Life in OUR America, Volume 5, the Livyjr Files Options

[Livyjr]

"A case for war? - President Bush talks a lot more about why the U.S. can't leave Iraq than he does about why it's there at all" 

Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, August 23, 2006

More than three years and almost 3,000 American deaths later, it's harder than ever to discern a reason for just why the United States went to war in Iraq, or even what the precise mission is at this point.

President Bush certainly isn't of much help.

At a revealing news conference on Monday, the President instead went on and on about why the United States can't leave, complete with some sharp digs at those who now believe it is time to withdraw from Iraq.

If only a president so eager to take on the critics of the war could better defend it.

end quotes

George's war in Iraq is a faith-based initiative .....

PURE AND SIMPLE ....

So there is no defense ...

A defense would imply that there was nothing to have faith in ...

And that is George ....

We have faith in George ...

As GOD'S ANNOITED .....

Down here on this earth of OURS .....

And that's it ...

We don't question further ...

Because to question at all ...

Implies that we don't have faith ...

In what is a faith-based initiative ....

And so ...

Because it is a faith-based initiative .....

Well ......

That logic .......

Goes round and round and round and round and round ....

Ad infinitum ....

Forever ....

GOD loves George ...

So we have to, too .....

And so .....

Anyone who questions George's war .....

Don't love GOD .....

Which makes them into an enemy of America .....

And probably a COMMIE PINKO, to boot ....

And so ....

I have just started to read the book Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......

And my advice to George W. Bush .....

Before he goes and feeds us any more malarky ....

About the "NEED" .....

For us to be in Iraq ....

And about letting down any alleged "reformists" .....

Anywhere in the world ....

WHICH IS PURE INVENTION ON HIS PART .....

TO TUG AT OUR EMOTIONAL HEARTSTRINGS ...

SO AS TO DISTRACT US .....

IN THIS HOUR ....

OF OUR NATION'S NEED ....

WHERE WE FIND OURSELVES ....

"ADRIFT AT SEA" .....

Over there in Iraq .....

Without any leadership at the helm of OUR national government ...

Is that George W. Bush himself .....

Ought to read this book .....

AND THEN .....

Any national debate that we have on this subject of Iraq ....

And OUR alleged need to be over there ......

Should be based upon the documented AMERICAN HISTORY .....

That is contained .....

In just the first twenty or so pages .....

Of this one book .....

A history .....

That has to .....

And does begin .....

With his father ...

George H.W. "BIG" Bush .....

And "BIG" Bush's 100-HOUR WAR .....

To drive Saddam's Republican Guards back out of Kuwait ....

As a nation over here ...

And yes, I am subject to this myself ....

We have a tendency to never remember yesterday ....

As if "today" ....

Like Topsy .....

Just sprang to life, full-formed .....

When the sun rose over CORRUPT Washington, D.C. in the morning ....

And such is just not the case at all ...

At least not always .....

In the affairs of mankind ...

And especially over there in what is called .....

By us .....

In OUR arrogance ....

As if we were God's appointed label makers and affixers down here on this earth of OURS ....

The MIDDLE EAST ....

Which has nations in it ....

That were already in existence ....

And flourishing ....

When young ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ALTHOUGH NOT AS GREAT AS GEORGE W. BUSH .....

Made his rampage through that area .....

To satisfy his own massive ego .....

Which didn't do young ALEXANDER THE PENULTIMATE GREATEST .....

Much good at all ...

Since young Alexander died quite young ....

And so .....

In this debate that George W. Bush now wants to have on Iraq .....

Which I whole-heartedly endorse .....

George wants to completely skip over the actual history of how we got into Iraq .....

WHICH WAS IN A WAR OF HIS CHOICE .....

AND NOT A WAR OF NECESSITY FOR OUR AMERICA ....

And what George wants to do ...

Is to have a debate on OUR NATIONAL SECURITY ......

That has as its "base" ......

An emotional argument for "staying the course" .....

This "DAMAGED NATIONAL PSYCHE" psycho-babble .....

That George is now spouting ....

As opposed to a look at the history of wrong-headed decision-making .....

Primarily by Dick Cheney ....

And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld .....

That has got us to where we are now .....

When you read this book Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......

And stop to consider the AMERICAN HISTORY ....

That is contained just within those opening pages .....

It becomes patently obvious ....

To all but a real, pure-goose fool like George, I would say .....

That this talk of "staying the course" ....

Is simply ridiculous .....

SINCE THERE NEVER WAS A "COURSE" .....

TO STAY .....

IN THE FIRST PLACE .....

A fact .....

That George W. Bush appears to be in complete denial of .....

And so ......

To all these Democrats out there .....

Who are simply shouting that we should pull out .....

What I think they should do .....

Is to read this book as well ...

And then tell us ....

The American people .....

How simply pulling out now ....

RATHER THAN TACTICALLY DIS-ENGAGING ....

AND PULLING BACK ....

AND CONTAINING IRAQ ....

Will solve anything now ....

And so .....

It is a fact .....

That in their collective stupidity ....

Which apparently knows no bounds ....

George W. Bush ....

And Dick Cheney ....

And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld ....

And "CON-JOB CONNIE" (KILLER) Rice .....

HAVE BLUNDERED THIS NATION OF OURS ...

RIGHT INTO A DEEP PIT OF QUICKSAND .....

SOME EIGHT THOUSAND MILES ....

ACROSS AN OCEAN ....

FROM OUR HOMES AND HEARTHS ....

OUR KITH AND KIN .....

HERE IN OUR OWN COUNTRY .....

WHICH IS WHERE OUR ATTENTION BELONGS .....

UNTIL IT IS PERFECT OVER HERE .....

AT WHICH TIME ...

PERHAPS WE CAN THEN START THINKING ABOUT "PERFECTING" ANYBODY ELSE ...

And when you are in quicksand .....

The one thing that you should stop doing .....

Is blundering about any further .....

Since further blundering about ...

Which is all the strategy that George W. Bush now has to offer us in Iraq ....

Only sinks you down further ....

And so ...

But to stop sinking ....

So that you can hopefully begin to extricate yourself ....

And sometimes ....

It is too late for that ....

You have to stop moving .....

STRATEGIC INERTNESS, it is called .....

And there is where George W. Bush .....

And Dick Cheney .....

And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld are now all completely worthless to us .....

As a nation ....

BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO VISION ....

TO SEE THIS REALITY ...

Blinded as they are ...

By their own egos ...

And their own ambitions ......

WHICH HAVE NOW LED US .....

OUR AMERICA .....

DEEP INTO THIS FOLLY ....

Of George W. Bush's WAR OF CHOICE .....

AND NOT NECESSITY .....

IN IRAQ ....

And so ....

"Bush needs more smart thinking, less gut reaction" 
 
By DAVID G. MYERS
First published: Sunday, August 27, 2006

Bush also told journalist and author Bob Woodward that intuition was a key to his decision to launch the Iraq war:

"I'm a gut player."

"I rely on my instincts."

Bush still insists that he made the right decision, but most Americans now disagree.

David G. Myers, a social psychologist at Hope College in Michigan, is the author of "Intuition: Its Powers and Perils." He wrote this article for The Los Angeles Times.

JULY, 2002

Sir Michael Boyce, the head of the British Defence Staff, described the two plans Franks had put before the White House.

The Americans, he told Blair, were considering the Generated Start, which involved a slow build-up of 250,000 troops, a seventy-two hour air campaign, and then a push to Baghdad from the south.

The second option was the Running Start, which would entail a continuous air campaign and could be kicked off with ground forces already in place in the region, perhaps as few as 18,000 troops.

The Running Start, Boyce reported, was a "hazardous option."

Boyce was not convinced that the United States had a workable military strategy.

He was not sure how the U.S. would respond if Saddam used WMD or if street fighting raged in the streets of Baghdad.

The British military, Boyce noted, still has a lot of questions.

WHILE BRITISH OFFICERS WERE WORRIED ABOUT THE STATE OF THE U.S. PLANNING, THE CIVILIANS IN BLAIR'S CABINET WERE MORE ASSURED.

IT WAS A FAITH-BASED CONFIDENCE GROUNDED ON THE ASSURANCE THAT BUSH WOULD NOT STAKE HIS PRESIDENCY ON A WAR WITH IRAQ UNLESS HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING.

SURELY, ARGUED JACK STRAW, THE BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY, THE UNITED STATES WOULD NOT TAKE THE MOMENTOUS STEP OF INVADING AND OCCUPYING IRAQ UNLESS IT WAS PERSUADED THAT IT HAD A WINNING PLAN.

- page 54, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......

[Livyjr]

WHILE BRITISH OFFICERS WERE WORRIED ABOUT THE STATE OF THE U.S. PLANNING, THE CIVILIANS IN BLAIR'S CABINET WERE MORE ASSURED.

IT WAS A FAITH-BASED CONFIDENCE GROUNDED ON THE ASSURANCE THAT BUSH WOULD NOT STAKE HIS PRESIDENCY ON A WAR WITH IRAQ UNLESS HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING.

SURELY, ARGUED JACK STRAW, THE BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY, THE UNITED STATES WOULD NOT TAKE THE MOMENTOUS STEP OF INVADING AND OCCUPYING IRAQ UNLESS IT WAS PERSUADED THAT IT HAD A WINNING PLAN.

- page 54, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......

