Mr. David Corn,

Great post.

I hope you are wrong about Cheney getting "off the hook" so to speak.

Thanks for all of your work!

Kirk

Yes He Would

Why might Mr. Bush want another war? For one thing, Mr. Bush, whose presidency is increasingly defined by the quagmire in Iraq, may believe that he can redeem himself with a new Mission Accomplished moment.

And it's not just Mr. Bush's legacy that's at risk. Current polls suggest that the Democrats could take one or both houses of Congress this November, acquiring the ability to launch investigations backed by subpoena power. This could blow the lid off multiple Bush administration scandals. Political analysts openly suggest that an attack on Iran offers Mr. Bush a way to head off this danger, that an appropriately timed military strike could change the domestic political dynamics.

Does this sound far-fetched? It shouldn't. Given the combination of recklessness and dishonesty Mr. Bush displayed in launching the Iraq war, why should we assume that he wouldn't do it again?

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

Sure he would. If Bush thinks it could save his bacon he will push the button. No doubt.

capt

Lucked out? This has got to be the biggest group of lucky criminals to have ever darkened DC's doorstep. But somehow I doubt if luck has anything to do with it. This will, in all likelyhood, go the way of the Iran-Contra scandal.

On today's Washingtoon Journal - C-Span.org - Senator Wyden (D) Oregon, commented that the Senate Intellegence Committee Report Phase II may come out after the break...

7 controls the media
(it says 7 jews but that's not why I posted it - I don't care about that)

13 control the banks

James, I saw that article. It was odd that they listed the 8 main banks but not the 13 families, even though they are relatively well known. Fractional reserve banking is the biggest fraud ever perpetrated on the world, and the poor countries are suffering the most for it, but our day is coming too, soon.

James Ha 5

We know you don't care about that! All you care about is naked Britney Spears photo's!! HA HA Ha

David twists the truth and says-Cheney gets off the hook.

Cheney never broke any laws. Fitzzy can't prove that Val "the lime light gal" was undercover.

Funny how facts seem to work against the Dems. Can't prove Bush leaked but McDermott gets slammed in court for it and it's OK because he's a liberal Demrocrat.

What a joke!!!

Prosecutor Puts Bush in the Spotlight (link)

Patrick Fitzgerald writes in a legal briefing, "It is hard to conceive of what evidence there could be that would disprove the existence of White House efforts to 'punish Wilson.' "

Bush says he approved declassifying data (link)
By William Douglas

President Bush talks about the war on terror at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington on Monday.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush acknowledged Monday that he authorized the selective declassification of portions of a highly classified intelligence report in an effort to rebut critics who said the White House had manipulated intelligence to justify going to war against Iraq.

The President's 'Final Jeopardy!' Question (link)
by Elizabeth de la Vega and Tom Engelhardt

. . .in other words that George had authorized Scooter to leak parts of a highly classified CIA National Intelligence Estimate to New York Times reporter Judith Miller in order to discredit former ambassador Joseph Wilson and, in effect, out his CIA agent wife, Valerie Plame. The president is well known for having stated, in relation to this increasingly bizarre and twisted case: "I don't know of anyone in my administration who has leaked. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action" and for having taken the sternest positions on the very subject of leaking. ("Leaks of classified information are bad things. We've got too much leaking in Washington. I want to know who the leakers are.")

So, cheney has lucked out and has, thus far, stayed out of Fitzgerald's legal clutches. But, will cheney's luck continue to hold? All along, it has seemed that cheney is the Big Enchilada in this case and he is counting on Libby to stay in line. Is there any chance that Fitz can get Libby to flip and testify against cheney? Probably not, but ya never know...oh, I wish!

Too bad Libby's trial is scheduled for after the November elections.

BtW, where is cheney? Did he show up at the fundraiser in Missouri yesterday for Talent (I think it was)?

I think Fitzgerald is smart to go after what can be won in this circumstance. If Fitzgerald gets a conviction it sends the strongest message to the public. Libby is guilty. This obviously will taint all those involved. If Fitzgerald loses it may be a signal to the public that the group is guilty of nothing.

The more this case is in the news the more people are picking up on the correct facts. I think Fitzgerald comes off as a much more honest and hardworking individual than the rogue elephants we have trampling our democracy.

Overview of the leak Q&A (link)
Knight Ridder Newspapers

Q. What was significant about Fitzgerald's latest federal court filing?

A. The brief indicates that Bush and Cheney authorized the selected leaks of classified information to make their case for invading Iraq.
Fitzgerald disclosed that Libby told the grand jury that Bush and Cheney authorized him to leak the key conclusions of the top-secret prewar U.S. intelligence assessment to former New York Times reporter Judith Miller on July 8, 2003. Libby was quoted in Fitzgerald's filing as saying that the White House viewed the key judgments of the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate as being "pretty definitive" in refuting Wilson's charges that Bush had misrepresented the intelligence on Iraq's alleged pursuit of uranium in Niger.

Q. Is that correct?

A. No. The NIE's key judgments, made public by the White House days after they were leaked to Miller, said nothing about the alleged Niger uranium deal.

Another Dem in trouble;

Reids Image Takes a Hit - Las Vegas Review Journal

Since Reid has taken the job of minority leader his favorable rating have dropped 10 pts and his unfavorable ratings has gone up 14 pts.

The voters back home viewed him as a independent before becoming minority leader. They now view him as a partisan obstructionist.

His favorable rating is 43% down from 53% and his unfavorable is 39% up from 25%. Gee and it doesn't even have anything to do with corruption or Iraq, just incompetence!!!!

There goes the Dem take over!!!

With One Filing, Prosecutor Puts Bush in Spotlight

From the early days of the C.I.A. leak investigation in 2003, the Bush White House has insisted there was no effort to discredit Joseph C. Wilson IV, the man who emerged as the most damaging critic of the administration's case that Saddam Hussein was seeking to build nuclear weapons.

But now White House officials, and specifically President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, have been pitched back into the center of the nearly three-year controversy, this time because of a prosecutor's court filing in the case that asserts there was "a strong desire by many, including multiple people in the White House," to undermine Mr. Wilson.

The new assertions by the special prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, have put administration officials on the spot in a way they have not been for months, as attention in the leak case seems to be shifting away from the White House to the pretrial procedural skirmishing in the perjury and obstruction charges against Mr. Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr.

