Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Guilty!: Jack Abramoff goes down - faces up to 30 years in the hoosegow - dozens of legislators scared s***less - the canary is about to sing

Jack Abramoff, the now very well-known D.C. lobbyist, took a fall today for conspiracy, corrupting public officials (yeah, it's almost an oxymoron), fraud and tax evasion. In a plea deal, Abramoff admitted to crimes that could net him 30 years in the can. He will also plead guilty to similar charges in Federal court in Florida. You may recall that Abramoff was already in hot water over a fake wire transfer he used to secure a bank loan of $60 million.

Abramoff may have gone down, but it looks like he intends to bring down plenty of politicians to cushion the fall.

Once Abramoff begins singing, this could be the heaviest corruption case--ever. Some sources believe that Singin' Jack could take down as many as two dozens legislators (up to and including former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay).

Abramoff and his partner in crime, Michael Scanlon (who pleaded guilty last year), were also accused by prosecutors of conspiring to defraud Indian tribes in four states of millions of dollars.

OK, Jack, start naming names!

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President: If somebody from al Qaeda is calling you, we'd like to know why



Yesterday, President Bush mounted his third defense in two weeks of his secret domestic espionage program. The President said that Americans understand this spying is protecting their security.

Government officials have said that perhaps thousands of people have been under surveillance.

"If somebody from al Qaeda is calling you, " The President said, "we'd like to know why."

Did The President overstep his constitutional authority and violate a law intended to prevent government spying on its citizens? We'll find out sometime soon. Maybe. Congress raised the volume on their criticism today.

Click on the title of this piece to read the entire story from The Washington Post.
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Photograph of an Eisenhower-era child


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Alien Lore 57 - UFO Crash During The First Iraq War

This posting from "a high level source" appears on numerous UFOlogy BBSs and websites. The original, of course, WAS IN ALL CAPS, which I converted with a handy text editor called NoteTab Pro. This item was posted on an British amateur radio packet bulletin board "for world wide consumption." It is, shall we say, lean on details. The author, who appears to have been an eye-witness, never makes clear his nationality, exactly who "the Colonel" or "Petrokov" were, or what his relationship was to them.


DESERT STORM UFO
ALLEGEDLY SHOT DOWN

A high level source has revealed that an American Air Force F16 gunned down a UFO over Saudi Arabia during the "oration Desert Storm" war. Five nations are trying to cover up the encounter. I don't know all the details but I'm sure that when [garbled]. . .

The Saudis with me were so frightened that they asked American, British and French investigators to come to the crash site immediately.

The Colonel says he was visiting in Riyadh at the time and that he and a small Russian team were able to inspect the wreckage before American forces from Desert Storm arrived.

The craft was circular and made of a material I've never seen before, he says. About a third of it seemed to be missing--possibly blown away by the American missiles. The saudis wouldn't let us touch anything, but we saw instruments, machinery and other things that completely baffled us, he says. The markings on instrument panels and dials were not in any language he was familiar with. It seemed to be a relatively small craft, maybe 15 feet across, he says.

There were three chairs, probably for crew members, but they were so small they seemed to have been made for children. Evidently space aliens are only about three feet tall. Most amazing, though, is the fact that there were no bodies at the crash site, nor did there appear to be an engine in the craft.

The American missiles may have scored a direct hit on the engine, causing it to disintegrate, he says. ButIi checked with the Saudi radar technicians and they claim their instruments didn't show anyone ejecting or bailing out from the craft. Search helicopters were all over the area, which is a desert, and they did not spot any survivors in the vicinity of the crash.

During interviews with the radar technicians, Petrokov was told that the blip identified as the UFO appeared out of nowhere as four F16s were streaking toward Baghdad. One of the American planes broke from formation and headed for the UFO, he says. The alien craft started started moving southwest, away from the F16, and the American pilot gave chase. When the F16 was within three miles, the alien craft seemed to fire something at the plane but missed. The American then fired two missiles. Both hit the saucer. There was a teriffic explosion, and then the crash. When American investigators arrived, Petrokov says, he and his team were immediately ordered out of the area and flown back to Riyadh.

There were things they didn't want us to see--more, I think, than the fact that the craft was circular, that there were no survivors and that it was made of a foreign substance, he says.

Petrokov says members of his team were able to sneak pictures without the knowledge of the Saudis or Americans, but he was ordered to turn them over to Russian authorities the next day.

Petrokov says American Army engineers gathered up all debris and carted it away for shipment to the U.S.
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Monday, January 02, 2006

Metaphysics Credentials


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In case you ever doubted my grip (OK, maybe it's a touch migratory...my grip, that is) on questions that are unanswerable to scientific observation or analysis. . .my Doctor of Metaphysics credential.
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Best President Bush quotes of 2005

"Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job." - This now famous line was on many people's quotes of the year list, in addition to being the punchline of hundreds of jokes, japes, and parodies. It was named on Thursday as U.S. President George W. Bush's most memorable phrase of 2005.

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." - OK, this one is from 2004, but I can't let it die.

"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." - President Bush explained his win-their-hearts-and-minds strategy in May.

"I think I may need a bathroom break. Is this possible?" - POTUS wrote to Secretary Rice during a U.N. Security Council meeting.

"This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the table." - The President said almost a year ago in Belgium.

"In terms of timetables, as quickly as possible - whatever that means." The President explained his timetable for passing Social Security legislation in March.

"Those who enter the country illegally violate the law." - POTUS explained, describing illegal immigrants in Tucson in December.
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Happy New Year From The Brummets & Curran

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Bigfoot: Not Just In The Northwest U.S.




Bigfoot fever has come to Malaysia. The local 'papers and official news agency are reporting sightings of a Sasquatch in the southern rainforests.

Click on the title for a link to the Reuters story. . .
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Poem: Mad Song

In the kitchen in repose
Tuna tap at their cans with power
Wheat rustles in golden rows
Inside the bag of flour

All the mirrors and windows
Are crumbling back to sand
The wooden floors moan and bruise
Everywhere I stand

Late at night cockroaches sing
Lined up in an all-star choir
Voices so low I can't hear a thing
But they seem to be getting higher.
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Sunday, January 01, 2006

It's the New Year. . .how do you feel?

Write in and let us know how you're feeling today. I had a great night and I came home and even wrote a poem. There are many better nights to get drunk (at least 300). I was compos-mentis anyhow, at the end of the night.

Happy New Year Mister President!


Happy New Year Mister President!

Click image to enlarge
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Poem: Reasons To Keep On

Reasons to keep on

1
We build crystal palaces
Outside our tarpaper shacks of dreams

They make each other gleam
In juxtaposition

2
You can't be sure about the next world
Or the ones beyond that

3
All is never lost
But often gets misplaced

4
It's better to sit in the sun
And think about

That Cold Island across the river
Than the other way around

5
Our toys do not matter
This is as good as it gets

And it may be this good
Or better tomorrow.
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