"Bush needs more smart thinking, less gut reaction" 
 
By DAVID G. MYERS
First published: Sunday, August 27, 2006

Bush also told journalist and author Bob Woodward that intuition was a key to his decision to launch the Iraq war

"I'm a gut player"

"I rely on my instincts."

Bush still insists that he made the right decision, but most Americans now disagree.

David G. Myers, a social psychologist at Hope College in Michigan, is the author of "Intuition: Its Powers and Perils." He wrote this article for The Los Angeles Times.

WAR ....

AS A FAITH-BASED INITIATIVE ....

"40 killed as Shiites battle Iraqi forces"

By THASSIN ABDUL-KARAIM, Associated Press
Last updated: 5:26 p.m., Monday, August 28, 2006

DIWANIYAH, Iraq -- Shiite militiamen battled Iraqi forces for 12 hours Monday, leaving at least 40 people dead and underlining the government's difficulties as it tries to rein in the sectarian forces of an anti-U.S. cleric.

The fighting in this southern city dominated a bloody day that saw at least 20 other people killed in Baghdad, including 16 in a suicide bombing targeting the Interior Ministry complex.

The U.S. military announced that nine U.S. soldiers were killed over the weekend in and around Baghdad, eight by roadside bombs and one by gunfire.

Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad, is a Shiite-dominated city where the influence of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army has been gradually increasing.

The militia already runs a virtual parallel government in Sadr City, a slum in eastern Baghdad.

But the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, has found it difficult to control al-Sadr, whose movement holds 30 of the 275 seats in parliament and five Cabinet posts, and his forces.

Al-Sadr's backing also helped al-Maliki win the top job during painstaking negotiations within the Shiite alliance that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

Many Sunnis have expressed disappointment that al-Maliki's government has not moved to curb Shiite militias, especially the Mahdi Army, which have been blamed for much of the sectarian violence that has followed the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite mosque in Samarra.

A prominent hard-line Iraqi Sunni cleric, Harith al-Dhari, said Friday he was willing to meet with top Shiite religious leaders, part of an initiative to curb sectarian violence -- but also to press Shiite leaders into a response.

American forces also have been wary of confronting the militia, because of al-Sadr's clout over the government and his large following among majority Shiites.

Al-Sadr mounted two major uprisings against the American-led coalition in 2004 when U.S. authorities closed his newspaper and pushed an Iraqi judge into issuing an arrest warrant against him.

Sheikh Abdul-Razaq al-Nidawi, the manager of al-Sadr's office in Diwaniyah, told The Associated Press that trouble had been brewing since Saturday night when the Iraqi army arrested an al-Sadr supporter from the Jumhouri neighborhood.

On Sunday, the army raided the same place and "a gunfight erupted between them and the Mahdi Army," al-Nidawi said.

Army Capt. Fatik Aied said gunbattles broke out at about 11 p.m. Sunday south of Diwaniyah, when Iraqi soldiers conducted raids in three neighborhoods to flush out militiamen and seize weapons.

Al-Nidawi said "a big force of the army raided Jumhouri, Sadr and Askouri neighborhoods and clashes broke out (again) between the army and the Mahdi Army."

He said the raids took place early Monday.

Fighting continued for most of the day, as the army brought in extra troops from other cities to reinforce its soldiers, said Brig. Gen. Othman al-Farhoud, commander of the 8th Iraqi Army Division.

By evening, the militia had set up road checkpoints and taken over seven neighborhoods in the south and east of the city, while the Iraqi army was controlling the northern and western parts, Aied said.

Late Monday, the U.S.-led military command issued a statement in Baghdad that the Iraqi army and police "successfully fended off an attack by a large group of terrorists" in three districts of Diwaniyah after a 12-hour battle.

Since the three districts in contention are in the city's south, it was not immediately clear how to reconcile the U.S. statement with that of Aied, the Iraqi army captain.

Dr. Mohammed Abdul-Muhsen of the city's general hospital said 40 people had been killed -- 25 Iraqi soldiers, 10 civilians and five militiamen.

He said the hospital treated 75 wounded, but could not immediately give a breakdown.

Aied said the militiamen used rocket propelled-grenades and automatic assault rifles, and that at least 10 militiamen were arrested.

An indefinite vehicle ban was imposed in the city, said Adnan Abdu-Kadhim, a member of the provincial council.

Coalition forces were not involved in the fighting, but provided support with an aerial quick reaction force, using military helicopters as a show of force and to prevent possible attacks from rooftops, said Lt. Col. Dariusz Kacperczyk, a Polish military spokesman for the area.

Coalition quick reaction forces also were patrolling near the city, he said.

In the capital, a suicide car bomber slammed into a police checkpoint outside the Interior Ministry at midmorning, when traffic is usually heavy.

The blast could be heard more than a mile away, and smoke could be seen rising from the scene.

The blast killed 16 people, including 10 policemen, Police 1st Lt. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said.

He said 18 policemen were among the 47 people wounded.

Elsewhere in Baghdad, a suicide car bomber struck a line of cars waiting at a gas station in the southern neighborhood of Dora, killing three civilians and wounding 15, Lt. Ahmed Hameeed of the national police said.

Earlier in the day, a roadside bomb in the mainly Sunni western neighborhood of Jihad struck a car transporting five barber shop workers.

One person was killed and another four were seriously wounded, police Lt. Maitham Abdul-Razzaq said.

------

Associated Press writers Jalal Mudhar, Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Vijay Joshi and Elena Becatoros in Baghdad contributed to this report.

[Livyjr]

And for those of you out there who are following the candidacy of Tom Suozzi for Governor of the State of New York .....

This week, Tom will continue to spread his message of reform throughout New York.

Tonight at 8 PM in Buffalo, Tom will debate the Republican candidate for Governor, John Faso.

The debate will be aired on on WKBW Ch 7 in Buffalo, WTVH Ch 10 in Syracuse and WBNG Ch 12 in Binghamton.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 29th, Tom will participate in a roundtable in Rochester.

The event will air at 7:00 p.m. on WHAM Ch 13 in Rochester, WSYR Ch 9 in Syracuse, WWTI Ch 50 in Watertown, WIVT Ch 34 in Binghamton, and WETM Ch 18 in Elmira.

On Wednesday, August 30th, Tom will participate in the NY1 Statewide Town Hall Meeting from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

It will also be aired on Capitol News 9 in Albany, Syracuse and Rochester and Eliot Spitzer and John Faso are also scheduled to appear.

On Thursday, August 31st, at 7 PM, Tom will participate in a debate hosted by News 12, that will air on Long Island, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Westchester.

Tune in to see how there are real differences in the way that Tom wants to Fix Albany, cut taxes, fund our schools and renew our economy, and that voters have a real choice on September 12th.

Sincerely,

Team Suozzi

[Livyjr]

Hey .....

Karl Rove .....

How about that American economy, now, will you?

Strongest in all the world .....

Is what I am hearing, anyway .....

And so .....

"Chill hits home sales - While 8 years of record closings ends, prices still show gain across region"

By KEVIN HARLIN, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, August 29, 2006

ALBANY -- New- and existing-home sales took their biggest one-month dip of the year in July as the Capital Region's run of eight consecutive record-setting years comes to an end.

Closed sales were down 15 percent in July over a year ago, the Greater Capital Association of Realtors Inc. reported Monday.

It was the fourth straight declining month.

John McNamara, president of the Albany-based trade association, predicted the year would still finish strong, though he expects the total number of deals to come in 5 percent to 8 percent below last year's pace.

Over the first seven months of the year, closed sales were down just 1 percent from 2005.

"The market is definitely moving away from being the sellers' market that it has been for several years," said McNamara, who also is president of Coldwell Banker Prime Properties Inc. in Colonie.

July still saw strong prices, though the rate of increase seems to be slowing.

GCAR's figures -- covering sales in parts of 11 counties -- show the median price climbing to $197,250 in July, up 7 percent from 12 months earlier.

The median -- the point at which half the homes cost more and half cost less -- was up 9 percent over the first seven months of the year, to $189,900.

In the Capital Region and beyond, buyers are taking longer to decide, and many sellers are reducing asking prices to avoid being stuck with two mortgages when they move.

Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported a 4.1 percent drop in July existing-homes sales nationwide, a 2-year sales low.

Meanwhile, the inventory of unsold homes climbed to a record high.

Nationwide, the median price last month was $230,000, up just 0.9 percent.

The national Realtors group said rising interest rates slowed sales.

A 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.48 percent last week, according to the weekly survey by Freddie Mac.

It was down slightly from 6.52 percent a week earlier, but up from 5.77 percent 12 months ago.

In the Capital Region, the housing market never took off as fast as it did in some places, such as California and Florida.

So market watchers say it doesn't have as far to fall.

The relatively stable state government, university and technology sectors keep unemployment low, helping keep the economy level, said Marisa DiNatale, an economist who follows upstate New York for the West Chester, Pa.-based economic research firm Moody's Economy.com.

"It's buffeted, but in general, the underlying fundamentals are strong," DiNatale said about the region's overall economy.

In Albany County, the number of deals fell for July even as the median price of those homes climbed 13 percent, to $213,000.

Saratoga County saw a steeper 17 percent decline in the number of deals, while the median stayed flat at about $265,000.

In Schenectady County, completed deals fell 15 percent in July, but the median price climbed 19 percent, to $166,000.

