Hillsborough: Freed man still in limbo

Hillsborough: Freed man still in limbo: "TAMPA - Mark O'Hara left jail without handcuffs Wednesday, two years after he went to prison and one week since an appeals court ordered him a new trial.

He was serving a 25-year sentence for having 58 Vicodin pills in his bread truck. Jurors weren't told that it is legal to possess the drug with a prescription, which he had.

The Hillsborough State Attorney's Office has not decided whether it will seek a retrial in the Dunedin man's drug trafficking case."

And you thought you were safe with your fate being decided by a group of your peers? Not if the government leaves out little details, like the fact that you had a prescription for the pills you possessed. The sentence is also a prime example of why the war on drugs is simply wrong. He received 25 years for prescription pills. I was recently on Vicodin for the cracked rib that the gestapo Schenectady police gave me. It is a mixture of Tylenol and a tiny bit of an opiate. It is not a very strong drug at all, just barely enough to dull the pain a bit. Honestly, it is not much better than the ibuprofen I am now taking. Is that sentence justifiable? What would have happened if I had been stopped by the cops while I was walking home from the drug store? Especially seeing as I have already accused them of abuse...

Also, why is the State attorney still undecided about a retrial? It is quite obvious that this man was railroaded to begin with...

"He sold two condos, his car and his bread business to pay for the appeal. But the state took the proceeds, according to family friend Eric Mastro, to pay toward the $500,000 fine that came with his conviction."

I think this is lovely too. The state tried to sabotage his appeal. Drop this war on drugs. It just fills the prison system with non-violent offenders, pushing out the violent ones. Drop the bogus war on terror while we are at it.

Think Progress » Conservatives Refuse To Appear On Fox News To Publicly Defend Gonzales

Think Progress » Conservatives Refuse To Appear On Fox News To Publicly Defend Gonzales: "'By the way, we invited White House officials and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee to defend Attorney General Gonzales,' said Wallace. 'We had no takers.'"

For some odd reason, I was flipping through the channels and jsut happened to stop on Fox News for a while. I was laughing when I saw this...

They also had a Democratic member of congress on, did no catch who it was. The democrat was explaining how Bush's plan to revise the FISA system would give him more power to spy on U.S. citizens, which is exactly what it will do. Wallace, obviously just another puppet of the administration, kept saying that it would allow Bush to monitor calls from one foreign country to another. The democrat retorted by saying that if that was the fact, and that was all it did, that he would pass Bush's changes tomorrow. After arguing back and forth for a minute, the entire conversation essentially was repeated again. I guess that is quite typical of Fox, repeat the propaganda again and again...

The Raw Story | White House runs conference call on executive privilege for right-wing bloggers

The Raw Story | White House runs conference call on executive privilege for right-wing bloggers: "'The White House hosted a blogger conference call to discuss the issues surrounding the Bush administration's use of executive privilege in the probe of the firings of eight federal prosecutors,' wrote Ed Morrissey, who produces the blog Captains Quarters. 'The White House arranged the call based on a recommendation by this blog, in order to familiarize the blogosphere with the legal and political arguments on which the administration will rely to prevail in the upcoming fight regarding the contempt citations Congress seems likely to approve.'"

They must tell the bloggers what to write about... The propaganda machine is growing daily.

The Raw Story | National Intelligence Estimate lacks supporting evidence, possibly politicized, intelligence officials say

The Raw Story | National Intelligence Estimate lacks supporting evidence, possibly politicized, intelligence officials say: "Current and former intelligence officials say the Bush Administration's National Intelligence Estimate regarding terrorist threats to the United States does not provide evidence to support its assertions and may have inflated the domestic threat posed by the Lebanese political and military group Hezbollah, perhaps because it receives financial support from Iran.

According to the report, Hezbollah – a Shi'a Muslim group with ties to Iran that has been labeled a terrorist organization by the United States – may target the US domestically if the US poses a serious threat to Iran. But sources say the allegations about Hezbollah were simply 'thrown in.'"

Hey look, the propaganda machine is busted again... That will not stop them from continuing the lies.

The Raw Story | CNN: TSA knew 'dry run' terror alerts were bogus

The Raw Story | CNN: TSA knew 'dry run' terror alerts were bogus: "The FBI maintained 'they were right' putting the bogus reports on the TSA bulletin, which is distributed to law enforcement agencies nationwide, Todd reported. Airport security officers must be trained in identifying suspicious packages, even when those packages turn out to be innocuous."

Oops, they were busted pushing propaganda again. Keep everyone scared, so that we do not question the loss of our civil liberties...

