I can’t imagine Pres. Obama has any interest in doing anything functional to change the current state of affairs re. Government warrantless surveillance of Americans’ personal info..if in fact he even has the practical power to do so. The only thing more terrifying than the Government engaging in this activity is the notion that a private corp. would be ‘sanctioned’ to do it for the Gov. (as if they aren’t already). A private corporation would have no accountability to the people!

Although more subtle, covert and thus more insidious than Nazi Germany, thanks to carful control of reporting by the corporate media that partner with the richest most powerful milt-nationals, we have allowed our nation to be carefully “crafted” into the most aggressive empire in the history of the world. Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, formerly with the FBI, is under a permanent gag order with regard to her case. She has since dedicated her life to helping other whistleblowers via her blog/pod Boilingfrogspost.com. Many whistle blowers like Russel Tice, formerly with Air Force Intelligence, Office of Naval intelligence and the NSA, have tried to tell the media what they know. In his case, on June 19, 2013, before an interview he was told the following by an MSNBC producer:
“We Don’t Want a Word on Your Allegations Pertaining to NSA Wiretapping of Obama, Judges & Activists”
Tice was quoted on Boiling Frogs Post as saying;
“When they were placing the ear-phone in my ear with less than ten minutes left till my air time, the producer in New York said that their lawyers were discussing the material, and at this time, they did not want me to mention anything about the NSA wiretaps against all the people and organizations that I mentioned. That is how it went down. I did say on the air that I know it is much worse and would like to talk about that some time.”

http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2013/06/21/msnbc-censors-nsa-whistleblow...

Snowden is trying to tell the world because the whole world is at stake, not just the Unites States of America.

http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2013/06/19/podcast-show-112-nsa-whistleb...

Aliceinwonderland - you are so right about the two faces of Obama; only a few months into his first term I began to see changes from his candidate face. I've come to the conclusion that he, or any president, is is not really in control of the presidency. It would not surprise me to hear that he was brainwashed right after his inauguration.

As for the NSA, the next time I get a colonoscopy, I'm going to think of the NSA, and send them my best wishes.8-))

I wrote Sen. Warren to ask her to run just to force SHillary to debate her...and then, she can hand her the nomination if she wants to stay in the Senate, I'm afraid they would kill her, to be frank...

The biggest winner if Hillary gets the nomination and wins will be...................wait for it......CITICORP! and of course a few other too big to fail outfits. Not the People. I just gathered all of my Obama "Change Is" posters, window stickers, invite to inaugeration (embossed and guaranteed to be within a couple of miles of the podium), and the Christmas cards with picture of "Bo" running in the White House snow, and placed them all in bottom drawer under my old underware. On second thought, I'm taking the card with"Bo" back out and putting over the wall beside my dog "Chewy's" bed. I think he kind of thought that was his card, and he's a smart Jack Russell.....so he'll let me know when to take it down. I'll keep you posted on Chewys decision.

Some sort of implant on inaugaration eve, makes more sense in explaining OBummers performance than any other explanation that comes to my mind.

Pointofgrille, thanks for the belly laugh. I needed that...

After observing bill Clinton and later obamas, I'm convinced s democrats might as well be the same party as republicans (except for a very few like Elizabeth warren,, and I believe Frankin bad sanders are independents)..

So I WILL NOT VOTE FOR A REPUBLICAN, EVEN IF THEY ARE LABELING THEMSELVES DEMOCRATS!

ANYONE, know how to follow discussions on this forum? After a day oy two I can't find the discussion.. And I don't see a way to get notified of activity in a discussion I might wish to follow. Seems ADD, LOL to me.. Intelligent, quick, and hey we've moved on.. Not everyone likes that mode.

Quote bobbler: ANYONE, know how to follow discussions on this forum?

Do you mean: Community? If you click on "Community", just to the left of "Thom" it will get you to a lot of discussions on various issues.

Quote bobbler:So I WILL NOT VOTE FOR A REPUBLICAN, EVEN IF THEY ARE LABELING THEMSELVES DEMOCRATS!

I certainly agree...and a good way of saying it!

Sandlewould - Thank you for bringing Sibel's work onto this forum. The podcasts that she and Peter B Collins record will give the listener information they won't get anywhere else.

I learned about Peter B when he used to fill in as a guest host for Thom.

As to Warren... yes, her plane would probably crash or her brakes would fail (etc) if she were elected.

