Court Documents Allege Lengthy Detainment at Guantanamo Is Part of Deal With Beijing

By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 5, 2006; A13

Attorneys for a group of Chinese Muslims held for nearly five years in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, filed suit yesterday, asking that the men be released immediately and alleging that they have been held as part of a political deal between the United States and China.

Citing new laws that allow detainees to challenge their status as "enemy combatants," the lawyers argue that their seven clients -- ethnic Uighurs (pronounced wee-gurs) -- have never taken up arms against the United States or its allies. They contend that the men have been labeled wrongfully as terrorist suspects because they oppose the Communist Chinese government.

In a 58-page filing at the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the lawyers argue that the Uighurs have been held since early 2002 as a way to win Chinese acquiescence for the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The lawyers -- Sabin Willett and Susan Baker Manning -- allege in the court documents that their clients' detention was one of several demands the Chinese government solicited in mid-2002 as the United States was seeking global support for toppling Saddam Hussein.

U.S. officials labeled the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) -- a group that includes Uighur separatists who want their own nation in western China -- a terrorist organization in August 2002 after diplomatic discussions with China about Iraq, the lawyers allege.

"In the crisis atmosphere of the time, the interests of a few dozen refugees paled beside the urgency of the Administration's war plans," the lawsuit said. "The Iraq deal sealed the fate of the seven petitioners here. More than four years have passed. Long-discarded pawns in a diplomatic match between superpowers, petitioners today remain illegally imprisoned at Guantanamo."

Former State Department officials acknowledged in interviews that they negotiated with China about placing ETIM and another group on a list of known terrorist organizations, and that ETIM was added after intelligence reports indicated the group had killed innocent people. The officials said, however, that labeling the group as terrorists had no effect on Uighurs already in U.S. custody, who were believed to be cooperating with the Taliban and al-Qaeda near Tora Bora, Afghanistan.

Then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage met with Chinese officials in Beijing in late August 2002 and discussed the Iraq situation with them. He said at the time that ETIM was placed on the foreign terrorist list after months of discussions with China. He also said he made clear that China needed to respect the minority Uighur population.

"They had been after us to put ETIM on the list," Armitage said in a recent interview. He said the decision did not have anything to do with winning China's tacit approval on the Iraq invasion. "But at the time, we didn't know when we were going to invade Iraq. It was done in response to information gathered by the intelligence group."

The Uighurs have been a diplomatic headache for the United States. U.S. officials working to negotiate the release of five other Uighurs held at Guantanamo who were determined not to be a threat to U.S. interests refused to return them to China out of concern they could be tortured or killed. More than two dozen countries declined requests to take them in, and the United States has been unwilling to allow them to come here.

Earlier this year, those five Uighurs were released to a U.N. compound in Albania, where they remain virtual prisoners.

Pierre-Richard Prosper, who formerly led U.S. negotiations with other countries over Guantanamo detainees, said that China wanted custody of the Uighurs but that the United States staved off Beijing because of human rights concerns. "We tried for many months to reach an understanding with China regarding the fate of the Uighurs and were unable to do so," he said.

More than a dozen Uighurs are still in Guantanamo. U.S. officials have determined them to be enemy combatants because of their participation in an alleged terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, which all fled when the United States started bombing the area after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The Uighurs have told military court officials they were not allied with the Taliban and are sympathetic to the United States, which they view as a liberator. They said they were living in a small community in Afghanistan after fleeing oppression in China.

According to military tribunal records and court filings, the men were lured to a mosque in Pakistan, where they were arrested and later turned over to Pakistani authorities. Willett said he believes the men were sold to the United States for sizable bounties and were sent to Guantanamo along with many other detainees captured there.

The lawyers challenge the way the Uighurs were determined to be enemy combatants, arguing that their encampment in Afghanistan did not make them a party to hostilities. The Uighurs have said the United States allowed a Chinese delegation to visit and interrogate them after their capture, and that the Chinese threatened them. A U.S. official confirmed that the Chinese were allowed to question the Uighurs.

"It is amazing to me that the U.S. has agreed to, in effect, hold political prisoners for China in exchange for anything," Manning said. "That goes against everything that we, I thought, stood for in this country."

Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.

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I AM certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

  In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.

  More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.

  Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.

  True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.

  The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.

  Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.

  Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live.

  Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now.

  Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources.

  Hand in hand with this we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers and, by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land. The task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities. It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms. It can be helped by insistence that the Federal, State, and local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced. It can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, and unequal. It can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities which have a definitely public character. There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it. We must act and act quickly.

  Finally, in our progress toward a resumption of work we require two safeguards against a return of the evils of the old order; there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments; there must be an end to speculation with other people's money, and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.

  There are the lines of attack. I shall presently urge upon a new Congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and I shall seek the immediate assistance of the several States.

  Through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo. Our international trade relations, though vastly important, are in point of time and necessity secondary to the establishment of a sound national economy. I favor as a practical policy the putting of first things first. I shall spare no effort to restore world trade by international economic readjustment, but the emergency at home cannot wait on that accomplishment.

  The basic thought that guides these specific means of national recovery is not narrowly nationalistic. It is the insistence, as a first consideration, upon the interdependence of the various elements in all parts of the United States—a recognition of the old and permanently important manifestation of the American spirit of the pioneer. It is the way to recovery. It is the immediate way. It is the strongest assurance that the recovery will endure.

  In the field of world policy I would dedicate this Nation to the policy of the good neighbor—the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others—the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors.

  If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other; that we can not merely take but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective. We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at a larger good. This I propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will bind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in time of armed strife.

  With this pledge taken, I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems.

  Action in this image and to this end is feasible under the form of government which we have inherited from our ancestors. Our Constitution is so simple and practical that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form. That is why our constitutional system has proved itself the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has produced. It has met every stress of vast expansion of territory, of foreign wars, of bitter internal strife, of world relations.

  It is to be hoped that the normal balance of executive and legislative authority may be wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented task before us. But it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure.

  I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption.

  But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis—broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.

  For the trust reposed in me I will return the courage and the devotion that befit the time. I can do no less.

  We face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of the national unity; with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values; with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike. We aim at the assurance of a rounded and permanent national life.

  We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the spirit of the gift I take it.