And closed deals fell 8 percent in Rensselaer County, while the median sale price was up 8 percent, to $172,000.

Harlin can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at kharlin@timesunion.com.

Weaker sales, strong prices

Closed sales of single-family homes fell 15 percent in July over the year before, the largest single-month dip this year.

But median prices are still rising, up 7 percent in July and 9 percent year to date.

Median prices for July:

Capital Region $197,250 +7%

Albany County $213,000 +13%

Rensselaer County $172,000 +9%

Saratoga County $256,350 0%

Schenectady County $166,000 +19%

Source: Greater Capital Association of Realtors Inc.

[Livyjr]

And hey ...

What is this now?

People are picking on poor Hillary .....

Poor, poor Ms. Hillary .....

Who only wants the American Dream .....

For herself ...

The way ...

That George W. Bush ...

Got to have it ...

For himself .....

While more and more people .....

Not only here in OUR America ...

But in the world, as well .....

Get to have no dreams ...

ONLY CONTINUOUS NIGHTMARES .....

EVEN WHEN AWAKE ...

AND ESPECIALLY WHEN AWAKE ....

And so ....

Published on Monday, August 28, 2006 by CommonDreams.org

"Senator Hillary Clinton: All Show and No Substance"

by Sibel Edmonds & William Weaver

Recent surveys measuring public opinion and confidence in congress all arrived at the same conclusion: over seventy percent of Americans have lost faith and confidence in the United States Congress.

The public no longer trusts this body of politicians who were elected to represent the people and the peoples’ interests.

Instead, they now view these “representatives” as servants of special interest groups, corporations and high-powered lobbyists.

Americans are tired of watching and listening to elected officials who refrain from taking a strong stand on crucial issues, and who almost never state their positions with conviction and sincerity.

In the eyes of the nation these senators and representatives are nothing more than programmed publicity puppets, competing for face time in the media.

Common adjectives used by our citizens to describe these officials clearly reflect their sentiments:

* “spineless” .....

* “phony” .....

* “corrupt” ....

* “out of touch” .....

* “timid” ....

* “all show and no substance” .....

and the list goes on.

Why have we Americans lost confidence and faith in those elected?

Where and when did we go wrong; or perhaps more correctly, they go wrong?

What have these representatives done, or, failed to do, that arouses such anger and loathing in the very same constituents who voted them into office?

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is a perfect example; an elected senator who has served six years in her seat, never taking a strong stand in support of her constituents on any serious or controversial issue; a senator who has used her record-breaking TV public appearances to say “nothing”; a senator whose senate office adheres strictly to a motto of “See no Evil, Hear no Evil”; an elected official who has no record of conducting investigations into cases that are matters of great concern to her constituents and to our nation; a senator who has consistently stood quietly on the sidelines when the issues at hand demand public hearings – waiting to determine the direction of each blowing wind; a politician who has spent all her focus and energy on a campaign of shallow publicity glitz and her PR empire behind it.

Here are some documented illustrative examples:

James J. DiGeorgio and Carl Steubing died in ways no war veteran should.

They were subjected to illegal drug experimentation by employees of the Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albany, New York; killed by servants of the very government they fought to protect.

Scores of other veterans were injured in these experiments, and only by the courage of whistleblowers Jeffrey Fudin and Anthony Mariano was any measure of justice achieved for these misdeeds.

One person was convicted of manslaughter, but investigations into other officials collapsed because of a lack of institutional nerve to follow the investigation to the end.

A scape-goated employee went to prison, while those who supervised, facilitated, and reaped the benefits of the lucrative, illegal drug testing went on to other VA positions with promotions and raises.

Between 2000 and June 2006, numerous contacts with Senator Hillary Clinton over the Stratton tragedy went unacknowledged, or glossed over, or shuffled around to various offices with no substantive action.

No less than five Clinton staff members heard presentations and received documentation about the experiments, and Senator Clinton herself is personally aware of the detailed facts of the case.

This personal knowledge did not translate into action, for though Senator Clinton carefully scripts her numerous public appearances to give the impression of caring and concern, her actions speak otherwise.

She noted "our nation made a pact with those who serve their country in the Armed Forces – a commitment that those who served would have access to quality health care through the VA hospital system . . . and they deserve to be treated as the best."

But while Senator Clinton was issuing such lofty statements and mugging for photo opportunities with active duty military, she did nothing about the systematic abuse and murder of veterans within her own constituency.

The Veterans Affairs Whistleblowers Coalition, and more recently the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, sent numerous letters and e-mails and copious documentation, pleading for help from the Senator to investigate and address the crimes committed at Stratton, including unrelenting retaliation against the whistleblowers who brought these matters to public attention

Notably, the VAWBC recognized that the motivations and incentives that led to abuse at Stratton were present at many hospitals throughout the VA system, and that greed and poor management in the VA guaranteed that the events of Stratton would be repeated elsewhere.

The most vulnerable people, the sick and dying with nowhere to turn but to the VA, were exploited and killed by those tasked with their medical care, and their suffering and death were ignored by Senator Clinton.

It is doubly offensive that this woman sits on the Armed Services Committee, which, along with the Veterans Affairs Committee, has the duty to provide for the well-being of current and former military service members.

For all her posturing; for a senator who advertises herself as a hawk and pro military; how does she show it in action?

By abandoning our veterans and war heroes in need!

Senator Clinton’s failure concerning Stratton is not an isolated event; it is part of a pattern of studious avoidance of principled action in the face of serious government misconduct, and the refusal to come to the aid of those people who expose that misconduct.

When Bunnatine Greenhouse exposed extraordinary graft and impropriety in government contracting with Halliburton, when Sergeant Samuel Provance reported prisoner abuse and torture at Abu Ghraib, when Russ Tice disclosed violations of the Constitution by the National Security Agency, and when Jay Stroup, Thomas Bittler, Jim Griffin, and Ray Guagliardi exposed serious defects and negligence in the Transportation Security Administration that puts travelers at risk, Clinton did nothing.

No words of support, no calls for investigations, no efforts to prevent the lives and careers of whistleblowers from being destroyed.

Documents on numerous cases were shared with her office, offers to brief her and her staff have been made on many occasions, pleas for her to live up to the words she so casually utters, have all been ignored, or even ridiculed.

In her six years as senator she has done nothing but attempt to position herself for the presidency, done nothing but avoid acting out of principle and justice, done everything to offend no one.

We respect our opponents in much greater measure than we respect Senator Clinton, for with our opponents at least the fight is joined; at least they have the courage of their convictions, at least they place their bets in public.

But Senator Clinton, by trying to be something to everyone ends up being nothing to anyone.

Where she cannot act safely, she does not act.

The current times call for politicians to act with conviction and intelligence, not with cynical, calculated action in response to what opinion polls indicate.

If Senator Clinton cannot even come to the aid of constituent veterans being killed through grotesquely immoral and illegal medical experimentation, if she cannot commit herself to call for investigations of national security vulnerabilities that risk national catastrophe, if she cannot offer even moral support to those who disclose outrageous government incompetence and impropriety, is there anything that would prompt her to take a stance out of conviction?

Such a person has no business representing the people of this country.

Nothing stirs her soul except for her own selfish ambitions; ambitions that she places in front of the nation’s welfare.

Two weeks from today, New Yorkers will cast their vote to determine their upcoming democratic candidate.

We hope that they will ask themselves a few hard questions and consider their answers before they cast their vital votes.

Are they among those who are tired and disgusted with the current Congress, which has abdicated its duty and responsibility to the public at large?

Are they going to have “needed change and reform” in mind when voting for their next candidate?

Will they vote for someone with an established record of failure?

Or will they take a chance on new blood?

Are they going to take into consideration this incumbent’s misuse of “national security and terrorism”?

Will they reflect on her failures when presented with real issues threatening our security - brought to her by those on the front lines?

Will they consider having raised more money than any other democratic candidate a plus or a minus - questioning all she had to promise and everyone she had to sell out in order to raise those millions?

Will they simply ask, isn’t six years long enough?

Isn’t it time for a change?

Isn’t it time to give another democrat the opportunity to step up and become what we all long for – a true representative of the people?

We have confidence in the sophistication of our New Yorkers.

We believe they’ll say: “Ms. Clinton, fool us once, shame on you; fool us twice shame on us.”

Sibel Edmonds is the founder and director of National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC). Ms. Edmonds worked as a language specialist for the FBI. During her work with the bureau, she discovered and reported serious acts of security breaches, cover-ups, and intentional blocking of intelligence that had national security implications. After she reported these acts to FBI management, she was retaliated against by the FBI and ultimately fired in March 2002. Since that time, court proceedings on her case have been blocked by the assertion of “State Secret Privilege”; the Congress of the United States has been gagged and prevented from any discussion of her case through retroactive re-classification by the Department of Justice. Ms. Edmonds is fluent in Turkish, Farsi and Azerbaijani; and has a MA in Public Policy and International Commerce from George Mason University, and a BA in Criminal Justice and Psychology from George Washington University. PEN American Center awarded Ms. Edmonds the 2006 PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award.