Mr. Fitzgerald's filing talks not of an effort to level with Americans but of "a plan to discredit, punish or seek revenge against Mr. Wilson." It concludes, "It is hard to conceive of what evidence there could be that would disprove the existence of White House efforts to 'punish Wilson.' "

With more filings expected from Mr. Fitzgerald, the prosecutor's work has the potential to keep the focus on Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney at a time when the president is struggling with his lowest approval ratings since he took office.
------------------
Fitzgerald has done a remarkable job of making the guilty look guilty. He and his staff remained mute as they worked. The administration danced the not guilty dance and told the public why they weren't guilty. Fitzgerald went about his business. Finally Fitzgerald continued on in the case and went public again. The dance the administration was dancing didn't fit at all with the music. Soooo the administration looks that much more guilty.

Jeanne 13

That's the dumbest statement out of a cornnut yet!

If Fitzgerald gets a conviction on lying about the dates Libby spoke to a reporter, this is some how going to taint Bush and Cheney? What planet are you Cornnuts from?

U h h h h h , " L B H "

do you need a lecture on
Rumsfeldism and its perils ?

I'm leaning towards " Yes Absolutely Yes "

Anderson Petition

www.warisaracket.org

Gingrich at USD: Pull out of Iraq

Newt Gingrich, the former Republican Speaker of the House, told students and faculty at the University of South Dakota Monday that the United States should pull out of Iraq and leave a small force there, just as it did post-war in Korea and Germany.

"It was an enormous mistake for us to try to occupy that country after June of 2003," Gingrich said during a question-and-answer session at the school. "We have to pull back, and we have to recognize it."

Gingrich was at USD for the inaugural Edmund Burke Lecture, named after a man who is known as the father of modern conservatism.

ya, ha ha LBH - actually it was a statue of a naked britney spears giving birth - ironically it was the official icon of the pro-life camp

Gallup: Most Americans Critical of President in CIA Leak Case

NEW YORK A new Gallup poll released today finds that most Americans are critical of President Bush's actions in the Plame/CIA leak scandal, but only one in four is following the matter closely.

Overall, 63% of Americans believe Bush did something either illegal (21%) or unethical (42%), while 28% say he did nothing wrong. While many more Democrats are critical, 3 in 10 Republicans also find that Bush did something illegal or unethical.

The more closely people are following the issue, the more likely they are to say he did something illegal rather than merely unethical.

The poll, conducted April 7-9, 2006, shows that just 25% of Americans are following the matter "very" closely, while another 39% are following the issue "somewhat" closely. Another 36% are not following the issue closely at all.

Despite the latest turns in the CIA leak case, and news from Iraq, the president's overall approval rating did not fall still further, hanging on at 37%, which is in line with most other polls.

Special report: Hamas-led cabinet takes office

GAZA, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Spokesman of the Palestinian cabinet Ghazi Hamad said on Monday that Israel rejected an Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) proposal to agree on a long-term truce.

Hamad told reporters in Gaza that the proposal was "suggested by Hamas and later on by some ministers."

"The problem is with the Israeli side, which has not been interested in the matter," he said.

Hamas accepted in March 2005 in Cairo a one-year ceasefire,which expired on Dec. 31, 2005.

"Consequently, I believe that this suggestion is currently terminated in light of Israeli practices on the ground," Hamad said.

As for a financial crisis facing the Hamas-led government,Hamad said, "We studied all aspects of the issue and had some ideas to solve the problem."
-------------
Israel wants peace only on their conditions, and the main condition is that all the Palestinians get the f**k out. Who would reject such a reasonable condition? Hamas has abided by the 1 year ceasefire, but Israel can't seem to stop slaughtering Palestinians, shooting children is an especially satisfying past time for them it seems.

Prewar intelligence probe grinds towards end as parties accuse each other of delay
John Byrne
Published: Tuesday April 11, 2006

GOP Chairman signals intent to examine Iran

The Senate Intelligence Committee's inquiry into whether the U.S. intelligence community "cooked" pre-war Iraq intelligence now appears likely to be concluded soon, and a spokesman for the Committee's chairman says he's ready to get onto more "pressing matters" like Iran.

Speaking for Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS), spokeswoman Sarah Little told RAW STORY three sections of the so-called "Phase II" report are likely to made available to members of the committee after the Senate's Easter recess. Little rebuffed Democrats' assertions that the report had been unreasonably delayed.

Much more.

********************

In a classic case of be careful what you wish for, Chairman Roberts wants to clear his plate so we can move on to Iran...Phase II may be a colossal flop. We'll soon see. Or not.

Abaddon
Jeff Wells, Rigorous Intuition

April 10, 2006

Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died - Leonard Cohen

A quick review of the teaser of the nuking of Iran before they roll out the feature presentation.

First of all, the target isn't Iran, though of course it will be Iranians who may die by the hundreds of thousands should nuclear weapons be greenlighted for Washington's latest McGuffin. But Iran is no more the target than Japan was for Fat Man and Little Boy.

The principal target demographic for the atrocity still on storyboards is Russia and China. The nuking of Iran will be a blockbuster remaking of the demonstration events of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which announced to the Soviet Union and all comers that the American Aeon had arrived. At least that's how it will appear, and how it's being sold in the boardroom of America Inc. But the large stakeholders who are short-selling their shares in the Homeland, who supply sewage to its army for drinking water and whose loyalties are neither to that nor any other nation-state, may intend, rather, a windfall gotterdammerung that's more Springtime for Hitler.

The Council on Foreign Relations' Foreign Affairs primes the pump with triumphalist glitz in its March/April issue, confidently anticipating the coming end of the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction with the proclamation, "It will probably soon be possible for the United States to destroy the long-range nuclear arsenals of Russia or China with a first strike."

Ring them bells: some would have it that the new balance of terror has been wargamed, and the balance has so tipped that the United States can terrorize the world at will. On the irradiated soil of the simulated East, everything's coming up roses:

There's a secondary audience for this, and it's us. Going nuclear has long been unthinkable, and the Dark Powers consider the problem to be the prohibition of our ethical tripwire, not the weapons themselves. So leaks are leaked and denied and the media assets go to work. It's how the unthinkable enters thought.

And one more thought. If Iran is nuked, it doesn't mean we're suddenly in an End Game scenario. We're already in it. Except for the shadows beneath the mushroom cloud apocalypse doesn't come in an instant. The breaking of souls is incremental. We are meant to acclimatize ourselves to Hell, to raise our children in it, and teach them to expect worse to come.

J Robert Oppenheimer became Death, the destroyer of worlds. Since George W Bush's religious alter is Christian rather than Hindu, perhaps what he's becoming is contained in this packet of Revelation 9:11 Truth: "They had as king over them the Angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon." And in English, Destroyer.

We're ready for your close-up, Dr Oppenheimer.
-----------
Are they really this insane?

Hey Anderson

Stick to your petition, who knows, by the time the wars over you might have enough signatures to be relevant!!

Saladin

Supports Hamas suicide bombers that kill women and children.

