Activism Change

OT: HOW ROVE TWISTED FOLEY'S ARM

admin — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Question:

HOW ROVE TWISTED FOLEY’S ARM Ryan Lizza (New Republic) It seems increasingly clear that the GOP congressional leadership, eager for every safe incumbent in the House to run for re-election, looked the other way as evidence accumulated that Mark Foley had a thing for pages. Holding onto his seat became more important than confronting him over his extracurricular activities. But there’s more to the story of why Foley stood for re-election this year. Yesterday, a source close to Foley explained to THE NEW REPUBLIC that in early 2006 the congressman had all but decided to retire from the House and set up shop on K Street. "Mark’s a friend of mine," says this source. "He told me, ‘I’m thinking about getting out of it and becoming a lobbyist.’" But when Foley’s friend saw the Congressman again this spring, something had changed. To the source’s surprise, Foley told him he would indeed be standing for re-election. What happened? Karl Rove intervened. According to the source, Foley said he was being pressured by "the White House and Rove gang," who insisted that Foley run. If he didn’t, Foley was told, it might impact his lobbying career. "He said, ‘The White House made it very clear I have to run,’" explains Foley’s friend, adding that Foley told him that the White House promised that if Foley served for two more years it would "enhance his success" as a lobbyist. "I said, ‘I thought you wanted out of this?’ And he said, ‘I do, but they’re scared of losing the House and the thought of two years of Congressional hearings, so I have two more years of duty.’"

Response:

And there you have it folks, we have a Republican party, led by the Bush & Rove gang, so desperate to retain control, that they are willing to sacrifice just about anyone — including the young congressional pages — to remain in power and prevent Democrats from disturbing all those GOP skeletons that have piled up a mile high over the past six years.

Response:

OT: If Dems win in Nov.

admin — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Question:

While I agree with some of this post, After all this, all corporations will close down. Jobs will be "0". Tax base will disappear, the people will foot "all" of the bill. << which will be raised(history proves that when Dems are in) You live in a "corporate" controlled country. Texas Blue Fed up with both parties and their members.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is thinking 100 hours, time enough, she says, to begin to "drain the swamp" after more than a decade of Republican rule. As in the first 100 hours the House meets after Democrats — in her fondest wish — win control in the Nov. 7 midterm elections and Pelosi takes the gavel as the first Madam Speaker in history. Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation." Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Time remaining until 100 hours: Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step. Cut the interest rate on student loans in half. Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients. Broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds — "I hope with a veto-proof majority," she added in an Associated Press interview Thursday. All the days after that: "Pay as you go," meaning no increasing the deficit, whether the issue is middle class tax relief, health care or some other priority. To do that, she said, Bush-era tax cuts would have to be rolled back for those above "a certain level." She mentioned annual incomes of $250,000 or $300,000 a year and higher, and said tax rates for those individuals might revert to those of the Clinton era.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – While I agree with some of this post, After all this, all corporations will close down. Jobs will be "0". Tax base will disappear, the people will foot "all" of the bill. << which will be raised(history proves that when Dems are in) You live in a "corporate" controlled country. Texas Blue Fed up with both parties and their members. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is thinking 100 hours, time enough, she says, to begin to "drain the swamp" after more than a decade of Republican rule. As in the first 100 hours the House meets after Democrats — in her fondest wish — win control in the Nov. 7 midterm elections and Pelosi takes the gavel as the first Madam Speaker in history. Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation." Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Time remaining until 100 hours: Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step. Cut the interest rate on student loans in half. Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients. Broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds — "I hope with a veto-proof majority," she added in an Associated Press interview Thursday. All the days after that: "Pay as you go," meaning no increasing the deficit, whether the issue is middle class tax relief, health care or some other priority. To do that, she said, Bush-era tax cuts would have to be rolled back for those above "a certain level." She mentioned annual incomes of $250,000 or $300,000 a year and higher, and said tax rates for those individuals might revert to those of the Clinton era.

Hmmm, I am waiting looking from outside. No impeachment for Bush and Cheney?

Response:

Hmmm, I am waiting looking from outside. No impeachment for Bush and Cheney?

Nancy Pelosi is the Dem who was so happy with the "We won’t tell on you if you won’t tell on us" deal in Congress whereby Dems and Republicans agreed not to file ethics complaints on each other that when a Dem. Congressman named Bell wanted to report Tom Delay she tried to stop him. Abramoff client money went to a lot of politicians, Pelosi was one of them. Talk is cheap, Pelosi will say what she knows the voters want to hear because she wants to see her party take over the House, once she’s in power the Dems will be subject to the same corruption as the Republicans. Please remember that as a result of their long stranglehold on Congress, Dems overwhelmingly dominated the list of members indicted for corruption, that’s in part how the Republicans were able to take away Congress. Dream on Tony, the Democrat and Republican leadership all belong to the same country club elite, if the Dems take over and put in *real* restrictions on lobbying and corruption I’ll buy you a beer, but don’t get too thirsty, ’cause that’s a slim chance at best.

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After all this, all corporations will close down. Jobs will be "0". Tax base will disappear

Bullshit.

Response:

yes, but the tax base has already disappearred as the middle class shrank and as corporations are learning new ways to avoid paying taxes, as our infrastruction becomes more decrepit and our housing stock declines, as our net worth declines and so on. All corporations will not close down. They are global. They will attempt to control who ever wins the latest power struggle. They probably already control all the players merely by being donors in various campaigns. You know from reading campaign conribution reports that most corporations contribute to both sides of the fence during close races and to which ever side they anticipate will be the winner. It’s a business investment for which they expect and get a return. The people don’t have to foot the bill if they revolt or if they ALL declare bankruptcy. The people should exercise their power to revoke certain charters and use the assets of certain corporations to pay for the damage they have invoked on the people. The people should do this legally. But they probably don’t have enough spirit. Flipper jumped on me fo sayng I was wishing for a military coup claiming I was a law breaker. But even that can occur legally as the military has sworn to uphold our constitution and not elected officials who break or usurp our laws or attempt to consolidate power in themselves.

Response:

This is true about many of the demos in office, the DNC and perhaps most of the Democratic Party. Yep, much of the Democrat institution has become Republican Lite and is sold out by bribery (or if you prefer the euphemism "lobbying) as the Republicans are by the same corporate interests. HOWEVER, there are "rogue" democrats running for Congressional offices and are refusing to take donations of over $100 per entity. There are also nearly 50 ex-military candidates included in this rogue bunch running as Democrats. People are encouraged to donate to them (again, no more than $100) even if they are in another state in order to bring back some balance of power and checks and balances and some oversight and perhaps the impeachment of the worst pathetic president this country has ever been cheated into twice. These "rogue" Demos just might be the salvation of our Bill of Rights and other institutions which made this country as great as it was before Team Chimpy. That is until they get corrupted with power as is usually the case. But at least they may be able to hold off Armageddon for awhile. We’ll just have to see. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -if the Dems take over and put in *real* restrictions on lobbying and corruption I’ll buy you a beer, but don’t get too thirsty, ’cause that’s a slim chance at best.

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hmmm, I am waiting looking from outside. No impeachment for Bush and Cheney? Nancy Pelosi is the Dem who was so happy with the "We won’t tell on you if you won’t tell on us" deal in Congress whereby Dems and Republicans agreed not to file ethics complaints on each other that when a Dem. Congressman named Bell wanted to report Tom Delay she tried to stop him. Abramoff client money went to a lot of politicians, Pelosi was one of them. Talk is cheap, Pelosi will say what she knows the voters want to hear because she wants to see her party take over the House, once she’s in power the Dems will be subject to the same corruption as the Republicans. Please remember that as a result of their long stranglehold on Congress, Dems overwhelmingly dominated the list of members indicted for corruption, that’s in part how the Republicans were able to take away Congress. Dream on Tony, the Democrat and Republican leadership all belong to the same country club elite, This is true about many of the demos in office, the DNC and perhaps most of the Democratic Party. Yep, much of the Democrat institution has become Republican Lite and is sold out by bribery (or if you prefer the euphemism "lobbying) as the Republicans are by the same corporate interests. HOWEVER, there are "rogue" democrats running for Congressional offices and are refusing to take donations of over $100 per entity. There are also nearly 50 ex-military candidates included in this rogue bunch running as Democrats. People are encouraged to donate to them (again, no more than $100) even if they are in another state in order to bring back some balance of power and checks and balances and some oversight and perhaps the impeachment of the worst pathetic president this country has ever been cheated into twice. These "rogue" Demos just might be the salvation of our Bill of Rights and other institutions which made this country as great as it was before Team Chimpy. That is until they get corrupted with power as is usually the case. But at least they may be able to hold off Armageddon for awhile. We’ll just have to see. if the Dems take over and put in *real* restrictions on lobbying and corruption I’ll buy you a beer, but don’t get too thirsty, ’cause that’s a slim chance at best.

Our best bets are the fighting dems – the iraq vets that came back so angry they ran for office, they are not your usual political flak.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hmmm, I am waiting looking from outside. No impeachment for Bush and Cheney? Nancy Pelosi is the Dem That’s right… attack the messenger, as it’s SO much easier than actually talking about the issues she raised. who was so happy with the "We won’t tell on you if you won’t tell on us" deal in Congress whereby Dems and Republicans agreed not to file ethics complaints on each other that when a Dem. Congressman named Bell wanted to report Tom Delay she tried to stop him. Abramoff client money went to a lot of politicians, Pelosi was one of them. Talk is cheap, Republicans are always saying "Democrats don’t have a plan"… then when someone has a plan, it’s "talk is cheap…" blah blah. Pelosi will say what she knows the voters want to hear Damn right the voters want to hear that stuff. They sure as hell aren’t hearing from your side, are they? because she wants to see her party take over the House, once she’s in power the Dems will be subject to the same corruption as the Republicans. Please remember that as a result of their long stranglehold on Congress, Dems overwhelmingly dominated the list of members indicted for corruption, that’s in part how the Republicans were able to take away Congress. It took Democrats decades to become as corrupt as the Republicans became in just ten years.

Hmmm, They had to catch up, you know.

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Hmmm, Godspeed to them, outsiders without all the ties and debts and alliances are probably the best hope for real reform, but they’ll have an uphill battle.

Response:

It took Democrats decades to become as corrupt as the Republicans became in just ten years. Hmmm, They had to catch up, you know.

"Fubar" is in the killfile where he belongs, I got tired of waiting for him to post something that didn’t sound like it was written by a seventeen-year-old. However, this latest effort which you quote at least appears to have had comic potential. Apparently he expects us to be impressed that Democrat politicians took longer to become corrupt than Republicans, that they became just as corrupt seems to have escaped his awesome political mind. I wonder if he’ll ever figure out that someone wanting to make fun of liberals couldn’t make up stuff this funny?

Response:

HOWEVER, there are "rogue" democrats running for Congressional offices and are refusing to take donations of over $100 per entity. There are also nearly 50 ex-military candidates included in this rogue bunch running as Democrats. Hmmm, Godspeed to them, outsiders without all the ties and debts and alliances are probably the best hope for real reform, but they’ll have an uphill battle. Hmmm,

They say it takes 3 generations to right the wrong. That’s ~100 years.

Response:

Hmmm, They say it takes 3 generations to right the wrong. That’s ~100 years.

"They" say a lot of things and "they" seem to be wrong at least as often as they’re right.

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Here, chickenshit, let me post it for you again:

Why, is it less childishly stupid than the first time you posted it? Now create another sock-puppet right away, jump to it punk.

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did courageously avow: Hmmm, They say it takes 3 generations to right the wrong. That’s ~100 years. "They" say a lot of things and "they" seem to be wrong at least as often as they’re right.

I used to be a they. Don’t know what happened. Woke up one morning to find out I had become one of them instead. — Ken Wilson

Response:

Hmmm, They say it takes 3 generations to right the wrong. That’s ~100 years. "They" say a lot of things and "they" seem to be wrong at least as often as they’re right. I used to be a they. Don’t know what happened. Woke up one morning to find out I had become one of them instead.

