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// End --> </script></A> </TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table> <table width="980" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="830" align="center" valign="top" bgcolor=white class="font14"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="4" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="32%" BGcolor="#dddddd" class="fonty"> <b>unknownnews@inbox.com</b></TD> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="68%" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonty">&nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/"><B>Home</B></A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/about.html">About us</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/contact.html">Contact us</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/!workfiles.html"><FONT COLOR=black>|</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/faq.html">FAQ</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/mysterylinks.html">Mystery links</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html">Stickers</A> &amp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/forsale.html">stuff</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|<BR> </TD></TR></TABLE></td><td width="150" align=center valign="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="font15"><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/buyabumpersticker.jpg" border="0" width="138" height="23"></A> </td></tr></table><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="980" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="830" BGcolor="#dddddd" class="fonty"> <iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/frames-new.html" height="32" width="830" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="center" WIDTH="150" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonty"><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/donations.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/makeadonation.jpg" border="0" width="138" height="23"></A> </TD></TR></TABLE><!-- end uniform header--> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="980" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="10" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonttnr">&nbsp;</TD> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="10" BGcolor=white class="fonttnr">&nbsp;</TD> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="630" BGcolor=white class="fonty"> <!-- =news= --> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="625" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="625" background="http://www.unknownnews.org/flag-wallpaper.jpg" class="fonty"><SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: darkred"><BIG>&nbsp;<FONT COLOR="#FFCC66"><B> NEWS for WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2008</B></FONT>&nbsp;</BIG></SPAN></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://www.undiplomatic.net/2008/09/02/rnc-are-the-gustav-relief-efforts-legitimate/"><B>Obama asks supporters to give to Red Cross for victims of Gustav,<BR>Republicans ask supporters to give to newly-created Republican Party subsidiary</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> During their presentations, Laura Bush and Cindy McCain encouraged people to go to the website of something called "Cause Greater." I had never heard of this particular charity&nbsp;... "Cause Greater" is not a charity, but rather a wholly owned subsidiary of the McCain campaign. Rather than directing assistance to existing charities (which is what the Obama campaign has done by encouraging people to donate to the Red Cross and/or Save the Children), they are instead directing charitable donors to a campaign portal that also happens to include a link to the McCain home page.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=tu0539p></A><A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/2656680/Dutch-withdraw-spy-from-Iran-because-of-impending-US-attack.html"><B>Dutch withdraw spy from Iran because of 'impending US attack'</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> According to reports in the newspaper De Telegraaf, the country's intelligence service, the AIVD, has stopped an espionage operation aimed at infiltration and sabotage of the weapons industry in Iran. "The operation, described as extremely successful, was halted recently in connection with plans for an impending US air attack on Iran," said the report.<BR><BR><i>Comment:&nbsp;</i> Is Bush planning to go out with a bang? Bush & Cheney still think they're Butch and the Sundance Kid clones. &nbsp; <nobr><i>Wig</i> &nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#tu0539p"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;</SPAN></nobr> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=7867"><B>Police in military mode patrol "Green Zone" in St Paul</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> The scene here in St Paul is downright creepy. It's deserted, with chain link fences and barbed wire surrounding the downtown area and riot police running down the empty streets, chanting out load cheers like they are on a military missions. There are a few Republican delegates, some young Republican operatives, a few people hawking wares, and a scattered group of protesters with signs that talk about war and profit. It is anything but festive, a far cry from Denver in both the level of excitement and the overt fascist overtones.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://www.alternet.org/story/97110/"><B>RNC raids have been targeting video activists</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> St. Paul police surrounded the private home with weapons drawn, detaining people in the backyard, while journalists, activists and neighbors -- including several children -- looked on.<BR><BR>Their crime? None whatsoever. No one was trespassing or engaging in acts of civil disobedience. Instead, members of I-Witness Video, a New York-based media watchdog group that records police activity in order to protect civil liberties, were holding an organizing meeting at 949 Iglehart, the home of St. Paul resident Mike Whalen, when armed police officers arrived in the early afternoon and ordered their surrender.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=t0711a></A><A HREF="http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/conventions/27772579.