  In this dedication of a Nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come.

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl
--AZ-01: Rick Renzi
--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth
--CA-04: John Doolittle
--CA-11: Richard Pombo
--CA-50: Brian Bilbray
--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave
--CO-05: Doug Lamborn
--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell
--CT-04: Christopher Shays
--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan
--FL-16: Joe Negron
--FL-22: Clay Shaw
--ID-01: Bill Sali
--IL-06: Peter Roskam
--IL-10: Mark Kirk
--IL-14: Dennis Hastert
--IN-02: Chris Chocola
--IN-08: John Hostettler
--IA-01: Mike Whalen
--KS-02: Jim Ryun
--KY-03: Anne Northup
--KY-04: Geoff Davis
--MD-Sen: Michael Steele
--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht
--MN-06: Michele Bachmann
--MO-Sen: Jim Talent
--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns
--NV-03: Jon Porter
--NH-02: Charlie Bass
--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson
--NM-01: Heather Wilson
--NY-03: Peter King
--NY-20: John Sweeney
--NY-26: Tom Reynolds
--NY-29: Randy Kuhl
--NC-08: Robin Hayes
--NC-11: Charles Taylor
--OH-01: Steve Chabot
--OH-02: Jean Schmidt
--OH-15: Deborah Pryce
--OH-18: Joy Padgett
--PA-04: Melissa Hart
--PA-07: Curt Weldon
--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick
--PA-10: Don Sherwood
--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee
--TN-Sen: Bob Corker
--VA-Sen: George Allen
--VA-10: Frank Wolf
--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick
--WA-08: Dave Reichert

sdhealthyfamilies.org:

I write again with an urgent update on our struggle for women's dignity and reproductive rights in South Dakota. We've heard a lot this campaign cycle about Democrats making this a "national election." About Republicans' incompetent mishandling of Katrina, the administration's continued dishonesty about Iraq and now the arrogance of leadership highlighted by the Foley affair. We've heard weekly horse-race updates about who will control Congress in January.

What we haven't heard much about is abortion. This election cycle, in just 2 short weeks, we also face a national right-wing effort to turn the clock back on abortion, using the same brew of bad science, misleading "facts," and paternalistic attitudes towards Americans -- in this case, women -- that we've seen for the last five years.

Privacy is a foundation of the US constitution. South Dakota is ground zero for reproductive rights. SD is ground zero for taking a stand against the extreme right.

I urge you to contribute now to repeal the abortion ban in SD.

Our opponents have become desperate, they've resorted to lying in their TV ads, radio ads and in the mail. After patting themselves on the back for passing an abortion ban with no exceptions unless to prevent the death of a woman, they now claim in their advertising that there are exceptions for victims of rape and incest. They know they went too far. We can't let them go on with their lies.

Our opponents have stooped to new levels of deception. It's imperative that now we get the facts to the voters about this ban; it is the most restrictive abortion law in the country and is THE case that threatens Roe. We need your help now. Your generosity today will protect women's civil liberties across the country. We can not allow the women in South Dakota to become second class citizens by stripping them of their constitutional right to privacy and basic medical care.

But will it stop here? No, there are 12 other states with abortion bans pending -- looking to South Dakota for next steps. The extremists will be only be emboldened to intensify their campaigns in those states if we don't repeal the ban here.

We need to raise $15,492 today to get our message out. The price for a 30 second issue ad has tripled in cost, three times what it would cost a candidate to buy the same TV time. With only 14 days to go, your help today will make THE difference with the few undecided voters.



Kate Michelman

SecStateProject.org:

Despite your calls and emails, our grassroots effort to get Congress to let voters cast emergency paper ballots in the 2006 election has failed. We simply cannot depend on our representatives in Washington to guarantee free, fair and transparent elections in the U.S.

It's up to us. And we have a unique opportunity -- if we take action now -- to keep Republican operatives from stealing the election in Ohio and other key presidential states in 2008. And for the next 72 hours, you can double your impact, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor.*

http://www.actblue.com/page/sos-all?refcode=match

If Katherine Harris had not been the secretary of state in Florida, Al Gore would have been elected president. If Ken Blackwell had not been secretary of state in Ohio, John Kerry might be president today.

In most states, secretaries of state run elections: they set the rules for voter registration, election administration, and counting the votes. Why do we allow Republican partisans to control the casting and counting of our ballots?

We've sent emails. Now's the time to put our money where our mouth is. If we all contribute $25, $50, or $100, we can decide who counts the votes in key swing states -- states like Ohio, New Mexico, Minnesota, Nevada, Michigan, Colorado and Iowa.

Help today with your contribution:

http://www.actblue.com/page/sos-all?refcode=match

In Ohio, Republicans are trying to install a Bush administration crony and Texas transplant in the office that counts the vote. The Democratic candidate -- Jennifer Brunner -- is a trusted judge running on a platform of election integrity. Shockingly, a recent poll reports that 61 percent of Ohioans have yet to make up their minds in this race.

We have work to do. We can give Brunner and other Secretary of State Project candidates the support they need -- or we can face the consequences in 2008. If we contribute now, every dollar we raise will be matched one for one by a generous donor.

Seize this opportunity and give today:

http://www.actblue.com/page/sos-all?refcode=match

We have 19 days left until the election. And we can use that time to put people in office who want an honest, clean vote in 2008 -- or spend two years regretting our mistake.

Every contribution we make today counts for double. That means twice the muscle behind our effort to hold clean elections -- and to stop shenanigans like Blackwell's once and for all. So give today -- every dollar you contribute will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Make that $25 contribution count as $50. Give $50 and a candidate receives $100. Give $500 and make a $1,000 impact.

http://www.actblue.com/page/sos-all?refcode=match

The time to give is now -- while candidates still have time to plan their final push, and to convince voters that we can have fair, transparent elections. Don't wait too late. Give today. Thanks to the matching grant, your contribution will be doubled:

http://www.actblue.com/page/sos-all?refcode=match

Thank you,

James Rucker

BTW: To stay aware of the latest on all our candidates at the Secretary of State Project, just visit the blog:
http://www.secstateproject.org/

* Due to contribution limits, our anonymous donor may not be able to match all contributions to specific candidates. In such a circumstance, our donor will make equivalent contributions to the Secretary of State strategic fund or an affiliated state PAC.