That does tend to come with advancing age, there are days when I’m tempted to sit on the porch and wave my cane at kids who walk on the lawn.

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They win in November. So what…? Samey same. "Meet the new boss."

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courageously avow: They win in November. So what…? Samey same. "Meet the new boss."

Too sadly the truth. The more things change the more they stay the same. — Ken Wilson

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Don’t forget not to vote, and then go shoot yourself, since everything is totally hopeless. They win in November. So what…? Samey same. "Meet the new boss."

Democraps, Repugnic*nts…makes no never mind to me who’s "in charge." I pay bills and buy food regardless. And my income is *guaranteed* and comfy…;-) I love the government.

Response:

Family Support

admin — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Question:

I have a question for everyone. I got married about a year and a half ago. My then fiancee made me think that he would be supportive of my panics and really put up a good front. Now, he completely refuses to even acknowledge it and has accused me of "using it to get out of doing things I don’t want to do". I am SOOOOOOOOOOO angry with him and feel as though he put up a front before we got married to make me think he was going to be supportive but he’s not!!! I dont ask him to understand it because you cant understand it unless you’ve been there but I told him understanding it and being just a LITTLE sympathetic or compassionate to it is TOTALLY different. I appreciate any advice. Of course this is not the only area of my marriage that is not working, most all areas are NOT working so on top of everything else, we have this issue. Thanks, Kellie — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

I appreciate any advice. Of course this is not the only area of my marriage that is not working, most all areas are NOT working so on top of everything else, we have this issue.

You’ve answered your own questions. The marriage *itself* is a flop, hence the facade of your husband’s caring which easily dispels. This scenario is different from the so-called caregiver scenario, where an exhausted helper may becomes angry at times at a terminal patient (or just a person with a chronic illness) out of stress. — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a question for everyone. I got married about a year and a half ago. My then fiancee made me think that he would be supportive of my panics and really put up a good front. Now, he completely refuses to even acknowledge it and has accused me of "using it to get out of doing things I don’t want to do". I am SOOOOOOOOOOO angry with him and feel as though he put up a front before we got married to make me think he was going to be supportive but he’s not!!! I dont ask him to understand it because you cant understand it unless you’ve been there but I told him understanding it and being just a LITTLE sympathetic or compassionate to it is TOTALLY different. I appreciate any advice. Of course this is not the only area of my marriage that is not working, most all areas are NOT working so on top of everything else, we have this issue. Thanks, Kellie

I can only tell you my experience. Before we were married, he said he admired the fact that I was a feminist and had strong political views. He also said he agreed with me that we should wait 5 years before deciding to have kids. Didn’t even take him a month to go back on both statements, and not long after I discovered he was an alcoholic, and was sexually dysfunctional, into the bargain. I bribed him to go to couples counseling with me, and during the one session he deigned to attend he sat there and smiled and said "I don’t understand why we’re here. There is nothing wrong in our marriage." Then he would go 3 days sometimes without speaking a word to me. He stole money from my purse to go to strip clubs when we couldn’t afford decent groceries, and blamed my weight for his lack of sexual interest in me. I got the hell outta there. Never looked back, never regretted it. If you can fix it, great. If you can’t, you can’t. Figure that one out first, and the rest of your decisions will follow. Good luck, Deirdre — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Hi, Kellie, Is marriage counseling out of the question? It might be an avenue to pursue if your hubby would attend. smiles, Elise

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I have a question for everyone. I got married about a year and a half ago. My then fiancee made me think that he would be supportive of my panics and really put up a good front. Now, he completely refuses to even acknowledge it and has accused me of "using it to get out of doing things I don’t want to do". I am SOOOOOOOOOOO angry with him and feel as though he put up a front before we got married to make me think he was going to be supportive but he’s not!!! I dont ask him to understand it because you cant understand it unless you’ve been there but I told him understanding it and being just a LITTLE sympathetic or compassionate to it is TOTALLY different. I appreciate any advice. Of course this is not the only area of my marriage that is not working, most all areas are NOT working so on top of everything else, we have this issue. Thanks, Kellie — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

– The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a question for everyone. I got married about a year and a half ago. My then fiancee made me think that he would be supportive of my panics and really put up a good front. Now, he completely refuses to even acknowledge it and has accused me of "using it to get out of doing things I don’t want to do". I am SOOOOOOOOOOO angry with him and feel as though he put up a front before we got married to make me think he was going to be supportive but he’s not!!! I dont ask him to understand it because you cant understand it unless you’ve been there but I told him understanding it and being just a LITTLE sympathetic or compassionate to it is TOTALLY different. I appreciate any advice. Of course this is not the only area of my marriage that is not working, most all areas are NOT working so on top of everything else, we have this issue. Thanks, Kellie

Oh, honey, I just don’t think it’s going to work out. My husband has issues with my health, but not only do I have anxiety and agoraphobia, but we’re dealing with cancer; we’ve got major problems. My husband is doing the best he can and we’ve only been married 2 years. He cries, he holds me, he expresses his feelings and we talk. Do you two ever talk? Are you good friends? To me, a solid marriage is based on friendship. If a person can’t stick by their best friend in a time of need, then why get married? You need to ask your husband questions like this and reassess your relationship. To me, he just doesn’t sound supportive enough. I wish you all the best, sweetie. kili — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Kellie, I just recently put my foot down in my family about the fact I will no longer accept abuse of any kind, verbal or otherwise – anyone who tries to discount you or try to lay some stupid blame/guilt trip on you over an ILLNESS.. would get a dose of reality. Don’t you ever be fooled. that is a problem HE has, it ain’t you. Remember that if you remember nothing else. I’d tell the hubby to change it, it’s unacceptable, completely. He has that option or he can go.. Kellie, take it from one who really, really knows.. this sort of psychological abuse can damage you for years, decades… I’m sure your case doesn’t come close to what I’ve been through in my life, but I recognize that attitude. You stand up for yourself, call it like you see it. Most decent people will be shamed if you approach it from the standpoint of the truth, but I’d be completely adamant about it, and mean it.. treat you like a human being or GO.. and damned if I’d even care if he chose to. You don’t need that. I have hope for the guy, really. He acted okay before the marriage. Maybe he’s just assumed he’s got you in a state of dependence on him because you are married and he can do what he wants now. I’d let him know otherwise.. You have NOOOOOOOOOO idea what this sort attitude from others did to me. I bought into it. If you hear it enough, you may start to believe it yourself… you see it for what it is. A problem in HIM. You put him in his place in a way that he hears you. I honestly would tell him if he wanted to continue with that attitude, he’d have to leave your presence. If you knew how dangerous this crap is..you would. I assure you. It’s not healthy to be married to someone who refuses to have any compassion, talk to you or treat you with disrespect. I know my family is on notice now, I will tolerate no more of it. I am done. BTW…. I know now why I’ve turned to Internet Support groups to be treated humanely, with respect, with kindness, with concern, with support. It has been because it’s been.. quite different in my family life. I am insisting that change. I’m not leaving you all, but I see it so clearly now. You all aren’t "fake" and this isn’t some fantasy land.. I know I can come here anytime I have a problem and speak. That’s been completely non existent in my personal life. I will never again be "guilted" into getting help from you people, you’ve been more of a family to me than my own. I’m working on my family and laying down the law..but anyone who has that feeling there’s not something right about this.. look around you and see if you are getting this from those around you. Chances are, you are not. Love you guys a lot. Sally — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Kellie, I didn’t want to be the one to say it first, but it sure sounds like what everyone else said. If he will go to counseling and take it seriously, then you might have a good chance of fixing things. Otherwise, you deserve much better! I went through a very similar situation. My anxiety and panic was very much out of control when we got married. It didn’t take long for her to stop caring. And the rest just sucks. ((((Kellie)))) — Tony I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation and is but a reflection of human frailty. Albert Einstein — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

ot:Bolshevism in action

admin — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Question:

Today, the Congress has forever stained its reputation and that of the United States of America. It is now a foregone conclusion that the execrable detainee bill will be adopted without amendment. There will be no filibuster, as Democrat Senate Leader Reid agreed with Senate Leader Frist to allow a vote on the bill after dispensation of the proposed amendments debated yesterday and today. Senator Reid made a terrible tactical decision in making this agreement. These amendments had no chance of passing. They had value in highlighting the outrageousness of this bill and in thus justifying a filibuster. But without a filibuster, the exercsie was an empty one. We admire Harry Reid’s leadership but, in this monumental moment, his instincts and judgment failed him. And his place in history will be marked by this terrible day. That said, let us not forget who authored this travesty; who stands for torture, for a dictatorial Presidency and against the Constitution and the rule of law–the Rubber Stamp Republican Congress. The David Broders of the world exhult at the "independence" of such cowards as McCain, Warner, Graham and Dewine. But this is a farce. The votes on habeas corpus, the President’s power to arbitraily define torture and to detain indefinitely–merely on his word, without judicial recourse–anyone, including, American citizens, show these men to be the rankest of cowards–and the worst kind too. For they pretend to be otherwise. And the Broders of the world, the immoral and amoral Beltway Establishment, pretend it is true. To their credit, the vast majority of Democratic legislators stood against torture, with their words and their votes. And history will remember that. But the Democratic Senators did not fight to the end, and that too history will remember. Senator Barack Obama eloquently stated today: I may have only been in this body for a short while, but I am not naive to the political considerations that go along with many of the decisions we make here. I realize that soon, we will adjourn for the fall, and the campaigning will begin in earnest. And there will be 30-second attack ads and negative mail pieces, and we will be called everything from cut-and-run quitters to Defeatocrats to people who care more about the rights of terrorists than the protection of Americans. And I know that the vote before us was specifically designed and timed to add more fuel to that fire. And yet, while I know all of this, I’m still disappointed, and I’m still ashamed. Because what we’re doing here today – a debate over the fundamental human rights of the accused – should be bigger than politics. This is serious. . . . Instead of allowing this President–or any President—to decide what does and does not constitute torture, we could have left the definition up to our own laws and to the Geneva Conventions, as we would have if we passed the bill that the Armed Services committee originally offered. Instead of detainees arriving at Guantanamo and facing a Combatant Status Review Tribunal that allows them no real chance to prove their innocence with evidence or a lawyer, we could have developed a real military system of justice that would sort out the suspected terrorists from the accidentally accused. And instead of not just suspending, but eliminating, the right of habeas corpus–the seven century-old right of individuals to challenge the terms of their own detention, we could have given the accused one chance–one single chance–to ask the government why they are being held and what they are being charged with. . . . But politics won today. Politics won. . . . And the disgrace of the nation will live in history. History will not absolve the President or the Congress on this shameful day. History will not absolve the United States of America. Today we betrayed our values in an exercise of cynical political calculation and blatant fear.