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:UthPacyPE7iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU"><B>Democracy Now journalist Amy Goodman back at work after unlawful arrest</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> A day after being arrested with two of her producers during a Monday street skirmish, "Democracy Now!" radio and TV host Amy Goodman was back at work today, challenging St. Paul's top cop and planning a return to the convention floor.<BR><BR>According to her account, she was at the Xcel Energy Center preparing to interview members of the Minnesota delegation when she got word of her producers being entangled in police action against a rogue band of protesters.<BR><BR>[Democracy Now producer Nicole] Salazar, who was taping the altercation, found herself backed up against a car. Salazar shouted, "Press, press," Goodman said, but the producer was forced to the ground, and had a boot placed in her back.<BR><BR>There had been no order by police to disperse, Goodman said.<BR><BR>Goodman added that after telling authorities that she had credentials, which she was wearing at the time, she said a Secret Service official pulled them off and said, "Now, you don't."<BR><BR>Afterward, Goodman said she was outraged that the chief offered no immediate pledge to see that charges against the three would be dropped.<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ"><B>Video as <i>Democracy Now</i> reporter Amy Goodman is arrested</B></A><BR><BR> <i>Comment:&nbsp;</i> If you can't watch video on your computer, I'll offer a brief description: Her crime appears to be politely asking a policeman a question, and she's pointing at her reporter's credentials as the cop twists her arm behind her back. As she's brusquely manhandled away, another policeman says to the camera or crowd, "If you cross this line you will be under arrest, so don't do it." &nbsp; <nobr><i>Helen & Harry</i> &nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#t0711a"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;</SPAN></nobr></TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_political/647246.html"><B>Minneapolis-St. Paul feels like a police state</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> There is no doubt in mind, from the limited exposure I did get of the whole RNC scene, that we are in fact under Martial Law. There is no walking through downtown St Paul without coming to the absolute realization that we are not safe and most certainly not free.<BR><BR> From Harriet Island, where the above-described music and awareness event was taking place, dozens of us saw, with our own civilian eyes, the true arsenal the federally-sponsored RNC had in store for us.&nbsp;...<BR><BR> First hand, I saw at least 4 snipers on top of downtown buildings surrounding the RNC ground zero at any given time. In the river just ahead of our festival, there were coast guard boats with massive machine guns loaded and ready to fire, two per boat. Many boats patrolled the waters of the mighty [city-polluted] Mississippi throughout the day. Later on, about 10 boats were seen at once, all surrounding a non-violent sit-in on the banks of the Mississippi, along with various officials inland, their squad lights ablaze.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/02/palin_slashed_funding_to_help.html"><B>Palin slashed funding for teen moms</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee who revealed Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=w0735a></A><A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/02/uselections2008.republicans20085?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews"><B><strike>Palin was member of group calling for Alaska's secession from US</strike></B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> <strike>New revelations about the Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin -- including her membership of a party that wants Alaskans to vote on becoming a separate country -- are raising questions about how thoroughly John McCain's campaign vetted her background before adding her to the ticket.<BR><BR><i>Comment:&nbsp;</i> If anything, Palin's support for a secessionist group will *solidify* her support among Republicans. Secessionists and the grandchildren of secessionists are the backbone of the Republican Party -- they wear rebel flags as t-shirts and mutter amongst themselves that the South will rise again. They'll offer Sarah Palin honorary membership in the Confederate States of America and vote for her in droves. &nbsp; <nobr><i>Helen & Harry</i></strike> &nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#w0735a"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;</SPAN></nobr><BR><BR><I>Correction:&nbsp;</I> It now appears, per <A HREF="http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/members-of-frin.html"><B>ABC News</B></A>, that this report is incorrect. It wasn't Palin, it was Palin's <i>husband</i> who was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party for several years. (More about this <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-04.html#SirJ"><FONT COLOR=blue><B>here</B></FONT></A>.) </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=w0745a></A><A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/02/palins-church-may-have-sh_n_123205.html"><B>Palin's pastor seems far more frightening than Obama's, but<BR>don't expect much news coverage of another Republican nutball</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> A review of recorded sermons by Ed Kalnins, the senior pastor of Wasilla Assembly of God since 1999, offers a provocative and, for some, eyebrow-raising sketch of Palin's longtime spiritual home.<BR><BR>The church runs a number of ministries providing help to poor neighborhoods, care for children in need, and general community services. But Pastor Kalnins has also preached that critics of President Bush will be banished to hell; questioned whether people who voted for Sen. John Kerry in 2004 would be accepted to heaven; charged that the 9/11 terrorist attacks and war in Iraq were part of a war "contending for your faith;" and said that Jesus "operated from that position of war mode."<BR><BR><i>Comment:&nbsp;</i> Onward Christian nutcases, marching us to war! &nbsp; <nobr><i>SirJ</i> &nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#w0745a"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;</SPAN></nobr> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=tu0441p></A><A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/02/palins-church-may-have-sh_n_123205.html"><B>Scary snippet of Palin speech</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR>Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [US soldiers] out on a task that is from God," she exhorted the congregants. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan.<BR><BR><i>Comment:&nbsp;</i> Alrighty then. Someone has GOT to put away the Kool-Aid. &nbsp; <nobr><i>Sherri B.</i> &nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#tu0441p"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;</SPAN></nobr> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://www.vanityfair.com/online/wolcott/2008/09/say-what-you-will-about.html"><B>Media does "the Bristol Stomp"</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> "What would the response be if Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois) and his wife Michelle had a pregnant unmarried teenage daughter?"<BR><BR>I can answer that. Mona Charen, Ann Coulter, and Michelle Malkin would sprout bat wings and fangs and start divebombing, Peggy Noonan would issue a pained sigh that would ruffle nun's robes from here to Hoboken, Laura Ingraham and Bill Bennett would engage in a finger-wagging contest to condemn our loose licentious liberal culture&nbsp;...</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/09/01/ST2008090103340.html"><B>VP nominee is already queen of the earmarks</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group.<BR><BR>In introducing Palin as his running mate on Friday, Sen. John McCain cast her as a compatriot in his battle against wasteful federal spending.<BR><BR>As mayor of Wasilla, however, Palin oversaw the hiring of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, an Anchorage-based law firm with close ties to Alaska's most senior Republicans: Rep. Don Young and Sen. Ted Stevens, who was indicted in July on charges of accepting illegal gifts.<BR><BR>In February, Palin's office sent Sen. Stevens a 70-page memo outlining almost $200 million worth of new funding requests for Alaska.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=tu0107p></A><A HREF="http://www.theage.com.au/us-election-2008/hasty-selection-forced-on-mccain-20080902-4815.html?page=-1"><B>Republicans' arch-right wing forced Palin on McCain</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> ... influential conservatives warned [McCain] off choosing his good friend Senator Joseph Lieberman and another favorite, former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, because both men favor abortion rights.<BR><BR>When word leaked out that Senator McCain was considering the men, the campaign was bombarded by outrage from influential conservatives who vowed rejection of Mr Ridge or Senator Lieberman by the convention delegates.<BR><BR><i>Comment:&nbsp;</i> Is anyone even mildly surprised that "the maverick" McCain takes his orders from the most monstrous anti-woman and anti-freedom players in the Republican Party? &nbsp; <nobr><i>Helen & Harry</i> &nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#tu0107p"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;</SPAN></nobr> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_09/014507.php"><B>Disclosures on Palin raise questions on vetting process</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> As the TIMES explained, McCain hoped to get Lieberman or Ridge on the ticket, but was told the party would never stand for it. Pawlenty and Romney were deemed "too predictable." Scrambling, they decided to gamble on Palin, before they knew anything about her.<BR><BR>The McCain campaign did not conduct an FBI background check, did not talk to Republican officials in Alaska, and didn't even talk to Palin's next-door neighbors.<BR><BR>As ridiculous a choice as Palin is for national office, let's not lose sight of the real scandal here -- John McCain has the judgment of a small child. Tasked with the most important decision of his presidential campaign, McCain has managed to demonstrate incompetence, cynicism, and recklessness, all at the same time.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=8933043"><B>Palin lawyers up as ethics investigation continues</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> [Defense attorney Thomas] Van Flein said he was hired by the Department of Law because Attorney General Talis Colberg is unable to represent Palin.<BR><BR>"The Department of Law had a potential conflict of interest, because Mr. Colberg, Attorney General Colberg, made contact with Mr. Monegan about Trooper Wooten," Van Flein said. "That would make him a potential witness, and thus there's a potential conflict."</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=tu0535p></A><A HREF="http://www.adn.com/polarbears/story/413710.html"><B>(From May 2008) Palin sues the Bush administration</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <i>Comment:&nbsp;</i> Palin sues the Bush administration! Wow, that's encouraging. Oh wait, it's about polar bears. Never mind. In this case, Palin is to the right of Bush. Bummer. &nbsp; <nobr><i>SirJ</i> &nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#tu0535p"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;</SPAN></nobr></TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA7WrCipkck"><B>Palin was a 'bridge to nowhere' supporter, and Alaska kept the money</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I><B>Excerpt:</b></I> In fact, the Palin administration has spent tens of millions of dollars in federal funds to start building a road on Gravina Island that is supposed to link up with the yet-to-be-built bridge, Weinstein said.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080902/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/gonzales_security_breach;_ylt=Apq8HCqZKl5SHx5V75tQtISs0NUE"><B>Justice Dept won't charge Gonzales over illegal mishandling of top secret documents</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> "Like all other department employees, Gonzales was responsible for safeguarding classified materials, familiarizing himself with the facilities available to him ... for storing these materials and observing the rules and procedures for the proper handling of classified materials," Fine's report stated. "Our investigation found that Gonzales did not fulfill these obligations and instead mishandled highly classified documents about the NSA surveillance program and a detainee interrogation program."