A computer expert has testified

http://www.iwilltryit.com/fixed1.htm

that he was asked to, and did produce software that allowed hacking into voting computers in Ohio which would flip the vote from say, 49 - 51 to the opposite.  He also said it was untraceable.  It was Feeny, from Florida who asked him to do this.

What I want to know is this:  Can we recall the election? 

Friends, this is SERIOUS!

Vote Summary By Senator Name 
        By Home State
Grouped By Vote Position

YEAs ---15
Allard (R-CO)
Allen (R-VA)
Bayh (D-IN)
Burr (R-NC)
Coburn (R-OK)
Conrad (D-ND)
DeMint (R-SC)
DeWine (R-OH)
Feingold (D-WI)
Graham (R-SC)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Sessions (R-AL)
Sununu (R-NH)
Vitter (R-LA)

NAYs ---82
Akaka (D-HI)
Alexander (R-TN)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Chafee (R-RI)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
Dayton (D-MN)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Frist (R-TN)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McConnell (R-KY)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Santorum (R-PA)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Stevens (R-AK)
Talent (R-MO)
Thomas (R-WY)
Thune (R-SD)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Wyden (D-OR)
Not Voting - 3
Corzine (D-NJ)
McCain (R-AZ)
Schumer (D-NY)

Where is the outrage?  Will these same people vote to take away health benefits from the most vulnerable?  It's got to come from somewhere!
 

What do you think of this from today's New York Daily News?

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/357107p-304312c.html

Some are using this story to go after Bush's and McClelland's statements about Rove, Libby, and leakers in general.   Horrors!  This proves that they must be disengenuous! 

My take on it is that this story is a plant to keep the President above the fray since it would absolve him from contemporaneous knowledge of the outing.  Being accused of little white lies to protect your loyal friends is what politicians do, anyway.  They can live with that.  The Prez must be kept out of the original loop -- I mean, somebody has to be left over to sign the pardons, right?

JanKnaus

The ad by Patty Wetterling that bops from one view to another is so distracting that I wouldn't vote for her no matter what!  Please!  Stop that ad and don't put any more like that!  I can't read unless I put my hand up to block it!

For an administration that views every problem as one that can be managed with spin; with the right public relations ploy, Karen Hughes is a no-brainer (pun intended).

This is a woman who "feminized" Bush -- taught him to always say "moms & dads" rather than "parents," for example; and hey!  It worked with enough people, and along with Karl, and got him where he is today.

The problem with her mission is very basic.  She thinks that if people in the Middle East would just understand us better, they would really like us.  She doesn't have a world view; she doesn't get that it is we who need to understand them  We have to pay attention to their worries and their fears, and listen and respond to their criticism of our policies.  It doesn't mean we have to do everything they say, but they have to know that we hear them, and respect their opinions.  The old saw, "Good people can disagree" doesn't wash in this White House.

We will never be able to exert any positive influence on cultures for which we have no understanding or respect.  She, by touting the US as the utopia that all should emulate;  just as her boss, by invading an oil-rich country are both helping BinLadin.  While our military recruitments are going down, he seems to have no problem getting people to die for his cause.

On the bright side, Karen Hughes is no dummy.  Maybe she will learn from her mistakes and get a more realistic idea of how to shape our image in the world.  Here's a hint:

"IT'S OUR ACTIONS, STUPID!"

Jan Knaus

I buy produce, meat, poultry, seafood, etc as I eat it.  I don't have a freezer full of stuff.  I did buy a whole bunch of water containers last winter, but they froze and leaked all over my garage floor.

So, what are we supposed to do if Washington DC is attacked?  Or Richmond, Virginia?  People could sleep in my house, but I don't have food or water for any kind of duration.  The duct tape defence doesn't wash any more.

Bush and his cronies have blown it.  So is there any advice from anyone?

Bush has finally achieved what he wanted:  I AM SCARED.  The problem is that he is the main reason I am scared.  What do we do next?

Jan Knaus

I mean,  I care about those who have suffered from mother nature.  After all, YOU CAN'T FOOL MOTHER NATURE, can you?

But let's face it -- you can only review the same footage 1000 times before it gets, well... old!

So, why is there virtually no coverage of the events on the downtown mall of DC?  Could it  be that the MSM isn't up to it?

I posted this as a comment to someone else's blog, but it is so short and catchy, I thought I'd try to get it out to more people.  I think this would be a great chant in DC next week --

A lesson that I learned the hard way is that the ability to graciously accept help is an indication of strength and friendship.  We in the US are usually on the other side of the equasion, and often generously offer aid to those in need all over the world.  So I was gratified when I heard yesterday  that France, Venezuela, Canada, Eqcuador, and many other countries were offering money, expertise, and other forms of help.  Then I heard our president say that we could handle this situation ourselves.  I guess he's still mad that they didn't all jump onto the (sinking) Iraq boat.