Response:

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2006_09_24_atrios_archive.html#11594600569… Senator Feingold Mr. President, I oppose the Military Commissions Act. Let me be clear: I welcome efforts to bring terrorists to justice. It is about time. This Administration has too long been distracted by the war in Iraq from the fight against al Qaeda. We need a renewed focus on the terrorist networks that present the greatest threat to this country. But Mr. President, we wouldn’t be where we are today, five years after September 11 with not a single Guantanamo Bay detainee having been brought to trial, if the President had come to Congress in the first place, rather than unilaterally creating military commissions that didn’t comply with the law. The President wanted to act on his own, and he dared the Supreme Court to stop him. And he lost. The Hamdan decision was an historic rebuke to an Administration that has acted for years as if it were above the law. Finally, only because he was essentially ordered to do so by the Supreme Court, the President has agreed to consult with Congress. I would have hoped that we would take this opportunity to pass legislation that allows us to proceed in accordance with our laws and our values. That is what separates America from our enemies. These trials, conducted appropriately, have the potential to demonstrate to the world that our democratic, constitutional system of government is our greatest strength in fighting those who attacked us. And that is why I am saddened that I must oppose this legislation. Because, Mr. President, the trials conducted under this legislation will send a very different signal to the world, one that I fear will put our own troops and personnel in jeopardy both now and in future conflicts. To take just a few examples, this legislation would permit an individual to be convicted on the basis of coerced testimony and hearsay, would not allow full judicial review of the conviction, and yet would allow someone convicted under these rules to be put to death. That is simply unacceptable. We would not stand for another country to try our citizens under those rules, and we should not stand for our own government to do so, either. Senator Dodd: Mr. President, the Administration and Republican leadership would have the American people believe that the War on Terror requires a choice between protecting America from terrorism and upholding the basic tenets upon which our country was founded — but not both. This canard has been showcased in every recent election cycle. I fully reject that reasoning. We can, and we must, balance our responsibilities to bring terrorists to justice, while at the same time protecting what it means to be America. To choose the rule of law over the passion of the moment takes courage. But it is the right thing to do if we are to uphold the values of equal justice and due process that are codified in our Constitution. Our founding fathers established the legal framework of our country on the premise that those in government are not infallible. America’s leaders knew this sixty years ago, when they determined how to deal with Nazi leaders guilty of horrendous crimes. There were strong and persuasive voices, at the time, crying out for the execution of these men who had commanded with ruthless efficiency the slaughter of six million innocent Jews and five million other innocent men, women, and children. After World War II, our country was forced to decide if the accused criminals deserved a trial or execution. This history is particularly personal to me. My father, Thomas Dodd, worked alongside Justice Robert Jackson in prosecuting these trials at Nuremberg. He viewed Nuremberg as one of the most pivotal moments in our history – where America chose to uphold the rule of law rather than succumb to rule of the mob. Let me be clear: these enemies of the United States were not given the opportunity to walk away from their crimes. Rather, they were given the right to face their accuser, the right to confront evidence against them, and the right to a fair trial. Underlying that decision was the conviction that this nation must not tailor its most fundamental principles to the conflict of the moment — and the recognition that if we did, we would be walking in the very footsteps of the enemies we despised. . . . As Justice Jackson said at Nuremberg, "we must never forget that the record on which we judge these defendants today is the record on which history will judge us tomorrow. To pass these defendants a poisoned chalice is to put it to our lips as well." Mr. President, to rubber-stamp the Administration’s bill would poison one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy. I urge my colleagues not to allow that to happen.

Response:

Other mass murders in Canada allowed by inept Canadian Gov

admin — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Question:

Yet more failures of the Candian Gov to protect their people. Looks like they were so preoccupied talking shit about the US, their own country went down the tubes. Read it and weep: http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=53fc543c-0bd0-4d74-a42a-123fa35f2867 Other mass murders in Canada Canadian Press Published: Sunday, April 09, 2006 Article tools Printer friendly E-mail Font: * * * * Some high-profile cases of mass or multiple murders in Canada: — Three hundred and twenty-nine people, including 278 Canadians, killed when bomb explodes on an Air India jet flying from Toronto to Bombay in June 1985. Two British Columbia men were tried for murder but were found not guilty. — Fourteen women killed by anti-feminist Marc Lepine at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique engineering school in December 1989. Lepine wounded another nine women and four men and fatally shot himself. — Thirteen people died after being herded into a storage room in Montreal’s Gargantua nightclub in 1975. Some were shot but most suffocated when the building was set on fire in what was believed to be an underworld contract hit. — Nine people gunned down by Mark Chahal, a spurned son-in-law in Vernon, B.C., who killed his estranged wife, her bride-to-be-sister and seven other relatives before killing himself in April 1996. — Nine people slain in 1967 in Shell Lake, Sask., by Robert Hoffman, who was later sent to an Ontario mental institution. — Nine miners killed by deliberately set blast in Yellowknife’s Giant Mine in September 1992. Roger Warren, a striking miner, sentenced to life in prison for setting the bomb during a bitter strike-lockout. — The bodies of eight men are found in four vehicles in a farmer’s field near Shedden, in southwestern Ontario on April 8, 2006. — Seven people, including six children, murdered in 1965 by Leonard Hogue, a former Vancouver police constable, who then killed himself. — Bodies of six campers found in burned-out car in Wells Gray Provincial Park north of Kamloops, B.C., in 1982. David Shearing of Clearwater, B.C., confesses. — Bodies of four adults and a baby associated with the doomsday cult Order of the Solar Temple found in the burned-out remains of a chalet in Morin Heights, Que., in 1994. The couple believed responsible fled to Switzerland where they were among 53 cultists who were killed or committed suicide. — Five people found dead on a farm in Abbotsford, B.C., in September 1996. Police believed the killings were related to the drug trade. — Four employees killed at OC Transpo transit garage in Ottawa by co-worker Pierre Lebrun in April 1999. Lebrun, who had complained of ongoing harassment in the workplace, then killed himself. — Four members of engineering faculty at Concordia University in Montreal gunned down in 1992 by Valery Fabricant, a disgruntled colleague sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 25 years. — Three people killed by wild machine-gun fire in 1984 when Canadian Forces Cpl. Denis Lortie invades Quebec legislature. Lortie freed on day parole in 1995. — Three people killed and a fourth injured after a botched robbery at a McDonald’s restaurant in Sydney River, N.S. in 1992. Three men handed life sentences for the triple-slaying. — Three shot to death in 1992 at Ontario Glove, a plant in Waterloo, Ont., by co-worker Patrick Dombroskie. He then drove to nearby Cambridge and surrendered to police.

Response:

oh surely we have topped that!!! The 10-year average homicide rates (1987-1996) for Canada averaged 2.3 and for the United States averaged 8.8. TEN WORST COUNTRIES FOR MURDER (MID-1970s) COUNTRY PER 100,000 (1) Lesotho 141 (2) Bahamas 23 (3) Guyana 22 (4) Lebanon 20 (5) Netherlands Antilles 12 (6) Iraq 12 (7) Sri Lanka 12 (8) Cyprus 11 (9) Trindad & Tobago 10 (10) Jamaica 10 TEN WORST STATES FOR MURDER, 2003 STATE PER 100,000 (1) Louisiana 13.0 (2) Maryland 9.5 (3) Mississippi 9.3 (4) Nevada 8.8 (5) Arizona 7.9 (6) Georgia 7.6 (7) South Carolina 7.2 (8) California 6.8 (9) Tennessee 6.8 (10) Alabama 6.6 PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES RANKED BY HOMICIDE RATE, 2003 PROVINCE/TERRITORY PER 100,000 (1) Nunavut 10.21 (2) Northwest Territories 9.55 (3) Saskatchewan 4.12 (4) Manitoba 3.70 (5) Yukon 3.22 (6) British Columbia 2.24 (7) Alberta 2.00 (8) Ontario 1.45 (9) Quebec 1.34 (10) New Brunswick 1.07 (11) Newfoundland 0.96 (12) Nova Scotia 0.85 (13) Prince Edward Island 0.73 A good piece of advice would seem to be, "Don’t hang-around with (or marry-into) a bad crowd." That includes occupations that require associations with dangerous people, such as taxi-driving, liquor store work and police work, but it also includes country & city of residence. Other adages would be, "Don’t be the guardian of valuables, even if those valuables are your own" and "stay sober". http://www.benbest.com/lifeext/murder.html

Response:

It seems that according to our leader, I along with the majority of Americans, just don’t understand what is going on in the world. I especially don’t understand what is going on in Iraq; and upon today’s speech by the president, I don’t understand him nor his administrations stance on torture and how to conduct even a fabricated war with dignity. As he reminded us today: "You can ask this question all you want, but the bottom line is – and the American people have got to understand this – that this program won’t go forward if there’s vague standards applied like those in Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention. It’s just not going to go forward." http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l152/metalcelt/200px-Abu_Ghraib_53.jpg http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l152/metalcelt/200px-AbuGhraibAbuse… http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l152/metalcelt/3falluja.jpg When I mull it over, there really is a lot I don’t understand… There is a lot I don’t understand about your thinking and actions Mr. Bush. Now that I’ve thought about it, I hope I never do.

Response:

Holy crap!

admin — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Question:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Don’t you think it is time you let go brother? I want to, and I should try to. I guess I will try, though I have no idea how to do it. It’s like a story where someone keeps absorbing other people, and displaying the traits of those people. It’s not just my dad, although that’s the biggest part. My mom is still in my life, and still a very negative force. There’s also a lot of kids I can’t remember who made school so difficult. There’s also the people at college, who ostracized me. There’s my own loathing of my current level of strength. It seems everything in my past is painful proof that I should be destroyed. All this is absorbed, and reflecting back on my mind, in language so repulsive I’ve literally never described it to anyone. Well, I did repeat one rather benign sentence to someone once, when she asked me to describe what I say to myself. I told her, "You fucking piece of shit," and she laughed at me, so I’ve never shared my inner monologue with anyone else. It doesn’t really need to be explained. Just imagine that someone is standing in front of you, and you are so enraged at that person that you start shouting the most abusive things you can think of. IOW, what you say can’t express how much you hate that person, so you’re constantly in search of something more horrible to say. I do that all through the day, every day. My wakeup routine is: drink some pop, smoke some tobacco, feel the pain start again, say something to myself like, "You little cocksucking motherfucker, I’m going to fucking kill you," and then that sets the tone for the rest of the day. I really don’t know how to turn it off. It gets even worse than that. A while ago, I was pacing the apartment just talking nonsense, big words that didn’t mean anything, like, "The epitomy of the abstraction at hand is the furtherance of holography", or something like that, because it was comforting. Sometimes I imagine scenes of mass murder, even on an enormous scale. I think I’ve been doing this every day for about ten years, so I’m not a danger to anyone. It’s just very hard to live with. I really have no idea why I’m talking about this, and yet, it seems odd to realize that I’ve never told anyone this before, and I’ve been living with it for a long time. I don’t know if this will make it through to the group, as it’s kind of hardcore, but my mind is pretty hardcore now. Hope you’re well, Ian

‘Nuff said. kili — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Thanks, Kili. It’s such a weird night. Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Are you kidding they could’ve kept me there for months?

You hear things in mental hospitals. Last few times I was in, the word was that insurance companies were refusing to pay for more than a few days, and that you had to either be suicidal or homicidal to get in. Of course, as I was told this, my hospital stays were growing longer and longer. This is when I came to the conclusion that the rules were different for gov’t insurance, like mine. Medicare has a sort of, "Don’t ask, don’t tell" policy, it seems. Of course, this is in the US. There are some psych wards which are still pretty good, and people will lie and say they’re suicidal just to get in, at which point the pdocs will lie and say the patients need further supervision, in order to keep them as long as they need. Around here, though, no one wants in, and everyone wants out. There was one unfortunate woman I met last time around who checked herself in thinking she was going to get a bit of a vacation. Apparently she’d been to one of the better places in the past. She pretended to enjoy her stay for a while, until she finally just got the hell out of there as fast as possible. Middle-class corporate woman, who probably had rationed her vacation days for her stay. I hope she’s told someone about the conditions in there, as I’m doing now. I think I read somewhere that most of the mentally ill of the USA are either out in the streets or in jail.

