Bill Kristol - NEO-CON

More On Bill Kristol
The Standard’s 1997 cover story, “Saddam Must Go,” by Kristol and Robert Kagan, is widely credited with planting the seeds for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. After 9/11, the Standard—amplified by the megaphone of Murdoch’s media empire—started pointing the finger at Iraq. (On the very afternoon of the terrorist attacks, Kristol told NPR, “I think Iraq is, actually, the big unspoken sort of elephant in the room today.”) And as late as November 2003, the Standard was still pushing a Saddam–Al Qaeda connection on its cover (headline: “Case Closed”)

Bill Kristol - Neo-Con Prognosticator

Kristol's 1998 Letter to the President

Tommorrow (Sunday Feb 12 -2006 ) on Fox News this man will try to convince that we are winning the war in Iraq. He will also try to convince you that the Republican majority in congress is leading us toward a NEW AMERICAN CENTURY.
If what he's predicited eight years ago is any indication of he prognosticating prowess, I would'nt believe one word that he says.
But that's just me.

January 26, 1998

The Honorable William J. Clinton
President of the United States
Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing you because we are convinced that current American policy toward Iraq is not succeeding, and that we may soon face a threat in the Middle East more serious than any we have known since the end of the Cold War. In your upcoming State of the Union Address, you have an opportunity to chart a clear and determined course for meeting this threat. We urge you to seize that opportunity, and to enunciate a new strategy that would secure the interests of the U.S. and our friends and allies around the world. That strategy should aim, above all, at the removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime from power. We stand ready to offer our full support in this difficult but necessary endeavor.

The policy of “containment” of Saddam Hussein has been steadily eroding over the past several months. As recent events have demonstrated, we can no longer depend on our partners in the Gulf War coalition to continue to uphold the sanctions or to punish Saddam when he blocks or evades UN inspections. Our ability to ensure that Saddam Hussein is not producing weapons of mass destruction, therefore, has substantially diminished. Even if full inspections were eventually to resume, which now seems highly unlikely, experience has shown that it is difficult if not impossible to monitor Iraq’s chemical and biological weapons production. The lengthy period during which the inspectors will have been unable to enter many Iraqi facilities has made it even less likely that they will be able to uncover all of Saddam’s secrets. As a result, in the not-too-distant future we will be unable to determine with any reasonable level of confidence whether Iraq does or does not possess such weapons.

Such uncertainty will, by itself, have a seriously destabilizing effect on the entire Middle East. It hardly needs to be added that if Saddam does acquire the capability to deliver weapons of mass destruction, as he is almost certain to do if we continue along the present course, the safety of American troops in the region, of our friends and allies like Israel and the moderate Arab states, and a significant portion of the world’s supply of oil will all be put at hazard. As you have rightly declared, Mr. President, the security of the world in the first part of the 21st century will be determined largely by how we handle this threat.

Given the magnitude of the threat, the current policy, which depends for its success upon the steadfastness of our coalition partners and upon the cooperation of Saddam Hussein, is dangerously inadequate. The only acceptable strategy is one that eliminates the possibility that Iraq will be able to use or threaten to use weapons of mass destruction. In the near term, this means a willingness to undertake military action as diplomacy is clearly failing. In the long term, it means removing Saddam Hussein and his regime from power. That now needs to become the aim of American foreign policy.

We urge you to articulate this aim, and to turn your Administration's attention to implementing a strategy for removing Saddam's regime from power. This will require a full complement of diplomatic, political and military efforts. Although we are fully aware of the dangers and difficulties in implementing this policy, we believe the dangers of failing to do so are far greater. We believe the U.S. has the authority under existing UN resolutions to take the necessary steps, including military steps, to protect our vital interests in the Gulf. In any case, American policy cannot continue to be crippled by a misguided insistence on unanimity in the UN Security Council.

We urge you to act decisively. If you act now to end the threat of weapons of mass destruction against the U.S. or its allies, you will be acting in the most fundamental national security interests of the country. If we accept a course of weakness and drift, we put our interests and our future at risk.

