I've always predicted a coup de etat, and then my Bush countdown calendar mysteriously went for 420 days left to 735 days left. You tell me!

Sent by Ellen | 2:17 PM ET | 12-13-2007

George W. Bush has been and continues
to be the greatest threat to the United
States of America and to the world.
His legacy will be the sale of our
air, water, land, health-care,
educational system, future prosperity,
and democracy to the highest bidder
so that his father's friends and family
can profit.
George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush,
and Dick Cheney are true "axis of evil".

Sent by Dave Randolph | 2:52 PM ET | 12-13-2007

Sent by Dave Randolph: George W. Bush has been and continues to be the greatest threat to the United
States of America and to the world.

There goes an NPR blogger again. Conspiracy theorists running amock. Bush is a criminal. Bush is a this. Bush is that. With no foundation other than a pithy one liner.

Well, fine. Then if you can deride George Bush, it should be my right to defend George Bush. I mean, is there a fair and equal usage clause around anywhere?

Okay, someone blew up two buildings in New York and killed three thousand people. And you obviously expected George Bush to sit back and do nothing?

Not to forget mentioning that the Democrats have overwhelmingly voted in George Bush's favor on the issues concerning Iraq. Now, that is fact, not conspiracy theory.

So, if you say George Bush is evil, put it on the table. How is he evil? I mean, other than using pithy one-liners with no proof, state a specific case. Put it to the debate, rather than just throw out an accusation with no direction.

Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that when you deride George Bush, you are deriding the American troops in Iraq who have put their lives on the line to defend you, an American.

I notice that there are few bloggers around here who have anything nice to say about our American troops in Iraq. Has it become out of fashion to support our American troops who are defending your freedom?

Or, are you saying that the American troops are corrupt and are not defending our freedom? Are you saying that George Bush is in corrupt league with our American troops?

Is there going to be fair and equal time allowed on this blog? Or is everything going to be anti-Bush? Anti-American troops? And just plain anti-America? Is everything going to be one liner conspiracy theories?

Because allowing unfounded accusations to free flow is unprofessional, biased and against all manner of objective journalism.

And while you are at it, why not a calendar with twelve poses of Monica Lewinski and Bill Clinton?

Or, is that biased in a way that is not in keeping with NPR bloggers?

And ask yourselve why Al Gore won't run, while you are mentioning Al Gore in an anti-Bush way. Or, do you have proof that the election was stolen from Al Gore?

fred call

Sent by fred call | 4:41 PM ET | 12-13-2007

There are some of us who have served in the military, in times of war, who take offense when a soldier's efforts are blithely tossed around. Soldiers answer to their Commander-in-Chief, even in times when a soldier doesn't personally agree. All the same, what is said about one soldier or commander goes to the core of all soldiers.

While I'm on this topic...Yes, internet blogging is a rather new history when compared to the history of journalism.

To be really idealistic in this day and age, journalism is meant to be objective. Factual.

Okay, Norman Mailer and Truman Capote and Hunter Thompson changed journalism to personal story telling. But they did it intelligently, and managing to provide fact along the way.

Back to the point, journalism is supposed to have some sort of objective basis of provable fact, somewhere.

Which begs the question: What obligations befalls the blogger?

Where do conspiracy theories have a place in public broadcasting blogs?

Do we establish a forum where children go to learn how to state their opinions in a conspiratorial way? Of do we teach children that if they are to presume a comment, they have to have some foundation for the comment?

For the sake of objectivity, might I suggest point/counterpoint as once presented by 60 Minutes. If not only to create a forum for all points of view equally, but maybe to put an onus on the blogger to do some hard thinking.........

Point/Counterpoint, a program feature from 1971 to 1979, illustrated that two opposing positions can remain unreconciled, and served, in three-minute debates between left- and right-wing critics, to agitate viewer emotions with ideological battles. The segment's popularity probably explains why, in 1996, Hewitt added a similar "commentator" section, resurrecting the art of speaking what the public may think but dare not say with such force. And the series' perennial "light" moment, "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney" confirms the value of personal opinion on otherwise mundane matters.

fred call

Sent by fred call | 5:33 PM ET | 12-13-2007

Fred Call, you miss the point. Dissent is not Anti-American or unpatriotic. Every American has the right to their opinion even if it is not the same as the opinion of the powers that be. It cannot be, for dissent is the very life blood of democracy. While Dave Randolph may be a bit overeaching, the fact that many of us distrust Bush (and Cheney even more)because of their inability to be forthright, and thier apparent rejection of public opinion has nothing whatsoever to do with supporting the troops. Supporting the troops is not the same thing as supporting the war or supporting King George the W. I do not support George Bush or the war, but have no ill feelings toward our soldiers.