Yes, that’s true, at least from what I’ve seen and heard. The homeless are people who’ve fallen through the cracks in the system, and there are many cracks. It could happen to me, too. If I got thrown out of this building, and I couldn’t get into AFC, I’d be on the streets. Unlikely, though. Part of what fills in the cracks in the system is friends and family, and I’m lucky to have both, and some even middle-class. The jail thing, well … that’s the American temperament. If my TV watching has taught me anything, it’s that in order to prove you’re not guilty by reason of mental defect, you have to prove you couldn’t tell the difference between right and wrong at the time you committed a crime, and that you’re incompetant to stand trial. This is, of course, ridiculous. There is no definition of mental illness that reduces it down to that level. In fact, tons of mentally ill people get thrown into prison, because society wants them to pay for their crimes. Prison is certainly the last place you want to be if you’re mentally ill. In the big maximum security prison in Michigan — Jackson — statistics say you’ll be raped twice on your first day in. If a person is sentenced to be removed from society, that’s one thing … the sentence doesn’t include brutal trauma. The USA is actually on Amnesty International’s list of human rights abusers, because of our prison system. Let me see if I can find one story I read about on Usenet: http://tinyurl.com/jo6se I think it’s the same one, though the post is different. The post I read was the mother coming on to Usenet to plead her son’s case to the populace. I found it when doing research on Haldol. He had been given a big dose of Haldol, and his back and neck arched up and froze in that position, so they injected him with Cogentin, to stop his muscles from breaking his bones. There are people who are suffering terribly right now under gov’ts that claim to support every section of the citizenry. It’s just tragic. Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Don’t you think it is time you let go brother?

I want to, and I should try to. I guess I will try, though I have no idea how to do it. It’s like a story where someone keeps absorbing other people, and displaying the traits of those people. It’s not just my dad, although that’s the biggest part. My mom is still in my life, and still a very negative force. There’s also a lot of kids I can’t remember who made school so difficult. There’s also the people at college, who ostracized me. There’s my own loathing of my current level of strength. It seems everything in my past is painful proof that I should be destroyed. All this is absorbed, and reflecting back on my mind, in language so repulsive I’ve literally never described it to anyone. Well, I did repeat one rather benign sentence to someone once, when she asked me to describe what I say to myself. I told her, "You fucking piece of shit," and she laughed at me, so I’ve never shared my inner monologue with anyone else. It doesn’t really need to be explained. Just imagine that someone is standing in front of you, and you are so enraged at that person that you start shouting the most abusive things you can think of. IOW, what you say can’t express how much you hate that person, so you’re constantly in search of something more horrible to say. I do that all through the day, every day. My wakeup routine is: drink some pop, smoke some tobacco, feel the pain start again, say something to myself like, "You little cocksucking motherfucker, I’m going to fucking kill you," and then that sets the tone for the rest of the day. I really don’t know how to turn it off. It gets even worse than that. A while ago, I was pacing the apartment just talking nonsense, big words that didn’t mean anything, like, "The epitomy of the abstraction at hand is the furtherance of holography", or something like that, because it was comforting. Sometimes I imagine scenes of mass murder, even on an enormous scale. I think I’ve been doing this every day for about ten years, so I’m not a danger to anyone. It’s just very hard to live with. I really have no idea why I’m talking about this, and yet, it seems odd to realize that I’ve never told anyone this before, and I’ve been living with it for a long time. I don’t know if this will make it through to the group, as it’s kind of hardcore, but my mind is pretty hardcore now. Hope you’re well, Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Hey brother. I haven’t been around much either. Been busy with the new kid, selling my house, and junk like that. There seems to be a part of me that acts like a father, and tells a second part of me, the child, not to listen to the third part of me, the abuser. The father is usually drowned out, though, and the abuser pretends that the father is talking. I think the child is the most important of the three, as it’s the part that has to agree to cooperate with reality. So far, that’s not happening, because reality has not proven itself trustworthy.

Don’t you think it is time you let go brother? Stop letting you dad continue to abuse you. Even though he is not doing it himself now, you are still letting him do it _through_ you. Let that anger out and focus it on the situation of not being a victim any more. Get a punching bag, and have an intense workout session and punch the crap out of the thing. Yell, do what you want. Victims of abuse have to come to a point in their life where they say "enough is enough" and stop the abuse. You have nothing to beat yourself up over. You are a good man and you have a good heart. Let it go. Some local Baha’is are moving, and I got a bunch of their food. I’m in the middle of a box of good-ass chocolates from Europe.

Ummmmm, chocolate. Hope all are well,

Hang in there brother. You are in my prayers. Ian

Jim — American Democracy: One more candidate than Communism JimD – Central FL, USA, Earth, Sol — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

I guess I was lucky. When I was incacerated (I called a helpline re: my suicidal thoughts) I had AD a lot worse. It was like I was perpetually in a PA. Now it’s just situational. The guy in charge, who was dressed like a clown (I’m not kidding, it was Halloween when I went in), told me if I could prove to him that I was calm, cool and collected so he wouldn’t have to resort to giving me ativan, he would let me out that evening. I had to eat dinner too (to prove the point). I never realized that they could’ve kept me there for weeks or months? Are you kidding they could’ve kept me there for months? One guy who was there left right after dinner. He seemed completely together too. He said he only came there for the food. I remember another young woman who just cried and cried about her baby, I tried to console her but it didn’t help, they had to sedate her. I think I read somewhere that most of the mentally ill of the USA are either out in the streets or in jail. — Doug

I didn’t realize all this. It shows you how messed up the American system of health care is Yeah, and I’m not exaggerating, either. Around here, people with private insurance usually only stay a few days, while people with gov’t insurance stay the maximum, which is usually just under a month. They *could* keep you longer, but they let you out in time to receive your check.

SNIPPED Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

– The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Take care of the child within even if you have to stomp your feet and yell a bit.

I’m tryin’, Frizz. Thing is, these are all aspects of the same personality, so, in all likelihood, there is just the child, who is both abusing himself, and trying to stop the abuse. He is also 34, and much different than a real child. He’s seen most of everything, and is shaken up. Plus people stop protecting you when you reach a certain age, so he’s all by himself. Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

I didn’t realize all this. It shows you how messed up the American system of health care is, if you CAN’T ask for help when you need it most… — Doug

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – maybe you could make an appointment w/your therapist/psych if you’re feeling this bad. You should at least give them a call to tell them how you’re feeling. I don’t think I should do that, because I don’t want to be hospitalized. If they knew what was going on in my head, that’s the first thing they would do. Around here the psych ward is just a holding tank. They hold you for three reasons: one, to avoid any liability; two, to milk the insurance companies as much as possible; three, to get you into the adult foster care system. I would lose my apartment, IOW, if I went into the hospital. So I can’t ask for professional help. I’ve got to stick this one out. Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

– The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

I didn’t realize all this. It shows you how messed up the American system of health care is

Yeah, and I’m not exaggerating, either. Around here, people with private insurance usually only stay a few days, while people with gov’t insurance stay the maximum, which is usually just under a month. They *could* keep you longer, but they let you out in time to receive your check. They have a neat little trick around here. After you’ve been in a few days, the public defender shows up with some paperwork, and tells you that you have the right to protest your incarceration. The problem is, that if you go to court and try to get let out, then all bets are off. They tell you only 2% of people who fight it in court actually win, and if you lose, you typically stay for months on end. If I were to sign a piece of paper, giving up all my rights, I would be on the fast track, and would probably get out in a few weeks. On the one hand, this is the public defender trying to lessen his/her case load. It’s not a joke that, in the US, if you’re stuck at a trial with a court-appointed attorney, you’d just as well pull your trousers down and lay your member on the table, exclaiming, as loud as possible: "This is my dick." You’d end up with the same results. On the other hand, this is just the way the system works. Pdocs on the inside don’t like it when you have rights. They like to keep all their toy soldiers in a row. It’s a power trip. So you sign the paper, and put everything in the hands of your psychiatrist. Last time I was in, I was immediately given a new psychiatrist (the one who ran things over there). The first thing he did was take me off the five psych meds my old pdoc had me on, cold turkey, and switch me to a bunch of new ones. Of course, they also take away your nicotine, except for the occasional break, and they take away your caffeine. They also expect you to sleep on a regular schedule. It’s no surprise that, after a few days, you fit the inflated diagnosis handed down by the pdoc, and actually *do* have to stay for a few weeks. If they only left you alone, they would see you were coping. There used to be a time when psych wards were staffed by psychologists. Maybe there still are some, but not around here. Every single staff member is a nurse, some on rotation, some who have been there forever. You’re forced to go to groups, but groups are nothing more than reading through xerox sheets of various self-help methods. No one there actually has any idea how to treat the mentally ill. They can also be pretty nasty. I was put in because I’d tried to get high on my Ativan, and somehow the lines got crossed, and they thought I was trying to commit suicide. That problem didn’t get straightened out for four weeks, despite telling everyone I could what the situation was. I kept giving away the URL to my books site to staffers, and begging them to look at it, because it would prove my sanity. After all, it’s a supremely sane website, and the code is absolutely perfect. I don’t know. I went up to the nurses’ station one night, to say I couldn’t sleep, and I saw my site up on the computer, with nurses gathered around. One of them said sarcastically, "Well this certainly proves his sanity!" Then I said something, and they all turned around, embarrassed. I made sure to humiliate that guy as much as possible the rest of my stay. Then there was the old lady who passed out in the common room and hit her head on a table. I didn’t see it, but I heard the bang when her head hit. Someone ran out and said, "So and so’s passed out and hit her head on a table!" The nurses came in, dragged her out, and propped her up in a wheelchair, leaving her in the hallway until she came to. I kept telling them she’d hit her head on a table, but they only replied, "She never hit her head on the table." There’s lots more stories, but this is not a novel. I guess such is the treatment in St. Joe, Michigan. There was a good place in Chicago I used to go to, but the guy who ran it, my old pdoc, ended up falling off the wagon, becoming a crackhead, and collapsing in his office, hitting his head on a table (strangely enough) and ending up in a coma for a week. He now lives in a group home, which would be the sweetest irony, except he never deserved such a fate. There are a lot of pdocs who do deserve that, but not him. He was a cool cat. The worst place was "The Two Hallways" in Detroit. I won’t even go into that, except to say that my inside girlfriend was raped by her roommate, and absolutely nothing was done about it. These places are horrible. Insurance companies don’t want to pay for real treatment, and so the hospitals just get worse and worse. Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

We don’t have control over what our mind initially things BUT we can challenge these thoughts and turn them into a positive thing.

It’s like someone standing over me and beating me. That’s a tough thing to find a silver lining in. I do try to challenge the thoughts, but they usually respond by saying, "Who are *you* to say that?" It’s a weird existence, that’s for sure. :-/ Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

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<<<<<<<<<

Response:

Hang in there, Ian. I’m sorry you are having such a rough time. We’re here for you.

Thanks, Anne. I’m sure things will eventually calm down. Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

maybe you could make an appointment w/your therapist/psych if you’re feeling this bad. You should at least give them a call to tell them how you’re feeling.

I don’t think I should do that, because I don’t want to be hospitalized. If they knew what was going on in my head, that’s the first thing they would do. Around here the psych ward is just a holding tank. They hold you for three reasons: one, to avoid any liability; two, to milk the insurance companies as much as possible; three, to get you into the adult foster care system. I would lose my apartment, IOW, if I went into the hospital. So I can’t ask for professional help. I’ve got to stick this one out. Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Maybe if you try to focus on forgiveness for a while, the anger will ease.

I have no idea what I did wrong, though. Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Ian, maybe you could make an appointment w/your therapist/psych if you’re feeling this bad. You should at least give them a call to tell them how you’re feeling. — Doug

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m sorry I haven’t been on the group much, or been myself. My level of pain has jumped over the past few weeks. I’m extremely depressed and isolated, and talk to myself in the most abusive possible fashion. My thoughts are almost always extremely violent, both in character and content, and yet only the smallest amount of violence leaks out. This is in the form of getting angry with someone. There seems to be a part of me that acts like a father, and tells a second part of me, the child, not to listen to the third part of me, the abuser. The father is usually drowned out, though, and the abuser pretends that the father is talking. I think the child is the most important of the three, as it’s the part that has to agree to cooperate with reality. So far, that’s not happening, because reality has not proven itself trustworthy. Some local Baha’is are moving, and I got a bunch of their food. I’m in the middle of a box of good-ass chocolates from Europe. That’s the good aspect to the day. I also just woke up and it was dark outside, which created a great sense of relief. But overall, I’m really struggling hard, and needed to say this to the group. I feel I’m not expressing in this post just how extreme this experience is, but I don’t know what I’ve left out. Hope all are well, Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

– The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

I think many of us have been there before. Just try to breathe and know that you’ll get through it. Try to post if you need any help. We’re here. We’ll listen.