Sincerely,

Elliott Abrams Richard L. Armitage William J. Bennett

Jeffrey Bergner John Bolton Paula Dobriansky

Francis Fukuyama Robert Kagan Zalmay Khalilzad

William Kristol Richard Perle Peter W. Rodman

Donald Rumsfeld William Schneider, Jr. Vin Weber

Paul Wolfowitz R. James Woolsey Robert B. Zoellick

White House Intelligence Questioned

Conservative Group -- Progress for America Voter Fund -- Runs Pro-Iraq War Misinformation/Propaganda TV Ad Campaign

The Progress for America Voter Fund has joined the political fight over the Iraq war, broadcasting provocative television ads in MN this week and preparing to set up state-based advocacy affiliates premised on changing public opinion about Iraq before the '06 midterms.

The conservative group, which spent $14M to broadcast "Ashley's Ad" at the height of the '04 campaign, has purchased several hundred thousand dollars worth of ads in MN.

"Support for the troops is near universal - bipartisan, if indeed, nonpartisan. It's support for the policy that presents partisan divides that already are part of the dialogue and debate moving into the November elections."

John Rash
teaches a mass media and politics course at the University of Minnesota
---

"They are really swimming upstream against a tide. Every number I've seen in the last six months shows at best 40 percent of the public agrees with the message of this ad. Everyone else is looking for an exit strategy."

Marty Kaplan
associate dean at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for CommunicationRegardless of the aim
---

"How dare they run an ad like this. Every day I have to cry when I hear another one has been killed. It's so needless. It's useless."
Lila Angell
Grandmother of Lance Cpl. Levi Angell of Cloquet, Minn., who was killed in April 2004 in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Iraq.

READ MORE:
National Journal Hotline
San Jose Mercury

Lies We Were Told About Iraq

It was a systematic campaign to frighten the hell out of us about the threat of Hussein, and almost none of it was true.

"The Iraqi dictator must not be permitted to threaten America and the world with horrible poisons and diseases and gases and atomic weapons."

George Bush
Oct. 7, 2002, in a speech in Cincinnati.

LIE #4:"[The CIA possesses] solid reporting of senior-level contacts between Iraq and al-Qaeda going back a decade." -- CIA Director George Tenet in a written statement released Oct. 7, 2002 and echoed in that evening's speech by President Bush.

FACT: Intelligence agencies knew of tentative contacts between Saddam and al-Qaeda in the early '90s, but found no proof of a continuing relationship. In other words, by tweaking language, Tenet and Bush spun the intelligence180 degrees to say exactly the opposite of what it suggested.

If you have forgotten, read more:
AlertNet: Ten Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq

Computer Users Urged to Use Caution With Google Desktop

Google Desktop Boycott Urged

Digital rights advocate warns consumers about squandering their privacy protections on Google’s computer-to-computer search.

Read more: Red Herring and a variety of
related articles.

Pen & Ink Blotter

If You're Wondering What Wisconsin's Republican-controlled Senate & Assembly Spent Most Of It's Time on in 2005...

Madison - Special-interest groups trying to influence Capitol decisions spent a record $30.6 million lobbying legislators, the governor and other state officials in 2005 - a total boosted by the 50,000 hours spent lobbying on the state budget passed last year, the Ethics Board reported Wednesday.

#1
In terms of hours, the most-lobbied bill was the fight between papermakers and insurance companies over who should pay for the cleanup of contaminated Fox Valley-area waterways. Interest groups on both sides of that issue reported spending 5,404 hours on the issue.

#2
The second most-lobbied issue, consuming 2,964 hours, was the controversial proposal that would have allowed citizens with a state-issued permit to carry concealed weapons. Doyle vetoed that bill for a second time, and the Legislature fell just short of overriding his veto.

#3
The third most-lobbied issue, with 2,916 reported hours, was a mandate that ethanol be sold at gas pumps statewide - a measure passed by the Assembly but that stalled in the Senate. That fight pits legislators from corn-growing rural areas against southeast Wisconsin legislators, who say more ethanol may worsen existing pollution problems and hurt car engines.

