Hamas has mostly respected a truce for nearly a year, but says it will not give up its guns or its charter demand for an Islamic state to encompass Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

Reuters article by Nidal al-Mughrabi

So, unless you've been living under a rock the last couple days you've heard about this by now. I have hesitated writing about it because, like most Americans, my mind has been on other things. I'm doing my thing, worrying and bitching about spying and Iraq and such when up pops the surprise slaughter of the Fatah.  Who would've thought that in the absence of true leadership Palestinians would choose what must be, to them, the lesser evil? This suddenly makes the Middle East even scarier and even more complex. I feel like I'll have to go back to college to grasp the enormity of this. This was a surprise even to Palestinians! I'll have more to say about this, but before I start shooting my mouth off I gotta go read a few books and devour a few news websites.  I have absolute faith that this research will provide me with plenty of reasons to bitch.

Judge Alito's nomination does not serve the best interests of our nation; it serves to appease extreme right wing elements of the Republican Party. His nomination is an incredible mistake for America, and only the United States Senate can put a stop to it.

Support the filibuster

Women's Call for Peace: An Urgent Appeal

We, the women of the United States, Iraq and women worldwide, have had enough of the senseless war in Iraq and the cruel attacks on civilians around the world. We've buried too many of our loved ones. We've seen too many lives crippled forever by physical and mental wounds. We've watched in horror as our precious resources are poured into war while our families' basic needs of food, shelter, education and healthcare go unmet. We've had enough of living in constant fear of violence and seeing the growing cancer of hatred and intolerance seep into our homes and communities.

To read more and sign, visit CODEPINK

Evidence of that deliberate policy included the threat by President George W. Bush to veto a bill opposing "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment," Roth writes, and Vice President Dick Cheney's attempt to exempt the Central Intelligence Agency from the law. In addition, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales claimed that the United States can mistreat detainees so long as they are non-Americans held abroad, while CIA Director Porter Goss asserted that "water boarding," a torture method dating back to the Spanish Inquisition, was simply a "professional interrogation technique."

Human Rights Watch World Report

The above raises several bitchy questions for me.  For one thing, why is it okay to mistreat foreign detainees?  Where is that written? I've bitch and bitched about spying on Americans vs. spying on non-Americans and I can almost accept that as a different pile of shit altogether.  But mistreating foreign prisoners, hmm, really gets me thinking. Why is that okay? They're not American citizens so they're not human? They don't have rights or nervous systems or DNA? What kinda fucked up policy is that? They are our fellow human beings.  In the vast network of the human family, we are all cousins.  So why is it supposedly acceptable to mistreat i.e. torture non-Americans?  The only answer I can come up with is that the current administration says it's okay because it's simply okay for them. Damn the pain, damn the consequences, damn the rise in insurgent recruits.  I'm still teetering on the fence: is this administration cruel or simply stupid? Or both? Don't they get it? The more they torture and mistreat detainees in the name of anti-terrorism the more enemies they create.  The more they bend, break, twist and fuck with the law and commit and then rename and rephrase the crimes, the more they kill, torture, rape, abuse and mistreat the more people all over the world see them as the problem.  Are they hoping for an even bigger war? More enemies? Maybe they are, they are making quite a bit of cash off this mess aren't they? Then of course there's the fact that the more enemies that are created the more American citizens are threatened and the more American solidiers over there will face violence. But again, not important to Bush and company.

The other thing that really pisses me off is the idea that water boarding is just a plain 'ol interrogation technique.  What a bunch of shit.  Nearly drowning someone is not an interrogation technique. Turning a bright light on someone and bombarding them with tough questions is an interrogation technique.  Water boarding is torture. And anyone who says differently is a sadistic torturing asshole as well as a liar. Water boarding has been called a lot of things over the years. During several dark periods in history it was used on mentally ill to "cure" them.  It's been used in fraternity hazings and of course it's being used now in the "war on terror".  Doesn't matter what it's called or why it's being practiced, it's torture plain and simple and it is not justified. It is never justified, it is never okay and it is not something I want included in the United States legacy. 

Puppy mills are mass-breeding operations that treat breeding dogs like "machines," churning out countless puppies for sale. These facilities put profits before animal welfare, providing puppies with little veterinary care, poor shelter, and no human socialization. Many of these facilities are exempt from the minimum standards of care required by current federal law. Most states don't inspect these operations either.

I strongly support H.R. 2669/S. 1139, the Pet Animal Welfare Statute of 2005 (PAWS). To let your legislators know your views on this important subject, visit the Humane Society and sign up!

The entire Democratic Party leadership just signed a petition for sweeping reform -- and I joined them.

Please read this historic pledge and add your name if you think we need real change in Washington:

 http://www.democrats.org/page/petition/honesty/fuqqzh

Thanks!

What sets this type of operation apart from the unprecedented covert domestic spying activities the NSA had been conducting after 9/11 is a top secret executive order signed by President Bush in 2002 authorizing the NSA to target specific American citizens. Prior to 9/11, American citizens were the subject of non-specific surveillance by the NSA that was condoned and approved by President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, according to former NSA and counterterrorism officials.

Jason Leopold Report at truthout

Holy Sheep Shit! Jesus Holy Shit Christ! So they didn't even wait for an excuse to forge ahead with spying on American citizens, huh? Used to be, if the NSA accidentally came across an American citizen in their spying activities they were supposed to immediately stop and expunge the record. But apparently, someone dropped the ball. Or shoved it up the ass of Constitution.  What another bunch of law-breaking, Bill of Rights-rewriting shit! And I foolishly thought it couldn't get any work. What a dumbass I have been.  I wouldn't put anything past Emperor Bush now. Even before 9/11 this was a known item on the agenda and the policy was already in practice.  And to add insult to injury the Bush Administration went through the bullshit charade during talks about the Patriot Act.  Why? Why bother? Because they didn't wanna be truthful...about anything? Yet? And I guess now they'll just keep stringing it out.  All I can say is: IMPEACH!