Email From: Center for American Progress Action Fund team

Dear evan,

A few weeks ago, President Bill Clinton was grilled by Fox News host Chris Wallace about what his administration did to eliminate Osama bin Laden. President Clinton forcefully defended his record and took Wallace to task for not asking the same tough questions of senior Bush administration officials.



This Sunday, Wallace will interview Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. With your help, we can get him to confront Rice with the tough questions he has so far refused to ask.

Tell Chris Wallace to ask Secretary Rice the hard questions about their efforts to eliminate Osama bin Laden prior to 9/11.

Here's the question we think Chris Wallace should ask:

Prior to 9/11, you had eight months to respond to the Al Qaeda attack on the U.S.S. Cole. Why didn't the Bush administration take action and put Al Qaeda out of business?

Wallace told President Clinton that he asked about his administration’s response to the U.S.S. Cole attack because he “got a lot of e-mail from viewers.” Now it’s our turn to send Wallace a message.

Tell Chris Wallace to ask Condi the tough questions.

During the past five years, Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Rice, and National Security Advisor Hadley have appeared on Fox News Sunday 42 times, and he hasn’t asked them a single question about their failure to retaliate for the Cole bombings.

This imbalance is reminiscent of recent attempts by conservative ideologues to rewrite the facts of September 11 for political gain, as exemplified by ABC's recent “docudrama” The Path to 9/11. September 11 is too important to play politics with the facts.

Tell Chris Wallace to ask Condi the tough questions.

We will be watching Chris Wallace this weekend and will report back on what he asks. We hope Secretary Rice answers questions about the briefing she received from CIA Director George Tenet on July 10, 2001 about a looming Al Qaeda attack inside the United States. We also hope that she levels with the american people about what the Bush administration did and did not do in the lead-up to 9/11.

Thanks for your help,

Judd Legum and the entire Center for American Progress Action Fund team

South Dakota Campaign For Healthy Families:
The Vote Yes for Life Committee began airing their first television ad, suggesting that under the near-total ban on abortions, women who are victims of rape or incest will still have options.

Click here to view their deceitful ad.

This is nothing more than a sad political attempt to keep their extreme abortion ban as the law of the land here in South Dakota.

The truth is that a woman who becomes pregnant as the result of rape or incest has no option. She will be forced to have her perpetrators baby.

The abortion ban is just that -- a ban on all abortions, and if we don't repeal it on November 7, it will become law and the abortion crusaders will be emboldened, energized and ready to take this effort to every state in the country.

South Dakota is the first state, but not the only state. Contribute now to help get our message out and stop the ban.

We can stop them here. According to several different polls, we have a small lead. But those same polls show that voters would approve a ban that has a rape provision. That's why the other side is working so hard to confuse this issue.

In the next few days, we need to raise enough money to put a new ad on the air. We don't have the funds today, but with your help, we can stay on the air and fight back with a very important message that the opposition can't hide from -- the fact that the abortion ban also has no exception for women who face dangerous health situations.

View our new ad here.

We are in the home stretch of this very important campaign -- a defining moment in an abortion battle waged on our terms, not theirs. This is the best opportunity we've had in decades to show the abortion crusaders that when they reach too far -- even in a state as red as South Dakota -- voters will reject their extremism.

We can do this if we have your help.

Please give what you can today This is really important.

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Chris Bowers Over at MyDD has compiled the poll numbers for the top House races in the country. We have taken his numbers and put them into graph form. The poll numbers will be updated as we get closer to the election. Check in for updates. Go to MyDD for raw data and addition information.

Check It Out Here:
2006 House Forecasts: Top Races

If HR 4239 becomes law, anyone who causes an animal industry to lose 10,000 in revenues by exposing their abusive practices could be fined, jailed and labeled a terrorist.

congress.org

It is imperative that we see the ways the "terrorism" definition is being expanded to allow suppression of all dissent in this country.

If something is an "act of terror" is not the person who committed such an act a "terrorist", and therefore, subject to designation as an "enemy combatant"? One who can be "disappeared" to one of the Gulags being constructed by Haliburton and held indefinitely?

I have not heard to much as far as details are concerned, but it appears that Congressmen Foley made a $100,000 donation to the RNC some time in the last year. That seems like an unusually high sum for a lowly congressman like Foley. It's hard not to wonder if he was paying the RNC for silence.

I will try to keep you updated on this as the story unfolds. But I think we will be hearing a lot more about this tomorrow

But wait there is more Foley news from the Washington Post:
"A Republican strategist attempted to offer ABC news access in exchange for not printing sexually-explicit instant messages sent by Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL,)" Check out RawStory for more.

If these allegations are true we could be looking at a full GOP meltdown!!

Here are a few good articles about Conservatives and Pedophilia

It's Not Hypocrisy--It's What the Right is All About:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/9/30/173452/938

Pedophilia, Totalitarianism, Torture - A Nexus:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/9/29/234214/839
Draws fascinating parallels between Wilhelm Reich's 1934 The MassPsychology of Fascism and present day behavioral manifestations.

Incidentally if you want to read Wilhelm Reich's "The Mass Psychologyof Fascism" here is the link.
http://www.freedomfiles.org/articles/Reich_-_The_Mass_Psychology_Of_Fascism.pdf

LIST OF CONSERVATIVE PAEDOPHILES
courtesy of armchairsubversive.com


• Republican Congressman Mark Foley abruptly resigned from Congress after "sexually explicit" emails surfaced showing him flirting with a 16-year old boy.

• Republican executive Randall Casseday of the conservative Washington Times newspaper was arrested for soliciting sex from a 13-year old girl on the internet.

• Republican chairman of the Oregon Christian Coalition Lou Beres confessed to molesting a 13-year old girl.

• Republican County Constable Larry Dale Floyd was arrested on suspicion of soliciting sex with an 8-year old girl. Floyd has repeatedly won elections for Denton County, Texas, constable.

• Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation.

• Republican Party leader Bobby Stumbo was arrested for having sex with a 5-year old boy.

• Republican petition drive manager Tom Randall pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 14, one of them the daughter of an associate in the petition business.

• Republican County Chairman Armando Tebano was arrested for sexually molesting a 14-year-old girl.