Read more: Milwuakee Journal Sentinel

Wis. Tax Reform: TABOR is a Blueprint for Disaster

TABOR II does nothing to protect the strength and security of Wisconsin families and communities, Senate Democratic Leader Judy Robson said today. Robson issued the following statement in response to the unveiling of TABOR II:

“TABOR 2 is a blueprint for disaster. There is nothing here that protects the ability of communities to provide basic services their citizens expect, like good schools and police and fire protection...

Read more: WisPolitics.com

Voter Stupidity Alert

Watch for ATBL new feature "Voter Stupidity Alert"
With midterm elections around the corner it's time to pump up the Republican fear mongering.
We haven't had a good raise in the Terror Alert since November 3 rd. 2004 so it's long overdue. Of course it's just coincidence that we haven't had a national election since then either. Just one of those "coincidenses" I guess. Like President Bush chosing to announce the foiling of an 4 year old Al Queada plot to attack America 2 days ago. Funny how all these "coincidences" occur when President Bush either has to deflect news from one of his administration's scandals, or needs a boost in his sagging poll numbers.
The Voter Stupidity Index has been statistically shown to track in direct purportion to the Terror Alert index.
So watch for the next Terror Alert, and the companion rise in the Voter Stupidity Index. (And don't forget to stock up on that Duct Tape and plastic wrap ).

Education: Choosing or Losing? The School Choice Controversy

The Issue
Over the last two hundred years, the common school and its one-size-fits-all curriculum have evolved into a larger union school with wide course offerings. As schools grow and assume more responsibilities, some parents are dissatisfied with the public education offered in their community.

Stakeholders sometimes believe they should be able to exercise choice over which school their children attend. In some cases, these advocates have created choice systems within a public school district. In other cases, choice has extended beyond the district. In several cases, choice includes government or privately sponsored vouchers to attend private schools. A few of the questions underlying all these types of choice programs are: Will offering students a choice improve their learning achievement and the quality of schools in general? What is the best way to allocate public dollars for education?
The Debate
Supporters of school choice believe that free market competition will improve student and school performance. If public (and, in some cases, private) schools have to compete for the same funding, then schools will be motivated to improve. Some people view vouchers as a “life-boat” for low-income students currently trapped in ineffective and mismanaged schools.

Opponents of choice, however, fear that choice programs will drain much-needed support away from the schools that are in most need of public funds. Some believe that low-income families will not be able to use vouchers because they cover only a fraction of the tuition costs. Choice will be exercised by a limited number of parents, leaving “under-chosen” schools under-funded and charged with the tasks of educating needy students. Most of all, say opponents, tax-funded vouchers for religious schools violate the First Amendment separation of church and state.

Learn more at PBS History of American Public Education... add your comments below.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

A co-worker told me about the story below concerning an incident between two six year olds -- a boy and a girl -- and some touching above the waist that led to the boy being expelled. I Googgled on "6-year old" and found a whole list of stories about the life of 6-years old in the United States -- most of them terrible and disgusting. I kept listing stories until I got to a one that I associate with being 6-years old -- the Cub Scouts' Pinewood Derby competition.

Some of these stories involve schools, some parents and relatives, one the family dog and others random acts of deadly, crippling violence. There's much complaining on the right and in the Bush administration about the reporting on the Iraq war and how the "good stuff" isn't getting reported. It looks to me that the same thing can be true about the reporting on 6-year olds.

What the hell happened?

JPN
----


6-year Old Boy Expelled For Sexual Harassment
Case vs. Brockton boy stuns officials
Educators debate 'harassment' case

Feb. 9, 2006

A 6-year-old Brockton boy's suspension on accusations of sexual harassment startled some school officials in the region yesterday; the officials said they avoid the words ''sexual harassment" when trying to teach young children about appropriate touching.

Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail Breaking News Alerts School systems, by state law, must have policies barring sexual harassment, but officials from Boston, Arlington, Framingham, East Taunton, and Duxbury said they could not recall an instance in which they had punished a child that age for such an incident.