Professor William Weaver is the senior advisor and a board member of National Security Whistleblowers Coalition. Mr. Weaver served in U.S. Army signals intelligence for eight years in Berlin and Augsburg, Germany, in the late 1970s and 1980s. He subsequently received his law degree and Ph.D. in politics from the University of Virginia, where he was on the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review. He is presently an Associate Professor of political science and an Associate in the Center for Law and Border Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso. He specializes in executive branch secrecy policy, governmental abuse, and law and bureaucracy. His articles have appeared in American Political Science Review, Political Science Quarterly, Virginia Law Review, Journal of Business Ethics, Organization and other journals. With co-author Robert Pallitto, his book Presidential Secrecy and the Law is forthcoming from Johns Hopkins University Press in the spring of 2007. His views and positions arising from his affiliation with the NSWBC do not reflect the sentiments of, or constitute and endorsement by, the University of Texas at El Paso.

[Snuffysmith]

Dumbing Down is Succeeding: We are becoming a Nation of Idiots



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060829/ap_on_re_us/sat_scores

Drop in SAT scores biggest in 31 years
By JUSTIN POPE, AP Education Writer


The high school class of 2006 recorded the sharpest drop in SAT scores in 31 years, a decline that the exam's owner, the College Board, said was partly due to some students taking the newly lengthened test only once instead of twice.

Fatigue wasn't to blame, the College Board insisted, even though this year's class was the first to take a new version of the exam which added an essay. It now takes an average of three hours and 45 minutes to complete the test, not counting breaks, up from three hours previously.

The results come several months after numerous colleges reported surprisingly low SAT scores for this year's incoming college freshmen. The nonprofit College Board, which had said scores would be down this year, released figures Tuesday showing combined critical reading and math skills fell seven points on average to 1021.

The average critical reading score fell from 508 to 503, while math dropped from 520 to 518. On the new SAT writing section, the class scored 497 on average, with girls scoring 11 points higher than boys.

A state-by-state breakdown of the results provided by the College Board can befound online at http://www.collegeboard.com/about/news_inf...06/reports.html.

In addition to the new writing section, the exam taken by the class of 2006 had other new features, including higher-level math and the elimination of analogies.

The College Board noted the drop in math scores amounts to one-fifth of one test question, and the reading to one-half of one question. But over about 1.5 million test-takers such drops are significant, and this was the biggest year-to-year decline since the class of 1975.

The results come two weeks after it was announced the class of 2006 had posted the biggest score increase in 20 years on the rival ACT exam. The ACT, which is also accepted by almost all colleges that require standardized tests, is generally more focused on material covered in high school classes than the SAT, which is more of a measure of general ability. But more students in traditional SAT states like Connecticut and New Jersey appear to be taking both exams to try to improve their applications to selective colleges.

The initial indication SAT scores were down this year prompted speculation students may have been tiring out toward the end of the marathon exam.

But in announcing the scores, the College Board said an analysis of 700,000 critical reading and math exams taken in the spring and fall of 2005 showed students were performing about the same early and late in the exam.

Instead, the College Board explained the drop by saying fewer students were taking the exam a second time, which typically boosts scores 30 points. The price of the test has risen from $28.50 to $41.50, though fees are sometimes waived.

Experts say the changeover in exams probably affected how students approached the test, and thus the scores. Students in the class of 2006 had the chance to take both the old SAT exam, until midway through their junior year, and the new SAT after that. If they did well the first time out, some may have opted to stand pat with those scores. Some colleges continued to accept scores from the old test during the bridge period.

"When a new test is introduced, students usually vary their test-taking behavior in a variety of ways and this affects scores," College Board President Gaston Caperton said in a news release.

On the SAT, boys' scores fell eight points from 513 to 505 in critical reading and from 538 to 536 in math. Girls' scores fell from 505 to 502 in reading and from 504 to 502 in math.

Average reading scores for black students rose 1 point from 433 to 434, while math scores fell two points from 431 to 429.

The College Board lists three categories for Hispanic students. Scores for Mexican-Americans rose three points overall, Puerto Ricans' fell two points and scores of students who identified themselves as "Other Hispanic" fell 11 points.

___

On the Net:

http://www.collegeboard.com



Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.


Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
Privacy Policy -Terms of Service - Copyright/IP Policy - Ad Feedback

[Livyjr]

Dumbing Down is Succeeding: We are becoming a Nation of Idiots

That happens in civilizations .....

There becomes a comfort in it ...

And there definitely is a threat to being an intellectual .....

And that has been so .....

Over quite a stretch of time now .....

Down here on this earth of OURS .....

As it is right now .....

In this day and age ...

Of Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld .....

And so .....

The "GASBAG" .....

Is one of those CORPORATE CEO types .....

Who has to be "TOP OF THE HEAP" in everything ......

To the point of where those that are allowed to surround them ...

Like Air Force General Richard Myers .....

Are toadies, and bootlickers and sycophants .....

With no minds of their own .....

And since these are the nation's "leaders" .....

Well ....

"Rumsfeld lashes out at Bush's critics"

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

2 hours, 6 minutes ago

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday the world faces "a new type of fascism" and likened critics of the Bush administration's war strategy to those who tried to appease the Nazis in the 1930s.

In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administration's critics as suffering from "moral or intellectual confusion" about what threatens the nation's security.

His remarks amounted to one of his most pointed defenses of President Bush' war policies and was among his toughest attacks on Bush's critics.

Speaking to several thousand veterans at the American Legion's national convention, Rumsfeld recited what he called the lessons of history, including the failure to confront Hitler.

He quoted Winston Churchill as observing that trying to accommodate Hitler was "a bit like feeding a crocodile, hoping it would eat you last."

"I recount this history because once again we face similar challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism," he said.

"Can we truly afford to believe that somehow, some way, vicious extremists can be appeased?" he asked.

"Can we truly afford to return to the destructive view that America — not the enemy — is the real source of the world's troubles?"

Rumsfeld spoke to the American Legion as part of a coordinated White House strategy, in advance of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, to take the offensive against administration critics at a time of doubt about the future of Iraq and growing calls to withdraw U.S. troops.

Rumsfeld recalled a string of recent terrorist attacks, from 9/11 to deadly bombings in Bali, London and Madrid, and said it should be obvious to anyone that terrorists must be confronted, not appeased.

"But some seem not to have learned history's lessons," he said, adding that part of the problem is that the American news media have tended to emphasize the negative rather than the positive.

He said, for example, that more media attention was given to U.S. soldiers' abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib than to the fact that Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith received the Medal of Honor.

He did acknowledge that the U.S. military has its own "bad actors — the ones who dominate the headlines today — who don't live up to the standards of the oath and of our country."

But he added that they are a small percentage of the hundreds of thousands of troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Those who know the truth need to speak out against these kinds of myths and lies and distortions being told about our troops and about our country," he said.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was addressing the American Legion convention later Tuesday, and Bush is scheduled to speak here later in the week.

On Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld made separate addresses to the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Reno, Nev.

Rumsfeld made similar arguments in Reno about doubters of the administration's approach to fighting terrorism, saying too many in this country want to "blame America first" and ignore the enemy.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a former Army officer and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview Tuesday that "no one has misread history more than" Rumsfeld.

"It's a political rant to cover up his incompetence," said Reed, a longtime critic of Rumsfeld's handling of the war.

Reed said he took particular exception to the implication that critics of Pentagon policies are unpatriotic, citing "scores of patriotic Americans of both parties who are highly critical of his handling of the Department of Defense."

Rumsfeld defended the war in Iraq, saying that while U.S. military tactics have changed as conditions on the ground have changed, the administration's war strategy has remained constant:

"to empower the Iraqi people to defend, govern and rebuild their own country."

In arguing against giving up in Iraq, he said people should know from history that wars are never easy.

"You know from experience that in every war — personally — there have been mistakes and setbacks and casualties," he said.

"War is," as Clemenceau said, `A series of catastrophes that results in victory'."

end quotes

If there is FASCISM in OUR world today .....

And I believe that there is ....

My money is on ......

Donald "GAS BAG" Rumsfeld ......

Being much more a part of that FASCISM .....

Than he is any kind of solution to it .....

And so ...

And Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island .....

"RIGHT ON!"

Is what I say .....

With regard to your comment on the monumental incompetence .....

Of this one man ...

This "GASBAG" Rumsfeld .....

Who has given us "STARSHIP TROOPERS" .....

From out of some space fantasy .....

That seems to be raging in his head ....

AS HIS "TRANSFORMATION PLAN" .....

For OUR American military ....

When what we needed .....

Over there in Iraq .....

Right from the get-go ...

Were troops and personnel .....

Trained in nation-building .....

BUT THE "GASBAG" OVERLOOKED ALL OF THAT .....

In what are laughingly called .....

This administration's "WAR PLANS" for Iraq .....

That have gotten us bogged down .....

In this quagmire .....

Over there in Iraq .....

That "GASBAG" Rumsfeld's incompetence as a Secretary of Defense .....

Is directly responsible for ....

And so ....

[Livyjr]

"Rumsfeld lashes out at Bush's critics"

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administration's critics as suffering from "moral or intellectual confusion" about what threatens the nation's security.

"I recount this history because once again we face similar challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism," he said.

"Can we truly afford to return to the destructive view that America — not the enemy — is the real source of the world's troubles?"

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a former Army officer and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview Tuesday that "no one has misread history more than" Rumsfeld.

"It's a political rant to cover up his incompetence," said Reed, a longtime critic of Rumsfeld's handling of the war.