Does not support Isreals right to exist!

Saladin= terrorist loving, f**king anti-semite!!!

Native Americans Want 'Bunker Buster' Test Stopped

''We are opposed to any further military testing on our lands,'' said Raymond Yowell, chief of the Western Shoshone National Council.

The site of the latest proposed test sits on the land recognized under the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley as part of the tribe's national territory, Shoshone leaders said, and the U.S. military therefore has no right to use it.

The U.S. government disagreed and has asserted its ownership of the land.

More

*****************************

I think it is encumbent upon all Americans to consider what the legacy of Manifest Destiny actually is.

As we are observing the immigration effects of global capitalism upon our southern neighbors; claim that Democracies don't start wars when we annexed the Southwest & California after deliberately enciting Mexico by American forces crossing the river under orders by President Polk.

Even today, the U.S. demonizes those such as Chavez, Morales and Obredor, who might do more to enrich the poor in their own countries, thereby lessening the need to travel to El Norte.

VIDEO: Cheney Loudly Booed During First Pitch
-----------------
Micki,
You were wondering where cheney was. I found him.

LOSER NATION

America is a nation of losers. It's the best thing about us. We're the dregs, what the rest of the world barfed up and threw on our shores.

John Kennedy said we are "a nation of immigrants." That's the sanitized phrase. We are, in fact, a nation of refugees who, despite the bastards in white sheets and the know-nothings in Congress, have held open the Golden Door to a dark planet.

Looking out at today's temptest-tossed masses of protesting immigrants, the wretched refuse just looking for a break, I finally figured out what's wrong with George Walker Bush. He's so far away from his refugee loser roots that he just doesn't get what it is to be American. So he steals the one thing that every American is handed off the boat: a chance. It's not just the immigrants denied a green card. When Bush threatens to take away your Social Security; when Bush's oil wars hike the price of crude and threaten your union job at the airline; when Bush tells you sleeper cells are sleeping under your staircase, you don't take chances anymore -- you lose your chance -- and the land of opportunity becomes a landscape of fear, an armed madhouse.

You want to say that George W. Bush is an evil sonovabitch? I'd go further: he's UN-AMERICAN.

And that's why he lost the election. Twice.

I'll stick with the losers. Take one, Anna, from Poland, who snuck across the US border near Windsor, Ontario. She was grabbed by La Migra -- 80 years later -- just short of her 100th birthday.

My father told Immigration, "OK, send her back." They didn't.

Grandma Anna taught me what two million marchers this week are trying to teach that slow learner, George W.: In America, it's not where you come from that counts, it's where you're going.

*****end of clip*****

Um, I think George has left that issue to "future presidents" because he has no clue how to fix the stuff he has broken (everything).

capt

PS - check ANY poll numbers against Cheney's - nobody is lower. (in more ways than one)

Hi David,

I suspect you glance at firedoglake from time to time. Resident FDL lawyer Christy Hardin Smith has opined convincingly that she and other prosecutors see Fitz's charges as a legal approach that creates a firewall that protects what they suspect the real case might be -- a wider ranging conspiracy charge they can prosecute, if they establish the facts that Libby's obstruction and such impede them from determining.

The legal tactics involved Hardin Smith describes as fairly standard, and they allow Fitz and his team to shield research into conspiracy charge from discovery by Libby, mainly because the conspiracy stuff that might involve Cheney and, dare I say it, Bush, is not part of the set of charges that Libby is facing at the moment.

Sure this is all conjecture, but it does seem to be paying dividends. And it would be interesting to see what conclusions or questions you come to based on additional info from lawyers about the long range legal strategy at work here.

PS check ANY poll numbers against Cheney's-nobody is lower.

Cheney isn't running for office Einstein- keep focusing on Bush/Cheney while the Democrats lose again in Nov.

Brilliant!!! he he he

Showdown In Cuernavaca: The Zapatista Other Campaign Occupies a Construction Site
The State Police – There to Arrest Protestors – “Ran Like Hens” When Authorities Learned that Subcomandante Marcos Was Coming
By Al Giordano
The Other Journalism with the Other Campaign in Morelos
April 10, 2006

CUERNAVACA, MORELOS, MEXICO; APRIL 10, 2006: Forty state troopers — armed with helmets, shields, billy club, ten horses, and heavy artillery — came, this morning, to one of Cuernavaca’s ritziest streets. Their intent: to remove a small group of environmentalists who had chained themselves to trees. The protestors oppose the construction of a shopping mall and a new highway over a small gorge at the end of the cul-de-sac named Acapatzinco Corner. At eleven a.m., a court order that had stalled the toppling of 200-year-old trees was to expire. The police — in this state where violence against social fighters is sacrament — brought two ambulances with them as an indication of how they thought the story would go.

On the other side of the city, in the indigenous stronghold of Ocotepec, Zapatista Subcomandante Marcos — halfway through his six-month tour of all of Mexico — made a telephone call to Authentic Journalist Hermann Bellinghausen of the daily La Jornada informing him of the invasion. Together with photographers Victor Camacho and Moyses Zuñiga, and reporter Karla Garza Martínez (collaborator of the Other Journalism as well as other independent media organizations) they arrived at the scene of the crime and began taking interviews, photos, and video (coming soon to an Other Screen near you).

Somewhere in the bowels of Mexican intelligence agencies the phones lit up like a Christmas tree: Marcos had notified the 55 members the alternative media and others in the caravan that travels with him that he was suspending a meeting with supporters this morning in Tetelcingo, Morelos, and that everybody should head for Acapatzingo: on this 87th memorial day of the assassination of General Emiliano Zapata Salazar, the revolutionary for whom Marcos’ Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN, in its Spanish initials) is named.

Suddenly, the riot cops, the mounted police, and the ambulance drivers received a communication that Marcos was coming.

“They ran like hens,” explained one of the environmentalists later this morning, still chained to a tree.

“The Other Campaign saved us,” said another tree-hugger to the Other Journalism.

Cuernavaca — a city that bills itself as “the land of eternal spring” — has suffered grave water and environmental problems related to its rapid, unplanned, growth, left in the hands of the “free market,” especially since the Mexico City earthquake of 1985 when many of those could afford to leave the nation’s capital relocated a short distance to the south, here. Throughout his visit to this state that began on Friday, Marcos has heard from many citizens in different communities but with a common problem: the disappearance of forests (and with them, water supplies) and complaints that the “development” and “progress” praised by politicians and businessmen have only brought more poverty, environmental destruction and human suffering.

More

Jeanne, is this you? I hope Harry sees this!
++++++++

"He would have been right on target if Harry was the catcher."

