Author Archives: Lisa

Hullaballo Over “Mission Accomplished” Banner – Shrub Says It Wasn’t His Idea, Sorry For The Miscommunication — White House Press Release Suggests Otherwise

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As if the “Mission Accomplished” banner was the only thing that implied “Mission Accomplished,” during the Shrub’s memorable flight suit May 1 extravaganza.
Oh you thought I meant the mission was accomplished. I just meant a mission was accomplished: The mission of the USS Abraham Lincoln, of course… Sorry to give the wrong impression.
Gee, you don’t think anyone got that wrong impression because the White House sent out a press release that said President Bush Announces Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended or anything, do you?

Bush Disavows ‘Mission Accomplished’ Link
In The Guardian UK.

When it was brought up again Tuesday at a news conference, Bush said, “The ‘Mission Accomplished’ sign, of course, was put up by the members of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished.”
“I know it was attributed somehow to some ingenious advance man from my staff – they weren’t that ingenious, by the way.”
That explanation hadn’t surfaced during months of questions to White House officials about proclaiming the mission in Iraq successful while violence continued.
After the news conference, a White House spokeswoman said the Lincoln’s crew asked the White House to have the sign made. The White House asked a private vendor to produce the sign, and the crew put it up, said the spokeswoman. She said she did not know who paid for the sign.
Later, a Pentagon spokesman called The Associated Press to reiterate that the banner was the crew’s idea.

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The Daily Show On David Blane’s Incredible Starvation Trick

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David Blane’s latest “magic” trick was hanging in a box above London and starving himself for 45 days. I’m not kidding. That’s the whole trick.
As Jon says: (paraphrase) It’s incredible! How did he do it? How do millions of people in third world countries all over the world do it every day! What a feat!
Jon took it upon himself to comment on David Blane’s starvation routine twice last week. Once on October 20, 2003 and again on October 21, 2003. Additionally, Ed Helms provided an insightful commentary on the subject on October 21, 2003.

Jon On David Blane – October 20 (Small – 2 MB)

Jon On David Blane – October 21, 2003 (Small – 6 MB)

Commentary On David Blane By Ed Helms (Small – 4 MB)











The Daily Show (The best news on television.)

States Rebel Against Shrub Anti-Environment Policies – Sue To Block Changes In Clean Air Act

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States Rebel Against Bush over Pollution Measures
By David Usborne for the Independent UK.

A group of 12 American states has rebelled against President George Bush and his environmental policies by suing to block changes in the Clean Air Act that will make it easier for industrial plants to upgrade their equipment without paying for anti-pollution devices.
The coalition of states, most in the east of the country, downwind of generating plants and refineries in the Midwest, filed the lawsuit in a Washington DC court this week. They were joined by several large cities, including New York, Washington DC and San Francisco. A separate suit was filed by the state of Illinois, and a collection of environmental pressure groups, including the Sierra Club, was expected to file its own legal challenge yesterday.
At issue is a relaxation in regulations put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December and published on Monday. The plaintiffs claim that the amendments will lead to an increase in harmful emissions. “It amounts to a get-out-of-jail-free card for some of the nation’s biggest polluters,” said Frank O’Donnell of the Clean Air Trust.
Critics insist that the changes are the most significant made to the 33-year-old Clean Air Act since it was strengthened by Congress in 1990. At the core of the Act were emission ceilings for all big industrial plants. But a “grandfather” clause gave exemptions to facilities built before the Act was introduced. However, even those older plants were to be fitted with scrubbers and other controls if they were modernised or expanded.
It is this stipulation that the EPA wants to relax. During the 1990s, under President Bill Clinton, the EPA strictly enforced the rules. But there was a change of thinking with the arrival of President Bush in Washington. Vice-President Dick Cheney pressed for an easing of the rules to save costs for the energy industry, with which he is closely linked.
The move by Mr Cheney was resisted by the former environment secretary, Christie Whitman. In a memo, which has recently been circulated by environmental lobby groups, she warned that the administration would “pay a terrible political price” if it undercut the rules.
There are more than 500 plants across the US that benefited from the pre-1970 exemptions. Most are power plants, generating about 51 per cent of national electricity.
“We are not going to sit by quietly and allow the energy interests in this country to receive special treatment while so many of our children and elderly are needlessly suffering from respiratory problems,” said Tom Reilly, the Massa-chusetts attorney general.

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Jesse Jackson Defends Howard Dean Against Inaccurate Racial Attacks Launched By Al Sharpton

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A friend of mine sent me this article yesterday in an attempt to inform me that Howard Dean was really a racist. I had to just laugh when I read the article, at first, because Dean’s platform is so pro-civil rights and pro-racial equality that it was more than a little funny to me that anyone would be asinine enough to launch those allegations.
But when I read the article, I was more than a little angry at Al Sharpton. He had distorted the truth just enough to make Dean’s intent sound questionable. I decided not to blog the article so as not to perpetuate the negative, inaccurate propoganda. And hoped it would just go away, I guess.
This morning, I awoke to a very pleasant rebuttle by Jesse Jackson, strongly criticizing Al Sharpton for his inaccurate remarks and reaffirming what I already knew about Howard Dean: that he is pro-civil rights and pro-affirmative action.
Thanks, Jesse!