• Republican teacher and former city councilman John Collins pleaded guilty to sexually molesting 13 and 14 year old girls.

• Republican campaign worker Mark Seidensticker is a convicted child molester.

• Republican Mayor PhilipGiordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison forsexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.

• Republican Mayor Tom Adams was arrested for distributing child pornography over the internet.

• Republican Mayor John Gosek was arrested on charges of soliciting sex from two 15-year old girls.

• Republican County Commissioner David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

• Republican legislator Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17.

• Republican Committeeman John R. Curtain was charged with molesting a teenage boy and unlawful sexual contact with a minor.

• Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida.

• Republican zoning supervisor, Boy Scout leader and Lutheran church president Dennis L. Rader pleaded guilty to performing a sexual act on an 11-year old girl he murdered.

• Republican anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor.

• Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl.

• Republican racist pedophile andUnited States Senator Strom Thurmondhad sex with a 15-year old black girl which produced a child.

• Republican pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bush commended during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female juvenile.

• Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl.

• Republican advertising consultant Carey Lee Cramer was sentenced to six years in prison for molesting two 8-year old girls, one of whom appeared in an anti-Gore television commercial.

• Republican activist Lawrence E. King, Jr. organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s.

• Republican lobbyist Craig J. Spence organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s.

• Republican Congressman Donald "Buz" Lukens was found guilty of having sex with a female minor andsentenced to one month in jail.

• Republican fundraiser RichardA. Delgaudio was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos.

• Republican activist Mark A.Grethen convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children.

• Republican campaign chairman RandalDavid Ankeney pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child and was arrested again five years later on the same charge.

• Republican Congressman Dan Cranehad sex with a female minor working as a congressional page.

• Republican activist and ChristianCoalition leader Beverly Russelladmitted to an incestuous relationship with his stepdaughter.

• Republican Judge Ronald C. Kline was placed under house arrest for child molestation and possession of child pornography.

• Republican congressman and anti-gayactivist Robert Baumanwas charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gaybar.

• Republican Committee Chairman Jeffrey Patti was arrested for distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped.

• Republican activist MartyGlickman (a.k.a. "Republican Marty"), was taken into custody by Florida policeon four counts of unlawful sexual activity with an underage girl and onecount of delivering the drug LSD.

• Republican legislative aide HowardL. Brooks was charged withmolesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography.

• Republican Senate candidate JohnHathawaywas accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrewhis candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media.
  

• Republican preacher Stephen White, who demanded a return to traditional values,was sentenced to jail after offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy forpermission to perform oral sex on him.
  

• Republican talk show host JonMatthews pleaded guilty to exposing his genitals to an 11 year old girl.
  

• Republican anti-gay activist Earl"Butch" Kimmerling was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl afterhe attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her.

• Republican Party leader PaulIngram pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison.

• Republican election board official KevinCoan was sentenced to two years probation for soliciting sex over the internet from a 14-year old girl.

• Republican politician AndrewBuhr was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy.
  

• Republican legislator KeithWestmoreland was arrested on seven felony countsof lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of 16 (i.e. exposinghimself to children).
  

• Republican anti-abortion activist JohnAllenBurt was found guilty of molesting a 15-year old girl.

• Republican County Councilman Keola Childs pleaded guilty to molesting a male child.

• Republican activist John Butler was charged with criminal sexual assault on a teenage girl.

• Republican candidate Richard Gardner admitted to molesting his two daughters.

• Republican Councilman and former Marine Jack W. Gardner was convicted of molesting a 13-year old girl.

• Republican County Commissioner Merrill Robert Barter pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy.

• Republican City Councilman Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr. pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison.

• Republican activist Parker J. Benapleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computerand was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000.

• Republican parole board officer and former Colorado state representative, Larry Jack Schwarz, was fired after child pornography was found in his possession.

• Republican strategist and Citadel Military College graduate Robin Vanderwall was convicted in Virginia on five counts of soliciting sex from boys and girls over the internet.

• Republican city councilman Mark Harris, who is described as a "good military man" and "church goer," was convicted of repeatedly having sex with an 11-year-old girl and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

• Republican businessman Jon Grunseth withdrew his candidacy for Minnesota governor after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four underage girls, including his daughter.

• Republican campaign worker, police officer and self-proclaimed reverend Steve Aiken was convicted of having sex with two underage girls.

• Republican director of the "Young Republican Federation" Nicholas Elizondo molested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison.

• Republican president of the New York City Housing Development Corp. Russell Harding pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer.

• Republican benefactor of conservative Christian groups, Richard A. Dasen Sr., was found guilty of raping a 15-year old girl. Dasen, 62, who is married with grown children and several grandchildren, has allegedly told police that over the past decade he paid more than $1 million to have sex with a large number of young women.

• Republican Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorized the rape of children in Iraqi prisons in order to humiliate their parents into providing information about the anti-American insurgency. See excerpt of one prisoner's report here and his full report here.

[ more.. ]

I just wanted to let all of our readers out there know about some new features & projects we have been working on.

Reuters Video Headlines:
Recently we have made an arrangement with Reuters to have daily video news clips available for our readers. Click Here

Special Comment:
We have just launched the new site SpecialComment.com. The Unofficial Keith Olbermann Special Comment Blog. Click Here

Hot politics videos: Another new site we have created vi20.com. It's basically a viral video site but there is a lot of political video there as well. Click Here

Don't forget about our Book Reviews Blog and our Live Discussion Area (please leave all comments there. This is a completely open forum.). Click Here

As prepared for delivery.
September 9, 2006
Faneuil Hall, Boston

The war on terror that was brought home to the Casey family on a sunny autumn morning that suddenly turned into midnight five years ago, also brought home for all of humanity the stark reality that we are in a fateful contest between forces of evil and hate and the defenders of progress and hope.

The outcome will determine whether our children live in freedom or fear. This is a clash between humanity's best ideals and the darkness of superstition and oppression. And this is not a clash of faiths: the true Islam is a faith to live by, not a call to terrorize and kill.

In this war, the war against terrorism, there is no substitute for victory. I don't know a single American who needs a politician to remind them that we have to win this fight.

On Monday, we will commemorate our largest loss of civilian life on a single day in American history. As we remember the horror, the unforgettable shock, and the pride in those who rushed to the rescue, it is our duty to take account as a nation of where we have come since that terrible moment and where we must go if we are to keep America safe in these perilous times.

