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OPEN THREAD for Neanderthals

By SusanUnPC on November 7, 2007 at 5:33 PM in Current Affairs

From David Horsey, the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and a volunteer parent referee at my daughter’s basketball games a few years ago!

+ Talking Points Memo: “Spencer Ackerman previews tomorrow’s congressional testimony from Malcolm Nance, who used to teach how to resist waterboarding for the Navy’s SERE program.” (You HAVE to read this!)

  • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

    Speaking of neanderthals — From ThinkProgress:

    Bush finally talks to Musharraf.
    For four days after Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan, President Bush refused to directly contact Musharraf. Reuters reports that Bush has finally made the call: …

    READ ALL.

  • Bill Keyes

    Anyone care about anything related to that War in……????? I can’t seem to remember what country it is since it now not nearly as important as whose water boarding whom?????

    Ohhhhhh…now I remember…Iraq

    Anyway Robin Cook’s long awaited diaries are very revealing and certainly validate the Downing Street Memos.

    Cook says…..”Blair ‘knew Iraq had no WMD”

    Read the whole article here……

    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18676.htm

  • ybnormal

    Of course Mitt Romney knows all about torture. That’s why he threw the family’s Irish Red Setter in a cage and strapped him on the roof of the station wagon for a vacation trip. The dog was so ‘happy’ about it he just shit all over the place.

    Afterwards the dog understandably gave up information about 9/11, Bin Laden, Oklahoma city, and suicide bomber plans against the local dog pound by Gruff the Crime Dog, who we now know, along with Wallace and Grommet, are the masterminds behind Al Qaeda USA.

    • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

      Good of you to remind us of that hideous story which has disappeared from the media after the short sensation it caused so many months ago.

      Romney has no essential core, no moral frame — he’s a huckster, albeit a good one, at least at times in the business world. What he did to that dog speaks to his lack of a moral core — he couldn’t imagine how that would make the dog feel / it was a “solution” for a logistical problem. That’s also why he’s such a flip-flopper… and can effortlessly go from one opposite view to the other … it doesn’t phase him, whereas a person of conscience would be terribly torn by such a move.

  • TomDem55

    Of course the chicken hawks thing torture is a good thing….THEY never risked their lives for their country…they were never in danger …
    such tools

  • Montag

    When do they start flinging feces at each other to show how tough they are? Or have they already started?

    • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

      Nothing like the Democrats have been doing to each other, which infuriates me to no end. I despise John Edwards’ latest attack ads on Hillary, when the primary focus should — always, always, always — be George W. Bush and the last 7 years of his disastrous, catastrophic presidency. Besides, Edwards’ constant, vicious attacks on HRC aren’t benefiting him, only Obama, and ultimately the entire Republican slate of candidates. I am disgusted with him and, increasingly, with his wife, who’s doing the same but is shielded from criticism because of her devastating illness.

      Digby said it best:

      “I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but George W. Bush is being disappeared from the presidential campaign and everyone’s running against incumbent Hillary Clinton. Subtly, but relentlessly, the public psyche is being prepared to deny Junior ever existed. And it could work. So, we see a very odd subliminal narrative taking shape in which the blame for the nation’s failures of the last seven years is being shifted to Clinton (and the “do-nothing” Democratic congress).”
      – digby 10.28.07

      (I don’t have the direct link to Digby’s blog for this; it came to me as a quote in a Democratic newsletter from someone in San Diego. It is also notable that, best I recall, Digby is not a Clintonite, but she’s sharp and she doesn’t like the concentration of attacks on HRC when the intense focus should be on Bush and the Republicans.)

      • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

        Also of note: This is exactly what the Democrats did to Howard Dean in 2003-2004. Before Iowa, John Kerry and Dick Gephardt hit Dean with everything they could, even permitting the elusively-sourced funding of a vicious TV ad that showed Dean as soft on going after Osama Bin Laden. It destroyed Gephardt’s candidacy, the pundits say, but I don’t think he had a chance anyway. But it resurrected Kerry’s dead campaign, and killed Dean’s. The Democrats seem to be very good at eating their own, and supplying their ultimate Republican opponents with ample fodder.

