October 2005 - Page 231 of 234

Bush Crimes Carry ‘No Penalty’

Posted by BooMan | Oct 1, 2005 |

In the category of no-duh:

Federal auditors said on Friday that the Bush administration violated the law by buying favorable news coverage of President Bush’s education policies, by making payments to the conservative commentator Armstrong Williams and by hiring a public relations company to analyze media perceptions of the Republican Party.

In a blistering report, the investigators, from the Government Accountability Office, said the administration had disseminated “covert propaganda” in the United States, in violation of a statutory ban.

So who pays the price?

The G.A.O. said the Education Department had no money or authority to “procure favorable commentary in violation of the publicity or propaganda prohibition” in federal law.

The ruling comes with no penalty, but under federal law the department is supposed to report the violations to the White House and Congress.

As far as I am concerned, nothing is against the law if there is ‘no penalty’ for doing it.

Sabbath Time #8 – Tired

Posted by its simple IF you ignore the complexity | Oct 1, 2005 |

Crossposted from MyLeftWing where Sabbath Time is a regular weekly series. Given the stresses of this past week, I’m hoping my friends on other sites will find the approach helpful.

Image hosted by Photobucket.com I’m tired,
tired of playing the game,
ain’t it a crying shame?
I’m so tired,
God dammit I’m tired!

– Lili Von Shtupp (Madeline Kahn, in Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles)

It’s been another hell of a week. DeLay indicted, Frist investigated, Robert’s confirmed, Miller cuts a deal, Obama posts on dKos and reactions abound. One thing is clear to me – around the leftie blogosphere – we’re tired.

Armando posted about it. Raybin said GBCW on dKos and MLW . Numerous other examples of people who are holding onto the last bit of their rope. I think we’re working so hard, fighting so hard for what we believe, and have seen so many setbacks that even the victories ring hollow – we’re sure it will turn out bad – somehow they’ll weasel out of it yet again…

We need to find ways to rest.

To avoid burnout, to recharge. I think one way is to once again embrace the concept of Sabbath time. As I wrote in the first installment of this series on MyLeftWing …

Sabbath, obviously, has a religious meaning. But is is much more than that. In his book “Sabbath” author Wayne Muller says:

All life requires a rhythm of rest. There is a rhythm in our waking activity and our bodies need for sleep. There is a rhythm in the way day dissolves into night and night into morning. There is a rhythm as the active growth of spring and summer is quieted by the necessary dormancy of fall and winter. There is a tidal rhythm, a deep, eternal conversation between the land and the great sea. In our bodies, the heart perceptibly rests after each life giving beat; the lungs rest between exhale and inhale.

We have lost this essential rhythm. Our culture invariably supposes that action and accomplishment are better than rest…

Image hosted by Photobucket.com If that speaks to you, follow me after the jump for a place of rest, relaxation. This is a cool place.

Take a deep breath, hear music that is restful to you, put on some tea or cocoa, pull up a comfortable chair and enjoy the company of friends. This is a place to feed the wolf of peace, to sharpen your blade – and refill your cup.

It is good that we are together this Sabbath time , I’m glad you’re here – what do you have to share today?

AfterDowningStreet.org Picks up "The Impeachment Poll" cause! w/poll

Posted by Connecticut Man1 | Oct 1, 2005 |

The other day I posted a DIARY on an idea one of my friends in the Aggresive Progressives Yahoo! group came up with:

Taking it upon ourselves to finance some more Polling about impeaching bush.

She raised a few hundred dollars but many people were leary of donating to an “unkown group.”

Fortunately for neversurrender (the girl that came up with the idea) the leaders over at Democrats.com and AfterDowningStreet.org got wind of the idea and here you go:

Image hosted by Photobucket.com
AfterDowningStreet.org
Polling on Impeachment
Does the public favor an investigation into grounds for impeachment of President Bush? We have no way of knowing, because the pollsters aren’t asking. The After Downing Street coalition has begun collecting donations to hire mainstream professional pollsters to ask the questions that need to be asked. It doesn’t take much money, but can have a tremendous impact. Learn more and contribute here:
AfterDowningStreet.org
Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Go there, then come back! I’ll still be waiting for you to click on.

And remember that you read it here on the Boo Trib first!
(Well? if you visited my last diary! lol)

Click on for some after thoughts…

Bush Gets Away with Another Crime!

Posted by rascal | Oct 1, 2005 |

Let’s hear it for the man who promised to restore integrity to the White House!
Ya gotta give him credit. He’s the poster boy for proof that crime does pay!

I’m wracking my brain trying to come up with any other `violation of a statutory ban’ – legalese for breaking a law, that carries no penalty. I just want go out there and commit that crime just for the fun of it. But I can’t think of a single crime that’s a freebie. Help me out here…..

Bushco Gets Away With Another Crime!!!

The American News Media, Lying Criminal Bastards!

The Government Accountability Office said the administration had disseminated “covert propaganda” in the United States, in violation of a statutory ban.This is something TvNewsLIES and our readers knew without needing to hear it from the GAO. Think about this for a minute; the Bush administration, with the full unquestioning cooperation of the US corporate broadcast news industry, created fake news reports and aired them on news programs as if they were real news. Not a single “journalist” spoke out about this (at least none that we know of).