GOD vs. BUSH

(GODvsBUSH)

This is Funny.
Or was funny.
Not if you lost your house.
Remember that the supreme court nullified our vote, and, in several Florida counties Recounts are Illegal, contrary to the constitution.
We might need to rethink the whole thing real soon.

Debate Questions

Please answer in the comments

1. Are you going to watch any, or all, of the debates
2. Who do you think will win them?
3. Do you think they will make a difference in the election?
4. Are there going to be any local debates in your state or area? If so, will you watch, or attend those?
   

A Blustery Day

This Morning
The wind is whistling hard around the corners of the house right now. The onset of hurricane Jeanne. This morning we were wakened by a knock at the door. It was our neighbor Ernie with a circular saw and a couple of drills. He Had Masha plug in To the outlet right inside the front door and went back for a T-square. I dragger a couple of saw horses around from the side of the house and Masha got him a rain poncho. We miss-cut the first board, But the whole window is wider than two panels together, so we used the extra to cover the gap in the middle. I suggested that we could cut the piece into three fourteen inch strips but and then have enough to finish the back since the window was the same size. Ernie said “no we’re aiming for practicality not beauty”. Then he realized that I was taking about the back window and said “no were just going to do this one right here.”
We put the two pieces up and covered the gap in less than thirty minutes. The last little gap on the top WI filled with a scrap of plywood that used to sit on top of the bookcase in the kitchen where Sweetie the ICANN used to live. There was a charcoal sketch of a Buddha on the board with the words “Just One Breath,” drawn in to match the grain of the wood.
“Is that your best work?” asked our neighbor.
“Sure,” I said.
“Stick with jewelry”, he advised.

At about twenty minutes of ten, The power went off, as I was writing this. We heard an enormous buzzing as a transformer shorted out several blocks away.
I managed to get some Chicken and Rice cooked before the blackout.
During the Gusty part of the day, a tree broke off and fell against the power line to our house. Who have lights now, but the tree is there suspended against the cable, threatening to plunge us into darkness any minute, taking out our phone line as well.
On the whole the day was sort of boring. I needled around on the Dulcimer and fiddled with the short wave radio. At one point I went out to saw off part of the broken tree so that it could fall free but when the wind picked up to seventy something MPH I thought I should stay inside. Now that the electricity is back I don’t want to go any where near the situation. I’v been electrocuted before. Once when I was a kid I stepped on a line that had fallen and I scorched my foot. I could’t move my leg for a second I had to throw my weight to the side to get off the cable. My sister was with me. I guess she thought I was showing off.

Meanwhile...

Buster Cooper

Last night after Tom's opening at the garden, Gloria and I went out to hear
Buster Cooper play.
Cooper has been playing at the Garden Retsaurant for about ten years according to a
fellow we talked to in the street after the show.

Also with him was a talented young guitarist named Nate, a drummer, and a bass

player whose names escaped me. They were alsojoined by two trumpet players,
William White, and an older gentleman whose solos were more articulated and
intricate than the emotive playing of White.

They were also joined by two singers. Gloria had her eye on one of the fellows
most of the night because of his enthusiasm. later she was glad to see him get
up and sing.. The man was in his sixties, wearing suspenders, with his hand
in a brace. He sang scat for several numbers. When I talked to him after the
show, he said that he had known the drummer for forty-seven years.

Buster Cooper -- George Cooper's cousin, this St. Petersburg native and Gibbs High graduate became a world-renowned jazz trombonist, playing most notably with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. He played in the house band at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and formed the Cooper Brothers Band with his brother Steve playing the upright bass. Buster Cooper still plays regularly at the Garden Restaurant downtown.

http://ubl.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,417281,00.html?artist=Buster+Cooper
An extroverted trombone stylist best-known for his association with Duke Ellington, Buster Cooper's witty style (which sometimes involves hitting repeated, humorous high notes at the conclusion of a song) is always a joy to hear. Early on, he played with Nat Towles' territory band in Texas. Cooper worked with Lionel Hampton in 1953, was in the Apollo Theater's house band for two years, played with Benny Goodman, and formed the Cooper Brothers Band with his brother Steve on bass. The trombonist had plenty of solo space with Duke Ellington's Orchestra from 1962-1969, spent time in Florida, and moved to Los Angeles in 1973, where for the next couple of decades he played with many local jazz orchestras, including the Juggernaut and Bill Berry's L.A. Band. Oddly enough, the colorful Buster Cooper has not yet had the opportunity to lead his own record date. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Nat Adderly
http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist.aspx?ob=per&srs=prd&aid=3016

Bush Builds Advantage Among Men

From Yahoo News
Girly Men Unite!

A good question

IS THE US UNDER MARTIAL LAW?

Top 10 Reasons for the US to Get Out of Iraq

Wasn't Kerry Great on Letterman?
Actually not. He's lame at Zingers, Spin and Other Propaganda.
His Top Ten Didn't even seem funny

or i just didnt get it.

