New Site for Editorial Rejects

I couldn't help taking the obvious joke-- so sue me!!

Truth is, this new site, Rejected Letters to the Editor, looks like a pretty interesting place to do some daily reading as well as yes, submit those heartfelt letters you wrote to the editorial board at your newspaper and they just would not print:

Our goal at Rejected Letters to the Editor (RLTE) is to responsibly expand the visible spectrum of ideas. To publish letters that will broaden public discussion beyond the boundaries set by the gatekeepers of our mental environment. We hold to the democratic conviction that public opinion must be educated by, and conversant with, the course of human events, and we will seek to publish letters that allow essential perspectives, presently unacknowledged by respected newspapers, to see the light of day.

Our purpose is not to provide a dumping ground for every letter sent to a “letters page,” but to publish letters that editors knowledgeable in a variety of fields believe will add to public under-standing of the pressing—and not so pressing—issues of our time. We are uninterested in contributing to the widespread notion of “information overload.” Through our editorial choices, we hope to add clarity and knowledge that is too often fugitive. Rather than adhering to the mind-numbing news cycle, we will be publishing fortnightly and maintaining an archive of all letters that appear in the publication.

Hat tip: Mark Crispin Miller

Rove Offered for Unsworn Testimony

I'm sorry but I just don't get how testifying when *not* under oath amounts to a hill of beans?!

Imagine, when as a kid, your Dad demanded from you an explanation for how the family cat got crushed under the wheels of your car and you stood before him--your fingers clearly crossed--and you then told him you didn't know?

I mean, is not swearing under oath but somehow hearsay reporting, half-truth telling, vaguely recalling or suggesting off-the-cuff probabilities the new "truth"?

Rove offered for unsworn testimony | Politics | Reuters: "The White House and Congress clashed on Tuesday over President George W. Bush's power to keep close advisers like Karl Rove from testifying under oath about the firing of U.S. prosecutors.

Setting up a possible legal showdown, a testy Bush vowed he would go to court to rebuff congressional orders 'dragging White House members up there to score political points' during what he described as 'show trials.'

'Absolutely, I hope the Democrats choose not to do that. ... We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition,' Bush said at the White House. He also offered fresh confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose resignation has been demanded by Democrats and some Republicans."

And why wouldn't Americans including those annointed appointed by an administration, be as accountable as others? Hmmm...must be the fear of being asked a leading question.

Gonzales Could Cost Bush Karl Rove. Oh Happy Day!!

Real Americans justice and victory will see Rove removed before 2008: Gonzales' plight puts Bush at risk:

As more Republicans called last week on Alberto R. Gonzales to resign, President Bush's aides began to look beyond the attorney general and focus on preventing the controversy over the firing of federal prosecutors from spreading — and endangering Karl Rove, the president's top political advisor.

"This is not going to go away," warned Joseph E. DiGenova, a former U.S. attorney in the Reagan administration. "I'm sure the president is going to let it go as long as he can … but there's only so much bleeding he can take."

Neocons in Cheney's Office Fund al Qaeda-Tied Groups ... and No One Cares?

And this is a very good question...Neocons in Cheney's Office Fund al Qaeda-Tied Groups ... and No One Cares?

Remember Seymour Hersh's piece? That's a good point--"remember"?!

Why aren't we all talking about the implications?

State Owned Oil Giants Dwarf Privatized US Corps.

The new Seven Sisters: oil and gas giants dwarf western rivals: As oil prices have trebled over the past four years, a new group of oil and gas companies has risen to prominence. They have consolidated their power as aggressive resource holders and seekers and pushed the world’s biggest listed energy groups, which emerged out of the original seven sisters – ExxonMobil and Chevron of the US and Europe’s BP and Royal Dutch Shell – on to the sidelines and into an existential crisis.

The “new seven sisters”, or the most influential energy companies from countries outside the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, have been identified by the Financial Times in consultation with numerous industry executives. They are Saudi Aramco, Russia’s Gazprom, CNPC of China, NIOC of Iran, Venezuela’s PDVSA, Brazil’s Petrobras and Petronas of Malaysia.

Overwhelmingly state-owned, they control almost one-third of the world’s oil and gas production and more than one-third of its total oil and gas reserves. In contrast, the old seven sisters – which shrank to four in the industry consolidation of the 1990s – produce about 10 per cent of the world’s oil and gas and hold just 3 per cent of reserves. Even so, their integrated status – which means they sell not only oil and gas, but also gasoline, diesel and petrochemicals – push their revenues notably higher than those of the newcomers.

Compact Action: An Orgy of Waste

The move was turning into an orgy of waste. With too much stuff and too little space, the driveway began to fill with a mountain of our discarded things. As a member of The Compact , a group dedicated to voluntary simplicity and conservation, this was a mortal sin for me. It was also an ill omen.

We were moving to Missouri from California. If our personal stand against consumption was strange here in the San Francisco Bay, it was going to be downright alien in the Ozarks.

I began working the phones, and pretty soon friends and acquaintances began to arrive and the pile began to shrink. I swapped a few things for stuff we needed anyhow, like bungee cords, and I extracted a promise from neighbors to put the rest up on Craigslist for free.

We left town a little late, but with a clean conscience that our discards were destined for reuse not refuse.

That is the sort of everyday stand our family takes against this consumer culture. We hope that if enough people take small actions, we'll call them compact actions, the sum will be greater than the parts.

Over 2007, we'll be taking it to the heartland. In the reddest corner of Missouri, we'll see if it is possible to transplant or left-coast, blue-state ideas to a land of subdivisions and Walmarts.

Cynthia has invited us to share the story with you. We'll look at how our family takes things beyond recycling, what works, and what doesn't in our new home. Feel free to share your comments and experiences with me at sanfordclark@sbcglobal.net.

Democrats Subpoena Bush Admin Officials

Finally:

Democrats send out first round of subpoenas: "Democrats send out first round of subpoenas
By Susan Crabtree

A House Judiciary subcommittee approved today the first in what is expected to be an avalanche of subpoenas to Bush administration officials. They will likely explore corruption and mismanagement allegations on everything from pre-war Iraq intelligence to the mishandling of the response to Hurricane Katrina.

The first round of subpoenas concern the recent controversial firings by the Bush administration of seven U.S. attorneys, some of whom were pursuing public corruption cases against Republican members of Congress."