QUICK STAT:

U.S. and World Population

U.S. - 297,937,164

World - 6,486,845,880

YOU GO GIRL - Hulk meets his match in drilling fight

Cantwell blocks bid to drill in refuge

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., smiles during a Capitol Hill news conference Wednesday after she succeeded in upsetting Sen. Ted Stevens' attempt to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. The 1.5 million-acre coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, with the Brooks Range in the distance. Oil exploration in the plain was sought.

Lawmakers have feuded over drilling in Alaska's wilderness for 25 years.

In 1995, leaders of the new Republican majority in Congress thought they had realized a long-sought goal by passing a bill permitting drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). But President Clinton vetoed the measure.

Emboldened by electoral gains and President Bush's re-election in 2004, Republicans believed they had enough clout to muscle the measure through as part of this year's annual budget process.

But proponents were thwarted again Wednesday as Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., rounded up enough allies to derail a bid by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, to attach the plan to a bill funding Iraq and Afghanistan military operations. Two Republicans and 41 Democrats opted to filibuster the defense bill (Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., joined them at the last minute, a parliamentary move allowing him to seek another vote later).

From: The Washington Post

GOOD NEWS

Ted Stevens Leaving Senate?

He certainly is talking like he's resiging:

"I say goodbye to the Senate tonight." (boo hoo, boo hoo)

-- Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), quoted by the Anchorage Daily News, raising questions about whether he would retire after the Senate voted down a measure to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Good riddance. The Daily Show did a segment on him that was rerun a night or two ago called "who the f**k is Ted Stevens?", noting his involvement in sham hearings about sex on television, his dictatorial approach as chairman of the Appropriations committee, and his impassioned defense of the Bridge to Nowhere. Jon Stewart also pointed out that Stevens is third in line for the presidency currently, saying "we don't have a joke; we just though you should know."

I can't wait to have this looney leave.

From: Minipundit

REBUTTAL FROM THE RIGHT

From: Mick S.

RE: WHY DO THEY LIE? . . .BECAUSE THEY CAN'T STAND THE TRUTH

And the 450 FBI files found in the Whitehouse, why does the left cherry pick their lies ?

Its why their radio and news blogs never go further then their own little crowd . You got to admit to their own power corrupted system, before you can challenge another's power corrupted system . Trust me, their is enough corruption to go around .

From: Mick H.

As I said "BECAUSE THEY CAN'T STAND THE TRUTH".

If we need to go back and re hash the Clinton Presidency again to point out the problems with the Bush administration so be it.

I hope you can stand the TRUTH. Here we go.

Filegate was the name attached to the FBI files. You remember that everything Clinton did the RIGHT put a "GATE" on it. Maybe we should do that for Bush. TortureGate, IraqGate, LeakGate, PillGate, TaxCutGate, LieGate, and SpyGate to name a few.

Filegate was a White House scandal in June of 1996. Craig Livingstone, head of White House Security in the White House improperly requested, and received from the FBI, personnel files without asking permission of the subject individuals. Estimates range from 350 to 900 unauthorized file disclosures. The incident caused a firestorm of criticism because many of the files covered White House employees from previous Republican administrations.

OK, Mick S. here's the thing. . . are you sitting down.

In March 2000, Independent Counsel Robert Ray determined that there was NO CREDIBLE EVIDENCE of any criminal activity. Ray's report further stated "there was no substantial and credible evidence that any senior White House official, or first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, was involved" in seeking the files.

OK, can we bury this one once and for all? Just 4000 more lies about Clinton to debunk.

I don't know who listens to the radio or reads the BLOGS so I'm not sure what that means. I know that I get about 200 visitors a day to my BLOG and if they like it they come back if not so what.

As I said you don't worry about people with NO POWER.

If you think I'm unfair to criticize President Bush I'd like to suggest you look at "The Hunting of the President" DVD. Then tell me who is unfair.

File the Bin Laden Phone Leak Under 'Urban Myths'

President Bush asserted this week that the news media published a U.S. government leak in 1998 about Osama bin Laden's use of a satellite phone, alerting the al Qaeda leader to government monitoring and prompting him to abandon the device.

The story of the vicious leak that destroyed a valuable intelligence operation was first reported by a best-selling book, validated by the Sept. 11 commission and then repeated by the president.

But it appears to be an urban myth.

The al Qaeda leader's communication to aides via satellite phone had already been reported in 1996 -- and the source of the information was another government, the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan at the time.

The second time a news organization reported on the satellite phone, the source was bin Laden himself.

Causal effects are hard to prove, but other factors could have persuaded bin Laden to turn off his satellite phone in August 1998. A day earlier, the United States had fired dozens of cruise missiles at his training camps, missing him by hours.

Bush made his assertion at a news conference Monday, in which he defended his authorization of warrantless monitoring of communications between some U.S. citizens and suspected terrorists overseas. He fumed that "the fact that we were following Osama bin Laden because he was using a certain type of telephone made it into the press as the result of a leak." He berated the media for "revealing sources, methods and what we use the information for" and thus helping "the enemy" change its operations.

NOW LET THE SPIN BEGIN

NO WORDS NEEDED

This needs some words. I remember when I was a kid and my folks bought our first TV. The screen size was about 12 inches. The set came with a magnifying lens that sat infront of the TV. The idea was to create a BIGGER SCREEN.

Now the TV channel is using up all that realestate before the picture gets to your set.

Guess what goes around, comes around.

PRETTY GOOD JOKE

Jay Leno.

* "President Bush admitted that the United States went to war in Iraq based on bad intelligence. But he says knowing what we know now he would still do it again. So at least we're learning from our mistakes." . . .

THE CABLE GUY

I work for a cable company, and this is without a doubt the stupidest question a customer has ever called in with. It was during a blizzard, which had knocked out power in the many areas.

• Customer: "Hi, my cable is out."
• Me: "Ok, do you have power?"
• Customer: "No, but my cable is out."
• Me: "Well sir, if your power is out you wouldn't get cable."
• Customer: "Why the hell not? What does my power have to do with cable?"
• Me: "Well sir, without power you--"
• Customer: "Look, just get my cable working. Send someone out."

Then he hung up, without so much as giving his name or address.