This list from the Nation, (Which is hard to read if you haven't passed the FCAT in awhile,) This could be funny. In an unlabeled container in the back of the fridge sort of way. Sorry about the order. The Nation doesn't do drumrolls well either.


1) The Human Costs Keep Increasing
On September 7 the death toll of US soldiers reached 1,000. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has acknowledged that the insurgency is likely to turn even more violent. While the American death toll made headlines across the United States, the mounting number of Iraqi deaths, at least ten times greater, gets scant attention. The US military refuses to monitor or even estimate the number of Iraqi civilian casualties. As Gen. Tommy Franks described the Pentagon's approach earlier in Afghanistan, "We don't do body counts."

2) Iraqis Aren't Better Off
While the removal of the dictator Saddam was a welcome development for many Iraqis, the streets of Baghdad and other cities remain dangerous war zones. Clean water, electricity and even gasoline in this oil-rich country are all in even shorter supply than during the dark years of economic sanctions. Women face new restrictions and new dangers. Democracy, freedom and human rights appear out of reach. And Iraq remains occupied by 160,000 foreign troops, with all of the indignity that military occupation brings.

3) The War Is Bankrupting America
This year's federal budget deficit will reach a new record--$422 billion. The Bush Administration's combination of massive spending on the war and tax cuts for the wealthy means less money for social spending. The Administration's fiscal-year 2005 budget request proposes deep cuts in critical domestic programs. It also virtually freezes funding for domestic discretionary programs other than homeland security. Among the programs the Administration seeks to eliminate: grants for low-income schools and family literacy; Community Development Block Grants; Rural Housing and Economic Development; and Arts in Education grants.

4) Halliburton's War Profiteering
The US government's Iraq reconstruction process has cost both Iraqis and Americans. Instead of boosting Iraqi self-determination by granting contracts to experienced Iraqi businesses and working to lower the huge unemployment problem inside Iraq, the US government has favored US firms with strong political ties. Major contracts worth billions of dollars have been awarded with limited or no competition. American auditors and the media have documented numerous cases of fraud, waste and incompetence. The most egregious problems are attributed to Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney's former firm and the largest recipient of Iraq-related contracts.

5) The "International Coalition" Is Fleeing
The "coalition," always more symbolically than militarily significant, is unraveling. While the impact is felt more at the political than military level, the Bush Administration's claim that it is "leading an international coalition" in Iraq is increasingly indefensible. Eight nations have now left the coalition and many other countries have reduced their contingents. Singapore has left only thirty-three soldiers in Iraq out of 191, and Moldova's forces have dwindled to twelve.

6) Recruitment for Al Qaeda Has Accelerated
The war against Iraq is leaving US citizens more vulnerable to terrorist attacks at home and abroad. According to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, the best-known and most authoritative source of information on global military capabilities and trends, the war in Iraq has accelerated recruitment for Al Qaeda and made the world less safe. It estimates worldwide Al Qaeda membership now at 18,000, with 1,000 active in Iraq. It states that the occupation has become the organization's "potent global recruitment pretext," has divided the United States and Britain from their allies and has weakened the war on terrorism.

7) The War Is Draining First Responders From Our Communities
Since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 364,000 Reserve and National Guard troops have been called for military service. This spring alone, 35,000 new Guard troops were sent to Iraq. Their deployment puts a particularly heavy burden on their home communities, because many of them serve as "first responders," including police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel. A poll conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum found that 44 percent of police forces across the nation have lost officers as a result of deployment to Iraq.

8) Torture at Abu Ghraib
The Bush Administration claimed that the liberation of Iraqis from the inhumane rule of a dictator was a good-enough reason for taking military action against that country. Now investigations of the US military's torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib has stripped the United States of even that wobbly claim. The Bush Administration has tried to blame a "few bad apples" for the torture, but abuse has been widespread, with more than 300 allegations of abuse in Afghanistan, Iraq or Guantánamo. Many more may exist, in light of the fact that Army investigators revealed in early September at a Congressional hearing that as many as 100 detainees were hidden from the International Committee of the Red Cross at the request of the CIA. This was part of a larger strategy by the government, described by Human Rights Watch as "decisions made by the Bush Administration to bend, ignore, or cast rules aside."

9) Many Americans Oppose the War
Polls conducted in August 2004 by the CNN/USA TODAY/Gallup and the Pew Research Center showed a great divide in the country: 51 percent believe that "the situation in Iraq was not worth going to war over" and 52 percent disapprove of the way President Bush is handling the war. Almost 60 percent believe that President Bush does not "have a clear plan for bringing the situation in Iraq to a successful conclusion."

