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January 6th, 2009:

A Second Look at "Putting The Law Back Into Intelligence"

The Progress Report wrote:

Putting The Law Back Into Intelligence


From: The Progress Report [progress@americanprogressaction.org]
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 9:13 AM
Subject: Putting The Law Back Into Intelligence
ADMINISTRATION — BUSH CITES FAILED SOCIAL SECURITY PRIVATIZATION PUSH AS HIS BIGGEST DOMESTIC POLICY ACHIEVEMENT: Yesterday, the Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes reportedthat he and fellow conservative Bill Kristol met with President Bush last Friday for a lunch in the president’s “private dining room adjacent to the Oval Office.”Barnes reported that the President cited his push to privatize Social Security as his biggest domestic policy accomplishment. “Bush said his effort showed it’s politically safe to campaign on changing Social Security and then actually seek to change it,” wrote Barnes. Though it seems odd that Bush cited an unsuccessful effort as his biggest domestic policy achievement, it is understandable given that he doesn’t have much else to include on a list of successes. But not only was Bush’s drive to privatize Social Security an utter failure, the concept is also widely unpopular with the American public, and if enacted, would have had disastrous consequences for Americans’ retirement funds.A recent Center for American Progress Action Fund report found that if a worker had retired on Oct. 1, 2008, after 35 years of contributions to private retirement accounts, that retiree would have lost nearly $30,000 in retirement funds because of the downturn in the stock market over the last two years.

This is exactly where we are at. The biggest flop of the twentieth century is Bush’s biggest achievement. This is what we lived through these past eight years. And now? We are a nation in crises. We are a WORLD in crises.

The spin goes round and round.

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A Second Look at Burris Refused Senate Seat On Capitol Arrival

WASHINGTON — Roland Burris announced Tuesday he was rejected for Barack Obama’s Senate seat, in a bizarre rainy-day scene on the Capitol grounds as lawmakers awaited the gaveling of the 111th Congress into session.

Standing amid a huge throng of reporters and television cameras in a cold and steady rain, Burris, 71, declared that he had been informed that “my credentials are not in order and will not be accepted.”

No duh!  Wasn’t he told days ago by Harry Reid that this was going to happen? This is one of the biggest and most shameful displays of political grandstanding I have seen this whole election cycle, which isn’t over yet by the way.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had said Monday that Burris would not be permitted to take his seat because Burris “has not been certified by the state of Illinois,” a reference to incomplete paperwork that only touches on the dispute. Senate Democrats maintain that Burris’ appointment is tainted because of the charges against Blagojevich.

Burris knew what was waiting for him at the Capitol door when he walked in there. He staged all this to gain sympathy in legal arenas back in Illinois. Burris has no choice but to go back to Illinois and challenge the Secretary of State, Jesse White’s authority to block his appointment. I don’t think that White’s decision to buck the Governor by proxy through Burris has any legal legs. Burris should get his appointment easily, but this show today in Washington, jeesh.

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A Second Look at kucinich.us – We will create a New America and a New World

via kucinich.us – We will create a New America and a New World.

The hope that exists in the energy of the new year is in our ability to create new conditions.

We can draw forth peace from war and wealth from poverty. Listen to this important New Year message from

Congressman Dennis Kucinich.

I got this is my email this morning and I snickered at the thought of Dennis and how nobody listened to him and how they should, versus the Republican Neo-nut jobs like Bush Sr who’s going around beating the pulpit for his other son, Jeb and how no one should listen, but they do.

Anyway, Dennis says in the coming year we can either look at more war and  ignore the cancer of poverty in the U.S., or we can look at the possibility of peace and prosperity for all. Heady stuff.

At the end Dennis asks for contributions. It sort of throws a wet blanket on an otherwise uplifting talk.

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