Q: What’s Mike Brown Qualified For?

5:09 pm EST September 27th, 2005 | Politics | Comments Off

The Real Pat Tillman

1:09 pm EST September 27th, 2005 | Politics | 18 Comments

Smells like somebody is covering up a lot of information.

New inquiry may expose events that led to Pat Tillman s death

A Chronicle review of more than 2,000 pages of testimony, as well as interviews with Pat Tillman s family members and soldiers who served with him, found contradictions, inaccuracies and what appears to be the military s attempt at self-protection.

For example, the documents contain testimony of the first investigating officer alleging that Army officials allowed witnesses to change key details in their sworn statements so his finding that certain soldiers committed gross negligence could be softened.

Interviews also show a side of Pat Tillman not widely known a fiercely independent thinker who enlisted, fought and died in service to his country yet was critical of President Bush and opposed the war in Iraq, where he served a tour of duty. He was an avid reader whose interests ranged from history books on World War II and Winston Churchill to works of leftist Noam Chomsky, a favorite author.

Sox Have The Power To Heal

12:09 am EST September 27th, 2005 | Uncategorized | Comments Off

I lived in the Boston area for two years, and as a sports fan I tip my hat to the Red Sox Nation for dedication to their team, but who knew that “Da Sowx” were also good for Beantown’s health?

Visits to hospital emergency rooms in Boston plummeted during the city s most nail-biting sports moments, according to a group of local doctors.

The team found that visits went down to as little as 80% of the average for the key Boston Red Sox games that attracted the most TV viewers. But ER visits rose above the average for games that had fewer viewers.

(via boing boing)

Topic: Humor

Oh God, Kill The Bad Guys All Ready

11:09 pm EST September 26th, 2005 | Terrorism | 20 Comments

I love living in the capital region, it’s where I’m from and where I’ll die, but every time this ad runs on TV it scares the beejezus out of me.

My Propagandist, My Pentagon Spokesperson

11:09 pm EST September 26th, 2005 | Politics | 5 Comments

WaPo: “The White House announced this week that Dorrance Smith, former executive producer of ABC’s This Week, assistant to former President Bush for media affairs, and former media adviser for the Coalition Provision Authority in Baghdad would become the new Pentagon spokesperson.” More »

Bush’s Crony Ignored Hurricane Warnings

6:09 pm EST September 26th, 2005 | Politics | 2 Comments

No wonder they don’t want an independent investigation.

Report Warned of Hurricane Health Woes

Eight months before the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, an internal Homeland Security Department review warned that the nation was woefully unprepared for a medical disaster and lacked a coherent plan for taking charge of mass casualties.

Government medical teams had difficulty coordinating and delivering help during 2004 hurricanes in Florida, said the report obtained by The Associated Press. The report also said there was inadequate planning for dealing with a surge of patients during a disaster like a biological or nuclear attack.

[...]

Lowell also said he was startled when then-Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Mike Brown strongly rejected the ideas Lowell had proposed earlier this year. “He rejected the methodology, the message, the conclusion and the recommendations,” Lowell said. “He disagreed with every single everything.”

Culture of Corruption: Beyond DeLay

2:09 pm EST September 26th, 2005 | Republicans | 7 Comments

CREW uncovers the most corrupt around, as well as Tom DeLay. Looks like Bill Frist better hold off on those Frist ’08 bumper stickers in the meanwhile.

The new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Christopher Cox, said Monday that to avoid a potential conflict he will not participate in the agency’s investigation of the sale of HCA Inc. stock by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Cox, who was in Congress for 16 years as a California Republican and left the House to assume the SEC job last month, had been a member of the GOP leadership in Congress for the past 10 years. He was chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee at the time he left.

Culture of Corruption: Ehrlich’s Abramoff Connection

11:09 am EST September 26th, 2005 | News | 29 Comments

Interesting company the governor of my state is keeping

A top aide to Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has for the past year been cooperating with federal investigators who are examining the activities of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a spokesman for the governor said yesterday.

A federal grand jury issued a subpoena last summer to Edward Miller, Ehrlich’s deputy chief of staff, because of Miller’s role in establishing a Silver Spring company called Grassroots Interactive.

Looks like Mayor O’Malley has a nice piece of data to add to his arsenal as he announces his bid to take back Maryland for the Democratic party this week.

Topic: Maryland