Alas, as to voting... we American citizens need to step back from the myth that our votes count. Voting has been totally corrupted by electonic / computerized voting machines.

We also need to re-frame our needs away from left-right, Dem or Repub. As Thom pointed out several years ago, the conflict is between those at the top and the rest of us. It's funny that Thom still beats the ol' Dem-Repub two-party system drum.

I just watched the new movie "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" in the theater. And the whole time I was wondering if this was a movie funded by the NSA. No, it wasn't about the NSA..mostly the CIA...Jack Ryan was recruited by the CIA but the whole movie seemed like propaganda. It glamorized and seemed to be trying to justify our government being able to quickly spy on anyone they wanted all for the purpose of defeating a dastardly evil foe that was trying to destroy the US.

Movies have shifted, over the years, from one evil enemy to another. First it was the Soviet Union...then China..then drug kingpins....then Arab countries...and now they are back to evil Russia. The original Red Dawn was about Russians invading the US. The latest Red Dawn were Chinese invaders. It's always been some evil outside force that we all are made to believe is our enemy.

I sure couldn't get into cheering for the "good guys" this time because I believe that Wall Street is the root of all evil or at least a very big part of it. My take away is that the US doesn't need any help in creating a 2nd major economic crash and depression...they do just fine all by themselves.

And as for having the ability to spy on anyone ostensibly for the purpose of protecting us from the bad guy...they haven't done very well. We had plenty of high tech abilities (Echelon)...even plenty of outside help (many countries warned of an attack)..and 9/11 happened anyway. Same thing more than a decade later...with the Boston bombings. So, the mass spying on Americans has nothing to do with preventing terrorism unless you consider massive civil unrest as terrorism. And I'm sure that is largely what the spying is all about. The ruling elite know that they cannot continue unopposed in their current economic war against the majority without massive unrest.

Hey PD, I was about to compliment your last post when you sent this brief response to one of mine. And as much as I appreciate the compliment, I can't take credit for "SHillery". If I recall correctly, I picked that up from one of Sandlewould's posts.

And Sandlewould, I got the "Trans Pacific Pirate Ship" off someone else's (can't remember who).

While I'm loathe to accept credit not owed me, I'm not averse to repeating what resonates with me. - Aliceinwonderland

Boiling frogs demonstration...put a frog in room temperature water and he is just fine. Slowly turn up the temperature and he'll never notice the danger until it is too late....kind of like what is happening to the majority of people in the US...actually in the world.

Sensitive people may not want to watch this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyBKz1wdK0M

Well, this video claims that no frogs were injured and that a "stunt" frog was used but I swear I saw the eyeballs move under the skin when the water was boiling...and where did all those bubbles come from...certainly not from a rubber frog.

Although, Snopes disagrees...the frog will jump out when it gets too uncomfortable in the heat...I wonder if the masses will do the same. I think history has proven over and over again that they have....and they will again.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/frogboil.asp

Thanks PD,

I clicked community, then spent the next 20 minutes looking for this thread,, its like a wild goose chase for me. I looked under message boards too.

If I don't keep these discussions up Ina browser, i can never find them again.

I really with the Hartman crew would make their stuff more user friendly.

Wow it sounds like you are talking about China, Cuba or Russia Are you really talking about the United States of America And a democratic President? Kinda scary. Did Obama ever show is birth certificate? Just kidding don't get all crazy on me.

Alice be careful voting green or justice party that's what happens here in Canada and the left splits the vote and the conservatives get in. I think you need to get the right people in the Democrate party like the tea party did and take it over. Hold it why am I saying this I am a righty.

As far as the Clinton's and Obama jumping the fence once they get in I think Obama is now thinking about his legacy and doesn't care about anything else. Although he will always be know as the ACA president they jury isn't out on if it will be any good yet. if it fails Obama will always been know as the President that spent 10 trillion dollars and he certainly doesn't want to be known for that. The last two years of the president term are the scariest.

Yesterday, Kevin Gozstola (spelling?) on Firedoglake.org and Glenn Greenwald in the Guardian wrote the best articles I've read on President Obama's speech about the NSA. Both articles were reprinted on Common Dreams' website. Gozstola showed how Obama was lecturing us, and Greenwald showed how Obama's arguments were sorely lacking in force.

Can't take vredit for SHillary...got it from the chat room :)

Well, Sandlewould, thank you for passing it along! ;-}
SHillary, SHillary, SHillary....no they couldn't! No they didn't!