Since the beginning, at critical moments in our nation's history, Americans have gathered here at Faneuil Hall to find a better way forward. This is where Americans first agreed on our nation's promise and where they have gathered ever since to help our country keep it.

That is why you and I have convened here four times so far this year -- to chart a new course, for a nation that has been misled on global climate change, misled on health care, misled on fundamental constitutional values, and misled into a war that was based on a lie, a war that can and must be brought to a close.

Donald Rumsfeld -- the man who should have been fired as Secretary of Defense long ago -- Donald Rumsfeld recently gave a low and ugly speech in which he smeared those who dissent from a catastrophic policy, and then spoke of "moral confusion."

Well, there certainly is a lot of moral confusion around these days.

It is immoral for old men to send young Americans to fight and die in a conflict without a strategy that can work -- on a mission that has not weakened terrorism but worsened it.

It is immoral to lie about progress in that war to get through a news cycle or an election.

It is immoral to treat 9/11 as a political pawn -- and to continue to excuse the invasion of Iraq by exploiting the 3,000 mothers and fathers, sons and daughters who were lost that day. They were attacked and killed not by Saddam Hussein but by Osama bin Laden.

And it is deeply immoral to compare a majority of Americans who oppose a failing policy and seek a winning one to appeasers of Fascism and Naziism.

The leaders of this administration have shown in recent days that they will say anything, do anything, twist any truth, and endanger our nation's character as one America in a desperate ploy to survive a mid term election.

But Americans now see through this charade. They know the truth. We have a Katrina foreign policy -- a succession of blunders and failures that have betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it.

Every time the administration is down in the polls, every time their political opponents at home appear to gain, they trot out of the fear card, instead of reinforcing in Americans "there is nothing to fear but fear itself," they have nothing to offer but fear itself.

The President wants Americans to believe only one party wants to fight terror. That's a cynical game to try to win an election. I believe we need a game plan to capture and kill Osama Bin Laden, not capture a few Congressional seats.

I believe we need national leadership capable of raising hopes and inspiring trust, not raising fears and demanding blind faith. We need to marshal all our resources -- military, diplomatic, economic, and moral -- and first and foremost always tell the truth to the American people.

That is why on the eve of this midterm election, we Democrats have a unique responsibility to carry our cause into every corner of the nation -- not just to oppose what has failed but to propose a new direction that can restore a bipartisan foreign policy and that can defeat jihadist terrorism once and for all.

In order to change course, we must level with the American people about the magnitude of the challenge: we must face reality so we can change it.

This starts by leveling with the American people about Iraq's true position in the overall fight against jihadism. The President pretends Iraq is the central front on the war on terror. It is not now, and never has been. The truth is, his disastrous decisions have made Iraq a fuel depot for terror -- fanning the flames of conflict around the world.

There is simply no way to overstate how Iraq has subverted our efforts to free the world from global terror. It has overstretched our military. It has served as an essential recruitment tool for terrorists. It has divided and pushed away our traditional allies. It has diverted critical billions of dollars from the real front lines against terrorism and from homeland security. It has unleashed dangerous, pent-up forces of radical religious extremism. It has weakened moderate leaders in the Middle East. It has strengthened and played into Iran's hand. It has diminished our moral authority in the world.

The demagogic drumbeat about fighting terrorists over there instead of here -- even though they weren't in Iraq until we went in, and it's now a civil war we're fighting -- has compromised America's real interests and made us less safe than we ought to be five years after 9/11. The true measure of that is the stark fact that worldwide terrorist attacks are at an all-time high and there are now more terrorists in the world who want to kill Americans than there were at the time of 9/11.

After all the tough talk of "Wanted Dead or Alive," after the Administration bragged and boasted -- they meekly backed off in the mountains of Tora Bora. Osama bin Laden escaped because the administration held back the best military in the world -- our's -- and outsourced the job to local militias. Since then Al Qaeda has spawned a vast and decentralized network operating in 65 countries. Only Dick Cheney could call this a success.

The situation in Afghanistan deteriorates steadily, squandering the sacrifices of our troops and allies in the military campaign of 2002. The Taliban now controls entire portions of southern Afghanistan, and just across the border Pakistan is just one coup away from becoming a radical jihadist state with a full compliment of nuclear weapons. Only Don Rumsfeld could proclaim this a victory.

The Middle East is more unstable than it has been in decades. Our stalwart ally Israel is surrounded by emboldened enemies who talk of wiping it off the face of the earth. Hezbollah flags fly from rooftops in Shiia slums of Sadr City and Iran is rebuilding Southern Lebanon. Only an Administration trapped in its own falsehoods could say we are making progress in creating a new Middle East.

North Korea has quadrupled its nuclear weapons capability, and is defiantly testing missiles that could reach our shores. Iran is moving steadily towards membership in the nuclear club; has expanded its terrorist clientele from Hezbollah to Hamas; maintains thousands of agents in Iraq; and is governed by a fanatic who almost daily calls for Israel's destruction. Only George W Bush could declare this 'mission accomplished.'

The Bush-Cheney policies have limited our power to act decisively and the regime in Tehran knows it. We have over 130,000 American troops in Iraq in the middle of a seething Shiite population that would explode if we moved against Iran. Our troops and our foreign policy are held hostage by the neocon catastrophe in Iraq. Only this White House could name this a plan for victory.

And be forewarned : don't be surprised if they hype the Iranian nuclear crisis come October if all other appeals to fear are failing as the mid-term election approaches.

We have an Iraqi Prime Minister sustained in power by our forces, who will not speak against the Hezbollah terrorists, who will not say that Israel has a right to exist, and who will not condemn the Iranian nuclear program. No American soldier should be asked to stand up for an Iraqi government that won't stand up for freedom and against fear

Here at home, too many things have not changed in the last five years. We learned on 9/11 painful lessons about the costs of a dysfunctional intelligence system marred by bureaucratic infighting, inadequate resources, and faulty analysis. Yet the 9/11 commission recently gave our own government a failing grade on implementing intelligence reforms. Today, our ability to intercept terrorist communications remains in a legal and constitutional limbo.