George Bush needs to grow up, or at least ACT like a grownup and accept any help he can get.  He is clearly in over his head.  A Coalition of the Willing  for disaster relief could actually help us also to heal our rifts with these nations by acknowledging that even though they don't agree with everything we do -- they are still our friends and allies.

I believe accepting help would make us stronger; not weaker.  Any thoughts?

most particulary those (Time, The NYT, et al) who granted double-super-secret status -- NOT to the whistleblower -- but to those who wanted to ruin the whistleblower!  He likens this to Erlichman and Haldeman meeting, say, a Matt Cooper in the car park and giving him all the disinformation that made the Nixon crew was so famous. 

...And the same reporter protecting them from scrutiny until it was almost too late.  All in the name of freedom of the press.  His point is that there is yet another layer of culprits, and it is important.

Just when I thought I could put my third little doll away inside her bigger sisters, lo and behold, another kernel comes up which I had not considered.

The LA Times OP Ed page carried another view on all of this.  They made the point that Time Magazine (whose editors had full knowledge of Karl Rove and Scooter Libby's role in the passing on of information) published White House denials as if they had no inkling of that truth. 

Time quoted Scott McClelland's "That is ridiculous!" pearl, as well as others, with no refutation or implication that Time Magazine knew that he was giving out false information --wittingly, or unwittingly, on McClelland's part.  I wonder if this is the end; pardon me, but I don't think so.

Any thoughts on this?  One other point:  any professional writer who uses the term "chilling effect," should be required to go to Thesaurus School.  (If there isn't such a thing there ought to be!)

If they had, they would not be referring to it as a VAT Tax. 

Regarding Social Security and its threatened demise:  Recently people became so concerned about the latest Supreme Court decision regarding eminent domain, that they made their concerns know en masse. Politicians are now falling all over themselves to pass laws prohibiting this abuse of power.  Don’t you think the American People would be up in arms if the politicians tried to abolish Social Security?  We all have a responsibility to keep an eye on Washington and let them know what we expect of them.

How many people do you know who actually know what they pay in taxes?  Most people can only tell you how much they “got back” or “had to pay”, and don’t have any idea how much was actually withheld from them.  If people don’t know what they are paying out of their own paychecks, do you think they know anything about how much corporate taxes actually cost them?  Corporations pass their taxes on to the consumers; they have too to stay in business.  The Fair Tax would make sure we all know exactly how much we are paying every time we go to the store.  It will also make it much more difficult for politicians to raise taxes.

Under this bill, truly poor people will be relieved of all Federal Taxes by receiving a check at the beginning of every month equal to the tax burden on the necessities of life, as currently outlined by our government.  The very rich, who don’t pay taxes now, will actually be paying taxes.  This argument that they will just find more tax shelters shows just how clueless some of these authors are.  If you pay no tax on income, how exactly would a tax shelter benefit you?  If someone is spending a lot of money on new retail goods and services, they pay a tax on all of it.  End of story.  What’s not fair about that?

I also read one that blog that claims the more you make, the lower your effective tax rate.  Isn’t that the way it works right now?  Under the Fair Tax, if you don’t spend, you don’t pay taxes.  If you grow your own groceries and buy only used goods, you don’t pay taxes.  So in other words, those of us who make less than $40,000 per year can by good quality used cars, used homes, used furniture, etc and pay taxes only when we buy some new like clothing at WalMart.  The rich on the other had, who like new expensive homes, cars, clothing, etc. will pay taxes on just about everything they buy.  By doing so, the rich will be the greatest contributors to our tax base, not to mention foreign tourists, drug dealers with 20 lbs of gold around their necks and gangsters who wouldn’t be caught dead in something used or even something from WalMart!

Read the bill and make up you own mind.

Why should this woman have to walk in the ditch in the first place?  The account never states that they were interfering with traffic -- who in their right mind would be out on the road in Texas in August unless they had something important to do anyway?

This was just something I found in small print on the MSNBC web-site, but it should be reported everywhere, and families of soldiers should be aware of this treatment.  The WH spokesman talked about how Bush had "comforted" families.  How?  When?  By getting up and saying for the millionth time that "Freedom is on the march?"  Are we all zombies?

What is going on here?

The President's power to make recess appointments is enumerated in the U.S. Constitution: