All the flap over the past few days about how the NY Times supposedly releasing terrorist surveillance methods is really just so much old news.
Terrorist funds-tracking no secret, some say
Cite White House boasts of tighter monitoring system
By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | June 28, 2006
WASHINGTON — News reports disclosing the Bush administration’s use of a special bank surveillance program to track terrorist financing spurred outrage in the White House and on Capitol Hill, but some specialists pointed out yesterday that the government itself has publicly discussed its stepped-up efforts to monitor terrorist finances since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
more at the Boston Globe.
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer 1 minute ago
WASHINGTON – A constitutional amendment to ban flag desecration died in a cliffhanger vote in the Senate Tuesday, one week before Independence Day, one vote short of the support needed to send it to the states for ratification.
Yahoo News
Another defeat for the Bush Administration and their fascist agenda.
I’m embarrassed… stunned – even outraged, that John Carter, the Congressman representing my district, is fighting to bring back literacy tests as a requisite for voting.
A literacy test? The Austin-American Statesman declared that “is a curious statement from a member of Congress and former judge, because citizenship is the requisite for voting, not literacy…
Carter is 64, surely he remembers how literacy tests, poll taxes and grandfather clauses were used to strip non-whites of their voting rights in Texas. That’s why LBJ championed the Voting Rights Act.
For more than 40 years, the Voting Rights Act (VRA) has protected the right of every American citizen to cast a vote. Equality in voting is fundamental to the American democratic system.
Stop the stalling and pass the Voting Rights Act now!
Oh, and check out http://carter.house.gov/blog/ where comments and trackbacks are moderated to silence folks who disagree.
By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer 8 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – Breathing any amount of someone else’s tobacco smoke harms nonsmokers, the surgeon general declared Tuesday — a strong condemnation of secondhand smoke that is sure to fuel nationwide efforts to ban smoking in public.
“The debate is over. The science is clear: Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard,” said U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona.
More than 126 million nonsmoking Americans are regularly exposed to smokers’ fumes — what Carmona termed “involuntary smoking” — and tens of thousands die each year as a result, concludes the 670-page study. It cites “overwhelming scientific evidence” that secondhand smoke causes heart disease, lung cancer and a list of other illnesses.
Yahoo News
yay.
Prenatal effect hinted for some gay men
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer Mon Jun 26, 6:27 PM ET
WASHINGTON – Men who have several older brothers have an increased chance of being gay — whether they were raised together or not — a finding researchers say adds weight to the idea that sexual orientation is based in biology.
The increase was seen in men with older brothers from the same mother, but not those who had stepbrothers or adopted brothers who were older.
Yahoo News
Schadenfreude: is a German term meaning “pleasure taken from someone else’s misfortune”. It is sometimes used as a loanword in English and other languages.
With that in mind…
Limbaugh Detained At Airport
Joy Purdy
Reporting
(CBS4 News) WEST PALM BEACH Sources have confirmed to CBS4 News that conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been detained at Palm Beach International Airport for the possible possession of illegal prescription drugs Monday evening.
Limbaugh was returning on a flight from the Dominican Republic when officials found the drugs, among them Viagra.
More at cbs4.com
All signs point to YES.
Bigotry Beneath the Fog
By Eugene Robinson
Friday, June 23, 2006; Page A25
Once in a while the fog machine that’s kept on “high” around here to obscure everyone’s real intentions breaks down. There’s always a mad rush to crank it up again, but for the briefest moment we can see our elected representatives for what they really are, not what they pretend to be. Wednesday we had one of those rare high-definition moments, when the House Republican caucus defied its leaders and refused to back renewal of the Voting Rights Act.
That tells you about all you need to know, doesn’t it?
Washington Post
I see that AT&T is offering reduced prices on DSL Internet Service. In fact, the price of the service we currently have at home just dropped by $20/month! So, I called to get the lower price, and the rep says it’s an online offer for new customers only…
After threatening to become an ex-customer, she did reduce the monthly price.
We were in San Jose the end of last week, and took a weekend trip to Yosemite with the Extreme Blue crew from Almaden.
Pics here.