President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court has compiled an extensive, right-wing judicial record on numerous matters of importance to the protection of the rights and interests of ordinary Americans. Alito's judicial opinions demonstrate that he is an out of the mainstream opponent of fundamental legal rights and protections for all Americans and must not be confirmed to the Supreme Court.

Save the Court

Despite Wilson's description of his injury and his symptoms, Walter Reed officials repeatedly questioned his mental state and the authenticity of his combat story. In a June 2005 memorandum from an Army Physical Evaluation Board, some Walter Reed doctors stated that Wilson exhibited "conversion disorder with symptoms of traumatic brain injury." Conversion disorder holds that symptoms such as seizures arise from a psychological conflict rather than a physical disorder. Col. James F. Babbitt, president of the Physical Evaluation Board, accused Wilson of being a liar. "I believe that the preponderance of the evidence available to the Board supports an alternative diagnosis … one of malingering," Babbitt wrote in that memo....

...But when the conversation returns to Wilson's treatment, their smiles quickly fade. It's hard for them to believe, after two hard tours of duty, that this is the kind of treatment he has received. "I just want to be taken care of," he says. "I just want healthcare."

Losing Their Minds by Mark Benjamin

I am shocked. I am appalled. I cannot fucking believe this shit.  Our government lies about the reasons for being in Iraq, lies about spying on US citizens, lies about everything and CAN'T EVEN TAKE CARE OF THE SOLDIERS IT'S PUTTING IN HARM'S WAY!  These men and women are doing what they think is right, they are knowingly putting their lives in the path of danger.  They are leaving their spouses and their children and their parents and their siblings and their friends and their jobs and their lives behind in a world thousands and thousands of miles away.  They are walking the walk and living the talk, they are living in hell, they are dying, they suffering terrible injuries and not all of them are getting the treatment they need and deserve.  They deserve the very best that our medical profession has to offer, they deserve better treatment than our shitty president for they are doing the real grunt work.  They deserve to be treated like what they are: heroes! But instead, some of them are not receiving the treatment they so desperately need and are being called liars for their pains. Isn't that just like our fucked up country: support the troops but don't help them when they suffer the inevitable injuries. I cannot believe this Col. Babbitt; this evil dickless sonofabitch deserves to be bitch-slapped for his careless and cruel words.  I wonder how he would feel if he suffered an extremely painful head injury that caused him to suffer excrutiating, blinding headaches and such memory loss that precious recollections of special moments are gone forever.  I wonder how he'd feel if he couldn't remember writing his precious memos, if he couldn't remember receiving his commendations, if he couldn't remember his own birthday.  I'd gladly pick up a sledgehammer and nail him in the back of the head and call him a liar when he recounts his sufferings.  Is this Agent Orange all over again?  Oh we don't see anything wrong with you, nevermind that you can't see,  walk a straight line or remember you wedding day.  What a bunch of fucking shit!!  I am so angry I can't think of the language to describe my hatred of these fuckers who call our soldiers liars.  How dare they? How DARE they accuse them of "malingering"?!

I came across this article on The Old Hippie's Groovy Blog

"I don't give a goddamn," Bush retorted. "I'm the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way."

"Mr. President," one aide in the meeting said. "There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution."

"Stop throwing the Constitution in my face," Bush screamed back. "It's just a goddamned piece of paper!"

Doug Thompson Commentary

Just when I thought our president, and I use the term loosely, could sink no lower. Who the hell does he think he is? Does he think he's so damned special that he can overturn 200+ years of rich history simply because, with the help of many friends and family, he managed to secure the presidency? I don't know if there are words enough in the English language to express this grotesque bullshit.  Bush really is, to borrow from Carlin, lower than a snake's ballbag. He's the current president so what he says goes, no matter what, is that it?  What a fucking insecure, power hungry, infantile and horribly destructive way to go about pushing an agenda.  Does he realize that our Constitution is what makes us all United States citizens?  Without it intact, we won't be Americans anymore.  We'll all be plebians in the Corporation of the Religious Right headed by the Holy American Emperor George.  The Constitution of the United States is the backbone of our country, it is the foundation of our laws, it is the cornerstone of our democracy.  I don't know which is more frightening: the possibility that he doesn't understand this or that he just doesn't care. 

And that begs another quesion:  do his handlers and the powers behind the throne support this? Is this Bush strking out on his own or has this been part of the agenda all along?  Are they trying to turn the United States of America into an empire?  Is that the idea?  Is Bush on a too-long leash or is radically changing the fabric of our very way of life just part of a long-term plan?  I'm afraid that the hidden state is planning, has been planning all along, to undermine the Constitution.  Perhaps they are tired of being Americans and are ready to bring in a new era of corporate lawmaking.  Will there be a Congress anymore or just a board of directors?  This is such a bad, bad road to go down.  Anyone with half a brain who hasn't been living under a rock knows the evils of bloated business: the dollar is God, innocent victims be damned.  Is that where we're headed?  Is the entire governing process about to change from "by the people, for the people" to "let's all get rich and laugh at the blood we've spilled"?  Will there be a United States of America after Bush and company are done crucifying the Constitution?