Mood:  don't ask

Russians turn off Europe's oil supply

• Alarm at Moscow's strong-arm tactics

• Merkel tells The Times 'we need secure energy'

Europe’s oil supplies from Russia were being held to ransom last night as the Kremlin fell into bitter dispute with a former Soviet satellite state.

Moscow abruptly halted millions of barrels of oil destined for the EU via Belarus in an increasingly hostile wrangle with its neighbor.

The move raised further questions over whether Western Europe can trust Mr Putin for its energy supply. Experts said that Russia had a deeply entrenched habit of manipulating oil and gas supplies as a substitute for diplomatic policy.

Russia’s strong-arm tactics have added resonance in Britain, amid persistent speculation that Gazprom, the Kremlin-controlled gas group, will seek to buy Centrica, the British Gas group, which has 16 million gas and electricity customers in the UK. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, told The Times last night that Germany will use its six-month EU presidency to improve energy security on the Continent. In her first interview with a British newspaper she signalled that she would take a harsher line towards Russia than her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, who is now on the board of a German-Russian consortium constructing a gas pipeline linking Russian gasfields with Western Europe.

“For us, energy is what coal and steel used to be,” she said, referring to the driving forces behind the European project.

Russia’s “gas war” with Ukraine last January caused supplies to Europe to drop briefly by a third during one of the coldest winters recorded. In this case, Mr Putin’s struggle with President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, branded “Europe’s last dictator” by the US, once again reduced the EU to watching nervously from the sidelines as its energy supplies were hit.

Belarus considered itself Moscow’s closest ally until a week ago, but was on the verge of a trade war last night after the bitter flare-up over oil duties. More than 1.2 million barrels of oil a day flow from Russia through the Druzhba, or Friendship, pipeline, providing almost a quarter of Germany’s needs and 96 per cent of Poland’s imports, as well as supplies to Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Andrei Sharonov, Russia’s Deputy Trade and Economic Development Minister, accused Belarus of jeopardising contracts with European customers by imposing a tax on oil passing through the pipeline. Relations between the two countries have soured rapidly since New Year’s Eve, when Belarus and Russia’s state-run monopoly Gazprom came within minutes of failing to agree a gas contract for 2007.

The Government in Minsk was forced to accept a doubling of gas prices to prevent supplies from being cut to its ten million citizens.

The oil dispute centres on a tit-for-tat row over taxes. Minsk introduced a penalty on January 1 on Russian oil crossing Belarus to Europe, in retaliation against Moscow’s decision to slap a duty on oil it sold to Belarus. A government delegation from Belarus flew to Moscow last night to try to negotiate a settlement. But Mr Sharonov said that there would be no talks until Minsk cancelled its tax. Europe should expect to see the natural resources giant use the same ploy in the future to extract market prices for oil and gas out of former Soviet states, experts said.

Andris Piebalgs, the EU Energy Commissioner, said that he was seeking an “urgent and detailed explanation” about the cut in oil deliveries.

UK Times ~ Tony Halpin, Christine Seib, Roger Boyes ** Russians turn off Europe's oil supply

Has France surrendered yet?

I see that the mobsters of Moscow have stepped their crimes up to include extortion of nations and not just individuals now. And I just knew this had to be our fault somehow... If only we hadn't antaganized him with our vicious words. Maybe the EU could sell their soul to Iran, like they did with Saddam... Oh wait -- in order to sell your soul, one must have a soul, to begin with.

I liked this excerpt:
Russia’s "gas war" with Ukraine last January caused supplies to Europe to drop briefly by a third during one of the coldest winters recorded.
Wait a minute, all I've heard is how hot it is getting because of global warming. How can this be? One of the coldest winters RECORDED?

And I love how they're playing games holding oil ransom while our dimocrats are trying to make sure we don't become energy independent. Mustn't drill in ANWR. Gotta work to make no drilling there permanent. Instead of learning from the EU's mistakes, the dims want to make the same ones.
Story:
Libtards push for Alaska drilling ban, Dems show their impatience with reasonable pump prices...
Yahoo News ~ Associated Press - H. Josef Hebert ** Democrats push for Alaska drilling ban

Posted by yaahoo_ at 3:05 PM EST

Updated: Tuesday, 9 January 2007 3:20 PM EST

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Mood:  chillin'

Donnelly, Freshman Democrats Tell Pelosi to Stick to the Center

Representative Joe Donnelly, a freshman Democrat from Indiana, has a blunt message for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Stick to a "middle-of-the-road agenda'' or their party's control of Congress may last just two years.