Illegal Immigrants: Uncle Sam Wants You

Illegal Immigrants: Uncle Sam Wants You: "In 1996, Jesus Alberto Suarez del Solar was a 13-year-old boy, up from Tijuana on a family shopping trip, when he stopped at a Marine Corps recruiting table at an open-air mall in Chula Vista, Calif.

Jesus had been an easy mark for the recruiter-a boy who fantasized that by joining the powerful, heroic U.S. Marines, he could help his own country fight drug lords. He gave the recruiter his address and phone number in Mexico, and the recruiter called him twice a week for the next two years, until he had talked Jesus into convincing his parents to move to California. Fernando and Rose Suarez sold their home and their laundry business and immigrated with their children to Escondido, where Jesus enrolled at a high school known for academic achievement. But the recruiter wanted him to transfer to a school for problem teenagers, since its requirements for graduation were lower and Jesus would be able to finish sooner. He was 17 and a half when he graduated from that school, still too young to enlist on his own, so his father co-signed the enlistment form, as the military requires for underage recruits.

Three years later, at the age of 20, his body was torn apart in Iraq by an American-made fragmentation grenade during the first week of the invasion. In the Pentagon's official Iraq casualty database, his death is number 74"

Ok, now I know why Bush is pushing the immigration bill so whole-heartedly. He needs more martyrs. People to die for an illegal war. People who think they may get points on their citizenship application. People who were fooled by U.S. propaganda.

U.S. Outfitting B-2's with Monster Bunker Buster Bombs - Iran May Be Target

U.S. Outfitting B-2's with Monster Bunker Buster Bombs - Iran May Be Target: "The U.S. is retrofitting its B-2 Stealth bombers with massive bunker-buster bombs - a move that could be a prelude to an attack on Iran and its nuclear facilities.

Iran has refused to comply with international demands that it stop its nuclear weapons programs.

Experts have noted that a U.S. or Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear program could be difficult due to the large number of installations - some of which are buried deep underground in hardened bunkers."

Let loose the dogs of war, as congress goes to recess....

Think Progress » Gonzales Contradicts Prior Statements, Confirms Existence Of Other Spying Programs

Think Progress » Gonzales Contradicts Prior Statements, Confirms Existence Of Other Spying Programs: "Today, Gonzales said Comey was referring to “other intelligence activities,” appearing to confirm that the Bush administration is operating more than one warrantless domestic spying program."

The administration might be lying to us about the scope of its surveillance activities on U.S. citizens? That never happened before...

Oh, yeah, this was said while the secret, warrantless wiretap program was running:

"'Any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order,' he [BUSH] said on April 20, 2004 in Buffalo, New York."

More secrets, more lies, and more lies to cover up those secrets and lies. This is what the United States' presidential office has fallen to...

Bush warns anew of terror threat - Yahoo! News

Bush warns anew of terror threat - Yahoo! News: "Citing security details he declassified for his speech, Bush described al-Qaida's burgeoning operation in Iraq as a direct threat to the United States. Bush accused critics in Congress of misleading the American public by suggesting otherwise."

His newly-declassified "intelligence," which claims al-Qaida in Iraq is related to those who are supposedly responisble for 9/11, is shaky at best, as is his own intelligence. Below are the details...

"_Al-Qaida in Iraq was founded not by an Iraqi but by Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who had deep relations with al-Qaida leaders. The president said Zarqawi, who was killed by U.S. forces last year, set up operations with terrorist associates in Iraq long before U.S.-led forces arrived, and that in the violence and instability following Saddam Hussein's fall, was able to expand the "size, scope and lethality" of his operation. Zarqawi formally joined al-Qaida in 2004 and pledged allegiance to bin Laden, he said.

_The merger gave al-Qaida senior leadership 'a foothold in Iraq to extend its geographic presence and to plot external operations and to tout the centrality of the jihad in Iraq to solicit direct monetary support elsewhere.'"

The fact is that Saddam did not allow al-Qaida to operate within his country. Are we just supposed to believe Bush's word, without evidence???

For that matter, there really is no concrete proof that al-Qaida, or more specifically, bin-Laden, was responsible for 9/11. There are plenty of stories out there that contradict the administration's position on 9/11, and not all of them are from "conspiracy nuts."

When will people wake up and stop believing the same old lies over and over again? Also, when will Bush admit that we were instrumental in creating al-Qaida in Iraq and that we inspire people to join its ranks, by bombing the country into submission and treating Iraqis like garbage? When will he admit that we were also instrumental in the original formation of al-Qaida, when the Russians were the enemy of the day and it was convenient for us?

Tonkin Gulf II and the Guns of August?