The Dubai port deal reminded us only a small percentage of cargoes entering U.S. ports are even inspected. Surely if we can inspect cargoes at the Baghdad airport, we can inspect cargoes at the airports in Los Angeles, New York, and right here in Boston.

This is the reality of the world today -- a world more dangerous because of the Bush blunders and a challenge far more complicated than the gruff Cheney sound bites. America deserves -- our safety depends -- on a winning strategy to reverse this dangerous course and make our country more secure.

There are five principal priorities that demand immediate action: (1) redeploy from Iraq, (2) re-commit to Afghanistan, (3) reduce our dependence on foreign oil, (4) reinforce our homeland defense, and (5) restore America's moral leadership in the world. These "5 R's" -- if you want to call them that-- are bold steps Democrats will take to strengthen our national security, and that the Republicans who have set the agenda today resist to our national peril.

We must refocus our military efforts from the failed occupation of Iraq to what we should have been doing all along: tracking down and killing members of al Qaeda and their clones wherever they are. We must redeploy troops from Iraq -- maintain enough residual force to complete the training and deter foreign intervention, so we can free up resources to fight the global war on terror.

Republicans want to wrap this strategy in slogans because they're afraid to debate what it really is: a redeploy-to-succeed strategy -- to succeed in defeating world wide terror, and to succeed in making Iraqis themselves responsible for Iraq.

This is the opposite of the administration's stand-still-and-lose strategy - -a clear alternative from a broken policy of "more of the same." Every time President Bush tells the Iraqis we will "stay as long as it takes," he is giving squabbling politicians there an excuse to take as long as they want. All of us want democracy in Iraq but Iraqis must want it for themselves as much as we want it for them. It's long overdue for the president to realize that no American soldier should be sacrificed because Iraqi factions refuse to resolve their ethnic rivalries and their competing grasp for oil revenues.

At each step along the way, the Iraqi leaders have responded only to deadlines-a deadline to transfer authority to a provisional government, a deadline to write a Constitution, a deadline to hold three elections. So we must set another deadline to extricate our troops and get Iraq up on its own two feet-- a clear deadline of July, 2007 to redeploy our combat troops. Make Iraqis stand up for Iraq -- and bring our heroes home.

We also desperately need something else this administration disdains: diplomacy. Real diplomacy -- a Dayton-like summit of Iraq and the countries bordering it, the Arab League, NATO, and the Permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council. Our own generals have said Iraq can not be solved militarily. Only through negotiation and diplomacy can you stem the growing civil war, and only by setting a deadline to get out can we force Iraq and its neighbors to take diplomacy seriously.

"Staying the course" isn't far-sighted; it's blind. Leaving our troops in the middle of a civil war isn't resolute; it's reckless. Half of the service members listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall died after America's leaders knew our strategy would not work. It was immoral then and it would be immoral now to engage in the same delusion.

Neither can the Administration pretend that the war in Afghanistan is over or that the peace has been secured. On Thursday the president said we're on the offensive against terrorists in Afghanistan, even as the American NATO commander on the ground showed the opposite is true by making an urgent plea for more troops.

The truth is -- the Bush-Cheney Administration has engaged in a policy of cut and run in that country. This Administration has cut and run while the Taliban-led insurgency is running amok across entire regions of the country. The Administration has cut and run while Osama bin Laden and his henchmen hide and plot in a lawless no-man's land. They cut and run even as we learn from Pakistani intelligence that the mastermind of the most recent attempt to blow up American airliners was an al Qaeda leader operating from Afghanistan -- yes, from Afghanistan. That's right -- the same killers who attacked us on 9/11 are still plotting attacks against America and they're still holed up in Afghanistan.

To avoid repeating the terrible mistakes of the past, we need to send significant reinforcements to Afghanistan: Start with at least five thousand additional American troops --more elite Special Forces troops, the best counter-insurgency units in the world; more civil affairs forces; and more experienced intelligence units. More predator drones to find the enemy, more helicopters to allow rapid deployments to confront them, and more heavy combat equipment to make sure we can crush the terrorists. And more reconstruction money so that the elected government in Kabul, helped by the United States, not the Taliban, helped by al Qaeda, rebuilds the new Afghanistan.

That's how you win the hearts and minds of the local population, that's how you win a war on terror, that's how you show the world the true face of America.

America needs a national policy that understands we are threatened not just by gun barrels, but by oil barrels. The great treasury of jihadist terrorism is mideast oil. We fund both sides in the war on terror every time we fill up our gas tanks. We know how dependent we are on oil, but it's not just us. We must liberate the Middle East itself from the tyranny of dependence on petroleum so that the region no longer feeds restive and rising populations of unemployed young people a diet of illusions and rationalizations paid for by our oil money.

Nothing will change if autocratic regimes keep pumping prosperity out of the ground to pay off a new generation with petrodollar welfare checks. We cannot change this if our oil money is sustaining the status quo. We must end the Empire of Oil.

We can't allow Energy independence to be used as a mere slogan, it has to be a solution. We need a revolutionary set of new policies to promote alternative fuels on a crash basis. This is essential if we are to reverse the tide towards catastrophic global climate change; it is essential to making the United States a leader in vast new opportunities to develop and market clean energy technologies -- but most importantly, energy independence is essential to defeating jihadist terrorism and liberating our country from our bondage to tyrannical, hostile, and unstable regimes.

In June -- here at Faneuil Hall -- I unveiled a comprehensive strategy to break our oil addiction. It begins with an aggressive goal: reduce U.S. oil consumption by 2.5 million barrels of oil a day by 2015.

I envision an aggressive timeline to immediately expand the availability and production of renewable fuels and a new fleet of energy-efficient cars, trucks and SUVs. This strategy invests heavily in renewable energy and efficiency. By clearing the pathways to innovation, investing in our workers and infrastructure, and providing American consumers with broader choices, my energy plan will provide the tools to help move America forward, toward real energy security for the 21st Century.

And to really make America safe, it is imperative that we reinforce our homeland defense-- starting by doing what should have begun two years ago, and fully implementing the 9/11 Commission's recommendations. President Bush this week said that Osama bin Laden and the terrorists plan to target America's 'weak points.' Our weak points -- our borders, our chemical plants, our railways-- are weak because this administration has the wrong priorities. The President's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans are not only unfair and unaffordable: they are taking from homeland security. What we have today from this White House is a pretense of national security on the cheap -- and it must end.

