Jesse Jackson? A Glimer Of Hope?

Jackson prayed with Bob and Mary Schindler at the hospice where their severely brain-damaged daughter was enduring her 12th day without food or water. The liberal crusader called Schiavo's impending death an "injustice" and said he would call state senators who opposed legislation that would have reinserted her feeding tube and ask them to reconsider.

"I feel so passionate about this injustice being done, how unnecessary it is to deny her a feeding tube, water, not even ice to be used for her parched lips," said Jackson, who has run for president as a Democrat. "This is a moral issue and it transcends politics and family disputes."

Also on Tuesday, first lady Laura Bush said she thought the government was right to try to step in.

"I just feel like the federal government has to be involved," Mrs. Bush said. "It is a life issue that really does require government to be involved."

Mrs. Bush said she has been encouraged to hear that the case has prompted more people to inquire about living wills.

"I think that is really good," she said. "The president and I have living wills and, of course, our parents do. They wanted us always to be aware of it. I think that it is important for families to have opportunities to talk about these issues."

President Bush and his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, have both been outspoken supporters of Schiavo's parents.

University of South Florida political science professor Susan MacManus said Jackson's appearance showed that the life-and-death issues surrounding their daughter resonate beyond white, Christian conservatives.

"I wanted the Reverend Jackson here for moral support," said Mary Schindler, Terri Schiavo's mother. "I feel good with him here. Very strong. He gives me strength."

Jackson was invited by Schiavo's parents to meet with activists outside Schiavo's hospice. His arrival was greeted by some applause and cries of "This is about civil rights!"

"A person of faith, and not just a white, conservative person of faith will be seen as a welcomed change," MacManus said.

Jackson said he asked Michael Schiavo, Terri Schiavo's husband, for permission to see the brain-damaged woman but was denied. George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, did not return phone messages seeking comment.

Michael Schiavo insists he is carrying out his wife's wishes by having the feeding tube pulled.

Terri Schiavo's father, Bob Schindler, said he visited his daughter Tuesday and said she was "failing."

"She still looks pretty darn good under the circumstances," Schindler said. "You can see the impact of no food and water for 12 days. Her bodily functions are still working. We still have her."

Dr. Sean Morrision of the Mount Sinai Medical Center spoke with FOX News' Linda Vester Tuesday and said he often treats patients in a similar condition to that of Terri Schiavo. "It's rare for someone to be awake" in a persistent vegetative state, Morrision said.

During an interview on DaySide With Linda Vester, Morrision said the parts of the brain that feel are not working. "She does look awake, but she's not processing any of those feelings."

Jackson telephoned black legislators on Tuesday in a last-ditch effort to bring back a bill that would prohibit severely brain-damaged patients from being denied food and water if they didn't express their wishes in writing. Lawmakers rejected the legislation earlier this month and appeared unlikely to reconsider it.

One of those contacted by Jackson, Democratic state Sen. Gary Siplin, said he told Jackson the issue had been "thoroughly discussed." Senate Democratic leader Les Miller added, "I have voted. It's time to move on."

The chief sponsor of the measure, state Sen. Daniel Webster, said he knew of no changed votes and that Jackson's efforts may have come too late.

Webster told FOX that it would be difficult at this point to ask fellow lawmakers to consider voting in favor of the reinsertion. "I'm pretty optimistic ... but there comes a time when no one steps forward" and it's hard to say we can win, he said. "I don't believe we can."

Webster also defended Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has been criticized by some supporters of Terri Schiavo. "The governor is totally dedicated to this issue" and Terri would be dead if he hadn't stepped in a year ago, Webster said during an appearance on DaySide.

Schiavo's husband and guardian, Michael Schiavo, has insisted that he was carrying out her wishes by having her feeding tube pulled. His lawyer said Monday that an autopsy was planned to show the extent of Terri Schiavo's brain damage.

On Monday, George Felos, the attorney for husband and guardian Michael Schiavo, said that the chief medical examiner for Pinellas County, Dr. John Thogmartin, had agreed to perform an autopsy.

He said her husband wants definitive proof showing the extent of the brain damage.

An attorney for the Schindlers, David Gibbs III, said her family also wants an autopsy. "We would certainly support and encourage an autopsy to be done, with all the unanswered questions," Gibbs said.

Felos said he had visited Schiavo for more than an hour Monday and said she looked "very peaceful. She looked calm."

"I saw no evidence of any bodily discomfort whatsoever," Felos said, although he added her breathing seemed "a little on the rapid side" and her eyes were sunken.

Doctors have said Terri Schiavo, 41, would probably die within a week or two when the tube was removed on March 18. She suffered catastrophic brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped for several minutes because of a chemical imbalance.

President Bush's aides have said they have run out of legal options.

At least two more appeals filed by the state seeking the feeding tube's reconnection were pending, but those challenges were before a Florida appeals court that had rejected the governor's previous efforts in the case.

Emotions were high among supporters. After Jackson's news conference, a man was tackled to the ground by officers when he tried to storm into the hospice, Pinellas Park police said.

Dow Pursley, 56, of Scranton, Pa., was shocked with a Taser stun gun and was arrested on charges of attempted burglary and resisting arrest without violence, police spokesman Sanfield Forseth said. The man had two bottles of water with him but did not reach the hospice door, police said. He is the 47th protester arrested.
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I sure have never agreed with Jesse Jackson on much, but even he has seen the magnitude of this situation!
I havent seen ONE Democrat/Liberal come out and say a word on this situation, but I must give Jackson Credit, when called, he showed!!!
There may be another bill to pass through Congress from what I have heard.
I hope it is not to late!
For a change maybe Jackson can do something that maybe only a handful of us that dont think Government is being to intrusive in this particular case can do.
Like President Ronald Reagan said once about Jackson's effort's to free a few hostages from another country at another time, "It's worth a try"... Well Jackson did bargain for and got the hostages released, and President Reagan let Jackson take ALL the credit and said "Job well done son, job well done".... I hope this has a similar outcome!!!!
Liberals Are in a Vegitative State!
Excluding Jackson from this one.

Morale, Sense Of Accomplishment High, Enlisted Leaders Report

Morale, Sense Of Accomplishment High, Enlisted Leaders Report
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, - Morale is high
among troops deployed to Southwest Asia in support of the
global war on terror, but many feel frustrated that the
American public isn’t hearing about the positive work they’re
doing, senior enlisted leaders from U.S. Central Command told
the American Forces Press Service here today.

The senior enlisted members of U.S. Central Command,
Multinational Force Iraq and Combined Forces Command Afghanistan,
with 97 years of military service among them, said troops
here understand their mission and feel good about what
they’re accomplishing.

“To a person, nobody has ever said, ‘I don’t understand why
I came here,� said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Cynthia A.
Pritchett from Combined Forces Command Afghanistan. “They feel
they’re bringing a sense of hope and giving the country a
future. They can see the fruit of their labor, but feel that
the story doesn’t get out at home.�

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Mellinger from Multinational
Force Iraq agreed. “If there’s a common theme to the
complaints I routinely hear, it’s that nobody knows how well
we’re doing,� he said. “The story of what’s being done is not
getting out.�

The two leaders ticked off a laundry list of
accomplishments in their respective operating areas: national elections
in both Afghanistan and Iraq, progress on the reconstruction
front from road projects to new schools, and inroads made
in paving a better future for people who have long lived
under oppression.

And the reserve components, which they described as a
seamless part of the forces here, are bringing talents not
typically found in military units — experience in farming,
business and civil works, among other specialties.

Servicemembers here “feel a real sense that they are
accomplishing something,� said Pritchett.

The noncommissioned officers acknowledged that the war on
terror has placed new challenges on the force. Even the most
junior troops, they said, are finding themselves in
positions where the decisions they make can have international and
strategic implications.

“This is not just a military fight,� said Air Force Chief
Master Sgt. Curtis Brownhill, command chief master sergeant
for U.S. Central Command. “It’s a political issue as well
as a military issue, and the actions of one soldier can have
a regional effect.�

And that, the NCOs agreed, requires servicemembers with
attributes like those troops here are demonstrating. They’re
worldly, informed about current events and, unlike during
the days when the NCOs entered the military, they’re not
afraid to ask the reasons behind the orders they’re given.

