Good evening. A few things going on tonight and we'll get straight to Democracy Now!
Bush Reserves Right To Order Torture of Prisoners
This update on a story we have been tracking closely. Last week President Bush officially signed a bill outlawing torture of detainees. While the bill signing received significant press coverage, what Bush did following the signing has not. According to the Boston Globe, Bush quietly issued what is known as a signing statement in which he lays out his interpretation of the new law. In this document Bush declared that he will view the interrogation limits in the context of his broader powers to protect national security. Legal experts say this means Bush believes he can waive the anti-torture restrictions. New York University Law Professor David Golove criticized Bush's move. He said ''The signing statement is saying 'I will only comply with this law when I want to, and if something arises in the war on terrorism where I think it's important to torture or engage in cruel, inhuman, and degrading conduct, I have the authority to do so and nothing in this law is going to stop me.' "
There's the world and there's Bully Boy and the world's not "with him" so he's against it. He'll do anything he can to destroy it. Give props to Democracy Now! because they do keep tracking that story and they do point out the facts and not just the "Oh, isn't John McCain the most wonderful!" The "Torture" law had huge problems but the bulk of the media was too busy bragging on their boy McCain to look at it closely and now it turns out that Bully Boy doesn't even think he has to abide it. He makes his own rules and pisses on the country.
WV Paper: Mining Deaths Were "Preventable"; Says Bush Undercut Safety Regs
In West Virginia, about 125 people gathered Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil in the town of Sago to mourn the 12 coal miners who died in what was the country's deadliest mining accident in four years. One miner survived and remains hospitalized. The town has been in a state of shock since Tuesday night when residents were initially informed that 12 of the 13 trapped miners had been found alive. But the report turned out to be false. The owner of the mine - the International Coal Group -- is coming under increasing criticism for its handling of the tragedy and its safety record. The company's president Ben Hatfield said he sincerely regretted the manner in which the families were falsely notified. The company waited over two hours to tell the celebrating family members that their loved ones were not in fact alive. The editors of the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia have published an editorial in today's paper titled "Preventable Deaths." The editorial reads "this tragedy was not a surprise - both because the mine had a disturbing safety record, and because the Bush administration in Washington has been undercutting mine safety." Last year, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration filed 200 alleged violations against the Sago mine. 46 citations were issued in the past three months - 18 of them were considered "serious and substantial" We'll go to West Virginia later in the show.
See? More pissing. He pisses around and that's what happens. He pisses on the need for safety and that's what happens. If you caught the full episode of Democracy Now! today, you know that this wasn't just an "accident." Bully Boy's been cutting down on safety. You cut corners and it effects stuff. In this case, people lost lives. He's not interested in enforcing the laws, he's interested in pleasing his "base." And people lost lives. It's disgusting and it's Piss Bully Boy like that piece of art called Piss Christ. Only Piss Bully Boy isn't an image of him, it is him.
Always check out Elaine's comments by visiting Like Maria Said Paz.
Common Ills community member Kayla (who recently had a very handsome son) wrote about Sereena's issue and wondered if it might be ingrown hairs? That's a good question and that's one of the things I was trying to figure out when I was exchanging e-mails with Sereena. I did pass on Kayla's question and comments like Kayla asked. But for me, an ingrown hair means that I get red thing, like a pimple, that comes to a head. It's not a black head. What Sereena described to me was that if she squeezes it before it becomes a welt, what she's got is no longer a black spot, it's small thing like a tear drop and the very top is black and the lower portion is white. So that sounds like a black head and I'm sorry for not being more clear on that yesterday. Sereena wrote this morning that after work today she was going to try the pore strips and let us know how that worked. Hopefully, we'll have something on that for tomorrow.
Elaine and me are both noting something we saw at The Common Ills, CODEPINK's:
Women Say NO to War!