You know Thom, I can't speak for everyone but I've said all I have to say on the NSA, the TPP, the ACA, Too-Big-To-Fail, Chained CPI and austerity ad nauseam. I wish more attention could be given this mean-spirited war against women, waged so relentlessly by our so-called "representatives". This revolting misogynist freak show is just another piece of a larger picture showing what tyranny and fascism look like. Misogyny has always been a common characteristic of fascist regimes. Now we get to see the American version of this age-old theme: keeping women down! You know this as well as I, and you've acknowledged it repeatedly on your talk show, yet it is rarely mentioned here. So I hope you'll pardon me for getting off topic for a spell.

The GOP's latest assault on my gender is the "No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act", or HR 7, said to have "dramatic implications" for the tax code and the private insurance market. This piece of legislation includes a provision so sick and twisted, it takes my breath away. It's a provision requiring the IRS to conduct audits of rape victims. That's right! This "law" eliminates medical-expense deductions for abortion care, for everyone except rape victims, thus sticking survivors of rape with the added burden of having to show the tax man they "deserve" a deduction for the cost of an abortion.

Where does the abuse stop?!! Is this the United States of America or Saudi Fucking Arabia?!!! Bad as it's been, Thom, I never could have imagined anything like the loony tunes "laws" passing thru Congress these days. So I have spent the better part of today on the blog accompanying this article (by Tara Culp-Ressler, on ThinkProgress). What follows are samples of (ahem) choice exchanges I had with one or two of the more piggish and disgusting male bloggers. Starting with this gem from John Stroka:

Victims? You mean like defenseless babies, yeah, how can you libs be so mean... I guess you were born and you don't want to afford that right to others... NICE! - John Stroka

John, why don't you just pop open a can of beer and catch a football game, and mind your own goddamn business? Let us women worry about what to do with our "lady parts", and decide whether or not we want to bring new life into the world. It's not your decision to make; sorry "charlie". This is not a complicated issue, except for those who might be, uh, "mentally challenged" to put it politely. - AIW

Next, take a load of this doofus's version of "Morality 101":

Abortion for any reason is still murder which is a capital offense. The fact that people want to justify the murder of an innocent because of a crime committed by the father is sickening. Furthermore, using money taken from people apposed to such a crime to mutilate children? Really now? Sick fucks. - Johnathan Bonnette

We're not your field to plow. Stick it in your ear, arrogant know-nothing prick! - AIW

Posted the next day:

LOW-LIFE arrogant know-nothing prick! You clowns take SO much for granted. Your sense of male entitlement is simply breathtaking. You know, there's a device on the market one can insert up her snatch and it's a wienie shredder. So ya better watch out, pal. Violate the wrong gal and it won't be pretty, you'll wish you were never born. - AIW

I'm somewhat befuddled by your responses. Are you familiar with the English language? Because you seem to feel as though I am doing something wrong be defending the lives of the unborn, and are being very offensive. - Johnathan Bonnette

O tal vez el español es su idioma y que debe comunicarse a usarlo. Usted es cómplice de asesinato y una perra amargada. vete a la mierda. ¿Qué mierda te pasa? Ni siquiera puedes llamarme con cualquier tipo de argurment por lo que me atacas? - J.B.

Mr. Bonnette, oh befuddled one, have YOU ever been raped? Has anyone you care about ever been raped? You defend the unborn while showing no regard for the subjects of this discussion: women who have been impregnated by force, against their will. By showing utter disregard for those who have been so outrageously and cruelly violated, you reveal yourself to be a SANCTIMONIOUS, LOW-LIFE, ARROGANT, KNOW-NOTHING PRICK!

I've got a news flash for you, pal: what we do with our "lady parts" is none of your goddam business. Got that? So please, spare me all your crocodile tears over those unborn babies you love so much. Behind this pretense of compassion you jerks claim to have for the unborn, all I see is envy and jealousy because WE can create new life, an ability you lack. Penis envy?!! Hah-hah. WOMB ENVY is more like it. Brings to mind a favorite old quote: "If men could get pregnant, ABORTION would be a SACRAMENT". Hey if you love babies so much, why don't you take some estrogen pills, grow some titties and try your hand as a "wet nurse"!

Hah-hah! I love stirring up shit. It's what I do… Aliceinwonderland

Aliceinwonderland: Way to go! And that jerk couldn't even spell "opposed" correctly. He is obviously a grade school flunky!

