John Bolton is Unbelievable: Get’s Grilled on the BBC too

I’ve had this incredible video of John Bolton getting grilled on the BBC over the Iraq war sitting on my servers for a while now and after the holiday I was quickly reminded of it by his new article with John Yoo. He flails away about how bad Saddam was in the past and how he should have been removed in 1991, which led to this response:

John, my relatives are Sunni, Christian and Shiite. They’ve been living under Saddam’s dictatorship for thirty years. I’ve lost more relatives in the last four years, than under 30 years of Saddam. So, I don’t think that you can tell me how dangerous Saddam’s dictatorship was. The good news is that the American people, who I love defeated Bush in the mid-term elections. That was really, really good news.

However, you still can’t make this garbage up that appeared in the NY Times.

No one could have predicted this would happen. John Yoo and John Bolton, in the NY Times, discuss the need to limit executive authority. Up next, David Addington and Dick Cheney write in the Washington Post on the need to reject Unitary Executive theory. I knew these wankers would do this, I just didn’t expect it immediately and so brazenly.Torture Yoo and John Bolton are embarrassments to this country. Whenever he appears on TV, he should be held up as the face of the complete and utter failure of the Bush administration and their Iraq war.

(Crooks and Liars)

Early Detection Saves Pets

Tips on When to Bring Pets to Animal ER

Tampa, Fla. (Vocus) January 6, 2009 — Whether you commit to your new year’s resolutions or not, veterinarians are urging you to commit to your pets this year by bringing them in for regular check ups. Regular check ups can result in early detection of critical health issues, which can lead to a loved one’s life saved and less costly medical bills for pet owners.

“Many times we see pet parents come in on an emergency basis or when it is almost too late because they do not realize the consequences of waiting just a little bit longer,” says Dr. Shaw, DVM, ACVIM, chief medical officer of Florida Veterinary Specialists (FVS) (www.fvs.com). “We all understand that times are a little tough right now, but most owners can save themselves from more costly bills if they find the root of the problem early on, and more often than not it can save their pet’s life.”

Veterinarians have recently seen an increased trend in pets that arrive at the hospital that have died at home; possibly due to a treatable disease. Other pet owners are faced with the difficult decision to humanely euthanize their pets rather than commit to medical treatment that may be too costly.

“It is difficult and unfortunate to see pet owners have to put their pets to sleep because the illness has progressed to requiring costly medical treatment,” says Dr. Shaw. “We believe it is important to provide access to treatments for difficult cases at our facilities. With regular check ups, pet owners could really benefit in the long run when they consult with their family veterinarian.”

The current climate of the economy is affecting pet owners who are now more sensitive to their finances.

Dr. Shaw recommends taking immediate action and bringing your pet to your family veterinarian or the emergency room if one or more of the following occur:

- Pet is not drinking

- Pet is not eating for more than 24 to 48 hours

- Pet is unable to sleep and get comfortable or rest for any period of time

- Pet vomits for more than one day or tries to vomit but is unable to do so

- Pet has any blood in vomit or stool

- Pet is poorly responsive or unresponsive

Florida Veterinary Specialists is a referral-based hospital with 24-hour emergency care services dedicated to providing a superior level of patient and client care through close cooperation with the family practitioner. Their specialized services include Acupuncture, Avian & Exotic, Behavioral Medicine, Cardiology, Critical Care, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Oncology & Radiation, Ophthalmology, Radiology, Rehabilitation and Surgery. Florida Veterinary Specialists is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and is located at 3000 Busch Lake Blvd. in Tampa. In addition to its Tampa location, FVS has satellite facilities in Clearwater and Brandon. For further information, please visit www.fvs.com.

Florida Veterinary Specialists is a member hospital of BluePearl Veterinary Partners, along with NYC Veterinary Specialists (www.nyc-vs.com) and Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center of Kansas City (www.vseckc.com). BluePearl Veterinary Partners merged in 2008 and is one of the leading providers of emergency and specialized referral veterinary medicine.