We at CODEPINK, together with 200 prominent women from around the globe, have written our own Urgent Peace Plan to end the war in Iraq. From now until March 8, International Women's Day, we will be gathering signatures to deliver to U.S. embassies worldwide. So join Alice Walker, Susan Sarandon, Margaret Cho, Dolores Huerta, Eve Ensler, Congresswomen Barbara Lee, Lynn Woolsey, and Cynthia McKinney, Iraqi women from the Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq and Women Living Under Muslim Laws, and many more (see initial endorsers) by signing the call today at www.womensaynotowar.org and passing it on to your friends.
Rebecca and C.I. wrote a thing using the music to "American Pie" and it's called "Bye, Bye Bob Somerby:"
A long, long time ago . . . I can still remember how
That Howler used to make me smile.
And I knew if I clicked the link,
That it could make me think,
And maybe make me laugh for awhile.
But Larry Summers made me shiver,
New Republicans you'd prop and deliver,
Depressing my morning routine . . .
I couldn't take another read.
I can't remember if I cried
When I heard about your conflict inside
But something ended the crazy ride
The day the Howler died.
So . . . bye, bye Bob Somerby
Checked out the conflict and the conflict was inside (of you)
And like Cokie and Tim you took people for a ride
Singing "You shall never see me clown
You shall never see me clown."
Did you write the (slam) book on Joe (Wilson)
And did you sell your soul?
If a buddy tells you so
Do you repeat GOP spin?
Who will save your mortal soul
Who will walk you through slow?
Well I know you're friends with him
Cause I saw you dancing in the gym
You both took out your knives
Went after Joe Wilson with spin and lies.
I was a depressed woman in a funk
Pissed off at the election and the bully punk
And I knew that the Howler was sunk
The day the Howler died.
So . . . bye, bye Bob Somerby
Checked out the conflict and the conflict was inside (of you)
And like Cokie and Tim you took people for a ride
Singing "You shall never see me clown
You shall never see me clown."
Now for the next election cycle we're on our own
And that might make some moan and groan
But you're off in the DLC zone
The jester jumping the king to push the queen
In a coat borrowed from Time magazine
In a voice that came from you and you know who
And while the queen was acting a hawk
You were silent on Iraq
You were clowning to the max
Self-disclosure was real lax.
While Naomi read from the book of Baghad
We were gathered in Central Park
But you were somewhere in the dark
The day the Howler died.
So ... bye, bye Bob Somerby
Checked out the conflict and the conflict was inside (of you)
And like Cokie and Tim you took people for a ride
Singing "You shall never see me clown
You shall never see me clown."
New York Times in the summer scandal
Judy Miller left without shelter
Kicked off her perch and falling fast
She landed foul upon the grass.
But you never wrote of her or him
And in the end that did you in
Now you're the daily fool
Who broke his own rules
A crank, no longer cool.
As the truth tried to take the field
Spin, you refused to yield
Even so you've been revealed
The day the Howler died.
So . . . bye, bye Bob Somerby
Checked out the conflict and the conflict was inside (of you)
And like Cokie and Tim you took people for a ride
Singing "You shall never see me clown
You shall never see me clown."
There we were all in defeat
No time left to clown on the beat
The Constitution taking heat
But Bob be obtuse
Bob be a bore
Bob tell us about '99 once more
Cause you've got so little to say about today.
As I watched you divert from the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
Not even Joan Baez speaking real
Could break your Faustian deal
And as smoke poured from the screen
Robert Novak wasn't that mean
The day the Howler died.
There was a time when I sang the blues
But you could cheer me up with your views
Those days have long faded away.
I went back to the source within
Where I found strength to begin
And no sexists were allowed
And in the streets Kim Gandy screamed
The women gathered and the women dreamed
Not a word of you was spoken
Your promise had long been broken
And the three women I admire the most
Naomi, Gandy and Gloria the most
Said that this was no time to coast
And the Howler died.
So ... bye, bye Bob Somerby
Checked out the conflict and the conflict was inside (of you)
And like Cokie and Tim you took people for a ride
Singing "You shall never see me clown
You shall never see me clown."
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