Thanks, Kili. I guess I can try to communicate more, though the strain makes it very difficult. Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

{{{{{{{ Ian }}}}}}} I think many of us have been there before. Just try to breathe and know that you’ll get through it. Try to post if you need any help. We’re here. We’ll listen. kili — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Hi, Ian, I am sorry you are feeling out of sorts. The mind can play a tug-of-war with us. We don’t have control over what our mind initially things BUT we can challenge these thoughts and turn them into a positive thing. Take care and vent all you need. smiles, Elise

– The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

I’m sorry I haven’t been on the group much, or been myself. My level of pain has jumped over the past few weeks. I’m extremely depressed and isolated, and talk to myself in the most abusive possible fashion. My thoughts are almost always extremely violent, both in character and content, and yet only the smallest amount of violence leaks out. This is in the form of getting angry with someone. There seems to be a part of me that acts like a father, and tells a second part of me, the child, not to listen to the third part of me, the abuser. The father is usually drowned out, though, and the abuser pretends that the father is talking. I think the child is the most important of the three, as it’s the part that has to agree to cooperate with reality. So far, that’s not happening, because reality has not proven itself trustworthy. Some local Baha’is are moving, and I got a bunch of their food. I’m in the middle of a box of good-ass chocolates from Europe. That’s the good aspect to the day. I also just woke up and it was dark outside, which created a great sense of relief. But overall, I’m really struggling hard, and needed to say this to the group. I feel I’m not expressing in this post just how extreme this experience is, but I don’t know what I’ve left out. Hope all are well, Ian — I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just gonna ask where they’re goin’, and hook up with ‘em later. (Mitch Hedberg) http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Hang in there, Ian. I’m sorry you are having such a rough time. We’re here for you. xxoo Anne — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m sorry I haven’t been on the group much, or been myself. My level of pain has jumped over the past few weeks. I’m extremely depressed and isolated, and talk to myself in the most abusive possible fashion. My thoughts are almost always extremely violent, both in character and content, and yet only the smallest amount of violence leaks out. This is in the form of getting angry with someone. There seems to be a part of me that acts like a father, and tells a second part of me, the child, not to listen to the third part of me, the abuser. The father is usually drowned out, though, and the abuser pretends that the father is talking. I think the child is the most important of the three, as it’s the part that has to agree to cooperate with reality. So far, that’s not happening, because reality has not proven itself trustworthy. Some local Baha’is are moving, and I got a bunch of their food. I’m in the middle of a box of good-ass chocolates from Europe. That’s the good aspect to the day. I also just woke up and it was dark outside, which created a great sense of relief. But overall, I’m really struggling hard, and needed to say this to the group. I feel I’m not expressing in this post just how extreme this experience is, but I don’t know what I’ve left out. Hope all are well, Ian

I’m sorry you’re going through this, Ian. It sounds to me like you are deeply angry with yourself over something, or some things. I hope you can forgive yourself or otherwise eliminate the anger so you can feel better. If you can take one step in that direction, the next step will be a bit easier to take, and the next one after that. Maybe if you try to focus on forgiveness for a while, the anger will ease. http://www.12stepworkbook.org/pub/Workshops/Forgiveness.pdf Might be useful for you. Take good care of yourself, including actually being nice to yourself. Deirdre — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

ot: what if Jenna did this?

admin — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Question:

PM’s daughter protests Gaza killings Dana Olmert takes part in left-wing demonstration outside army chief’s house; protesters call Halutz ‘murderer,’ declare ‘intifada shall prevail.’ Meanwhile, human rights groups send letter to PM, defense minister, calling on them to stop war crimes in territories Avi Cohen Some 200 left-wing activists marched outside the house of IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz at the Tzahala neighborhood in Tel Aviv Saturday evening, to protest the killing of civilians in Gaza on Friday. Protesters march near Halutz’s house (Photo: Niv Kalderon) The demonstrators chanted slogans such as "Tzahala residents, there’s a murderer in your neighborhood," and raised signs calling on the government to "put a stop to the murder of civilians" and stating, "Halutz is a killer, the intifada shall prevail." Activists also shouted, "neighbors, ask Halutz why he’s killing children and how many." Dana Olmert, the daughter of Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, also took part in the demonstration. About 30 policemen arrived at the place to maintain order, but allowed the rally to proceed uninterrupted. Some of the neighborhood’s residents, however, were less pleased with the disturbance and squirted water on the protesters from inside their houses. Letter to Olmert: Stop war crimes Five human rights organizations sent a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and defense Minister Amir Peretz, calling on them to act immediately in order to put an end to the killing of Palestinian civilians in the territories, and to "uproot the elements that contribute to this killing." According to the letter, while it is Israel’s duty to take all necessary measures in order to protect its citizens, it is however unacceptable for a sovereign state to employ illegal methods, which in some occasions constitute war crimes. The groups stressed in the letter that one of Israel’s obligations, according to humanitarian international law, is to minimize the ramifications of military operation on the civilian population, and to secure the wellbeing and safety of the Palestinian civilians even during battle. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3261125,00.html

Response:

PM’s daughter protests Gaza killings

Jenna .. ? Naa. she might get her nails cracked, and sis Barbara would go looking for the nearest bar on the way to the protest. —-== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com – Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups —-= East and West-Coast Server Farms – Total Privacy via Encryption =—-

Response:

PM’s daughter protests Gaza killings Jenna .. ? Naa. she might get her nails cracked, and sis Barbara would go looking for the nearest bar on the way to the protest. —-== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com – Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups —-= East and West-Coast Server Farms – Total Privacy via Encryption =—-

The Prime Minister has daughters with the same names as the President’s??? What a coincidence!

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – PM’s daughter protests Gaza killings Jenna .. ? Naa. she might get her nails cracked, and sis Barbara would go looking for the nearest bar on the way to the protest. —-== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com – Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups —-= East and West-Coast Server Farms – Total Privacy via Encryption =—- The Prime Minister has daughters with the same names as the President’s??? What a coincidence!

no no no, can’t you read? Dana is the Prime Minister’s Daughter. Jena is the President’s daughter. D-A-N-A vs J-E-N-A. Get hooked on phonics. I was wondering what would happen here if Jenna suddenly was seized by the desire to stop tjhis war and started protesting.

Response:

seized by the desire to stop tjhis war and started protesting.

Busch twins *GET A JOB" … LOL …. never happen. —-== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com – Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups —-= East and West-Coast Server Farms – Total Privacy via Encryption =—-

Response:

1. Steal Office 2. Steal Law…Commander in Thief

admin — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Question:

Bush Ignores Laws He Inks, Vexing Congress By LAURIE KELLMAN The Associated Press Tuesday, June 27, 2006; 2:25 PM WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday defended President Bush’s frequent use of special statements that claim authority to limit the effects of bills he signs, saying the statements help him uphold the Constitution and defend national security. Senators weren’t so sure. "It’s a challenge to the plain language of the Constitution," said Arlen Specter, a Republican whose Senate Judiciary Committee opened hearings on the issue. "There is a sense that the president has taken signing statements far beyond the customary purview." At the White House, Press Secretary Tony Snow said, "There’s this notion that the president is committing acts of civil disobedience, and he’s not. It’s important for the president at least to express reservations about the constitutionality of certain provisions." The bill-signing statements say Bush reserves a right to revise, interpret or disregard measures on national security and constitutional grounds. Some 110 statements have challenged about 750 statutes passed by Congress, according to numbers combined from White House and the Senate committee. They include documents revising or disregarding parts of legislation to ban torture of detainees and to renew the Patriot Act. Snow said presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Bill Clinton have issued such statements. In addition to Specter’s objections, Democrats called the signing statements an example of the administration trying to expand executive power. "I believe that this new use of signing statements is a means to undermine and weaken the law," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California. "If the president is going to have the power to nullify all or part of a statute, it should only be through veto authority that the president has authorized and can reject _ rather than through a unilateral action taken outside the structures of our democracy." "Even if there is modest increase, let me just suggest that it be viewed in light of current events and Congress’ response to those events," said lawyer Michelle Boardman. "The significance of legislation affecting national security has increased markedly since Sept. 11." "Congress has been more active, the president has been more active," she added. "The separation of powers is working when we have this kind of dispute." The exchange came during a midterm election year in which Specter, some fellow Republicans and many Democrats are highlighting concerns about the administration’s use of executive power. Specter’s personal list includes Bush’s warrantless domestic wiretapping program, the administration’s checking of phone records and the sending of officials to hearings but saying they cannot answer lawmakers’ questions on national security grounds. The session also was aimed at countering any influence Bush’s signing statements may have on court decisions regarding the new laws. Courts can be expected to look to the legislature for intent, not the executive, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas., a former state judge. "The president is entitled to express his opinion. It’s the courts that determine what the law is," he said. "I don’t know why the issue of presidents issuing signing statements is controversial at all." Specter and his allies maintain that Bush is trying an end-run around the veto process. In his presidency’s sixth year, Bush has yet to issue a single veto, which could be overridden with a two-thirds majority in each house. "The president is not required to," Boardman said. "Of course he’s not if he signs the bill," Specter snapped back. Other presidents have used signing statements for administrative reasons, such as instructing an agency how to put a certain law into effect. They usually are inserted quietly into the federal record.

Response:

[ Attached Message ]

To: Local:

1. Steal Office 2. Steal Law…Commander in Thief Bush Ignores Laws He Inks, Vexing Congress By LAURIE KELLMAN The Associated Press Tuesday, June 27, 2006; 2:25 PM WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday defended President Bush’s frequent use of special statements that claim authority to limit the effects of bills he signs, saying the statements help him uphold the Constitution and defend national security. Senators weren’t so sure. "It’s a challenge to the plain language of the Constitution," said Arlen Specter, a Republican whose Senate Judiciary Committee opened hearings on the issue. "There is a sense that the president has taken signing statements far beyond the customary purview." At the White House, Press Secretary Tony Snow said, "There’s this notion that the president is committing acts of civil disobedience, and he’s not. It’s important for the president at least to express reservations about the constitutionality of certain provisions." The bill-signing statements say Bush reserves a right to revise, interpret or disregard measures on national security and constitutional grounds. Some 110 statements have challenged about 750 statutes passed by Congress, according to numbers combined from White House and the Senate committee. They include documents revising or disregarding parts of legislation to ban torture of detainees and to renew the Patriot Act. Snow said presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Bill Clinton have issued such statements. In addition to Specter’s objections, Democrats called the signing statements an example of the administration trying to expand executive power. "I believe that this new use of signing statements is a means to undermine and weaken the law," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California. "If the president is going to have the power to nullify all or part of a statute, it should only be through veto authority that the president has authorized and can reject _ rather than through a unilateral action taken outside the structures of our democracy." "Even if there is modest increase, let me just suggest that it be viewed in light of current events and Congress’ response to those events," said lawyer Michelle Boardman. "The significance of legislation affecting national security has increased markedly since Sept. 11." "Congress has been more active, the president has been more active," she added. "The separation of powers is working when we have this kind of dispute." The exchange came during a midterm election year in which Specter, some fellow Republicans and many Democrats are highlighting concerns about the administration’s use of executive power. Specter’s personal list includes Bush’s warrantless domestic wiretapping program, the administration’s checking of phone records and the sending of officials to hearings but saying they cannot answer lawmakers’ questions on national security grounds. The session also was aimed at countering any influence Bush’s signing statements may have on court decisions regarding the new laws. Courts can be expected to look to the legislature for intent, not the executive, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas., a former state judge. "The president is entitled to express his opinion. It’s the courts that determine what the law is," he said. "I don’t know why the issue of presidents issuing signing statements is controversial at all." Specter and his allies maintain that Bush is trying an end-run around the veto process. In his presidency’s sixth year, Bush has yet to issue a single veto, which could be overridden with a two-thirds majority in each house. "The president is not required to," Boardman said. "Of course he’s not if he signs the bill," Specter snapped back. Other presidents have used signing statements for administrative reasons, such as instructing an agency how to put a certain law into effect. They usually are inserted quietly into the federal record.

