I think Talking points memo tied some threads together quite neatly today when they noted that Blackwater has been operating above and outside the law in Iraq since the inception of the hostilities.  

Spencer Ackerman noted that the State Department has given that mercenary comapany a green light to do whatever it wanted.  And that the State Dept. Inspector General has actively blocked outised investigations of their conduct.  Read his post in full.  It is most troubling:
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/...

What worries me beyond current concerns is below the fold.

This morning as I was putting up my flag, I found that i was wanting something more than simply the mindless patriotism that generally goes with the display of Old Glory.  What I did is below the fold, but I want your suggestions as well.

I'm a former resident of NW Ohio, many years ago.  It's a rock ribbed Republican district for the most part.  But they should not be letting their US representative, Paul Gillmor. live near Columbus, way the heck out of their distrct.

I learned this from the Defiance Crescent News online.  Part of the article is posted below.  But the conclusion should be clear--hijinks like this should not be tolerated and if this Gillmor refuses to live in the district he is elected from, he should be unceremoniously tossed out on his can.  I hope someone in NW Ohio steps forward to do the job.

In Seattle, the residents have been used as a political ping pong ball in the wars between Gov. Gregoire and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels over whether to rebuild the noisy, nasty viaduct that runs along the waterfront, or pony up big bucks for a tunnel in fill dirt, or to tear it down and create a surface option.  Follow me below and I will give you the skinny on the kerfuffle.

As many of you have read, Seattle and its environs continue to suffer the after effects of one of the worst storms on record.  Many homes remain without power, and residents who use gasoline powered generators or charcoal fired grills indoors are being hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning.  

I went to Eddie Bauer today and ordered a radio that is powered by cranking it.  Seattle has sold out, but there a few still on the shelves in one of their stores in MN.  While doing so, it occurred to me, that someone could build a generator that is powered by bicycling indoors which would have the benefit of 0 production of carbon monoxide, while adding the benefit of increasing one's stamina and overall health as a result.  I mentioned it on a diary talking about the Seattle storm, but think it is important enough to raise on its own.

More below the fold.

The Washington D.C. Grand Jury has declined to indict Representative Cynthia McKinney for assaulting a Capitol Hill police officer who tried to bar her entry into the House of Representatives as she went throught the checkpoint w/o her Representative badge on. http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/16/mckinney.grandjury/index.html

These days Washington, D.C. seems like a sordid three-ring circus.  There's so much sleaze and corruption oozing from the halls of power, it's hard to stay focused.  We're all rubbernecking on the freeway as we drive past disaster after disaster.

Yet there are two issues that I think we need to stay focused on with laser like precision:

1) ending even the mere possibility that nuclear weapons could be used by this administration against Iran; and

2) doing everything in  our power to see that Congress reasserts its power under the Constitution as a coequal partner and once again becomes a check on the current imperial presidency.  The only way we can do this is for Democrats to take back Congress in 2006.

To that end, I am sending the following letter to Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.  Please join me in this effort on the flip side.

We are headed into Easter week, arguably the holiest week in the Christian calendar.  The time where Jesus was betrayed by Judas, given up to the Pharisees who convicted him and turned him over to the Romans to be crucified, and yet miraculously came back to life, resurrected from the cross.

This forms the basis for the Christian religion.  And a key part of this basis is Jesus' betrayal at the hands of Judas, who has been forever scorned as a result.

But the National Geographic announced today the translation of a Gnostic text from 300 AD that completely turns this belief on its head.  And I want to see the reaction!

more on the flip side

 

Looks like the GOP is taking a drubbing in New Hampshire, where their former state head, James Tobin, was convicted today.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/...

Although it should be no surprise.  What is surprising is the size of the list--more than 10,000 enemies.  This comes to us via Capitol Hill Blue.  

From Capitol Hill Blue:

Bush Leagues
White House keeps dossiers on more than 10,000 'political enemies'
By DOUG THOMPSON

Spurred by paranoia and aided by the USA Patriot Act, the Bush Administration has compiled dossiers on more than 10,000 Americans it considers political enemies and uses those files to wage war on those who disagree with its policies.

The "enemies list" dates back to Bush's days as governor of Texas and can be accessed by senior administration officials in an instant for use in campaigns to discredit those who speak out against administration policies or acts of the President.

The computerized files include intimate personal details on members of Congress; high-ranking local, state and federal officials; prominent media figures and ordinary citizens who may, at one time or another, have spoken out against the President or Administration...

more below the fold.

Michelle Malkin has a new book out. Titled Unhinged:  Exposing Liberals Gone Wild, it is a typical Malkin oeuvre--poorly written, false facts, lots of drivel about liberals.  

However, what is interesting to me is there appears to be a concerted effort by the right to suppress reviews critical of her book.  They have learned that if you get 7 or more people to click on the inappropriate button, >poof< the review goes away.  I would like to propose that we organize a counter guerrilla movement and do the same in reverse.  More below

The website set up by Patrick Fitzgerald is a great idea.  It allows those of us on the outside, access to key documents that define the investigation thus far and hopefully the indictments in the future.  However, there is one major error on the site, that I hope an alert DOJ employee working for Fitzgerald will correct, if someone can get this information to them

We have been busy putting together the timeline of Katrina.  This is an important step in determining responsibility and accountability.  But another component that cannot be overlooked or underestimated is a solid determination of exactly what resources were available to the local and state authorities at the time.

You can issue all the emergency proclamations you want, but if you don't have the logistics in place, your words will be hollow and people will die.  As we well know now.

Join me below for more questions.

The word is out and it is not pretty.  Karl Rove the grand master of political massage and payoffs is going to be in charge of something that is projected to cost more than the Iraqi War!

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_09_11.php#006547

The early contracts have been let to Halliburton and other political cronies of Bushco.  And what has our preznit done for the little guys?

CNN's website is headlined w/ the Governor of N. Carolina calling for his residents to evacuate ahead of the storm.  

NCarolina evacuation urged

If Ophelia does cause destruction of property and loss of life, Bush is screwed.  Unless....

I heard from a friend of mine in Germany today. This is what she wrote me:

Date: Sat Sep 10, 2005  10:07 am
Subject: Just when you think you've heard it all...

According to Der Spiegel a German plane delivering 15 tons of food to the US
has been turned back on the grounds that the German Army food rations might
be contaminated with BSE....(or Mad Cow disease as we know it in the US)

http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=L10340393

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5268942,00.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5268942,00.html

More below the cut

I cannot remember whether this bozo is Republican or Democrat.  Either way he should be out of a job.  More below the fold.

I've also posted this on my blog site, but I think it worth a wider look, so I am offering it here:

Are we masochists?
I've done a fair amount of soul searching in the past 8 days as well as read post mortems on the internet and discussed the results w/ friends and acquaintances. What has become clear to me is that I am not interested in blaming John Kerry or John Edwards for anything. I think that the voting irregularities in FL and OH are sufficient to cause most considerate folks to start to demand recounts and verification of the votes. But that is grist for another mill, another time.