Surprise?

Q: What's your assessment of the war in Iraq?

A: Utter debacle. But it had to be from the very first. The reasons were wrong. The reasons of this administration for taking this nation to war were not what they stated. (Army Gen.) Tommy Franks was brow-beaten and ... pursued warfare that he knew strategically was wrong in the long term. That's why he retired immediately afterward. His own staff could tell him what was going to happen afterward.

We have fomented civil war in Iraq. We have probably fomented internecine war in the Muslim world between the Shias and the Sunnis, and I think Bush may well have started the third world war, all for their own personal policies.

From an interview with Eric Haney, retired Command Sergeant Major, US Army, Delta Force.


After Iraq, Arabs Wary of "Western" Democracy

Highlighting the difficulty of implementing a Western tailor-made process without heeding local and regional circumstances, Omro Hamzawi, senior fellow at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said: "The availability of a democratic model that can be exported everywhere is nonsense and has no moral credibility because of the US tragedies and disasters in Iraq."

Surprising?

An "Alliance" of Violence

A disturbing trend noticeable in Iraq for quite some time now is that each aggressive Israeli military operation in the occupied territories results in a corresponding increase in the number of attacks on US forces in Iraq. One of the first instances of this was the assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in March 2004 and the reaction it set off across Shia and Sunni, ultimately spiraling into the siege and devastation of Fallujah. Fallujah is but one example one may use to demonstrate how the ongoing use of heavy handed tactics by the US-Israel alliance is proving to be as suicidal as it is homicidal. US troops in Iraq and Israeli civilians in their homes can bear testimony to this, as they are the ones who bear the brunt. Not to mention the collateral damage in Iraq.

As if the situation in Iraq isn't bad enough on it's own.

I hope he's wrong.

The White House That Cried Wolf

The Pentagon has once again investigated itself! And—have a seat, get the smelling salts, hold all hats—the Pentagon has once again concluded the Pentagon did absolutely nothing wrong and will continue to do so.

In this particularly fascinating case, the Pentagon investigated its own habit of paying people to make up lies about how well the war in Iraq is going, and then paying other people to put those lies in the Iraqi media, thus fooling the Iraqis into thinking everything in their country is tickety-boo. Well, if we can’t fool them, whom can we fool?

Surprised?

Whistleblowers allege influence peddling by members of Congress, VP in Mexico wastewater project

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, comes from this.

Mr. Abramoff has been given five years and 10 months, to be served whenever he stops saving his own ass.

I'm not surprised.

Just an FYI

In case you missed it:

Forecasts: Northeast Due for Big Hurricane

He predicts the East Coast north of the Mid-Atlantic states could see a Category 3 hurricane, a storm that could resemble the devastating systems that hit New England between the 1930s and 1950s.

You trust FEMA to get it's act together this year?

I don't.

But, what are you gonna do? Me, if a hurricane comes up the coast, I'm not going to count on Long Island to act as a barrier. I'll head north. Fast.

From Informed Comment, Juan Cole, about the release of Abdul Rahman:

The episode underlines the falsehood of the Bush administration's empty boast that it is spreading democracy in the Middle East and that "50 million" persons have been liberated. In fact, Bush has been spreading Muslim fundamentalism. In Afghanistan, he just replaced the Taliban with the Jami`at al-Islam, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was the major element in what the American called the "Northern Alliance." Karzaid did not even bother to change the Taliban chief justice when he came in; no doubt the chief justice was strict enough for the Northern Alliance, which contained this strong fundamentalist tendency. Everywhere Bush has intervened - Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, etc., it has helped the fundamentalists.

He contends that someone else will be tried, eventually, for converting to Christianity, which is what I've been thinking since the Afghanistan government first announced last week that Mr. Rahman was mentally ill and therefore could not stand trial.

The doctrine that apostacy deserves the death penalty comes out of medieval Islamic canon law rather than from the Quran itself. If Islam is to survive into the next century, its adherents need to rethink all those medieval legal doctrines to which modern fundamentalists are so attached. It is monstrous, and is the height of hypocrisy for Saudis and others to fund the conversion of Americans to Islam while threatening Saudi converts to Christianity with death.

Sadly, the hypocrisy never ends. It just changes it's stripes.

Sunny Monday

Immigration Rally is Lagest in LA History

Immigration Reform in Living Color

Immigrants Rising

~ ~ ~

Good Versus Evil Isn't a Strategy

The administration is now divided between those who understand this complexity and those who do not. On one side, there are ideologues, such as the vice president, who apparently see Iraq as a useful precedent for Iran. Meanwhile, officials on the front lines in Iraq know they cannot succeed in assembling a workable government in that country without the tacit blessing of Iran; hence, last week's long-overdue announcement of plans for a US-Iranian dialogue on Iraq - a dialogue that if properly executed might also lead to progress on other issues.