“I grew up in an Army that didn’t ask ‘why,’� Pritchett
said.

“But … it’s OK to ask why now, because they need to know
why,� Brownhill said. “They need to understand the
implications behind what they’re doing.�

“(Troops here) know their craft,� Mellinger agreed. “But
it’s also important that they know the potential impacts —
favorable or unfavorable — of what they’re doing.�

With these new demands and responsibilities, the NCOs said,
today’s servicemembers are demonstrating strong initiative
as well. “They do a lot of things without being asked,�
said Mellinger. “They just look and see something and say,
‘Hey, I can make this better.’�

Brownhill called the troops waging the war on terror a
testament to the success of the all-volunteer force. “This is
the best force we’ve ever fielded,� he said. “They
understand the mission, and they’re committed to it.�

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, instilled a
renewed sense of patriotism that’s reflected in today’s armed
forces, Pritchett said. “These young people want to give back
and be part of something greater than themselves,� she
said.

“I bust at the seams looking at these troops,� said
Mellinger. “You just have to feel good about what you’re looking
at. … They’re doing fabulous work, day in and day out.�

When they finish their deployments and leave the theater,
Pritchett said, servicemembers take with them the
satisfaction of knowing they’ve playing an important role in an
important mission.

“The greatest reward they take with them is the knowledge
that ‘I made a difference,’� she said.

Support McDonald's

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2005 - Since McDonald’s joined the
Defense Department’s “America Supports You� team earlier
this month to support the troops, the restaurant chain is
“lovin’ it.�

“We want to make sure that our troops know that our
customers and Americans are behind them,� said Mike Donahue, vice
president for U.S. communications and customer
satisfaction. “America Supports You is so important because we don’t
want people to forget that freedom is not free.� The program
recognizes citizens’ support for the men and women of the
armed forces and communicates that support to servicemembers
at home and abroad.

Donahue said America Supports You is a natural fit for the
hamburger chain because the company’s principles are so
closely aligned with the military’s.

“We believe that we share so many values in common with the
military that we want to continue to express our
appreciation,� he said. “Dedication, hard work, training, teamwork:
All the things a crew has to learn to run a McDonald’s are
similar to what (is taught) in the military and we want to
make sure we’re expressing our gratitude.�

McDonald’s, one of the first major corporate sponsors of
America Supports You, has been expressing gratitude for
America’s heroes for the past three years through the National
Salute to America’s Heroes program. Donahue said the program
honors many groups that are considered heroes, and that
includes U.S. servicemembers.

The company already has plans in place for this year’s
program, and is working to incorporate the America Supports You
message into several of its events. McDonald’s also plans
to show support for America Supports You through
advertising, in-restaurant materials and local marketing efforts
during National Military Appreciation Month in May.

“We are thrilled that the America Supports You message will
reach so many through the support of McDonald’s,� said
Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for
internal communications and public liaison. “McDonald’s efforts
will help make America Supports You part of our national
lexicon, providing a tremendous morale boost not just for
those serving overseas, but for their families as well.�

McDonald’s will be making America Supports You dog tags
available, as well as providing guidelines for franchise
owners indicating how they can encourage support for
servicemembers locally, Donahue said. That also includes making people
aware of the America Supports You site on the World Wide
Web.

“We want to refer as many people as we can to the Web site,
because that’s a way that they can demonstrate (their
support) and all the men and women who are serving can pull up
and see how America is expressing their gratitude,� he said.
“We think that American companies have a responsibility to
show their support for the men and women who serve. We
believe that all Americans … should participate in these
efforts.�

Donahue said he believes it’s important to keep the troops
and their mission in the front of people’s minds. To work
toward that goal, the company is considering events to
promote the America Supports You message on other holidays
throughout the year.

“We love being able to be a part of America Supports You,
because I think at the end of the day, it’s all about values
and some of those traditional beliefs that all of us
share,� he said.

It Is Bad That Our Country Has Come Down To This

It is an absolute Travesty that our Country has been allowed to "STARVE" someone to death! On Purpose!
No matter which side of the Terri Schaivo situation you are on, it has been a heartbreaking ride.
Especially for her family.
I cant picture someone else having complete control over my own daughters welfare, someone who I gave birth to, causing her to now wind up on her deathbed.
It's a shame that the Shindler's and Michael Shaivo couldnt come to an agreement on how Terri should have been handled.
And no-one will ever convince me that Terri wasnt a living human being, who Loved, and responded to her mother, and other family members presence.
At least when all is done, you would think Michael would give Terri back to her family, and at least let them have that!
But what's done is done.
The Court's have ruled.
All the interveining that was done was futile, but at least The Congress, President Bush, and Governor Bush tried.
It's just horrifying to think they (The Hospice) couldnt have given her a shot, instead of starving her to death, if they had to kill her.
Criminals, and Animals get better than that.
But to "STARVE" a Human to DEATH on PURPOSE, is just the most grueling, tortureous, horrifying, thing most of us in this country have ever been witness to, and has certainly brought out alot of issues on both sides.
I know one thing, I am surely getting MY living will up to date.
Terri is probably past the point of no return now.
My condolences to the Schindler family.
And I hope Terri just goes to sleep.
Sleep well Terri, Sleep Well!!!

Wanted For Murder

This man has made it possible for his (so-called) wife to die the most excruciating death of humankind.
Starvation and Dehydration?
Court after court after court believes he is her guardian, even though he has committed adultry, and had 2 children out of wedlock.
He could have divorced her and let her go back to the only family thats wants her, hers.
I just hope with all the courts in the last 72 hours, I have lost track already how many, and which court its in now, 1 just, 1 hears this case just 1 last time.
Who is it really going to hurt?
The money for threapy that was givin to Michael Schiavo for Terri to be rehabilitated, he pocketed and was never used on Terri so she looked like she was never going to get better. She was at first. Until Michael took that way from her.
Let her have a pet scan, let her have some speech therapy, who is this going to hurt but Michael who is only wanting her to die for her Malpractice suit money.
But starving her to death has got to be the most cruelest, dirty handed, black hearted, evil, things I have ever seen done to anyone in the United States. And we have a front row seat to watch her die?
Whoever has this case now, Jeb Bush, The Supreme Court, Do the right thing, put her tube back in her until you can figure out what the heck is going on. After all you dont know if Terri even told Michael her wishes, she never told her own parents!!!

Terri Is In The Judges Hands Now

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. -- The parents of Terri Schiavo asked a judge to reinsert the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube Monday, following an extraordinary political fight that consumed both chambers of Congress and prompted the president to rush back to the White House.

An attorney for Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, arrived at federal district court in Tampa and filed a request for an emergency injunction to keep their daughter fed.

It was assigned to U.S. District Judge James Whittemore, who was nominated to the court in 1999 by President Clinton. He set a hearing for Monday afternoon, according to a court Web site.

David Gibbs II, attorney for the parents, said the judge had sent a message saying he was reviewing the filings in the case.

Earlier Monday, the House, following a move by the Senate, passed a bill to let the parents ask a federal judge to prolong Schiavo's life by reinserting her feeding tube. President Bush signed the measure less than an hour later.

Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, said he was outraged that lawmakers and the president were intervening in the contentious right-to-die battle. He has fought for years with his wife's parents over whether she should be permitted to die or kept alive through the feeding tube.

"This is a sad day for Terri. But I'll tell you what: It's also is a sad day for everyone in this country because the United States government is going to come in and trample all over your personal, family matters," he told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday.

Michael Schiavo has not responded to repeated interview requests from The Associated Press.

The lawsuit alleges a series of rights violations, including that Terri Schiavo's religious beliefs were being infringed upon, that the removal of the feeding tube violated her rights and that she was not provided an independent attorney to represent her interests.

Outside the hospice where his daughter entered her fourth day without food or water, Bob Schindler told reporters "I'm numb, I'm just totally numb. This whole thing, it's hard to believe it."

A shout of joy was heard from the crowd outside the hospice when news of the House bill's passage came. Among those cheering was David Bayly, 45, of Toledo, Ohio: "I'm overjoyed to see the vote and see Terri's life extended by whatever amount God gives her."

When dawn broke Monday, fewer than a dozen demonstrators remained at the hospice, but the area bustled with television lights, cameras and reporters covering the saga.

The 41-year-old woman's feeding tube was removed Friday on a Florida judge's order. Schiavo could linger for one or two weeks if the tube is not reinserted _ as has happened twice before, once on a judge's order and once after Gov. Jeb Bush signed "Terri's Law," which was later declared unconstitutional.

George Felos, a lawyer for Michael Schiavo, did not return repeated phone messages seeking comment Monday. The voicemail box of George Greer, the Florida circuit judge who presides over the case, was full and didn't accept messages.

Terri Schiavo suffered brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped briefly because of a possible potassium imbalance brought on by an eating disorder. She can breathe on her own, but has relied on the feeding tube to keep her alive.

Court-appointed doctors say she is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery. Her husband says she would not want to be kept alive in that condition, but her parents insist she could recover with treatment.

Bob Schindler visited his daughter late Sunday and said he noticed the effects of dehydration on her. He said she appeared to be getting tired, but eventually responded to his teasing by making a face at him.

"It tells us she's still with us," he said.

Brian Schiavo, Michael's brother, said he spent Sunday afternoon with his brother and Terri at the hospice, but Terri did not move or make any noises. "Anybody that thinks that she talks and responds, they need to have a mental health examination," he said.

The bill passed in Congress applies only to Schiavo and would allow a federal court to review the case. The House passed the bill on a 203-58 vote after calling lawmakers back for an emergency Sunday session. The Senate approved the bill Sunday by voice vote. President Bush cut short a visit to his Texas ranch to return to the White House.

"In cases like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life," President Bush said in a statement after signing the bill.

A crowd of about 50 people prayed and sang outside the hospice on Sunday. One man played "Amazing Grace" on a trumpet, as a pickup truck pulled a trailer bearing 10-foot-high replicas of the stone Ten Commandments tablets and a huge working version of the Liberty Bell.

Gov. Bush, praised the actions of Congress. "We in government have a duty to protect the weak, disabled and vulnerable," he said in a statement Monday. "I appreciate the efforts of state and federal lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who have taken this duty to heart.
Associated Press
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Lets hope this is not a Liberal Judge.

Bush Changing Schedual To Return To Washington To Sign Emergancy Legislation On Schiavo Case

Bush Changing Schedule to Return to Washington to Sign Emergency Legislation on Schiavo Case

CRAWFORD, Texas -- President Bush is changing his schedule to return to the White House on Sunday to be in place to sign emergency legislation that would shift the case of a brain-damaged Florida woman to federal courts, the White House said Saturday.

"Everyone recognizes that time is important here," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "This is about defending life."

After Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed on Friday, members of Congress worked out a deal to pass legislation to allow federal courts to decide the 41-year-old woman's fate and _ in the hopes of supporters of the woman's parents _ restore the tube that was keeping her alive.

The House and Senate hoped to act on the legislation Sunday, so Bush decided he needed to be in Washington so he could immediately sign the bill, McClellan said.

"The president intends to sign legislation as quickly as possible once it is passed," McClellan said.

During previous travels, Bush has had legislation flown to him overnight by military plane for his signature. But in this case, McClellan said that the fact that a woman's life is at stake made it necessary for him to travel to the bill.

"Terri Schiavo's feeding tube has been removed and we stand with ... all those who are working to defend her life," he said.

Bush was spending the weekend at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, arriving there Friday night after a day traveling in Florida to pitch his plans to overhaul Social Security.

On Monday, he was to leave from Texas for a two-day trip in the West to continue pitching his Social Security proposals. Now, McClellan said, he would likely keep his Social Security appearances but depart for them from Washington instead.

On Wednesday, Bush is due to host Mexican President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin at his ranch, and there was no indication that would change.

He was then to spend the rest of the Easter week before returning to Washington March 28.

McClellan said that Bush had not talked with any members of Congress Saturday about the case, but was kept apprised by his staff. He dismissed any suggestion that there were any political considerations at work, either in the quick and aggressive congressional action or the president's hurried return to the White House.

The Senate convened briefly Saturday evening to give formal permission for the House to meet Sunday, when it otherwise would be adjourned for the Easter recess.

The plan is for the House to act on the two-page bill Sunday or just after midnight Monday morning. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said the Senate then would act on the House legislation, assuming it passes the House as envisioned.
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Thank GOD we have a Republican President in Office! I can just imagine what Kerry would be doing about this situation right now!!!
Liberals are MURDERERS!!!!!
Liberals are NOT to be trusted with ANYTHING, especially the lives of American People.

Save Terri

PINELLAS PARK, Fla.- Lying in her hospice bed with a crowd of protesters gathering outside, Terri Schiavo stopped receiving nourishment through a feeding tube that has kept her alive for more than a decade. Activists promised to keep a vigil for Schiavo, while congressional Republicans and her parents' lawyers promised to go on fighting for her life as she spent her first full day Saturday without food and water.

Doctors removed the tube Friday despite an extraordinary, last-minute push by Republicans on Capitol Hill to use the subpoena powers of Congress to keep the brain-damaged woman alive.

Schiavo, 41, could linger one to two weeks, provided no one intercedes and gets the tube reinserted - something that has happened twice before.

Outside the hospice, the Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition said activists planned to try to enter the hospice Saturday morning "to try to give Terri a cup of water."

But Schiavo's husband said removing the tube was what Terri wanted. He was at her side shortly after the tube was removed at mid-afternoon.

"It felt like some peace was happening for Terri," Michael Schiavo told NBC's "Today" on Saturday. "And I felt like she was finally going to get what she wants, and be at peace and be with the Lord."

The removal signals that an end may be near in a decade-long feud between Schiavo's husband and her devoutly Roman Catholic parents, Bob and Mary Schindler. The parents have been trying to oust Michael Schiavo as their daughter's guardian and keep in place the tube that has kept her alive for more than 15 years.

Michael Schiavo says his wife told him she would not want to be kept alive artificially. Her parents dispute that, saying she could get better and that their daughter has laughed, cried, smiled and responded to their voices. Court-appointed physicians testified her brain damage was so severe that there was no hope she would ever have any cognitive abilities.

David Gibbs III, the Schindlers' attorney, said he would work through the weekend to prepare another appeal for a federal appellate court. He also said he hoped lawmakers in Washington or Tallahassee could agree on legislation that would force that the tube be reinserted.


"I'm hopeful these men and women can get a strategy, get a focus, because we're running out of time," Gibbs said.

Bobby Schindler, Terri's brother, told NBC on Saturday that the woman's family still believes she can improve with therapy.

"It's clear to us Terri is very much alive and she just needs help," he said. "There's a reason why Michael and his attorney are trying so hard to keep Terri from the public and I would just welcome the opportunity to bring Terri outside and allow the world to see her."

On Friday, Republicans on Capitol Hill used their subpoena power to demand that Terri Schiavo be brought before a congressional hearing, saying that removing the tube amounted to "barbarism." Michael Schiavo's attorney shot back at a news conference, calling the subpoenas "nothing short of thuggery."

"Terri Schiavo has a right to die in peace," attorney George Felos said.


The judge presiding over the case ruled in the husband's favor and rejected the request from House attorneys to delay the removal, which he had previously ordered to take place at 1 p.m. EST.

"I have had no cogent reason why the (congressional) committee should intervene," Circuit Judge George Greer told attorneys in a conference call, adding that last-minute action by Congress does not invalidate years of court rulings.

Gov. Jeb Bush said the judge's decision "breaks my heart" and noted it often takes two decades for a death row inmate's appeals to go through the system.

"There's this rush to starve her to death," Bush said.

Michael Schiavo said Bush and other lawmakers have no business interfering in a personal, family matter. "These people are pandering for votes. That's all," he told NBC.

Late Friday, the Supreme Court, without comment, denied an emergency request from the House committee that issued the subpoenas to reinsert Schiavo's feeding tube while the committee files appeals in the lower courts to have its subpoenas recognized.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said in a statement late Friday that they "are committed to reaching an agreement on legislation that provides an opportunity to save Mrs. Schiavo's life."

Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 when a chemical imbalance apparently brought on by an eating disorder caused her heart to stop beating for a few minutes. She can breathe on her own, but has relied on the feeding and hydration tube to keep her alive.

Both sides accused each other of being motivated by greed over a $1 million medical malpractice award from doctors who failed to diagnose the chemical imbalance.

The Schindlers also said Michael Schiavo wants their daughter dead so he can marry his longtime girlfriend, with whom he has young children. They have begged him to divorce their daughter, and let them care for her.

The tangled case has encompassed at least 19 judges in at least six different courts.

In 2001, Schiavo went without food and water for two days before a judge ordered the tube reinserted when a new witness surfaced.

When the tube was removed in October 2003, her parents and two siblings frantically sought intervention from the governor, who pushed through "Terri's Law," and six days later the tube was reinserted. The Florida Supreme Court ruled in September 2004 that Bush had overstepped his authority and declared the law unconstitutional.

On Feb. 25, Circuit Judge George Greer gave Michael Schiavo permission to order the removal of the feeding tube Friday.
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Does this girl look Comatose to you? A Vegetable?
Or incapacitated?
I say she is as incapacitated as Christopher Reeves was, only cant speek to say so.
Now that this has reached such National attention, if she can as her parents say she can respond with her smile, and her eyes, then SHE needs to have HER day in court.
Let Terri Have Her day in court Senators!
Put that feeding tube back in her until she gets to Capital Hill!
Let the lawmakers decide now.
It's not a "Family" matter anymore since the Media has brought it to the Nation's view! This law that will be written will affect ALL cases like this now.
If you want more info on Terri, here is her webpage, or click the Title of This Blog.
http://www.saveterri.com

Can We Say Grandstanding?

In sometimes emotional and occasionally testy statements before a House committee, current and former Major League baseball players today pledged to help fight steroid use among America's youth and blasted former player Jose Canseco's charges that some of the sport's brightest stars -- including three appearing with him -- used the performance-enhancing drugs.

In later testimony before the House Committee on Government Reform, Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan H. "Bud" Selig strongly defended baseball's policy on steroids, insisting that players who test positive will be suspended and publicly identified. A copy of the policy that was obtained by a committee subpoena had indicated that the commissioner could impose fines instead of suspensions and keep the penalties quiet.

"I will suspend any player who tests positive for an illegal steroid," Selig told the committee. "There will be no exceptions. "The [Major League players] union is aware of that, and they accept it."

Selig said baseball's steroid-testing policy, first implemented in 2002 and recently strengthened, is showing results. He said first-time offenders "will be suspended for 10 days without pay and will be publicly defended." The suspensions, he said, would cost the average player $140,000 in lost salary.

"No player wants to be identified to his peers and the public as a cheater," Selig said.

In earlier testimony, Mark McGwire, who once held the record for single-season homeruns and is a major target of Canseco's allegations, fought back tears as he extended condolences to the families of young ballplayers who committed suicide as a result of depression brought on by steroid abuse. He expressed admiration for parents who testified before the committee earlier about the loss of their sons, saying, "I hope that these hearings can prevent other families from suffering."

But McGwire, a former star with the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals, also denounced Canseco, a former teammate, for a recently published tell-all book and said he would refuse to identify other players who might have used steroids.

McGwire later came under sharp questioning from some committee members, who noted that he had not denied having used steroids during his playing career.

Asked if he favored a zero tolerance policy on steroids in baseball, McGwire refused to comment, and he rebuffed questions about his use of a steroid precursor that was seen in his locker during his record-setting season in 1998, when he hit 70 home runs, breaking the record of 61 then held by Roger Maris.

"I'm not here to discuss the past," McGwire said. It was a mantra he repeated often during the two and a half hours that the players spent testifying before the committee.

The statement brought a rebuke from Rep. Mark E. Souder (R-Ind.), who said that talking about the past in hearings on such matters as political or financial scandals is "what we do."

McGwire said in response to a question at another point in the hearing that his message about the drugs is, "Steroids are wrong. Do not take 'em. It gives you nothing but false hope."

With Canseco sitting nearby on the same panel with him and three other players, McGwire earlier said he did not want to "dignify Mr. Canseco's book" and that members of Congress should "consider the source" in evaluating his allegations.

The testimony was given before the House Committee on Government Reform, chaired by Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.). Before hearing from the baseball players, Davis announced the formation of an advisory panel on ending the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports and said two of the players testifying today, Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, would serve as co-chairmen. Thomas was appearing via a satellite hookup.
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I sure as hell do not see the point in parading Baseball players in front of Congress!
Why not have football players up there?
Hockey players?
Professional wrestling?
There was no point today in parading former MLB players and current MLB players in front of Congress of all peopele, for the point (Only) to let Congress get thier opinions out for the next vote of the people!!!!
The FBI couldnt fit this issue into thier schedual?
Congress had nothing better to do at this moment?
I mean there are players that werent able to attend todays' grandstand meeting of the Congress because they are ALREADY BEING INVESTIGATED BY MLB FOR STEROID USE!!!!
This matter can and will police itself without being drug infront of the Major League Grandstanders in Congress!
What a waste of taxpayer dollars.
They (Baseball) already had this problem under control, Congress is ready to shut itself down because they are to sissyfied to vote on Predident Bush's last 10 nominees for Judicial purposes, and they pick NOW to visit Baseball?
Please!!!
This only made congress, look more babyfied!!
Congress needs to step OUT of the Baseball Controversy!!
Or Elect a panel for this.
Grandstanding................Sick Idiots...........Liberals will never ever get back in this game.

WOW!!!!!

The crowds are getting bigger and bigger by the day in Lebanon to push out the Syrian forces.
This crowd today was estimated at 1 million strong anti-Syrian demonstrators.
That's enough to pick up every Syrian tank and literaly move it across the border themselves!
Oh how CNN must have been red-faced-mad when the Lebanese people were leaning over Anderson Cooper (Of CNN) shoulder in a Live shot chanting "We Love you President Bush" and "We Love American's from the top on down".
Go Lebanon!!!

Why Robert KKK Byrd Left The Klan, Or Did He?

Byrd: Why I Left the Klan

Former Ku Klux Klansman Sen. Robert Byrd said Thursday that he decided to leave the anti-black terrorist group in 1946 after becoming a born-again Christian, adding that the only reason he used the "N"-word in a 2001 television interview is because he'd heard black leaders say it.

Asked why he left the Klan, Byrd told Fox News Channel's Alan Colmes: "My wife and I, we're born-again Christians. ... We were baptized in the Old Church Yard at Crab Orchard Baptist Church in 1946. ... That changed my thinking in many ways."

"Time, reflection and the teachings of the Bible" helped him cut his ties with the Klan, said Byrd - where he served as Grand Kleagle and was paid $10 a head to recruit like-minded racists willing to lynch blacks.
Asked why - 55 years after he abandoned the hate group - he used the "N"-word twice during an interview on "Fox News Sunday," the ex-Klansman explained:

"Well, I have heard many people use it. I have heard black leaders use it. I've heard white leaders use it."

Byrd told Colmes that the racist slur "meant nothing" to him, except to describe someone who was ignorant.

The West Virginia Democrat insisted that he'd always tried "to do the right thing."

But he didn't explain why he decided to lead the filibuster against the 1964 Civil Rights Act, or championed the renaming of the Senate's main office after Georgia Sen. Richard B. Russell, whose chief accomplishment was blocking the passage of anti-lynching legislation in the 1930s and '40s.

Instead Byrd insisted it was time to close the book on the earlier chapters of his life, saying: "I was wrong, as many young men are wrong today, even when they join groups. That's all in the past."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What a party! X-KKK members, War Criminal's, Murderers.........

Fox News Under Attack By The UN

During the past two years we have seen an increase in the number of
allegations of serious wrongdoing by UN officials who've been involved
in a variety of scandals: Oil for Food; molesting and raping of
children by UN peacekeepers; embezzlement, fraud and corruption.

Through it all, only one major news source has continually investigated
the actions by UN officials and reported on what they've found: Fox
News Channel.