  • http://www.food4humanity.org hoosierhoops

    Open Thread!!
    I think i remember the mitt strapping his dog cage to the roof of his car….
    Wasn’t his response..’ Well at least it wasn’t my mother-in-law’ Something like that..( in case that is considered Libel..I’ll change my nick to CanadianHoops and skip the country)
    SusanUPC..Funny story
    I’m so glad you are doing better and blogging on a regular basis..I’ve got to tell you something..
    The day you came out of Surgery and i talked to you..
    You know what you sounded like?
    One time the hoopster got the worst summer cold and it was like 95 degrees out and in my infinite wisdom i decided the best cure would be to take some cold pills and a couple Crown and cokes..
    My wife came home and found me staring at the live cams of hawaii beaches on hawaiichannel.com.
    When she asked me what i was doing..I replied in the same incoheriant(sic) voice as you..
    I dunno..i’m doing ok..kindof hurt..mommy is that you? hahaha
    I’m not making fun of your pain..it was just funny sounding..ya gotta laugh. Are you smiling yet?
    Be Strong Susan..I remember having my knees rebuilt and the mere pressure of a sheet laying on my legs was unbearable..
    We are all behind you and wish you well.
    ___________________________________________
    you know what pisses me off? Yesterday i went to the pols and they were closed out here in the middle of nowhere. I called to find out what is going on and they told me everyone ran unopposed here in the sticks..Now where i live during primaries the old ladies have always told me i’m the only registered democrat in our precinct. I always tease them that i’ve got a few dems in the trunk but when i untie them they always run away. Why are all the farmers members of the GOP here? That is the reason the Hoopster went to college in California. If you ask someone in my parts about being progressive then they think you are talking about car insurance..
    ______________________________________
    Leslie: you do a great job here and you are really appreciated..I told you weeks ago i was going to tell you my 9-11 story..So now that everyone has gone to bed and all that is on tv is the Jazz game,
    Let me share..Many people lost loved ones, husbands and wives and children and dear friends..in that horrible experience i gained back my oldest son.
    Our #1 son David was always what we considered a slacker in a way..Never kept to a job, lived off his folks, had long hair and we knew did drugs and lived a life like charlie on 2 1/2 men. nothing really mattered to him except a good time and being with as many girls as possible..We didn’t raise him that way but that was David..good times for all..I always knew he had a good heart but lacked direction…
    I’ll never forget this..The day after the attack i went to church to pray..I hadn’t been there in years and i spent hours asking god why so many had to perish for no reason..
    ( It had been so many years since i had been there the priest didn’t even know me.. The old priest had passed away and this young father wondered who the heck was crying in his church)
    Several days later David came to me and we talked..
    here is the basic conversation..
    Pops..I want to go to New York for a month or two and help out..I can do some good..
    I said David what can you do?
    Pops..I can help..help me help them..I have hardly no money..will you help..
    His mom and i talked about it and sponsored him to go live in NY for 6 weeks. He stayed in a hotel in south manhatten and helped distribute food, drive trucks..do manual labor and worked with the red cross. When he came home he brought back thousands of pictures and was a changed man..His entire life changed from 9-11..Oh the stories he told us excitely all night long..My son became a real man by helping others in the depth of despair..
    He has his own successful business now and paid back every cent we loaned him to go to NY…( I know you know how much it cost to live in a hotel and eat in New york for 6 weeks..How do you live there leslie?)
    The point is..9-11 changed many lifes, some by destruction, others in growth, some in prayer, some in introspection..
    David was deeply moved..deeply changed as a man.
    in such great loss..we saw great gain..we got our son back..That is our story..It’s not a big deal to some..but trust me..It brings tears to my eyes to this day..
    There are greater worlds than ourselves..greater sacrafices..greater goals..greater humanity..greater love…

    • http://noquarterusa.net/blog/ Leslie

      That’s a very touching story Hoopster! I’m so happy for you and your family. Bet David helped a lot of people too. So many people came to NYC to help, they arrived as strangers and left as friends. It was really heartwarming the way people reached out. Ever since 9/11, it seems as if NYers are much more polite and kind to each other, the way people are when they realize their humanity and how precious life is.