This abortion stuff just never goes away. I am with you Alice a women should have the right to do with here body as she wishes but up to a certain amount of weeks. I would have thought the morning after pill would have solved a lot of this.

Canada doesnt really have any laws against abortion. Some provinces fund it and some don't. There is about 100,000 abortions here a year Out of a population of 33 million. Which seems high to me. I guess birth control costs about $10.00 a month and with the morning after pill I don't see how there can be that many. But then again what do I know. all I know is no one should judge.

Kend, I know this will shock you, but I agree with damn near everything you've said on this "abortion stuff". Wow. And there's not all that much you really need to know except that it is a private matter between a woman, her spouse and/or family, and her doctor. It concerns no one else. As you assert so forthrightly, no one should judge. I tip my hat to you... this time! (Heh-heh...)

Good job Kend! Much appreciated. - AIW

P.S. Now be careful; don't say anything to spoil it! (Yuk-Yuk)

Oh my, Palin... That last one you like is the ONLY rendition of Killing Me Softly I have liked since hearing Ms. Flack's original version. Most arrangements I've since heard on musak stations spoiled it for me, with all those simpering violins... tantamount to embalming fluid. This arrangement is a virtual reincarnation, like giving it another shot at life. Bravo! - Aliceinwonderland

Ohmygod Palin... I just listened to Lori Lieberman's version and WOW. I am blown away. She's about my age, born in '51, and appears to be a solo artist. What a talent!

Here's the amazing part... check this out! I'd no sooner finished listening to Lori's version (the one with her accompanying herself on acoustic guitar), before I spotted something on the sidebar that sparked my curiosity. It was of a much earlier performance of this same song, Killing Me Softly, done by Lori way back in 1973; forty years ago, while she was in her early twenties. It was a stunning performance. From the interview that followed, I learned this song was not written by Roberta Flack; it was actually written for Lori and performed by Lori, before Ms. Flack ever heard of it! In fact, it turns out Roberta Flack learned this song from Ms. Lieberman!! Ain't that a trip. Wow-wee.

I'm a composer and I'm really into music, so this stuff fascinates me. I'm pretty opinionated though, and I don't impress that easily. But this woman knocks my socks off.

Anyway Palin, be sure to check that out. She is so drop-dead gorgeous in that early one; sings like an angel. Why this gal didn't wind up as famous as Judy Collins, Joan Biaz or - (tsk!) - Carole King is beyond me. But that's the music buiz for ya...

The times are a-changin' honey, and those old record label honchos are now history. Good riddance to them! They didn't go out gracefully; it got pretty ugly for awhile, with all these poor souls getting sued for huge piles of $$$ over reproductions made only for private use, that nobody made one thin dime on... Anyway now that they're gone, it's the MUSICIANS in the drivers' seat! Thanks to innovations and advancement in recording technology, we can easily produce our own albums and sell our music online. About flippin' time.

Anyway, enough said. Been a great day boppin' around ole "Blog Land"! Damn, I think I'm hooked. Down the road I may need to find, or establish, something like AA for blog addicts, just to get this impulse under control. But in the meantime, I'm engaging and debating and venting and having a friggin' blast. Sure has been fun. Now, where the hell is Marc?! - Aliceinwonderland

Palin, I'm much more a composer than songwriter. It's always been strictly piano & keyboards for me. I've composed literally dozens of pieces, mostly for piano, in many genres through the years. I've recorded most if not all of it (and to answer your question, am continuing to do so), and I have several albums put together. Seems kinda funny because I love to write, and most of my material is very melodic; yet joining or combining those two mediums of expression hasn't come as easily to me as I'd hoped. I think I'm just not quite "wired" for it, never having actually done it... with one or two exceptions. Did manage to create a lyric for Broomstick Boogie a few years back, so I've got at least one song to my name.

Anyway maybe a year ago, my hubby purchased a 24-track mixer, which opened up a world of possibilities for me. I already was hearing three vocal parts in my head, two back-up parts along with lead. I'm no seasoned vocalist, but I've an excellent ear and can certainly carry a tune, so I recorded all those vocal tracks with overdub; and if I do say so, came up with something pretty decent. (Love that mixin' board!) I just wish I could write some killer anti-LNG protest songs, because there sure seems to be the need for that, here and now. From my perspective, songwriting (along with cartooning) is he most powerful political tool - or weapon - any artist can have. - Aliceinwonderland

Alice my lips are sealed. Yahooooo we finally agree on something.