Now it's payback time by the UN and their allies.

Throughout the past couple of weeks the UN and their allies have
engaged in a full frontal assault on Fox News Channel. Their purpose
is to both bully Fox into silence, and generally become such a
nuisance that Fox shies away from aggressive reporting on the UN
scandals simply because the process of reporting and then responding
to attacks by UN officials and politicians is so thoroughly exhausting.

The attack on Fox News is orchestrated primarily by Kofi Annan's
communications director, Shashi Tharoor, and is then distributed to
the press corps and through the Internet with the help of David Brock's
Media Matters, and Peter Daou's UN Dispatch. Brock is a liberal
activist and Daou was the Online Rapid Response Director for the
Kerry/Edwards campaign.

Both Brock and Daou have put the spotlight of criticism on Fox News
Channel's reporting...

Media Matters:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200502160007

UN Dispatch (Peter Daou - formerly with Kerry/Edwards Campaign):
http://www.undispatch.com/archives/2005/03/factchecking_fo_1.html

However, neither organization points out Fox News Channel's response.
Especially interesting is the fact that UN Officials refused to appear
in the special report, "Breaking Point," that Fox News Channel
conducted on the Oil for Food scam.

Below is a link to the response offered by Fox
News Channel since neither David Brock nor Peter Daou chose to do so:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,134266,00.html
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What is it going to take to get the UN out of the US?

Are Liberals Really That Desperate? Or Insane?

Nebraska Lawmakers Restore Felons' Voting Rights

A coalition of liberal groups is hailing the state of Nebraska for restoring the voting rights of felons.

Although Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman, a Republican, vetoed the bill on Wednesday, the state's unicameral legislature overrode his veto on Thursday by a 36-11 vote (six votes more than the 30 needed for an override).

The new law will automatically restore the voting rights of Nebraska felons two years after they complete their prison sentences or meet the terms of their parole or probation.

Right now, it takes a pardon to restore voting rights in Nebraska, but pardons aren't granted until at least ten years after a sentence is completed.

The new law is expected to affect thousands of former convicts, beginning in September.

"This is yet another great win for our democracy and the movement to end felony disfranchisement across the country," said Rashad Robinson of the Right to Vote Campaign, which assisted in the effort to let Nebraska felons vote.

The Right to Vote Campaign - a coalition that includes the ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, People for the America Way and three other organizations -- said Nebraska now joins 36 other states in allowing people with felony convictions to vote.

It's only "fair," said State Sen. DiAnna Schimek, who authored the Nebraska bill. She said "reintegrating" felons back into society will benefit all Nebraskans.

But Gov. Heineman, in his veto message, said he believes that any restoration of voting rights "should be considered thoughtfully, on a case-by-case basis."

What about convicts who show no remorse for their crimes, asked a senator who opposed the bill.

"What we're really doing here is we're taking away the discretion of the Board of Pardons to handle these cases," Sen. Mike Foley was quoted as saying. "This is a one size fits all approach and I don't think one size fits all."

The Right to Vote Campaign says only five states permanently bar felons from voting. They include Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Virginia and Iowa, and the campaign is hoping to change that.

The underlying assumption seems to be that felons, if they vote at all, would be more likely than other segments of the population to vote for Democrats.

"It doesn't matter if you spent 4 years at Harvard or four years in Huntsville, your vote counts the same," The Right to Vote Campaign says on its website.
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Isnt that what "Convicted of a Felony" means, to take away your rights until you can PROVE to Society that you are not the same individual that entered the prison system to begin with?
Have the Liberals gotten so desperate that we are now going to see the equivelent of "Get Out The Felon Vote"?
Our Forefathers must be doing circles in thier graves.
I think we have seen it all now, registering dead people to vote, get out the felon vote, stealing Republican yard signs, intimidating Republican voters from the Democrat headquarters all the way to the polls, breaking into Republican headquarters and stealing thier computers, slashing the tires of Republican "Get out the vote" campain members, etc. I'm sure I missed a few sleezy tactics pulled off this last election by Democrats.
This should be a state by state issue. We need to write our Congressmen Representatives, and Senators and put a stop to this nonsense.
This is why it is so important to vote even inbetween the General election every four years. Those (Every 2 Year Elections) and some others inbetween are VITAL to the General election every 4 years.
If The Governor of Nebraska had a mojority of Republicans in his state's house, he would have been able to veto this new manouver by the Democrats.
There is only one way to prevent the Democrats/Liberals from getting away with these kind of tactics, for Republicans to VOTE in EVERY Election, no matter how small it makes all the difference in these kind of issues.
What good does it do anyone to have a Republican Governor (For instance) and a Democrat Senate in thier states? It makes about as much sense as a Republican President with a Democrat Senate. "Thus Gridlock" Nothing gets done. Thank God we have fixed that problem on the Hill, but Republicans have to fix the State by State problem NOW.
The Liberals have gone insane and are not going to stop.
Until WE stop them!!!!

Iraqi's Assuming More Security Responsibility

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON,- Iraqi soldiers and police are
assuming more and more responsibility for their country’s
defense, according to Defense Department officials.

U.S. officials have placed the highest emphasis on training
local forces to take over security. Specialists from around
the world are working to train soldiers and police in Iraq.

And it is paying off, officials said.

Iraq now has 141,761 members in its security forces. This
is up from about 136,000 trained and equipped in time for
the Jan. 30 election. The forces include the army, police and
the border patrol.

The Iraqi military has 59,689 servicemembers: 58,992 in the
army, 186 in the air force and 517 in the navy. On Jan. 6,
the Iraqi National Guard became part of the Iraqi army.

The training areas are turning out soldiers and units,
officials said. Once the units are finished, they go into
“on-the-job� training with coalition forces, and coalition
forces “embed� trainers in the units. Once finished, they are
available for assignment through the Iraqi Ministry of
Defense.

The Iraqi 40th Brigade, for example, took over
responsibility for 10 Baghdad neighborhoods. The brigade is responsible
for many of the hotspots in the capital, including Haifa
Street. The Iraqi military did very well in protecting
polling places during the recent elections, officials noted, thus
showing another sign the military is gaining capability.

Officials said the battalion-sized units are working out
well. The problem is in the echelons above. It simply takes
time to develop brigade and division commanders, officials
explained. The coalition is working to train senior leaders
and their staffs. NATO is heading the effort to rebuild
Iraq’s staff and war colleges.

People must understand that Iraq is an immature country in
many ways, Pentagon officials said. The infrastructure
neglect under Saddam Hussein was more than just the electrical
grid or the water and sewage systems. The financial network
atrophied under Saddam. The political system was
nonexistent outside the Baath Party. The executive departments
operated at the whim of the leader and not in response to the
needs of the people.

There are no banks available to deposit checks. Soldiers
receive pay and then have to travel to their families to
physically hand them cash.

Various officials have repeatedly made the point that it
will take time for Iraqis to get used to the idea that it’s
all right to display initiative. For example, the chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a recent Los Angeles
speech that Saddam crushed the “spirit� of the Iraqi people.
Anyone who displayed initiative “was slapped down very
hard,� Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said.

“The great weakness in Iraq is in leadership,� said one DoD
official. Junior officers in the regime’s army have the
professional experience to command companies and battalions.
Officials had to examine senior officers to ensure they
weren’t too heavily involved in Baath Party activities to
command in the new Iraqi military.

Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, the Multinational Security
Transition Command Iraq chief, said good leaders make good
units, and growing those leaders takes time. In the U.S.
military, it takes an average of 21 years to “grow� a brigade
commander. Petraeus, for example, graduated from the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1974 and commanded a
brigade in the 82nd Airborne Division in 1995.

The NATO courses and other coalition efforts will begin to
fix the leadership problem, officials said, adding that as
the Ministry of Defense grows and fleshes out,
administrative instruments so necessary for any armed force will take
hold.

Senior officers in some of the brigades and divisions are
in place. Staff officers and noncommissioned officers are
being trained and assigned. “We will help them,� one Pentagon
official said. “They’ve made a good start. We need to keep
up the momentum.
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Gee!!! That figure is about 140,000 more than Senator Joseph Biden would have you believe! He says only 4000 Iraqi troops have been trained! Horseshit!
The Liberals cant even keep up with the numbers in a war, let alone run one!!!!
Never depend on a Liberal to keep you safe! All they do is run and hide, look at Teddy's postcard/webpage above!!!!

