Happy Thanksgiving, America.

Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan

By Jeremy Scahill

At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, "snatch and grabs" of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help run a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus.
The source, who has worked on covert US military programs for years, including in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has direct knowledge of Blackwater's involvement. He spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity because the program is classified. The source said that the program is so "compartmentalized" that senior figures within the Obama administration and the US military chain of command may not be aware of its existence. Read the rest of Jeremy Scahill's compelling article.

The Crash of 29

It's pretty amazing how this documentary made in 1990 about the stock market crash mirrors the calamity we went through right after President Obama was elected and before he took office. He is getting the blame for the economy and job loss across the country but this current economic disaster was started long before he even became a Senator.
I recorded it on my DVR for later viewing when it was shown on one of the local PBS channels. After I got around to watching it, I searched for it so I could share it. If you click the link you will go to the American Experience site and can view the film online.

Right-Wingers Have Reasons to Worry About Trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

All of the handwringing by the conservatives over Eric Holder's decision to bring the trial of KSM to NY is in direct response to how much dirt will come out about the Bush/Cheney administration. Anyway, that was the thought that sprung to my mind the minute the hysteria from the right wing began upon the announcement.
AMERICA ON TRIAL
By Ted Rall
NEW YORK--One of my favorite books is by a conservative. Every American should read Stephen L. Carter's 1996 primer on ethics, "Integrity." Carter writes that integrity requires doing the right thing, "even at personal cost." In the world of politics, the example of Al Gore's father comes to my mind: a senator from Tennessee, Al Gore, Sr. openly opposed segregation and the Vietnam War even though he knew his outspokenness would cause him to lose his 1970 reelection campaign.
Faced with the choice between integrity and expediency, Republicans are taking the low road. Principles? Only when they're convenient. Never mind the Constitution, the Geneva Conventions or common decency--on the question of what to do about POWs rotting away at Guantánamo Bay concentration camp, right-wingers' concerns are purely practical. Read entire article.

It's getting very scary in America.

I watched Frank Schaeffer on Rachel Maddow Tuesday night and he scared me to death. He said the Secret Service says death threats for President Barack Obama are up 400% from past presidents. Frank Schaffer is a former Evangelical Republican whose father started the movement in the late '70's. He talked about Psalm 109:8 from the old testament which is being used by the Evangelical Right in attempt to stir up some potential crazy to bring harm to Obama. Also, see his take on Sarah Palin as America's Eva Peron by clicking title above.

The 2010 HCR Provisions in House and Senate

By mcjoan at Daily Kos
Leadership in both chambers of Congress, finally the realization dawns on them, after a great deal of haranguing from activists, that it is kind of important after spending a year working on healthcare reform that they actually deliver on some stuff before 2013. There are some key early deliverables in both bills that will start showing voters that reform is in the works. The House 2010 provisions included here. Scroll down to read the Senate 2010 provisions.

Livestock & Climate Change

Al Gore has finally admitted meat eating is causing climate change.

Saw Glenn Beck's Teabaggers at King of Prussia Mall on Saturday

Making a trip to Costco I drive up Gulph Road to where it crosses Rt. 202 in King of Prussia right at the huge King of Prussia Mall.
As I turned right onto Rt. 202 and drove to the light where you make a left turn that goes in between the two huge mall properties I stopped at the red light which takes a couple of minutes.
What do I spy on the right side of 202 but two guys holding up handmade signs. A little far to read from a distance but I could not miss "if you shove it down my throat, I'll stick it up your ass."
He turned it around and on the other side it said "Obama's Healthcare Plan." Could not make out words on other sign but boy did I get a zap of anger in my brain. I started making a thumbs down gesture and kept it up until the light turned green so I could make the turn to the road that would lead to Costco behind the mall.
As I turned I saw a group of about six more people on the opposite corner and close to me with more signs. I gave them the thumbs down gesture too but I was just driving past them. When I got to the Costco parkng lot there were no spaces for parking except the furthest spaces at the end. I got out my Costco Amex card that you need to get in the door. I got all the way to the entrance, reached into my pockets but no card.
I retraced my steps all the way back to my car and there it was, right outside my car door. I know this would not have happened had I not been so rattled.
Seeing these people on the news in other cities is one thing but to see them in your own backyard, a 20 minute ride from my house, was quite disturbing. I have decided to make some signs of my own to hold up from the comfort of my car the next time I come across these Glenn Beck Teabaggers, which will probably be every time I go near the King of Prussia Malls. Haven't decided what to write on them but it won't be insulting.
I do my own sabotage usually every time I shop at Costco and bother to check out the book section. If I see Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly books in stacks - I busily cover them up with other books. I've been doing that for years now. It helps to quell my rage at these hateful propagandists.

Hey, Bart Stupak

Dear Rep. Stupak,
For years I have admired you. As an avid C-Span watcher, I enjoyed seeing you speak on the House Floor or be an occasional guest on Washington Journal. But I was obviously deluded by your boyish good looks and charm.
It came as a shock to find out you were a member of the authoritarian evangelical Familv from the infamous "C" Street House. I am reading Jeff Sharlet's book and it is pretty shocking to find that members of Congress hold such views about being the chosen ones with the right to dictate what goes on in the world, your attitude about wealth being only for the chosen and your medieval views about women. None of you are quite so pure either, in spite of your "prayer circles." Members of The Family are hypocrital to the nth degree.
You are clearly in the wrong in your arrogance to push your personal agenda to block a woman's right to decide what happens to her body and especially the rest of her life.
No one has an abortion on a flippant whim to get rid of a pregnancy. You are behaving like the Taliban, just as self-righeous and cruel. Next you will be advocating punishment like the Taliban mullahs who demand total dominion over the female sex.
I plan to work hard to find a real Democrat without a personal agenda to replace you in Congress. You will be defeated and your Amendment in the Health Care Bill WILL be defeated. Stick a fork in your congressional career as it will be done come next election.
Sincerely,
Bonnie Sonder

The great vampire squid has gotten religion

Virtuous Bankers? Really!?!
By Maureen Dowd
In an interview with The Sunday Times of London, the cocky chief of Goldman Sachs said he understands that a lot of people are “mad and bent out of shape” at blood-sucking banks.
I know I could slit my wrists and people would cheer,” Lloyd Blankfein, the C.E.O., told the reporter John Arlidge.
But the little people who are boiling simply don’t understand. And Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi, who unforgettably labeled Goldman “a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money,” doesn’t understand.
Banks, Blankfein explained, are really serving the greater good.
“We help companies to grow by helping them to raise capital,” he said. “Companies that grow create wealth." continue reading article