Comment by Jeanne — April 11, 2006 @ 2:30 pm

The Double-Standard of the Liberal Media

By Bruce Bartlett, Human Events

There have been 70 different members of the House who have been investigated for serious offenses over the last 30 years, including many involving actual criminality and jail time. Of these only 15 Republicans, with the remaining 55 involving Democrats.

Facts again paint a different picture than Cornnut fantasy land!!

Memo to LBH: If the Repug neocons maintain their grip on power, it will be because there are too many stooooooopid f**kin' dipshits like you and electronic voting. You know, you really are a royal pain in the ass. I don't know how your mother can stand you.

"Fitzzy can't prove that Val "the lime light gal" was undercover.
What a joke!!!"
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 11:57 AM

Plame was covert: Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald “found that Plame had indeed done ‘covert work overseas’ on counterproliferation matters in the past five years, and the CIA ‘was making specific efforts to conceal’ her identity, according to newly released portions of a judge’s opinion.”

You are either playing stupid or you are an idiot. Either way, your lies make you look like an ignoramus.

"If Fitzgerald gets a conviction on lying about the dates Libby spoke to a reporter, this is some how going to taint Bush and Cheney? What planet are you Cornnuts from?"
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 01:06 PM

It's the lies. It's the destruction of emails contra White House policy. It's saying that he wants to know who is leaking the name of Valerie Plame, all the while he's selectively allowing lies to be spread. It's saying that he will fire anyone involved in the leaks (as Scotty McClellan said he would). It's a war that Newt Gingrich is saying was screwed by Field Marshall von Rumsfeld. It's the economy. It's Social Security. It's the Schiavo debacle. It's the Miers debacle. It's the xenophobic immigration posturing. He didn't get the name "Mr. 36%" for nothing. Although, that number might have to be lowered now that gas prices have started to hit the roof again.

And the Mooney Times says that immigration gives Dems another boost. Seems the Preznit is doing everything he can to destroy the Grand Ol' Spending Party.

Barclays sees average US oil price above $70/bbl

NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Barclays Capital analysts predict U.S. oil prices will average more than $70 a barrel by the end of 2006 on strong global demand and supply uncertainties from major oil exporters.

U.S. crude prices are unlikely to fall below $60 this year, they said.

Stubbornly high energy costs could cut into U.S. corporate earnings and consumer spending in 2006, Barclays analysts said at a press briefing on their second-quarter economic and market outlook.

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

Bunnypants and his big oil buddies are dancing a jig!

"Mission Accomplished!"

capt

The Double-Standard of the Liberal Media

"Facts again paint a different picture than Cornnut fantasy land!!"
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 02:47 PM

Fact: Cunningham, indicted, convicted of accepting millions in bribes

Fact: DeLay, indicted, resigned, cut and run coward

Fact: Bob Ney named as Rep. in Abramoff scandal and soon to be indicted.

Fact: Oompa-Loompa Libby, indicted, soon to be a prisonmate's boytoy.

Fact: Conrad Burns implicated in the Saipan sex scandal.

Fact: Gale Norton caught in the Abramoff scandal, resigned, cut and run coward.

etc. etc.

Keep bringing up Dems who were indicted 30 years ago. Campaign on it. I'm sure that'll turn the tide for the Grand Ol' Lynchin' Party.

Culture of Corruption. From top to bottom.

#33
You caught me.

ccobb #30:

Exactly!

Pande
Pandes getting his courage back!

Pande links to MSM article that says for fact that Plame was covert, but Fitz can't prosecute him for it! Sounds like you cornnuts need a new prosecuter.

Pande whines about destroyed emails, social security, economy, lies, Terri Schiavo, Gas prices (that also went up and down under Clinton) etc, blah blah blah.

You're a broken Democrat talking point Pande-

You point out Mr 36% approval when your hero Haryy is only at 43%. Bush's low number is because of the war, Harry's is because he's a failure.

You sight the Mooney Times to give Dems the immagration boost when in reality the American public supports building a wall and kickin your illegal ass back to Mexico. Rassmusen poll has 37% favor Gop to 31% Dems over immmagration. Even your hero Harry was against illegals back in 93 before being for them today before killing the bill in Congress that would let them stay. Just another corn-fused corn-nut like you.

Pande

so far all your whining about indictments only points to one for Cunningham.

So that makes 16 Republicans to 55 Democrats- we have a longggggg way to catch up with you crooks!!!!

NH GOP Strategist Made Call to the White House after Consulting Lawyer

The AP, in their story on calls to the White House, noted one call in particular, a 17 minute call from Jayne Millerick, then a GOP strategist working on the 2002 election. This was with the same number at the White House's Office of Political Affairs that James Tobin called so frequently.

The AP simply noted the call, and reported Millerick as saying that she "did not recall the subject" and that she hadn't learned of the plot until after the election.

But details from the phone records analyized by the Senate Majority Project suggest that Millerick was fully aware of the plot to jam the New Hampshire Democratic Party's phone lines and seriously concerned about its legality on the day of the jamming. If that's true, it suggests that the jamming was definitely on her mind when she phoned the White House on the afternoon of the crime. That call lasted from 2:59 PM to 3:16 PM.

Millerick made a run of calls on the day of the jamming that suggest that she was looking for legal advice:

At 10:32 AM on Election Day, for example, Millerick phoned the law firm of Nixon Peabody. It's been previously reported that former NH GOP chair John Dowd had ordered the jamming stopped after receiving legal advice from a lawyer named David Vicinanzo on Election Day morning. Nixon Peabody is Vicinanzo's firm.

Immediately following the call to that law firm, Jayne Millerick placed three calls to David Horan, a criminal defense attorney.
------------------
The GOP didn't do the jamming because they found out it was illegal. They called all the lawyers to get the fine details on what they could do and what they couldn't do. It being unethical means nothing. How do they think this looks to the voters? How about to the next generation of voters?

Capt,

IIhope your're wrong, but you're not. Mr. Corn, keep digging, can you taste it yet? You have something, don't you?

Pande

Did you forget that it was Latinos that put Bush in office? You have no one to blame but your ext family.

Illegal Immigration Hits Red States in Their Most Vulnerable Spot

In all the immigration furor, it's worth pointing out exactly WHY some residents of border states, particularly Arizona and Texas, are so anti-immigrant and pro-enforcement.

Both these states owe much of their growth to a low-tax, low-education spending, low-social service culture that stretches back decades. Both states have been playing the something-for-nothing game, hoping that they will grow out of the structural deficits their tax and spending policies have created.

Texas has no income tax, and has been struggling for decades to fund adequately the education of its rapidly growing population. Arizona steadfastly refused to have a Medicaid program until the 1980s, when the feds let them establish a "demonstration" managed care project. Both states want the benefits of high growth without paying the price in physical and social infrastructure.