10) No "Sovereignty" Has Been Transferred
The US occupation of Iraq officially ended on June 28, in a secret ceremony in Baghdad. Officially, the Americans handed "full sovereignty" to the Iraqi Interim Government. This was sovereignty in name, not in deed. Not only do 160,000 troops remain to control the streets, but the "100 Orders" of former CPA head Paul Bremer remain to control the economy. Although many thought the "end" of the occupation would also mean the end of the orders, on his last day in Iraq, Bremer simply transferred authority for the orders to the undemocratically appointed interim Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, who has longtime ties to the CIA.

Coldweb

Coldweb, originally uploaded by _william.

Masha took a beautiful photo of this tree in June this year. I replaced the clear Florida sky with a haloed eclipse and icy webbing in the branches. I can't recall what the Elvish writing says.

Time For a Boston Tea Party In Your Town

Face the Facts

Vote With Some Knowledge of what has been going on in the past few years

Everyday War

A comment from Riverbend had me thinking. Should we care? What did we start over there. Can we stop it?

We have 9/11’s on a monthly basis. Each and every Iraqi person who dies with a bullet, a missile, a grenade, under torture, accidentally- they all have families and friends and people who care. The number of Iraqis dead since March 2003 is by now at least eight times the number of people who died in the World Trade Center. They had their last words, and their last thoughts as their worlds came down around them, too. I’ve attended more wakes and funerals this last year, than I’ve attended my whole life. The process of mourning and the hollow words of comfort have become much too familiar and automatic

There is a great deal at stake in our elections. Let's not help the liars and thieves. Good people are dying on both sides.

I Got Burned By My Stove.

It took the skin right off of my hand.
:"that's hot"

It's my language: you just speak in it.

A few points of interest

One school of though has John Kerry cast a a far left loony. The other paints him as a moderate (like Clinton,) who slants his position in any way that will get him elected.
I see him as More Conservative than Bush, Because Bush is a Neo-Conservative Reformer.
The problem with seeing the two candidates as similar should be obvious. The guy who has the job looks better.


Here are some clear differences between the two candidates positions:

-Pro-choice vs. Anti-choice (with a bunch of really old Supreme Court justices.)
-Pro-environmental regulation vs. getting rid of them
-Pro-civil unions vs. Pro-rewriting the Constitution to make 10% of our population second-class citizens
-Pro-assault weapons ban vs. NOT
-Pro-separation of church and state vs. NOT
-Pro rolling back tax cuts for wealthy vs. making them permanent
-Raising the minimum wage vs. NOT
-Raising the cap, but keeping the Estate tax vs. Repealing it altogether
-Allowing drug importation and government negotiation on drug prices vs. NOT

Courtesy of elisa at SCCDP

A very good reason to vote in this election

busheatskittens, from bw.

George Bush eats kittens!

Check out these delightful propaganda products.
You can even buy the T-shirt.

Here's more evidence of the destructive influence kittens have on our society.

Idea courtesy of Shelly Powers

Some things to consider.

1. Propagandist must have access to intelligence concerning events and public opinion.

2. Propaganda must be planned and executed by only one authority.

a. It must issue all the propaganda directives.

b. It must explain propaganda directives to important officials and maintain their morale.

c. It must oversee other agencies' activities which have propaganda consequences

3. The propaganda consequences of an action must be considered in planning that action.

4. Propaganda must affect the enemy's policy and action.

a. By suppressing propagandistically desirable material which can provide the enemy with useful intelligence

b. By openly disseminating propaganda whose content or tone causes the enemy to draw the desired conclusions

c. By goading the enemy into revealing vital information about himself

d. By making no reference to a desired enemy activity when any reference would discredit that activity

5. Declassified, operational information must be available to implement a propaganda campaign

6. To be perceived, propaganda must evoke the interest of an audience and must be transmitted through an attention-getting communications medium.

7. Credibility alone must determine whether propaganda output should be true or false.

8. The purpose, content and effectiveness of enemy propaganda; the strength and effects of an expose; and the nature of current propaganda campaigns determine whether enemy propaganda should be ignored or refuted.

9. Credibility, intelligence, and the possible effects of communicating determine whether propaganda materials should be censored.

10. Material from enemy propaganda may be utilized in operations when it helps diminish that enemy's prestige or lends support to the propagandist's own objective.

11. Black rather than white propaganda may be employed when the latter is less credible or produces undesirable effects.

12. Propaganda may be facilitated by leaders with prestige.

13. Propaganda must be carefully timed.

a. The communication must reach the audience ahead of competing propaganda.

b. A propaganda campaign must begin at the optimum moment

c. A propaganda theme must be repeated, but not beyond some point of diminishing effectiveness

14. Propaganda must label events and people with distinctive phrases or slogans.

a. They must evoke desired responses which the audience previously possesses

b. They must be capable of being easily learned

c. They must be utilized again and again, but only in appropriate situations

d. They must be boomerang-proof

15. Propaganda to the home front must prevent the raising of false hopes which can be blasted by future events.

16. Propaganda to the home front must create an optimum anxiety level.

a. Propaganda must reinforce anxiety concerning the consequences of defeat

b. Propaganda must diminish anxiety (other than concerning the consequences of defeat) which is too high and which cannot be reduced by people themselves

17. Propaganda to the home front must diminish the impact of frustration.

a. Inevitable frustrations must be anticipated

b. Inevitable frustrations must be placed in perspective

18. Propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by specifying the targets for hatred.

19. Propaganda cannot immediately affect strong counter-tendencies; instead it must offer some form of action or diversion, or both.

