Department of Eerie Historical Parallels

First:
I want to thank the Corrente Crew. I know that viscerally it’s hard to get through but trust me. There is a point. I admire Mike as an athlete, I feel for him as a brother. I understand there are consequences to breaking the law. But this isn’t about cruelty humanity or justice. But then again; It is.

Michael Vick has pleaded guilty. Read below the fold...

The International Herald Tribune reports today that the Stock Market continues to slide. Read below the fold...

I swear I'm not making this up! KSLA, Shreveport:

Could martial law ever become a reality in America? Some fear any nuclear, biological or chemical attack on U.S. soil might trigger just that. KSLA News 12 has discovered that the clergy would help the government with potentially their biggest problem: Us.

Read below the fold...

As happened in the War Between the States and again in the 1930s it's about to be possible to pay off mortgages for pennies on the dollar, or buy land for a fraction of its real value. Read below the fold...

Hey! Look who popped his head out of closet! It appears he's writing with a vengence again, or at least he is on this topic. Go stretch your brain a tad and enjoy some High Thursday framing. Read below the fold...

Do they suck or rock? Did you hate it or love it? Were you bored silly?
It's open mind time. Go ahead and laugh at me, but I'm in a bind. What do you do when two sets of people you love, different in every way, tell you that you'll love/hate a movie when you see it, and you come out sort of understanding both perspectives. Read below the fold...

While Richard Nixon was struggling to survive the Watergate scandal another important government figure, the Deputy Director of Counterintelligence for the CIA, was fighting to preserve his own career. This is the story of how their paths crossed, and how they combined to destroy each other.

It is not first-hand; it came to me from someone who was, as they say, in a position to know. Judge the truthfulness for yourself; I find it too delicious to be false. Read below the fold...

Heh. 'I'm a grandmother, do I look like a terrorist?' A sample:
Read below the fold...

Many have commmented on Sara Taylor's alas, no longer remarkable views on oath-taking, but nobody, so far as I know, has called it out for what it is. Here's the transcript of Leahy and Taylor's exchange via Big Orange:

LEAHY: And then you said, I took an oath to the President, and I take that oath very seriously. Did you mean, perhaps, you took an oath to the Constitution?

TAYLOR: Uh, I, uh, yes, you're correct, I took an oath to the Constitution. Uh, but, what--

Read below the fold...

NYT stuck this story in their "Bits" section for technophiles, people who just get gee-whizzed about Cool Shit You Can Do With Machines. How odd this was not considered worthy of the "World" section, or "US" or "Politics":
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Looks like the Turks might roll out a "new product" just before an election. Way go show 'em the way, there, Commander Guy! AP:

Sinan Ogan, head of the Turkish Center for International Relations and Strategic Analysis, said one option was a limited air force operation, which would help the government deal with domestic demand for action. If ground forces do go in, he said, the military would want them to stay for at least six months to assess the impact of the mission.

Read below the fold...

Bush 43 has succeeded where FDR failed -- packed the United States Supreme Court with ideologues, cowed the Congress by claiming that not supporting the President is treason, and slammed us into a war we may never get out of by lying, cheating, and then repeating falsehoods louder and shriller than anything since, oh, about 1932.

Read below the fold...

Forgive me if this has already been posted, but I just noticed it and I'd like to talk about it a little. Woody notes a Truthout piece about the mercs in Iraq which now outnumber our troops.
Read below the fold...

I'm not sure if Rorschach composed this himself or picked it up somewhere, but this map shows the US with each state matched to the nation it is closest to in Gross Domestic Product.

If the Russians start bombing later today I think we have the explantion here. Likewise if Saudi Arabia cuts off all exports due to the snub at their honor. Rors, we're holding you personally responsible for all diplomatic incidents here.... Read below the fold...

Caught this one at Max’s new site. Baltimore has gone over to the fascists. Read below the fold...