Read more:
Boston Globe
---
Galveston woman allegedly had sex with 6-year-old niece

D.A. won’t file charges in 6-year-old’s traffic death

Mom sues Humboldt, librarian
Claims 6-year-old son assaulted; seeks damages, federal jury trial

Couple is indicted in killing of 6-year-old
Family prepares funeral for 6-year-old strangled by family dog
Fourth suspect in shooting of 6-year-old surrenders
Wheelchair Of 6-Year-Old Stolen During Car Theft


Police charge father, friend after locking out 6-year-old girl
Leg implant saves area 6-year-old from repeat surgeries

...and finally an uplifting story about a 6-year old!
First time's the charm: 6-year-old Cub Scout's Pinewood Derby car has the stuff of champions

Cheney Should've Hired A Liddy Instead Of A Libby

Libby: White House 'superiors' OK'd leaks

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney told a federal grand jury that his superiors authorized him to give secret information to reporters as part of the Bush administration's defense of intelligence used to justify invading Iraq, according to court papers.

Read more: USA Today

Agent Discovers APEG "Branding" Plans

Sources close to the sources of the source revealed yesterday the existence of a secret APEGa plot to overthrow public education. The plan was discovered through clandestine journeys overtheborderline by our agents and through the a secret wiretap program that we can't talk about. (Shhhhh!!! the enemy is listening).
APEG's desire to destroy Public Ed. has been "public" for quite
some time now, ever since it was reported on this blog that our favorite borderliner Admin and Dr. Bill (outside instigator who's believed to be hiding in the mountainous terrain of Bloomington, Indiana) signed their now infamous proclamation.
"I proclaim publicly that I favor ending government involvement in education."
Admin. even took advantage of the opportunity while signing the proclaimation to advertise his blog, OTBL, where "we expouse (his term, not mine ) the many reasons of seperation of state and school." (Editor's note: This is not a translation from borderliner to english, it is a direct quote. You can see why they'd be against public education with this kind of command of the english language.)
The new plot involves spreading propaganda materials like the one shown above, throughout the blogsphere. Borderliners were hoping to enlist advanced capitalist "branding" to
promote their devious plot. So beware, their plans may be working..............

APEG "Bright Bulbs" suffer Power Outage in HSO

SPECIAL EDITION
This evening some of the brightest bulbs in St. Croix County suffered a power drain. Sabotage is the likely cause. The Anti-Public Education Group of Hudson (APEG) lit up the night in last week's Hudson Star-Observer. One week later, their incandescence has waned to a mere flicker of its former self. An official from Xcel Energy described the phenomenon as a "brown-out." When asked to elaborate, he said: "The term 'brown-out' comes from the color of the material used by APEG in their writings. A guy's got to wear his shinola-kickers around them - if you know what I mean." The editors of this blog received an anonymous call from a man claiming to be the spokesman for a clandestine group which takes responsibility for the attack on APEG. The man referred to his group as HOTS (Hudson's Obnoxious Teacher-Spouses), and explained that the secret members of the group are affectionately referred to as "hotties." Apparently, the group is edu-friendly and is prepared to use any means in their continuing fight against APEG. When asked if he could provide any information about HOTS next target, the spokesman made a vague reference to a "turnip truck" and hung up.

OnTheBorderLine.net Launches Software Startup Company

In an attempt to capture a market niche based on ignorance, slander, lies and propaganda, Hudson's very own anti-community, anti-education, anti-anything-that-is-good-and-decent-unless-it-allows-us-to-carry-guns blogsite (ontheborderline.net) has started a software development company to help fund its return to the Dark Ages.

Aided by President Bush's push to increase his standings in the polls by decreasing the effectiveness of public education through reduced funding and starving the poor, the OTBL'ers have released their new software product called Decel. The primary sales target for the software will be those gullible enough to think they can return the United States back to the way it was in 1776 and/or are easily taken in by Type A personalities who are good at shouting down anyone who disagrees with their single-minded, selfish vision of the universe.

If you want your numbers to conform to your line of propaganda, then this is the software for you!

See how easy it is to install:

Call anytime. Our operatives are up all night long!

It Takes Money To Get To Run A Village...

OTBL welcomes open debate so: SHUT UP

Killbear: Welcome back to the Killbear Rapport. I'm your host Chris
Killbear. Tonight's guest is Mr. A. Scaired, who writes riveting prose
on a blog under the pen name N. Onimous. Welcome Mr. Scaired.

Scaired: Shut up!

Killbear: Mr. Scaired, you often use tough talk to slam anyone who
doesn't agree with your radical views.