Apocalyptic President

In American Theocracy, Phillips describes Bush as the founder of "the first American religious party"; September 11 gave him the pretext for "seizing the fundamentalist moment"; he has manipulated a "critical religious geography" to hype issues such as gay marriage. "New forces were being interwoven. These included the institutional rise of the religious right, the intensifying biblical focus on the Middle East, and the deepening of insistence on church-government collaboration within the GOP electorate." It portended a potential "American Disenlightenment," apparent in Bush's hostility to science.

Bush Was Set on Path to War, Memo by British Adviser Says

But behind closed doors, the president was certain that war was inevitable. During a private two-hour meeting in the Oval Office on Jan. 31, 2003, he made clear to Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain that he was determined to invade Iraq without the second resolution, or even if international arms inspectors failed to find unconventional weapons, said a confidential memo about the meeting written by Mr. Blair's top foreign policy adviser and reviewed by The New York Times.

Is This a Strategy for Success?

What it is, though, like so many places in Iraq now, is a city increasingly divided along sectarian lines. The neighborhoods we patrolled were largely Shia; those our reporter found barricaded and dangerous were mostly Sunni. "I'd say that zero percent of Bush's talk about Tall Afar is true," said Ahmed Sami, 45, a Sunni laborer. "They turned Shiite neighborhoods into havens, and Sunni neighborhoods into hells." Even in the Shia neighborhoods, people were far from satisfied. "This is all just an outdoor prison for us," said school teacher Abu Muhammed. "We can't even go as far as the market street up there." He gestured to the top of his road, where the Ottoman fortress that dominates the town is located (and which we couldn't visit due to a security scare, even though it holds the mayor's office). "We know the American Army and the Iraqi Army are working and doing their best," said Bakr Muhammed Bakr, a dressmaker whose shop, like most others on the streets, was open for business. "But what are they going to do, put a soldier in front of each Sunni house?"

All the "Good News" From Iraq

On the Ground in Iraq

~ ~ ~

Doctors Fight New Orleans Hospital Closure - see the article below it Tight Squeeze: Life Inside a FEMA Trailer.

Neglect in New Orleans

More than six months after one of the worst natural disasters to hit the United States, a perfect storm of malign neglect on the federal, state and local levels continues to batter the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The overwhelming scale of destruction wrought by the hurricane required a comprehensive, federally directed plan of reconstruction, including the rebuilding of levees and the restoration of coastal wetlands, yet the record of the past six months is one of promises unkept, funding delayed and denied, and machinations of politicians and their corporate cronies to profit from the catastrophe. The net effect has been the disenfranchisement and continued displacement of the poor and minority population of New Orleans, which suffered disproportionately from the hurricane.

Red Cross Fires Administrators in New Orleans

"They found that not only did a great portion of the route have full utilities, they also had a major grocery store up and running and public transportation," said a volunteer who had seen their report but requested anonymity because she said she had been physically threatened by a supervisor. "Much of the area was back to pre-Katrina, and the rest of it was so bad that no one was living in it."

~ ~ ~

Panic in the Newspaper Biz

The Project for Excellence in Journalism, run by Columbia University, has a new report out that finds that the number of media outlets continues to grow, but both the number of stories covered and the depth of reporting are sliding backward. Television, radio and newspapers are all cutting staff, while the bloggers of the Internet either do not have the size or the interest to go out and gather news. Bloggers are not news-gatherers, but opinion-mongers. I have long argued that no one should be allowed to write opinion without spending years as a reporter-nothing like interviewing all four eyewitnesses to an automobile accident and then trying to write an accurate account of what happened. Or, as author-journalist Curtis Wilkie puts it, "Unless you can cover a five-car pile-up on Route 128, you shouldn't be allowed to cover a presidential campaign."

Update on Mr. Blair's troubles: Labour to overhaul funding system and How bad is loans row for Blair?.

My guess is it will hurt Mr. Blair, but to me, he's the teflon PM. I don't think he'll step down, no matter how low his polling numbers are.

I wonder... could this summer see duel impeachment session?

Yeah, only in my dreams.

Oh, and see Blair to 'take on' Iraq critics.

Senator Lieberman and Sempra

Lamont Blog is running an expose on Lieberman's ties to Sempra. It's an excellent piece and should be read by all Connecticut residents.


***Edited to add:

Email from the Ned Lamont for Senate Volunteer Coordinator

Please come hear Ned Lamont speak in person to learn more about him and his plans for Connecticut.

