I guess if they were cute and had fur and their own habitat and didn't generally interact with us, we might watch them on the Discovery Channel and think, "Hmm what a unique self-defence mechanism. They've actually compartmentalized their self-image so that it remains contanst even when their behavior completely contradicts it! How very strange."

Sort of like they view gay penguins, but without the horror? Have I got that right?

The mechanism for assessing reality had been over-ridden by the needs of the psyche, leaving these creatures unable to adjust and adapt

...or not. The penguins seem to be doing just fine.

Dodd's slightly better plan, if by some miracle it actually passes intact (and dems don't fold) might not fix a thing. What happens if we buy all this worthless paper, and the system goes down anyway.

Public equity in banks won't mean anything if the banks are worthless. I believe Numerian at Agonist has the better plan. Put more cash in FDIC, let the guilty feel the pain.

That's hilarious. I was eating a slice of pizza when I read it. Sauce is everywhere.

Hope you weren't wearing white.....that's when it always happens to me. ;-}

Do people really believe that the good guys voluntarily dress up as Cowboys and the bad guys voluntarily dress up as Indians?

Maybe the other way around?

Non uniformed combatants==terrorists.

I am wearing a lab coat, graduation cap and glasses as I type this, so you know it's true.

The next court date for Aafia Siddiqui is tomorrow:

Tuesday, September 23rd at 2:00 PM.
Location:
Court Room 21D,
US District Court for the Southern District of New York
500 Pearl Street, Manhattan, NY
Judge Richard Berman

It isn't clear what this session is, since the bail hearing failed to occur, the arraignment didn't happen properly, and prosecution and defense were asked to provide written arguments on the defendant's (psychological) fitness to stand trial. A brief from the prison psychiatrist, filed by defense, said she was suffering from Axis I depressive psychosis. There will be a delegation of 5 people from the Pakistani parliament there, most likely. They, plus the Speaker of the National Assembly, are trying to meet with the defendant. The Speaker (Dr. Fehmida Mirza) is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Rice and also Nancy Pelosi too on this issue and others.

I personally don't believe the official U.S. government story on this person, and believe she has been subject to treatment in violation of her human and civil rights. My personal, non-medical, opinion from reading Grassian is that she has been subjected to deprivation techniques. Possibly there have been other abuses, maybe including the rape that has been alleged by some. Many, on the other hand, think she is a terrorist. I don't know about that for sure but the record the U.S. alleges doesn't quite match up, nor do circumstances surrounding her arrest, and visual hallucinations without organic problems according to Grassian are quite rare outside of deprivation. I do feel certain she will not get a fair trial without some public outcry, which is why I keep posting these updates. If anyone wants to show up at the trial.

BTW, Glenn, if you would rather I didn't, I won't. I have had nothing but silence from the ACLU, and the NY Times deleted my comment today. If there's some reason such comments are radioactive that I don't know about let me know. As far as I know, I am only doing my non-lawyer bit to see human rights protected, even for the least, as they say.

Ummmm...

Trick or Teat

I'm pretty sure this was a typo.

Maybe the other way around?

I was always an Indian. I knew they were the good guys.

And eclectic fashion is good as it confuses the enemy. ;-}

That's what the screen caption says on today's Chris Mathews show. As if Bush/Cheney had kept government small thus far!

Note: it doesn't say something like, "Is the era of do-nothing government over?", or, "is oversight back in fashion?".

I am wearing a lab coat, graduation cap and glasses as I type this, so you know it's true.

-- thelastnamechosen

Tryin' to sell somethin'?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bsniYwSaWg

I watched these two YouTube clips of R. Paul and they reminded me of all the other interviews and debates and clips I've watched and heard of him, that somehow, although on the surface of things he talks in a good populist voice, that somehow he's missing something, or he's just misunderstood how things work. The libertarian in him despises government of any kind for the most part and for any reason except defense. The current crisis is not about how Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were funded. It's much bigger than that as every single private investment bank on Wall Street has now been reorganized or closed, and they weren't subsidized by the U.S. government, until now. He seems either to have not heard about or not understood the credit derivative swaps, that are the lions share of the bailout, all of which were totally unregulated by any government oversight, a situation I presume he favors. And then there's all that blather about the Federal Reserve Board, which isn't even a government entity. The FSB is made up of bankers from the 16 member banks, all of which are private, and a Chairman appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress. The reason their deliberations are secret is because they're not a government agency. They don't answer to anyone in Congress or to anyone in The White House for their decisions, although the Chairman can be replaced by the President. It's part of the smoke and mirrors of how the economy is run and for whose benefit. Paul just seems not to know what he's talking about some time.

GG, the only these Bush enabling republicans ever cared about was money..They approved the war, executive privaledge, FISA, etc etc....because they saw an opportunity to make money.

Here they stand to have to pay taxes, so now they care.

If Bush decided tomorrow that all registered repubs would not be taxed an extra penny and only liberals would have to pay, they'd endorse the plan in a heartbeat.

If they were on the receiving end, they'd approve too.

Money is the only ideology they ever cared about.