Response:

Sigh… last day trauma

admin — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

Hey Jackie, I did love that job, and everyone there was so nice to me. Oh man. Such a nice work environment. I did go out of my way for him, and that "it’s not fair" feeling has raised it’s ugly head a few times — because he was in a position to reciprocate, and he didn’t. Well, not a lot I can do about that one. Not that I know, anyway. I will explain the situation to the rehab people, that’s all that I can do. I really ..well, I feel like I needed that letter of referral… especially since I’ve been out of the workforce for YEARS. It was important… at least, I am thinking that it is right now. We will see what happens in the future. It’s not under my control what he did, so.. I just play the cards I am dealt. Thanks for understanding Jackie. Now and always. Sally — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, Sally, By writing the resume it shows you have employable skills… And the boss has his own agenda to fulfill. "writing for me is kind of like a wrestling match with my brain.. trying to convey the right thoughts and using the correct words.. " – Sally, I do the same thing and I feel it’s taking pride in my work so the same for you… I think you did him an invaluable service by correcting what he had given you to type for him. Once again your skills come shining through! It does seem he took advantage of you knowing you had more expertise in this area than he. Let the guilt fall on his shoulders not yours because down the road he has to put writing into his on words. It will then show on his part. Have a great day. smiles, Elise

Hi Rita, I noticed the positives.. as in .. I have a skill that people could possibly want. LOL My luck it’s something that causes anxiety though. Let’s just say I won’t be applying for any positions where the job description includes the words "writing" and "deadline". I did him a big service. Yes I did. Several of them, too. Well. Karma or reaping what you sow — that stuff is real, and I don’t actually KNOW him well enough to know if he uses people, or if that was desperation (he is out of a job as well).. No comment. I don’t know the real truth, and it’s probably not in MY best interest to speculate.. but as the Magic 8 Ball would say, "The signs point to yes." I do think he used me. It won’t be me that comes back on, and I learned from it, so that’s worth something. Yes.. pride in my work. I don’t take pride in everything I do, just some things. Thank God, LOL. Seems that taking pride in your work can be a bit of an inconvenient PITA, at least, the type of "pride" I have – but I still think it’s important. It is to me about some matters. I’ll write you, I’ve had you on my mind. Love, Sally — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

My son had a similar experience in Middle School. He used a word in a paper that he wrote, and the teacher confronted him and told him that she knew he had plagerized. He wouldn’t even know how to.. he’s really a good kid, and that thought wouldn’t even occur to him. It really shook him up to be falsely accused like that. Traumatic.

You know what? I’m still mad about cooking class. One of the answers on a test was "three times", so I wrote "thrice", and was marked off for it. I told the teacher, "Thrice means three times," and no one in the class knew what I was talking about, and the teacher didn’t know what I was talking about, so I got marked down for it. How about them apples? Of course, it’s a bit odd to still be angry about something

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My son had a similar experience in Middle School. He used a word in a paper that he wrote, and the teacher confronted him and told him that she knew he had plagerized. He wouldn’t even know how to.. he’s really a good kid, and that thought wouldn’t even occur to him. It really shook him up to be falsely accused like that. Traumatic. You know what? I’m still mad about cooking class. One of the answers on a test was "three times", so I wrote "thrice", and was marked off for it. I told the teacher, "Thrice means three times," and no one in the class knew what I was talking about, and the teacher didn’t know what I was talking about, so I got marked down for it. How about them apples? Of course, it’s a bit odd to still be angry about something

Ian, Maybe your mind is on her muffins, and that is the problem. That is so bad.. not knowing "thrice"?? Well, I’ve seen people on television that couldn’t answer the question "Who is the President?" so..yeah, I believe a non thrice knower exists. I’m sure those people know things I don’t even have a clue about. I mean, their minds are on something. Not thrice or who the President is..but they are using their brains in some way. Isn’t that like..a law of nature or something? That your brain has to learn something sometime? You don’t look bad knowing thrice.. don’t be mad. Just ignore ignorance.. I’m ignorant of so much.. the more I know, the less I know. Sally — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

I’m still pissed at Mrs Johnson (5th grade), for many reasons — these two are pertinent to the subject at hand: 1. Assignment in class: write a simple sentence, using a proper noun, an adverb and a verb. I wrote "Jacqueline quietly waited." Later in the class, Mrs Johnson said, "A couple of you didn’t do this right," and she wrote on the board, "Jacqueline quietly wailed," and said, "Deirdre used an adverb that didn’t go with the verb." I protested that I must have forgotten to cross my T in "waited", but she told me not to make excuses when I’m wrong. In front of the whole class. 2. I chose "Jane Eyre" for a book report, and she said it was not 5th grade reading. I did it anyway. There were no errors in it, but she marked me down a grade point because I chose "the wrong book." I really hated Mrs Johnson. Deirdre — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Hey you all, I guess I will post this. I’m not even sure what I’ll say, but I have some news. Good and bad. Today was my last day at work. Some good things happened over the past couple of weeks, and somethings bother me.. My boss asked me if I knew how to write a resume. I used to teach people how to write resumes. So the answer to that was "yes.".. I updated a client’s resume, and the next thing I knew, my boss was having me write stuff for him.. because he was about to be out of a job, and he was applying to a lot of different places, and I guess he liked my work. Don’t know how to say this without sounding.. egotistical. I write well. Not in here. I know that. I know what good writing is, and I don’t do it here, and I don’t in email, but if I bothered to write WELL in here, it would take too damn long, because writing for me is kind of like a wrestling match with my brain.. trying to convey the right thoughts and using the correct words.. too much work, actually. Yes. I can write. In college, I had literary journals on display in the library. My step dad won a Pullitzer Prize and he was a newspaper copyreader and columnist. My mother was a teacher, and I do not remember a time I could not read. English was a big DEAL in my home. whew. My boss had me type something for him the other day — he was applying to be an officer in the United States Army, and he brought me a paragraph. I do not know who wrote it. A woman that wrote, "love you" at the end of her email sent it to him. He did not write it, but he asked me if I would type it for him. Well, I couldn’t let him submit that thing – it was horribly written. It think there were only two sentences in that paragraph. There should have been more like..five. No punctuation. Run on, ON run on sentences, Awkward wording.. just.. so bad. You all, I write better in here than that woman wrote for my boss’ application to be an OFFICER in the ARMY – and he was going to turn that in. I freaked. I typed it for him, but I also fixed it.. I rewrote and reworked that thing, and gave mine to him along with the other one. I think I made an impression. Today, I uh.. had to rewrite his resume (He is the employment director, I’m supposed to "file" things LOL) anyway..I sort of fixed it. I wish I’d had a week, and not 4 hours. I told him I could continue to work on it for him, from home if he liked, no charge. I may or may not hear from him. He had asked me to generate a final report for the office. I did. I also generated one just for him on my own..I took the numbers, and kind of skewed the statistics (lied) .. I made him look pretty good, if I do say so myself. Damn good. Better than he is, LMAO. He asked me to include that in his resume, and I did. I also had to do something I’m not at all comfortable about. He was also applying for a position .. the best I could tell, it was a job with a union does a lot of political lobbying. Whew. Like I even know anything about that sort of thing!!!??? (I know nothing and want to know nothing about that kind of thing – willfull ignorance, you bet) Well. I just didn’t have the time to write anything very good.. I was VERY dissatisfied with what I gave him, and I told him that was a rough draft, to please not turn that in.. The first rule of writing is to know what the hell you are talking about, and I honestly didn’t, so I was doomed from the start. The part I don’t feel comfortable with is that the job he was applying for wanted a sample of HIS writing.. and it wasn’t his writing. It was mine, and a piss poor sample of mine, too.. I don’t feel right about the fact it was supposed to be his writing and not mine. Yes, I am one of those that do not lie on my taxes or on job applications.. I don’t do it, because I don’t like that kind of thing. I don’t care to help someone else do it either, but I did it the best that I could in the time I had to do it. Sometimes.. proper (not casual stuff, like in here) writing doesn’t flow and I have to wrestle with it.. and I’ve always had the luxury of walking away when that happens, and coming back later when my mind is fresh, and I am able to rework everything like it needs to be so that it flows and does what it is supposed to do. Anyway.. I feel bad he asked me to do that, and I feel bad that I didn’t like what I gave him. I’ve never had that experience in my life. No one but me has ever seen a rough draft of anything I’ve written.. it’s just personal. I don’t know if anybody even understands what I am talking about?? REAL writing to me is extremely personal, and it’s like.. don’t look at it until I feel that I am DONE with it.. does anyone, anywhere KNOW what I mean by that? Shit. I don’t know if I feel worse that I wrote something for someone who should have done it himself, or if I feel worse for writing such an ill written piece of utter crap. Do you see WHY I do not write very much? See what I do to me when I write..? I do this until I am finally satisfied. The pay off to that is.. if I am satisfied with something I have written, other people usually are impressed with the quality of it.. so there is a payoff, but it’s a bitch to get there. Well.. to top that off. I did all of that shit in FOUR hours..(and I did this at minimum wage.. not a cent more) I was driving home, still trying to word that writing sample (that I shouldn’t even have written) in my head so it didn’t sound like an idiot wrote it.. Y’all know what? Wanna know something? I asked my boss a few days ago for a letter of reference.. I got nothing. It’s not that I sucked. I obviously didn’t if he wanted me to fix his resume and write his "sample"… It’s that he didn’t bother to even do that.. and I don’t feel right about writing my own and sending it to him. I have to work every waking hour just to let any positive stuff IN my head, I think I’d die if I had to write a letter that I actually DO deserve to have. I would. And I still feel badly that I did such a poor job on that writing sample. I know I’m a perfectionist about that area of my life.. but I won’t settle for half assed writing out of myself when it matters. I think I’ll go to bed.. I know this isn’t even comparable to what a lot of you all are going through. I also know everyone’s pain is valid.. I am sooooo disappointed in me on several levels, and I want to let it go, but I’m struggling tonight. Thanks for listening Sally — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Sally! I just don’t understand. You’re obviously such an intelligent person, it’s a shame that your boss made such boneheaded moves. I know it’s early, but I am so confused by this whole thing. I’m sorry you’re going through this, especially since you seemed so happy with the job. I am here if I can help at all – the inbox is always, always open! I hope you have a nice Sunday, Katie — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Thanks, Katie. It’s not pleasant, but it will be okay. I have a lot of thoughts I’m not really at liberty to discuss, but I think I may have an idea or two about my boss. No biggie.. the thing is.. if he was using me, he can’t anymore, so I’m better off. Too bad, though. The people I worked with were so nice I would just love to work in an atmosphere like that – doing anyhing is okay. It’s the atmosphere that I have to have .. nice, calm, friendly, safe.. Not some stressed out place where people fight all of the time. I can’t take that. None of us can. That’s the whole point. Sally — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Hi, Sally, I’d say he was a desperate man seeking employment for himself. He used the resources he knew of – you being one of them. Maybe he’ll find a good job and you can know that you were a part of that (though he shouldn’t have put you in that position to begin with). smiles, Elise