We must rearm ourselves at home. Hurricane Katrina showed us in the most tragic way that the Department of Homeland Security is woefully unprepared to handle a natural disaster we know is coming a week in advance, let alone a catastrophic terrorist attack that takes America by surprise. In 2004, the 9/11 Commission concluded that the Bush Administration should distribute homeland security funding to cities and states based on risk. Yet the Commission's most recent report card gives the government an "F" because this Administration has cut homeland security funding for the states that need it most -- which happen to be blue states -- while distributing funds disproportionately to the red states that need it least. What should count here is the terrorist target list, not the Republican National Committees' political target list.

To make America safe we must ensure the rapid development and deployment of reliable technologies to detect the secret transport of deadly materials. For $1.5 billion dollars -- less than is spent in a week in Iraq -- we could purchase the equipment to scan every cargo container bound for U.S. ports to ensure that it does not contain any weapons of mass destruction.

At the same time, we must secure the most dangerous of all weapons at their source -- especially in the former Soviet Union -- where far too much nuclear material remains dangerously unprotected. We must enhance FBI counterterrorism capabilities at home-- an effort that is moving far too slowly because of a lack of urgency from this Administration.

And we must put an end to Washington's continued inaction to secure our border. Border security backed by immigration reform is actually one area where sensible Democrats and Republicans have come together to forge a compromise. Unfortunately, this proposal has been held hostage to narrow right-wing political interests while our security hangs in the balance.

We must -- and let me tell you no matter what the White House wants, the Congress will -- reconstitute the Bin Laden unit at the CIA, which the Administration inexplicably disbanded. Maybe they thought that if they weren't looking for Bin Laden, no one would notice that they weren't finding him.

So these are four specific steps that will start us on the right path -- but they alone will not win the war on terror.

Most important, we need to make America be America again. We must restore our moral authority and global leadership by deploying the full arsenal of our national power with smarter diplomacy, stronger alliances, more effective international institutions -- and fidelity to the values we have always stood for as a nation.

We must remember the great lesson of the Cold War when we led the world to confront a common threat. Genuine global leadership is a strategic imperative for America, not a favor we do for other countries. Leading the world's most advanced democracies isn't mushy multilateralism -- it amplifies America's voice, it extends our reach. Working through global institutions doesn't tie our hands -- it gives greater strength and legitimacy to our purposes and dampens the fear and resentment that our overwhelming power sometimes triggers in others.

We need to strengthen international institutions, build alliances that amplify our power and extend the reach of our influence, and remember that even the most powerful nation on the face of the earth needs to make some friends on this planet.

Leadership means talking with countries who aren't our friends. It means engaging directly when our vital national security interests are at stake -- even with countries that we strongly disagree with -- because treating dialogue as a means rather than an end can help us achieve our goals. As John Kennedy once said, "we must never negotiate out of fear but we must never fear to negotiate." If Richard Nixon could send Henry Kissinger to China, surely George Bush can send a real negotiating team to North Korea. If Ronald Reagan could talk to the evil empire, surely we can talk with Iran or Syria.

We must start treating our moral authority as a precious national asset that does not limit our power but magnifies our influence. Only this week did the Administration finally recognize that the protections of the Geneva Convention had to be applied to prisoners in order to comply with the law, restore our moral authority, and best protect American troops. Let me say it plainly: No American president should be for torture before he's against it.

Anyone who understood the conflict we face could never shrug off the imperative of winning the hearts and minds of Muslim moderates.

We must start leading by example. We should never engage in or excuse violations of basic human rights. We must uphold the rule of law in our own conduct. And we should never accept official lying by our leaders. No White House should ever bully the Director of the CIA to make a case he knows isn't true -- and no White House should reward it with the Medal of Freedom.

To restore our credibility with moderates in the Muslim world and to safeguard Israel's place in the world, we must renew the search for a lasting peace in the Middle East. We know from the hard lessons of the past that it won't be easy. But we know from the disasters of the present that it is essential.

I've outlined five specific steps to make our nation safer which I believe stand in stark contrast to the Republicans' failed policies.

So let's have a real debate. Let's give all of us -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- a real "accountability moment" this November.

Let's stand up for what we believe. It is the only way to win. And it is the only way we will be worthy of winning.

Let the President give his speeches attacking the patriotism of his fellow Americans. Let him play the politics of fear. As Democrats, we choose to offer a real plan to attack the terrorists and free Americans from fear.

And then let the people decide.

"He told churchgoers he'd had a revelation that if he had enough faith, he could walk on water like Jesus," an eyewitness told the Glasgow Daily Record.

"He took his congregation to the beach saying he would walk across the Komo estuary, which takes 20 minutes by boat. He walked into the water, which soon passed over his head and he never came back."

I guess our good friend found out the hard way that science and logic prevail in the end. Its just to bad he did not live to learn the lesson. O that's right he was ruptured up. My Bad.

For more on this story check out WDN

vlwc2005's DaiyKos Diary: "We are fighting for votes to be counted properly, fighting for elections that are not bought and paid for by special interests, fighting for separation of powers, fighting for energy independence, fighting for people to think long term, fighting for our health, fighting for our voices to be heard. WE are fighting FOR each other."

Lets Hope The Democratic Party Picks Up This Frame...

Read More

Pharyngula: Look at this chart: it purports to show the percentage of 'born-again' Christians who abandon their faith after attending various categories of colleges. My first though was, "Good, now how can we get those numbers higher?"; I'm sure that most fundies fee what the author of the chart intended, absolute horror at the idea that sending kids to college is the equivalent of shipping them off to an eternity of hellfire.

more...

By: Donald Hitchcock
August 15, 2006


This Friday in Chicago at the biannual Democratic National Committee (DNC) meeting, Gov. Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic Party, will hopefully have his political players, senior staff, and chits lined up to give the LGBT community increased representation within the Democratic Party process by requiring that all fifty state parties include local LGBT politicos and activists in their delegation that is sent to the largest Democratic party around, the Democratic National Convention. The Democratic National Convention is where lifelong political alliances are made, state political networks sealed, not to mention where the party’s candidate for President is selected. Now it’s the LGBT community’s turn to take part in American Democratic politics by being fully represented. This could be a first step to Gov. Deans’ queer version of “The 50 State Strategy”, leaving no state behind.

