Lurita A. Doan: Another Pig Bites the Dust General news
2008-04-30 18:23 by captainkona - Comments : (0)
Lurita A. Doan, former head of the GSA under the Monkey Administration, has been forced out by Democratic pressure.
Thank God.
This particular skank (BushCo is full of them) is responsible for government contracts being given to treasonous corporations such as Blackwater USA and Halliburton.
WASHINGTON — Lurita A. Doan has been forced out as head of the General Services Administration, the federal agency that oversees billions of dollars in contracts and manages thousands of government-owned buildings.
In a stormy two-year tenure as the agency’s administrator, Ms. Doan has been accused of improperly mixing government business with politics and of trying to steer government contracts to her friends. Democrats in Congress said she violated the Hatch Act, which makes it illegal for government employees to take action that could influence an election.
Ms. Doan’s resignation as administrator was requested by the White House on Tuesday, and it takes effect immediately, the agency said on Wednesday. It released a statement in which Ms. Doan said, “It has been a great privilege to serve our nation and a great president.”
Much of the criticism of Ms. Doan came after it became known that on Jan. 26, 2007, a deputy to Karl Rove, then President Bush’s chief political adviser, gave a briefing to employees of her agency that identified incumbent Democrats in Congress whom the Republican Party hoped to unseat in 2008, as well as Republican incumbents who seemed vulnerable to defeat.
Several people at that meeting recalled later that Ms. Doan had asked how her agency could be used “to help our candidates.” Ms. Doan said she did not remember making that remark.
The White House said there was nothing wrong with having White House political appointees brief political appointees at government agencies, and that the briefing in question was not intended to tell employees of the agency what to do to hurt Democrats and help Republicans.
The January 2007 briefing at the General Services Administration, which has some 12,000 employees in all, was one of a series of political talks given by Mr. Rove’s staff at various federal agencies. Ms. Doan’s Democratic critics included about two dozen senators, some of whom called for her resignation.
Ms. Doan became administrator of the agency on May 31, 2006. Before taking the job, she owned and led New Technology Management, a surveillance-technology company she founded in 1990. It has become a major contractor for the Department of Homeland Security.
A White House spokeswoman, Emily Lawrimore, said on Wednesday that Ms. Doan had “worked to strengthen G.S.A.’s ability to respond effectively during times of emergency and make government buildings more energy-efficient,” and that President Bush was grateful for her service.
The agency said that its deputy administrator, David L. Bibb, a career employee, would take over, at least for the time being.
Senate Passes Genetic Discrimination Bill General news
2008-04-24 18:25 by captainkona - Comments : (0)
This is major. This is really a major league accomplishment.
For those unaware, when you are subjected to pre employment drug screens or other such testing for Insurance or what have you, chances are that your employer or some insurance company screened you for hereditary diseases such as Diabetes, Cancer, etc.
If they found such a history, you were denied the position or the coverage because you were branded a "long term health risk".
The US Senate, as hapless as it's proved to be recently, finally passed legislation that puts it's foot on the neck of unscrupulous employers and villainous insurance companies.
Law would prohibit insurers and employers from using medical test information in health coverage and job decisions.
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
12:34 PM PDT, April 24, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The Senate unanimously passed landmark legislation today that would outlaw discrimination by health insurance companies and employers because a person's genes raise their risk of breast cancer, Alzheimer's disease or any ailment that has a hereditary component.
The vote on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act - or GINA - was 95-0.
The bill would prohibit health insurers from asking for or using genetic information to make a decision about coverage or to set premiums.
The potentially vast promise of a new era of personalized medicine based on genetic information has long been haunted by a disturbing possibility: The same genetic tests needed to identify potential victims of diabetes, glaucoma and other diseases could also be used to discriminate against them in hiring, promotion, medical insurance and other practical necessities.
As a result, even patients whose family histories put them at risk have been leery of getting tested. But now Congress is moving to eliminate that fear and encourage patients to take advantage of what could be a revolutionary change in medical diagnosis and disease prevention and treatment.
"We are on the threshold of a new era, because for the first time, we act to prevent discrimination before it takes hold," said Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Me.), one of the original advocates for the bill in the Senate. "We are taking a stand that as we look to the future, genetic discrimination will not be allowed to flourish, to take root."
"Since no one is born with perfect genes, each one of us is a potential victim of genetic discrimination," said Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) sponsor of the first legislation introduced in Congress, in 1995.
This Drug War, the Satanic minds behind it, and the Godless fools that advocate it must be stopped at all costs.
The inhumanity, the expense, the futility of it all.