Ned will be near you Tuesday, March 21st at Shelton's Democratic Town Committee meeting, at 7:30 PM at the Shelton Community Center, 41 Church Street.

Ned will discuss the next steps of the campaign for US Senate and answer your questions.

Thank you again for your support, and we hope to see you tomorrow evening.

Sincerely,

Rose Ryan
Volunteer Coordinator
Ned Lamont for Senate

A conversation with Machiavelli's ghost: Controversial neoconservative Ledeen talks to Raw Story - part one of three.

RS: I understand your sentiment, but with all due respect, I disagree with the notion that a nation of people wanted this or asked for it. Some may want such a thing, but not a nation of people. You are excluding the systematic fear tactics, propaganda of hate, and other control mechanisms that over a period of time convinced an entire people that they were under constant threat by a whole other group of people.

The Holocaust did not occur overnight and in a vacuum. It started as a fire that was blamed on the terrorists, at that time "the Communists." Anyone who spoke out was branded as an enemy and jailed. Those who did not speak out were fed large doses of psychological manipulation. The horror of the Final Solution did not start with the installment of Hitler to power. The Jews did not become the object of Hitler's insanity until later, much later.

But how was this propaganda machine possible and to such an extent? How was the war machine possible or the facilities for what would later be used as extermination centers, or any number of things required to achieve such a horrible end? The Germans were still paying reparations from WWI and were largely bankrupt. If it were not for the funding made possible by US and British companies, like DuPont or Ford Motors, would the Nazis have been able to rise to power and achieve what they had achieved?

Part II

Part III


~ ~ ~

For my own reference: Connecticut Blogs

Barking Dingo
Laughing Wild
Peace Garden
Solo dialogue
Two Glasses

~ ~ ~

Shakespeare's Sister

Spring

Aussies Endure Strongest Storm Since '74

If you haven't heard, a Category 5 cyclone hit northeastern Austalia. So far, no deaths are reported, but the area is devastated. Please consider making a donation to:

The Salvation Army

International Committee of the Red Cross

Also, see ReliefWeb: "... is the global hub for time-critical humanitarian information on Complex Emergencies and Natural Disasters..."

~ ~ ~


Yesterday, on Meet the Press, Rep. Murtha says Rumsfeld, Cheney should resign.

The Congressman has started too low down on the food chain. The rot starts at the top. If the President of the United States had any honor, any decency, he'd resign. Right after he fired the Vice President, the Secretaries of State and Defense.

My fellow Americans, I am resigning the Office of the President of the United States of America, effective at Noon today. I have fired Mr. Cheney, Doctor Rice and Mr. Rumsfeld and have contacted the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Hastert, and notified him that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will be swearing him into office as our next President of the United States according to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947.

He doesn't have to say why he's resigning - it's not like we don't know - just make the annoucement and go. Then the United States can being the process of reclaiming our Nation and salvaging democracy in this country.

See also: Libby's new filing: Hadley and Armitage named, press ignores Hadley

and

What Does "High Crimes and Misdemeanors" Mean?, from 1998. It's long, but worth reading. I also suggest reading The Logic of the "Peace Process".


~ ~ ~


I've been waiting for this to happen. No one ever, ever, learns from history, do they? Mr. Blair's been handing out seats in the Lords like mad for eight years now. It was bound to catch up with him.

'Toxic' cash for peerages row threatens to engulf Blair

The blocking of a fourth Labour donor prompted one member of Labour's ruling body to condemn as "toxic" the growing sleaze threatening to engulf the Prime Minister. Mr Blair admitted last week to keeping the party's treasurer and other senior figures and ministerial colleagues in the dark about almost £14m in loans raised before the general election.

It emerged last night that Mr Blair's head of government relations played a key role in arranging a certificate putting forward a nominee for a peerage which allegedly stated misleadingly they did not have a financial relationship with the party. Ruth Turner helped draw it up inside No 10, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

See also Blair unrepentant, but still tormented by legacy of war:

Three years ago, Mr Blair would have dismissed as a bad dream former Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi statement yesterday that his country is in a state of "civil war". This completes the Blair Iraqi nightmare. Ministers have spent the past few weeks trying to tell us it was good news that the country did not descend into civil war after the bombing of the Askariya shrine in Samarra.

Mr Blair has paid a heavy political price for his strategic decision, probably taken a year before the war, to go "shoulder to shoulder" with George Bush come what may.

The Prime Minister judged that "being there" would buy Britain precious influence with the United States. Three years on, the balance sheet looks pretty one-sided. The British-inspired effort to get a new United Nations mandate for military action fizzled out. Foreign Office warnings about the lack of a plan for the aftermath of the invasion fell on deaf ears in Washington and the painful, gruesome consequences are all too apparent today.