Sent by Tom Granaas | 5:44 PM ET | 12-13-2007

Someone get Fred a copy of the
newspapers of the last seven years,
it seems like a lot of Republicans
he hasn't seen these, or doesn't
understand the bigger words.

Sent by Dave Randolph | 7:07 PM ET | 12-13-2007

"Okay, someone blew up two buildings in New York and killed three thousand people. And you obviously expected George Bush to sit back and do nothing?"

No Fred, I expected someone like GWB
to try to exploit the situation by
starting an illegal war against a
nation having no credible link to the
attacks so as to take advantage for the
profit of his father's friends and
family at the direction of Dick Cheney,
servant of Halliburton, and he did.

Sent by Marc Allen | 7:16 PM ET | 12-13-2007

"Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that when you deride George Bush, you are deriding the American troops in Iraq who have put their lives on the line to defend you, an American."

Let's just say that this is something
said by the sort that changes the
subject from why something immoral is
done to make it sound ethical.
Supporting the troops is not
served by dishonoring their sacrifices
by wasting their lives to fight an
action based on lies. No WMDs,
just lies.

Sent by Alice | 7:24 PM ET | 12-13-2007

An NPR blogger asked, "Has it become out
of fashion to support our American troops who are defending your freedom?"

The obvious answer is, "No, it's just that all they are defending at present is Halliburton's profits. At no point would any sentient being confuse supporting our troops with supporting why they've been sent to any particular place."

Sent by Morgan | 7:31 PM ET | 12-13-2007

Is "Fred Call" an actual person, or
an NPR device to trigger apoplexy
from those that read?
Does "Fred" have any knowledge of the
"Clear Skies" Act, presidential signing
statements, the front page of the New
York Times, or anything indicative
of the realities strenuously avoided
by those that voted for George W. Bush
twice?!

Sent by Edward Levine | 7:47 PM ET | 12-13-2007

I would really appreciate an informed, legitimate list of the successful programs that our current president, George W. Bush, has completed and sponsored which benfit, defend and/or make America a better place, without encroaching on any and all civil rights.
Both sides of this political coin are tainted.
There is a point that Democrats are not much better. Some would say worse. I believe that the opinion of a political leader should be dynamic. It should change accordingly. Actions speak louder than words. Maybe the liberal Media has beat up on republicans. It has not stopped them from winning. All that should matter is our taxes are paying for services that preserve our pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. Personal liberties should be protected, and we are in more danger from high school kids shooting up malls than we are from terrorists. George W. Bush was president when The towers were attacked. He got dealt that hand. Who knows what the world would be like now if 9/11 never happened. We will never know.

Sent by Tim Schaiberger | 11:36 PM ET | 12-13-2007

Sent by Edward Levine Is "Fred Call" an actual person, or
an NPR device to trigger apoplexy
from those that read?
Does "Fred" have any knowledge of the
"Clear Skies" Act, presidential signing
statements, the front page of the New
York Times, or anything indicative
of the realities strenuously avoided
by those that voted for George W. Bush
twice?!

Hi, Edward....No, I'm a very real person who is in no way, shape or form professionally connected with NPR. Right now, I'm in Roswell, New Mexico. I also live in South Florida.

Glad to meet you, Edward.

And I am interested in the 'Clear Skies Act' and whatever comment you have on the New York Times. And if you care to discuss these items in further detail, I will be more than happy to participate.

Edward, I'm all for intelligent commentary, right or left.

I've been observing NPR blogs (all of them) for the past six months. They are biased and slanted and insulting (that is my opinion, I welcome anyone who wants to debate).

So, Edward. Let's see if this response gets posted. If it does, I welcome your further comments on the 'Clear Skies Act,' the New York Times and George Bush voters.

From your comments, I assume you are a registered Democrat, like myself.

But this comment won't get posted, because any attempt to get beyond gossip blogging doesn't get posted.

Nice to have met you all the same, Edward. Even though you won't know that I wrote in response to your comments.

All that gets posted is gossip and snide remarks. There isn't room in this blog for journalistic analysis.

I also assume that you are strongly anti-Bush, and anyting resembling pro-Bush comments just don't get posted. Alas, we may never get to talk on this blog, Edward.

fred call

PS....Apoplexy? I've always wanted to use that word in a sentence, and never found the way to do so. Thank you for showing me.

Sent by fred call | 11:29 AM ET | 12-14-2007

Sent by Edward Levine: Does "Fred" have any knowledge of the "Clear Skies" Act,

And Edward, if you are going to mention the Clear Skies Act, why not say something about it that tells me which way you are thinking.

Does it have anything to do with cats that glow in the dark?