If Pelosi "goes too far one way or another, we're not coming back,'' Donnelly says. He sees his party's victory in the November elections as less an endorsement of its agenda than a rejection of Republican rule: "People just got real tired of this bunch, and they fired them.''

Donnelly's view reflects those of many of the 30 House Democrats elected in districts previously held by Republicans. Their fragile hold on their seats means they'll be pushing their new speaker, who represents heavily Democratic San Francisco, to limit confrontations with President George W. Bush and the Republicans over taxes, the war in Iraq, stem-cell research and abortion.

"Pelosi needs to show she can govern,'' says James Thurber, a professor at American University in Washington who specializes on Congress and the presidency. To pass her agenda, Pelosi must build coalitions with lawmakers, "especially those from moderate districts'' such as Donnelly's, he says.

Democrats hold 233 seats in the House, while Republicans have 202. In the Senate, Democrats hold only 51 of the 100 seats -- and one Democrat, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, remains hospitalized after brain surgery.

Medicare and Minimum Wage
Donnelly, 51, says he likes most of the legislation Pelosi is trying to push through in the first 100 hours of Democratic control of the House, including an increase in the minimum wage and a plan to allow Medicare to negotiate the cost of drugs with pharmaceutical companies, both scheduled for votes this week.

It may be more difficult for him to support other parts of the party's agenda. Donnelly, a practicing Catholic, opposes abortion and is also against federal funding stem-cell research that uses human embryos, which most Democrats back.

He also may clash with the Democratic leadership over how to handle the war in Iraq. While he describes the war as a "disaster,'' he says he doesn't support the fixed timetable for withdrawal proposed by Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha that Pelosi, 66, has endorsed. Instead, like Bush, he opposes any withdrawal until Iraq is "stabilized.''

"My goal is to help the president,'' he said in an interview. "I am not going to rip him to shreds. If he does a better job, then our soldiers can be more successful, Iraq can be stabilized and our troops can come home.''

First Test
A first test may come this week when Bush announces a change in strategy in Iraq, which may include a plan to send more troops. Last week, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said in a letter to Bush that they oppose a troop increase.

Donnelly, a lawyer, represents an industrial district that backed Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. He lost his first bid for Congress in 2004; in November, he defeated his opponent, two-term incumbent Chris Chocola, with 54 percent of the vote -- an upset Donnelly says was largely due to the national wave of voter dissatisfaction with Republican mismanagement of Congress and Bush's policies.

Next year's elections may be more difficult for Donnelly and other Democrats who won in Republican-leaning districts, says Michael Genovese, chairman of the Institute for Leadership Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. An attractive Republican presidential candidate in 2008 might draw back some of the Republican voters who switched in 2006, he says: "That's what the Democrats fear and the Republicans hope.''

Preparing for 2008
Democratic leaders have already taken steps to help lawmakers from these districts prepare for 2008. Almost immediately after the Nov. 7 elections -- and before the freshmen lawmakers had even arrived in Washington -- the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee established a re- election program for new members. The program includes coaching on fund-raising and constituent outreach, says the DCCC's chairman, Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.

"We fully recognize that in districts where Republican presidential candidates have won majorities in the past, the Republicans will try to target our members,'' Van Hollen says.

Tom Gallagher, a senior managing director at the International Strategy & Investment Group Inc. in Washington, says 60 House Democrats represent districts carried by Bush in 2004, while only eight Republicans represent districts carried by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee.

High-Profile Committees
To increase their re-election chances, some freshmen have been given seats on high-profile committees, positions that increase a lawmaker's appeal to donors.

Donnelly, for example, will serve on the Financial Services Committee, which regulates commercial banks, insurance companies and securities and investment firms. In the 2006 election cycle, committee members received an average of about $180,000 in campaign contributions from the financial-services industry, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based group that tracks campaign giving.

