deep throat revealed

aha! i knew it. w. mark felt, hoover’s right hand man, has admitted to being the source for woodward & bernstein known as “deep throat”.

back in february when speculation reached a fever pitch, i left the following comment at mydd:

my guess…. (3.00 / 2)

hoover’s right hand man, mark felt. not only did he had access to everything that was leaked to woodward and bernstein, but his health is also failing. in addition, in one of the infamous nixon tapes, felt is marked a snitch.

i have been very interested in the whole deep throat mystery for years, and when i read about the nixon tape, i had a feeling it was felt. nixon has his famous enemies list and the tapes make it clear that nixon suspected felt was the leaker. crazy – i was right for once. LOL

anyway, thank you mr. felt for your remarkable courage in giving up nixon. thank you for having the fortitude to put country above party.

now… who’s going to be the deep throat of the bush administration?

Thank You

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. It’s a good time to visit that old relative who served in WWII, Korea or Vietnam. It’s also a good time to put together a care package for those soldiers currently serving oversees.

But most of all its a good time to remember that countless men and women have died protecting our nation. These people asked little for themselves, and their sacrifices should never be forgotten.

Two soldiers lying where they fell upon the reddened clay,
Daytime foes, at night in peace, breathing their lives away.
Brave hearts had stirred each manly breast,
fate only made them foes.
And lying, dying, side by side, a softening feeling rose.

“Our time is short,” one faint voice said.
“Today we’ve done our best.
Today we’ve been in battle. But tomorrow we’ll be at rest.
Forgive each other while we may, life’s but a weary gain.
And right or wrong, the morning sun will find us dead the same.

Life lies behind. I might not care for only just my sake
But far away are other hearts that this day’s work will break.
Among New Hampshire’s snowy hills there prays for me tonight
A woman and a little girl with hair like golden light.”

And with that thought broke forth at last, a cry with anguish wild
That could no longer be repressed, “Oh God, my wife and child!”
Then said the other dying man, across the Georgia plain,
“There watch and wait for me loved ones I’ll never see again.

A little girl with dark, bright eyes, each day waits at the door.
But father’s step and father’s kiss will never meet her more.”
And then the soldier in the blue touched hands with the one in gray,
From Hampshire’s hills and Georgia’s plains,
and soon they passed away.

~Author Unknown

What a real “activist” judge looks like…(Updated)

From mhojo, over a daily kos (yes I spend way too much time there), this:

Judge: Parents can’t teach pagan beliefs
Father appeals order in divorce decree that prevents couple from exposing son to Wicca.

An Indianapolis father is appealing a Marion County judge’s unusual order that prohibits him and his ex-wife from exposing their child to “non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals.”

The parents practice Wicca, a contemporary pagan religion that emphasizes a balance in nature and reverence for the earth.

Cale J. Bradford, chief judge of the Marion Superior Court, kept the unusual provision in the couple’s divorce decree last year over their fierce objections, court records show. The order does not define a mainstream religion.

………………………………………………..

“There is a discrepancy between Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones’ lifestyle and the belief system adhered to by the parochial school. . . . Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones display little insight into the confusion these divergent belief systems will have upon (the boy) as he ages,” the bureau said in its report.

But Jones, 37, Indianapolis, disputes the bureau’s findings, saying he attended Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis as a non-Christian.

Jones has brought the case before the Indiana Court of Appeals, with help from the Indiana Civil Liberties Union. They filed their request for the appeals court to strike the one-paragraph clause in January.

I guess Judge Bradford has never heard of the first amendment:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Sadly, this is nothing new. Those of us who are “pagan” have been singled out since, oh I don’t know, 312 A.D.

Arrghh. How about a poem?

And an old priest said, “Speak to us of Religion.”

And he said:

Have I spoken this day of aught else?

Is not religion all deeds and all reflection,

And that which is neither deed nor reflection, but a wonder and a surprise ever springing in the soul, even while the hands hew the stone or tend the loom?

Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupations?

Who can spread his hours before him, saying, “This for God and this for myself; This for my soul, and this other for my body?”

All your hours are wings that beat through space from self to self.

He who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked.

The wind and the sun will tear no holes in his skin.

And he who defines his conduct by ethics imprisons his song-bird in a cage.

The freest song comes not through bars and wires.

And he to whom worshipping is a window, to open but also to shut, has not yet visited the house of his soul whose windows are from dawn to dawn.

Your daily life is your temple and your religion.

Whenever you enter into it take with you your all.

Take the plough and the forge and the mallet and the lute,

The things you have fashioned in necessity or for delight.

For in revery you cannot rise above your achievements nor fall lower than your failures.

And take with you all men:

For in adoration you cannot fly higher than their hopes nor humble yourself lower than their despair.

And if you would know God be not therefore a solver of riddles.

Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children.

And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightning and descending in rain.

You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees.

~Kahlil Gibran

Follow up post with links to some really good commentary on this case and related cases.

What a real “activist” judge looks like…(Updated)

From mhojo, over a daily kos (yes I spend way too much time there), this:

Judge: Parents can’t teach pagan beliefs
Father appeals order in divorce decree that prevents couple from exposing son to Wicca.

An Indianapolis father is appealing a Marion County judge’s unusual order that prohibits him and his ex-wife from exposing their child to “non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals.”

The parents practice Wicca, a contemporary pagan religion that emphasizes a balance in nature and reverence for the earth.

Cale J. Bradford, chief judge of the Marion Superior Court, kept the unusual provision in the couple’s divorce decree last year over their fierce objections, court records show. The order does not define a mainstream religion.

………………………………………………..

“There is a discrepancy between Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones’ lifestyle and the belief system adhered to by the parochial school. . . . Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones display little insight into the confusion these divergent belief systems will have upon (the boy) as he ages,” the bureau said in its report.

But Jones, 37, Indianapolis, disputes the bureau’s findings, saying he attended Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis as a non-Christian.

Jones has brought the case before the Indiana Court of Appeals, with help from the Indiana Civil Liberties Union. They filed their request for the appeals court to strike the one-paragraph clause in January.

I guess Judge Bradford has never heard of the first amendment:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Sadly, this is nothing new. Those of us who are “pagan” have been singled out since, oh I don’t know, 312 A.D.

Arrghh. How about a poem?

And an old priest said, “Speak to us of Religion.”

And he said:

Have I spoken this day of aught else?

Is not religion all deeds and all reflection,

And that which is neither deed nor reflection, but a wonder and a surprise ever springing in the soul, even while the hands hew the stone or tend the loom?

Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupations?

Who can spread his hours before him, saying, “This for God and this for myself; This for my soul, and this other for my body?”

All your hours are wings that beat through space from self to self.

He who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked.

The wind and the sun will tear no holes in his skin.

And he who defines his conduct by ethics imprisons his song-bird in a cage.

The freest song comes not through bars and wires.

And he to whom worshipping is a window, to open but also to shut, has not yet visited the house of his soul whose windows are from dawn to dawn.

Your daily life is your temple and your religion.

Whenever you enter into it take with you your all.

Take the plough and the forge and the mallet and the lute,

The things you have fashioned in necessity or for delight.

For in revery you cannot rise above your achievements nor fall lower than your failures.

And take with you all men:

For in adoration you cannot fly higher than their hopes nor humble yourself lower than their despair.

And if you would know God be not therefore a solver of riddles.

Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children.

And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightning and descending in rain.

You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees.

~Kahlil Gibran

Follow up post with links to some really good commentary on this case and related cases.

What a real “activist” judge looks like…(Updated)

From mhojo, over a daily kos (yes I spend way too much time there), this:

Judge: Parents can’t teach pagan beliefs
Father appeals order in divorce decree that prevents couple from exposing son to Wicca.

