Government Using Cellphones to Track Without Cause

How did we come to this? Does everyone forget what being an American is supposed to be about? It was made very clear to me as a kid in school that America was a place of justice, fairness, and that privacy was a right. In America, you couldn't just be hauled into a paddy wagon without a darn good reason. You couldn't have your home, car or person searched without probable cause, and a warrant.

Now, we seem to have given all that up, and without a fight! In fact, if you ask one of the remaining 25% of the public that still thinks Bush is da bomb, they'd probably think civil rights are socialist or "izlammo-fashist" idea. Hey, if it keeps me safe! Bah.

When did we become such bed wetters? How did we let the people running this government to scare us into giving up what we're all about? Do we forget that this country has faced fear and won before? Excuse me, the British burned the White House, Pearl Harbor was attacked, and at one time we were one button push away from the end of the world! What about 9/11 was worse or scarier than potential nuclear annihilation? All of this ridiculous fear-induced police state crap has got to stop, and you'd think that conservative Republicans would lead that charge. If they'd only come out from under their beds. . .

[Excerpt]

Cellphone Tracking Powers on Request

Federal officials are routinely asking courts to order cellphone companies to furnish real-time tracking data so they can pinpoint the whereabouts of drug traffickers, fugitives and other criminal suspects, according to judges and industry lawyers. . .

Read more at: Washington Post

Sharpton, Olbermann, Others Mailed "White Powder"

Image from Media Village

Keith Olbermann and Al Sharpton, I get. But a local FOX "News" reporter? Maybe the sender just hates everybody. . .

[Excerpt]

Sharpton, Olbermann, Fox reporter targets of white powder con

The FBI recently contacted the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network, the New York Daily News, and several other groups to let them know they might be receiving letters containing a suspicious but harmless white powder.

According to the Daily News, the list included "MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann, Fox 5 reporter Mary Garofalo, CBS' '60 Minutes,' the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper, the Post Star newspaper in Glens Falls, the New York State Bar Association, Brooklyn state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, the Prisoners Rights Project of the Legal Aid Society in Albany and the Center for Law and Justice Inc. in Albany."

Read more at: Raw Story

Steven Weber: Be a Bastard, Like Bush!

Photo from StevenWeber.net

This is at least the fourth post I've excerpted by Steven Weber, best known as carefree brother Brian on Wings, not to mention roles in several movies and other TV shows. Steven has been very prolific lately, writing several posts about the writers' strike in Hollywood. But it was this post that caught my notice.

I've been complaining (some might say whining) for some time now that no matter what crap the Bush Administration pulls, his supporters dig it, and everybody else seems to ignore it, or shrug and say, "whattayagonnado?" Steven tackles this subject in his latest piece on The Huffington Post, and better than I could. Take a look.

[Excerpt]

Fine and Dandy

I'm going to walk up to people and punch them in their faces.

I'm going to kick them in their crotches.

I'm going to give old people the finger, head butt children and throw immigrants, gays, and evolutionists to the pavement. Ptooey.

I'm gonna go Clockwork Orange because I figure if the administration can continuously operate in overtly sociopathic ways and nobody seems to have a reaction beyond an occasional, milquetoasty "Hey...!", let alone give a full-fledged flying damn, then what the heck am I being so pleasant for? . . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

One More Before I Go. . .

Photo from Wikipedia

I'm off to my traditional "home away from home" Las Vegas Thanksgiving dinner. As I've done at least 10 times before, I'll be spending it with--as he's known around here--Lesto's (and Mrs. Lesto's) house. It's always a fabulous spread, and unfailingly delicious.

It will also, traditionally, leave me incapacitated for the remainder of Thursday, on into Friday. Therefore, dear reader, the Greenlee Gazette will probably be hibernating right along with its editor. I'll be back tomorrow. Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Mad TV: Flight Safety for a Price

A large chunk of the American population is flying this holiday weekend. And much of the American population is chunky, but that's beside the point. Ahem. Anyway, if you've flown recently, you've noticed some changes in the way things operate.

Wondering where it's all headed? This helpful clip from Mad TV might have some clues. Enjoy!

Rules to Avoid a Fight at Thanksgiving!

Photo from source, Jezabel

Here's a handy guide for avoiding family squabbles at the Thanksgiving dinner table. And really, did you think I'd pass up another chance at posting that picture?

[Excerpt]

The 5 easy steps to civil holiday conversation even if you're in a red state

I used to joke that the only two topics I could discuss when I went home to visit my evangelical Republican family were "the weather and food." I guess I didn't give enough thanks for our intact ice caps, because ever since Global Warming came along I've lost "weather" as an option. So how are those of us with family members who get their news from Hannity and the O'Reilly supposed to fill the silences without resorting to an ill-advised "meaningful discussion" destined to end in tears, slammed doors, and most tragically, the potential forfeiture of six varieties of pie?