To me there is a tone of pity by the author this article. Perhaps I'm wrong. I have no pity for Mr. Blair or Mr. Bush. Whenever Mr. Blair steps down I hope he's arrested and tried for crimes against humanity - right along side Mr. Bush.


~ ~ ~


'This Place Is Broken', an interview with Gore Vidal (this is part two - a link to part on is in the first paragraph of the article):

Gore Vidal: I wish the word terrorist would be erased from our language. All meaning has been pumped out of it by our rulers and their media, who wish to demonize everyone or -thing they dislike starting with Us The People. Certainly under the name of fighting terrorism we are conducting wars with everyone on Earth, shifting feverishly from old loyal employees like Noriega and Saddam Hussein to new servants to be abandoned in due course. We are treacherous friends. Meanwhile, thanks to all this maneuvering, more and more of our freedoms are being erased.

I don't agree with all of Mr. Vidal's opinions, but he makes some excellent points. He's also quite funny from time to time. Both parts of the interview are worth reading, but if you only have time for one, make it the second.

~ ~ ~

Harris tells Christian group she believes God wants her in public service:

Finding inspiration from God, The Last of the Mohicans and The Lord of Rings, Katherine Harris told hundreds of conservative Christians Saturday that she is "a work in progress."

Separation of church and state

~ ~ ~

War-Loving Pundits

The third anniversary of the Iraq invasion is bound to attract a lot of media coverage, but scant recognition will go to the pundits who helped to make it all possible.

Same issues, different decade

We have to divorce ourselves from the George W. Bush method of making decisions without recognizing their consequences. In the past six years, we have seen war, deceit, and torture become a part of our national vernacular, all because our president believes that split-second decisions, that favor big business and the Republican Party, will not cause irrevocable long-term damage. But what we have lost is not only our integrity--America in the World is now an international joke--but also an entire way of life. Climate change is on our doorstep, and the best we can do is recognize that it's coming, since our government will do nothing to curtail pollution or to work actively to solve the problem. Turmoil in Iraq seems destined to continue until the end of the decade. And civil rights that Americans have spent an entire century trying to procure are being stripped to a bare bones minimum before our eyes.

US evangelicals warn Republicans

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said that apart from confirming two conservative judges to the Supreme Court, "core values voters" did not feel that Congress was advancing their interests.

Poll: Americans slightly favor plan to censure

Bush battered by US pessimism, leadership doubts


The Great Immigration Debate: Getting Beyond Denial

Without much public notice, for the first time in 20 years the U.S. Senate this month is finally debating legislation that could radically change the ways our country deals with immigrants and enforces the laws on the border for decades to come. It’s a moment that reform advocates—from big business to big labor, from church groups to civil liberties organizations—have long been been fighting for. The Senate leadership has given the Judiciary Committee until March 27 to present a bill to be voted on by the whole body. Once approved, that measure would be reconciled with the House measure passed last December and move to the president’s desk for his signature.

The War on Drugs has become the War on Immigrants.

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.


Norman Lear: 'Bring Them to Their Knees'


FYI

Not Just A Last Resort?

Calculating the Risk of War in Iran

Enjoy your weekend.

It's been a long, long week

'Operation Swarmer' Expected to Last Days


Bush's Fantasy of 'Progress' in Iraq

Of course, Bush would have us believe this expanding civil war is the work of insidious foreigners rather than of competing agendas arising from within an Iraq society long stunted by colonialism and dictatorship. It does not occur to him that he is the foreigner whom the majority of Iraqis hold responsible for the country’s despair, and whose occupation immeasurably strengthens the hand of extremists on all sides. Bush’s neoconservative Svengalis apparently failed to alert him to the possibility that religious, ethnic and nationalist sentiments might trump his plans for a Western-imposed “democracy,” subservient to U.S. interests. Or that U.S.-engineered elections would be won by allies and disciples of the radical Shiite government in the “evil axis” capital of Tehran.

Fishing for a Pretext to Squeeze Iran

Bush’s vendetta against Iran is all the more invidious in light of the sweetheart deal he recently offered India, which never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. A recent United Nations report says that India has been less than forthright about its enrichment programs, and that its procedures are inadequate to deter further proliferation. India dismisses the report. The Bush administration nevertheless has proposed changing U.S. law to permit the sale of nuclear technology to India.