Watching Pelosi take the Speaker's gavel on Thursday was a jubilant moment for Donnelly. Sitting with his fellow freshmen congressmen in the chamber, Donnelly noticed actor Richard Gere and singer Carole King sitting together in the gallery and waved to his son Joe Jr., also in the gallery, to point them out.

Donnelly cast his first vote on Jan. 4 to elect Pelosi as House speaker. He then supported rules changes to ban gifts from lobbyists and identify lawmakers who originate requests for pet spending projects, known as "earmarks.''

With the House in session only two days, Donnelly has a 100 percent record of voting with his party. Still, the lawmaker says, he is determined to try to find common ground with Republicans.

Last week, he signed up with the "Blue Dog'' Democrats, a group of 44 self-described conservative lawmakers who support balanced budgets and less business regulation and are open to accommodation with moderate Republicans.

"I want to represent Democrats and Republicans,'' he says. "I am going to hit the ball down the middle.''

To contact the reporter on this story: William Roberts in Washington at wroberts@bloomberg.net.
Bloomberg.com ~ William Roberts ** Donnelly, Freshman Democrats Tell Pelosi to Stick to the Center

Puglosi knows who butters her bread. Various left-wing groups are gonna hold her feet to the fire making sure she does what they want. I'm sure that Puglosi told them where they stand on the food chain. Once a Libtard, always a Libtard. I think this will be the last we here from poor Donnelly. You don't sting the queen bee and get away with it. Especially in a party as petty and socialism obsessed as the demented-crat party.

Posted by yaahoo_ at 1:31 PM EST

Updated: Tuesday, 9 January 2007 1:55 PM EST

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Georgia high court upholds ID theft conviction of immigrant

ATLANTA -- The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the identity fraud conviction of an illegal immigrant from Mexico who used the name and Social Security number of a Georgia man to get a job at a poultry plant.

In a unanimous decision released Monday, the justices said Georgia's identity theft law is not unconstitutionally vague, nor is it pre-empted by federal law.

The high court found that Nohe Gomes Hernandez "misappropriated the Social Security number of Jason Smith,'' and that he "then used this misappropriated number to obtain a Social Security card and a California driver's license in Smith's name'' so he could get a job at a northeast Georgia poultry plant.

Hernandez was sentenced in April to two years in prison after a jury found him guilty of violating the ID theft law.

Hernandez' attorney had argued that Hernandez' actions were not covered by the state law, which was created to keep people from stealing others' personal information and using it to pillage bank accounts or run up credit card bills. The defense contended that Hernandez did not take any money or resources from Smith.

Authorities learned about the case when the real Jason Smith, from Danielsville, Ga., applied for a $600 tax refund, but the Internal Revenue Service said he owed $12,000 in back taxes.

When Smith inquired further, he found that the IRS had him working two jobs, including the Harrison Poultry plant, where he never worked.

Access North Ga.com ~ WDUN News/Talk 550 - Associated Press ** Georgia high court upholds ID theft conviction of immigrant
Related: ACLU libtards sue police for detaining illegals...
Rhode Island news ~ The Providence Journal - Karen Lee Ziner ** ACLU sues state police

Posted by yaahoo_ at 12:25 PM EST

Updated: Tuesday, 9 January 2007 12:39 PM EST

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Mood:  rushed

Pa. Man Gets Letter Postmarked 1954

Ferndale, Pa. -- A western Pennsylvania man is trying to solve a mystery that recently landed in his mailbox: a letter mailed more than 50 years ago and addressed to a Frederick Zane Yost.

The letter, with a 3-cent stamp and postmarked Oct. 26, 1954, was encased in a large Postal Service window envelope. There is a return address -- in nearby Richland Township -- but no sender's name.

Brian McAteer said that the letter appears to be sealed and has not been damaged, and that he will not open it. However, he hasn't had any luck finding Yost. Among his efforts have been to contact Yosts in the area, speak with longtime residents and search on the Internet.

"I haven't given up trying to find him," McAteer, a road foreman, told the Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown.

The newspaper reported that its archives show Yost's parents, both of whom are dead, lived in Ferndale in 1954. His father was a sports editor at the newspaper, which reported that the younger Yost had moved to Florida.

Tad Kelley, a spokesman for the Postal Service in Pittsburgh, said he could not comment specifically on the letter without investigating.