</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://novoterleftbehind.net/rfk_message.cfm"><B>Kennedy's No Voter Left Behind fights Republican efforts at election fraud</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> "Painstakingly, page-by-page, with no agenda in mind but finding the truth -- the same skills I have employed in my career as an attorney -- I began to examine the evidence. What I found shocked me to the core -- and by the time I pieced it together in an expose for Rolling Stone magazine, I was convinced beyond all doubt:<BR><BR>"The Republican Party mounted a coordinated, criminal campaign to steal the 2004 Presidential election -- and it worked.<BR><BR>"Now, as another election approaches, you and I need to stand with Democrats for America's Future (DAF) to make absolutely certain it doesn't happen again. You can get involved now by supporting us here."</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=tu0440p></A><A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080902/sc_nm/cloning_food_dc"><B>Cloned animals' offspring may be in food supply: FDA</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR><i>Comment:&nbsp;</i> Which means it's been there for a while. &nbsp; <nobr><i>Sherri B.</i> &nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#tu0440p"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;</SPAN></nobr> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A HREF="http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/mccain-hires-go.html?cid=128664060"><B>McCain hires Republican Party operative who <nobr>helped smear him in South Carolina in 2000</nobr></B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> Former officials of Sen. John McCain's 2000 campaign expressed shock and disbelief Monday to learn than the GOP presidential nominee had hired South Carolina political consultant Tucker Eskew.<BR><BR>Eskew, along with Warren Tompkins and Neal Rhodes, were key members of then-Gov. George W. Bush's South Carolina team during the 2000 primaries. McCain and his team long held Bush, Tompkins, Rhodes and Eskew responsible for the various smears against McCain and his family in the Palmetto state during that contentious contest.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/51415.html"><B>Al Qaida has free movement in Pakistan, top official concedes</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> Pakistan's top security official Monday admitted that al Qaida's leadership moved freely in and out of the country and vowed that "no mercy" would be shown to extremists based in its tribal territory that borders Afghanistan.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <!-- =nuggets= --> <A HREF="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/377105_marcusonline31.html"><B>How dumb does McCain think women are?</B></A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4635843.ece"><B>Kremlin announces that South Ossetia will join 'one united Russian state'</B></A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://gothamist.com/2008/08/28/nypd_defends_ejecting_sox_fan_from_1.php"><B>NYPD defends ejecting Sox fan from Yankee Stadium during "God Bless America"</B></A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080902/hl_nm/heart_death_dc;_ylt=Aqh3O2fK_Dlc8J7_ZNBMwnADW7oF"><B>Sudden death after arrest may be new "syndrome"</B></A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/content/printVersion/167059"><B>"Cash of my father-in-law" -- the John McCain story</B></A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.madison.com/tct/news/303028"><B>Anti-war demonstrators protest at Republican Party convention</B></A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.burntorangereport.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=6674"><B>"Obama bin Biden" shirts sold at Republican National Convention</B></A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/51419.html"><B>Absence of Bush and Cheney cheers Republican delegates</B></A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/96959/the_dangerous_consequences_of_recruiting_nazis_to_serve_in_iraq/"><B>Dangerous consequences of recruiting Nazis for the US Army</B></A><BR><BR> <!-- =dialogue= --> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" background="http://www.unknownnews.org/flag-wallpaper.jpg" class="fonty"><SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: darkred"><BIG>&nbsp;<FONT COLOR="#FFCC66"><B> COMMENTS for WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2008</B></FONT>&nbsp;</BIG></SPAN></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=MZ></A><BR><BIG><B>Please respect my daughter's right to privacy<BR>... just long enough for me to take it away from the rest of you</B></BIG><BR><BR>by <B>Madeline Zane</B><BR><BR> Sarah Palin, as well as a number of humane non-crazy people, has asked that we all respect her daughter's privacy at this difficult time. And normally, I'd be on board with that. But in this case, I'm willing to make an exception. Because here's the thing: the privacy that Palin is requesting for her daughter, is the same privacy she would take away from the rest of us.<BR><BR> When it comes time for the rest of us to make what ought to be very private and personal decisions about when and whether to have children, Palin wants the government to come in and make those decisions for you. If McCain gets to pick even one Supreme Court judge -- and chances are he'll choose several -- then all of us will lose the right to privacy that Palin is demanding for her daughter.<BR><BR> I can understand that Palin, as a mother, would ask millions of Americans to keep out of the Palin family's private decisions. But in return, the Palin family would like to impose their decisions on millions of American families. Sarah Palin She says that she's proud of the decision that her daughter has made to continue her pregnancy and marry the father. That's great ... up until the point when she is SO proud of that decision that she wants to make it mandatory for every woman in the country to make the exact same decision themselves.<BR><BR>I'm not saying we should all get involved in this seventeen-year-old's sex life, or her decisions about her pregnancy. I'm saying we should use it as a jumping-off point to talk about how the rest of us deserve the same level of privacy and respect as a governor's teenage daughter ... and how we risk losing those rights if this teenager's mom gets elected Vice President. <DIV align="right"><BR><i>Madeline Zane</i> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#MZ"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div> <!