Based upon Goebbels' Principles of Propaganda by Leonard W. Doob, published in Public Opinion and Propaganda; A Book of Readings edited for The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

from Wealth Bondage

A good post here too

GasBuddy.com - Find cheap gas prices in your city

GasBuddy.com - Find cheap gas prices in your city: "GasBuddy.com can help you find cheap gas prices in your city"
A useful and possibly necessary tool. we had a run on gas in the Tampa, S.t Pete area and many stations were out altogether

Two Draft Bills

The unanswered question; will there be a draft in 2005?

• H.R.163
  
• S.89

What Happens in a Draft?

Draft Registration: The Politics of Institutional Immortality

Bush Draft Plan

Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft

If a military draft becomes necessary

Alaska Draft Registration Freeze

Rumors of a Draft in 2005?

Little Ben

littleben, originally uploaded by _william.

Everyone needs a friend like Ben!

History Is an Angel....................Who said that?

1. A. Toynbee
2. C. Forche
3. L. Anderson

How History Was Used at the RNC
Flying backwards
Call any vegetable
Answer the question in the comment block

Crisp E. Carrot

Finally A candidate with a lead on the others.
And he has a message you can digest.
Moral fiber is no problem.
Vote for the wholesome candidate.
No string attached.;-)

MOON11

MOON11, by _william.

The moon in the doorway
Her hair shadowed
I cannot remember
The exact smell of jasmine

Bebel Gilberto Discography: Tanto Tempo

Smooth Jaz lovers and fans of Brazilian Music Should enjoy this effort by the Daughter of one of Bossa Nova's primary exponents. The record may be four years old, but it's still smooth and sweet.

• Bebel Gilberto Discography: Tanto Tempo: "Bebel Gilberto, the daughter of Bossa Nova Jo?o Gilberto (The Girl From Ipanema), has created a modern classic with her debut recording, Tanto Tempo.

Politics News Article | Reuters.com

Politics News Article | Reuters.com: "By Patricia WilsonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat John Kerry rebuked President Bush on Monday for letting a ban on assault weapons expire ...

We might be needing those guns.

Unfit to Rule

A Short list of Website about Bush and his tenous relationship with the truth.

Bush Watch
On Film
Bush lies
S-11 lies

Timeline of a Lie

This excerpt from ABC news tracks the "Uranium" story that the Bush Administration used to advocate the war on Iraq.

Sixteen words in President Bush's January 2003 State of the Union speech have led to not one, but two of the Bush Administration's greatest political challenges since the war on terror began.


In that speech, which was used to argue for war on Iraq, the president said: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

The White House has since apologized for making that claim.

First, there was a stir over how the false information made it into one of the president's most important speeches. CIA Director George Tenet and Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley shouldered much of the blame.

In September, the CIA asked the Justice Department to investigate the alleged leaking of a CIA officer's name to the press. The CIA officer is the wife of former ambassador Joseph Wilson who contributed to the stir over the false information in the first place.

Wilson had accused the Bush Administration of manipulating intelligence to exaggerate the threat from Iraq. The year before the president made his claim about Iraq, Wilson traveled to Niger and found the claim not credible.

He says the White House leaked the information about his wife to punish him for his criticism.

ABCNEWS has assembled a timeline to help readers understand the twists and turns of this imbroglio.

February 2002
The CIA dispatches then Ambassador Joseph Wilson to Niger to investigate claim of attempted uranium sale to Iraq, reportedly in response to questions from aides in Vice President Dick Cheney's office. Wilson spends eight days in Niger and concludes the allegations are "bogus and unrealistic." Wilson later says he reported this verbally to the CIA in a debriefing upon his return.

March 9, 2002
CIA reportedly sends cable that does not name Wilson but says Nigerian officials denied the allegations.

September 2002
The story that Iraq purchased uranium from Niger is published in a British dossier. The CIA "tried unsuccessfully … to persuade the British government to drop [the references]," according to a July 12, 2003, Washington Post report.

Late September 2002
CIA Director George Tenet and top aides make two presentations on Capitol Hill. They reportedly are asked about uranium purchase story. They say there was info that Iraq had attempted to buy uranium but there were doubts about its credibility. Tenet did not tell lawmakers that an envoy had been sent to Niger, according to a July 12, 2003, Washington Post report.

October 2002
The National Intelligence Estimate is produced. It says "a foreign government service reported that as of early 2001, Niger planned to send several tons of pure uranium (probably yellowcake) to Iraq," according to a July 11, 2003, statement from Tenet. It also states: "We do not know the status of this arrangement." Much later in the text, State Department researchers call the allegations "highly dubious."