Blaming illegal immigrants is therefore an easy way for some residents of the cowboy states to avoid the REAL issue -- that they don't have the proper tax and capital investment policies to handle their current or future populations, legal or illegal.

...So, a modest proposal for the Democrats -- craft legislation offering regions most affected by illegal immigration (say, Texas and Arizona), incremental federal funds for education and health care, IF they are matched by increased state expenditures. This could work similar to a change in the Medicaid federal funds participation rate or a legislatively-sanctioned intergovernmental transfer, for the wonky among us. Such an approach would be both good policy and good politics. If the Republicans turn down such an arrangement, which they almost certainly would (raise taxes!?!?!?), the Democrats have yet another illustration that they are in fact the party of ideas, focused on solving the problems of ordinary Americans.
-------------------

Economics for the Citizen

WAY too much to make any clip but interesting in ten parts!

Jeanne,

I hope so much that I am tea-totally wrong about all of my cynical views - I really fear being half right. UGH!

I really thought something positive would happen from or in this WH. I was betting on the broken clock rule, so far I have been wrong about that so maybe wrong about everything.

capt

Pande

An Alabama employment agency that sent 70 laborers and construction workers to job sites in that state in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina says the men were sent home after just two weeks on the job by employers that told them "the Mexicans have arrived" and were willing to work for less.

Don't you Latino progressives have any compassion for Katrina victims?

Um, That was suppose to be Carey?

Just returned from the dentist and a numb mouth makes me type the wrong names!

HA!

capt

Here's what I think Fitzgerald has in mind: He KNOWS, or has a very good idea, who forged the documents about the Niger-Iraq yellowcake claim and is working on that aspect of his investigation. The trail will lead him directly to Veep the Creep cheney. At that point, cheney is SOL.*

*shitoutaluck

That's it Jeanne

Lets tax the hell out of the illegals - Democrat idea #1

Who cares that they are stealing jobs away from legals, just tax the hell out of them and all is good.

"Pande links to MSM article that says for fact that Plame was covert,"

That's how it's done, son. Get the facts so that you don't come off as such a dork.

"but Fitz can't prosecute him for it! Sounds like you cornnuts need a new prosecuter."

Can't prosecute who? The grand jury is still in session. Come back when the grand jury has given up. Right now, Fitz is just slow roasting the folks in the White House. And I like the smell or roasting Neocons.

"Pande whines ... blah blah blah."

That vocabulary of yours is rather unimpressive, as are your lies and your peerless ignorance.

"You point out Mr 36% approval when your hero Haryy is only at 43%. Bush's low number is because of the war"

There's the best example of your ignorance. It's more than the war; read the polls. It's the economy. The bungling the war on Terror. Everything. Big Dawg's poll numbers were in the 60's at this point. Of course nobody ever got killed over his lies. Which reminds me, how do you think Mr. Bush feels when he has to face the families of the troops he sent to be killed in Iraq over his lies?

You sight (sic) the Mooney Times to give Dems the immagration (sic) boost when in reality the American public supports building a wall and kickin your illegal ass back to Mexico."

More lies? And that's the best proof to date that if anyone is monitoring our comments they are giving us plenty of leeway.

Rassmusen poll has 37% favor Gop to 31% Dems over immmagration (sic)."
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:29 PM

Yeah, tell us again how the polls mean nothing. Then tell us about what an idiot the president is for threatening to fire anyone who was leaking information that was "legal" to leak. I've said it before and I'll say it again: having a dumbass like you around is the surest argument against the conservative movement. Who would want to be associated with a knuckledragging moron like you?

Micki

Ya that's it! Fitz can't prove Libby outed Val the gal so he's going to prove who forged the documents! ha ha ha!

That corn-nut kool-aid is a little strong for you light weights!

I came across a guys blog that came across THIS - See what you think.

capt

Pande

Let me help you out with that Jr College degree;

definition of a leak;

An UNAUTHORIZED disclosure of information!

Bush had every right (legal and ethical) to ought dipshit Wilson as a liar. Wilson has been proven a liar over and over and you Corn-nuts don't seem to be able to except the facts.

So keep up the democrat talking points that you read off Barbara Streisands web site- you're yesterdays news!!!

After a while, one wonders as to what logic there is to try to reason with a "nincompoop" LBH.

Would have made more sense in aborting himself,
or maybe he was kin to bunnypants.
all i can say is that this administration reminds me of a "banana republic".
They are above the law, and they never do wrong!!!

Pande

"The Grand jury is still in session" so what? Fitz has already filed his indictment on Libby and it had nothing to do with outing your gal Val! Move on already!!

It's the ecomony? So why are all your ext family from Mexico trying to get here in the millions illegally? Because our economy sucks? What a moron!

You ask how Mr Bush feels when he meets the families of war casualties? I don't pretend to know how anyone feels (thats a progressive trait, conservatives deal with facts not feelings). What I do know is that Cindy Sheehan had nothing but praise for Bush when He met her personally.

Now your buddy Clinton was stiffed a handshake by the father of the a soldier that died in Mogadishu in front of the TV cameras. This, if I had to guess about feeling would be considered embarrassing. You say no one died under Clintons wars, well tell that to the 84 families that had loved ones die in this failed battle because Clinton lost his balls.

More lies without facts by Pande

SHORT VIDEO: Look at the LEADING-KNOW NOTHING! aka george w bush

That there are still people who support this ignoramous is astounding! GWB's legacy will be that he provided historians ample evidence that the American sheeple are willing to be herded by a clueless "leader" who only consults God and dick cheney.

bush has looked stooopid on many occasions, but this video takes the cake!

Pande

Boy, you have gotten some balls back- better watch out or capt and saladin will scold you and send you back to your room!

Hey Pete in TX

Haven't you heard boy, it's liberals who abort their baby's not conservatives. However, I'm sure you liberals would love to make it legal to force conservatives to abort also.

MUHAMMAD SAHIMI

Sahimi is professor of chemical engineering at the University of Southern California. He co-wrote, with Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, the op-ed "Defusing Iran with Democracy."