-- REPLY --><BR><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/grayline.jpg" border="0" width="630" height="3"><BR> <A NAME=JSM></A><BR><BIG><B>The whole world is watching</B></BIG><BR><BR>by <B>JS Magruder</B><BR><BR> Actually, scratch that, no-one is watching.<BR><BR>You know, I've been pretty ill lately and I keep thinking that perhaps my reactions to the world around me are being altered by it, and that as soon as I can stop coughing until I puke, I'll begin viewing life less hopelessly. You'd think being laid-up in bed with a head full of prescription cough syrup would have some sort of mood-lightening effects but it just constipates me. I was going to ask hubby to rent <A HREF="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48614905&referer=brief_results"><B><i>Medium Cool</i></B></A> on the way home from work, but I figure we can save the three <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="53%" class="fonty">bucks rental fee and just flip on the telly.<BR><BR> Ah, beating down journalists -- there's just something so nostalgic about it! It's so ... third world. Get a few flaming tires in there and you've got a spectacle worthy of the worst regimes. Or Chicago. I'm from Chicago, and while I've yet to see flaming tires about the neck, I know a good old-fashioned police riot when I see one. Nice to know that as I wait here in bed wondering if I'm headed out of life, the scene in the streets is pretty much identical to the one I came in to, save for a mantra chanting Beat poet and bags of piss being tossed from the upper floors of the Hilton hotel. I suppose there's still time -- are there any Beat poets still alive?<BR><BR>My sense (and keep in mind, my sense of anything is pretty skewed by lack of sleep and pneumonia at this point) is that they know all of these arrests in Minneapolis and St Paul are going to be tossed out of court eventually, but are continuing ahead as an intimidation technique. Hell, would you want to join an organization knowing it is probably infiltrated and </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonty"> </TD><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="center" WIDTH="46%" class="fonty"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/Minn-teargas.jpg" border="1" width="281" height="374"> </TD></TR></TABLE>your door can be knocked down at any time based on absolutely no probable cause? Sure, you have the freedom to assemble, but do you want to get beat down for exercising that right? Get put on one of the various lists?<BR><BR> I've been getting numerous hits a day at my silly little blog from our lovely security agency. Since I hardly fit the profile of a terrorist, I have to figure it is an intimidation tactic, a sort of "We know what you're writing" thing. I'm going to guess that when they actually watch people they're worried about, they make sure to do so in a way that doesn't show up in a site tracker (they can't be that inept, can they?).<BR><BR>Me? I don't worry too much, though I like to keep the house tidy on the odd chance they're going to come smashing down my door -- it makes clean-up easier if you don't have heaps of shit lying around beforehand. I know what I'm talking about -- I was so glad I did the dishes after dinner the night the tornado hit because it would have been that much more cleaning up to do.<BR><BR>So yeah, if you're sending donations to the Lawyer's Guild, or Catholic Worker, it wouldn't hurt to put down some doormats because you know they never wipe their jackboots before barging into your house to look for subversive comic books and Phil Ochs records. No, I'm serious, they never fucking wipe their feet -- ever watch <i>Cops</i>? <DIV align="right"><BR><i>JS Magruder &nbsp;(<A HREF="http://whynotresist.blogsome.com/"><B>whynotresist.blogsome.com</B></A>)</i> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#JSM"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div> <!-- REPLY --><BR><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/grayline.jpg" border="0" width="630" height="3"><BR> <A NAME=SirJ></A><BR><BIG><B>Unanimity</B></BIG><BR><BR>by <B>SirJ</B><BR><BR> Re <A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_09/014496.php"><B>Republicans still trying to explain McCain's choice of Palin for VP</B></A><BR><BR>A republican friend of mine sent me an e-mail which is obviously making the rounds. It shows the Republicans already have their explanation of the choice of Palin: she is the maverick, courageous reformer in the John McCain mold. The contents of the e-mail is <A HREF="http://www.nypost.com/seven/08312008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/lady_is_a_champ_126833.htm"><B></B></A>this editorial from the New York Post.<BR><BR>The "Lady is a Champ" article claims that most votes in the Senate are unanimous or near unanimous, and argues therefore a voting record of 90% agreement with Bush cannot be used as evidence he is a Bush clone.<BR><BR>This argument about unanimous voting is clearly false, because <A HREF="http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/is_it_true_john_mccain_voted_with.html"><B>this link</B></A> shows Obama voted with Bush only 40% of the time.<BR><BR>The author of the "Lady is a Champ" article is Dick Morris, who has been around long enough to know the truth but chooses to write lies, cleverly hiding them behind qualifiers, such as "likely" in the statement "It's likely Obama and McCain voted together most of the time, too." The word "likely" gives him an out. He can argue he didn't know, didn't check his facts, merely made an assumption.<BR><BR>Does anybody out there know what percentage of the voting is unanimous to near unanimous? You can define "near unanimous" however you please. All I'm interested in is statistics. It's time the Democrats stop acting dumb and challenge Republicans at their lies instead of glorying in how little the Democrats see in Palin. <DIV align="right"><BR><i>SirJ</i> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#SirJ"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div> <BLOCKQUOTE><i> As I click through <A HREF="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_110_1.htm"><B>this database of Senate votes</B></A>, it seems curious that the final vote tallies aren't presented in a manner that allows easy tracking. Clicking through several recent tallies, I get the impression that a lot of votes are landslides (including, probably, procedural matters that are widely agreed to virtually before the vote) and a lot aren't... </i></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i> (<A HREF="mailto:unknownnews@inbox.com"><B>unknownnews at inbox.com</B></A>)</DIV> <BR>Thanks. I prefer the word "landslide" to "near unanimous." It is interesting to look at the losing side of each vote. It is almost exclusively populated by the same party, be that party either Democrat or Republican. The winning side is composed of both parties.