I don’t wish him ill. He’s got kids and a wife — and jobs are scarce. He was very respectful and went out of his way to make sure that I was comfortable and okay. It doesn’t change the last week or so, but all the info is valid, and not just the bad stuff. He’s capable of a lot. I’m beginning to think maybe I am too, if I can get a break. smiles back to you dear Elise Sally — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Wow, Sally, your boss is kind of a dope. A nice dope, but a dope nonetheless. I think what you wrote for him is just fine. If it’s too good, it’ll be obvious when he gets the job that he lied, and he’ll be out a job. I once wrote the first para of an essay for an ex-gf (gf at the time) and when she turned it in, the prof told her, "I know this is out of a magazine, and when I find out which one, you’re expelled." Well, he never found it, and she’s got a PhD now, so, the moral of the story is … I have no idea. I’m just trying to get to sleep, and there are boats going through here *constantly*, even though it’s midnight. The bells are ringing on the drawbridge, and if it’s not them, it’s the bells on the railroad swing bridge, and if its not them, it’s a loud boat horn. I hate the world! *That’s* the moral of the story. Life is a real bummer, and in the whole scheme of things, getting that writing sample perfect is just small stuff, and don’t sweat the small stuff. Sweat sweat. That’s what it’s there for, to be sweated. But don’t sweat too much, or you’ll have to take a shower, and that’s an annoying process. Where am I going with all this? Back to bed, I suppose. Hope you’re well, Ian — http://sundry.ws/

Hey Ian, From what I wrote, I know my boss does sound like a dope, but he’s a

very intelligent guy. I am sure he is capable of writing anything that he wants to. I can’t speculate. I don’t understand why he’d want someone else to do it for him, because it’s not gray matter he lacks. My son had a similar experience in Middle School. He used a word in a paper that he wrote, and the teacher confronted him and told him that she knew he had plagerized. He wouldn’t even know how to.. he’s really a good kid, and that thought wouldn’t even occur to him. It really shook him up to be falsely accused like that. Traumatic. I was LOLing about you and I. You could have a PhD and I could be an army officer, since we write so impressively. You may want to be a PhD, but I’d go off and hide at Di’s in Canada if the Army came for me, even as an officer. Or worse, some union that does political lobbying. I’m sure there are other things I want to do with my life.. not either one of those. You are right.. that writing sample was small stuff. Not a biggie. I think I’ll survive it. Sorry about the noise levels. I deal with that too.. one of my neighbors is too young, and has too much fun, IMO. Getting cantakerous in my "old age." Sally — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – And I still feel badly that I did such a poor job on that writing sample. I know I’m a perfectionist about that area of my life.. but I won’t settle for half assed writing out of myself when it matters. I think I’ll go to bed.. I know this isn’t even comparable to what a lot of you all are going through. I also know everyone’s pain is valid.. I am sooooo disappointed in me on several levels, and I want to let it go, but I’m struggling tonight. Thanks for listening Sally Hi Sally, I can certainly relate to much of your writing comments. Like you, I distinguish between my casual and serious (proper) writing. When I am serious about writing, the process does feel like a wrestling match is going on within my brain. Like you, I tend to get stressed and frustrated when time pressure is involved. Try not to be too hard on yourself. I usually can’t do any serious writing in hours, always a matter of days, weeks or months for me. Also, don’t forget that anxiety and stress tend to cause cognitive dysfunction which interferes with thinking straight and making good judgment calls. Sudden episodes of stress can knock us off balance and cause us to behave in atypical ways. Remember, a true perfectionist perfectly understands that they are not perfect.

A cover letter or writing sample.. maybe a day or maybe two for me. I mean a presentable one. A very good one, longer.. You are right.. The stress of the deadline played a part. so did the fact that I don’t know much about unions, and I sure don’t know anything about political lobbying.. trying to write from the perspective of a man I barely know, LOL it’s funny when I think of it now, actually. Uh.. no wonder I had such a time I didn’t know my subject, my audience, my personae – LOL. With the deadline looming over me. I get it now. may I say…DUH!? One of my favorite rules of writing is, "First write badly!" When writing first drafts, the most important thing is to simply put the ideas into text. Editorial skills just get in the way at this point and are best postponed for later drafts.

I do write badly.. have you never read my posts? LOL. I do understand what you are saying.. I jot down thoughts..create a rough outline, write horrible sentences in Sallyspeak, – only I know what I mean by them. –It gets more complex from that point. I was in the middle of working on the syntax and semantics when I had to turn that in that writing sample, about the worst possible time to be forced to let anyone see what I had written. One of a writer’s worst nightmares is not having time to properly finish a final draft. When we take pride in our writing and invest a good portion of our identity into it, final drafts can have a big impact on our mood. Nonetheless, try to temper you mood in this case with the knowledge that you did improve upon the bad drafts you were given. You may not have met your own critical standards, but you did exceed the standards of others.

I’ll say. Two sentence paragraphs give me a serious case of the icks. That’s it.. I’ve got my identity strongly tied to my writing.. I could go into it, but it’s too long. I know why I am like this. I’m not a big Steven King fan, but I did like his story "Misery." The story’s symbolism is healthy dark-humor for writers in my opinion.

Arthur, "Misery" is actually a good analogy. Yes it is. I felt like I was in that very position yesterday. My boss was the crazed fan, wanting me to create something I didn’t even WANT to – but I was the one doing the torture, LOL to myself. I need to reread that book again, but I’m going to wait awhile I think. BTW, "Misery" IS full of symbolism and such a good glimpse into the creative process.. I do think that in some (not all – read "The Stand") of his writing.. King’s pushed himself when maybe it wasn’t there to crank out. – Sort of like me, yesterday. Maybe he’s too prolific for his own good. For a time, I thought it was greed, but I don’t anymore. I think that Misery was his commentary about the place he finds himself.. a victim of the fact that he is in such demand – and what that would do to you psychologically if you thought that you HAD to produce and HAD to come up with the next best selling novel. Man, yesterday was enough for me, I don’t ever want to be popular or have fans.. come to think about it, it’s best if no one ever knows I can write at all. i kant reed or rite. My motto from now on with anyone who wants to use me like that again. He both complimented me and used me. Very weird. I’m not going too far into thinking on that one. It could go places I’d rather not go. My personal web site is a mixture of bad and good writing. When I look back at my earlier writing I find myself moaning with embarrassment. However, for reasons of documentary integrity I refuse to rewrite such material as that would distort who I was and how I expressed myself at the time. Writing can be very therapeutic and teach us much about ourselves. In this sense, I think our worst writing can be as valuable as our best writing. Best Wishes, Arthur

I understand. I have written things at critical times in my life that weren’t for anyone but me.. I’m in half mind to change and "fix" them, (because I could make them so much better! LOL – you DO have to know when and whether to edit at all – and when to STOP editing, too) and the other half of my mind says to never touch them.. they need to stay like they are for historical purposes. It wouldn’t be right to change a thing. I won’t touch them. Thanks Arthur, Sally — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, Sally, By writing the resume it shows you have employable skills… And the boss has his own agenda to fulfill. "writing for me is kind of like a wrestling match with my brain.. trying to convey the right thoughts and using the correct words.. " – Sally, I do the same thing and I feel it’s taking pride in my work so the same for you… I think you did him an invaluable service by correcting what he had given you to type for him. Once again your skills come shining through! It does seem he took advantage of you knowing you had more expertise in this area than he. Let the guilt fall on his shoulders not yours because down the road he has to put writing into his on words. It will then show on his part. Have a great day. smiles, Elise Hi Rita, I noticed the positives.. as in .. I have a skill that people could possibly want. LOL My luck it’s something that causes anxiety though. Let’s just say I won’t be applying for any positions where the job description includes the words "writing" and "deadline". I did him a big service. Yes I did. Several of them, too. Well. Karma or reaping what you sow — that stuff is real, and I don’t actually KNOW him well enough to know if he uses people, or if that was desperation (he is out of a job as well).. No comment. I don’t know the real truth, and it’s probably not in MY best interest to speculate.. but as the Magic 8 Ball would say, "The signs point to yes." I do think he used me. It won’t be me that comes back on, and I learned from it, so that’s worth something. Yes.. pride in my work. I don’t take pride in everything I do, just some things. Thank God, LOL. Seems that taking pride in your work can be a bit of an inconvenient PITA, at least, the type of "pride" I have – but I still think it’s important. It is to me about some matters. I’ll write you, I’ve had you on my mind. Love, Sally — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

– The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

I wish I had some words of wisdom. I just think your boss is an ass. Tony — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

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I really hated Mrs Johnson. She marked you down for reading a book above your grade level? What, is she trying to do "controlled teaching", whereby you learn at a certain rate, and if you exceed that rate, you get marked down?

I don’t think that was it. I think it was a personal thing with her — I chose something that was over HER head. Seriously. I was in the accelerated learning track, so one would think choosing a Bronte over, say, "Misty of Chincoteague" would be a positive thing. People are loons, Deirdre. The only difference between normies and people with some form of mental or emotional illness is … we know it, and they don’t. Ian

Plus I’m pretty sure she wasn’t entirely human. There was a rumor she had batwings. I’m just sayin’. Deirdre — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

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I still kind of cringe, when I think of it, even if I got another opinion that I valued highly that I wasn’t a horrible, terrible, awful person.

Well cringe no more, Sally, because the Stones were indeed blacker than the Beatles, except when Billy Preston was playing with them. "Don’t Let Me Down" is a pretty soulful song. That teacher was just on a trip, and if we let every tripping person affect our lives, we’d be full of anxiety and be panicking on occasion. (He says knowingly.) Ian — http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

I really hated Mrs Johnson.

She marked you down for reading a book above your grade level? What, is she trying to do "controlled teaching", whereby you learn at a certain rate, and if you exceed that rate, you get marked down? People are loons, Deirdre. The only difference between normies and people with some form of mental or emotional illness is … we know it, and they don’t. Ian — http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

I have just one thing to say: When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all. — Paul Simon Deirdre, the Derider — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

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I’ve seen people on television that couldn’t answer the question "Who is the President?"

Ooh. Might be denial.

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I wrote a comparison/contrast essay on the Beatles and the Stones for a comp class IN COLLEGE once. I made the sore mistake of writing that the Stones’ music was "blacker" (this was BEFORE "African American" became the PC term) than the Beatles music.. meaning, the roots of the Stones music were basically founded in R&B and Blues – traditionally, uh.. there weren’t a lot of white guys doing that genre of music. And that also was one very good reason the Stones were controversial in the FIRST place – becuase they played music most the entire white world had never even HEARD.. it was a major point when I contrasted that with, "I Want to Hold your Hand".. My teacher made me feel like I’d said something that was very racist… Put a big red circle around the word "blacker" and asked indignantly just WHAT I meant by that (for anyone curious, this was a white teacher) I felt just horrible about it for several years until I mentioned it to my friend Sandra – who was not only a tenured Lit Prof in the same college, but she was also a huge Stones fan – met them even.. I showed her my essay, and she liked it. She told me that other teacher was a fucking idiot.. I’d thought I was soooo bad for writing something like that.. it wasn’t me. It was her. She didn’t know what I meant, had no idea where I was coming from. She was in the right age range to maybe?? have heard something?? about the Beatles and the Stones, but apparently.. not much. Her ignorance, not my "prejudice" – which I never meant in the first place. I still kind of cringe, when I think of it, even if I got another opinion that I valued highly that I wasn’t a horrible, terrible, awful person. It’s pretty bad to be falsely accused. Especially about something like that. You want to just curl up and die. Or as they say on South Park, "You go to hell and you die!" LOL. Sally — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

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Wow, Sally, your boss is kind of a dope. A nice dope, but a dope nonetheless. I think what you wrote for him is just fine. If it’s too good, it’ll be obvious when he gets the job that he lied, and he’ll be out a job. I once wrote the first para of an essay for an ex-gf (gf at the time) and when she turned it in, the prof told her, "I know this is out of a magazine, and when I find out which one, you’re expelled." Well, he never found it, and she’s got a PhD now, so, the moral of the story is … I have no idea. I’m just trying to get to sleep, and there are boats going through here *constantly*, even though it’s midnight. The bells are ringing on the drawbridge, and if it’s not them, it’s the bells on the railroad swing bridge, and if its not them, it’s a loud boat horn. I hate the world! *That’s* the moral of the story. Life is a real bummer, and in the whole scheme of things, getting that writing sample perfect is just small stuff, and don’t sweat the small stuff. Sweat sweat. That’s what it’s there for, to be sweated. But don’t sweat too much, or you’ll have to take a shower, and that’s an annoying process. Where am I going with all this? Back to bed, I suppose. Hope you’re well, Ian — http://sundry.ws/ — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

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I’m just trying to get to sleep, and there are boats going through here *constantly*, even though it’s midnight. The bells are ringing on the drawbridge, and if it’s not them, it’s the bells on the railroad swing bridge, and if its not them, it’s a loud boat horn.