All for nothing.
Salute! Fellow advocates. Feed your head.
The Triumphant Return of Randi Rhodes. General news
2008-04-18 12:19 by captainkona - Comments : (0)
Triumphant, that's the word for it. Randi quits the weak-kneed Air Amerika and in only four days she and Manzo have put it all back together.
Now, along side the great Mike Malloy, Randi is where she should be....
Randi Rhodes is on the air.
Thank God for John Manzo and the Nova M Radio network.
Mark Green, the punk-ass DLC Pig that's in charge of the formerly great Air America Radio has removed the Randi Rhodes Message Board as a result of Randi quitting AAR and moving on to better things. He did so without warning showing no respect for Randi's most ardent fans.
I don't think I need to explain what I would do to Mark Green if I could get my hands on him right now, but pleasant it would not be.
Mark Green is a coward, the worst kind thereof. We will neither forget nor let it go.
Just look at this Hair Club for Men reject. Get a load of that Gerbal face, what a fucking lamer...
Mark Green: DLC Butt Boy
STATEMENT OF CHARLIE KIREKER (who is a Transvestite), CHAIR & MARK GREEN, PRESIDENT (Who's wife I fucked), FOR AIR AMERICA MEDIA
Last week Air America suspended Randi Rhodes for abusive, obscene language at a recent public appearance in San Francisco which was sponsored by an Air America affiliate station.
Air America Media was informed last night by Ms. Rhodes that she has chosen to terminate her employment with the company.
We wish her well and thank her for past services to Air America. We will soon announce exciting new talent and programming that will accelerate Air America’s growth in the future.
* April 10, 2008
Randi Rhodes will return bigger and better than ever. That's the kind of person she is.
The Traitor, Scooter Libby Is Disbarred. General news
2008-03-20 14:07 by captainkona - Comments : (0)
So it seems there is at least a little justice left in the world. Not much mind you, but justice nonetheless.
Lewis Scooter Libby. The former aid to Vile President Dick Cheney and the focus of the treason investigation that surrounded the PlameGate scandal has apparently been disbarred.
Lying Fucks
Libby, a Zionist Neocon lawyer and member of the treasonous PNAC, is one of the people responsible for fabricating the evidence to sell the Iraq war to Americans. He was then involved in the disclosure of the identity of Valerie Plame as a covert CIA operative thereby compromising national security.
Libby intentionally lied during a grand jury investigation into the treasonous activity and was subsequently tried and convicted of obstruction of justice, perjury and other crimes.
George Bush ultimately gave his fellow traitor a get out of jail free card.
Fortunately, the District of Colombia courts have finally revoked Libby's license to practice law.
Finally some justice, at least for Val Plame who's career was destroyed by Libby's treachery.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was stripped of his ability to practice law on Thursday as a result of his conviction in the CIA leak case.
The former White House aide was found guilty a year ago of obstruction of justice and lying. Those are considered crimes involving "moral turpitude" that under the law require disbarment, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled.
The court had previously suspended Libby from the practice of law in Washington. President George W. Bush in July commuted Libby's 2-1/2-year prison sentence, enraging Democrats who accused Bush of abusing his power.
A federal jury in Washington convicted Libby of lying and obstructing an investigation into who blew the cover of CIA officer Valerie Plame, whose husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had criticized the Iraq war.
Libby had not been charged with leaking Plame's identity to the news media. But Plame said the unmasking destroyed her career and was retaliation after her husband accused the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence to build its case for the Iraq war.
Montel Williams Schools Fox Fux General news
2008-01-31 12:22 by captainkona - Comments : (0)
Montel Williams, veteran talkshow host and staunch Medical Marijuana advocate has lost his show after what, 17 years or so?
Now, if you were wondering why, It's because Montel took some Fox News (aka the traitor channel) Foxbots to fucking school on the fact that while fox is content to run tabloid television and gossip about recently deceased actors, our boys and girls are still dying in Iraq.
Fox News won't cover the war. They don't cover it because they're part of it. Their support for the lies and treason committed by the Bush Regime is well documented and unforgivable.
Montel Williams is a former Marine and Naval officer who suffers from MS.
Montel's show was canceled right after this appearance on Fox.
Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes, and every last employee at Fox right down to the janitor is a piece of shit.
Facing South: Senator John Edwards on Poverty. General news
2008-01-24 13:46 by captainkona - Comments : (0)
Our good friend and accomplished Tennessee blogger, R.Neal, conducted an interview with John Edwards in July of 2006 concerning poverty in America and particularly the South.