"Sometimes pieces of mail do get lost behind equipment or transporting equipment. ... It is infrequent, but every once in a blue moon, it does happen," Kelley said. "No matter how old it is, we will deliver it."

Ferndale is about 65 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

San Francisco Chronicle ~ Associated Press ** Pa. Man Gets Letter Postmarked 1954

Lurch Heinz Kerry's missing SF-180, perhaps?

Posted by yaahoo_ at 4:51 PM EST

Updated: Monday, 8 January 2007 4:58 PM EST

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Anti materialist libtard wants free computer

This is an actual ad on Craigslist in Portland, Oregon.

Anti-Corporate, Pro-Peace revolutionary needs laptop
Reply to: sale-258633691@craigslist.org

Hello. I am a homeless political advocate who, sadly, needs a laptop replaced to continue my work on spreading the message of anti-corporation, anti-profit and greed, anti-machine materialism as perpetrated by American terrorists. I am an ex-computer science student with web and network skills trying to work with and spread a message of peace amongst religious buddhists, ecologically aware vegetarians, and any and all spiritual advocates with a message of peace and anti-materialism. I work actively in bringing insight and donations to spiritual communities such as buddhist monasteries, communes, and intentional communities.

Recently, I was hassled by American police force terrorists, my laptop confiscated and its data destroyed, simply because it failed to comply with their policy of profit, materialism, and genocide.

If you have a cheap, spare laptop lying around, something near an old pentium 3 or 4 that is not being used, I would greatly appreciate the donation to continue my work. Any type of laptop at all would be of great benefit to me."

The Craigslist posting is here.

You can email the bone idle lazy fart at this address if you care to rattle his cage. I'm sure you can have quite a discussion about his hypocricy in being anti-materialistic but desiring a computer.

Do it quickly as he will get flagged of real fast. Even Liberal Portland will dump this moron in short order. Oops, he's already been flagged. Those damn corporate, greedy, materialistic Craigslist users! Fascist terrorists!

Does he have money to pay for internet access? Maybe he loiters in a wi-fi community.

It's like when people go on TV to decry TV... Badmouthing the rich at a thousand dollar dinner. Or like when Tim Robbins got up to a microphone to explain how Bush was shutting down free speech. Or anything else the libtard activists have done in the last twenty years.

In reading this, I laughed as hard as I usually do when I see "anarchists" in chat, on a computer (running in perfect digital order.)

Posted by yaahoo_ at 12:28 PM EST

Updated: Sunday, 7 January 2007 12:58 PM EST

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Mood:  silly

The Demented-crats' promise: "A New Direction For America"

The stock market is at a new all-time high and America's 401Ks are back. A new direction from there means, what?

Unemployment is at 25-year lows. A new direction from there means, what?

Oil prices are plummeting. A new direction from there means, what?

Taxes are at 20-year lows. A new direction from there means, what?

Federal tax revenues are at all-time highs. A new direction from there means, what?

The Federal deficit is down almost 50%, just as predicted over last year. A new direction from there means, what?

Home valuations are up 200% over the past 3.5 years. A new direction from there means, what?

Inflation is in check, hovering at 20-year lows. A new direction from there means, what?

Not a single terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11/01. A new direction from there means, what?

Osama bin Laden is living under a rock in a dark cave, having not surfaced in years, if he's alive at all, while 95% of Al Queda's top dogs are either dead or in custody, cooperating with US Intel. A new direction from there means, what?

Several major terrorist attacks already thwarted by US and British Intel, including the recent planned attack involving 10 Jumbo Jets being exploded in mid-air over major US cities in order to celebrate the anniversary of the 9/11/01 attacks. A new direction from there means, what?

Just as President Bush foretold us on a number of occasions, Iraq was to be made "ground zero" for the war on terrorism -- and just as President Bush said they would, terrorist cells from all over the region are arriving from the shadows of their hiding places and flooding into Iraq in order to get their faces blown off by US Marines rather than boarding planes and heading to the United States to wage war on us here. A new direction from there means, what?

Now let me see, do I have this right? I can expect:

The economy to go South
Illegals to go North
Taxes to go Up
Employment to go Down
Terrorism to come In
Tax breaks to go Out
Social Security to go Away
Health Care to go the same way gas prices have gone
But what the heck!