An Indianapolis father is appealing a Marion County judge’s unusual order that prohibits him and his ex-wife from exposing their child to “non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals.”

The parents practice Wicca, a contemporary pagan religion that emphasizes a balance in nature and reverence for the earth.

Cale J. Bradford, chief judge of the Marion Superior Court, kept the unusual provision in the couple’s divorce decree last year over their fierce objections, court records show. The order does not define a mainstream religion.

………………………………………………..

“There is a discrepancy between Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones’ lifestyle and the belief system adhered to by the parochial school. . . . Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones display little insight into the confusion these divergent belief systems will have upon (the boy) as he ages,” the bureau said in its report.

But Jones, 37, Indianapolis, disputes the bureau’s findings, saying he attended Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis as a non-Christian.

Jones has brought the case before the Indiana Court of Appeals, with help from the Indiana Civil Liberties Union. They filed their request for the appeals court to strike the one-paragraph clause in January.

I guess Judge Bradford has never heard of the first amendment:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Sadly, this is nothing new. Those of us who are “pagan” have been singled out since, oh I don’t know, 312 A.D.

Arrghh. How about a poem?

And an old priest said, “Speak to us of Religion.”

And he said:

Have I spoken this day of aught else?

Is not religion all deeds and all reflection,

And that which is neither deed nor reflection, but a wonder and a surprise ever springing in the soul, even while the hands hew the stone or tend the loom?

Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupations?

Who can spread his hours before him, saying, “This for God and this for myself; This for my soul, and this other for my body?”

All your hours are wings that beat through space from self to self.

He who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked.

The wind and the sun will tear no holes in his skin.

And he who defines his conduct by ethics imprisons his song-bird in a cage.

The freest song comes not through bars and wires.

And he to whom worshipping is a window, to open but also to shut, has not yet visited the house of his soul whose windows are from dawn to dawn.

Your daily life is your temple and your religion.

Whenever you enter into it take with you your all.

Take the plough and the forge and the mallet and the lute,

The things you have fashioned in necessity or for delight.

For in revery you cannot rise above your achievements nor fall lower than your failures.

And take with you all men:

For in adoration you cannot fly higher than their hopes nor humble yourself lower than their despair.

And if you would know God be not therefore a solver of riddles.

Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children.

And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightning and descending in rain.

You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees.

~Kahlil Gibran

Follow up post with links to some really good commentary on this case and related cases.

Nope

I am still reading up on this, but I must say that as a veteran, I do not support putting women in combat units.

More info:

Provisions related to women in combat sparked a heated debate. The controversy surrounds a 1994 Department of Defense (DoD) policy restricting women in combat and combat-supportive roles. During the Personnel Subcommittee mark-up, Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) successfully inserted a provision that would prohibit women in the Army from serving in forward support companies. In response to opposition from Democrats and military leaders regarding the subcommittee language, Rep. McHugh offered an amendment codifying the 1994 DoD regulations, which exclude women from being assigned to units below the brigade level that engage in combat. Additionally, the amendment would allow the DoD to further exclude women from certain assignments and would require the DoD to notify Congress when opening any positions to women. The amendment was approved by voice vote.

Proposals by Reps. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) and Vic Snyder (D-AR) that would have eliminated bill language concerning women in combat were rejected, by voice vote and by 30-32, respectively. An amendment offered by Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) that would have delayed enactment of the restrictions on women in combat for 18 months failed by voice vote, as did an amendment by Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) that would have required each military department to increase opportunities for women.

Defending the measure, Rep. Hunter stated in a press release, “The nation should not put women in the front lines of combat. In my judgment, we will cross that line unless we make a policy decision as we design the new Army…This in no way forecloses hundreds of defense specialties for women away from the live fire of today’s battle field. The American people have never wanted to have women in combat and this reaffirms that policy.”