Digging In for the 'Long War'

On top of everything else, Rumsfeld is now circulating a grand strategy for the Long War written by Newt Gingrich. Am I the only person covering politics who ever noticed that Newt Gingrich is actually a nincompoop? When Newt bestrode the political world like a colossus (Time magazine’s Man of the Year in 1995), many people took him seriously—but he was a fool then, too. The Republicans were so thrilled to have someone on their side who had ideas, they never seemed to notice that Newt’s were drivel.

FYI: The debt ceiling is now US$9 trillion. Congrats Americans, your Anniversary present is to cough up US$30,000 - each.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

One of my favorite places on the internet is

The Internet Archive

they're looking for some help, if you've got the skills and they can always use some cash.

If you can't help out, just pick up your library card, free of charge, and enjoy.

Told you Massachusetts was Hell :)

That was the opening line to an email sent from a friend who lives just outside of Boston. She sent me the following link:

The Manifestation of the Demonic in Massachusetts

We too are beginning to encounter clear signs of the demonic. Here in Somerville, how many Catholic schools are closed. One parish and three schools at last count. Yet, we just opened up here a Planned Parenthood Office. If you have read the Somerville newspapers then you saw the picture of the politicians including graduates of Catholic schools attending a ribbon cutting ceremony for a place that roots itself in destroying human life.

That which imparts God’s wisdom is closing and that which imparts the Devil’s destruction is opening. Good is Bad and Bad is Good. True is false and false is true. Man is woman and woman is man. The Devil is alive and living in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

sigh

I like the Father's suggestion that we give to the poor - not just money but time as well. "Study, know and live the corporal and spiritual works of mercy". It wouldn't hurt to ponder that one.

I am left wondering what part of Peter we're supposed to be reading:

3:1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 3:2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

:)

For what it's worth, she's a rather devout Catholic Mom of four with a great sense of humor.

~ ~ ~

They Came for the Chicken Farmer

A case of mistaken identity's turning an innocent person into a prisoner-for-life was supposed to be impossible. President Bush told Americans to trust in his judgment after he arrogated the right to arrest anyone, anywhere in the world, and toss people into indefinite detention. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld infamously proclaimed that the men at Guantánamo Bay were "the worst of the worst."

At Conservative Forum on Bush, Everybody's a Critic

Instead, Sullivan was on hand to second the critique. "This is a big-government agenda," he said. "It is fueled by a new ideology, the ideology of Christian fundamentalism." The bearded pundit offered his own indictment of Bush: "complete contempt" for democratic processes, torture of detainees, ignoring habeas corpus and a "vast expansion of the federal government." The notion, he said, that the "Thatcher-Reagan legacy that many of us grew up to love and support would end this way is an astonishing paradox and a great tragedy."

Ouch.

Iran threatens reprisals, if punished

Iran is not helping itself - or anyone else. Mohamed ElBaradei is urging calm, from all sides. I hope they listen.

"What we need now, at this stage, is a cool-headed approach. The Middle East is a very volatile area," he said as a three-day meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency drew to a close in Vienna.

Mr ElBaradei insisted that the decision to refer his classified report on Iran's nuclear programme to the powerful Security Council - which is expected to meet next week to discuss possible punitive measures - marked a "new phase in diplomacy" and not a fast-track to sanctions.

The call for calm was directed at both Iran and the United States, who have traded threats from the sidelines throughout the course of the week's negotiations. It came shortly after a senior official from Tehran told Reuters: "The United States may have the power to cause harm and pain but it is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if the United States wishes to choose that path, let the ball roll."

The official was apparently responding to comments from Dick Cheney, the Vice President, who said Iran would face "meaningful consequences" if it failed to fall into line.

It's obvious to many the Bush Administration is most likely planning for war in Iran. If this keeps up, Iran might give Bush and company a legitimate reason.

DeLay Wins Four-Way Battle for Nomination

Annan Says Coalition May Be Violating Law

May be

Diplomatic speak, and useless.

The UN and Arab countries need to come together and take over from the United States and the United Kingdom.

Oh, and speaking of the UK:

God: I've lost faith in Blair

A high-level leak has revealed that God is "furious" at Tony Blair's attempts to implicate him in the bombing of Iraq. Sources close to the archangel Gabriel report him as describing the Almighty as "hopping mad ... with sanctimonious yet unscrupulous politicians claiming He would condone their bestial activities when He has no way of going public Himself, owing to the MMW agreement" (a reference to the long-established Moving in Mysterious Ways concordat).

...

"If Tony Blair thinks his friendship with George W Bush is worth rubbing out a couple of hundred thousand Iraqi men, women and children, then that's something he can talk over with me later," said God. "But when he starts publicly claiming that's the way I do the arithmetic too, it's time I put my foot down!" It is well known that God has a very big foot.