Sahimi said today: "The Bush administration should not willingly give rise to a potent and volatile mixture of Iranian nationalism, the Shiites' long tradition of martyrdom, and Islamic fundamentalim of Iran's hard-liners. But talk of military strikes on Iran, particularly use of tactical nuclear bombs, will do exactly that. It also strengthens the radicals, and weakens the democratic forces in Iran. In an actual military conflict with Iran, this volatile mixture would respond in a way that might engulf the entire region in fire. There is one and only one solution to Iran's nuclear program, and that is through negotiations."

to LBH: NINCOMPOOP =
playwright William Wycherley had one his characters declare: "Thou senseless, impertinent, quibbling, drivelling, feeble, paralytic, impotent, fumbling, frigid nincompoop." If that's not poetry, I don't know what is
Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition. 1995.

nincompoop :

NOUN: One deficient in judgment and good sense: ass, fool, idiot, imbecile, jackass, mooncalf, moron, ninny, nitwit, simple, simpleton, softhead, tomfool. Informal : dope, gander, goose. Slang : cretin, ding-dong, dip, goof, jerk, nerd, schmo, schmuck, turkey. See ABILITY.

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20010628

YO!! WHAT'S UP, FOLKS??!!!

Steven Kinzer has a new book," Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq". This book details the overthrow of Iranian leader Mohammad Mossadegh and the installation of The Shah, America's sellout puppet. Kinzer also wrote "All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots to Middle Eastern Terror".

SALADIN: Hi'ya hon'! Yeah, this WH makes Nixon and his Watergate crew look like they stole a bag of Cheetos at the corner store. Hi CAPT,PANDE,MICKI and JEANNE.

I think LBH is intentionally trying to antagonize either the people who post here or David Corn. He's way out of line and he knows it.

Thank you, PETE in TX #62!

#61

If bush and his warmongering sycophants execute U.S. military action against Iran - with or without tactical nuclear weapons -- they would be applying the bush doctrine of preventive war in an unprecedented, dangerous way that would set the stage for years, possibly decades, of regional and global violence.

bush needs to be restrained -- he is currently unrestrained by law.

On another matter, Saladin (from a previous thread), who left you in charge of defining what a troll is? Murad may appear only on an occasional basis, but he is entitled to his opinion just like everyone else is on this blog. I'll respond to whomever I decide, and I don't need you to give me a hall pass to do so.

Pete in Tx

Control yourself, friend!!! No need for getting all emotional.

Jeanne
The onlt thing out of line is the corn-nut thinking process. I'm just here to point out were you've gone wrong!

Coroline asks Saladin who left her in charge of defining what a troll is- actually that was me;

T-tough
R-republican
O-outwits
L-liberal
L-lefties

On the other hand, caroline kicks saladins ass on a regular basis. I love this site!!!

Pete in Tx

Hey Pete, did you really have to look up "nincompoop" from Random House to learn it's meaning? That's a good one!!!

Petes been cyber-educated!!

Poll shows Californians not impressed with Bush or Congress

SAN FRANCISCO A new poll indicates Californians are not impressed with President Bush or Congress.

The latest Field Poll suggests California residents don't like the way the president has handled the Iraq war. More than six-in-ten of the people surveyed disapprove of the job Bush is doing.

Californians also disapprove of the Congressional scandals and the House and Senate's immigration reform proposals.

Field Poll Executive Director Mark DiCamillo says voters are "losing confidence" in the political leadership in Washington and want change.

Sixty-four percent of respondents say the country is "seriously" off track.

The poll also shows Californians are not particularly enthusiastic about the economy, even though the country is not in recession.

*****end of clip*****

Not so much the content as the source (Why does Kevin Spacey come to mind?)

capt

Pande this ones for you buddy!

State (D Fl) Sen. Gary Siplin facing criminal charges. Siplin was charged with using taxpayer money to pay for part of his campaign.

Cynthia McKinney admits mis-using tax payer money and hitting police officer.

Alan Mollohan (D WVa) 250 ethics violations.

Difference:

Dems don't steal from lobbyist like republicans they steal from taxpayers.

Dear LBH, little did I know that ignorance is a virtue , and as you demonstrate , your pride of being a great example of being a know it all nincompoop- you have me floored. Seen a mirror lately?

or is it your pride showing !!!
open your eyes, you might see ,or read , or understand and comprehend something......
-oops sorry your almighty is da bush!!...

whatever caroline, I recall saying the very opposite and it was you whining about capt and I posting to trolls. So our definition is different as to what a troll is. You spend more time slamming me then any bushbot.
Jeanne is right, how obnoxious does a troll have to be to get the boot from the Corn blog?
BTW, anyone know what the immigration restrictions and requirements are in Mexico? Would you like a sampling of immigration hell? I don't understand why the US should be required to pay for the health care and education of illegal immigrants when we can't even pay for the native born people of America, shit, we're borrowing money to decimate the middle east, how can we take care of the worlds poor when we are fast approaching bankruptcy ourselves? But then, that's the whole purpose, isn't it? One nation, under slavery, with health and social well being for no one.
Bro Tex, I miss you everytime! Hope you will pop in more often.

Saladin, please re-read what I posted. The thrust of my comment was about the lectures you dish out, not so much the responding to the trolls.

Carry on.

I wonder why you think it was Mr. Corn who posted the warning about decorum. Perhaps it was. But if it was, he must have been harried because the manner in which the warning was worded did not rise to David's usual level of expression.

hurried, not harried.

lectures? The only time I even bring it up is when someone posts a long lament about the trolls and their ability to derail the thread. I have said over and over that I don't care who posts what to who, why should I? But if people want to get rid of the trolls they have to ignore them. I do. Anyone who still supports bushco, yet comes here wondering why people on a left leaning blog can't stand him needs therapy! But by all means, argue away, I don't care, scrolling past is no trouble.

I fail to see the joy in bantering in such harsh words to and fro with individuals, especially when the times we live in are so tumultuous. And, I have long put off writing this post, as I did not think this was my business, but the words on this board are becoming rather acerbic at times, and every fiber in my body screams, now is the time.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are all bretheren, are we not? And, is not this lack of love between neighbors the behavior which is responsible for a large portion of the world's severe division and disconnection of social mores and ideals, lack of love and family happiness and the unappreciative attitude of simple pleasures and smiling eyes? I thank you Mr. Corn, for your requesting post to cease this bashing, as it is un-neighborly and certainly uncalled for.

I, too, am a spiritual individual and put my faith in God and the salvation of Jesus, though I do not consider myself part of the denomination of organized Christianity or any other organized religion. I, too, believe we are living in prophetically numbered days. I, too, believe this country is being operated according to a controlling desire that some certainly will simply not allow them selves to see or just cannot see. But, contrary to what some may believe, this desire has a true purpose which has and will continue to shame the elected commander despicably, and which will lead him into the depths of vile obsession and uncivilized unruliness.

The United States has proven itself to be the most successful nation in the world, the first to have produced an atomic and nuclear weapon, the first to rule and dominate as a SUPER POWER, opening with Harry Truman. It is the most diverse continent in the world, accepting of all people, religions, countries, and socially and globally prepared to be of assistance without giving pause to a grossly misshapen profit margin - until the twenty-first century, that is.