Read the list at: Jezabel

Stop Thief! Editor Victim of Vehicle Theft

It wasn't the whole truck, nothing like that. Living in Las Vegas, I've become aware of the sad fact that our city is #1 for vehicle thefts. My co-worker had hers stolen from her apartment complex last month. My friend, known here as Stupid Monkey Planet, said his co-worker's truck was stolen recently as well.

As I've written here, I've been hit with some car repair hits lately. I didn't even write about the $1,500 I had to pay just a couple of weeks ago. Needless to say, the disappearance of my Jeep after outlaying a total of $2,300 or so total, would be a major bummer.

All of this led to a discussion at lunch today about my Jeep. I mentioned that, even though you could take a Jeep apart with a socket set and steal it piece by piece, I've only ever had my gas cap stolen. Even when I've had the top off (which is every summer), the Jeep has remained unmolested.

How strange then that today, after buying my 22 lb. turkey at Smith's, I came out and found that my gas cap had once again been stolen! And this was the locking one I bought to replace the original! So it was off to AutoZone to lay out $15 (not so bad) for a new locking cap. This one spins when locked, so will be almost impossible to steal. Still, I'll be thankful if the Jeep owner who stole my gas cap gets his truck taken apart with a socket set. And I hope they just leave him the cap.

Larry Johnson Dares to Call Bush a Liar

Photo of Larry Johnson from source, TPM Cafe

I've written a number of posts about the Valerie Plame story in the short life of this blog, from several different angles. But I'm just a loony leftist with an opinion. Larry Johnson, on the other hand, is a former CIA agent, and was a classmate of Valerie Plame's. So he has a perspective I could never hope to match, and credibility to boot.

And Mr. Johnson is doing something that few public people seem willing to do: he calls George W. Bush and others in his administration liars. He also throws in traitor. I'm tired of the euphemisms, and this is the perfect medicine.

[Excerpt]

George Bush, Traitor and Liar in Chief

Former Presidential spokesliar, oops, I mean spokesman, Scott McClellan, reminded us this week that the fish rots from the head. McClellan drops the truth bombshell that implicates George Bush and Dick Cheney in the sordid outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson. . .

Read his oped at: TPM Cafe

Happy Thanksgiving! The News Has Been Cancelled

Photo from Wikipedia

No, the news isn't cancelled because of Thanksgiving. But I can almost assure you that tasty nuggets of news will be a lot harder to come by in the next few days. Air America Radio is going into reruns or using guest hosts (loved hearing Sam Seder again today, by the way). The popular pundits on cable news are mostly on vacation, or will be soon. Many bloggers are going on holiday, or using guest bloggers. And she who will not be named is suddenly back in the news.

Of course, "the news has been cancelled" is a pet phrase of Air America Radio's Randi Rhodes. In her parlance, she means that the real news isn't getting out. Another favorite of hers is, "if it wasn't on TV, it didn't happen." Fortunately, that is starting to change with the advent of bloggers, a world I only inhabit a very small corner of. But I'll do my best to bring you any news giblets I can find.

My intention is to put up at least as many posts as usual, maybe spruce up the joint a little, with some new graphics and features. And I'd also like to seek out a few ways to publicize the site a little, beyond the Feedburner. How much of that I actually get around to remains to be seen. Especially after the tryptophan coma.

In any event, Happy Thanksgiving. Don't eat or drink too much!

What Would Jesus Do? Chinese Sweatshop Crosses

Photo from source, CNN

Apparently, a bunch of US churches are selling crucifixes that are made in sweatshops in China. No word on if they're coated with lead, or if Jesus turns into a date-rape drug. . .

[Excerpt]

Crucifixes allegedly made in Chinese sweatshops

A labor rights group alleged Tuesday that crucifixes sold in religious gift shops in the U.S. are produced under "horrific" conditions in a Chinese factory with more than 15-hour workdays and inadequate food.

"It's a throwback to the worst of the garment sweatshops 10, 20 years ago," said Charles Kernaghan, director of the National Labor Committee. . .

Read it at: CNN

John Gibson Thinks Treason Worthy of a Medal

FOX "News" can be baffling sometimes. Most baffling would be the presence of John Gibson as the (now co-) host of The Big Story. For a channel that at least gives lip service to being "fair and balanced," they've got a rabid partisan hosting what is ostensibly a news show.

And here he is at his most egregious. He's rebooting his much derided "whoever outed Valerie Plame as a CIA agent should get a medal" load of crap. I'm continually amazed at what conservative pundits will excuse when it suits their purposes. Does anybody believe for a minute that this would be the reaction were it President Al Gore or John Kerry who'd been in office at the time? Please.