Tonkin Gulf II and the Guns of August?: "Is the United States provoking war with Iran, to begin while the Congress is conveniently on its August recess?

One recalls that it was in August 1964, after the Republicans nominated Barry Goldwater, that the Tonkin Gulf incident occurred.

Twice it was said, on Aug. 2 and Aug. 4, North Vietnamese patrol boats had attacked the U.S. destroyers Maddox and Turner Joy in international waters. The U.S. Senate responded by voting 88 to 2 to authorize President Johnson to assist any Southeast Asian nation whose government was threatened by communist aggression."

All the signs are there...

FOXNews.com - Bush Surprises Senate Aides With Unexpected Interruption of White House Meeting - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Polit

FOXNews.com - Bush Surprises Senate Aides With Unexpected Interruption of White House Meeting - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum: "Bush was described as folksy, adamant and mildly profane as he interrupted the meeting between senior White House communications staffers Tony Snow and Ed Gillespie and GOP leaders. His message: the policy on Iraq isn't changing. He is not backing down and no one on Capitol Hill should be confused into thinking he is letting up."

"I am King George, the decider, and you all shall bow to my will." His stance on Iraq reminds me of an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In this episode, an experiment carried out by Wesley Crusher goes awry, trapping his mother, Dr. Beverly Crusher, in a warp field bubble, essentially a mini-universe, that is constantly contracting. As this bubble draws in, Dr. Crusher finds less and less people at her side. Eventually, she is all alone in her own little universe. This is Bush. His bubble is collapsing, but he still feels, in his own little universe, that Iraq is going well. At the last moment, Dr. Crusher was saved, before the bubble fully collapsed and she was collapsed into nothingness. I say let Bush's bubble keep collapsing.

The Raw Story | CNN's Baghdad reporter: Beware of 'smoke and mirrors from the administration'

The Raw Story | CNN's Baghdad reporter: Beware of 'smoke and mirrors from the administration': "Equally quick to insist that the NIE should not be taken too literally, Ware said, 'We must be aware of the spin, the smoke and mirrors from the administration, trying to reshape the message on Iraq being specifically about al Qaeda ... trying to evoke some Pavlovian response from the American public to fear them into again supporting the war. That doesn't quite hold water.'"

Yes, alQaeda, alQaeda, alQaeda. The more they repeat it, the more the public believes it. ("Repetition works David") Or should we call them al-CIAda?

Pavlov's experiment, from Wikipedia:

"The experimenters first performed a minor operation on a dog to relocate its salivary duct to the outside of its cheek, so that drops of saliva could be more easily measured. The dog, which was food deprived, was then harnessed in an apparatus (see diagram above) to keep it steady. Periodically, a tone was sounded, followed shortly thereafter by meat powder being placed in the hungry dog's mouth (each pairing of tone/meat powder is referred to as a trial). Meat powder causes a hungry dog to salivate, whereas tones have little effect. The dog's salivation to meat powder is an unconditional reflex--it is in-born, in that dogs do not have to learn to salivate when food is placed in their mouths. Initially, the dog shows little responsiveness to the tone. Over time, however, the dog comes to salivate at the sounding of the tone alone. When this occurs, Pavlovian conditioning has occurred, in that a new, or conditional, reflex has developed."

Or, see my earlier post, "Wanna go bomb?"

The Raw Story | Pentagon starts spin unit to target talk radio, bloggers

The Raw Story | Pentagon starts spin unit to target talk radio, bloggers: "The new 'Communications Outreach' program is the latest effort to bypass the traditional media and work directly with talk radio and bloggers. The project was originally called 'Surrogates Operation' and is the brain child of former ABC executive and assistant secretary of defense for public affairs Dorrance Smith."

Perhaps they have realized that the bloggers are growing ever-more important, because they do not spit the same lies as the corporate media. Now, they must try and propagandize blogging... I wonder how many blogs will now trace back to government IPs?

Cheney pushes Bush to act on Iran | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Cheney pushes Bush to act on Iran | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited: "The vice-president, Dick Cheney, has long favoured upping the threat of military action against Iran. He is being resisted by the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and the defence secretary, Robert Gates.

Last year Mr Bush came down in favour of Ms Rice, who along with Britain, France and Germany has been putting a diplomatic squeeze on Iran. But at a meeting of the White House, Pentagon and state department last month, Mr Cheney expressed frustration at the lack of progress and Mr Bush sided with him. 'The balance has tilted. There is cause for concern,' the source said this week."

The dark lord used his power of the dark side to sway Bush. Or perhaps Cheney just gave bush an unlimited supply of crayons to color his signing statements with. Goodbye Iran...