Cloned cats that glow?! Posted: Thursday, December 13, 2007 2:35 PM by Alan Boyle

South Korean scientists say they have cloned cats whose genes have been altered so that they glow in the dark - taking advantage of a technological twist that could someday be used to make more dramatic genetic changes in all sorts of creatures.

fred call

Sent by fred call | 11:55 AM ET | 12-14-2007

We're sorry Fred, on the part of people everywhere that actually read and assimilate the news let me inform you that the Clear Skies Act actually reduced the requirements for having
air scrubbers at all as well as the amount of pollution which air scrubbers for factory smokestacks are allowed to
emit. Please feel free to say
something else about glow in
the dark cats just in case not
everyone realized the limits of your
intellect.

Sent by Edward Levine | 6:03 PM ET | 12-14-2007

Sent by Edward Levine: Please feel free to say something else about glow in
the dark cats just in case not
everyone realized the limits of your
intellect.

Funny you should ask that, Edward. I just finished watching the DVD 'Evolution' with David Duchovny.

The Ivan Reitman movie was about an asteroid that hit earth and all these beings from outer space evolved millions of years in matters of hours when they came in contact with earth's atmosphere.

Then this army general tried to napalm the evolving mutants, except fire made the evolution speed up even faster.

David Duchovny and Julliana Moore discover that Head and Shoulders Shampoo will kill these evolving creatures from space.

You know the rest of the story. After they kill the monsters, Duchovny and Moore kiss and run off together.

One day I hope to get the book from which the movie was made.

fred call

Sent by fred call | 12:53 AM ET | 12-15-2007

I just came up with a good idea gift for anti-war advocates. The gift: a way to solve you inner moral dilemma.

Before getting to the gift, let's talk about the anti-war advocates moral dilemma: You are against war, but you want to punch someone of the opposite political persuasion.

What to do? What to do? It's a paradox. Against war, but you want to punch a Republican. Now we go to the holiday gift: Your right to punch someone.

Forget the moral dilemma that you are preaching pacivity while deep down inside you are seething with fist punching anger.

Writer Chris Jones has compiled an essay in defense of the fist fight. Use his essay as your bible. Resolve your unresolved anger, you angry anarchist Gandhi wannabees.

In Defense of the Fistfight

Why one lippy hippie named Jericho made one writer resolve to start punching jerks again.

By Chris Jones

And so, before I wiped his spit off my face, I grabbed Jericho by his beard and dragged him outside. By the time I had him squared up, I saw all that I needed to see to know that I'd found a new habit: the regret on his once-smiling face. I was surprised by how good it felt, and I stopped for a second, frozen under the streetlights, satisfied that Jericho was about to make like the walls of that bitch city, and that I was about to settle my own accounts.

fred camorra call

Sent by fred camorra call | 9:57 PM ET | 12-15-2007

"Before getting to the gift, let's talk about the anti-war advocates moral dilemma: You are against war, but you want to punch someone of the opposite political persuasion." So you're completely discounting all those, Buddhist like yourself, who don't want to punch anyone for the same reason they are anti-war. It's immoral. Is that the deal Fred?

Sent by John R. Otten | 6:15 PM ET | 12-18-2007

Damn Fred. You really ticked 'em off on this thread eh? Well that'll larn ya fer defendin King George. Though I do give you props for nerve. ya'll got that in spades. I'm not going to pile on here because I do like to be sporting about such things. Instead I'll just have a good chuckle and enjoy the moment.

Sent by John R. Otten | 11:03 PM ET | 12-18-2007

It's official.

Lyudmilla Putin, wife of Vladimir Putin, is running for President of Russia.

The big difference is that Vladimir Putin will be able to get his wife elected.

Bill Clinton won't be able to.

A President Lyudmilla Putin calendar will be available to Muscovite shoppers this Christmas.

fred camorra call

Sent by fred camorra call | 10:43 AM ET | 12-19-2007

Sent by John R. Otten... You are against war, So you're completely discounting all those, Buddhist like yourself,

Hold on them doggies, John. I said I was Buddhist. I didn't say I was today's version of Intellectual Left brain dead (yes, there was a time when the intellectual left had intelligence).

How fast you forget Grasshopper the Shao-Lin monk who traveled through the American west kicking tail without ever using a Colt .45, relying on the metaphysics of the mind over matter.

Buddhism is essentially the art of escaping the pain of life (Yes, I know..people stereotypically lump Buddhists in with Calvinists, we somehow revel in suffering. Not!). And if it means taking the sumgun out to find peace of mind, so be it.

SUN TZU ON THE ART OF WAR
THE OLDEST MILITARY TREATISE IN THE WORLD
Translated from the Chinese with Introduction and Critical Notes
BY LIONEL GILES, M.A.
Assistant in the Department of Oriental Printed Books and MSS. in the British Museum
First Published in 1910

Sun Tzu said: "It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on."

fred camorra call

Sent by fred camorra call | 1:57 PM ET | 12-19-2007