Friday, October 27, 2006

THIS JUST IN! EVERYBODY'S DOING THE G.O.P. PERP WALK!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- DC.


TODAY, JUDGE PAUL L. FRIEDMAN HAS SENTENCED FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF FOR THE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION DAVID SAFAVIAN TO 18 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT

SAFAVIAN WAS ALSO THE EX-WHITE HOUSE BUDGET OFFICE APPOINTEE BUT THAT LITTLE RUN IN WITH THE LAW PREVENTED THAT.

NOW HE'S DOING THE DANCE THAT'S SWEEPING THE NATION!

THE G.O.P. PERP WALK!

IT'S A DANCE THAT'S SWEEPING THE NATION IN THE REPUBLICAN SET. JUST YESTERDAY DAVID A. PETERSON OF ARIZONA WAS DOING IT, THE TREASURER OF ARIZONA.

SOON, IT'S SAID, SCOOTER LIBBY WILL BE DOING IT.

AND BOOKIES ARE TAKING ON EVEN MONEY ON BETS THAT BULLY BOY WILL BE DOING THE PERP WALK BEFORE 2009.


HERE'S HOW THE DANCE WORKS:

1) BALL YOUR FISTS IN FRONT OF YOU.

2) MOVE RIGHT TO LEFT, RIGHT TO LEFT WITH YOUR FEET.

3) POINT FINGER AND SAY, "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! I'M NOT GUILTY!"

4) THROW YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOU (AS THOUGH HANDCUFFED), BEND AT THE WAIST AND DUCK WALK ACROSS THE DANCE FLOOR.




FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Tomorrow Kyle Snyder will return to the United States, Mike Howell reports for the Toronto Star noting that Snyder notes war resister Darrell Anderson's decision to return to the US (Anderson returned September 30th). Like Anderson, Snyder elected to self-check out of the military. For Snyder, that happened in April 2005. As Snyder explains in Michelle Mason's Breaking Ranks, military recruiters were circling throughout high school: "I had just received my high school diploma. I get off of the stage and here's another recruiter right outside the door -- waiting for me. I look back at i now and everything that I'm going through, everything that I've worked through I can retrace down to that moment that I signed the f**king contract." Snyder has addressed how the military broke its contract with him -- such as by refusing to investigate incidents of violence targeting Iraqis.
In August, Synder explained his decision to self-check out of the US military and go to Canada to Karen Button noting, "You know, if they want to help people in Iraq . . . imagine a 15 year-old kid, for the last . . . years all he's seen is [US] military personnel with weapons going through his city. How is that child supposed to believe that the man, in that uniform is helping him? Now, if that child saw a convoy of logs being brought to his city, or a convory of water being brought to his city, still guarded, it would be a completely different situation. That's where the American military messed up. Because they forgot about the perception of civilisation. They forgot about the perception of the Iraqi people."
Kyle Snyder intends to return to the US Saturday and turn himself in. Michelle Mason's documentary Breaking Ranks takes a look at US war resisters who have gone to Canada seeking asylum. In addition to Mason's film, more information on war resisters hoping to be granted refugee status (which the Canadian government has thus far refused to do, unlike during the Vietnam era) can be found at War Resisters Support Campaign.
Kyle Snyder, Darrell Anderson, Ricky Clousing, Mark Wilkerson, Agustin Aguayo, Corey Glass, Patrick Hart, Jeremy Hinzman, Brandon Hughey, Carl Webb, Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes, Aidan Delgado, Ryan Johnson, Joshua Key, Katherine Jashinski, Ivan Brobeck, Robin Long, Kevin Benderman and Clifford Cornell are among those war resisters who have gone public. And that's only the names of those who have gone public. The war resistance within the military is a movement.
Earlier this week, US service members created a website, Appeal for Redress, and are attempting to collect 2000 signatures for their petition to Congress to end the illegal war. From Appeal for Redress
An Appeal for Redress from the War in Iraq
Many active duty, reserve, and guard service members are concerned about the war in Iraq and support the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to their Congressional Representative and US Senators to urge an end to the U.S. military occupation. The Appeal messages will be delivered to members of Congress at the time of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January 2007.
The wording of the Appeal for Redress is short and simple. It is patriotic and respectful in tone.
As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq . Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home.
If you agree with this message,
click here.
The Appeal for Redress is sponsored by active duty service members based in the Norfolk area and by a sponsoring committee of veterans and military family members. The Sponsoring committee consists of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans For Peace, and Military Families Speak Out.
Members of the military have a legal right to communicate with their member of Congress. To learn more about the rights and restrictions that apply to service members
click here.
Attorneys and counselors experienced in military law are available to help service members who need assistance in countering any attempts to suppress this communication with members of Congress.
Several members of Congress have expressed interest in receiving the Appeal for Redress.
Click here to send the Appeal to your elected representatives.
Meanwhile, Citizen Soldier announces the opening, today, of "the first soldiers' coffeehouse of the current Iraq war in Watertown, NY." More information can be found at Citizen Soldier and at Different Drummer, the name of the coffeehouse. It is a movement and for those wanting more information on the importance of the GI coffeehouse to a peace movement should view David Zeiger's Sir! No Sir! documentary.