Judge's Ruling Hurts Corruption Cases

Photo of William Jefferson from Wikipedia

With all of the various GOP scandals in Congress over the last few years, the one Democratic scandal, that of William Jefferson in Louisiana--the cash in the freezer guy--may help other Congressmen thwart the law. Needless to say, this is bad news. Why shouldn't crooked Congressmen be held to the same legal standard the rest of us are? I'd contend they should be more accountable.

[Excerpt]

Ruling Will Cripple Probes Of Lawmakers, U.S. Says

A little-noticed aspect of an appellate court decision could sharply limit investigations of members of Congress and hamper ongoing corruption probes, the Justice Department said this week in a motion seeking an emergency stay of the ruling. . .

Read more at: Washington Post

Scott McClellan Back Tracks a Bit to Save Bush

Photo from source, Raw Story

In a story that has the potential to really upset the Bush apple cart, Scott McClellan is backing off a bit, to soften his allegations against the Bush Administration. He seems to be trying to let Bush off the hook for lying, but the allegations against other Administration officials seem to stand for now.

You have to wonder why this information was even released in the first place. The book doesn't come out for six months. It's not particularly market-savvy to leak juicy details that early. I only see two scenarios: this book is loaded with juicy details, or McClellan thought it extremely important to let this out now for some reason other than marketing. It will be interesting to find out.

[Excerpt]

Publisher: McClellan isn't alleging Bush took part in 'conspiracy to mislead'

A bombshell excerpt from a new book by former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan was not an allegation that President Bush helped to mislead the public about the outing of ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame, the book's publisher told CNN.

"I just got off the phone with the publisher of McClellan's new book, and he tells me that McClellan does not charge in the book that the president himself was involved in any kind of conspiracy to mislead the public," reported CNN correspondent Jessica Yellin. "But of course, in the publisher's words, 'Scott did go out to take bullets without the proper flak jacket on.'"

Read more at: Raw Story

Natalee Holloway: Breaking News?

Photo from (where else?) FOX "News"

Noooooooooo! I finished watching my Countdown with Keith Olbermann DVR recording just in time to see a FOX NEWS ALERT! Suspects re-arrested in the Natalee Holloway case in Aruba! Translation: A huge chunk of Hannity & Colmes, surely all of On The Record with Greta Van Susteren, and probably all of FOX "News" well on through Thanksgiving will be largely one story, wall-to-wall.

Sadly, Live with Dan Abrams on MSNBC was no better, as it is currently doing the same thing. All of this, mind you, with no real details yet. Just endless speculation, and that same batch of panned-and-scanned, slow-zooming pictures that we've all seen before. Thankfully--pun intended--this is all occurring over the Thanksgiving holiday, where people aren't much interested in the news anyway. Hopefully, the ratings will be low enough to banish this story once and for all.

And this will be the one, single instance on this blog of Natalee Holloway news, unless:

- She turns up alive as a Hooters waitress in Secaucus, New Jersey.

- We find out that she's been living in Las Vegas as Ethan Reynolds of the defunct Brat Boy School, and is now reverting to her Natalee character.

- She outed Valerie Plame.

- She's been living in a love nest with Rudy Giuliani.

[Excerpt]

Three Men Re-Arrested in Disappearance of Natalee Holloway

ORANJESTAD, Aruba — Three young men previously detained as suspects in the 2005 disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway were re-arrested Wednesday, the Aruban public prosecutor's office said, citing new evidence in the case. . .

If you really care, read on at: FOX "News"

Greenlee Gazette Makes the Grade; High School Anyway

This is an interesting little widget. You type in your blog's address, it analyzes the text, and reports on your writing level (reading level, for you folks out there). It might get skewed a bit by the excerpts, but I'm pleased to say I didn't land in "Jr. High School!"

I'll have to try again with some individual posts to see where I rank. Maybe I need to knock off the colloquialisms. But I definitely need to keep using words like "colloquialisms!"

Mr. Whipple Dies, Squeeze Charmin at Will

Photo from source, DListed

Every once in a while, a celebrity is off the radar so long, you aren't sure that he's still alive. I'd have lost a bet on this one, as I really thought Dick Wilson, Charmin toilet paper's bathroom tissue's Mr. Whipple, had already passed. Still, rest in peace, Mr. Wilson, and go ahead and squeeze the clouds!

So Long, Mr. Whipple! at DListed

I remember Mr. Wilson most fondly as the drunk at the end of the bar on Bewitched. But unfortunately, I couldn't find a clip of him there, so we'll have to make do with this Charmin commercial from the 60s. . .

What if a Democrat Wins the Presidency?