<DIV align="right"><BR><i>SirJ</i> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#SirJ"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div> <!-- REPLY --><BR><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/grayline.jpg" border="0" width="630" height="3"><BR> <A NAME=KF></A><BR><BIG><B>Cardboard cutouts</B></BIG><BR><BR>by <B>Kathy Fisher</B><BR><BR> Who's in charge and who will be in charge? Please! This Alaskan queen or the Senator with the hair plugs or the former POW? The new anointed boy king doesn't care about us or the country they believe they have the power to rule over, and for that matter who really thinks these elected (joke! with the help of rigged elections) officials are really in charge anyway.<BR><BR>Surely you must know the Shadow Government is in charge of making all the stupid decisions that are talking down the country faster then those towers on Sept.11! Our Presidents and VPs are merely cardboard cutouts that appear to be making decisions (pure window dressing). The freely elected constitutional government of the United states is just a front for the real people who own the country! IT DOES NOT EXIST ANY MORE! and it has not for a very long time.<BR><BR>This is how they run elections here in the good ol' US of A. Just like a soap opera they bring out the distractions and instantly people look away from the real issues and focus on the bullsh*t. It's as bad as the Jerry Springer show (which I confess to have watched a few times)...<BR><BR>Most Americans can't and won't see what's really going on (it's too complicated for their little preoccupied minds). They have stayed asleep in front of the TV set while their country has been stolen from them. And so they still come out to take part in this sham called a free election! Just the thought or even mention that another election will worsen or change the already rotted nation is a fairy tale. It's over! <DIV align="right"><BR><i>Kathy Fisher &nbsp;(<A HREF="mailto:klfisher@webtv.net"><B>klfisher@webtv.net</B></A>)</i> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#KF"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div> <!-- REPLY --><BR><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/grayline.jpg" border="0" width="630" height="3"><BR> <A NAME=JP></A><BR><BIG><B>Our fate remains in a madman's hands</B></BIG><BR><BR>by <B>Juan P.</B><BR><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://www.321gold.com/editorials/mathid/mathid090108.html"><B>The final weeks</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> The final weeks of the Bush presidency have a similar feel to experiencing that part of a horror movie where it approaches the frightful denouement. The tension has been building up since the start, but now everything is about to be revealed in all its ghastliness. The audience is frozen in a hushed and tense, terrible expectation. Hands are poised motionless over popcorn.<BR><BR>Thus it is reading the daily news dominated by the decisions of George Bush and the Neocons at the start of September, 2008. It is really scary, too scary, but we cannot get up and just walk out of this movie. There is nowhere to go.&nbsp;...<BR><BR>There is a feeling at the moment that anything is possible. One gets the sense that George Bush in his current frame of mind could well mount a nuclear attack against the Moon. No-one </TD></TR></TABLE> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="64%" class="fonty"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty">has a f*cking clue, we are all just holding our breath and hoping that nothing at all will happen and that someone much nicer and more sensible will take over the presidency in the very near future... someone, anyone.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> This is a great article, and like the guy says I am on the edge of my seat. I can't think of anything that might restrain these Cheney monsterfuckers from any crazy ass utterly insane thing they want to do, seems to me there's a reasonable chance we'll be dropping nuclear weapons in a week, but really that's been a possibility ever since Cheney et al 'took' office. At this point our best, last hope, an ever so slight chance, cross your fingers, is that Cheney or some of the </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonty"> </TD><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="center" WIDTH="35%" class="fonty"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/Bush-armageddan.jpg" border="1" width="215" height="205"> </TD></TR></TABLE>bloodsucking vampires who serve him suddenly care how they look to future historians, so maybe they don't want to go out with a bang ... other than that, our fate remains in a madman's hands.<DIV align="right"><BR><i>Juan P.</i> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#JP"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div> <!-- REPLY --><BR><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/grayline.jpg" border="0" width="630" height="3"><BR> <A NAME=MM></A><BR><BIG><B>Sarah Who?</B></BIG><BR><BR>by <B>MonkeyMan</B><BR><BR> So.... Abstinence only teaching isn't really working for Palin and her family, is it?<BR><BR> I don't really care that much about gossipy things in the politician family circles, unless it shows hypocrisy. The Larry Craigs who work and speak against gays and lesbians and get caught up in a bathroom stall um...interfacing ..with another man. The priest who talks about saving your soul, but sells his own by preying on children. So I do care about Palin and her daughter. I care because this woman is trying to sell abstinence only, and her own family proves that it doesn't work.<BR><BR>She was quoted as saying she is happy her daughter chose to keep the baby. Her daughter CHOSE, but Gov. Palin is against abortion even in cases of rape or incest. That last part makes her sound crazy. So in the last 3 days that I have been paying attn. to this Palin person, I've learned that she wants to make Alaska into an independent country, shoot animals for sport, reverse what little progress women have made since the 1950s, she doesn't really know what the VP does all day, and she is under criminal investigation. I don't think the Democrats could've hoped for better fodder. John Stewart and Steven Colbert won't know where to start. They will be like kids on Christmas morning.