I can gain comfort by knowing that Nancy "Nambla" Puglosi, Shrillary Clintax, Lurch Heinz Kerry, Sled "The Swimmer" Kennedy, Coward Deanpeace, Harry Greid, and Barack "Osama-Hussein" Obama have worked hard to create a comprehensive National Security Plan, Health Care Plan, Immigration Reform Plan, Gay Rights Plan, Same Sex Marriage Plan, Abortion On Demand Plan, Tolerance of Everyone and Everything Plan, How to Return all Troops to the U. S. in The Next Six Months Plan, A Get Tough Plan, adapted from the French Plan by the same name and a How Everyone Can Become as Wealthy as We Are Plan.

I forgot the No More Katrina Storm Plan,
Barney Frank accuses Bush of 'ethnic cleansing' in U.S., scolds 'policy' of inaction

And their "Energy Independence" plan...
Dems push for Alaska drilling ban, Show their impatience with reasonable pump prices

Now I know why I feel good after the elections. I'm going to be able to sleep so much better at night knowing these dedicated politicians are thinking of me and my welfare.

Because story after story like this are getting "old"...
Another 'surprise' leap in job gains: 167,000 added in Dec., Wages also higher than expected, 8 cents to $17.04

Posted by yaahoo_ at 11:45 AM EST

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A surprise leap in job gains

Employers add many more jobs than expected, unemployment rate remains unchanged.

NEW YORK -- Employers added more workers in December, as a government report Friday showed a labor market that was much stronger than forecasts.

The report showed a net gain of 167,000 jobs on U.S. payrolls in December, up from the 154,000 increase in November, which was also revised higher. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast only a 100,000 rise in payrolls in December.

The unemployment rate stayed at 4.5 percent, in line with economists' forecasts.

Wages also came in higher than expected, as the average hourly wage was up 8 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $17.04. Economists had forecast only a 0.3 percent increase in wages. The November wage gain was also revised higher.

Bond prices took a sharp dive on the report, raising yield on the closely watched 10-year note 4.66 percent from 4.59 percent before the report, as the report raised new inflation concerns and hit hopes that the Federal Reserve might soon cut interest rates.

Stock futures rebounded slightly but were still pointed to a lower open for stocks.

"Stock traders basically got a little bit of good news on employment front since they were worried about weakness, but they'll be concerned about the wages," said Anthony Chan, chief economist for JPMorgan Private Client Services. "It's a small positive."

CNN Money ** A surprise leap in job gains

What is it, about 40 surprises in a row now?

So now, all the credit must go to the demented-crats. There is an aura of optimism in the business community now that they know the libtards are going to pass needed legislation, such as pharmacutical regulation, the roll-back of tax cuts, and windfall profits taxes on oil companies. These acts are sure to be a boon to the economy.

NOT!

Posted by yaahoo_ at 12:01 AM EST

Updated: Sunday, 7 January 2007 10:22 AM EST

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So now ethnic cleansing means inaction? I need a new libtard-to-english translation dictionary. I can't keep up anymore...

TROUBLESPEAK

Barney Frank accuses Bush of 'ethnic cleansing'

Democrat lawmaker scolds 'policy' of inaction toward blacks suffering from Katrina

In a private session videotaped yesterday on Capitol Hill, Rep. Barney Frank, D, Mass., accused the Bush administration of "ethnic cleansing by inaction" against poor blacks in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Frank, the new chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, said that after the administration's initial "incompetence," it has done "virtually nothing to alleviate" the loss of housing by the poor in New Orleans, who mostly are black.

"What I believe is, at this point, you're not talking about incompetence, you're talking about values ... when in a calculated way you refuse to do anything for well over a year after the disaster," Frank said.

"The policy, I think, is ethnic cleansing by inaction. …"

Steve Adamske, a spokesman for Frank, clarified the congressman's remarks for WND.

"He's saying it's by government inaction; he's not accusing them of genocide or mass murder," Adamske explained. "He's talking about doing nothing – that it amounts to ethnic cleansing by inaction."