Jackson Urges Democrats to Accentuate the Positive
Calls On All Democrats To Reject Racial Rhetoric
By Jesse Jackson, for t r u t h o u t.

Clearly, Gov. Dean is not anti-black and it is ridiculous for Rev. Sharpton to compare him to President George Bush in that regard. When it comes to addressing issues that directly affect African Americans, and indirectly affects all Americans, Gov. Dean clearly has good record. Up until this point – until I indicated my intention to endorse Gov. Dean – the Democratic campaign has been free of such racial rhetoric. I would recommend that it remain so. Such rhetoric will not contribute to defeating George W. Bush in 2004. Indeed, it will insure his re-election.

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Injured American Soldiers Claim They Have “Never Been So Treated Like Dirt”

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Just to clarify again — These stories are not about our soldiers not getting proper medical treatment on the front lines. They are about Shrub War Veterans not getting propers medical treatment upon returning home.
But wait! It’s worse than that. Upon re-reading the article, I see that many of these soldiers had existing health problems that should have prevented them from being deployed in the first place. I also see that many of them were forced to reside in substandard housing, and received injuries from incidents like the roof falling in on their own barracks, rather than in active combat.
I hope the citizens of our armed forces can remember this experience long enough to vote the Shrub out next year.

By Mark Benjamin for UPI.

“I joined to serve my country,” said Cpl. Waymond Boyd, 34. He served in Iraq with the National Guard’s 1175 Transportation Company. He has been in medical hold since the end of July.
“It doesn’t make any sense to go over there and risk your life and come back to this,” Boyd said. “It ain’t fair and it ain’t right. I used to be patriotic.” He has served the military for 15 years.
Boyd’s knee and wrist injuries were severe enough that he was evacuated to Germany at the end of July and then sent to Fort Knox. His medical records show doctor appointments around four weeks apart. He said it took him almost two months to get a cast for his wrist, which is so weak he can’t lift 5 pounds or play with his two children. He is taking painkilling drugs and walks with a cane with some difficulty.
Many soldiers at Fort Knox said their injuries and illnesses occurred in Iraq. Some said the rigors of war exacerbated health problems that probably should have prevented them from going in the first place.
Boyd’s X-rays appear to show the damage to his wrist but also bone spurs in his feet that are noted in his medical record before being deployed, but the records say “no health problems noted” before he left…
Sgt. Buena Montgomery has breathing problems since serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. She said she has been able to get to doctors but worries about many others who have not.
“The Army did not prepare for the proper medical care for the soldiers that they knew were going to come back from this war,” Montgomery said. “Now the Army needs to step up to the plate and fix this problem.”
In nearly two dozen interviews conducted over three days, soldiers also described substandard living conditions — though they said conditions had improved recently.
A UPI photographer working on this story without first having cleared his presence with base public affairs officials was detained for several hours for questioning Tuesday and then released. He was told he would need an Army escort for any further visits to the base. He returned to the base accompanied by an Army escort on Wednesday.
This reporter also was admonished that he had to be accompanied by an Army public affairs escort when on base. The interviews had been conducted without the presence of an escort.
After returning from Iraq, some soldiers spent about eight weeks in Spartan, dilapidated World War II-era barracks with leaking roofs, animal infestations and no air conditioning in the Kentucky heat.
“I arrived here and was placed in the World War II barracks,” one soldier wrote in an internal Fort Knox survey of the conditions. “On the 28th of August we moved out. On 30 Aug. the roof collapsed. Had we not moved, someone would be dead,” that soldier wrote…
“They are treating us like second-class citizens,” said Spc. Brian Smith, who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom until Aug. 16 and said he is having trouble seeing doctors at Fort Knox. The Army evacuated him through Germany for stomach problems, among other things. “My brother wants to get in (the military). I am now discouraging him from doing it,” Smith said.
“I have never been so disrespected in my military career,” said Lt. Jullian Goodrum, who has been in the Army Reserve for 16 years. His health problems do not appear to be severe — injured wrists — but he said the medical situation at Fort Knox is bad. He said he waited a month for therapy. “I have never been so treated like dirt.”

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Nothing New Going Up Tonight

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I’m BEAT with a capital everything tonight guys. I managed to get out and record the Dean rally, but last night was one of those late one’s that I mentioned are known to happen on occasion, so I’m going to go to bed early-like, and I’ll put up a bunch more foo clips, and Daily Show clips, and Howard Dean on 60 minutes, and other goodies in the AM.