The Edwards message is consistent to this very day, people come first.
Thanx to Mr. Neal for the opportunity to review this fine, revealing conversation with the man who should be the next President of the United States.
"We recently asked Senator Edwards via e-mail about poverty in the South, some of the causes and effects, and what we can do about it. He was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions, and here is what he had to say."
R. Neal, for Facing South: A recent "Kids Count" study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that several Southern states fare poorly in a number of categories such as infant mortality, children's wellbeing, high-school dropout rates, and others. One common theme expressed by state officials and activists was poverty. What are some of the consequences of poverty for families and society in general that maybe aren't so obvious and that people should be more aware of?
Sen. John Edwards We often hear skeptics talk about how costly it would be to make the investments necessary to end poverty. What you don’t hear as much about is how expensive it is for America to have so many citizens mired in poverty. We all pay a price when young people who could someday find the cure for AIDS or make a fuel cell work are unemployed or stuck in low-wage jobs because they didn’t get the education they need.
We all pay a price when our people turn to crime because they have no other hope. A Harvard professor estimates that growing incarceration costs and unemployment of ex-offenders costs 4 percent of our economy, each and every year. And we all pay a steep price when the American dream no longer seems attainable to every citizen.
Facing South: Southern states are consistently ranked near the bottom in education, health care, household income, and other measures of social progress. Is poverty a cause, or an effect? And why is poverty more prevalent in the South?
Sen. Edwards: I think it would be an oversimplification to describe poverty as either a cause or an effect of other problems. We have to adopt a holistic view in order to understand what it means to be poor or to be living at the edge of poverty in America today.
My friend David Shipler, tells a striking story about a single mother he met while researching his book, The Working Poor. She had no savings and low earnings, so she had to live in a drafty wooden house. This exacerbated her son's asthma. That led to two ambulance rides to the hospital. Those trips led to ambulance charges she couldn't pay. Those charges damaged her credit report. And so then she was denied a loan to buy a mobile home. That meant she had to stay in that drafty house. And she had to buy a car from a sleazy dealership that charged her 15 percent interest.
This is just one vivid example of how a combination of forces act together to keep people stuck in a cycle of poverty -- despite their best efforts.
It is important not to overlook rural poverty, which is particularly prevalent in the South. Eighty-two percent of the poorest rural counties in America are in the South. We need to offer tailored solutions to meet the needs of America’s small towns and rural communities. We should invest in community colleges, which are particularly important in rural areas and open rural small business centers to provide investment capital and advice to help entrepreneurs get off the ground.
Facing South: What role does education, or a lack thereof, play in poverty? And why do Southern states consistently rank near the bottom in education spending? Do people in the South not value education as much as they do in other parts of the country, or is there some other explanation?
Sen. Edwards: I believe people in the South value education just as much as other Americans and we will never end poverty in the South, or anywhere else, unless we improve our schools. Today, almost one in three students don’t graduate. On average, minority students enter high school four years behind their peers.
We should start by expanding preschool for three- and four-year-olds, getting good teachers into the places we need them most, and overhauling our outdated high schools.
We can never overcome poverty until we address the dropout crisis in our nation -- not by lowering standards, but by making sure everyone can meet them. We should have "second-chance schools" to lift up former dropouts, offering them one-on-one attention and a chance to earn a diploma at night or at a local community college.
Finally, the skyrocketing cost of college can be an insurmountable barrier for many students. Higher education should be accessible to every American child. I am involved with a pilot program in Greene County, North Carolina, which allows students to go to the first year of college for free if they are willing to stay out of trouble and take a part-time job. This year, we were able to provide students there over 0,000 in aid. That means kids who never before would have dreamed of going to college are not only leaving for school this fall -- but paying for their first year without going into debt.
Facing South: In your view, what are the most important strategic policy initiatives that we should be pursuing at the state and federal levels to fight poverty?
Sen. Edwards: We need to restore the American dream by finding ways to help everyone who works hard and makes smart choices get ahead. First, we need to raise the minimum wage substantially. No one should work full-time and live in poverty. Since the Republicans in Washington won’t raise the minimum wage, we are taking this fight to the states.
It's time to finish the job of welfare reform by giving low-income men the opportunity to work and challenging them to take responsibility for doing so. Welfare reform asked young mothers to join the workforce and gave them help to get there. Millions of poor women benefited, but poor men lost ground during the best economy we've ever had. In America today, there are communities where half the young men are out of work.