Former Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter: Iraq Election Fixed, Oh Brother

Scott Ritter: Iraq Vote Fixed

Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter said Tuesday that January's historic election in Iraq, which set off a wave of democratic reform throughout the Middle East, was fixed.

Claiming he was vindicated when the U.S. failed to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Ritter insisted that the election results were changed using a "secret recount" held three days after the vote.

"It's as obvious as anything," the former weapons expert told WWRL Radio's Steve Malzberg and Karen Hunter.
Ritter maintained that in initial election results, the Shia majority won nearly 60 percent of the vote, giving them control of Iraq's National Assembly without having to form a coalition with any other group.

However, said Ritter, "Suddenly there's a government-ordered lockdown of the votes, while there is a secret recount - not a public recount - this wasn't Florida where you had people checking chads - this was a secret recount where American troops were escorting ballot boxes into undisclosed locations to be counted by [interim Prime Minister] Allawi's government."

Ritter told Malzberg that the secret recount dramatically changed the political landscape, with the Shia vote dropping to 48 percent and Allawi's government picking up nearly 10 points of support, from 4 percent to 13 percent.

Why didn't Allawi just award himself a majority?

"You don't want to cook it so that no one will believe it," Ritter explained. "You cook it so that the Shia cannot have a majority in the National Assembly, so that there will not be a democratically elected theocracy."

Ritter also claimed that the White House has already approved plans to attack Iran within the next four months, explaining, "In October of 2004 the president reviewed the Pentagon's plans for military operations against Iran in June 2005 and he signed off on them."

Ritter said the administration is laying the groundwork for an attack in case the U.N. Security Council fails to back economic sanctions against Tehran - the next step in the U.S.'s bid to get the Iranian government to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

Scott Ritter is now a columnist for Al-Jazeera.
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Oh Well now Al-Jazeera, what a reputable organization they are! That explains alot. Was Scott Ritter there when the ballots (Made up by the Iraqi's) were printed?
Was Scott Ritter there on election day in Iraq?
A Secret Recount? I recall hearing it on the news and reading it in I think the New York Times that there was going to be a re-count!
I dont know what was so secret about it!
If Scott Ritter would have looked at the ballots (Clearly visible on TV) There were NO CHADS TO COUNT, they were IRAQI BALLOTS Made up by the IRAQI people!! Hell no this wasnt Florida!
Just because the WMD hasnt been found YET in Iraq, or moved to Syria/Iran before we got there, doesnt mean they do not exist! I mean what did Saddam gas the Kurd's with? Or the Iranian's? Saddam was a monster of desception, they could still be anywhere. Saddam had them once, never proved to the UN (Worthless as they are)or the IAEA that he ever got rid of them, never proved that he wasnt trying to-with all the nuclear crap he aquired make them, and what did he do with all the nuclear crap he aquired? What about the toxic gases he had to gas the Kurd's and Iranian's with? Where did that stuff go? What about When he invaded Kuwait? When he assasinated his sons-in-law? What about the people that did manage to escape Iraq under Saddam that wound up here telling of atrocities, WMD, toxic gases, the Nuclear crap Saddam was building up that they had seen with thier own eyes? the list goes on, Why was Saddam overlooked when he was filling Mass Graves with innocent people? Shooting constantly at our Military over the no-fly-zones, When he was paying families of Palestinian Homicide bombers 25,000 a piece to blow up Israeli's? Where is this stuff? What about the billions of dollars Saddam was bilking off the Oil For Food Money that was suppose to go to feed the Iraqi people, instead of making more weapons, and building more palaces for himself? Maybe the UN weapons inspectors moved them, or took them? Why not, they were making as much as Saddam if not more off our tax dollars? Just because Scott Ritter idiot that he is didnt find them doesnt mean they dont excist, we knew Saddam had them where are they?
Since when is Scott Ritter privi to information comming from the White House, actually it would come out of the Pentagon if we had plans on attacking ANYONE! And they sure as hell wouldnt be telling it to Scott Ritter!! Or anyone else for that matter if it were true.
And if I were Scott I would be looking at Syria next anyway.
There was NO government ordered lockdown of a re-count of the votes!
No election Fraud, Blue fingers all over Iraq prove that! We should use that idea the Iraqi's created as a model for ourselves in our own elections.
Is that the ONLY job Scott can get? Al-Jazeera?
That is such a noteworthy and completely legitimate job! Al-Jazeera, give me a break!
Scott, put the pipe down boy!!!
Get over it, if the Iraqi people arent complaining about the re-count, how it went, and who is in charge, why are you sticking your nose in it?
I know things have to go bad in Iraq in order to make (For whatever reason we wound up in Iraq you can take your pick now, weapons, Oil for food, General pain in the ass of the Middle East etc.) You look good, but it's to bad Scott! Democracy will spread, It will catch on, and there is not a damn thing you can do about it!!!
Except of course get a higher position at Al-Jazeera!
What a Moron......
Libya disarmed itself, Israel and the Palestinians are on the brink of Peace (Hopefully) for the first time in History, Saudi Arabia (Which I'm not terribly fond of) But are possibly going to let women vote, Egypt is going to have a democratic vote soon, Lebanon is having protests against the Syrian occupation, they want to vote and have thier country back in thier hands, they want Syria OUT, and even a little group of Kuwaiti women were on the march the other day wanting thier right to vote, not to mention the Jewel of Democracy Afghanistan!!!
It sickens me that some Americans have turned traitor, they want things to go so badly in the middle east just for the sake of saying President Bush was wrong (Which he wasnt), and to hell with us if we get attacked again!!!! Do these Morons NOT SEE that if things go good in the Middle East, and peace spreads, that we ALL have a chance to live without the threat of being attacked repeatedly? And that someday soon we may all have a chance to walk out our door and get our morning paper, drink our cup of Joe, and possibly plan a vacation to oh say.... Iraq? Iran? etc. without even thinking about another terrorist attack? Do these so-called American's have to be so politicly correct, or non in Ritter's case that our Country be damned so they can blame America for EVERYTHING? Right or wrong? What exactly is going to happen when someday we do wake up and we dont have to worry about a terror alert at whatever color? What if there is NO terror alert anymore? What if there is Peace throughout the world and there is no one else to blame? Will they still be so power hungry that they HAVE to get that Liberal seat back no matter who it hurts?
No matter how much it destroys our Country? Where do the traitors of this Country stop? Where does the blame America first crowd go to stir up more crap if there is no more crap to stir? Are they still going to be so bitter that they will find a way to stir up something that isnt even there, just to ruin the Country that we Love so dearly they will make up anything and we will suffer the consequences from that Liberal force that believes in hiding under thier covers if there was to be another terrorist attack? Like John Kerry said on the Campain trail "Any terrorist attack will be met with a swift and certain response"!@#$#@! We want to PREVENT another attack, not deal with another one! I just dont understand why the Michael Moore's, the Ward Churchill's, the Scott Ritter's, the Liberal Hollywood left, The far out there Lunatic Left, the Lunatic Congressional Left, have got to incite violence when we have a real chance for PEACE!!!
Oh and by the way Scott, I thought the Iranian's said it was a "Nuclear Energy Program" Not a Nuclear Weapons Program"!!!!!! Was that a lie Scott?
Unreal, but then again what can you expect from someone who should be thrown out of the United States for good right along with all the other hate speakers that are becoming a threat to our National Security!
These people are becoming a REAL and PRESENT DANGER to Our National Security with thier hate speech, inciting violence and pratically calling for another terrorist attack!!! These people do not deserve to live in America anymore!!!!!
And Scott Ritter YOU ARE A FRAUD!!!
Wrong War, Wrong Place, Wrong Time, My Ass!!!!!!!!!
Had to vent havent done it for awhile.