But Frank, Adamske acknowledged, called the alleged Republican inaction a "policy" and "calculated." He affirmed the congressman, who was speaking to a group of "liberal bloggers," would say the inaction is intentional.

Frank said, according to an amateur video clip posted on YouTube, "What they recognize is they're in this happy position for them, where if the federal government does nothing, Louisiana will become whiter and richer. … So by simply not doing anything to alleviate this ... crisis that was so greatly exaggerated by Katrina, they let the hurricane do the ethnic cleansing, and their hands are clean. ..."

It wasn't the first time Frank has made the ethnic-cleansing charge, but the YouTube posting is drawing attention on the Internet today.

"It's great that we have fighters in there willing to do what's necessary," said supportive blogger Matt Stoller, who posted the clip of Frank's remarks on the popular video site.

Last February, Frank spoke to a group of some 400 Katrina survivors who came to the nation's capital for two days of rallies, protests and meetings with lawmakers about the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, the Washington Post reported.

The paper said the crowd "thundered" when Frank called the lack of progress in rebuilding less-affluent neighborhoods "a policy of ethnic cleansing by inaction."

NBC News Producer Mike Viqueira also noted the February quote on his newssite's blog, saying the "room was rockin'" as Frank, Pelosi, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and others "drew shouts and standing ovations as they enumerated the alleged sins of the government on such issues as trailers, insurance, hotel accommodations, etc."

The Post in February said a panel of Democratic members of Congress planned "to hold the administration accountable for the treatment of the region since Katrina and then Rita hit."

Adamske told WND a series of hearings has been held within Frank's committee this past year "to address the serious housing problem."

But when asked for the result, he said, "No specific plan has been determined yet."

The White House has not responded yet to WND's request for comment.

The federal government has approved $88 billion for Katrina relief.

In an interview with BET.com, the Black Entertainment Network's website, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, who is black, addressed charges of racism related to the government's response to Katrina.

Jackson said his agency has helped Katrina evacuees move out of shelters and hotels, but very few are being placed in the New Orleans area.

He said his agency has addressed specific accusations of housing discrimination toward blacks but insists the problem is not widespread.

The difficulties his agency faces in New Orleans, he said, are unusual, because the flood waters moved homes off their foundations.

"So our first task is examination; is it safe to move the homes; and second is it safe to rebuild," he said. "We might not want to rebuild the way we did before."

Jackson argued conditions in New Orleans' Lower Eighth and Ninth Wards were "not livable" before the flood.

"It disturbs me tremendously when people want to say racism played a part in this," he said. "As I reminded the Reverend Jesse Jackson and (NAACP President) Bruce Gordon, for 31 years we've had a black mayor in New Orleans; for 25 years we've had a predominately black city council in New Orleans, and the quality of life did not change for black people living in the Lower Eighth and Lower Ninth."

In fact, Jackson asserted, "the quality of life had only gotten worse until the flood came in. ... My contention is it wasn't race, it was inefficiency and non-compassion."

Art Moore is a news editor with WorldNetDaily.com.
World Net Daily ~ Art Moore ** Barney Frank accuses Bush of 'ethnic cleansing'

Wasn't Barney in a waaaay off broadway production once. I remember him singing now. "I'm gonna get that gay prostitute out of my hair"

Ethnic cleansing? Could there be a more inaccurate, inflammatory comment. You might as well say that pro-abortioninsts are promoting ethnic cleansing. Have you noticed who's actually getting the abortions?

I remember something about the local government of LA causing the inaction. Bush had paperwork ready to sign before the hurricane arrived. Maybe we should examine who decided to leave the buses under water while people died because an evacuation was not called for... Barney Frank is a partisan idiot.

Here is a timeline:

FRIDAY 08/26/05:
A. NOAA buoy 240 miles south of New Orleans records 68’ waves before it was destroyed. Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center calls Mayor Nagin of New Orleans & Louisiana Governor Blanco to plead with them to begin MANDATORY evacuation of New Orleans. They said they'd take it under consideration.

B. President Bush prepares all of the paperwork required for a state to request federal assistance. President Bush calls Governor Blanco asking her to sign the request papers so the federal government and the military could legally begin mobilization and call up. He was told that they didn't think it necessary for the federal government to be involved yet.