Recommended: "Iraq Snapshot"
"And the war drags on"
"War resister Kyle Snyder returns to the US tomorrow"
"NYT: "42 Iraqis Die as Insurgents Attack Police Near Baquba" (Richard A. Oppel Jr & Kirk Semple)"
"thoughts"
"Iraq"
"Tough Scandalous Times for the GOP (humor)"
"THIS JUST IN! ANOTHER GOP OFFICIAL BITES THE DUST!"


Check out the New Yahoo! Mail - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

THIS JUST IN! ANOTHER GOP OFFICIAL BITES THE DUST!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- DC.

DAVID A. PETERSEN, REPUBLICAN, THE TREASURER OF ARIZONA HAD A STRANGE REQUEST. HE WANTED HIS COMPUTER CLEANED.

NOT THE KEYBOARD, NOT THE MONITOR SCREEN. HE WANTED "EVIDENCE OF VISITS TO PORNOGRAPHIC WEB SITES . . . SANTIZED FROM HIS COMPUTER".

APPARENTLY WHEN NOT "MEETING WITH A CONTROVERSIAL EVANGELIST," PETERSON ENJOYED A BIT OF THE PORN IN THE MIDST OF THE WORK DAY.


REACHED FOR COMMENT, PETERSEN TOLD THESE REPORTERS, "NO COMMENT." HE ALSO CURSED US OUT ABOUT "KNOCKING ME OFF THE WEB BY CALLING!" LEADING THESE REPORTERS TO ASSUME HE HAD A DIAL UP CONNECTION AND ONLY ONE PHONE LINE.

A CLOSE FRIEND WHO DID NOT WANT TO BE NOTIFIED ("WOULD YOU?!!!?") TOLD US THAT HE FELT DAVID A. PETERSEN "PROVES THAT BEING THE FATHER OF 8 DOESN'T MEAN YOU LOSE INTEREST IN THE PORN. HE'S ALWAYS BEEN A PORNY LITTLE DEVIL."

POSSIBLY, BUT PLEADING GUILTY YESTERDAY MEANS HE IS NOT STATE TREASURER MUCH LONGER. PETERSEN PLEADED TO A CLASS 1 MISDEMEANOR FOR "FAILURE TO DISCLOSE A $4,200 COMMISSION HE RECIEVED FROM THE CHARACTER TRAINING INSTITUTE." ONE THINKS HE SPENT TOO LITTLE TIME AT THE CHARACTER TRAINING INSTITUTE BUT MAYBE THEY USED A "NET NANNY" ON THEIR COMPUTERS. PETERSEN WILL BE SENTENCED DECEMBER 1ST AND "AS PART OF THE PLEA AGREEMENT REACHED WITH ATTORNEY GENERAL TERRY GODDARD, MR. PETERSEN MUST RESIGN NO LATER THAN DEC. 1".


FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Meanwhile, Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) notes that the US military death toll in Iraq has "reached the highest level in nearly two years on Thursday following the deaths of four U.S. Marines and one Navy sailor in volatile Anbar province." The US military announced: "One Sailor assigned to 3rd Naval Construction Regiment, two Marines assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5 and two Marines assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 died Wednesday from injuries sustained due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province." The BBC notes that Bully Boy "on Wednesday admitted being seriously concerned about the scale of American casualties." Not 'seriously concerned' enough to get the number of American fatalities correct. Some people are seriously concerned such as Diana Unger who spoke to CBS' Byron Pitts about her son David Unger: "My son died in a country that I have no idea, really, why we're even there" and, of the Bully Boy, "Unless he puts his daughters over there and he has that real fear everyday of not wanting to turn on the television, that fear that gets into your heart and your head, he can't fathom what that means."

[. . .]

". . . truth is often denied at first, then grudgingly accepted until it becomes comventional wisdom," Danny Schechter News Dissector notes writing about the parallels between Vietnam and Iraq (at BuzzFlash): "There is a word missing in most of the coverage of Iraq. It's a ghost-laden word that conjures up distressing memories that Washington and most of our media prefer to keep in that proverbial 'lock box,' hidden away in dusty archives and footage libraries. The word is Vietnam. Its absence was never more noticeable than in the coverage this past weekend of the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, marked in Vietnam with celebrations, but largely ignored in America where CNN led with the story of a bride who went missing when she had second thoughts. Is this denial or is it deliberate?"

Recommended: "Iraq snapshot"
"Bully Boy doesn't know the number of US fatalities but timid media can't tell you that"
"Knickmeyer raised the issue (that Gen. Casey ignored)"
"Daniel Ellsberg, the Mamas and the Papas, Iraq"
"Iraq and Tony picks 12 of his favorite Ava & C.I. TV reviews"
"THIS JUST IN! IRAQ RESPONDS!"
"Iraq hollers back to the Bully Boy (humor)"

THIS JUST IN! ANOTHER REPUBLICAN OFFICIAL BITES THE DUST!

 
DAVID A. PETERSEN, REPUBLICAN, THE TREASURER OF ARIZONA HAD A STRANGE REQUEST.  HE WANTED HIS COMPUTER CLEANED.
 
NOT THE KEYBOARD, NOT THE MONITOR SCREEN.  HE WANTED "EVIDENCE OF VISITS TO PORNOGRAPHIC WEB SITES . . . SANTIZED FROM HIS COMPUTER".
 
APPARENTLY WHEN NOT "MEETING WITH A CONTROVERSIAL EVANGELIST," PETERSON ENJOYED A BIT OF THE PORN IN THE MIDST OF THE WORK DAY.
 
 
REACHED FOR COMMENT, PETERSEN TOLD THESE REPORTERS, "NO COMMENT."  HE ALSO CURSED US OUT ABOUT "KNOCKING ME OFF THE WEB BY CALLING!" LEADING THESE REPORTERS TO ASSUME HE HAD A DIAL UP CONNECTION AND ONLY ONE PHONE LINE.
 
A CLOSE FRIEND WHO DID NOT WANT TO BE NOTIFIED ("WOULD YOU?!!!?") TOLD US THAT HE FELT DAVID A. PETERSEN "PROVES THAT BEING THE FATHER OF 8 DOESN'T MEAN YOU LOSE INTEREST IN THE PORN.  HE'S ALWAYS BEEN A PORNY LITTLE DEVIL."
 
POSSIBLY, BUT PLEADING GUILTY YESTERDAY MEANS HE IS NOT STATE TREASURER MUCH LONGER.  PETERSEN PLEADED TO A CLASS 1 MISDEMEANOR  FOR "FAILURE TO DISCLOSE A $4,200 COMMISSION HE RECIEVED FROM THE CHARACTER TRAINING INSTITUTE."  ONE THINKS HE SPENT TOO LITTLE TIME AT THE CHARACTER TRAINING INSTITUTE BUT MAYBE THEY USED A "NET NANNY" ON THEIR COMPUTERS.  PETERSEN WILL BE SENTENCED DECEMBER 1ST AND "AS PART OF THE PLEA AGREEMENT REACHED WITH ATTORNEY GENERAL TERRY GODDARD, MR. PETERSEN MUST RESIGN NO LATER THAN DEC. 1". 
 
 
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
 
Meanwhile, Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) notes that the US military death toll in Iraq has "reached the highest level in nearly two years on Thursday following the deaths of four U.S. Marines and one Navy sailor in volatile Anbar province."  The US military announced: "One Sailor assigned to 3rd Naval Construction Regiment, two Marines assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5 and two Marines assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 died Wednesday from injuries sustained due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province."  The BBC notes that Bully Boy "on Wednesday admitted being seriously concerned about the scale of American casualties."  Not 'seriously concerned' enough to get the number of American fatalities correct.  Some people are seriously concerned such as Diana Unger who spoke to CBS' Byron Pitts about her son David Unger: "My son died in a country that I have no idea, really, why we're even there" and, of the Bully Boy, "Unless he puts his daughters over there and he has that real fear everyday of not wanting to turn on the television, that fear that gets into your heart and your head, he can't fathom what that means."
 
[. . .]
 
". . . truth is often denied at first, then grudgingly accepted until it becomes comventional wisdom," Danny Schechter News Dissector notes writing about the parallels between Vietnam and Iraq (at BuzzFlash): "There is a word missing in most of the coverage of Iraq.  It's a ghost-laden word that conjures up distressing memories that Washington and most of our media prefer to keep in that proverbial 'lock box,' hidden away in dusty archives and footage libraries.  The word is Vietnam.  Its absence was never more noticeable than in the coverage this past weekend of the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, marked in Vietnam with celebrations, but largely ignored in America where CNN led with the story of a bride who went missing when she had second thoughts.  Is this denial or is it deliberate?"
 
Recommended: "Iraq snapshot"
 
 


Do you Yahoo!?
Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

THIS JUST IN! IRAQ RESPONDS!

 
TODAY BULLY BOY ADDRESSED THE PRESS AND, BY PROXY, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO DECLARE "THAT MEDIA REPORTS FROM IRAQ ARE DISTORTING THE ACTUAL SITUATION IN THE COUNTRY."
 
REACHED FOR COMMENT, IRAQ HOLLERED (OVER THE SOUNDS OF EXPLOSIONS AND GUN SHOTS) BACK, "IRAQ THINKS THAT THE BULLY BOY OF THE UNITED STATES IS DISTROTING THE ACTUAL SITUATION HERE.  IT IS SO MUCH WORSE THAN YOU KNOW."
 
 
 
 
 
Starting with peace news.  As Ann Scott Tyson (Washington Post) reports, Appeal for Redress is up and running: "More than 100 U.S. service members have signed a rare appeal urging Congress to support the 'prompt withdrawal' of all American troops and bases from Iraq" and that the action's goal is to gather 2,000 signatures to the appeal before presenting it to Congress.  Drew Brown (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that the target date for delivery to Congress is MLK Day (Monday, January 15, 2007). [Readers of the New York Times who are wondering where this in their paper, it's right there on page A13, a whopping one paragraph -- from AP -- in National Briefing.]
 
 
From Appeal for Redress:

An Appeal for Redress from the War in Iraq
Many active duty, reserve, and guard service members are concerned about the war in Iraq and support the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to their Congressional Representative and US Senators to urge an end to the U.S. military occupation. The Appeal messages will be delivered to members of Congress at the time of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January 2007.
The wording of the Appeal for Redress is short and simple. It is patriotic and respectful in tone.
As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq . Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home.
If you agree with this message,
click here.
The Appeal for Redress is sponsored by active duty service members based in the Norfolk area and by a sponsoring committee of veterans and military family members. The Sponsoring committee consists of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans For Peace, and Military Families Speak Out.
Members of the military have a legal right to communicate with their member of Congress. To learn more about the rights and restrictions that apply to service members
click here.
Attorneys and counselors experienced in military law are available to help service members who need assistance in countering any attempts to suppress this communication with members of Congress.
Several members of Congress have expressed interest in receiving the Appeal for Redress.
Click here to send the Appeal to your elected representatives.
 
 
 
Ehren Watada's attorney, Eric Seitz, is quoted by Drew Brown:  "The kinds of resistance and opposition and outrage that military people are now beginning to express has been simmering for quite a while. But it's about to just burst out in huge waves."   Ehren Watada is the first commissioned US officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq.  His father, Bob Watada, is beginning his third speaking tour to raise awareness of his son's case [an Article 32 hearing recommended court-martial, no decision has yet been annouced].  This speaking tour will last from October 26 through November 17th. 
 
Recommended: "Iraq Snapshot"


Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

THIS JUST IN! BIG DENNY HASTERT TRAVELS WITH ENTOURAGE!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- DC.

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE BIG DENNY HASTERT WENT BEFORE THE HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE TO TRY OUT HIS "I KNOW NOTHING" ROUTING REGARDING THE MARK FOLEY/PAGEGATE SCANDAL.

WHETHER OR NOT HE'S ABLE TO FOOL THE COMMITTEE, THE REALITY IS THE MOST INTERESTING NEWS ABOUT BIG DENNY'S TESTIMONY TO THE HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE TODAY IS THIS: "SHORTLY BEFORE THE SPEAKER APPEARED, HIS SECURITY DETAIL ARRIVED AND WENT INSIDE THE ETHICS COMMITTEE ROOM, WHERE TESTIMONY IS TAKEN IN SECRET SESSIONS. HASTERT THEN ARRIVED WITH HIS ATTORNEY, J. RANDOLPH EVANS OF ATLANTA."

WHEN ASKED BY THESE REPORTERS ASKED VARIOUS MEMBERS OF CONGRESS "WHAT THE F**K WAS UP WITH THAT?" ALL BUT ONE DECLINED TO GO ON THE RECORD.

REPUBLICAN BOB NEY, OF ALL PEOPLE, AGREED PROVIDED WE NOT REVISIT "FELON IN THE CONGRESS." HIS GROUND RULES WERE THAT THE TERM "FELON IN THE CONGRESS" NOT APPEAR IN OUR REPORT. WHEN THESE REPORTERS INFORMED WE DID NOT AGREE TO THE GROUND RULES, HE RELENTED.

"IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE I WON'T EVEN BE BILLED AS 'CONGRESSMAN' ANYMORE," NEY SAID WIPING THE SWEAT FROM HIS FOREHEAD. "LET ME GRAB ALL THE PRESS I CAN NOW."

DISGRACED CONGRESSMAN NEY TOLD US, "BIG DENNY'S ALWAYS HAD A DIVA STREAK. HE'S TRIED FOR THE LAST 2 YEARS TO GET ON TYRA BANK'S AMERICA'S TOP MODEL. TRAVELING WITH THE MAKE UP GALS AND HANGER ONS THAT MAKE UP HIS POSSE MAKE HIM FEEL PRETTY."

WE THANKED CONVICTED FELON AND CONGRESSMAN BOB NEY FOR HIS TIME AND ASKED HIM IF HE INTENDED TO CONTINUE TO SERVE IN CONGRESS UP TO THE MOMENT HE'S HANDCUFFED AND LED OFF TO PRISON?