Scaired: That's right!

Killbear: Yet, you write anonymously, so your threats are meaningless.

Scaired: What's your point? Shut up!

Killbear: In your writings you strictly guard your own anonymity.

Scaired: That's right!

Killbear: Yet, when someone doesn't agree with you, you go out of your
way to "out" their identity or claim they are biased because they are
part of the "system."

Scaired: What's your point? Shut up!

Killbear: In your writings you claim that no one dares debate you on
your ideas.

Scaired: That's right!

Killbear: Yet, people who hold other views are not allowed on your
blog, so they have no way to debate you.

Scaired: What's your point? Shut up!

Killbear: You expect taxpayers to be grateful for "everything you have
done" for them.

Scaired: That's right!

Killbear: Yet, you seem to be the only one patting yourself on the
back.

Scaired: What's your point? Shut up!

Killbear: Mr. Scaired, when you encounter one of your opponents on the
street, you get in their face and call them a "piece of shinola."

Scaired: That's right!

Killbear: Yet, you have undergone intense psychotherapy which has
uncovered deep-seated issues regarding your perceived self-worth. Your
traumatic childhood, ostracized adolescence and unstable adult
experiences left you with a feeling of personal failure and
self-loathing. Deep down, you believe that you are made of a
shinola-based product which you try to counter by lashing out at
authority figures.

Scaired: (sob)

Killbear: Ladies and Gentlemen, in bookstores everywhere, please pick
up a copy of Mr. A. Scaired's latest compilation: "N. Onimous: I Hate
Myself So Shut Up!"

Scaired: (sob)

Killbear: God man, pull yourself together.

Stretched Too Thin?

New Republican House Majority Leaders Rents His Apartment From A Key Lobbyist

...all the better to deal with you!

By Thomas B. Edsall and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, February 8, 2006; Page A03

Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), who was elected House majority leader last week, is renting his Capitol Hill apartment from a veteran lobbyist whose clients have direct stakes in legislation Boehner has co-written and that he has overseen as chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

The relationship between Boehner, John D. Milne and Milne's wife, Debra R. Anderson, underscores how intertwined senior lawmakers have become with the lobbyists paid to influence legislation...

Read more: Washington Post. com

Enron's Kenny Boy Lay Puts the ontheborderline.net Mascot Through His Routine

Hudson Star Observer Readers Blinded by "The Light"

WRITERS LIGHT UP HSO by bildanielson @ 7:57 am
"There must be something
in the early February air.... Four of the eight letters submitted to the
Hudson Star Observer really lit things up. We have some very bright bulbs burning in St Croix County!"

BREAKING NEWS

This just in. Rising electricity costs from lighting have been putting
pressure on the Hudson school district's energy budget this year. Now
the district has received help in the nick of time - and from the
unlikeliest of sources. The anti-public education group of Hudson
(known as APEG) has inadvertently saved the district thousands of
dollars in energy costs. By APEG exposing their bright bulbs to light
up the early February air, the school district has been able to hit the
dimmer switch on their own florescent lights. The district's supervisor
of facilities and grounds, said: "APEG may hate our guts and want to blast
us off the face of the earth with their Advanced Tactical Laser but,
in the meantime, we'll take any help we can get on our energy costs -
even the glow from their freakin' heads!"
A top district official phoned APEG spiritual leader Dr.Bill
to personally thank him for the additional help he is
providing. "Dr. Bill has been spreading cow dung in large heaps
around the school buildings for years. Biomass materials such as manure make an incredible alternative combustion fuel source!" gushed the unamed official.
Sources close to the district report that APEG has already made record requests to the district for financial information related to governmental expropriation of their luminescence and cow pies, which they claim they plan to sell to the general public at
market-driven prices. Developing ...

Memories of Ronald Reagan

It's Ronald Reagan's birthday. Had he lived he'd be 95. It's guess it's disrepectful
to speak in a derogatory manner of those who have passed on.
Perhaps as an individual Ronald Reagan was a charming, good & generous man with a big heart.
From stories I've heard about him, as an individual, I believe he actually was.