October 2002
The CIA releases a White Paper document that omits the uranium allegations.

Oct. 7, 2002
The president gives a speech on Iraq in Cincinnati. He does not refer to the uranium story at the urging of the CIA, according to a July 2003 Washington Post report.

Dec. 12, 2002
American intelligence agencies say Iraq's 12,000-page weapons declaration to the United Nations doesn't account for chemical and biological agents that were missing at the end of the Gulf War.

Dec. 19, 2002
The State Department says in a fact sheet that Iraq omitted its attempts to purchase uranium from Niger in its report to United Nations on its weapons program.

Jan. 23, 2003
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice publishes a piece in New York Times, "Why We Know Iraq Is Lying," and says that the declaration of weapons "fails to account for or explain Iraq's efforts to get uranium from abroad."

Jan. 23, 2003
At the Council on Foreign Relations, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz also faults the Iraqi report, saying "there is no mention of Iraqi efforts to procure uranium from abroad."

Jan. 28, 2003
The president gives his State of the Union address. He says: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

Jan. 29, 2003
At Pentagon briefing, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says Saddam Hussein "recently was discovered seeking significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

Feb. 5, 2003
Secretary of State Colin Powell makes his presentation to the United Nations. He omits the uranium story. Three months later, he tells reporters he did not repeat the allegation because "I didn't sense in going through it all that I saw enough substantiation of it that would meet the tests that we were applying."

March 7, 2003
International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei says "the reports of recent uranium transaction between Iraq and Niger are in fact not authentic" and "unfounded."

March 16, 2003
On NBC's Meet the Press, Vice President Cheney says: "I think Mr. ElBaradei, frankly, is wrong."

March 20, 2003
President Bush announces the start of the military campaign against Iraq.

May 2, 2003
President Bush declares the end of major combat operations in Iraq.

May 30, 2003
In response to growing criticism of U.S. pre-war intelligence, CIA Director George Tenet releases a statement defending the agency's findings. He writes, "The integrity of our process was maintained throughout and any suggestion to the contrary is simply wrong."

June 8, 2003
On ABCNEWS' This Week, Rice says that at the time the State of the Union address was being prepared, "there were also other sources that said that … the Iraqis were seeking yellowcake, uranium oxide from Africa. And that was taken out of a British report. Clearly, that particular report, we learned subsequently, subsequently, was not credible."

June 12, 2003
The Washington Post quotes a White House spokesman acknowledging documents "detailing a transaction between Iraq and Niger were forged." However, the spokesman says they were "only one piece of evidence in a larger body of evidence suggesting Iraq attempted to purchase uranium from Africa."

July 6, 2003
Ambassador Wilson publishes an op-ed in the New York Times, for the first time identifying himself as the Niger envoy. Wilson writes: "Based on my experience with the administration in the months leading up to the war, I have little choice but to conclude that some of the intelligence related to Iraq's nuclear weapons program was twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat."

July 9, 2003
White House press secretary Ari Fleischer tells reporters, "With the advantage of hindsight, it's known now what was not known by the White House prior to the speech. This information should not have risen to the level of a presidential speech."

July 9, 2003
In testimony before Senate Armed Services Committee, Rumsfeld says it was only "within recent days" that he learned that reports about uranium coming out of Africa were bogus.

July 11, 2003
The president says, "I gave a speech to the nation that was cleared by the intelligence services."

July 11, 2003
Rice tells reporters the CIA cleared the State of the Union speech "in its entirety."

July 11, 2003
Tenet releases a statement saying the CIA approved of the State of the Union speech before it was delivered. Tenet says, "These 16 words should never have been included in the text written for the president."

July 12, 2003
Presidential adviser Karl Rove returns to the United States after departing on July 7 with the presidential trip to Africa.

July 14, 2003
Columnist Robert Novak writes that "two senior administration officials" told him that Wilson's wife is a CIA "agency operative on mass destruction" and that she "suggested sending him to Niger".

July 22, 2003
Deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley admits he overlooked memos from the CIA casting doubt on the intelligence underlying the uranium charge.

August 21, 2003
At a public forum in Seattle, Wilson suggests that presidential adviser Karl Rove was to blame for breaking his wife's cover. He says it is of keen interest to him "to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs." He later says he over-spoke, but maintains that Rove was responsible.

September 16, 2003
In response to a reporter's question, White House spokesman Scott McClellan responds to Wilson's charge against Rove, calling it "ridiculous."

September 28, 2003
The Washington Post reports that the Justice Department, at CIA Director George Tenet's request, was looking into the allegations that administration officials had leaked the name of Wilson's CIA officer wife.

September 30, 2003
The Department of Justice opens a formal probe into who leaked the identity of a covert CIA agent. "I want to know the truth," the president says. The White House counsel sends a memo to staff ordering them to preserve all material linked to the probe.

