Experts warn U.S. is coming apart at the seams

WASHINGTON — A pipeline shuts down in Alaska. Equipment failures disrupt air travel in Los Angeles. Electricity runs short at a spy agency in Maryland.

But experts say the law is riddled with some 5,000 “earmarks” for projects sought by members of Congress that do nothing to systematically address the problem.

Can’t really say this is a surprise, can we?

And happy anniversary, New Orleans. Glad some of you were able to make it.

From a recent Zogby poll:

Asked whether Americans have the right to view and obtain information about how elections officials count votes, 92% of respondents concurred.

“The 92% support for the public’s right to view vote counting and obtain information about it is a very strong political value of transparency and against secret vote counting outside the observation of the public,” said Paul Lehto, a lawyer and sponsor of the survey. “To put this figure in context, support for election transparency exceeds the support for tax cuts, exceeds the approval of Pres. Bush immediately after 9-11, and virtually all other political values being measured.” Mr. Lehto is counsel in the 50th Congressional District election contest in California.

Despite all the ominous warnings of wily terrorists and imminent attacks, there has been neither a successful strike nor a close call in the United States since 9/11. The reasonable — but rarely heard — explanation is that there are no terrorists within the United States, and few have the means or the inclination to strike from abroad.

Continue with John Mueller’s Is There Still a Terrorist Threat?

One of the benefits from working with a large group of Indian and Pakistani folks is that they share music:

Currently spinning “Mahamantra”, a collection of mantras featuring Pandit Jasraj, shown above. Ah, bliss.

Iris at Japanese Garden, Golden Gate Park San Francisco

Are FOX News Employees really “Noncombatants”?
Mike Whitney

08/24/06 “Information Clearing House” — – Are FOX employee’s innocent bystanders or an integral part of the American war machine? That may turn out to be an important question now that 2 FOX workers have been captured by a group of Palestinian militants.

It would be hard, if not impossible to draw a line of separation between the US military and FOX News. Their anchors may shun the camouflage fatigues and jack-boots, but that is where the difference ends. FOX is a fully-integrated cog in the corporate/state media apparatus; faithfully reiterating the official statements of Pentagon Big-wigs and administration powerbrokers. Their “embedded” news team provides the splashy graphics and right wing chatter which energize their base and marshal public support for American aggression. They carefully create a narrative which makes deliberate acts of unprovoked warfare appear necessary and (even) humanitarian.

Microsoft adds ‘one-click’ sex offender report tool
Quentin Reade

Young people using Windows Live Messenger or MSN Messenger to chat online with friends can now make a report to police with one click if they are concerned their online ‘buddy’ is a sex offender.

…Jim Gamble, chief executive of the CEOP Centre and chair of the VGT said:
“What Microsoft and the CEOP are doing today is saying is ‘enough is enough’. By working together in a very clear and tangible way we can safeguard children from online sexual predators.

Or allow some nut to wreck someones life on a whim by pressing a button that alerts police to “suspicious behavior”. The potential for abuse with this “tool” is rather easy to see, don’t ya think? And yet again, more power to the police state under the ruse of “helping the children”.

08/22/06 “ICH” — – New Orleans . — – Bernice Mosely is 82 and lives alone in New Orleans in a shotgun double. On August 29, 2005, as Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the levees constructed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers failed in five places and New Orleans filled with water.

Ms. Mosely now lives in her half-gutted house. She has no stove, no refrigerator, and no air-conditioning. The bottom half of her walls have been stripped of sheetrock and are bare wooden slats from the floor halfway up the wall. Her food is stored in a styrofoam cooler. Two small fans push the hot air around.

Continue reading New Orleans a Year After Katrina

And if that isn’t depressing enough, let Spike Lee tell the story.

FT. SAM HOUSTON, Texas — Forty-one-year-old Sergeant First Class Donald Buswell is a hero. Having served over 19 years in the United States Army, Buswell has seen a lot of terrain. On April 15, 2004, he was injured in a rocket attack while serving a tour in Iraq. For this, SFC Buswell was given a Purple Heart. And until recently, Buswell was an Intelligence Analyst stationed at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas.

…Upon returning to his office the next day, Buswell discovered the locks had been changed, his security clearance was revoked, and an investigation had been launched. Buswell’s commanding officer, Colonel Luke Green, drafted a letter assigning Major Edwin Escobar to the investigation. According to sources, Colonel Green has asserted that SFC Buswell failed to obey Army regulations when he used his government issued email account to send what have been termed as messages disloyal to the United States with the intent of stirring up disloyalty, in a manner that brings discredit upon the United States Army.

So, what did Buswell say?

It’s not a paranoid conspiracy to think there are conspiracies out there…and, it’s not Liberal Lunacy either, nor is it Conservative Kookiness! People, fellow citizens we’ve been had! We must demand a new independent investigation into 911 and look at all options of that day, and all plausabilities [sic], even the most incredulous theories must be examined.

Continue with Army: Doubting Official 9/11 Story Is ‘Disloyal To The United States’

Though porn is now cheaply and readily accessible on the Internet, and through many other outlets, the activists chose to target the hotel industry in part because of the well-known brands of corporations that cater to family vacationers as well as business travelers.

“These are places that you take your family — these are respectable institutions,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. “Anything that brings porn into the mainstream is a concern. It just desensitizes people.”

Dream a bit with me…after the rapture, the only people who care what you do in private might be…you? Why haven’t these intrusive, meddling prigs up and moved to a place where such behavior is championed? Say, Iran or China?