White House Blogger Is Liberal Political Net Consultant

White House Blogger is Liberal Political Net Consultant
By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
March 10, 2005

(CNSNews.com) -- Web log author Garrett M. Graff made Internet history when he became the first blogger to post from the White House briefing room this week. But, in a letter to the White House seeking temporary press credentials, the "non-partisan and independent" blogger did not divulge his current position with a politically "progressive" Internet consulting firm that has liberal politicians and activist groups as clients.

Since mid-January 2005, Graff, the former deputy national press secretary for Howard Dean's failed 2004 presidential campaign, has been writing for Fishbowl D.C., "a gossip blog about Washington, D.C. media."

Last week, he wrote an open letter to the White House Office of Media Affairs, asking to be considered for temporary news media credentials. In that letter, Graff stated that, "By both design and practice, Fishbowl D.C. is a non-partisan and independent publication that covers the media industry and journalism in Washington, D.C."

Cybercast News Service asked Graff if he discussed his current or former political work with officials at the White House.

"No, and I don't think ..." Graff said, not finishing the thought. "The simple answer is: My blog doesn't cover politics, you know? I think that you would be hard pressed to read through the, uh, the blog and really see it take any sort of political take at all.

"I mean, it's a blog about journalism," Graff added.

Internet activism for liberal groups and politicians

In addition to blogging for Fishbowl D.C., Graff serves as vice president of communications and articulation for EchoDitto.com, a politically-oriented and politically-liberal Internet consulting firm. Of the 16 team members listed on EchoDitto.com's site, Graff is one of 14 who previously worked on staff or volunteered with the Howard "Dean for America" 2004 presidential campaign. The organization also advertises that "In addition to our full-time staff, we work with a broad network of progressive activists on a regular basis, as well as others on a contract basis."

Graff hesitated when asked about EchoDitto.com's work with political groups.

"All of our clients are actually listed on the EchoDitto website," Graff explained after a pause.

A list of "EchoDitto Projects" published on the site includes a few of charities such as the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. But the overwhelming majority of the firm's clients are liberal organizations like Air America Radio, liberal political candidates and office holders such as Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), and liberal activist groups such as the Campaign for America's Future.

"Not all of those are current clients," Graff explained. "And, obviously, since the election, we've done very little in the way of political work."
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Gee! Does this mean we can all get press credentials?

Rather Not Biased, Yeah Right

Not Biased? Dan Rather, In His Own Words
Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com
Thursday, March 10, 2005
America's media elite is awash in a flood of tears over Dan Rather's departure tonight as anchor of the CBS Evening News, which they would like to convince the nation is a tragedy of Homeric proportions.

For Red State America, however, it's a night to rejoice – one of the nation's most demonstrably biased broadcast journalists has lost his bully pulpit and will no longer be able to peddle his far-left agenda to his millions of nightly viewers. They agree with Walter Cronkite, who now says that Rather should have stepped down years ago.

U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney a Republican from Florida says he will host a fund-raising event in Washington, D.C., called "C'est La Vie, Comrade Rather," during which attendees will be able to watch Rather's final newscast at 6:30 p.m.
"Response has been overwhelming," said Feeney. "A lot of us conservatives believe that we'll be celebrating the end of the liberal lock on the airwaves."

According to his fellow liberal journalists, Rather is a great reporter, but as Mike Walker showed in his new book "Rather Dumb" his journalism has been at best sloppy, and the real the reporting was actually done by a large staff of producers and his off-the-air reportorial staff. For the most part, Rather merely fronted the results of other people's work.

Noting Rather's statement to ABC, aired this morning, that, "I made a mistake. I didn't dig hard enough, long enough, didn't ask enough of the right questions I want to get onto the next thing, flat out, " New York's Daily News columnist Michael Goodwin wrote that Rather's bravado was "more fitting for a fading actor addicted to applause. He's a performer, a stunt man, a celebrity who makes $7 million a year for role playing."

And play he did, although to a dwindling audience that's now the smallest of the three major news networks.

Out on a Sour Note; One of Many

Unable to defend Rather's use of forged documents in an attempt to smear President Bush, Rather's supporters claim that his career cannot be judged by one episode of blatant political bias.

In response to this canard, the Media Research Council (MRC) says that "last September's politically motivated fraud wasn't a departure for Rather; it was just an extreme example of the obnoxious bias that's tarnished his whole career."

In a March 3, 2005 statement MRC's Brent Bozell laid it on the line:

"Dan Rather spent his career at CBS spinning the news to further a partisan political agenda. He fawned over Hillary Clinton (‘political lightning'), praised the impeached Bill Clinton (an ‘honest man'), attempted to ambush the first President George Bush over Iran-contra (‘you've made us hypocrites in the face of the world'), and demonized the Gingrich Revolution (as an attempt to ‘demolish or damage government aid programs, many of them designed to help children and the poor').

"Dan Rather's legacy will be defined by his fall from grace during last year's presidential campaign . . . He leaves behind a news organization that is a mere shadow of its former self."

On their website, MRC lists pages of examples of Rather's undisguised leftist bias including one incident in 1987, when on the June 17 CBS Evening News Rather kowtowed to his cadre of liberal friends who could never find anything evil about the evil empire when he said "Despite what many Americans think, most Soviets do not yearn for capitalism or Western-style democracy."

Not long after, the Soviet empire came crashing down when the Russian people belied Rather's proclamation by opting for democracy. Over the years, Rather has sought to brainwash the shrinking pool of Americans who still watched his show into believing that conservatives are hateful, far-right radicals, while the Clintons were wonderful, for example.

Notes MRC, which has kept a sharp eye and ear open for Rather's frequent excursions into liberal propaganda disguised as reporting:


Rather declared early in 1995: "The new Republican majority in Congress took a big step today on its legislative agenda to demolish or damage government aid programs, many of them designed to help children and the poor."

Six years later, he attacked President Bush's "big tax cut plan, partly bankrolled, critics say, through cuts in many federal aid programs for children and education," despite the truth that there no "cuts" (in 2004, the Cato Institute calculated the Department of Education's budget had soared 75 percent during Bush's first three years, from $36 billion to $63 billion).

When CBS paired Rather with Connie Chung in 1993, he sought inspiration from Bill CLinton. "If we could be one-hundredth as great as you and Hillary Rodham Clinton have been in the White House, we'd take it right now and walk away winners."

When Hillary decided she wanted to win a New York Senate seat, Rather enthused: "Once a political lightning rod, today she is political lightning. A crowd pleaser and first-class fundraiser, a person under enormous pressure to step into the arena, this time on her own."

Carrying water for John Kerry during his campaign for the presidency, Rather sought to smear Bush's economic record when reporting on the brutal murder of four civilians in Iraq last March. He asked: "What drives American civilians to risk death in Iraq? In this economy, it may be, for some, the only job they can find."

It was a different story when Kerry was on the receiving end. Then Rather played defense. MRC writes, "In a July interview, he presented the Democratic nominee as a hero victimized by a nasty GOP: "Have you ever had any anger about President Bush — who spent his time during the Vietnam War in the National Guard — running, in effect, a campaign that does its best to diminish your service in Vietnam?"
But the MRC is not the only group to target Rather's reporting. The liberal Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) took a different view. On their website they maintain that although in their view Rather is not biased, he is instead just a lousy reporter.

Says FAIR: "It's a good bet that Rather's retirement will draw significant attention to the so-called 'Rathergate' controversy. But instead of revealing partisanship in Rather's work, the episode falls into a pattern of sloppiness on Rather's part in his eagerness for certain stories."

FAIR doesn't take their reasoning the required step further, considering that Rather's "eagerness" must, on some level, have its roots in his beliefs. FAIR will only go so far as to say "Right-wing media critics and pundits have been effective in tagging Rather with the 'liberal' label. But the context of Rather's entire career points to a different conclusion.

"More often than not, Rather's reporting followed the pattern that Rather himself criticized" in a 1991 interview published by the Boston Herald:

"We're gutless. We're spineless. There's no joy in saying this, but beginning sometime in the 1980s, the American press by and large somehow began to operate on the theory that the first order of business was to be popular with the person, or organization, or institution that you cover."

Here's The real Rather, in his own words:


"Republicans kill the bill to clean up sleazy political fundraising. The business of dirty campaign money will stay business as usual." — CBS Evening News, February 26, 1998.