March 7, 2006 Executive Order

Someone at AMERICAblog posted the following link in the comments section:

Executive Order: Responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security with Respect to Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

I really enjoy AMERICAblog, though I don't always agree with all of the opinions of the authors or commentators. There's some really warped senses of humor there as well, which I enjoy too. So when I saw the link, and the brief quote, I thought it was a joke. I followed the link and sure enough, it's real.

And I went what the fuck?!

The Department of Homeland Security will now be responsible for creating faith-based communities centers and initiatives.

Sec. 3. Responsibilities of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. In carrying out the purpose set forth in section 2 of this order, the Center shall:

(a) conduct, in coordination with the WHOFBCI Director, a department-wide audit to identify all existing barriers to the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in the delivery of social and community services by the Department, including but not limited to regulations, rules, orders, procure-ment, and other internal policies and practices, and outreach activities that unlawfully discriminate against, or otherwise discourage or disadvantage the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in Federal programs;

(b) coordinate a comprehensive departmental effort to incorporate faith-based and other community organizations in Department programs and initiatives to the greatest extent possible;

(c) propose initiatives to remove barriers identified pursuant to section 3(a) of this order, including but not limited to reform of regulations, procurement, and other internal policies and practices, and outreach activities;

(d) propose the development of innovative pilot and demonstration programs to increase the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in Federal as well as State and local initiatives; and

(e) develop and coordinate Departmental outreach efforts to disseminate information more effectively to faith-based and other community organizations with respect to programming changes, contracting opportunities, and other agency initiatives, including but not limited to Web and Internet resources.

Is there anything the Department of Homeland Security isn't responsible for?

Off to email questions to Senators and Representatives.

Not that they'll answer.

This and That

From Common Dreams is an editorial by Bill Moyers entitled Saving Democracy, which I think is a must read.

Our witness for this is the Christian pastor who served as the titular president of the U.S. Family Network, the Reverend Christopher Geeslin. He told The Washington Post that the founder of the organization, the former DeLay aide, told him that a million dollars was passed through from sources in Russia who wanted DeLay’s support for legislation enabling the International Monetary fund to bail out the faltering Russian economy without demanding the country raise taxes on its energy industry. As Molly Ivins pointed out in a recent column, right on cue DeLay found his way onto Fox News Sunday to argue the Russian position. That same titular head of the U.S. Family Network, the Christian pastor, said DeLay’s former chief of staff also told him, “This is the way things work in Washington.”

The essay is quite long, but it's worth reading.

~ ~ ~


WorldNetDaily:

Democrat for Senate: Kill practicing 'gays'; Candidate says incumbent Republican not advocating biblical values enough.

"Just like we have laws against murder, we have laws against stealing, we have laws against taking drugs – we should have laws against immoral conduct," Keiser told WTOL-TV in Toledo.

Keiser, 61, says he's running as a Democrat because that's how he was registered the last time he voted.

The trucker, who hails from Fremont, Ohio, says there needs to be more adherence to biblical values in government, business and education – something he claims DeWine is not promoting.

"I believe that the United States has been moved in a Godless direction by the courts," he told the Sandusky Register. "To get good men on the court, we need good senators."

Some of Keiser's other positions include defense of the Second Amendment, securing U.S. borders, lower taxes to stimulate the economy, support of Israel and prayer in public schools.

Keiser told the Register the United States should make conversion to Christianity part of the war on terror to teach Muslims the error of their choice in religion.

The candidate also decries evolution, saying it is contrary to the Declaration of Independence.

"The teaching of evolution works against the liberties we have in the United States," he told the paper. If a person believe in evolution, he or she "has no rights," he's quoted saying.

He also opposes the United Nations, abortion on demand and thinks so-called global warming is a false concern.

~ ~ ~

An Imam in America: A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds

"America transformed me from a person of rigidity to flexibility," said Mr. Shata, speaking through an Arabic translator. "I went from a country where a sheik would speak and the people listened to one where the sheik talks and the people talk back."

~ ~ ~

Open Source Theology

Wiki's take on the Emergent Church

Religion and Ethics - Part I

~ ~ ~

Faith isn't about hatred, or separating oneself from others. Faith is acceptance and tolerance; it's joy, not fear; it's the heart, not the mind; it's belief not dogma.

That's my opinion. Everyone has their own. I don't ask anyone to believe what I believe, but I ask that they live by the rules of the community we all share - all the rules, not just the one's they prefer. Those rules are crafted, created, by the majority, not a small group of individuals who shout louder or longer or have more money than the rest do, to force their beliefs on others.

It just takes some people longer than others I guess.