On September 10 (2001), Rumsfeld held a town meeting at the Pentagon to let officials know that he felt the MAIN THREAT to a more efficient and innovative defense structure was internal.

"THE TOPIC TODAY IS AN ADVERSARY THAT POSES A THREAT, A SERIOUS THREAT, TO THE SECURITY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," Rumsfeld began.

"FROM A SINGLE CAPITAL, IT ATTEMPTS TO IMPOSE ITS DEMANDS ACROSS TIME ZONES, CONTINENTS, OCEANS AND BEYOND."

"WITH BRUTAL CONSISTENCY, IT STIFLES FREE THOUGHT AND CRUSHES NEW IDEAS."

"IT DISRUPTS THE DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES AND PLACES THE LIVES OF MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM AT RISK ....."

"YOU MAY THINK I'M DESCRIBING ONE OF THE LAST DECREPIT DICTATORS OF THE WORLD."

"BUT THEIR DAY, TOO, IS ALMOST PAST, AND THEY CANNOT MATCH THE STRENGTH AND SIZE OF THIS ADVERSARY."

"THE ADVERSARY'S CLOSER TO HOME."

"IT'S THE PENTAGON BUREAUCRACY."

- Donald Rumsfeld, "Bureaucracy to Battlefield," speech, 10 September 2001, available from http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/2001/s...910-secdef.html , accessed 1 Nov. 2005

- - page 9, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......

[Livyjr]

And Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island .....

"RIGHT ON!"

Is what I say .....

With regard to your comment on the monumental incompetence .....

Of this one man ...

This "GASBAG" Rumsfeld .....

Who has given us "STARSHIP TROOPERS" .....

From out of some space fantasy .....

That seems to be raging in his head ....

AS HIS "TRANSFORMATION PLAN" .....

For OUR American military ....

When what we needed .....

Over there in Iraq .....

Right from the get-go ...

Were troops and personnel .....

Trained in nation-building .....

BUT THE "GASBAG" OVERLOOKED ALL OF THAT .....

In what are laughingly called .....

This administration's "WAR PLANS" for Iraq .....

That have gotten us bogged down .....

In this quagmire .....

Over there in Iraq .....

That "GASBAG" Rumsfeld's incompetence as a Secretary of Defense .....

Is directly responsible for ....

And so ....

Rumsfeld had been receiving his daily CIA briefing shortly before the American Airlines plane plowed into the building on September 11.

Afterward, he had staked out a clear position on how the Bush team should respond.

The United States should take the fight to the Taliban and Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, BUT IT WOULD NOT END THERE.

The Pentagon needed to take an even more forceful step that would let its enemies know that the United States was now involved in a global war against the terrorists and the renegade states that helped them.

The U.S. needed to land a series of blows well beyond Afghanistan.

The question was where and when to strike.

The defense secretary's meeting had been called to ponder the war plan for another potential adversary.

General Richard B. Myers, the PLIABLE chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) who was picked by Rumsfeld because of his reputation as a team player, was there.

SO WAS PETER PACE, THE AMBITIOUS VICE CHAIRMAN WHO WAS ALREADY BEING TALKED ABOUT AS AN OFFICER WHO MIGHT FOLLOW IN MYER'S FOOTSTEPS.

Greg Newbold, the three-star general who served as chief operations deputy for the JCS, had the main assignment for the session.

He was to outline Central Command's OPLAN 1003-98, the military's contingency plan in the event of war with Iraq.

Newbold was armed with a pile of slides as the generals and Rumsfeld sat around a conference table.

As Newbold outlined the plan, which called for as many as 500,000 troops, IT WAS CLEAR THAT RUMSFELD WAS GROWING INCREASINGLY IRRITATED.

FOR RUMSFELD, THE PLAN REQUIRED TOO MANY TROOPS AND SUPPLIES AND TOOK FAR TOO LONG TO EXECUTE.

IT WAS, RUMSFELD DECLARED, THE PRODUCT OF OLD THINKING AND THE EMBODIMENT OF EVERYTHING THAT WAS WRONG WITH THE MILITARY.

MYERS ASKED RUMSFELD HOW MANY TROOPS HE THOUGHT MIGHT BE NEEDED.

THE DEFENSE SECRETARY SAID IN EXASPERATION THAT HE DID NOT SEE WHY MORE THAN 125,000 TROOPS WOULD BE REQUIRED AND EVEN THAT WAS PROBABLY TOO MANY.

RUMSFELD'S REACTION WAS DUTIFULLY PASSED ON TO THE UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND.

"My regret is at that at the time I did not say, 'Mr. Secretary, if you try to put a number on a mission like this you may cause enormous mistakes,' " Newbold later recalled.

"Give the military the task, give the military what you would like to see them do, and then let them come up with it."

"I WAS THE JUNIOR MILITARY MAN IN THE ROOM, BUT I REGRET NOT SAYING IT."

The 1003 plan was ripe for review and was based on the assumption that it would be Iraq that would start the fight.

Nonetheless, the plan, which had been regularly exercised in war games, reflected long-standing military principles about the force levels that were needed to defeat Iraq, control a population fo more than 24 million, and secure a nation the size of California with porous borders.

RUMSFELD'S NUMBERS, IN CONTRAST, SEEMED TO BE PULLED OUT OF THIN AIR.

HE HAD DISMISSED ONE OF THE MILITARY'S LONG-STANDING PLANS AND SUGGESTED HIS OWN FORCE LEVEL WITHOUT ANY OF THE GENERALS RAISING A CAUTIONARY FLAG.

- pages 3-5, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......

[Livyjr]

And while we are on the seemingly endless subject .....

Of incompetence .....

In OUR national government

In this day and age of the BUSHCOS .....

We have .....

"Hey BROWNIE, YOU'RE DOING A HECK OF A JOB!"

"Ex-FEMA chief blames administration"

Tue Aug 29, 8:16 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, who lost his job because of Hurricane Katrina, said Tuesday his biggest regret a year later is that he wasn't candid enough about the lack of a coherent federal response plan.

"There was no plan."

"... Three years ago, we should have done catastrophic planning," Brown said, charging that the Bush administration and his department head, Michael Chertoff, "would not give me the money to do that kind of planning."

As levees broke down at Katrina's strike against New Orleans and people were forced from their homes, Brown said he sought futilely to get the 82nd Airborne Division into the city quickly.

Appearing on NBC's "Today" show, he was asked about positive statements he had made at the time about how Washington would come through for the storm victims, rather than leveling with the country about how bad the situation actually was.

"Those were White House talking points," Brown replied.

"And to this day, I think that was my biggest mistake."

Brown said that at many intervals during the week the storm hit, he found himself asking, "Where in the hell is the help?"

"I have to confess ... you want to protect the president when you're a political appointee," he said, "so you're torn between telling the absolute truth and relying on those talking points."

To this day, that is my biggest regret."

Brown said he had been made the scapegoat for the government's slow response "because I'm the low man on the totem pole."

He said he thought that President Bush and Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, should have shared in the blame.

He denied that he lacked qualifications to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"That's just baloney."

"I spent more time in my career in local government and in state government and in emergency management experience," Brown said.

"But what I regret the most: I let the American public down."

"I am a fighter ... but for some reason, with Katrina crashing in on me, I didn't do it."

end quotes

This BUSHCO crowd is "faith-based" .....

So it don't need comprehensive plans .....

Being "faith-based" .....

Well ...

Like was the case with Iraq .....

You don't need plans .....

You just need faith ....

Like the British had in George W. Bush ...

When they signed on ....

As equal partners .....

In George W. Bush's IRAQ FIASCO ....

WHERE WE ARE NOW MIRED DOWN ....

FOR THE DURATION .....

And so ....

[Livyjr]

UNDER DONALD "GASBAG" RUMSFELD'S LACK OF LEADERSHIP ....

AND ABILITY ....

THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ....

DOWN THERE IN THE PENTAGON .....

IN WASHINGTON. D.C. .....

SHOULD BE RE-NAMED "FIASCO CENTRAL" .....

TO REFLECT REALITY DOWN THERE ....

UNDER "GASBAG" RUMSFELD ....

And so .....

[Livyjr]

And then ....

Of course ....

There is always the economy ....

"Minutes: Fed feared hurting economy"

By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer

1 hour, 26 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Worries about short-term damage to the economy led Federal Reserve policy-makers at their August meeting to halt a more than two-year-old interest rate-raising campaign.

By taking a breather, the Fed would have time to assess the toll on economic activity and inflation of its 17 rate increases since 2004, according to minutes of the Fed's Aug. 8 meeting, released Tuesday.

It can take time for rate increases to work their way through the economy.

"The full effect of previous increases in interest rates on activity and prices probably had not yet been felt, and a pause was viewed as appropriate to limit the risks of tightening too much," the minutes said.

The Fed's goal is to push up rates to thwart inflation but not so much as to cripple economic activity.

It's a tricky task, economists say.

Fed chief Ben Bernanke and all but one of his central bank colleagues voted to hold the federal funds rate steady at 5.25 percent at the August meeting.

The funds rate, the interest banks charge each other on overnight loans, affects a variety of other interest rates charged to businesses and consumers.

It is the Fed's main tool to influence the economy.

The lone dissenter, Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va., favored another rate increase.

"He believed that further tightening was needed to bring inflation down more rapidly than would be the case if the policy rate were kept unchanged," the minutes said.