"HELL YEAH!" WHOOPED THE SOON TO BE IMPRISONED NEY. "I'M GOING TO RIDE THIS GRAVY TRAIN 'TILL THE WHEELS FALL OFF!"



Recommended: "Iraq Snapshot"
"Ruth's Report"
"NYT: 'Troops Look for American Soldier Missing in Baghdad' (Sabrina Tavernise)""Other Items"
"dr. helen caldicott"
"Iraq, Kyle Snyder, James Baker and more"
"Betty filling in for Kat"
"2 Highlights"
"White house intervention (parody)"
"THIS JUST IN! AN ATTEMPTED WHITE HOUSE INTERVENTION!"

Monday, October 23, 2006

THIS JUST IN! AN ATTEMPTED WHITE HOUSE INTERVENTION!

 
 
 
IN AN ATTEMPT TO STEM THE LOSS OF LIVES IN IRAQ (2800 U.S. TROOPS KILLED, OVER 655,000 IRAQIS KILLED) AND TO SALVAGE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, THESE REPORTERS MET WITH CONDI RICE TODAY AT APPROXIMATELY 3:30 PM EST ARMED WITH WEBSTER'S COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY.
 
 
SECRETARY OF STATE RICE GREETED US WARMLY, "THANK GOD!  A MEETING.  I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO PRETEND TO SKIM TODAY'S P.D.B. I HATE THESE THINGS.  THEY NEVER HAVE ANYTHING POSITIVE TO SAY AND THEY GO ON SO LONG.  CAN'T THE C.I.A. JUST PREPARE A DRAWING WITH A THUMBS UP OR A THUMBS DOWN?  THAT WOULD TELL US ALL WE NEED TO KNOW."
 
SECRETARY RICE THEN LOOKED ALARMED WHEN SHE NOTED WE WERE CARRYING A BOOK.
 
"NO ONE TOLD ME READING WAS REQUIRED FOR THIS MEETING," SHE SAID NERVOUSLY RISING TO HER FEET.
 
AFTER WE CALMED HER BY STATING WE WOULD BE READING TO HER, SECRETARY RICE RETURNED TO HER POSITIVE PERSONALITY AND ASKED IF MAYBE THERE WAS TIME TO ASK SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DONALD RUMSFELD TO BRING IN SOME MILK AND COOKIES AS WELL AS "MY BLANKETA BECAUSE I LOVE TO TAKE A NAP AFTER I'M READ TO?  YOU KNOW HE'S GOT NOTHING ELSE TO DO BUT RUN ERRANDS THESE DAYS.  HE'S SHUT OUT OF THE LOOP."
 
EXPLAINING THAT THE READING WOULDN'T TAKE THAT LONG PROMPTED A HEAVY SIGH FROM SECRETARY RICE BUT SHE WAVED HER HAND TO INDICATE WE SHOULD CONTINUE.
 
"DEADLINE," WE READ, "IS DEFINED AS '(1) A LINE DRAWN WITHIN OR AROUND A PRISON THAT PRISONER PASSES AT THE RISK OF BEING SHOT, (2) A DATE OR TIME BEFORE WHICH SOMETHING MUST BE DONE: SPECIF: THE TIME AFTER WHICH COPY IS NOT ACCEPTED FOR A PARTICULAR ISSUE OF A PUBLICATION'."
 
"MILESTONE," WE READ, "IS DEFINED AS '(1) A STONE SERVING AS A MILEPOST, (2) A SIGNIFICANT POINT IN DEVELOPMENT'."
 
"WHAT'S YOUR POINT?" ASKED A NERVOUS RICE.  "YOU DIDN'T SAY THERE WOULD BE A VOCABULARY TEST.  I COULD HAVE RESCHEDULED YOU FOR NEXT WEEK AND PREPARED."
 