Retired and "anonymous" military sources are finally admitting Iraq is in a Civil War. I'm no genius, but I figured that one out a some time ago. I think it started with Fallujah, in 2004.

There are some who are now say a variation on: now that it's a civil war we should leave.

I'm all for the United States, the United Kingdom, and other allies, to leave Iraq. We should have never gone there in the first place. However, we've created this nightmare. Is it right for us to leave now?

I don't think so. And yet, our presence in Iraq only makes the situation worse.

I think Iraq, and the entire Middle East, might be better served if the United Nations took over, in cooperation with a "Pan-Arab" group, to try and end the civil war and help the Iraqi people build a lasting government.

Update on Ave Maria

Mr. Monahan has clarifed the story:


Pizza Magnate Modifies Plans for Fla. Town

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 3, 2006

Filed at 9:22 a.m. ET

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The founder of Domino's Pizza backtracked Friday from earlier comments that he'd like to establish a new town in Florida governed by strict Roman Catholic principles, denying access to birth control and pornography.

Thomas S. Monaghan has pledged $250 million to establish Ave Maria, a town 25 miles east of Naples built around a the first new Catholic university in the United States in four decades. Both the town and the university, founded by Monaghan, are set to open next year.

''There's a lot of misconceptions about this. I don't really have a vision for the town. I have a vision for the university,'' Monaghan said Friday on ABC's ''Good Morning America.''

Last year he told a a Catholic men's group in Boston that pornographic magazines won't be sold in town, pharmacies won't carry condoms or birth control pills, and cable television will carry no X-rated channels. Monaghan said Friday those comments were ''out of place.''

''The town is open to anybody,'' Monaghan said. ''The university -- it's a different story. It will be primarily Catholic.''

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida promised lawsuits if the proposals were to become law. Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist said he saw nothing that violated state law in Monaghan's proposals.

''We do not discriminate against anyone,'' said Paul Marinelli, CEO of Barron Collier, an agricultural and real estate firm that is developing the town in partnership with Monaghan.

Marinelli said it will be requested that stores not sell contraceptives, but the sale of birth control won't be restricted. He said the town would not bar access to any cable television program, but the town will not have adult bookstores or topless clubs.

''We're not trying to create a city with walls around it that isolates from the world,'' Marinelli said.

The community will be set on 5,000 acres with a massive church and a 65-foot tall crucifix at the center of town.

Comments later when I have more time.

Hail Mary, Full of Grace

I own Domino's stock.

Owned.

I'm selling it today.

From the Boston Channel: Domino's Pizza Boss Plans Catholic-Only Town

NAPLES, Fla. -- The founder of the Domino's Pizza chain is pouring millions of dollars into a new town in Southwest Florida that will be governed by Roman Catholic principles.

Thomas Monaghan's project is called "Ave Maria." It's a place where contraceptives won't be sold in stores, and where the cable system won't carry X-rated programming. It's being built around the new Ave Maria University, the first Catholic university in decades.

Civil liberties groups are planning legal challenges if the restrictions go forward.

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist said communities have a right to provide a wholesome environment, adding that it will be up to the courts to decide what restrictions are permissible.

From 7online ABC News: Domino's pizza founder wants to create porn-free town

"I believe all of history is just one big battle between good and evil. I don't want to be on the sidelines," Monaghan said in a recent Newsweek interview.

However, Simon points to a 1946 Supreme Court opinion that "ownership does not always mean absolute dominion."

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist said it will be up to the courts to decide the legalities of the plan.

"The community has the right to provide a wholesome environment," Crist said Tuesday. "If someone disagrees, they have the right to go to court and present facts before a judge."

A telephone message left for Collier County officials was not immediately returned.

Gov. Jeb Bush, at the university's recent groundbreaking, lauded the development as a new kind of town, where faith and freedom will merge to create a community of like-minded citizens. Bush, a convert to Catholicism, did not speak specifically to the proposed restrictions.

"While the governor does not personally believe in abortion or pornography, the town, and any restrictions they may place on businesses choosing to locate there, must comply with the laws and constitution of the state and federal governments," Russell Schweiss, a spokesman for the governor, said Tuesday.

"This is country club Christianity," said Frances Kissling, president of the liberal Washington, D.C.-based Catholics for a Free Choice, which opposes the church's bans on abortion and birth control.

She likened the town's concept to Islamic fundamentalism and teaching intolerance.

"This is un-American," Kissling said. "I don't think in a democratic society you can have a legally organized township that will seek to have any kind of public service whatsoever and try to restrict the constitutional rights of citizens."

Same story, originally published by the Associated Press, just expanded.