Even though nearly all the Fed members voted to leave the funds rate alone in August, many thought the decision to do so "was a close call" and that another rate increase "could well be needed" to fend off inflation, the minutes said.

Still, members expressed hope that the slowing economy would eventually lessen inflation pressures.

"Most members anticipated that inflation pressures quite possibly would ease gradually over coming quarters and the current stance of policy could well prove to be consistent with satisfactory economic performance," the minutes said.

Oil prices, which had surged to a new record high in mid-July, have retreated and are now hovering below $70 a barrel.

Fed policy-makers made clear that they would be keeping a close eye on inflation barometers.

Economic growth, meanwhile, slowed in the spring as the housing market lost steam and consumers and businesses alike tightened the belt.

Fed members also suggested they would be keeping close tabs on the housing slowdown, which has important implications for overall economic activity.

The Fed's next meeting on interest rates is Sept. 20.

Many economists believe the Fed will again leave rates unchanged, while others predict another rate increase.

After digesting the Fed minutes, Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, observed:

"In short, the (Fed) appears to think it has done enough, though it is far from certain."

At the August meeting, Fed policy-makers also discussed ways to improve their communications with Wall Street and Main Street.

That discussion will be resumed in the fall at the Fed's October meeting, the minutes said.
___

On the Net:

Federal Reserve: http://www.federalreserve.gov/

[Livyjr]

And faith ....

We just have to have faith in George W. Bush ....

And that is that ....

And if we don't ....

He'll send out some goons ....

To bash us in the head .....

Until we do ....

And so ....

"New Chief Oversees a Less Visible Faith Office"

By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 25, 2006; Page A15

The White House announced Jay F. Hein's appointment at 6:30 p.m. on a Thursday three weeks ago, the kind of timing usually reserved for news the administration wants to bury.

Hein is the new director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, the third person since 2000 who has headed President Bush's effort to help religious groups win public funding to counsel addicts, mentor prisoners' children and provide other social services.

Before he took up his duties this week, the position had been vacant for more than two months.

To some supporters of the president's "faith-based initiative," those circumstances are a stark indicator of how low one of Bush's signature programs has fallen in the priorities of his second-term, wartime administration.

"It's part of a continuing story of ambivalence."

"It's hard to look at the evidence and see any real passion for the initiative from the White House," said J. David Kuo, a former deputy director of the White House's faith-based office.

Hein, 41, who moved from Indianapolis to Washington last week, is a born-again Christian who previously ran the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research, a small but well-respected Indiana think tank on civic issues.

He said in an interview that he is convinced of Bush's full support.

"I had 30 minutes of Oval Office time with the president before I accepted the position, and that spoke loudly to me about his personal interest in seeing this initiative made successful and that it remains a high priority on his desk," Hein said last week.

He added that he had met Bush on one prior occasion, at a meeting two years ago of experts on AIDS policy.

Hein was an adviser to former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson ® and has worked closely in recent years with former senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.), who helped connect him to the White House.

Both Thompson and Coats were major players in the 1990s effort to overhaul welfare policy.

"Welfare reform was a government-centered question," Hein said.

"I believe the faith-based initiative is a natural extension from that work."

"The question is: How does society at large more effectively do those things -- relieving human suffering and equipping the poor to achieve greater self-sufficiency?"

Hein enters the administration as a deputy assistant to the president, a rung lower than that of his predecessors, H. James Towey and John J. DiIulio Jr.

He is not as well known as either Towey, who had worked closely with Mother Teresa, or DiIulio, one of the intellectual architects of Bush's "compassionate conservatism."

But White House officials said it would be wrong to read anything into the timing of Hein's appointment or his job title.

They noted that Towey also started as a deputy assistant to the president and was promoted after three years of White House service.

He resigned in April to become president of St. Vincent College, a Roman Catholic school in Latrobe, Pa.

"Since the Faith-Based and Community Initiative is one of the president's top priorities, we conducted an extensive search to ensure we found the right person to lead this important program," said White House press officer Emily A. Lawrimore, explaining the gap between Towey's June 2 departure and Hein's Aug. 3 appointment.

Coincidentally, Hein's first week on the job was the 10th anniversary of "Charitable Choice," a key predecessor of the faith-based initiative.

On Aug. 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed a bill designed to "end welfare as we know it" by, among other things, allowing states to use federal funds to pay religious groups to provide social services.

From the start, Charitable Choice was seen as a way to broaden the services available to single mothers, the homeless and impoverished elderly people.

But it was also controversial on church-state grounds, particularly because it allowed government-funded groups to hire and fire employees on the basis of religion.

During his first campaign for president, Bush promised to unleash "armies of compassion" by extending a charitable tax deduction to the 70 percent of taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions.

After taking office in 2001, he pushed other tax cuts through Congress but met resistance over his efforts to apply Charitable Choice to all federal social spending.

In the end, Bush issued executive orders to put the faith-based initiative into effect administratively, dropping his plan for major tax breaks to spur charitable giving.

One result, according to a study by the independent Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, is that government grants to religious charities are rising, but grants to charities overall have been squeezed.

Another result, according to former administration officials, is that the office Hein occupies has become more of a coordinator of existing executive branch activities than a producer of bold new policies and legislation.

"What he needs to do is consolidate and put into practice a lot of things that have already been talked about," said Stanley Carlson-Thies, who worked in the faith-based office during Bush's first term.

In contrast to his sometimes-flamboyant predecessors, Hein is a "very orderly and businesslike person" who is well-suited to run the faith-based effort for the remaining 18 months of the Bush administration, said William A. Schambra, an expert on philanthropy at the Hudson Institute, a think tank where Hein once worked.

Because the faith-based office "has a very poor track record when it comes to getting legislation passed," Schambra said, Hein's task will be "to pull out of the wreckage of the faith-based initiative the pieces of it that really should be preserved as a legacy for the next Republican administration."

Hein agreed that "the initiative is well under way operationally."

"The policies are being implemented not only at Cabinet agencies but at the state and local level, as well," he said.

"So I'll be taking a policy wonk approach into the job."

[Livyjr]

And politics ....

"Sweeney has 19-point lead over Gillibrand - With 10 weeks to go, incumbent has big, but not insurmountable edge, Siena poll spokesman says"

By TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, August 29, 2006

TROY -- Incumbent U.S. Rep. John Sweeney holds a commanding 19-point lead over Democratic challenger Kirsten Gillibrand in a new Siena College poll released Monday.

In a race that has garnered national attention, the poll shows Sweeney a clear favorite in the 20th Congressional District race, with a 53 percent to 34 percent lead over Gillibrand 10 weeks before Election Day, said Steven Greenberg, spokesman for the Siena Research Institute.

The poll of 628 registered voters was conducted Aug. 21-23 and has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.

"This race is not over, but all things considered, I'd rather have a 19-point lead than a 19-point deficit," Greenberg said.

Sweeney said the poll confirms what he has long said, that the description of the race as close is inaccurate.

"It's gratifying, but it's not a particular surprise."

"It's consistent with every poll I've seen," he said.

"I've been saying since this campaign began: 'Show me a poll that says this campaign is as close as people say it is.' "

For her part, Gillibrand, who began the campaign as a relative unknown, saw good news in the fact that she has name recognition with 44 percent of those polled.

"I've always been known to be a challenger; the greatest effort we have to make is to get my name out," she said.

"I don't think people who follow these elections expect a challenger to be neck-and-neck this early."

"We expect we will continue to close the gap over the next 10 weeks."

In a district with 88,000 more Republicans than Democrats, Gillibrand has not made the inroads she needs among Republicans and independents, Greenberg said.

"Sweeney is cutting more into the Democrats than Gillibrand is to Republicans," he said.

"They have to bring Democrats home, they have to sway independents and they have to convince a number of Republicans."

"At this point, they have not been successful in doing that."

Sweeney leads Gillibrand 73 percent to 13 percent among Republicans, while she leads him 67 percent to 23 percent among Democrats.

Among independent voters, Sweeney leads 49 percent to 37 percent.

The poll shows Sweeney leading in every region of the district and among all age groups.

"She certainly has a shot, but it's an uphill shot," Greenberg said.

"She's got an uphill battle if she wants to pull this upset."

The poll focused on six issues, and Sweeney showed a large edge on half of them.

On the issues of fighting crime and homeland security, he was considered likely to do a better job by a 27-point margin.

On taxes, he had a 14-point advantage.

Gillibrand had a 5-point lead on health care and a 9-point lead on environmental issues.

Both received similar marks on education.

Both campaigns have been highly visible, with nearly half of voters saying they had seen or heard a Gillibrand commercial and 57 percent saying they had seen or heard a Sweeney ad.

Their chief comments about their opponents, however, resonated only with their bases.

The Sweeney camp's effort to claim Gillibrand was a longtime New York City resident did not sway many voters, with 64 percent saying it was not a factor in their decision.

Twenty-six percent said it would make them more likely to vote for Sweeney, while 8 percent said it would move them toward Gillibrand.

Gillibrand's argument that Sweeney is too close to President Bush was slightly more persuasive, but still a nonissue to most voters.

A total of 31 percent said it would make them more likely to vote for Gillibrand, 19 percent said it would increase the likelihood they would vote for Sweeney, but 48 percent said it would have no effect.

"The issue of him being too close to Bush moves voters more than the issue of her being too much of a New York City person," Greenberg said.