I get plenty of noise distractions in the city. Kids playing just outside my door, sometimes singing. People having noisy parties nearby. The neighboring couple having screaming matches. Passing cars blasting booming music that rattles my windows. The dreaded jingle of the ice cream truck stopping on my street. A produce truck that loudly announces prices with a bad PA speaker. And the occasional block-party where the street noise becomes so loud I can’t hear myself think. (groan) Best Wishes, Arthur — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

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And I still feel badly that I did such a poor job on that writing sample. I know I’m a perfectionist about that area of my life.. but I won’t settle for half assed writing out of myself when it matters. I think I’ll go to bed.. I know this isn’t even comparable to what a lot of you all are going through. I also know everyone’s pain is valid.. I am sooooo disappointed in me on several levels, and I want to let it go, but I’m struggling tonight. Thanks for listening Sally

Hi Sally, I can certainly relate to much of your writing comments. Like you, I distinguish between my casual and serious (proper) writing. When I am serious about writing, the process does feel like a wrestling match is going on within my brain. Like you, I tend to get stressed and frustrated when time pressure is involved. Try not to be too hard on yourself. I usually can’t do any serious writing in hours, always a matter of days, weeks or months for me. Also, don’t forget that anxiety and stress tend to cause cognitive dysfunction which interferes with thinking straight and making good judgment calls. Sudden episodes of stress can knock us off balance and cause us to behave in atypical ways. Remember, a true perfectionist perfectly understands that they are not perfect. One of my favorite rules of writing is, "First write badly!" When writing first drafts, the most important thing is to simply put the ideas into text. Editorial skills just get in the way at this point and are best postponed for later drafts. One of a writer’s worst nightmares is not having time to properly finish a final draft. When we take pride in our writing and invest a good portion of our identity into it, final drafts can have a big impact on our mood. Nonetheless, try to temper you mood in this case with the knowledge that you did improve upon the bad drafts you were given. You may not have met your own critical standards, but you did exceed the standards of others. I’m not a big Steven King fan, but I did like his story "Misery." The story’s symbolism is healthy dark-humor for writers in my opinion. My personal web site is a mixture of bad and good writing. When I look back at my earlier writing I find myself moaning with embarrassment. However, for reasons of documentary integrity I refuse to rewrite such material as that would distort who I was and how I expressed myself at the time. Writing can be very therapeutic and teach us much about ourselves. In this sense, I think our worst writing can be as valuable as our best writing. Best Wishes, Arthur — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

Hi, Sally, By writing the resume it shows you have employable skills… And the boss has his own agenda to fulfill. "writing for me is kind of like a wrestling match with my brain.. trying to convey the right thoughts and using the correct words.. " – Sally, I do the same thing and I feel it’s taking pride in my work so the same for you… I think you did him an invaluable service by correcting what he had given you to type for him. Once again your skills come shining through! It does seem he took advantage of you knowing you had more expertise in this area than he. Let the guilt fall on his shoulders not yours because down the road he has to put writing into his on words. It will then show on his part. Have a great day. smiles, Elise – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I guess I will post this. I’m not even sure what I’ll say, but I have some news. Good and bad. Today was my last day at work. Some good things happened over the past couple of weeks, and somethings bother me.. My boss asked me if I knew how to write a resume. I used to teach people how to write resumes. So the answer to that was "yes.".. I updated a client’s resume, and the next thing I knew, my boss was having me write stuff for him.. because he was about to be out of a job, and he was applying to a lot of different places, and I guess he liked my work. Don’t know how to say this without sounding.. egotistical. I write well. Not in here. I know that. I know what good writing is, and I don’t do it here, and I don’t in email, but if I bothered to write WELL in here, it would take too damn long, because writing for me is kind of like a wrestling match with my brain.. trying to convey the right thoughts and using the correct words.. too much work, actually. Yes. I can write. In college, I had literary journals on display in the library. My step dad won a Pullitzer Prize and he was a newspaper copyreader and columnist. My mother was a teacher, and I do not remember a time I could not read. English was a big DEAL in my home. whew. My boss had me type something for him the other day — he was applying to be an officer in the United States Army, and he brought me a paragraph. I do not know who wrote it. A woman that wrote, "love you" at the end of her email sent it to him. He did not write it, but he asked me if I would type it for him. Well, I couldn’t let him submit that thing – it was horribly written. It think there were only two sentences in that paragraph. There should have been more like..five. No punctuation. Run on, ON run on sentences, Awkward wording.. just.. so bad. You all, I write better in here than that woman wrote for my boss’ application to be an OFFICER in the ARMY – and he was going to turn that in. I freaked. I typed it for him, but I also fixed it.. I rewrote and reworked that thing, and gave mine to him along with the other one. I think I made an impression. Today, I uh.. had to rewrite his resume (He is the employment director, I’m supposed to "file" things LOL) anyway..I sort of fixed it. I wish I’d had a week, and not 4 hours. I told him I could continue to work on it for him, from home if he liked, no charge. I may or may not hear from him. He had asked me to generate a final report for the office. I did. I also generated one just for him on my own..I took the numbers, and kind of skewed the statistics (lied) .. I made him look pretty good, if I do say so myself. Damn good. Better than he is, LMAO. He asked me to include that in his resume, and I did. I also had to do something I’m not at all comfortable about. He was also applying for a position .. the best I could tell, it was a job with a union does a lot of political lobbying. Whew. Like I even know anything about that sort of thing!!!??? (I know nothing and want to know nothing about that kind of thing – willfull ignorance, you bet) Well. I just didn’t have the time to write anything very good.. I was VERY dissatisfied with what I gave him, and I told him that was a rough draft, to please not turn that in.. The first rule of writing is to know what the hell you are talking about, and I honestly didn’t, so I was doomed from the start. The part I don’t feel comfortable with is that the job he was applying for wanted a sample of HIS writing.. and it wasn’t his writing. It was mine, and a piss poor sample of mine, too.. I don’t feel right about the fact it was supposed to be his writing and not mine. Yes, I am one of those that do not lie on my taxes or on job applications.. I don’t do it, because I don’t like that kind of thing. I don’t care to help someone else do it either, but I did it the best that I could in the time I had to do it. Sometimes.. proper (not casual stuff, like in here) writing doesn’t flow and I have to wrestle with it.. and I’ve always had the luxury of walking away when that happens, and coming back later when my mind is fresh, and I am able to rework everything like it needs to be so that it flows and does what it is supposed to do. Anyway.. I feel bad he asked me to do that, and I feel bad that I didn’t like what I gave him. I’ve never had that experience in my life. No one but me has ever seen a rough draft of anything I’ve written.. it’s just personal. I don’t know if anybody even understands what I am talking about?? REAL writing to me is extremely personal, and it’s like.. don’t look at it until I feel that I am DONE with it.. does anyone, anywhere KNOW what I mean by that? Shit. I don’t know if I feel worse that I wrote something for someone who should have done it himself, or if I feel worse for writing such an ill written piece of utter crap. Do you see WHY I do not write very much? See what I do to me when I write..? I do this until I am finally satisfied. The pay off to that is.. if I am satisfied with something I have written, other people usually are impressed with the quality of it.. so there is a payoff, but it’s a bitch to get there. Well.. to top that off. I did all of that shit in FOUR hours..(and I did this at minimum wage.. not a cent more) I was driving home, still trying to word that writing sample (that I shouldn’t even have written) in my head so it didn’t sound like an idiot wrote it.. Y’all know what? Wanna know something? I asked my boss a few days ago for a letter of reference.. I got nothing. It’s not that I sucked. I obviously didn’t if he wanted me to fix his resume and write his "sample"… It’s that he didn’t bother to even do that.. and I don’t feel right about writing my own and sending it to him. I have to work every waking hour just to let any positive stuff IN my head, I think I’d die if I had to write a letter that I actually DO deserve to have. I would. And I still feel badly that I did such a poor job on that writing sample. I know I’m a perfectionist about that area of my life.. but I won’t settle for half assed writing out of myself when it matters. I think I’ll go to bed.. I know this isn’t even comparable to what a lot of you all are going through. I also know everyone’s pain is valid.. I am sooooo disappointed in me on several levels, and I want to let it go, but I’m struggling tonight. Thanks for listening Sally — The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

– The charter is available at: http://readystump.algebra.com/~asapm

Response:

OT: Bush 'planted fake news stories on American TV'

admin — Mon, 29 May 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Question:

Bush ‘planted fake news stories on American TV’ By Andrew Buncombe in Washington (The Independent) Federal authorities are actively investigating dozens of American television stations for broadcasting items produced by the Bush administration and major corporations, and passing them off as normal news. Some of the fake news segments talked up success in the war in Iraq, or promoted the companies’ products. Investigators from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are seeking information about stations across the country after a report produced by a campaign group detailed the extraordinary extent of the use of such items. The report, by the non-profit group Centre for Media and Democracy, found that over a 10-month period at least 77 television stations were making use of the faux news broadcasts, known as Video News Releases (VNRs). Not one told viewers who had produced the items. "We know we only had partial access to these VNRs and yet we found 77 stations using them," said Diana Farsetta, one of the group’s researchers. "I would say it’s pretty extraordinary. The picture we found was much worse than we expected going into the investigation in terms of just how widely these get played and how frequently these pre-packaged segments are put on the air." Ms Farsetta said the public relations companies commissioned to produce these segments by corporations had become increasingly sophisticated in their techniques in order to get the VNRs broadcast. "They have got very good at mimicking what a real, independently produced television report would look like," she said. The FCC has declined to comment on the investigation but investigators from the commission’s enforcement unit recently approached Ms Farsetta for a copy of her group’s report. The range of VNR is wide. Among items provided by the Bush administration to news stations was one in which an Iraqi-American in Kansas City was seen saying "Thank you Bush. Thank you USA" in response to the 2003 fall of Baghdad. The footage was actually produced by the State Department, one of 20 federal agencies that have produced and distributed such items. Many of the corporate reports, produced by drugs manufacturers such as Pfizer, focus on health issues and promote the manufacturer’s product. One example cited by the report was a Hallowe’en segment produced by the confectionery giant Mars, which featured Snickers, M&Ms and other company brands. While the original VNR disclosed that it was produced by Mars, such information was removed when it was broadcast by the television channel – in this case a Fox-owned station in St Louis, Missouri. Bloomberg news service said that other companies that sponsored the promotions included General Motors, the world’s largest car maker, and Intel, the biggest maker of semi-conductors. All of the companies said they included full disclosure of their involvement in the VNRs. "We in no way attempt to hide that we are providing the video," said Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Intel. "In fact, we bend over backward to make this disclosure." The FCC was urged to act by a lobbying campaign organised by Free Press, another non-profit group that focuses on media policy. Spokesman Craig Aaron said more than 25,000 people had written to the FCC about the VNRs. "Essentially it’s corporate advertising or propaganda masquerading as news," he said. "The public obviously expects their news reports are going to be based on real reporting and real information. If they are watching an advertisement for a company or a government policy, they need to be told." The controversy over the use of VNRs by television stations first erupted last spring. At the time the FCC issued a public notice warning broadcasters that they were obliged to inform viewers if items were sponsored. The maximum fine for each violation is $32,500 (