Contact: Tajiana Ancora-Brown

813.933.8944

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Contact Information

Tajiana Ancora-Brown


BluePearl Veterinary Partners

http://www.fvs.com


813.933.8944

[Via http://www.prweb.com]

• Link Between Maternity Leave, Fewer C-Sections And Increased Breastfeeding

Hugh Hewitt’s ode to President Bush.

In a new piece for Politico today, right-wing pundit Hugh Hewitt pens a paean to President Bush, saying that he remains in the small minority who approve of the job the President is doing. “Count me among the 30 percent, which will soon be 40 percent — and then more than 50 percent much sooner than most of the chattering class can conceive,” Hewitt writes. He also repeatedly compares Bush to Lincoln and insists that he will have a great legacy:

Like Lincoln, he picked commanders and followed their recommendations until overwhelming evidence of failure could no longer allow him to do so, and then he changed commanders. As with Lincoln, this approach to command led to some defeats on the battlefield. … Bush is deeply loved by the military. In wartime, that is among the most important measures. […]

But his greatest admirers will be Americans, and perhaps Afghans, Iraqis, Israelis, Indians and Africans a century or more from now who read about his record and resolve in so many efforts will marvel at his restraint and credit his faith and his family for a remarkable service to freedom.

Hewitt later dismisses Bush’s critics as “14-year-olds with Internet connections.”

(Think Progress)
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Wow! Good luck with all of that! What reality do these people live in?

The Return Of Schiavo: Conservatives Plan To Revive Embarrassing Debacle To Block Obama’s DOJ Nominee

One of the saddest, most hysterical crusades by conservatives over the past few years involved their intervention in the case of critically brain-damaged woman Terry Schiavo. Conservatives — including former Senate majority leader Bill Frist and former House majority leader Tom DeLay — brought the personal tragedy to national attention in 2005 by trying to write legislation forcing doctors to reinsert her feeding tube and taking the “extraordinary step” of subpoenaing Schiavo to testify to Congress.

These conservatives claimed that they had the best interests of Schiavo in mind (even though they had never spoken to her). But there’s no doubt that cold political calculations were really driving their actions. A GOP memo described their efforts:

“This is an important moral issue, and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue,” said the memo, reported by ABC News and later given to The Washington Post. “This is a great political issue, because Senator Nelson of Florida has already refused to become a co-sponsor and this is a tough issue for Democrats.“

Conservatives are now brushing off the Schiavo case to use it against Thomas Perrelli, President-elect Obama’s pick for the no. 3 spot at the Justice Department. Right-wing websites are outraged at Obama’s association with Perrelli, since he was one of the lawyers who represented Michael Schiavo, who wanted his wife’s feeding tube removed. The Washington Times today reports that these conservatives are now gearing up to fight Perrelli’s nomination:

Andrea Lafferty, executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition, derided Mr. Perrelli’s selection as “just another death-peddler Obama has added to his list of nominees.” She said he’s earned the nickname among pro-lifers of “Piranha Perrelli” for his work on the case.

Tom McClusky, vice president for government affairs at the Family Research Council, said several end-of-life issues could make their way to the federal level in the next four years and having Mr. Perrelli at the department means pro-life causes would have a tougher time winning those debates.

“If the Justice Department isn’t going to do anything about it, the states, what’s to stop them from cases like Schiavo and even worse cases,” Mr. McClusky said.

Reviving the Schiavo case may not be the best decision. After all, 63 percent of the public supported the removal of the feeding tube. More importantly, 70 percent said it was inappropriate for the federal government to involve itself in the case, and 67 percent believed that these politicians were “trying to keep Schiavo alive are doing so more for political advantage than out of concern for her or for the principles involved.”