C. Governor Blanco holds staff meeting to discuss the political ramifications of bringing federal forces. It was decided that if they allowed federal assistance it would make it look as if they had failed so it was agreed upon that the feds would not be invited in.

SATURDAY 08/27/05:
D. Before the Hurricane hit, the President again calls Blanco and Nagin requesting they sign the papers requesting federal assistance, that they declare the state an emergency area, and begin mandatory evacuation. After a personal plea from the President, Mayor Nagin agreed to order an evacuation, but it would not be a full mandatory evacuation, and the governor still refused to sign the papers requesting and authorizing federal action.

E. In frustration the President declared the area a national disaster area before the state of Louisiana did so he could legally begin some advanced preparations.

MONDAY 08/29/05: HURRICANE KATRINA HITS
WEDNESDAY 08/31/05:
F. Governor Blanco finally signs the multi-state mutual aid pack activation documents, delaying the legal deployment of National Guard from adjoining states.

Here are some issues that have never been addressed:

A. The failure of both the State and the City of NO to implement their emergency plans in a timely manner or not at all. Mayor Nagin taking no ACTION at all!!! His failure to use the school buses to evacuate people. The looting by NO Police officers captured on film (who by the way were found not guilty)!!!

B. Comments made by: Senator Landrieu stating she wanted to hit President Bush. Mayor Nagin rebuilding NO as a “Chocolate City” (My “Vanilla Tourist Dollars” won’t be going there). His disrespectful comments towards NYC and WTC rebuilding efforts.

C. Mayor Nagin’s latest blunder refusing K&L Auto Crushers of Tyler, Texas offered to pay the City of New Orleans $100.00 per vehicle, 'as is, where is', an estimated $5 million net to the city. Mayor Nagin refused the offer saying the city would do the job themselves. It seems that now it will cost the City $23 million to complete the job.

D. The free pass that the MSM has given the political leaders of NO & LA for their dereliction of duty!!!

Related:
Nagin Admits People Not Returning to New Orleans -- "Chocolate City" still without nuts

Posted by yaahoo_ at 12:01 AM EST

Updated: Sunday, 7 January 2007 9:00 AM EST

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Protesters disrupt press conference on lobbying reform

House Democrats tried to unveil their lobbying reform package today, but their press conference was drowned out by chants from anti-war activists who want Congress to stop funding the Iraq war before taking on other issues.

Led by Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a slain soldier, the protesters chanted "De-escalate, investigate, troops home now" as Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., began outlining the Democrats' plans to ban lobbyist-funded travel and institute other ethics reforms. The press conference was held in the Cannon House Office Building in an area open to the public.

Emanuel finally gave up trying to be heard over the chants, and retreated to a caucus room where Democrats were meeting.

Sheehan says she has nothing against lobbying reform, but she and her fellow anti-war activists want Democrats to know they will keep pressuring Congress to end the war in Iraq.

"We wanted the Democrats to know they're back in power because of the grass roots," Sheehan says.

The anti-war activists held their own Capitol Hill press conference earlier in the day before deciding to attend the lobbying reform press conference as well.

Before the chanting started, Sheehan got a hug from Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

VIDEO: Fox News ** Sheehan, Iraq War Protesters Break Up Dems' Press Conference

Washington Business Journal ~ Kent Hoover ** Protesters disrupt press conference on lobbying reform

Posted by yaahoo_ at 8:50 AM EST

Updated: Thursday, 4 January 2007 9:50 AM EST

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Pressure to Democratic Leaders

Liberals Seek Bolder Approach to War, Spying

By Jonathan Weisman

Democratic leaders set to take control of Congress tomorrow are facing mounting pressure from liberal activists to chart a more confrontational course on Iraq and the issues of human rights and civil liberties, with some even calling for the impeachment of President Bush.

The carefully calibrated legislative blitz that Democrats have devised for the first 100 hours of power has left some activists worried the passion that swept the party to power in November is already dissipating. A cluster of protesters will greet the new congressional leaders at the Capitol tomorrow. They will not be disgruntled conservatives wary of Democratic control, but liberals demanding a ban on torture, an end to warrantless domestic spying and a restoration of curbed civil liberties.

The protest will be followed by an evening forum calling for the president's impeachment, led by the Center for Constitutional Rights, antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan and a pro-impeachment group called World Can't Wait.