In a press statement, Rep. Sanchez argued, “The Department of Defense opposes this provision, and I can see no reason to overrule the professional judgment of the military leadership when we haven’t even had a hearing on this issue. This provision sends a horrible message to our soldiers – both male and female – and it is quite obviously going to affect recruiting, retention and morale.”

Throw stones if you must, but that is how I feel. I am not saying women are second-class citizens, or that they are weeker then men, I simply feel that women should not serve in certain roles in the military.

There are too many things about a combat unit that cannot be changed to include women. Combat units are the most sexist, macho, and violent groups in the military. Sexual harrasment charges alone would cripple a unit. Never mind the “let’s discuss this at the tree line” mentality that prevails there.

I don’t see this as a women’s rights issue, I’m not “protecting” women from the harsh realities of war, I am only speaking from my own experiences.

So, nope, I will not support putting women in direct combat units.

sing it, russ!

well, at least one of our senators still has an intact scrotum:

Mr. President, I voted no on cloture and I will vote no on the nomination of Priscilla Owen to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. I’d like to take a few minutes today to explain my votes. I also want to make a few comments on the events that led up to these votes.

I strongly opposed the threat of the nuclear option. I believe this was an illegitimate tactic, a partisan abuse of power that was a threat to the Senate as an institution and to the country. Attempting to blackmail the minority into giving up the rights that have been part of the Senate’s traditions and practices for centuries was a new low for a majority that has repeatedly been willing to put party over principle. Unfortunately, the blackmail was partially successful. While I applaud the efforts of the Senators who worked hard to broker an agreement, the end result is that three nominees who don’t deserve lifetime appointments to the judiciary will now be confirmed.

read the rest.

omfg

it really takes a lot to set off the old outrage-o-meter lately. but i saw something today that really just made my jaw drop:

that is not photoshopped in any way. it stands in front of a baptist church in the foothills of forest city, north carolina. the preacher, “Reverend Creighton Lovelace of Danieltown Baptist Church”, said tonight on countdown that the quran is a “tool of satan”. here’s the AP report.

imagine if this was posted in front of a mosque in america. the rapture right would be out in force; it’d be terri schiavo times a hundred. you think that graffiti in jewish cemetaries is bad? some wacko would probably burn down the mosque.

to think that this preacher has influence over a “flock” of people sickens me. the reverend lovelace isn’t worthy of the title. he’s basically saying to millions of muslims all over the world, “your religion isn’t worth shit”. i wonder how quickly that little image with spread to the streets of fallujah or kirkuk.

while i conceed that mullah lovelace can say whatever he wants, i cannot fathom that something like this would be acceptable to any reasonable person. surely it can’t be acceptable…

this is the level of crazy that exists in our country. we have a radical right of our own and they have a scary level of influence in our country right now. i’m pleased to see that the phrase “american taliban” is finally starting to catch on, as i’ve been using it for at least a year. because that’s what these people are. they want theocracy in this country and they’ll use any means to get it.

the scary thing is that they quickly figured out how to exploit our system in order to impose their vision of a christian theocracy. fuck, these people even make “laundry lists” of the political goals needed to cram their agenda down our throats. “valuevoter” writes:

– declare and confirm that America is a Christian nation, founded on judeo-Christian principles

– separation of church and state is impossible, unnecessary and detrimental to society

– Christian social conservatives should look at the Dominionist movement for inspiration

Other topics:
– English-only

– states and localities have the right to outlaw labor unions and union activity

– state and local control of all elections including federal; only POTUS and VPOTUS are truly federal elections anyway.

– repeal Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act; these responsibilities devolve to state and local control

he is dead serious.

one of their spiritual leaders, james dobson, is a raving lunatic. the whole filibuster deal was an attempt by dobson to exert his political power and advance his theocratic agenda of tyranny of the majority.

it saddens me to see otherwise sensible people ally themselves with the american taliban. and to think they dare call themselves christians:

“Perhaps this explains the statement I made on the radio last month, which some of you questioned. Let me express it once more. I am committed never again to cast a vote for a politician who would kill one innocent baby. “

“Never will I use my influence, however remotely, to support the shedding of their blood.”

-from Dobson’s March 1995 Focus on the Family Newsletter

yet dobson supports the war in iraq, which has killed so many babies. i guess that the american taliban really is only “pro-birth”. once you’re out of the womb you’re cannon fodder. goddamned hypocrites.

what does their bible say about hypocrites again?

3″Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

oh yea.

this is the kind of radical fundamentalism that produces terrorists like eric rudolph, who we all remember for bombing abortion clinics and the atlanta olympics.

funny, he was raised in the foothills of north carolina, too.

they are all tied in together, these different little puzzle pieces. there is no difference in the agenda of a radical fundamentalist preacher in north carolina or eric rudolph and the army of god or some of the fundies at redstate or james dobson. it’s a hydra of sorts, which each group enabling the other. without all the parts intact, it cannot exist. so what will be the wedge that finally drives them apart?

i truly believe sometimes that america won’t survive this. no matter how hard we work, no matter how much action we take IRL, i’m just not sure if we’ll survive. history teaches us that all great empires eventually fall, be it due to internal strife or external influences or some combination of both. this just happens to be one of those hopeless months. how much more can we take, really, before it all comes tumbling down?

update: lovelace has apologised and removed the sign:

He said in the statement that he “did not realize how people of the Muslim faith view the Koran – that devoted Muslims view it more highly than many in the U.S. view the Bible.”

“Now I realize how offensive this is to them, and after praying about it, I have chosen to remove the sign,” he said. “I apologize for posting that message and deeply regret that it has offended so many in the Muslim community.”

what did he say when he was first contacted by the media? oh yea, that he “knew the sign would be offensive”. cry me a river, mullah lovelace. i hope you now understand exactly how wrong and bigoted and racist your actions were.

Rant

I need to vent after reading this post and comment thread.

Why should US kids AVOID careers in science and technology?

..When you hear American high-tech CEOs screaming about kids deciding “science and technology is too hard”, use the above article to put their whines into perspective. If the entry-level science and technology jobs don’t exist, kids aren’t going to go tens of thousands of dollars in debt to prepare for them. Why should they?

This isn’t to say that we don’t need science and technology education. It is important to understand science and technology in the workplace and vital to understand them if one wants to be an informed voter who understands the increasingly technological issues that our public officials are voting on.

This isn’t to say that we don’t want our country to slip into the stone age, it’s just that getting an english degree is so much easier.

Because then you can attend all the cool political rallies while those foreign students study in the library.

i agree with a republican

well, a reagan republican anyway. paul craig roberts, senior fellow at the hoover institute, former distinguished fellow at CATO, and former assistant treasury secretary under reagan writes:

A Reputation in Tatters

George W. Bush and his gang of neocon warmongers have destroyed America’s reputation. It is likely to stay destroyed, because at this point the only way to restore America’s reputation would be to impeach and convict President Bush for intentionally deceiving Congress and the American people in order to start a war of aggression against a country that posed no threat to the United States.

America can redeem itself only by holding Bush accountable.

i couldn’t agree more. impeach the lying, scurrilious bullshitter before it’s too late. american support for the war is under 50% and has been for a few weeks now. the downing memo confirms what we on the left have been saying all along: that bush fabricated a threat based on lies and deception and led us into an illegal war. keep in mind this memo was written in july of 2002, 8 months after september eleventh and 8 months before we illegally invaded iraq:

“C reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime’s record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action.”

“It seemed clear that Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran.”

he lied to congress and he lied to all of us. he has disgraced the office of the presidency and possibly damaged our reputation permanently. he’s engaged us in perpetual war with the muslim world and he’s al-quaeda’s number one recruiter.

it’s time for him and his neocon crew to go.