Do you remember what politics was like during the Clinton Administration? During that time period, few people I knew were very interested in politics. In fact, the only people I remember being overly energized were Republicans, particularly of the "ditto-head," Limbaugh-listening variety.

However much Hillary Clinton may have been derided for alleging a "vast right-wing conspiracy," there is little doubt one existed. Every little thing was blown into a scandal, tagged with the now ubiquitous "-gate" suffix. Republicans had ten-gallon tinfoil hats on in those days, with all sorts of crazed allegations, even claiming the Clintons had a huge list of enemies killed. The only thing that stuck was no less stupid, and was christened Monicagate.

These many years later, we have a Chief Executive with a long list of scandals, many far more serious than anything Clinton was investigated for. Democrats have been excited again and again that this one would be the one to take Bush down: The Downing Street Memos, Guantanamo Bay, renditions, warrentless wiretapping, blowing the cover of a CIA operative, Fitzmas! None of them ever seems to get even a tenth as much attention as even the dumbest of Clinton scandals. Some even vanish without a trace like Gannongate.

Time after time, if you subject yourself to Right Wing World, you'll hear, "But, but, but Clinton. . . " in response to any allegation against Bush. Anything Bush has done wrong is apparently cancelled out by something Clinton is accused of doing years ago. Democrats marvel that four, five, six, now seven years in, conservatives are still all wound up tight about Bill Clinton.

But get ready folks. The tables are very likely about to be turned. Suppose a Democrat is elected to the Oval Office. No matter who it is, but especially if it is Hillary Clinton, the vast right-wing conspiracy will mobilize. Only this time, they will not be behind the scenes, throwing out red meat only from think tanks. Extremists like Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity are now portrayed as mainstream pundits. There will be no crumb left unswept, no rock unturned. They will be relentless in their scandal-making.

And Democrats, what do we do? We'd be absolutely justified in bringing up the many misdeeds of George W. Bush. But how long will it take them to start making light of "But, but, but, Bush. . .?" It is not going to be pretty.

Scott McClellan Blows the Lid Off: Everybody Lied

Image from source, Raw Story

Everybody knows it, even the delusional Freepers, in their little black hearts. Knows what? That the whole bloody Bush Administration was lying about the Valerie Plame affair. More than lying, they were telling then White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan to lie too (only he claims he didn't know at the time that he was lying).

As many former administration officials do, McClellan has written a tell-all (more likely "tell-just a little") book about his tenure. And like several people who left before him, he only comes clean when given the chance to make a buck. With a little luck, enough dollars will be waved in front of enough people to get at least a partial picture of the crap this team has pulled. Lord knows they won't answer Congressional Subpoenas. . .

[Excerpt]

Former WH Press Sec.: Bush, Rove helped pass along 'false information' on Plame

President Bush, Karl Rove, and other top administration officials were "involved" in misleading the White House press corps about the outing of ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame, a forthcoming book from former Press Secretary Scott McClellan alleges. . .

Read it all at: Raw Story

Injured Soldiers Told to Give Back Bonuses

Democrats are endlessly assailed for "not supporting the troops." Yet time and again, it is the sitting administration that seems to be doing the worst damage. Think Walter Reed. And then there's this disgusting news. . .

[Excerpt]

Wounded soldiers asked to return signing bonuses

When Jordan Fox was serving in Iraq, his mother helped organize Operation Pittsburgh Pride, which sends thousands of care packages to U.S. troops from his hometown, which prompted a personal “thank you” from the White House. When Fox was seriously injured in Iraq, the president sent what appeared to be personal note, expressing his concerns to the Fox family.

But more recently, Fox received a different piece of correspondence from the Bush administration. . .

Read more at: The Carpetbagger Report

Get Active: Tell the FCC "NO" to Media Consolidation

The FCC is once again attempting to loosen the rules to allow further media consolidation. Presently, a radio or television station owner is prohibited from owning a newspaper in the same metropolitan area. The FCC is set to change that.

I can see no benefit to the general public to further reduce the number of media voices heard and read in any given area. The media is already consolidated to the point where the vast majority of it is owned by five or six big corporations. Who is the FCC really working for here, the public, or big business?

You can make your voice heard by following the link in this excerpt. Please read the full story for more background. Get active!

[Excerpt]

Media Consolidation: A primer on making your opinion heard

. . .You can file a comment with the FCC online. Click on the circle next to "Media Ownership Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - Docket 06-121," then click "Continue" at the bottom of the page. You can also send comments straight to each of the five commissioners – or the FCC as a whole – via email, phone, fax, or mail. If you choose one of those routes, make sure you mention that you're commenting on "Docket 06-121" - the bureaucracy's name for Martin's proposal. . .

Read it all at: Bill Moyers Journal