October 1, 2003
Columnist Robert Novak follows up on his July 14 column, saying he did not receive a planned leak, that the CIA never warned him about the harm of his disclosure, and that "it was not much of a secret."

Frayed

The edge worn, the garment thin,
I try to cover what remains.
In my bodies age
I begin to see the new truth.

We are all laid bare in a melody.
Our hearts in our mouths as we sing.
And children dance along beside us.
With flowers and teddy bears as though it were spring

But for them, when the cherry blossoms fall,
We will be like naked trees till new leaves
Bud from the crooked branches.

So let them play in the pink fallen petals
And rejoice in the soft fleshy rain,
So they know what it is to be mortal
Before they know mortal pain.

Hurricanes Benefit Election strategy

Well yes, tis is a spurious comment.
But JEB want to raise a sales tax, and these storms do provide photo ops to those in power.
If a bush shows in you town to "provide aide," poster that photo op. And ask for aid here.
Pols don't have all the power.
--peace

Ivan - Projected Path

This is the projected path for the storm
Click to see the picture.
I wish i could show you what fear is really like.
This is like war. There is nothing to do but survive.
I hope i get to vote this year.

Hurricane Ivan

Oh, No, Not Again.!
I'm seriously averse to this hurricane nonsense.
People here in Pinellas are talking about moving permanently.
We barely dodged two storms in the last month.
Three seems like the magic number for most folks.
I won't bet on it either way.
but the mood is crazy. Some folks are less concerned than pot heads with a nice bag and others are talking about starting their lives over again.
Oh, and luck saw me loose a wallet on the bus Tuesday. All my ID gone. Next I'll probably get my license suspended for running from the storm.

crocodile

Scan0003, originally uploaded by _william.

An old thing.
cleaning out the books.

Bill for President

BILLBANNER2
Originally uploaded by _william.

Everybody should be able to run for office. Even Bill.

Go_now_

Go_now_, originally uploaded by _william.

I command you to vote for a democrat in the next election.

Betty Castor for Senate.

Elect Betty Castor to the Senate to Replace Bob Graham. Castor has demonstrated excellent leadership skills as president of University of South Florida. She has a demonstrable commitment to excellence in education.
She has also served Two terms in the Florida senate. and been elected state.
Here is the Meet up list for you to get involved with others in your area

Afterthought

The storm got stronger after it passed over Pinellas county so the high winds started early this morning after the main part of the vortex was over water. the winds are driving water into Tampa Bay causing abnormally high tides. Bay Shore Blvd. in Tampa is under water.
So far we are fine just some plants were damaged.
The big disaster is a toxic Gypsum stack (an earth walled pond of ph 1 acid waste,) burst open and started draining into Tampa Bay. Aparently an anonymous employee called it in to the news other wise it would not have been noticed. Aparently Gargill the company responsible has known about the leak for about a week. Now they are blaming it on a convenient act of nature. This may kill all of the sea grass in the bay.
Not to mention fish.

Hurricane Frances

108160_m
Originally uploaded by _william.

So far we have just been waiting. the power went off just after sunset last night. I was talking on the phone and went out side to take a look. there was a flash and a bang down the street. After that every thing was quiet. And Dark. The powere company fixed the transformer this morning. Now, the wind is picking up but still no rain.

And now IVAN!

Columbine in Chechnya

We grieve for their loss.

"Today we must be together. This is the only way for us to defeat the enemy."
--Vladimir Putin

This story is chaotic and confusing. Like S11 there are conflicting reports.
If you hear something, post a comment.

H.R.163 and S 89

This pair of draft related bills still sit under review by the Pentagon and Senate Armed Forces Commitee. There has been no indication that they will pass. The problems should be obvious. Take a look below I've included a summary of the H.R.163 bill
They could turn up again in 2005. if any one knows any thing, definite, please post a comment.

On way to win this is to support Iraqi people, And get involved in this troubled nation.
Americans should be there to help. and we can only win peace with peaceful offerings.
We can beat the politicians at this. We want so bring our people home AND establish a stable Iraq.
HOW?

Alternate View

I couldn't resist reprinting this speech. For what it's worth, I give you Zell Miller...

My job tonight is an easy one: to present to you one of this nation's authentic heroes, one of this party's best-known and greatest leaders — and a good friend.

He was once a lieutenant governor — but he didn't stay in that office 16 years, like someone else I know. It just took two years before the people of Massachusetts moved him into the United States Senate in 1984.

In his 16 years in the Senate, John Kerry has fought against government waste and worked hard to bring some accountability to Washington.

Early in his Senate career in 1986, John signed on to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Bill, and he fought for balanced budgets before it was considered politically correct for Democrats to do so.

John has worked to strengthen our military, reform public education, boost the economy and protect the environment. Business Week magazine named him one of the top pro-technology legislators and made him a member of its "Digital Dozen."

