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Mohammad al-Qahtani, the so-called “20^th hijacker” has retracted everything he has told interrogators, saying all of his statements were attempts to please his questioners and stop the torture.

This is the reason no professional uses torture: IT DOES NOT WORK!

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Senate Intelligence Committee Votes Down NSA Spying Investigation

PATRIOT Act goes to the Shrubbery for his mark.

Why are we paying these 535 people?

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Molly doesn’t think much of the South Dakota legislature.

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CBS thinks there are implications in the fact that: Cheney Mum About GOP Senate Candidate.

Hey, it’s a common belief that you shouldn’t say the name of demons out loud. On the other hand, with his approval ratings it is not exactly a bonus to be linked to Dead-Eye Dick.

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To be accepted Hamas must renounce violence and recognize the right of Israel to exist, but Israel can receive the bulk of US foreign aid assistance while violating UN Security Council resolutions regarding occupying territory seized in an unprovoked war in 1967 [both Yitzak Rabin and Menachem Begin have publicly admitted this], while refusing to recognize the right of Palestine to exist, and while continuing to make deadly military strikes.

Holden notes This Is Not Good, in reference to the Israeli threat to Hamas members. This on the day after an Israeli mission killed two Palestinian children in a raid.

Both sides need to renounce violence and recognize each other. All aid to both should be cut off until they do.

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You just can’t take him anywhere. Holden of First Draft covers it in his post, Ducked Fup.

The Iranians are already using this deal to complain about the double standard in their treatment on the nuclear issue, and you have to know this will come up in the talks with North Korea.

It’s worse than people think. What the idiot has agreed to with the Indians is to supply the nuclear power plants in India with fuel, which means the total output of the Indian breeder reactors can now be used for weapons, rather than being shared between weapons production and power generation.

The only way he could have made life more difficult for Pakistan’s Pervez Musharraf would have been to insist on a Pat Robertson crusade meeting in Islamabad.

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Jane at Firedog Lake is being grossly unfair to the fine male population of South Dakota with her post, Unintended Consequences.

I feel certain the government of the state knew that the men of the state were willing to forego their boat and pick-up payments to cover the costs of child support for all of the extra children. Surely they understood that with “welfare reform” and DNA testing that the government is going to get child support, even if the woman doesn’t have the resources to go to court. This won’t be necessary because the good Christian men of South Dakota are all prepared to step up and accept their responsibilities for the next 18 years.

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As Robert C. reminds us, batten down your wallet: the Florida Legislature is in session for the next 60 days.

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Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs

One of the most annoying blindspots of some commentators is the belief that if you make a good faith effort to reach out to the other side, common ground can be found and a compromise can be reached. This desire for a “win-win” solution is unrealistic and shows an amazing lack of understanding about the people who support the Shrubbery.

The diagram represents a reality in groups. Any individual may be at variance with the model, and some who were have received honors and medals, but in general the model explains the behavior of a majority of people.

The bottom layer is essentially air, water, and food – basic essentials of life. For those that haven’t been paying attention: Rove and the Shrubbery operate on the second level, Safety, with their warnings of explosives in every Reebok and anthrax in every envelope. Resorting to fear to shake the feeling of safety and claiming to be the only answer is a very effective plan, and people will respond.

Katrina broke the spell for many people and offered an opportunity, but not if it isn’t exploited. This is why Dean was attacked when he said he didn’t think we were safer after the capture of Saddam: they couldn’t let people doubt.

The Religious Reich use Safety, Belonging, and Esteem. Welcome to our group; we are the “Elect”; you are going to Heaven if you follow our rules. The essential difference between these people and other religions is their aggression and lack of tolerance. They are extremely binary in thinking. Their way is the only possible way, and any deviation is heresy.

There is no compromise; there is only surrender. They ignore facts and reality. Their rules say the only purpose for sex is procreation, so there’s no justification for birth control or abortion.

These people don’t have a problem casting aside their basic rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, so I don’t see them as a group to court. They lack the core values of Americans that are guaranteed by the first ten amendments.

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