While Sweeney said he has a record of providing federal funds and being visible throughout the district, Gillibrand said she expects Sweeney's support to fall as she makes the case that he is on the wrong side of issues from the war in Iraq to Social Security to gas prices.

"All these issues are going to resonate with people when they know the facts," she said.

"People will know exactly where John Sweeney stands on these issues."

Sweeney argued that Gillibrand is trying to run a case out of the national Democratic playbook rather than based on local concerns.

"You can't represent people if you haven't shared their experiences," he said.

"My opponent simply doesn't have that base of knowledge."

It is difficult for a challenger to overcome a 19-point deficit, but Greenberg said it is not impossible.

Both candidates have done well raising money: Sweeney has raised $1.6 million to date, and Gillibrand collected $1.2 million, according to their last Federal Election Commission filing in July.

"There is still 10 weeks to go in this campaign," Greenberg said.

"Voters tend to pay more attention after Labor Day."

"Both candidates have enough money to get their message out on the air."

O'Brien can be reached at 454-5096 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.

Voters' preferences

If the election for member of Congress from the 20th Congressional District was held tomorrow and the candidates were John Sweeney on the Republican line and Kirsten Gillibrand on the Democratic line, for whom would you vote?

TOTAL / DEMOCRAT / REPUBLICAN / INDEPENDENT/ OTHER

Sweeney 53% / 23% / 73% / 49%

Gillibrand 34% / 67% / 13% / 37%

Don't know 13% / 10% / 14% / 14%

Source: Siena Research Institute

Charges fail to resonate

The Sweeney campaign says that Kirsten Gillibrand is out of touch with voters in this area because she is a longtime New York City resident. Does this make you more likely to vote for John Sweeney, more likely to vote for Kirsten Gillibrand or does it have no effect on who you vote for?

More likely to vote for Sweeney -- 26%

More likely to vote for Gillibrand -- 8%

No effect on vote -- 64%

Don't know/no opinion -- 3%

The Gillibrand campaign says John Sweeney is out of step with his constituents and is too close to President Bush. Does this make you more likely to vote for Kirsten Gillibrand, more likely to vote for John Sweeney or does it have no effect on who you vote for?

More likely to vote for Gillibrand -- 31%

More likely to vote for Sweeney -- 19%

No effect on vote -- 48%

Don't know/no opinion -- 2%

Source: Siena Research Institute

end quotes

"HEY, JACKIE BOY, HEY, JOHNNIE" Sweeney has one of those "SPAGHETTI STRIP" legislative districts that the REPUBLICANS created for themselves .....

That essentially just follows a highway for miles and miles .....

And where there is a REPUBLICAN enclave .....

The SWEENEY DISTRICT swells to encompass it .....

And then shrinks back down to exclude Democrats .....

And so .....

The inbalance in numbers of enrollees .....

Between Republican ....

And Democrat ....

In "HEY, JACKIE BOY, HEY, JOHNNIE" Sweeney's "SPAGHETTI STRIP" legislative district .....

But as they say ....

"It ain't over till it's over ..."

And so ....

[Snuffysmith]

http://www.antiwar.com/roberts/?articleid=9626
August 30, 2006
The Five Morons Revisited

by Paul Craig Roberts
When the neocons launched the Bush administration's invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and announced plans for invading Syria and Iran, I labeled Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Rice "the Five Morons." With the passage of time, I see that I overestimated their mental capabilities.

The "cakewalk" war has now lasted longer than World War II with Nazi Germany, and no end is in sight. It has cost the U.S. taxpayers $310 billion in out-of-pocket costs, with many additional hundreds of billions coming due in veterans' medical bills and other expenses yet to be paid.

To carry on this pointless war, which has achieved nothing but death, destruction, and hatred of America, Bush has had to call up inactive reserves who long ago completed their active-duty service to their country and have managed to get on with their lives. It is well known that the older one gets the harder it is to find employment or the energy to restart a mothballed business. But Bush is too busy saving us from terrorism to care about people's lives.

Despite the lack of U.S. troops and Bush's inability to prevail in Afghanistan and Iraq, neocons in Bush's government are working around the clock to instigate war with Iran and Syria.

I thought that I had Rumsfeld pegged as the complete dolt, but I was stunned when I read Associated Press reporter Robert Burns' account of what Rumsfeld told 200 Navy aviators in a question and answer session at Fallon Naval Air Station on Aug. 28. "The thing that keeps me up at night," said Rumsfeld, is the success of terrorist groups in "manipulating the media."

Rumsfeld told the pilots that terrorists "are actively manipulating the media in this country" by falsely blaming U.S. troops for civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. All that "collateral damage" we hear about, the tens of thousands of dead and maimed civilians, is just terrorist propaganda. "The enemy lies constantly … and with impunity…. The enemy is so much better at communicating." Rumsfeld made similar remarks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno, Nevada, where he was presented the Dwight D. Eisenhower Distinguished Service Award. Eisenhower must be rolling over in his grave.

Now I get it. When Fox News' Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly assured us that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction that would be used against us if we didn't strike first, they were being manipulated by Osama bin Laden, who used America to get rid of the secular Saddam Hussein and to create a new training and recruitment ground for al-Qaeda and fundamentalist fanatics.

When the New York Times let Judith Miller serve as a propagandist for war with Iraq, the Times was being manipulated by Muslim terrorists, not by neocons.

When CNN and columnists like Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin reassure us that we will win the war unless we pull out prematurely, they are being manipulated by terrorists. Finally I understand what the Weekly Standard, National Review, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, the American Enterprise Institute, and the online site FrontPageMag are all about.

The terrorists are so clever at manipulation that Americans cannot perceive that we have been sucked deep into a war that is creating the Islamic fundamentalism we so desperately fear.

Obviously, I misjudged Rumsfeld's intelligence. Anyone who can figure out the Muslim conspiracy is off the charts. What I can't figure is why Rumsfeld is willing for America to continue to be sucked in. Don't tell me that terrorists are manipulating Rumsfeld, too!

I keep waiting for the money appeal from AIPAC. I already know what it is going to say: "Although AIPAC is undisputedly the most powerful lobby in America and can determine with impunity the fate of every elected official, we cannot match the terrorists' ability to manipulate the media. Polls show that terrorists' manipulation of the U.S. media is causing American support for the war to dwindle away. Please send more millions to counter the terrorists' control of the American media. We are winning in the Middle East but losing at home."

One of the lessons one learns in life is that things are not always what they seem to be. Before I watched Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer's National Press Club broadcast on C-SPAN (Aug. 28), I regarded AIPAC as Israel's friend and promoter. Now I realize that I was wrong. As the two distinguished professors made perfectly clear, anyone who cares about the survival of Israel should scorn the bribes, threats, and blandishments of AIPAC.

AIPAC led the Israeli government onto a path where diplomacy is no longer a tool that Israel can use. Instead, Israel relies on Mao's dictum that "power comes out of the barrel of a gun," or from a bulldozer that knocks down Palestinians' homes, uproots their olive groves, and enrages Muslims at Israel's inhumanity. Backed into a corner with no tool but violence, Israel faces hundreds of millions of increasingly angry Muslims.

If Bush were a true friend of Israel, he would never have let Israel again destroy Lebanon, this time under the pretext of striking at Hezbollah.

AIPAC and Bush have allowed, or caused, Israel to do itself so much damage in the eyes of Muslims and the wider world that a peaceful resolution in the Middle East is no longer in people's thoughts. With the mighty U.S. military checked in Iraq by a handful of Sunnis, and the mighty Israeli army checked in Lebanon by a handful of Hezbollah, violence is unlikely to settle the matter in a way that neocons in the U.S. and hardliners in Israel would like.

The only hope is that Bush and Olmert miraculously turn into grown men, admit their mistakes, apologize, send reparations, and commit to winning acceptance of Israel and America based on their good behavior. It would be nice to see in operation some of the superior morality that the two claim.

Considering their extraordinary hubris and self-righteousness, nothing like this can possibly happen. Israel, the U.S., and the Muslim world will continue to bleed.

[Snuffysmith]

QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

"[PRESIDENT BUSH] DIDN'T HAVE ANY PHILOSOPHY WHEN HE WENT IN, AND THEY HANDED IT TO HIM -- THESE GUYS WITH ... YOU KNOW, THE GUYS YOU USED TO MAKE FUN OF AT SCHOOL, THE PENCILNECKS, THE INTELLECTUALS, THE GUYS YOU NEVER TRUSTED."

--TV personality Chris Matthews; cited in Jonathan Chait, 'Traitor' (New Republic, August 29)
http://www.tnr.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20060904&s=diarist090406


'THE WEST IS BEING RUN, MORE OR LESS, BY THE MOST INCOMPETENT GENERATION OF MIDDLE AGED WHITE MEN SINCE THE 6TH CENTURY.'

--Commentator Tony Blankley; in his 'The Bacteria of Stupidity' (Washington Times, August 30)
http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.p...29-091620-7859r


'THE AVERAGE COUPLE ENGAGES IN 20 MINUTES OF CONVERSATION A DAY.'

--According to Mary Louise Floyd, author of "Retired with Husband: Superwoman's New Challenge"; cited in Marilyn Gardner, 'Making Marriage Work after Retirement' (Christian Science Monitor, August 30)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0830/p15s01-lifp.htm


"WHEREVER YOU ARE, DEATH WILL FIND YOU, EVEN IN THE LOOMING TOWER."