John was re-elected in 1990 and again in 1996 - when he defeated popular Republican Governor William Weld in the most closely watched Senate race in the country.

John is a graduate of Yale University and was a gunboat officer in the Navy. He received a Silver Star, Bronze Star and three awards of the Purple Heart for combat duty in Vietnam. He later co-founded the Vietnam Veterans of America.

He is married to Teresa Heinz and they have two daughters.

As many of you know, I have great affection — some might say an obsession — for my two Labrador retrievers, Gus and Woodrow. It turns out John is a fellow dog lover, too, and he better be. His German Shepherd, Kim, is about to have puppies. And I just want him to know ... Gus and Woodrow had nothing to do with that.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Senator John Kerry.

Zell Miller, introducing John Kerry, at the Democratic Party of Georgia's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, March 1, 2001
reprinted from JoHo David Weinberger's weblog

String For Miller.
Love is Hate
The speech at RNC 2004

Text of Zell Miller's Speech at RNC
By Sen. Zell Miller (D-Georgia)
CNSNews.com Information Services
September 02, 2004

(Editor's note: What follows is a transcript of Sen. Zell Miller's speech to the Republican National Convention, as provided by the Republican National Committee.)

Since I last stood in this spot, a whole new generation of the Miller Family has been born: Four great grandchildren.

Along with all the other members of our close-knit family, they are my and Shirley's most precious possessions.

And I know that's how you feel about your family also. Like you, I think of their future, the promises and the perils they will face.

Like you, I believe that the next four years will determine what kind of world they will grow up in.

And like you, I ask which leader is it today that has the vision, the willpower and, yes, the backbone to best protect my family?

The clear answer to that question has placed me in this hall with you tonight. For my family is more important than my party.

There is but one man to whom I am willing to entrust their future and that man's name is George Bush.

In the summer of 1940, I was an 8-year-old boy living in a remote little Appalachian valley. Our country was not yet at war, but even we children knew that there were some crazy men across the ocean who would kill us if they could.

President Roosevelt, in his speech that summer, told America ``all private plans, all private lives, have been in a sense repealed by an overriding public danger.''

In 1940, Wendell Wilkie was the Republican nominee.

And there is no better example of someone repealing their ``private plans'' than this good man. He gave Roosevelt the critical support he needed for a peacetime draft, an unpopular idea at the time.

And he made it clear that he would rather lose the election than make national security a partisan campaign issue.

Shortly before Wilkie died, he told a friend, that if he could write his own epitaph and had to choose between "here lies a president'' or "here lies one who contributed to saving freedom,'' he would prefer the latter.

Where are such statesmen today? Where is the bipartisanship in this country when we need it most?

Now, while young Americans are dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, our nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of the Democrat's manic obsession to bring down our Commander in Chief.

What has happened to the party I've spent my life working in?

I can remember when Democrats believed that it was the duty of America to fight for freedom over tyranny.

It was Democratic President Harry Truman who pushed the Red Army out of Iran, who came to the aid of Greece when Communists threatened to overthrow it, who stared down the Soviet blockade of West Berlin by flying in supplies and saving the city.

Time after time in our history, in the face of great danger, Democrats and Republicans worked together to ensure that freedom would not falter. But not today.

Motivated more by partisan politics than by national security, today's Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator.

And nothing makes this Marine madder than someone calling American troops occupiers rather than liberators.

Tell that to the one-half of Europe that was freed because Franklin Roosevelt led an army of liberators, not occupiers.

Tell that to the lower half of the Korean Peninsula that is free because Dwight Eisenhower commanded an army of liberators, not occupiers.

Tell that to the half a billion men, women and children who are free today from the Baltics to the Crimea, from Poland to Siberia, because Ronald Reagan rebuilt a military of liberators, not occupiers.

Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the American soldier. And, our soldiers don't just give freedom abroad, they preserve it for us here at home.

For it has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest.

It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag.

No one should dare to even think about being the Commander in Chief of this country if he doesn't believe with all his heart that our soldiers are liberators abroad and defenders of freedom at home.

But don't waste your breath telling that to the leaders of my party today. In their warped way of thinking America is the problem, not the solution.

They don't believe there is any real danger in the world except that which America brings upon itself through our clumsy and misguided foreign policy.

It is not their patriotism - it is their judgment that has been so sorely lacking. They claimed Carter's pacifism would lead to peace.

They were wrong.

They claimed Reagan's defense buildup would lead to war. They were wrong.

And, no pair has been more wrong, more loudly, more often than the two Senators from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry.

Together, Kennedy/Kerry have opposed the very weapons system that won the Cold War and that is now winning the War on Terror.

Listing all the weapon systems that Senator Kerry tried his best to shut down sounds like an auctioneer selling off our national security but Americans need to know the facts.

The B-1 bomber, that Senator Kerry opposed, dropped 40 percent of the bombs in the first six months of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The B-2 bomber, that Senator Kerry opposed, delivered air strikes against the Taliban in Afghanistan and Hussein's command post in Iraq.