(Think Progress)

Σύμφωνα με τις τελευταίες πληροφορίες που έχουμε, προχωρούν οι εργασίες της παράκαμψης Αγρινίου. Έως τώρα έχει ασφαλτοστρωθεί όλο το τμήμα του εν λόγω δρόμου έως το ύψος περίπου της Ρίγανης και σειρά έχει το κομμάτι από το προαναφερθέν σημείο έως τον Κουβαρά.
Η παράκαμψη Αγρινίου υπενθυμίζουμε ότι αναμένεται να ολοκληρωθεί το πιθανότερο το 2010 και θα αποτελέσει ανάσα για το κυκλοφοριακό που υπάρχει στην υπάρχουσα εθνική οδό. Δεν είναι τυχαίο ότι ο διπλής λωρίδας τωρινός εθνικός δρόμος που περνά παράλληλα του Αγρινίου προγραμματίζεται να χρησιμεύει ως λεωφόρος, όπου θα διοχετεύεται η κίνηση από το κέντρο της πόλης στην τωρινή εθνική οδό.
Να δούμε λοιπόν αν θα τηρηθούν τα χρονοδιαγράμματα και αν η παράκαμψη θα παραδοθεί σε σύντομο χρονικό διάστημα.

Burris denied seat in US Senate to succeed Obama

WASHINGTON – Roland Burris failed in his bid to take President-elect Barack Obama’s Illinois Senate seat on Tuesday in a scripted piece of political theater staged just before the opening of the 111th Congress.

“Mr. Burris is not in possession of the necessary credentials from the state of Illinois,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said in his speech opening the new session of Congress.

Burris, 71, earlier confirmed that Secretary of the Senate Nancy Erickson had informed him in a private meeting that his credentials lacked a required signature and his state’s seal.

“I will not be accepted, I will not be seated,” Burris told a mob of reporters who had followed him across the street for a news conference in a cold and steady rain outside the Capitol.

The former Illinois attorney general said he was “not seeking to have any type of confrontation” over taking the seat that he was appointed to by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But Burris, who would be the Senate’s only black member, also said he was considering a federal lawsuit to force Senate Democrats to seat him.

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Beck’s response to violence in Gaza: ‘Can someone please retract the Jimmy Carter Nobel Peace Prize?’
(Think Progress)
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Besides the fact that Carter did a lot of good for the area, no one ever said that there would never be any fighting anywhere again!

Obama to include accountability in economic plan

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan won’t include money for politicians’ pet projects and will include provisions aimed at ensuring his administration is open and accountable to taxpayers and Congress, a transition official said Tuesday.

As part of the package likely to cost as much as $775 billion, Obama plans to establish an oversight body to meet publicly and issue reports to Congress on how the money is being spent. The president-elect also plans to create a user-friendly Internet site to allow people to track the flow of dollars.

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RNC chair says Iraq was Bush’s greatest failure

From Ben Smith:

The Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Mike Duncan, said President Bush’s early prosecution of the Iraq war was his biggest failure in two terms in office.

“I think we failed in the way that, originally, we were prosecuting the war,” Duncan said at a debate with five rivals for the chairmanship.

Of course, not to be outdone, one of the lead candidates for the RNC chair job, former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, said that Bush’s biggest failure wasn’t the war, Katrina, and the economic mess, but rather the “failure to communicate on the war, Katrina, the bailout.”

Yes, if only Bush had written better press releases about Katrina, Iraq and the economy, everything would have gone so much better.

(Americablog)

Bush: Rumsfeld did an ‘outstanding job.’

This morning, during his speech at the Armed Forces Farewell Ceremony, President Bush took a minute to single out Donald Rumsfeld, saying he did an “outstanding job” as Defense Secretary:

Mr. Vice President, I am proud to serve with you for eight years. The military has had no staunch a defender in my administration than Vice President Dick Cheney. I thank members of the cabinet, members of the administration, and former members of the cabinet, especially the former secretary of defense, who did an outstanding job, Secretary Don Rumsfeld.

(Think Progress)