I believe that we should create one million "stepping stone" jobs over five years. A good job that will let people work their way out of poverty in the short term, and help them get experience so they can get better jobs in the future.
We also need to give America’s workers a real right to organize. Unions helped move manufacturing jobs into the foundation of our middle class, and they can do the same for our service economy.
There’s a saying -- "income is what you use to get by, but assets are what you use to get ahead." It’s true, and it’s why we should help every working American build their own assets with homeownership tax credits and "Work Bonds," which would match low-income workers’ wages with a tax credit to help jumpstart their savings accounts. And if we are going to help families save, we also need to protect the assets they have by stopping predatory lenders.
Finally, we need a new approach to housing. We need to integrate our neighborhoods economically. The federal government has built public housing in the worst neighborhoods and overlooked the need for affordable housing in the suburbs. These policies cut willing workers off from entry-level jobs, which are often created in the suburbs, far from public transportation. And they keep low-income children far from good schools.
Facing South: What can people do in their own communities to fight poverty?
Sen. Edwards Fighting poverty is a job for government, but it is also a job for all of us in our own communities. I believe our nation is up to this challenge. Hurricane Katrina exposed us to heartbreaking images of extreme poverty but it also reminded us of the extraordinary compassion of the American people -- millions opened their hearts, homes and wallets after the storm.
We need to speak up when we know something is wrong. Let's put poverty on top of the national agenda and pledge to hold our government accountable for ignoring the suffering of so many for far too long. I’ve traveled the country for more than a year, meeting with people who are struggling to get out of poverty. One thing I’ve noticed in these conversations is that they have never had a champion. They have no idea what it’s like to have somebody to speak up for them. All of us must champion their cause.
We must act both locally and nationally to fight for a higher minimum wage and other measures that will improve the lives of low-income families. And we need to get involved when our neighbors are in need. This can be as simple as volunteering your time to be a mentor to a young person or to help build a house for a homeless family. Each of us can make a huge difference.
Facing South would like to thank Senator Edwards for taking the time to share his thoughts on how we can solve the problem of poverty in America. To learn more, and to find out how you can get involved in the fight against poverty, visit One America.
By R. Neal
George of Arabia: Better Kiss Your Abe Goodbye General news
2008-01-17 18:03 by captainkona - Comments : (0)
Bush has been in Saudi Arabia recently looking to beg the Saudi Royal Terrorist Family for help pulling him out of the mess he's made of the American economy.
Bush does, after all, have one thing left to sell. Us....
Bend over, pull out your wallet and kiss your Abe ‘goodbye.’ The Lincolns have got to go - and so do the Hamiltons and Jacksons.
Those bills in your billfold aren’t yours anymore. The landlords of our currency - Citibank, theBush & The King national treasury of China and the House of Saud - are foreclosing and evicting all Americans from the US economy.
It’s mornings like this, when I wake up hung-over to photos of the King of Saudi Arabia festooning our President with gold necklaces, that I reluctantly remember that I am an economist; and one with some responsibility to explain what the hell Bush is doing kissing Abdullah’s camel.
Let’s begin by stating why Bush is not in Saudi Arabia. Bush ain’t there to promote ‘Democracy’ nor peace in Palestine, nor even war in Iran. And, despite what some pinhead from CNN stated, he sure as hell didn’t go to Riyadh to tell the Saudis to cut the price of oil.
What’s really behind Bush’s hajj to Riyadh is that America is in hock up to our knickers. The sub-prime mortgage market implosion, hitting a dozen banks with over $100 billion in losses, is just the tip of the debt-berg.
Since taking office, Bush has doubled the federal debt to more than $5 trillion. And, according to US Treasury figures, on net, foreign investors have purchased close to 100% of that debt. That’s $3 trillion borrowed from the Saudis, the Chinese, the Japanese and others.
Now, Bush, our Debt Junkie-in-Chief, needs another fix. The US Treasury, Citibank, Merrill-Lynch and other financial desperados need another hand-out from Abdullah’s stash. Abdullah, in turn, gets this financial juice by pumping it out of our pockets at nearly $100 a barrel for his crude.
Bush needs the Saudis to charge us big bucks for oil. The Saudis can’t lend the US Treasury and Citibank hundreds of billions of US dollars unless they first get these US dollars from the US. The high price of oil is, in effect, a tax levied by Bush but collected by the oil industry and the Gulf kingdoms to fund our multi-trillion dollar governmental and private debt-load.