--From the fourth sura of the Koran: cited in Mark Follman, 'The Road to 9/11 and Beyond' (Salon, August 29)
http://www.salon.com/books/review/2006/08/...ower/print.html

[Livyjr]

http://www.antiwar.com/roberts/?articleid=9626

August 30, 2006 

The Five Morons Revisited

by Paul Craig Roberts

What an article, Snuf ......

What an article .....

It is one of the more lucid that I have read concerning this fisaco ......

Which came directly out of FIASCO CENTRALE ....

Down there in "GASBAG" Rumsfeld's PENTACLE .....

In Washington. D.C. .....

Thanks for posting that in here .....

That is one of those "MUST READ AND CONSIDER" articles .....

Since we are now getting barraged by a large load of crap coming out of the HOT AIR PASSAGES of "GAS BAG" Rumsfeld .....

HOT AIR that is intended to make us all look weak on national defense .....

When reality appears to be .....

That the "GASBAG" has gone round the bend .....

And is off in LA LA LAND somewhere .....

WITH THE LOTUS EATERS IN THE VFW FOR HIS COMPANY ......

Fighting Hitler ....

And Mussolini .....

On the DARK SIDE OF THE MOON .....

With ray guns ....

And spaceships ....

For control of Venus ....

And Mars ....

And so .....

[Livyjr]

And for all of you out there who have been faithfully following the campaign of Tom Suozzi ......

To be the next Governor .....

Of the State of New York ....

We have ....

Dear Friend,

Tom launched a new campaign blog this week at http://blog.tomsuozzi.com/

Tom's blog will provide updates, highlight Tom's activities and feature the latest news from the campaign trail.

There will also be audio and video clips from events around the state.

This blog is about getting Tom's message to the people (and perhaps the cows).

Check it out at http://blog.tomsuozzi.com/

Sincerely,

Team Suozzi

PS. Tom will participate in the NY1 Statewide Town Hall Meeting from 7 to 8:30 p.m. It will also be aired on Capitol News 9 in Albany, Syracuse and Rochester and Eliot Spitzer and John Faso are also scheduled to appear.

Tomorrow, August 31st, at 7 PM, Tom will participate in a debate hosted by News 12, that will air on Long Island, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Westchester.

[Livyjr]

And speaking about the "CHIP FAB" boondoggle .....

Up here in "HEY, JACKIE BOY, HEY, JOHNNIE" Sweeney territory ....

Where CORPORATE WELFARE ....

In huge amounts ....

Is felt ....

To be in the NATIONAL INTEREST ....

BECAUSE CORPORATIONS ....

ARE AMERICA ....

And so ....

"County leader douses pipe plan - Chairman of Saratoga Board of Supervisors says Albany's hopes to sell water to chip plant 'too late'" 
 
By BRIAN NEARING, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Saturday, August 5, 2006

ALBANY -- An idea to build a 20-mile aqueduct to bring water from Albany to a planned computer chip manufacturing plant in Saratoga County may just be a multimillion-dollar pipe dream.

The chairman of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors was cool Friday to reports that Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings is eyeing a pipeline plan for the 1 million gallons of water or more needed each day by the Advanced Micro Devices plant in the Luther Forest Technology Campus.
 
"These types of conversations should have started years ago if they were interested," said board Chairman Harry Guthiel.

"It is too late at this point."

"They are way, way behind."

Under Saratoga County's plan, it would pump water from the Hudson River in Moreau, process it in a water treatment plant and pipe it 27 miles to the technology park.

Under the Saratoga County plan, AMD is expected to buy up to 3 million gallons of water daily.

In May, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors agreed to supply $15 million needed to guarantee the water supply to AMD plant.

Brian Nearing can be reached at 454-5094 or by e-mail at bnearing@timesunion.com.

end quotes

Of course ....

The water in the Hudson River ....

Has already been allocated .....

As to "taking" .....

A long time ago now ....

Because the Hudson River ....

Is a tidal estuary ....

And salt water comes up the river, as a result ....

So that taking 3 MILLION GALLONS ....

Out of the river .....

Up in Moreau ....

Is going to have an adverse impact ....

On already established communities ....

Further down the river ....

Who already rely upon the Hudson River .....

For their drinking water .....

And so .....

IN TYPICAL CORRUPT NEW YORK STATE FASHION ....

These "PLAYERS" .....

Up here in SWEENEY COUNTRY ....

Have already committed OUR tax money ....

To this CORPORATE WELFARE SCHEME ....

Without bothering .....

To see ....

If there is capacity ....

In the Hudson River .....

That would allow them ...

To take out 3 MILLION GALLONS .....

And it is our bet up here .....

That the SWEENEY CROWD ....

Involved in this CORPORATE WELFARE SCHEME ....

Will try to sell out the downstate communities ...

By simply taking that water ...

And screw all of them down there ....

If the salt water moves further up the river ...

As a result ....

And so ....

POWER POLITICS ....

At its finest ....

Here in REPUBLICAN George Pataki's ....

CORRUPT EMPIRE ....

Of New York ....

And so ...

And the CHIP FAB BOONDOGGLE in the corrupt State of New York .....

Moves right on along .....

Siphoning gobs of money .....

Out of the taxpayer's pockets .....

TO ENRICH THIS ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES CORPORATION ....

AT OUR EXPENSE ....

And so ....

"Saratoga County water project goes out to bid in fall - Board's Tuesday night OK of environmental statement clears way"

By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, August 30, 2006

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Saratoga County's $76 million water project will go out to bid this fall after the county Board of Supervisors approved the project's final environmental impact statement Tuesday.

The board's approval gets the project past a major hurdle to ensure there will be water to sell to Advanced Micro Devices for its planned computer chip factory in the Luther Forest Technology Campus.

"We still have to do the bidding," said Supervisor Raymond Callanan, R-Ballston, the chairman of the county Water Committee.

Callanan said the water project is on track for its expected completion by 2008.

The county still does not have any signed contracts with customers for the water.

The supervisors voted, 18-2, to pass the FEIS, with three supervisors absent.

The negative votes were cast by Supervisor Cheryl Keyrouse, D-Saratoga Springs, and Supervisor Joanne Yepsen, D-Saratoga Springs.

"As part of my best effort to represent the people of Saratoga Springs who elected me, as well as every other city official based on a platform opposing the county water plan, I am voting today in opposition to the resolutions regarding the water project at our special meeting of the Board of Supervisors," Yepsen said in a statement distributed after the vote.

Keyrouse distributed comments from the Committee for a Safe and Financially Feasible County Water System, which criticized the response made by the county's engineers to issues raised by people critical of the project.

By the same 18-2 vote, the supervisors awarded a $109,808 contract to the project engineers, Malcolm Pirnie and C.T. Male, both of Colonie, to conduct the bidding.

They also authorized pursuing right-of-way acquisitions for the 28-mile pipeline from the upper Hudson River in Moreau to the technology campus in Malta and Moreau.

A $10,000 contract amendment for the engineering work was approved to change electric line requirements for the project.

This could amount to close to $1 million in savings by tapping into an electric line near the water pump station in Moreau instead of building a new electric service line.

Callanan said attempting to get a right-of-way for trails along the project would hinder the primary purpose of getting the pipeline built.

He said he did not know if the county would return to the trails issue.

Callanan also said that a decision was made to use ductile iron pipe for the project instead of steel as there would be better competitive bidding for the project.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Harry Gutheil, R-Moreau, said appointments to a revived county Water Authority would not be made until September.

The authority is to take ownership of the project.

Kenneth C. Crowe II can be reached at 581-8438 or by e-mail at kcrowe@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

"[PRESIDENT BUSH] DIDN'T HAVE ANY PHILOSOPHY WHEN HE WENT IN, AND THEY HANDED IT TO HIM -- THESE GUYS WITH ... YOU KNOW, THE GUYS YOU USED TO MAKE FUN OF AT SCHOOL, THE PENCILNECKS, THE INTELLECTUALS, THE GUYS YOU NEVER TRUSTED."

--TV personality Chris Matthews; cited in Jonathan Chait, 'Traitor' (New Republic, August 29)
http://www.tnr.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20060904&s=diarist090406

Actually, the BUSHCO PRIME .....

Was being manipulated by himself .....

By this INNER VISION .....

THAT HAD HIM AS A WORLD LEADER .....

In what was nothing more than a fantasy ...

In his own mind .....

And because George was the "BOSS" ....

Others around him ....

WHO WANTED POWER FOR THEMSELVES .....

Like DONALD "GASBAG" RUMSFELD ....

And ZALMAY KHALILZAD .....

And TOMMY FRANKS .....

Preyed on George's delusions ....

And fed George's delusions ....

With delusions of their own .....

And so .....

Whether any of them is an intellectual ...

Is highly in doubt ...

And it is highly insulting ....

To real intellectuals .....

To call Tommy Franks one, anyway .....

And I don't know about PENCILNECKS .....

As a descriptive term .....

For either Tommy Franks ....

THE "YES MAN" GENERAL ....

OR "GASBAG" RUMSFELD .....

THE REAL COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF .....

Of OUR United States Military .....

If truth be told ...

But PINHEADS works for me .....

With respect to the pair of them ....

And so ....