Insane and illegal. Wanna bet it happens anyway?

~ ~ ~

Edited to add:

Anyone with enough bucks can do just about anything they please in this country. Set up a religious community? Sure, go for it. Ban alcohol? Go for it. Drugs? Cigarettes? Sex? in your new community? Yup, you can ban those too. It still isn't right, but if you can gather together enough like-minded people, you can make it work. To state you will not allow abortions to be had in their community is in contravention of Florida's laws as I undertand it, making their proposal illegal if they go through with it.

What's next, banning the treatment of people with AIDS? What about other sexually transmitted diseases? Act of God for your sins, sorry, we will not assist? Will people be allowed to pull the plug on brain-dead family members, or will that be illegal too? What about homosexual people - Not In Our Backyard? Protestants? Jews? Don't show up, we're Catholics here. Who's gonna support all the kids born because contraception is illegal, Mr. Monaghan?

We've grown up from the days of religious intoleration that started this country, right? Didn't we? Puritan thought still shapes the mindset of New England, I know, but we've grown beyond it for the most part, right? This crazy scheme of Mr. Monaghan's is setting back the calendar to darker times. He's got enough money to make his dream a reality. There are enough right-wing whack-job ultra-traditional Catholics out there to follow him and make this dream of his a reality.

But what will it cost the rest of us?

I wonder why Mr. Monaghan's company sells pizza's with meat toppings during Lent. Let the heathens sin as long as he can make a profit? I wonder.

For the record: I'm a lapsed Catholic.

They knew

If you haven't already seen it:

Tape: Bush, Chertoff Warned Before Katrina.

They knew.

They lied.

How many lies has it been, since November 2000?

I've lost track.

They lied.

Can we impeach him now?

This list is mostly for me

But feel free to browse.

How Joe Lieberman Tried to Kill Rock'n'Roll by Howie Klein. Review his Down With Tyranny blog as well.

Lamont Blog

My Left Nutmeg

Rell moves to eliminate estate tax
by: Matthew Gertz
February 26, 2006 at 09:58:49 EST

You know what would make Connecticut more competitive with Florida and Arizona? Moving the damn state 3,000 miles south. Elderly, wealthy retirees aren't leaving the state because they're afraid of the estate tax. They're leaving because it's fricking cold here! If Rell really wants to make a difference on this, instead of wasting time trying to push through an election year giveaway to her wealthy supporters, she should build a damn weather machine.

Connecticut Blog

Connecticut Local Politics

Shays Watch

Dump Joe

For the record, I can't stand Dodd either.

Over There

Please read an entry on DailyKos from djtyg Why we need to leave Iraq ASAP-from someone who is over there.

In other news, Shays endorses Lieberman.

Nearly fell over when I read that one. CT Republicans are finally admitting Lieberman is one of their own. That's been obvious to, well, me, for years now, but I never expected this. I wonder if Lieberman will formally switch teams now.

Not that it matters to anyone, including the candidate, I'm endorsing Ned Lamont. Unless the libertarians get their act together and field a real candidate for a change, Mr. Lamont has my vote right now.

But it's a long time 'til November.

Edited to add:

Norwalk Grand Opening
March 2, 2006

Dear Laura,

The campaign is taking shape and I would like to invite you to join me and some of my volunteers as we open our campaign office for the Fourth Congressional District. The grand opening will be Thursday evening at 7:00 PM.

The new office will be at 91 North Main Street at the corner of West Avenue, just off I-95 at Exit 15. There is free parking behind the building and two municipal parking lots a short walk away.

The office is on the second floor and we will be work on getting out a mailing on Thursday evening.

I hope all of you can make it and can help spread the word about our exciting campaign.

Sincerely,
Ned
Where & When

91 North Main Street
Norwalk, Connecticut

March 2, 2006
7:00PM-9:00PM



Ned Lamont for Senate
P.O. Box 536
Riverside, CT 06878-0536
(203) 622-7091
info@nedlamont.com
http://nedlamont.com

Events

Check back frequently for updates!

Ned Lamont addresses SE CT DFA
3/01/06
Groton Public Library, Large Mtg. Room,
Route 117
52 Newtown Rd.
Groton
6:45 PM

Fairfield Univeristy Young Dems
3/06/06
Fairfield University
8:00 PM

Guilford Democratic Town Committee
03/23/06
Guilford Community Center
On Route 77, near the green
7:30 PM

Wesleyan University
3/29/06
6:00 PM

Middlefield Democratic Town Committee
4/11/06
Middlefield Community Center 7:30 PM

Enfield Democratic Town Committee
4/12/06
Enfield Town Hall
8:00 PM