Why is this important? Sadly, this election cycle finds many states left behind in Gov. Dean’s existing “50 State Strategy”. The LGBT groups fighting the anti-gay state marriage ballot measures in states such as Alabama, Tennessee, South Dakota, and South Carolina receive no help, or outright hostility, from the Democratic Party in their states. Over the years, progressive and inclusive states such as California, New York, and Massachusetts have moved forward in LGBT civil rights, and simultaneously given the national party a safety blanket and a crutch for the lack of representation of LGBT democrats in delegations from states such as Alabama, Tennessee, South Dakota, and South Carolina, however unintentionally. In 2004, 37 of the 50 states had no plans to include the LGBT community in their delegation, leading the LGBT community to represent only 5% of those attending the convention and disproportionately represented by the above coastal states. This lack of respect and dignity given at the state level has placed the DNC in the position to put out many fires, often times unsuccessfully, regarding how the Democrat state party is treating the LGBT democrats and electorate.

All good Democrats are watching to see what happens in Chicago. Will Gov. Dean deliver a fair and clear message to all state parties that they include the LGBT community? Will the back-and-forth compromised language be strong enough to hold the state parties accountable to the entire Democratic electorate? Will this increased inclusion lead to better cooperation between the LGBT community and state parties around anti-gay ballot measures? If Gov. Dean delivers (which I hope he will), can the 2008 Democratic National Convention show us a fair and accurate representation of LGBT democrats from all 50 states?

Many longtime LGBT activists working with the party know the inclusive language under debate was proposed over 10 years ago, and unfortunately continued to languish the last two years under Gov. Dean’s leadership. Party loyalists are now questioning themselves as to why such changes to bring equality and fairness are being met with such resistance from party leadership and senior staff. There have been no answers. Earlier this year, it got ugly with a leaked memo started a battle that pit one group against another. Now Governor Dean may change the tone by moving to embrace the true spirit of the “Party of Inclusion” by amending the DNC Charter and Bylaws, something, we as Democrats, control.

I just checked MyDD.com and they seem to have gone down. Do you think that Lieberman will blame that on Lamont? Or Maybe he will blame it on the "crazy bloggers" who have begone to attack themselves.

The pro-life blog "March Together For Life" apparently thinks the Onion is a serious publication. It's just amazing how often these wing-nuts are fooled by fake news. First Colbert Now the Onion. Some how sarcasm and irony are just completely lost on the right. In any case, it sure is hilarious when they take the bate. They are always so quick to condemn the mainstream news media as liberal, but funny how they never seem to question the fake news.

And now for your reading pleasure I give you "murder without conscience" by March Together For Life:

Here are some quotes from a pro-abortion person, Miss Caroline Weber, who wrote an article at The Onion online magazine. The Onion Article When referring to the killing of her child she said:

"I am totally psyched for this abortion!"

"Those pro-life activists made it pretty clear that, unlike me, they actually think abortion is bad and to be avoided. Are they nuts? Abortion is the best!"

"It wasn't until now that I was lucky enough to be pregnant with a child I had no means to support."

"I just know it's going to be the best non-anesthetized invasive uterine surgery ever!"

Who does Miss Weber blame her abortion on? The pro-life movement.

"The funny thing is, I actually have the pro-life movement to thank for this opportunity."

It's our fault? She says:

"If my HMO wouldn't have bowed to their pressure not to cover oral contraceptives, I never would've gotten pregnant in the first place."

Sorry ma'am, if you hadn't had sex you wouldn't have gotten pregnant, it's not the HMO's fault for not supporting your promiscuity while not married.

To sum it up, Miss Weber said:

"I realize there are people who will criticize me, calling me selfish and immature because I took "the easy way out." I realize there are those who will condemn me to hell for what I'm about to do. Well, I don't care what they say: It's worth it for all the fun and laughs I'm going to have at the clinic. So listen up, world: I'm pro-abortion... and I love it! See you at my post-abortion party, everybody!"

Miss Weber, you have killed your child, which you admit is a baby/human being, intentionally. That does make you an admitted murderer. I'm not going to "condemn you to hell", I'm going to pray for your forgiveness and for the suffering which you will endure when you realize what you have done. Every baby you see from that moment on is going to wake you up to the realization that you killed your child.

Speak out against abortion. Don't just complain about it. Join the Monthly Call for Life at MonthlyCallForLife.com. We call, email and/or march to let our representatives know that we will not stop until they stop the killing of innocent human beings!

BlogDig.net is looking for a few good bloggers. If your passionate and articulate about liberal politics we want you to blog for us. LeftWord and BlogDig are brand new and we need people like you to make it work. So if you fit the bill. please send us an email ( info@blogdig.net ) with some examples of your writing or just post a sample to this blog. If we like what your doing, we will give you your own blog and complete control over it. When you help us become a success we will be able to offer you a salary. In the mean time you will be able to sell ad space on the blog and take 100% of the revenue.

waynemadsenreport: "Rocky shoals for Bush marriage? Informed sources Inside the Beltway report that First Lady Laura Bush has established temporary residence in the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC as a result of a tiff with President Bush over an extramarital relationship involving her husband. Mr. Bush's tryst is said to involve Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. It is not known how long Mrs. Bush plans to remain at the Mayflower, however, her security detail has been present at the hotel during hours when the First Lady would normally be residing in the White House. While she was National Security Adviser, Rice, who has never been married, referred to George W. Bush as "my husband" before she corrected herself and said, "President. Bush" Rice was speaking at a dinner hosted by New York Times bureau chief Philip Taubman when she made her "husband" remarks."

I don't care if he did have an affair with Condi, but if this is true you can cut the hypocrisy with a knife.

BlogDig.net is looking for a few good bloggers. If your passionate and articulate about liberal politics we want you to blog for us. LeftWord and BlogDig are brand new and we need people like you to make it work. So if you fit the bill. please send us an email ( info@blogdig.net ) with some examples of your writing or just post a sample to this blog. If we like what your doing, we will give you your own blog and complete control over it. When you help us become a success we will be able to offer you a salary. In the mean time you will be able to sell ad space on the blog and take 100% of the revenue.