The Raw Story | Bush: Insurgents in Iraq same as 9/11 attackers

The Raw Story | Bush: Insurgents in Iraq same as 9/11 attackers: "President Bush, defending his troop surge in Iraq, insisted Thursday that the insurgents attacking US troops in Iraq 'are the same ones who attacked us on Sept. 11.'

Bush was speaking at a White House press conference on the same day an interim progress report on his troop surge in Iraq was released. Asked for proof of the connection between insurgents in Iraq and the 9/11 hijackers, Bush said both had pledged their allegiance to Osama bin Laden."

Same lie, over, and over, and over again...

From Natural Born Killers:

"Repetition works David. Repetition works David. Do you think any of those nit wits in Zombieland remember anything?"

[the nit wits are the TV audience]

Your Government: TSA Confiscates Water Bottle, Misses Bomb - Consumerist

Your Government: TSA Confiscates Water Bottle, Misses Bomb - Consumerist: "Federal inspectors were able to slip a bomb past the TSA 5 out of 7 times, according to the Albany Times-Union. Here's the best part: One fake bomb was placed in the same bag as a bottle of water. The TSA opened the bag, took the water, and let the bomb on the plane."

So much for enhanced security. A few months ago my nephew went to Alaska from this same airport, in order to help my Brother's pregnant wife out. His little sisters to the airport with him, so that they could say good-bye before he boarded the plane. Unfortunately, the person at the security checkpoint said that there was no way the kids could go into the secure area, let alone me, who just happened to be there in case my sister's temporary ID would not be enough to let her through security. This left the older of the two girls extremely heartbroken, and she immediately started crying. Thank goodness I was there to drive the other 2 kids home, otherwise, my nephew would be barred from flying. It is a rule that unattended minors must be supervised by an adult until the plane takes off. To top it off, the tickets were not refundable, so the money would have been lost.

What kind of threat is a little kid who is not even going on the plane? I think the truth is that they actually limit the number of people who come through so that they can reduce the number of people at the checkpoints, in order to save money. His flight ended up being postponed to the next day anyway.

Another neat little fact from the trip: the baggage inspectors stole my nephew's new hat and gloves that were purchased for Alaska. Fortunately, he had 2 sets.

The Blotter: Al Qaeda Cell in the U.S. Or On Its Way, According to New Intel

The Blotter: Al Qaeda Cell in the U.S. Or On Its Way, According to New Intel: "Senior U.S. intelligence officials tell ABC News new intelligence suggests a small al Qaeda cell is on its way to the United States, or may already be here.

The White House has convened an urgent multi-agency meeting for Thursday afternoon to deal with the new threat."

Be afraid, be very afraid... of the propaganda the government is willing to spew, that is. Must stay the course in Iraq, we must, we must... (picture George Bush jumping up and down, fists clenched, stomping, in full tantrum mode.)

U.S. eager and it shows in Iraq - Examiner.com

U.S. eager and it shows in Iraq - Examiner.com: "The U.S. command in Baghdad this week ballyhooed the killing of a key al Qaeda leader but later admitted that the military had declared him dead a year ago.

A military spokesman acknowledged the mistake after it was called to his attention by The Examiner. He said public affairs officers will be more careful in announcing significant kills."

This is only one example of people we have claimed to kill more than once. "chemical Ali," for example, was reported dead many times...

Ex-CIA Man Exposes Hysteria Of Car "Bomb" Terror

Ex-CIA Man Exposes Hysteria Of Car "Bomb" Terror: "Countering the frothing rabid hysteria that is being whipped up by a fervent media in response to three failed car 'bomb' attacks in the last few days in the UK, ex-CIA agent Larry Johnson joined Keith Olbermann to underscore the truth behind the madness - that the so-called bombs were primitive at best and would not have killed anybody."

My thinking exactly. The "bombs" would have created a heck of a fire if they had actually ignited, but there would be no real explosion. Propane tanks, for example, are designed to withstand fire, and without compression, the explosive effects of gasoline are greatly reduced. Not to mention, there are much more reliable ignition devices than cell phones.

The Raw Story | Pentagon hides piles of IED-shredded Humvees from public

The Raw Story | Pentagon hides piles of IED-shredded Humvees from public: "On American military bases all across Iraq, the shredded wreckage of scores of humvees damaged by IEDs and other explosive devices lie under tarps, hidden from public view. Much like the coffins of soldiers killed in the line of duty, the Pentagon refuses to allow images of the physical toll of battle to be seen by the public."

Soldiers are not allowed to send photos of wrecked Humvees to anyone, as well. They are trying to minimize the bad things we see coming out of Iraq, while spinning propaganda that says how much good we are doing in the country. Check the video out on the linked page...