"There was no doubt Republicans in the House had enough votes tonight to pass another key item in their agenda to rip up or re-write government programs going back to the Franklin Roosevelt era. It is a bill making it harder, much harder, to protect health, safety, and the environment." — CBS Evening News, February 28, 1995.

"President Bush insisted today that he was not caving in to big money contributors, big-time lobbyists, and overall industry pressure when he broke a campaign promise to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. But the air was thick today with accusations from people who believe that's exactly what happened." — CBS Evening News, March 14, 2001.

"It is not just Congress that is taking a sharp turn to the right. The surge to the right on Capitol Hill is making waves all over the country on openly politically partisan, and sometimes racist, radio." — CBS Evening News, January 4, 1995.

"Nineteen days after the presidential election, Florida's Republican Secretary of State is about to announce the winner — as she sees it and she decrees it — of the state's potentially decisive 25 electoral votes. Katherine Harris will officially certify the state's election returns....The believed certification — as the Republican Secretary of State sees it — is coming just hours after a court ordered deadline.... The certification — as the Florida Secretary of State sees it and decrees it — is being signed." — During CBS News live coverage, November 26, 2000.

"Good evening. Texas Governor George Bush tonight will assume the mantle and the honor of President-elect. This comes 24 hours after a sharply split and, some say, politically and ideologically motivated U.S. Supreme Court ended Vice President Gore's contest of the Florida election and, in effect, handed the presidency to Bush." — Beginning the December 13, 2000 CBS Evening News.

"The Republican convention opens in New York to re-nominate George W. Bush and showcase the party's, quote, ‘moderate side.' Will voters buy it?" — Opening the August 30, 2004 CBS Evening News.

"I hear you talking and, as I have before on this subject, I don't know of anybody, friend or foe, who isn't impressed by your grasp of the details of this [health care] plan. I'm not surprised, because you have been working on it so long and listened to so many people." — Interview with Hillary Clinton, 48 Hours, Sept. 22, 1993.

"I read the book [My Life by Bill Clinton] completely. And I think it compares very favorably with Ulysses S. Grant's gold standard of presidential autobiographies." — Dan Rather on CNN's Larry King Live, June 18, 2004.

"Is or is there not some concern of the public perception, in some quarters, not all of them Democratic, that this is, in fact, a kind of effort at a, quote, ‘coup,' that is you have a twice elected, popularly elected President of the United States, and so those that you mention in the Republican Party who dislike him and what he stands for, having been unable to beat him at the polls, have found another way to get him out of office?" — Interviewing former GOP Senator Warren Rudman during CBS's live coverage of the start of President Clinton's impeachment trial, January 7, 1999.

"On another front, there could be trouble for the Ken Starr Whitewater investigation. Reports continue to surface that this key witness for the prosecution, David Hale, may have been secretly bankrolled by political activists widely regarded as Clinton opponents, people that Clinton supporters call Republican haters from the far right." — CBS Evening News, April 2, 1998.

"Al Gore must stand and deliver here tonight as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, and now Gore must do so against the backdrop of a potentially damaging, carefully-orchestrated story leak about President Clinton. The story is that the Republican-backed special prosecutor, Robert Ray, Ken Starr's successor, has a new grand jury looking into possible criminal charges against the President growing out of Mr. Clinton's sex life." — Opening the CBS Evening News, August 17, 2000, the final day of the Democratic convention. The next day, a Carter-appointed federal judge revealed he had inadvertently revealed the news. Rather has never apologized.

"While Fidel Castro, and certainly justified on his record, is widely criticized for a lot of things, there is no question that Castro feels a very deep and abiding connection to those Cubans who are still in Cuba and, I recognize this might be controversial, but there's little doubt in my mind that Fidel Castro was sincere when he said, ‘Listen, we really want this child back here.'" — During live coverage of the Elian Gonzalez raid, April 22, 2000.

"Gays and lesbians are beaten to death in the streets with increasing frequency — in part due to irrational fear of AIDS but also because hatemongers, from comedians to the worst of the Christian Right, send the message that homosexuals have no value in our society . . . In the post-Cold-War era, gays have been drafted to replace communists as the new menace to the American Way." — Writing in The Nation, April 11, 1994.

"Senior Americans who saw retirement savings evaporate in the Wall Street meltdown have another financial headache now. It turns out it was all talk and no action with the President and Congress again today on passing any version of Medicare prescription drug coverage." — CBS Evening News, July 23, 2002.

"You and the President were being party to sending missiles to the Ayatollah of Iran. Can you explain how — you were supposed to be the — you are — you're an anti-terrorist expert! Iran was officially a terrorist state . . . The question is — but — you made us hypocrites in the face of the world! How could you sign on to such a policy?!" — During a live interview with Vice President George H.W Bush on the CBS Evening News, January 25, 1988.

"Today, on the Internet and elsewhere, some people, including many who are partisan political operatives, concentrated not on the key questions of the overall story, but on the documents that were part of the support of the story. They allege that the documents are fake . . . The "60 Minutes" report was based not solely on the recovered documents, but on a preponderance of the evidence, including documents that were provided by what we consider to be solid sources." — CBS Evening News, September 10, 2004, two days after his "60 Minutes" reporting alleging President George W. Bush failed to fulfill his National Guard service.

"Powerful and extremely well-financed forces are concentrating on questions about the documents because they can't deny the fundamental truth of the story. If you can't deny the information, then attack and seek to destroy the credibility of the messenger . . . I think over the long haul, this will be consistent with our history and our traditions and reputation. We took heat during the McCarthy time, during Vietnam, during civil rights, during Watergate. We haven't always been right, but our record is damn good." — Rather quoted in the New York Observer, Sept. 15, 2004.

"I don't back down. I don't cave when the pressure gets too great from these partisan political ideological forces." — Rather quoted in the Sept. 16, 2004 Washington Post.

"Anybody who knows me knows that I am not politically motivated, not politically active for Democrats or Republicans, and that I'm independent. People who are so passionately partisan politically or ideologically committed basically say, ‘Because he won't report it our way, we're going to hang something bad around his neck and choke him with it, check him out of existence if we can, if not make him feel great pain.' They know that I'm fiercely independent and that's what drives them up a wall." — Rather quoted in USA Today, September 17, 2004.

"Democrats were quick to portray the ticket as, quote, ‘two Texas oilmen' because Cheney was chief of a big Dallas-based oil supply conglomerate. They also blast Cheney's voting record in Congress as, again quote, ‘outside the American mainstream' because of Cheney's votes against the Equal Rights for Women Amendment, against a woman's right to choose abortion — against abortion as Cheney prefers to put it — and Cheney's votes against gun control." — Reporting on Bush's selection of Dick Cheney as his running mate, July 25, 2000 CBS Evening News.

"Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore officially introduced his history-making running mate today, Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut . . . In their first joint appearance they gave a preview of the Gore-Lieberman fight-back, comeback strategy. Their message: They represent the future, not the past, and they are the ticket of high moral standards most in tune with real mainstream America." — Reporting on Lieberman's selection exactly two weeks later, August 8, 2000 CBS Evening News.

"I'm all news, all the time. Full power, tall tower. I want to break in when news breaks out. That's my agenda. Now, respectfully, when you start talking about a liberal agenda and all the, quote, ‘liberal bias' in the media, I quite frankly, and I say this respectfully but candidly to you, I don't know what you're talking about."
And, as Bernard Goldberg might say, he probably doesn't know anyone who does. More's the pity.
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Rather gets no pity from me. After all the crap he has done and said to undermine the Republican party he can just go!
He does know what you are talking about when you tell him "Liberal Bias" in the media, he practically created it.
He dug his own grave like most Liberals do wanting the Bush "National Guard Service" memos to be true so bad he didnt check his sources to make sure they were, he only had copies, and till this day no one seems to know where they came from. (Wink) He knows.
He goes out on a sour note, as well he should.
He was about as exciting as watching grass grow anyway. And wouldnt know the meaning of "Fair And Balanced" if it hit him in the face!
So from me to you Dan...............SEE YA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Newsmax has this, click the Title of this blog.