( He wrote out personal checks to people he never met to help pay their bills. Once one such
individual never cashed one of these checks. Reagan called and asked why. The responded because they framed it for his signiture. Reagan wrote that person another check.) This was while he was president. Maybe that explains why he did such a poor job of running a country.

It's not Ronald Reagan the person I have less than fond memories of.

But my memories of him as President unfortunately are not so cheerful.

Here are a few things that come to my mind when I think of the Reagan Presidency.



Secretly dealing with terrorists to win the release of American hostages and embarass President Carter.

Firing air traffic controllers for demanding less stressful working conditions and up to date
equipment.

Driving up the budget deficit higher than every administration preceding his.

The greatest trade deficit in history.

Hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs moved overseas.

The creation of the rustbelt.

Sleeping through cabinet meetings.

The 2nd largest Stock Market Crash in history. I'm pretty sure surpassed only by 9-11.

The begining of corporatations raiding their workers pension. A & P was one of the first.

The beginning of the "Government is Bad" mantra.

Rising unemployment.

Thousands of families loosing their family farms.

The begining of the decline of rural America.

Junk Bonds.

Wall Street Corruption.

Hostile take-overs.

Huge defense expenditures for weapon systems that never worked. ($80 billion for the "Star
Wars" inititive).

The Iran Contra Affair.

The elimination of the Dept.of Energy.

Oppulent White House Dinners and Dances.

An unprecedented increase in homelessness.

Obscene oil company windfall profits.

Massive cuts to social and education programs while giving tax cut to the rich.

So with all these fond memories of the Reagan years. I have to say

Happy Birthday President Ronald Reagan. You'd be proud of these times too.

Thank You Dr. Bill for the reminder.
For some reason this day wasn't marked in red on my calendar.

Bush Raises Taxes On The Farmers To Reverse The Trend

I found this interesting graph floating out on the internet. I suppose it explains why we were unable to fight off the Twin Towers hijackers armed with $3 boxcutters. From Bush's proposed budget, it looks like he wants to turn the country back 100 years. This has got to make our anti-education, anti-community, anti-union, anti-debate friends at the ontheborderline.net blog site happy.

Times are tough over at OTBL. They've adopted a skinny dog as their mascot. Conceal and carry didn't passed. I received an e-mail from one Husker who was kicked off their site for trying to introduce a little debate. Their were only able to get one puppet to run for the Hudson school board. A handful of like-minded skunks from New Richmond have been invited to lift their tails up OTBL. The admin still blocks my computer from accessing their site. The Mudslinger still drives them up the wall with his letters to the editor. Mustard is still their least favorite veggie.

So blog on dude!



SPENDING FOR WAR or PEACE

Which path to safer communities?

$100: 11 hand grenades or 11 blankets for refugees

$4,000: 1 rocket launcher or three-day training in peace-building for 160 youth

$14,000: 1 cluster bomb or Head Start enrollment for two children

$40,000: 1 Hellfire missile or Two home health aids for disabled elderly person

$145,000: 1 bunker-buster guided bomb or associate degree training for 29 RNs

$586,000: 1,000 M-16 rifles or rent subsidies for 1,000 families living in poverty

$130 million: 7 unmanned Predator drones or WIC program nutrition for 200,000 families

$275 million: 3 tests of missile defense system or worldwide eradication of polio

$350 million: 6 Trident II missiles or vaccinations for 10 million children worldwide

$413 million: Amphibious Warfare Landing Ship program or child care for 68,000 needy children

$494 million: 1 year military aid to Colombia or 7,000 units of affordable housing

$2.1 billion:1 Stealth bomber or annual salaries and benefits for 38,000 elementary school teachers

$16 billion: 1 year of nuclear weapons program or healthcare coverage for 7 million children
Read more

Missing Link Discovered In Washington D.C.

Happy Birthday Ronnie Reagan



It's apparent the President Bush learned more from President Reagan than his father, aka, Bill Clinton's adopted father.