Those priorities will not be in evidence inside the Capitol, where the newly sworn-in Democratic Congress will immediately begin work on new ethics rules, the reinstitution of federal deficit controls and new policies designed to increase civility in House proceedings. In the coming weeks, Democrats plan to pass bills designed to raise the minimum wage, lower prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients and interest rates for student borrowers, bolster homeland security and boost alternative energy research.

Nowhere in the Democrats' consensus-driven agenda is legislation revisiting last year's establishment of military tribunals and suspending legal rights for suspected terrorists. Nor is there a revision of the civil liberties provisions of the USA Patriot Act, a measure curbing warrantless wiretapping by the National Security Agency or an aggressive confrontation of the president on his Iraq war policies.

To Democratic activists and some lawmakers, the agenda skirts the larger issues that damaged the president's approval ratings and torpedoed Republican control of Congress.

"We've been told for many years, 12 years now, 'Wait until we get in power. Then you'll see things change,' " said Debra Sweet, national director of World Can't Wait, a pro-impeachment group helping to organize the protest. "We'll give them a couple of months or a few weeks to see what they come up with, but if they don't do something very decisive around the war and these other issues, I think there will be trouble."

"If the first 100 hours is going to be characterized by an increase in the minimum wage and improved health and education benefits for Americans, that's fine," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), a liberal firebrand who ran for president in 2004 and has announced for 2008. "But then let's talk about the second hundred hours, because we cannot let this war be lost. We cannot abandon the troops in the field to temporizing."

To most Democratic lawmakers, such activism presents a quandary. House Republican leaders spent years trying to placate their conservative base with agendas built around opposition to same-sex marriage, antiabortion votes and tax cuts, said Sen.-elect Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.). The partisan tone enraged Democrats and ultimately alienated moderates and independents, who swept the GOP from power in November after a dozen years in control.

"The Democrats have to be careful not to fall into these traps that I think paralyzed the Republicans," Cardin said.

But Democratic lawmakers -- especially the freshmen who capitalized on voter discontent -- said their core supporters' anger is real and must be acknowledged.

"Those people protesting on Thursday care deeply about their country," said Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire, an incoming House freshman who ran as an ardent opponent of Bush and the war. "I think we do need to pay attention. People are begging us to remember the Constitution, what made this country great."

One lawmaker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of alienating such voters, said wherever he goes, he hears from activists calling for Bush's impeachment. Cutting off funding for the Iraq war comes in a close second.

"For most progressive activists, there is generally speaking, an open mind but also a real fear that the 110th [Congress] will not be as aggressive as many of us want it to be," said Ralph G. Neas, president of the liberal People for the American Way. "On the other hand, there is a lot of pragmatism as we go into the 2008 election season. There's this high-wire act for everybody, not only for the House and Senate leadership but for the progressive community, too."

The high-wire act will be on display almost as soon as the new Congress is sworn in. The first motion from the House floor will be a parliamentary inquiry from Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.) on the disputed election to replace retired Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.). In November's balloting, Republican Vern Buchanan beat Democrat Christine Jennings by 369 votes.

But more than 18,000 ballots that day did not record a vote in the closely contested race, an "undervote" rate of nearly 15 percent, mainly from the Democrat's stronghold of Sarasota County. An academic study, commissioned by the company that made the electronic voting machines, found "that there is essentially a 100 percent chance that Jennings would have won" had Sarasota voters cast their votes with different machines and ballots.

Holt's inquiry will make clear that Buchanan's swearing-in tomorrow should not prejudice or compromise a House investigation or ongoing legal challenges to his election. But that falls well short of activist demands that the seat be left vacant, or even that the House simply seat Jennings.

Holt said he is willing to take the heat for that decision.

"There are some Democrats who say we should seize that seat any way we can," he acknowledged. "But if in a heavy-handed way, we just say we've got the votes and we're going to throw out Vern Buchanan, we would undermine the principle we say we are fighting for."

Washington Post ~ Jonathan Weisman ** Activists on the Left Applying Pressure to Democratic Leaders

Posted by yaahoo_ at 11:53 AM EST

Updated: Wednesday, 3 January 2007 12:20 PM EST

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