      I hope, however, that David wasn’t exposed to the ash? Or if he was at Ground Zero, that he wore a respirator?

    • PrchrLady

      Thank you Hoops for sharing your wonderful story with all of us. It brings hope to my heart, and joy to my day… I pray David will someday become the kind of man I believe you to be. Maybe you missed my earlier post, but would like to talk to you about your plans for your 401 C you were discussing with Taters. I checked out your website. email me at mpumpky at yahoo dot com.

      • http://www.food4humanity.org hoosierHoops

        PreacherLady:
        You’ve got mail

    • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

      (Would you believe I don’t remember you calling me? I really don’t … and most of the calls I got for the first few days? I was so out of it!)

      That is the most beautiful story, HoosierHoops … we all gain so much by helping others.

      It’s been hard for me to accept help and gifts. But god have I needed all of the kindnesses extended to me recently. Yesterday, two new people came into my life — one is a man who runs a meal service for people who are homebound, and he brought me several ready-made frozen meals. Free. And he put a tamale pie in the fridge. Well, I heated it up, and could not believe how truly hungry I was — I’d been eating okay — lots of fruit and vegetables and cheese and crackers and a few frozen meals – but I didn’t realize just how starved I’d been for a really good, hot meal. I ate two big helpings!

      Then one of his friends, a retired forest ranger, came over and cleaned my place for an hour. He vacuumed, swept, did my dishes, helped me unpack from the hospital — yes, all of my stuff was still unpacked because I’d needed help with that. My place looked so much nicer when he was done. And he’s coming back next week to do more cleaning.

      He told me he’d spent the morning walking dogs at the county humane shelter, and that he’s practicing the techniques of the “Dog Whisperer” who’s on National Geographic — I don’t get that channel anymore since I cut back on my cable to save money, but I used to watch that show and loved it.

      What neat people there are in this world! And while I was embarrassed to take their help, I saw the big smile on their faces and realized that it made THEM feel good, and their lives richer, to help me.

      Btw, the hospital’s social worker — who set this all up for me — told me that she far prefers this small charity because they don’t have lots of red tape and don’t spend their money on administrative costs, just on buying and cooking food and transportation costs.

      If anyone would like to send them funds, here’s their address:
      Emergency Elder Care
      921 East Hammond, Suite 5
      Sequim, WA 98382
      – I promised them that I would tell everyone about their charity because it is an action charity and doesn’t blow its money on meetings, fancy offices, etc.

      My goal, once I’m ambulatory again and can drive, is to begin volunteering at SHIBA, a Washington state service for people who are on disability or Medicare. They train volunteers to help guide people through the complicated maze of Medicare and other medical insurance options … it is so damn complicated. I once used their advice, and they saved my bacon because I’d been talking to icky, lying insurance agents who were not helpful at all and who had totally stressed me out. Once the SHIBA employee (they do have a few employees) had helped me, I was immediately squared away for my medical insurance. Their office is close to where I live, so it’ll be easy to go there and do whatever they need me to do — and I’m not picky — I’ll do filing or answering phones or whatever they need. Just want to GIVE BACK.

  • justsomeone

    Bill Keyes, thanks for the Robin Cook/Tony Blair info, I never bought into that “Blair is Bush’s poodle” routine but others always argued me down. It just never made sense to me that a high IQ boy like Tony was being led around & played by GWB.

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  • Kathleen

    Worth the read

    Hagel slams the administration and “neo-cons” for the imflammatory rhetoric about Iran
    http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Senator_Chuck_Hagel
    _slams_Bush_Iran_1108.html

    Some interesting articles this morning

    http://seattletimes.nwsource.c…..atada.html

    Court bars second court-martial for Watada, for now

    By Hal Bernton

    Seattle Times staff reporter

    Iran
    http://www.informationclearing…..e18688.htm

    http://www.informationclearing…..e18689.htm

    http://www.informationclearing…..e18687.htm

    Senators Hagel and Webb and G.I. bill
    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11…..9webb.html

    George Carlin (one of my gurus) rips. Do yourself listen to the truth and have a belly laugh.

    “you have no choice, you have owners”

    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18690.htm