THESE REPORTERS EXPLAINED THEY WERE JUST QUESTIONING THE ADMINISTRATION'S QUIBBLING OVER THE TERMS "DEADLINES" AND "MILESTONES."
 
"OH, THAT," CONDI RICE SAID LAUGHING.  "OKAY, SURE.  I CAN FIELD THAT.  SEE A 'MILESTONE' IS SOMETHING YOU SEND OUT INVITATIONS TO.  LIKE A WEDDING OR ANNIVERSARY OR THE 1ST TIME A BUSH FAMILY MEMBERS RUNS OVER AND KILLS SOMEONE."
 
AFTER GASPING FOR BREATH FROM LAUGHING AT HER OWN JOKE, SECRETARY RICE RESUMED SPEAKING, "LEAVE THAT IN, BY THE WAY.  I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO REALIZE IT'S NOT ALL GLOOM & DOOM HERE IN THE WHITE HOUSE.  WE LIKE TO LAUGH AS MUCH ANYONE.  IN FACT, I'LL CALL MAGGIE [MARGARET SPELLINGS, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION] AND TELL HER TO SHOW YOU GUYS HER WHOOPIE CUSHION COLLECTION ON THE WAY OUT.  BUT A 'MILESTONE' IS SIGNIFICANT.  A 'DEADLINE,' WELL WE JUST BLOW THOSE OFF.  HAVEN'T YOU LEARNED ANYTHING IN THE LAST 6 YEARS OF THIS ADMINISTRATION?"
 
WHEN ASKED IF SHE WAS JOKING, SECRETARY RICE LOOKED PETURBED, "NO, I'M NOT JOKING.  WE BLOW OFF DEADLINES.  AM I JOKING?  PEOPLE DON'T SEEM TO GET MY SENSE OF HUMOR.  KIM JONG IL DIDN'T EITHER.  WE DON'T 'DO DEALINES' IN THIS ADMINISTRATION AND YOU CAN PRINT THAT.  IF I CATCH ANY FLACK, I'LL JUST CLAIM I WAS MISTRANSLATED."
 
WHEN REMINDED THAT THIS INTERVIEW WAS CONDUCTED IN ENGLISH, A WEARY CONDI RICE ASKED, "WHAT'S YOUR POINT?"
 
 
In other peace news, war resister Kyle Snyder intends to return to the United States from Canada next month as Courage to Resist.reported in an e-mail sent out Friday. In August, Synder explained his decision to self-check out of the US military and go to Canada to Karen Button noting, "You know, if they want to help people in Iraq . . . imagine a 15 year-old kid, for the last . . . years all he's seen is [US] military personnel with weapons going through his city.  How is that child supposed to believe that the man, in that uniform is helping him?  Now, if that child saw a convoy of logs being brought to his city, or a convory of water being brought to his city, still guarded, it would be a completely different situation.  That's where the American military messed up.  Because they forgot about the perception of civilisation.  They forgot about the perception of the Iraqi people."
 
 
Meanwhile, Ehren Watada's father Bob Watada is launching another speaking tour to raise awareness on his son -- the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq.  The tour kicks off October 26 in Phoenix, AZ and is set to conclude November 17th in Atlanta, GA.  A full schedule can be found at Veterans for Peace.
 
 
Recommended: "Iraq Snapshot"
  • for third, john mayer
  • kyle for third
  • kyle snyder, war resister, is coming back to the u...
  • clowns for third
  • swirl for third
  • pastel for third
  • for third
  • six degrees for third
  • quick post
  •  
  • A Note to Our Readers
  • Editorial: Kyle Snyder's return to the US is part of a movement of resistance
  • TV: Parlor games are rarely riveting
  • The students of Gallaudet University are standing up
  • John Mayer's Waiting on the World to Change
  • Matthew Rothschild's "shameful thing"
  • The Third Estate Sunday Review E-mail Bag
  • Quck take: The Generals!
  • CounterWhen?
  •  


    Get your email and more, right on the new Yahoo.com