That is where the buck stopped. Ponder if you would, why references to the president such as bushitler, George the Second, little big man, mabus or din are used, amongst others. Is this purely coincidental? I do not believe it can be. Associations such as these are given for reasons and, despite any haranguing one's mind is contemplating right this second, evidence is there to back these nicknames up. Perhaps to you, the evidence may not be your evidence, but to many who have taken the time to explore history, written literature or read the world news and compare it prophecy, it matches. Yes, folks, it matches and Saladin's posting does describe the truth of the day ...

"J Robert Oppenheimer became Death, the destroyer of worlds. Since George W Bush's religious alter is Christian rather than Hindu, perhaps what he's becoming is contained in this packet of Revelation 9:11 Truth: "They had as king over them the Angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon." And in English, Destroyer"

Logic, history, the times we live in and my life experience cumulatively tell me to base my belief system upon the prophets and word of Jesus and not man. I add to this, the extensive comparison of research I have performed, and the truisms I have witnessed in my lifetime in the past century and in just this short one. Being a watcher, one tends to keep a keen eye on such things, and those who know the meaning of that particular word, know what I speak of and do not doubt the time we are living in, or the tidings of that which is seen.

One poster had taken the time to state truth as he believed it, but yet the ridicule and mockery continued. This was reminiscent of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Jews who ridiculed and mocked Jesus. However, all this poster did was express his love for his faith and his dislike for what he did not like. Prophecy tells us, and not only in the Bible, that there will come a day when those who believe in God will be oppressed, ridiculed, mocked, tortured and put to death. I fail to see the humor and ridicule in that notion, but those who have faith and love for God, true love and undying faith, know that day is coming again, and these individuals are prepared to die for the faith and love they hold so dearly in their hearts. Guess whose hands will be putting them to death, dear ladies and gentlemen? The hands that hold the power! Revelation, Nostradamus Century 1.

The populace is in for a huge slap in the face. No, I am not talking fire and brimstone. I am talking what you have already witnessed in the past year or so, but on such a grander scale it will make your head reel - hurricanes, flood, drought, scorching sun, snowstorms, tornadoes, hail, gas and oil shortages, medicine shortages, housing shortages, employment shortages, food shortages, contaminated waters, famine, pestilence, plague, epidemics and a multitude of deaths, not only human, but the ocean and land creatures, too - Revelation, Nostradamus, Centuries 1 and 2, Hopi and Navaho Prophecy, and a multitude of authors.

Our ports will dry up, merchant ships will not drop off imports, we will not export, and the prices of everything will skyrocket. No, gold and silver will not be worth anything, it will become meaningless, it will not buy a blessed thing. Hoard all the currency and precious metals one may want, but there will not be a single product left to buy because name it, it will not be available to purchase to the masses of ordinary people. Only the privileged and the drones will be able to obtain what they want, only those who wear a special insignia will be able to purchase anything that will be able to sustain life - Revelation, Nostradamus, Century 1.

This is where the anarchy so many speak of will set in, when the average person cannot feed his or her self or their family, child or children. When the hungry are dying in the street from starvation and/or sickness. When people are falling over each other to glean the scraps of food out of the garbage barrels. When people are killing each other as they guard their possessions from looters. When your own family is turning you over to the authorities. When everything you held near and dear means nothing and everyone is screaming, "God, why have you forsaken me?" Yes, this is where pandemonium will strike fear in the hearts of mortal man, where all rationale will disappear.

I certainly do not believe there is an escape to the time we are facing. They are to be upon us as sure as the current president is to remain in office until 2008, the war is to remain in Iraq until after that and, by the looks of things, the United States just may attack other countries in the name of democracy. However, there is something that the human race can do, and that is to turn its ways around. Yes, to be one with all is one way to look at it, with peace, love and harmony surrounding all, but unless the human race pulls together in spiritual consciousness, not only in the US but everywhere, this planet, this system of things as we know it now, becomes non-existent, and that is a reality.

This is going to hit the theaters globally dear ladies and gentlemen. And, yes, people can go back to any country of origin thinking their life may be better, but it will not be so. However, woe to America, she is the one who so sorely whores herself out in the name of what this country stands for, democracy, with the abhorrent price of death as payment, and her people and the world are opening their eyes and expressing their extreme dislike. Unfortunately, these wanton acts are perpetrated by a man who professes to love God and carries out these deeds under the guise of God's name and blessing. Such an atrocious sham and apostasy!

The CASSINI satellite took some interesting pictures of the planets' alignment on August 18, 1999. These photos showed one of the most amazing alignments ever seen in history. The Sun, Venus and Mercury were in the sign of Leo, Mars and the Moon were in Scorpio with Pluto close by Sagittarius, Saturn and Jupiter were in Taurus and Neptune and Uranus were in Aquarius forming what astrolgers call the "Grand Cross Astrology Pattern."

Some may say we have entered into the Age of Aquarius, some may say the president is the Anti-Christ by simple Hebrew, Pythagorean, Chaldean and/or ASCII numerological calculations, some may say we can possibly make our way out of this troublesome corridor with one world leader, coupled with one financial currency, but the bottom line is that the masses have forsaken their inherent free will. So, be prepared, be put on alert, be patient and tolerant, but first and foremost, become repentant and faithful, because this is all that is being asked of you. Revelation, Nostradamus Century 1.

Maybe Mr. Corn was a little pissed that he had to institute oversight when all people need to do is offer mutual respect and civility. The personal attacks and insults that would be "moderated" off of any other blog are also not necessary here.

"To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it."

~ G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936)

Just sayin'

capt

Mafia superboss Provenzano caught

Cosa Nostra superboss Bernardo Provenzano, whose ghostly aura fed the Sicilian Mafia's mystique for almost half a century, was arrested Tuesday morning in the biggest police coup in over a decade .

Provenzano, 73, did not resist arrest when police broke into his hide-out in an apparently abandoned building on a sheep farm near his home town of Corleone south of Palermo .

"He didn't move. He was unruffled and didn't say anything," the arresting officer said. Police called the arrest "historic" .

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

Fredo strikes again?

capt

IRAQ: Health workers decry lack of medical supplies

RAMADI, 10 April (IRIN) - Doctors in Anbar governorate, particularly those in the city of Ramadi some 100km west of the capital, are urging the government to tackle the issue of the lack of medicines and essential surgical materials available in local hospitals.

"Most of our patients are being sent to the capital because we don't have enough supplies to proceed with surgical operations," complained Dr Ala'a Rabia'a of the Ramadi General Hospital.

