Hi folks - I'm not sure how serious this is, but I noticed this tonight and I think mariachi mama needs help - this seems like a legitimate suicide attempt. While I don't know her personally, this seemed serious enough to send out an alert to the community at large. If anyone knows her in real life, please give her a call or stop by to ensure that she's ok and safe.

Thanks.

Update: Many thanks to all who responded here, but most of all to mariachi mama who is making her way bravely through a very rough night. Please continue to send her your love and support.

On a personal note, situations like these show why this community shines above and beyond the typical online crowd - this site is truly a family Maori and I are proud to be part of.

From GlobalReasearch.ca:

A US House of Representatives Resolution effectively requiring a naval blockade on Iran seems fast tracked for passage, gaining co-sponsors at a remarkable speed, but experts say the measures called for in the resolutions amount to an act of war.

H.CON.RES 362 calls on the president to stop all shipments of refined petroleum products from reaching Iran. It also "demands" that the President impose "stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains and cargo entering or departing Iran."

From Jason Leopold, at consortiumnews.com:

Sen. John McCain says he opposes the $307 billion farm bill because it would dole out wasteful subsidies, but his chief economic adviser Phil Gramm also wants to stop its proposed regulation of energy futures trading, a market that was famously abused when Enron Corp. manipulated California’s electricity prices in 2001.

So, this is pretty much what many of us suspected all along, but Gareth Porter at the Asian Times does a wonderful job of pulling it all together. The real bombshell here is that they deliberately chose to ignore Bin-Laden in favor of establishing new regimes:

Feith's book, War and Decision, released last month, provides excerpts of the paper Rumsfeld sent to President George W Bush on September 30, 2001, calling for the administration to focus not on taking down Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network but on the aim of establishing "new regimes" in a series of states by "aiding local peoples to rid themselves of terrorists and to free themselves of regimes that support terrorism".

Think I'd like to let this speak for itself. From the liveblogging at AfterDowningStreet.org:

...Conyers said that he has drafted and is circulating to his colleagues a letter to Bush that says that if he attacks Iran impeachment hearings will begin.

Just passing on the news, but I think this story needs to get some more attention given the recent desire some candidates and public officials have shown to "Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran"...

From Rawstory:

It was reported on Sunday that Iranian officials had helped broker a ceasefire agreement in the recent fighting between Iraq's government and radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Look, I know you've been with us for a long time. And I remember back in '92 how excited I was to cast my first vote for Bill, and how it was a fantastic thing to finally see a Democrat in the White House. I loved when you both started up Americorps, and the way the two of you were gonna bring in a new Democratic century. You were a great first lady, in the tradition of Elanor Roosevelt and Lady Bird Johnson - you actually put your shoulder to the wheel to move this country forward.

Well, needless to say, things faltered. I know Gingrich and the Repugs did everything to take you down, tore you up as much as they could, and dragged you through the mud even before you ran for political office. And it was a shame to see you shamed without cause, because you were fighting the good fight. And I can see, too easily, how your faith in the greater good must have been shaken by years of daily attacks against you.

Not being a regular poster here, but a frequent lurker, I simply have a small question to raise. First off, take a look at The Spitzer Scandal: asking that question by Red Wind over at the Seminal. The article is a good look at how the Spitzer scandal is almost certain to have relied upon the extraordinary wiretapping that the Bush administration has put in place.