The US Treasury is not alone in its frightening dependency on Arabian loot. America’s private financial institutions are also begging for foreign treasure. Yesterday, King Abdullah’s nephew, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, already the top individual owner of Citibank, joined the Kuwait government’s Investment Authority and others to mainline a $12.5 billion injection of capital into the New York bank. Also this week, the Abu Dhabi government and the Saudi Olayan Group are taking a $6.6 billion chunk of Merrill-Lynch. It’s no mere coincidence that Bush is in Abdullah’s tent when the money-changers made the deal just outside it.
Bush is there to assure Abdullah that, unlike Dubai’s ports purchase debacle, there will be no political impediment to the Saudi’s buying up Citibank nor the isle of Manhattan.
So what? I mean, for the average American about to lose their job and their bungalow it doesn’t matter a twit whether it’s Sheik bin Alwaleed who owns Citibank or Sheik Sanford Weill, Citi’s past Chairman.
It’s the price paid to buy back our money from abroad that’s killing us. Despite the Koranic prohibition on charging interest, the Gulf princes demand their pound of flesh, exacting a 7% payment from Citibank and 9% from Merrill. That hefty interest bill then pushes adjustable rate mortgages into the stratosphere and pushes manufacturing into China by making borrowing and energy costs impossible to overcome. Forget the cost of health care: General Motors’ interest burden quintupled in just two years.
As the great economist Paddy Chayefsky wrote in the film The Network:
“The Arabs have taken billions of dollars out of this country, and now they must put it back. … It is ebb and flow, tidal gravity…. There are no nations, there are no peoples. There is only one vast and immense, interwoven, multi-national dominion of petro-dollars. … There is no America. There is no ‘democracy.’ The world is a business, one vast and ecumenical holding company, for whom all men will work.”
The FlowIn 2005, the US consumer paid Arab and OPEC nations a quarter trillion dollars ($252 billion) for oil - and the USA received back 100% of it - and then some ($311 billion) via Gulf nations’ investment in US Treasury bills and purchases of US businesses and property. Bush’s trip to Abdullah’s tent is all about this vast business of keeping this petro-dollar treadmill spinning.
The Bush Administration, rather than tax Americans to cover our deficits or make the banks suffer the consequences of their predatory lending practices, is allowing the Saudis to charge us big time at the pump with the understanding they will lend it all back to us - so the party never has to stop.
It has been reported that the President’s Secret Service men traveling with him seemed embarrassed by the eye-popping loads of diamond and gold gifts which they have to carry back for President Bush. They need not feel they have taken too much from their hosts: Bush has assured Abdullah that the King can suck it back out through our gas tanks.
***********
Greg Palast is the author of The Network: The World as a Company Town, in the New York Times bestseller, Armed Madhouse. Hear Ed Asner read from the book and the film ‘The Network’ at www.gregpalast.com
BREAKING:Republican Ex-Lawmaker Indicted for Terrorism General news
2008-01-16 16:39 by captainkona - Comments : (0)
Mark Deli Siljander, former Reaganite and Republican congressman from Michigan has been indicted on charges of funding Terrorism against Americans.
No, it's not a joke. It's another reason to vote other than Republican in November.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.
The former Republican congressman from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.
A 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying — money that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Siljander, who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, was appointed by President Reagan to serve as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations for one year in 1987.
He could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday, and his attorney in Kansas City, JR Hobbs, had no immediate comment.
The charges are part of a long-running case against the charity, which was formerly based in Columbia, Mo., and was designated by the Treasury Department in 2004 as a suspected fundraiser for terrorists.
In the indictment, the government alleges that IARA employed a man who had served as a fundraising aide to Osama bin Laden.
The indictment charges IARA with sending approximately $130,000 to help Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whom the United States has designated as a global terrorist. The money, sent to bank accounts in Peshawar, Pakistan in 2003 and 2004, was masked as donations to an orphanage located in buildings that Hekmatyar owned.
Authorities described Hekmatyar as an Afghan mujahedeen leader who has participated in and supported terrorist acts by al-Qaida and the Taliban. The Justice Department said Hekmatyar "has vowed to engage in a holy war against the United States and international troops in Afghanistan."
The indictment "paints a troubling picture of an American charity organization that engaged in transactions for the benefit of terrorists and conspired with a former United States congressman to convert stolen federal funds into payments for his advocacy," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein.
Siljander founded Washington-area consulting group Global Strategies, Inc. after leaving the government.
Authorities described Hekmatyar as an Afghan mujahedeen leader who has participated in and supported terrorist acts by al-Qaida and the Taliban. The Justice Department said Hekmatyar "has vowed to engage in a holy war against the United States and international troops in Afghanistan."
