Manson, and a Media Blackout on Prosecuting Bush
An Interview with Vincent Bugliosi - Part 2
"More dead since the war was declared won.
A war based on lies and deceit." Image cc
Michael Collins
"Scoop" Independent News
Washington, DC
<(link:www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0808/S00099.htm|Also see Part 1)>
If a man carefully plans and executes the killing of another, we call him a murderer, arrest and try him, then send him off to the nearest death chamber. In many states, individuals convicted of three felonies are subject to an automatic life sentence under a program quaintly referred to as the "three strikes and you're out law." Justice for ordinary citizens in the United States may not be swift but when executed, it is final and unforgiving.
But when a national leader fabricates evidence to support the reasons for war thus causing death to thousands of soldiers and hundreds of thousands of civilians, what do we do? We give him 24 hour a day, 7 day a week protection, a stretch limo and a deluxe plane with all the gas he'll ever need, and a house full of history and helpers in the middle of the nation's capitol. We call him "Mr. President."
Renowned prosecutor and best selling true-crime author, Vincent Bugliosi, has a different idea in his book,
The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder.
INTERVIEW WITH VINCENT BUGLIOSI - PART 2
VB: With Manson, as an example, because he's the most well known, by far, of all my murder defendants, I simply viewed him as an extremely evil person who had committed horrendous murders and therefore forfeited his right to live. He deserved the death penalty, and I told the jury, "If this is not a proper case of imposition of the death penalty, no case ever would be." I even challenged the jury. I said, "If you're not willing to come back with a verdict of death in this case, then we should abolish the death penalty in the state of California. How many people would you have to kill to get the death penalty?" And they did come back with a verdict of death.
I also looked upon Manson as someone who, if he walked out of court, was going to continue to kill.
But let me tell you this: For the first time in my career, it's very personal with George Bush, and I'll tell you why. If I prosecuted him and Cheney and Rice or whoever else, Cheney and Rice it would not be personal. I would seek the death penalty against them, for sure. They deserve to suffer the ultimate penalty for what they did, no question about it. But it would not be personal. I'll tell you why it's personal with George Bush -- because the evidence is overwhelming, overwhelming. It cannot be disputed.
SNIP
MC: Oh, you're not allowed to advertise either?
VB: Yeah, on ABC Radio they would not take the money.
MC: That's a first.
VB: Which is, I think, kind of mind boggling. I don't know. It just seems to me that it's mind boggling. And then, of course, as you know, I had a very difficult time getting the book published. I never had trouble before. I had to fly back to New York City, knock on doors, and it was obvious that the publishers I met with thought the book was very marketable, and they seemed to be sympathetic with what I was saying, but it was equally obvious that they were frightened. They would say things like this to me: "Mr. Bugliosi, are you sure you want to publish this book?" And one of them put it in black and white, typed it, or maybe an email, "Too hot too handle."
MC: Has anybody bothered you since it was published?
Link: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0808/S001...
(althecat & Scoop, Sweet as...)  Link: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0808/S000... Friday, 8 August 2008, 11:51 am
Column: Michael CollinsMichael Collins: An Interview with Vincent Bugliosi - Part 1
Prosecuting George W. Bush for Murder
Plotting the crime, Bush plans the misleading 2003 State of the Union
speech then delivers the lies to citizens and the Congress: "A brutal
dictator, -- with ties to terrorism -- will not be permitted to dominate
a vital region and threaten the United States." George W. Bush
Michael Collins
"Scoop" Independent News
Washington, DCIn his new book, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, Vincent Bugliosi makes a devastating, well documented case that President George W. Bush is guilty of murder as a result of the lies he told to justify the invasion of Iraq. As a Los Angeles prosecutor, Bugliosi represented the state in 105 major cases and won 104, including each of his 21 murder cases. Since his first book, Helter Skelter, he's been one of the top true crime writers with three number one best sellers and numerous awards. INTERVIEW Part 1"Bush is responsible, criminally responsible for well over 100,000 deaths, but it's not okay to prosecute him. Not only isn't it okay to prosecute him, it isn't even okay to talk about prosecuting him. This is unbelievable what's going on in this country. How can we have a country where they permit a president to do what he did and they do absolutely nothing to him except to try to protect him?" Vincent Bugliosi Michael Collins (MC): You recently published The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder. This is a deadly serious charge from a distinguished prosecutor. What's the core of your case, the essence of it? Vincent Bugliosi (VB): The essence of the case against George Bush is that he deliberately took this nation to war in Iraq on a lie, under false pretenses, and therefore, under the law, he is guilty of murder for the deaths of over 4,000 young American soldiers who have died so far in Iraq fighting his war --not your war or my war or America's war, but George Bush's war.VB: Every single one of these all important words was deleted from the White Paper, so Congress and the American people never saw any of this, and I don't know how things can get too much worse than what I've just told you. SNIPThis is just -- you know, I hate to use the word terrible over again, but it's just absolutely terrible, and the question is how evil, how criminal, how perverse, how sick can George Bush and his people be? And yet they got away with all of this. As I'm talking to you right now, there are well over 100,000 people -- some estimates go in excess of a million -- well over 100,000 precious human beings who are in their cold graves right now because of it. But so far, George Bush has gotten away with murder and we, the American people, cannot let him do this. He's gotten away with murder, and no one is doing anything. 