<BR><BR> I personally think John McCain just shot himself in the foot. <DIV align="right"><BR><i>MonkeyMan</i> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#MM"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div> <BLOCKQUOTE><i> The kid's 17 years old and living under her parents' roof, so I'm not at all sure she had any choice in the matter at all. Can't you just hear Sarah Palin laying down the law to her daughter, "You're going to have that baby, and you're going to marry the father, and no buts about it, end of discussion. And if you don't like it you should've kept your legs crossed."<BR><BR> And boom, just like that a lot of options are eliminated from Bristol Palin's life. It happens to girls and young women every day, all the time, and that's the way cro magnons like Sarah Palin want things to be for every girl and woman everywhere. It's thoroughly disgusting, and it never makes the news. </i></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i> (<A HREF="mailto:unknownnews@inbox.com"><B>unknownnews at inbox.com</B></A>)</DIV> <BR>Prohibition doesn't work. Not alcohol, drugs, porn, guns, sex, and same-sex sex. Abstinence only teaching doesn't work. Girls ruin their futures, boys either run or get stuck, unwanted babies boom. Trickle down has NEVER worked. How are they still pitching it?<BR><BR>Seems like the GOP stands for Great On Paper. Their philosophy doesn't work so great in practice.<BR><BR>I am not an overly judgmental person. Life is messy and often hard. Mistakes happen and we get on with life. The problem is when any one of us tries to tell someone else how to live their life. And these two young people are caught in the middle of a sh*tstorm with an innocent baby on the way. It's a shame.<BR><BR>Palin just seems crazy to me. Tasmanian devil kind of crazy. And I hope her nomination sinks John McCain to the bottom. I am tired of pretending like he is a viable candidate. <DIV align="right"><BR><i>MonkeyMan</i> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#MM"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div><!-- REPLY --><BR><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/grayline.jpg" border="0" width="630" height="3"><BR> <A NAME=CM></A><BR><BIG><B>Secessionist Sarah</B></BIG><BR><BR>by <B>Chris M.</B><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/aip_founder_professed_hatred_f.php"><B>Founder of group Palin courted professed "hatred<BR>for the American government"; cursed "damn flag"</B></A><BR><BR> It would seem that Palin has some other wacko associations. If a Democrat was linked, even remotely, to someone like this... the Republicans and media would be all over it like ants on a lollipop. I guess <A HREF="http://www.akip.org/conv08.html"><B>speaking at an Anti American convention</B></A> is OK if you're a Republican but not for a Democrat.<BR><BR>What these people want, like the libertarians, is to be able to do whatever they damn well please with no consequences. Same old spoiled brat line. It's easy then to see why Palin fits right in. <DIV align="right"><BR><i>Chris M.</i> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#CM"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div> <!-- REPLY --><BR><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/grayline.jpg" border="0" width="630" height="3"><BR> <A NAME=gq></A><BR><BIG><B>Suspicions</B></BIG><BR><BR>by <B>Gertrude Q.</B><BR><BR> I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to suspect that selecting Sarah Palin wasn't McCain's smartest move ... and it has a lot of competition for dumbest. <DIV align="right"><BR><i>Gertrude Q.</i> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-03.html#gq"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div> <!-- REPLY --><BR><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/grayline.jpg" border="0" width="630" height="3"><BR> <BR> Also:<BR>&bull; &nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-02.html#tu1246p"><B>Sherri B. replies to Helen & Harry</B></A><BR> &bull; &nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-01.html#tu0237p"><B>Janice Lester replies to Sherri B.</B></A><BR> <!-- REPLY --><BR><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/grayline.jpg" border="0" width="630" height="3"><BR><BR> <!-- =news= --> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" background="http://www.unknownnews.org/flag-wallpaper.jpg" class="fonty"><SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: darkred"><BIG>&nbsp;<FONT COLOR="#FFCC66"><B> NEWS for TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2008</B></FONT>&nbsp;</BIG></SPAN></TD></TR></TABLE> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="67%" class="fonty"> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/for-the-first-time-in-human-history-the-north-pole-can-be-circumnavigated-913924.html"><B>For the first time in human history,<BR>the North Pole can be circumnavigated</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> Open water now stretches all the way round the Arctic, making it possible for the first time in human history to circumnavigate the North Pole. ... New satellite images, taken only two days ago, show that melting ice last week opened up both the fabled North-west and North-east passages, in the most important geographical landmark to date to signal the unexpectedly rapid progress of global warming.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> </TD><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="33%" class="fonty"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/globalwarming.jpg" border="1" width="200" height="152"> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://blog.aclu.org/2008/08/29/federal-court-rules-against-bush-administrations-subversion-of-californias-medical-marijuana-laws/"><B>Federal Court finds 10th Amendment trumps Bush<BR>administration's subversion of California's medical marijuana laws</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> In a first-of-its-kind ruling, the court held that the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution bars the federal government from targeting the enforcement of federal drug laws to intentionally subvert state medical marijuana laws. The court ruled that the 10th Amendment would be violated if the ACLU can prove, as it has alleged, that a calculated pattern of selective arrests and prosecutions by the federal government has been intended to render "California's medical marijuana laws impossible to implement and thereby forcing California and its political subdivisions to recriminalize medial marijuana."</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2008/9/1/amy_goodman_and_two_democracy_now_producers_unlawfully_arrested_at_the_rnc"><B>Amy Goodman and two Democracy Now! producers unlawfully arrested at the RNC</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> Democracy Now! is calling on all journalists and concerned citizens to call the office of Mayor Chris Coleman and the Ramsey County Jail and demand the immediate release of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar. These calls can be directed to: Chris Rider from Mayor Coleman s office at 651-266-8535 and the Ramsey County Jail at 651-266-9350 (press extension 0).</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://2parse.com/?p=866"><B>Crimes behind Cindy McCain's fortune</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> The story of Cindy McCain's father, James Hensley, begins when he ditched his first wife for a younger woman after returning from World War II a hero (Sound familiar?). He got involved with a character named Kemper Marley who is variously described as a rancher, a businessman, a murder suspect, and a top figure in organized crime in Arizona. While working for Marley, James Hensley and his brother were convicted of the felony offenses of concealing black market liquor sales and conspiracy. Later Cindy's father was charged with falsifying records to evade taxes -- although these charges were dismissed, no doubt due to the diligent work of one of Arizona's top defense lawyers, William Rehnquist.<BR><BR>After getting through these legal difficulties in the early 1950s, the brothers Hensley bought a horse track - with several mobsters as silent partners. Cindy's father, though, was yearning for a measure of respectability, and sold his stake in the track in the mid-1950s. Luckily for James Hensley, he got out just a few months before a statewide scandal focused on the track, making life difficult for his brother and all of the other owners. Hensley's brother continued at the track and eventually was sent to prison in the late 1960s after he sold his portion of the track to Marley and a mob-connected front.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_08/014492.php"><B>Republicans' vetting of Palin was apparently as thin as Palin's résumé</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> On Saturday, a Democrat tasked with opposition research contacted the Huffington Post with this piece of information: as of this weekend, the McCain campaign had not gone through old newspaper articles from the VALLEY FRONTIERSMAN, Palin's hometown newspaper.<BR><BR>How does he know? The paper's (massive) archives are not [entirely] online. And when he went to research past content, he was told he was the first to inquire.<BR><BR>"No one else had requested access before," said the source. "It's unbelievable. We were the only people to do that, which means the McCain camp didn't."</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/members-of-frin.html"><B>Members of 'fringe' Alaskan separatist party say Palin was a member in 90s</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> he campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., likes to herald the independence of its new running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent, she was once a member of their party, which, since the 1970s, has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can secede from the United States.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=m0449p></A><A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7592636.stm"><B>Palin's 17-year-old daughter is pregnant</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <i>Comment:&nbsp;</i> It's worthwhile to remember that Gov Palin is opposed to sex education unless it's "abstinence-only", but beyond that this seems like something that's none of my business. &nbsp; <nobr><i>Helen & Harry</i> &nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-02.html#m0449p"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;</SPAN></nobr> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=m1036a></A><A HREF="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26458400/"><B>Palin under ethics investigation</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <i>Comment:&nbsp;</i> Well, I'll be damned. The mainstream media is reporting on this. &nbsp; <nobr><i>SirJ</i> &nbsp; <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-02.html#m1036a"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT&nbsp;LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;</SPAN></nobr> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_09/014496.php"><B>Republicans still trying to explain McCain's choice of Palin for VP</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> First, Palin was qualified for national office because she opposed the infamous "bridge to nowhere." That turned out to be false. Second, Palin was qualified because she lives in a state near Russia. That turned out to be dumb. Third, Palin was qualified because she supported the president's "surge" policy in Iraq. That turned out to be false.<BR><BR> Yesterday, the new top-of-the-list talking point is that Palin is the "commander in chief" of the Alaska National Guard. ... But this doesn't stand up well to scrutiny, either.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A HREF="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/08/palin-on-iraq.html"><B><i>This just in:</i> Palin once briefly discussed Iraq</B></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonty"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president&nbsp;..."</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <!-- =nuggets= --> <A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/01/palin-527-stevens/"><B>Palin served as director of 527 group called<BR>'Ted Stevens Excellence In Public Service, Inc.'</B></A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/31/174153/834/246/581480"><B>Palin thinks Pledge of Allegiance was written by Founding Fathers</B></A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://viewzone.com/lostbees.bayer.html"><B>Why are honey bees dying all over the globe?</B></A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/51167.html"><B>Maliki's growing defiance of US worries allies and critics</B></A><BR><BR> <A HREF="ht