Ronald W. Reagan 40th President 1981-1989

The Genius of Ronald Reagan: Direct Quotes from the Gipper Himself

"Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do." -- Ronald Reagan, 1981

"A tree is a tree. How many more do you have to look at?" -- Ronald Reagan, 1966, opposing expansion of Redwood National Park as governor of California


"Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born. "

"I have flown twice over Mt St. Helens out on our west coast. I'm not a scientist and I don't know the figures, but I have a suspicion that that one little mountain has probably released more sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere of the world than has been released in the last ten years of automobile driving or things of that kind that people are so concerned about." -- Ronald Reagan, 1980. (Actually, Mount St. Helens, at its peak activity, emitted about 2,000 tons of sulfur dioxide per day, compared with 81,000 tons per day by cars.)

"Facts are stupid things." -- Ronald Reagan, 1988, a misquote of John Adams, "Facts are stubborn things."

"We think there is a parallel between federal involvement in education and the decline in profit over recent years." -- Ronald Reagan, 1983. (It's always good to run the Department of Education to make money.)

"Fascism was really the basis for the New Deal." Ronald Reagan, 1976, on his failed campaign for the Republican nomination.

"You can't help those who simply will not be helped. One problem that we've had, even in the best of times, is people who are sleeping on the grates, the homeless who are homeless, you might say, by choice." -- President Reagan, 1/31/84, on Good Morning America, defending his administration against charges of callousness.

On 8/24/85 President Reagan tells an interviewer that the "reformist administration" of South African president P.W. Botha has made significant progress on the racial front. "They have eliminated the segregation that we once had in our own country," says the President, "the type of thing where hotels and restaurants and places of entertainment and so forth were segregated - that has all been eliminated." (In response to questions a few days later as to whether President Reagan actually thought racial segregation has been eliminated in South Africa, Larry Speakes said "Not totally, no.")

Ben Franklin v. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

The Shocking Truth!!!

Earlier this month, this page noted the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s true Renaissance figures.

So perhaps we should also note that one of Ben’s best quotations is being hijacked by a few of today’s less than Renaissance figures.

During a speech by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at Georgetown University this week, a group of students disrupted his talk and held up a banner with this alleged quote from Ben Franklin — "Those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither."

Possibly the students deliberately distorted the quotation, or — more likely — they never paid attention in their history classes. Either way, the quote is wrong. What Mr. Franklin actually said — first penning it in 1775 — was "Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor security."

Those two little words, of course, make all the difference. Listening in to terrorists as they discuss plans to kill innocents is not giving up an "essential liberty." The Constitution says very little about school lunch programs or agricultural subsidies but it does give the president the right to defend this nation and protect Americans.

The NSA surveillance program that Mr. Gonzalez was defending in his speech does not intrude on essential liberties, but is used to provide security and safety to American citizens. After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That’s another Ben Franklin saying that might be appropriate to contemporary events.

Republican Poll Currently Being Conducted In The Valley

A reader sent me a list of the questions she was asked during a recent phone poll. The poll's source would be the Republican Party. Looks like they are trying to cover the "God, gays and guns" focus of the current Republican puppeteers. Issues concerning health, the economy and education don't seem to be on the
republican radar scene. Has anybody else been part of this survey?
---
1) Do you think taxes are too high, do you think taxes need to be raised to pay for good programs or are taxes just right and you're not worried?

2) In 2004 there were questions about voter fraud. Do you believe that people should show a photo ID?

3) Are you a sportsman, yes or no?

4) Are you pro-life or pro-choice?

5) Have you voted primarily Republican, Democratic or other?

Big Box Learning Centers

Five years from now, this will not be a joke!!!!





"When I graduated from the 8th Grade, I started my Wal-Mart teaching career..... You can too." :-)

Republicans Promote Math & Science By Cutting Education Funding

Only the G.O.P could spin this kind of logic into plausibility.

President Bush:"Tonight I propose to train 70,000 high school teachers to lead advanced-placement courses in math and science, bring 30,000 math and science professionals to teach in classrooms, and give early help to students who struggle with math, so they have a better chance at good, high-wage jobs. If we ensure that America's children succeed in life, they will ensure that America succeeds in the world. (Applause.)"