Image cc------------------- Permission to reproduce this material in part or whole with attribution of authorship, a link to this article, acknowledgment of images, and faithful representation of Mr. Bugliosi's remarks. MUCH MORE IN THE FULL INTERVIEW AND TO COME: This is well worth getting around. Thanks) Link: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0808/S000...
The first part of this effort was inspired by the great DU posts on the Ivins case. It can be found here: Anthrax, Bruce Ivins Case Research-Resource Thread. That thread is filled with all sorts of interpretive gems and analysis, well worth reviewing if you're into this. What follows is a new thread of more recent posts pertinent to the case. As I said previously, my apologies for a partial listing. Just post them below (as RobertPaulsen did to our real benefit on the last thread). If you post or see a post on this case, why not just post a reply to this thread with the title and link? If you see a news story on this case, just post that if you want. There's a real lag time with MSM on this case. CNN just covered the questionable sorority obsession this afternoon. The only pressure on ABC to come clean on the disinformation sources for it's 2001 anthrax stories are found at Greenwald's excellent blog, here and other alternative sources. Keep it coming. Maybe Ron Suskind will get interested - and a special THANKS to him.. --------------- Check out "Frederick News" on TOPIX http://www.topix.net/city/frederick-md And see Glen Greenwald's Blog for the latest on his efforts --- http://dir.salon.com/topics/glenn_greenwal... 
This is an incomplete listing of the posting on DU about the anthrax - Bruce Ivins case. I apologize if I left your thread out but just ad it below.
If you post or see a post on this case, why not just post a reply to this thread with the title and link?
If you see a news story on this case, just post that if you want.
Now the story is changing and I think a lot of that was anticipated here by posters and those who replied with such incisive comments. The Incomplete Story So FarSuspect in 2001 anthrax attacks kills himself, rainbow4321, 8/1My two cents on the Anthrax Suicide - from a former spook -- NightWatcher, 8/2Anthrax killer: Who is Jean C. Duley? -- Screembloodymurder, 8/22 good NPR reports on anthrax - clearance, colleagues, family harassment -- JoeIsOneOfUs, 8/2FBI was told to blame Anthrax scare on Al Qaeda by White House officials -- dminks, 8/3Scientists Question FBI Probe On Anthrax -- cal04, 8/3MORE from Dr. Nass on the Duley testimony regarding Ivins! This blog SMOKES!!! -- BeHereNow, 8/3Anthrax/ABC and Bentonite -- Just figured this one out -- defendandprotect, 8/3Scientists Question FBI Probe On Anthrax (WAPO) -- kpete, 8/3More Greenwald: Journalists, their lying sources, and the anthrax investigation deminks, 8/3THE BIOWAR STORY NOT TOLD IN THE AFTERMATH OF A SCIENTIST'S "SUICIDE" -- kpete 8/3Ivins Therapist Duley in Articles on Overdoses - One called "The Legal Killers" -- autorank, 8/3 So the guy threatening her is dead but now she's hiding out. -- autorank, 8/3Daschlel criticizes anthrax investigation -- struggleforprogress, 8/3NPR: Media reports indicating Anthrax scientist Ivins was going to be indicted imminently are False -- Sabra, 8/4
 Go ahead, laugh if you want. This is very personal. I have a community based charity that involves people (me and my family). It involves preserving nature (my yard) and is centered around the family (my house). I'm all about my faith, and my faith is all about me. So I figure that's good enough for about $80,000, a grant not one of those damn SBA things. So where's my money? Damn it! (Homey the Clown is my patron saint) (And yes, I always vote Democratic and Mooby commands me to to that this year  I don't mess with Mooby. Have a fast food day!)
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