The F-14A Tomcats, that Senator Kerry opposed, shot down Khadifi's Libyan MIGs over the Gulf of Sidra. The modernized F-14D, that Senator Kerry opposed, delivered missile strikes against Tora Bora.

The Apache helicopter, that Senator Kerry opposed, took out those Republican Guard tanks in Kuwait in the Gulf War. The F-15 Eagles, that Senator Kerry opposed, flew cover over our Nation's Capital and this very city after 9/11.

I could go on and on and on: against the Patriot Missile that shot down Saddam Hussein's scud missiles over Israel; against the Aegis air-defense cruiser; against the Strategic Defense Initiative; against the Trident missile; against, against, against.

This is the man who wants to be the Commander in Chief of our U.S. Armed Forces? U.S. forces armed with what? Spitballs?

Twenty years of votes can tell you much more about a man than twenty weeks of campaign rhetoric.

Campaign talk tells people who you want them to think you are. How you vote tells people who you really are deep inside.

Senator Kerry has made it clear that he would use military force only if approved by the United Nations.

Kerry would let Paris decide when America needs defending.

I want Bush to decide.

John Kerry, who says he doesn't like outsourcing, wants to outsource our national security.

That's the most dangerous outsourcing of all. This politician wants to be leader of the free world.

Free for how long?

For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure.

As a war protester, Kerry blamed our military.

As a Senator, he voted to weaken our military. And nothing shows that more sadly and more clearly than his vote this year to deny protective armor for our troops in harms way, far away.

George Bush understands that we need new strategies to meet new threats.

John Kerry wants to re-fight yesterday's war. George Bush believes we have to fight today's war and be ready for tomorrow's challenges. George Bush is committed to providing the kind of forces it takes to root out terrorists.

No matter what spider hole they may hide in or what rock they crawl under.

George Bush wants to grab terrorists by the throat and not let them go to get a better grip.

From John Kerry, they get a ``yes-no-maybe'' bowl of mush that can only encourage our enemies and confuse our friends.

I first got to know George Bush when we served as governors together. I admire this man. I am moved by the respect he shows the first lady, his unabashed love for his parents and his daughters, and the fact that he is unashamed of his belief that God is not indifferent to America.

I can identify with someone who has lived that line in ``Amazing Grace,'' ``Was blind, but now I see,'' and I like the fact that he's the same man on Saturday night that he is on Sunday morning.

He is not a slick talker but he is a straight shooter and, where I come from, deeds mean a lot more than words.

I have knocked on the door of this man's soul and found someone home, a God-fearing man with a good heart and a spine of tempered steel.

The man I trust to protect my most precious possession: my family.

This election will change forever the course of history, and that's not any history. It's our family's history.

The only question is how. The answer lies with each of us. And, like many generations before us, we've got some hard choosing to do.

Right now the world just cannot afford an indecisive America. Fainthearted self-indulgence will put at risk all we care about in this world.

In this hour of danger our President has had the courage to stand up. And this Democrat is proud to stand up with him.

Thank you. God Bless this great country and God Bless George W. Bush

Props to blind tangerine

Great Buzz

'i love bees' a very strange website.
Referred by Moblogs
Also see Dana's Blog For comments.
More of the story here
And a WIKI summary

Metal Art

Casting yesterday was more social than normal. Gloria baked a carrot cake using a recipe she learned from her mother. Khnum showed up the shoot a few waxes and even Jim came in to taken inventory for his upcoming class. Ken was there for some reason, (most likely he can sense a party,) and Tom the new security guy was there. William and I both had work to do, so the cake sat around and waited while we invested. All told, there were seven flasks. William had a bunch of small things: tiny intricate crosses and frogs. These were a new form that I haven't seen him use before. He also has a good stock of completed 'angel bells' the largest housed in a puzzle box made of tung oiled ebony and studded with lapis lazuli. The two bracelets that I invested came out fine in the end, although I will have to work to build up my inventory for Christmas.
The pare atmosphere was a bit distracting. Tom was in and out talking to Gloria who showed him how to carve a ring. His work was chunky but intricate and very good for a first try. He actually has studied ceramics and taught in California, so 'first' is not quite accurate. Khnum was in to make more models for his African face. Probably, he will bring in a sprue tree to cast next time. William and I may have been successful in persuading him to cast in silver rather than bronze. It's not that expensive, but the results are much more spectacular. And easier to work with. Last time he cast we were heating the metal up for what seemed like twenty minutes.

I'm Just in a Daze about Politics.
Thats just what the bad guys want us to think.
And the Good Guys?...
They just want us to think.
No more Partisans; Just logic.
Please Ignore the Man Behind the curtain.
Remember, It was narrow last time. That margine spelled victory.
It Is not just the presidential office up for grabs. Your local officials might be just as important for you.
Focus on local issues.
Not Bush Vs. Kerry.