Statement of Wisconsin Governor Doyle Regarding Republican Education Cuts

Largest Cut to Education in Decades Detailed for Each School District

Governor Jim Doyle announced that the Republican budget proposal unveiled this afternoon would cut Wisconsin’s schools by over $400 million – the largest cut to education in decades. Governor Doyle made the following statement:

"The Republican budget proposal announced today would cut Wisconsin’s schools by over $400 million – the largest education cut in decades. Their proposal would force school districts to choose between a massive property tax increase or laying off thousands of teachers, raising class sizes, and cutting programs from music to athletics. If schools had to cut starting in September, they would have to pay millions of dollars in unemployment compensation to lay off teachers that have already been hired – taking even more money out of the classroom.


"Not only will the Republican budget cause the largest education cut in decades, but it also sets taxpayers up for a huge property tax increase. Republicans know there is no way schools can handle this kind of cut, and the only option will be a massive increase in property taxes.

"We are now seeing the results of making education the last priority on their agenda. By the time they got around to education, there was no money left to support our schools."

"Quite simply, their budget is a cruel hoax on schools and property taxpayers. I will use every power at my disposal to make sure that we get a budget that is fair to both property taxpayers and our schools."

Attached is a spreadsheet detailing the amount every school district in Wisconsin will be cut by compared to current law. These numbers do not include additional cuts proposed by Republicans to categorical education programs, such as school transportation, special education funding, and the SAGE small class size initiative.

Here are a few examples of how these cuts would affect individual districts (excludes categorical program funding):
MILWAUKEE -- $40 million
MADISON -- $10 million
KENOSHA -- $8.5 million
RACINE -- $8.5 million
GREEN BAY AREA -- $8.2 million
APPLETON AREA -- $5.9 million
WAUKESHA -- $5.3 million
EAU CLAIRE AREA -- $4.4 million
JANESVILLE -- $4.3 million
OSHKOSH AREA -- $4.2 million
SHEBOYGAN AREA -- $4.1 million
WAUSAU -- $3.5 million
WEST ALLIS -- $3.4 million
STEVENS POINT AREA -- $3.1 million
LACROSSE -- $3 million
STONE PINE HOME SCHOOL - $ One Brazillion

Land of the Free

U.S. Constitution: Fourth Amendment - Search and Seizure

It's always interesting to see what rights people will fight for. Over at the ontheborderline.net blog site, they seem to only care about the Second Amendment and the right to bare arms. Since President Bush is in the middle of the battle over the legality of domestic spying, they are mute on the question. More evidence of their love for Republican Kool-aid...

We didn't only fight the Revolutionary War because of tax issues with Britian. The rights outlined in the Fourth Amendment were are big part of the reason.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Read more on the history and background of the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution.

Foruth Amendment explained and discussed.

Domestic Spying: Telecoms let NSA spy on calls

By Leslie Cauley and John Diamond, USA TODAY

The National Security Agency has secured the cooperation of large telecommunications companies, including AT&T, MCI and Sprint, in its efforts to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls by suspected terrorists, according to seven telecommunications executives.

The executives asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the program. AT&T, MCI and Sprint had no official comment.

The Senate Judiciary Committee begins hearings today on the government's program of monitoring international calls and e-mails of a domestic target without first obtaining court orders. At issue: whether the surveillance is legal, as President Bush insists, or an illegal intrusion into the lives of Americans, as lawsuits by civil libertarians contend. (Related: Committee chief says program violates law)

In domestic investigations, phone companies routinely require court orders before cooperating.

Read more: USA Today

So That's Where The WMD's Went!!!

Saddam Sent WMD to Syria, Former General Alleges
By Sherrie Gossett
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
February 02, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - A former Iraqi general alleges that in June 2002 Saddam Hussein transported weapons of mass destruction out of the country to Syria aboard several refitted commercial jets, under the pretense of conducting a humanitarian mission for flood victims.

That's one of several dramatic claims made in the book by former Iraqi General Georges Sada: "Saddam's Secrets: How an Iraqi General Defied and Survived Saddam Hussein." Since the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Sada has served as the spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and continues to serve as national security advisor. He is the former vice marshal of the Iraqi Air Force. Sada was interviewed at the headquarters of Cybercast News Service on Jan. 30.

Read more: Cybercast News Service.

Please note: CNS News bills itself as The Right News. Right Now. (It's "fair and balanced" like FOX News...)