02-17-09
- Failed So-Called 'War on Drugs':
- DEA paid $123,000 to charter private jet for boss' trip to Colombia (miamiherald) instead of taking one of the agency's own 106 planes.
- Barack's Gang:
- Holder's DoJ defends Bush rule to allow concealed guns in national parks (washingtonpost) -- Hell, if we had wanted to continue with Bush's failed policies, we could have just voted for open, honest corruption on the McSame/Palin ticket.
- Saving social security (guardian.co.uk) "Here's a cheap and effective form of economic stimulus – tell America's baby boomers that their welfare benefits are safe . . . . Workers are likely to be especially fearful about the prospects of getting their social security benefits now due to an all out assault on the program financed by billionaire banker Peter Peterson. Peterson has spent much of the last two decades trying to cut social security, Medicare and other benefits for the elderly. He recently contributed a billion dollars to a foundation bearing his name that is primarily committed to this goal. Peterson's investment has paid off both in exposure from the media and more importantly attention from many members of Congress and their staffers. There are now dozens of senators, congress people and their staff running around Capitol Hill crafting creative new ways to cut social security. Baby boomers are right to fear that Peterson and his crew will take away their benefits."
- Bushies at DoJ won't go quietly into the night apparently (stltoday) -- Obama must get all the Bushie obstructionists out of his administration (or wall them off if he can't fire them). Now Bushie Michael Hertz wants to delay Karl Rove's deposition so he can make a deal with him (no doubt to give Rove as much of the store as possible). If Obama allows these criminals to get off the hook, then he doesn't deserve to be president, plain and simple, because each day he fails to prosecute them all, he violates his oath to uphold the Constitution, and each day he fails to prosecute the torturers and their enablers, he also violates the Geneva Convention on the matter.
- Domestic Spying:
- UK: The British are the most spied upon people in the democratic world, but only the judiciary can restrain parliament (guardian.co.uk) -- Given our stacked GOP judiciary in the U.S., will the U.S. judiciary step up to restore privacy rights here? Are there even enough 4th Amendment respecting judges left to do the job?
- That Grand Old Criminal Obstructionist Party, Bless Their Shriveled, Craven Hearts:
- Republicans try to block Obama from closing Gitmo House of Horrors (guardian.co.uk)
- Ending the Hidden Agenda Behind Tax Cuts (commondreams)
- The Great Economic-Shakedown:
- Warning: Britain is heading towards deflation (guardian.co.uk)
- Lendman: Financial Crisis: Toxic Plans for Toxic Assets (baltimorechronicle) -- Other interesting articles after this at site.
- Health-Care Struggle:
- Petition for Conyers single payer, extension of Medicare to all (democrats)
- Global Warming:
- Hamburgers are the Hummers of Food in Global Warming: Scientists (commondreams)
- Is America ready to quit the enemy of the human race? (grist) "Superb NYT story captures both coal's peril and the barriers to its elimination"
- World carbon dioxide levels jump 2.3 ppm in 2008 to highest in 650,000 years (grist)
- 'Feedback' triggers could amplify peril (google/afp) -- It's already happening.
- Scorched Earth: Beyond The Tipping Point (youtube Introduction - Part 2 - Conclusion)
- Military-Industrial Complex:
- A 'fraud' bigger than Madoff - Senior US soldiers investigated over missing Iraq reconstruction billions (independent.co.uk)
- Unusual Red Glow Over Minnesota (apod)