According to Rabia'a, hospitals in neighbouring cities too, including Fallujah and al-Qaim, are suffering similar shortages. "We have enough staff to help patients, but this is useless since we don't have enough material," Rabia'a explained. "We need supplies urgently to meet the needs of all hospitals and clinics in the area."

The doctor went on to explain that Ramadi General Hospital was particularly in need of emergency materials such as syringes, pain killers, plasters, antibiotics and anaesthetics. "Local NGOs sometimes send us supplies, but most of them aren't appropriate to our needs," Rabia'a stressed.

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

Iraq is ostensibly a rich country with huge reserves of oil wealth under the sand. Why should they be in such dire need for medical supplies? There must be some way to allow or supply medical needs. The shortages are inexcusable or intentional. The new windfall profits from the Iraq invasion do not seem to benefit the Iraqis in any way? How can that be?

How long do we expect the Iraqi people to endure? Bush says it will be up to the next president?

capt

One of the liabilities of a free speech blog is postings by people who come here to bluster, provoke and antagonize. I am not the only one who finds their contributions, if they can be called that, undesirable.

Their ability to derail interesting conversation is proportional to their ability to provoke a response by antagonizing others.

I hope people who like to come here to have a conversation about political topics - the ones David poses and the ones that we bring up with each other - can decide to refrain from responding to people who want argue, bluster, provoke and antagonize as their principle motivation.

Nobody gets the Kevin Spacey thing?

Look at the address of the link?

capt

"Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong."

~ John G. Riefenbaker

I believe it was David Corn who posted the warning about rude and profane posts and his intent to block anyone who decides to engage in that kind of discourse.

Graceful Karma, that was very good. I too believe that strange things are coming, things we don't want to see or know. I refrain from placing labels on events or trying to predict what may come. One thing I do know is that it is better to prepare in the best way you can, with the information you have, then to be caught unaware. The writing is most definitely on the wall. It is true that keeping and saving currency in the form of precious metals may be useless, but silver and gold have always been valuable to humans, for whatever reason. I also believe there will always be a black market for these things. If nothing else they will be useful in trade for things that we need, like seeds and information. At the worst it will be of no value, but in any case you won't lose anything. Saving is an important and responsible thing to do, as far as we are able. Failure to prepare will mean certain grief through reliance on the very forces you are trying to avoid. I will at least be able to say I tried, and hopefully my preparations will enable me to help others who were not so fortunate. If I can do that I will feel successful.

Got it capt!

The "seven Jews control the media" link, and the comment by a "Jew" following it, which dragged in every canard in the fascist playbook, are anti-semitic baloney through and through.

Fact- capt lectures about civility but continues to call Happy and LBH juvenile names and use profanity when angered.

Fact- Saladin lies again that she does not respond to trolls even though she did at least ten times just yesterday.

Fact- OReilly says that others come here to antagonize when he posts the "starts shit list" more than a couple dozen times.

Fact - if David were going to block anything it would be saladins ant-semite comments.

Fact- If Capt and Saladin and Pande would mind their own business for once instead of being the hall monitors and worrying what everyone else is doing or saying-there would be no problem.

You be the judge:

7 James Ha 5
We know you don't care about that! All you care about is naked Britney Spears photo's!! HA HA Ha
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 11:51 AM

8 David twists the truth and says-Cheney gets off the hook.
Cheney never broke any laws. Fitzzy can't prove that Val "the lime light gal" was undercover.
Funny how facts seem to work against the Dems. Can't prove Bush leaked but McDermott gets slammed in court for it and it's OK because he's a liberal Demrocrat.
What a joke!!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 11:57 AM

15 Another Dem in trouble;
Reids Image Takes a Hit - Las Vegas Review Journal
Since Reid has taken the job of minority leader his favorable rating have dropped 10 pts and his unfavorable ratings has gone up 14 pts.
The voters back home viewed him as a independent before becoming minority leader. They now view him as a partisan obstructionist.
His favorable rating is 43% down from 53% and his unfavorable is 39% up from 25%. Gee and it doesn't even have anything to do with corruption or Iraq, just incompetence!!!!
There goes the Dem take over!!!
Posted by: LBh at April 11, 2006 12:45 PM

17 Jeanne 13
That's the dumbest statement out of a cornnut yet!
If Fitzgerald gets a conviction on lying about the dates Libby spoke to a reporter, this is some how going to taint Bush and Cheney? What planet are you Cornnuts from?
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 01:06 PM

25 Hey Anderson
Stick to your petition, who knows, by the time the wars over you might have enough signatures to be relevant!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 02:15 PM

26 Saladin
Supports Hamas suicide bombers that kill women and children.
Does not support Isreals right to exist!
Saladin= terrorist loving, f**king anti-semite!!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 02:27 PM

31 PS check ANY poll numbers against Cheney's-nobody is lower.
Cheney isn't running for office Einstein- keep focusing on Bush/Cheney while the Democrats lose again in Nov.
Brilliant!!! he he he
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 02:43 PM

34 The Double-Standard of the Liberal Media
By Bruce Bartlett, Human Events
There have been 70 different members of the House who have been investigated for serious offenses over the last 30 years, including many involving actual criminality and jail time. Of these only 15 Republicans, with the remaining 55 involving Democrats.
Facts again paint a different picture than Cornnut fantasy land!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 02:47 PM

41 Pande
Pandes getting his courage back!
Pande links to MSM article that says for fact that Plame was covert, but Fitz can't prosecute him for it! Sounds like you cornnuts need a new prosecuter.
Pande whines about destroyed emails, social security, economy, lies, Terri Schiavo, Gas prices (that also went up and down under Clinton) etc, blah blah blah.
You're a broken Democrat talking point Pande-
You point out Mr 36% approval when your hero Haryy is only at 43%. Bush's low number is because of the war, Harry's is because he's a failure.
You sight the Mooney Times to give Dems the immagration boost when in reality the American public supports building a wall and kickin your illegal ass back to Mexico. Rassmusen poll has 37% favor Gop to 31% Dems over immmagration. Even your hero Harry was against illegals back in 93 before being for them today before killing the bill in Congress that would let them stay. Just another corn-fused corn-nut like you.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:29 PM

42 Pande
so far all your whining about indictments only points to one for Cunningham.
So that makes 16 Republicans to 55 Democrats- we have a longggggg way to catch up with you crooks!!!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:31 PM

45 Pande
Did you forget that it was Latinos that put Bush in office? You have no one to blame but your ext family.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:42 PM

48 Pande
An Alabama employment agency that sent 70 laborers and construction workers to job sites in that state in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina says the men were sent home after just two weeks on the job by employers that told them "the Mexicans have arrived" and were willing to work for less.
Don't you Latino progressives have any compassion for Katrina victims?
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:54 PM

51 That's it Jeanne
Lets tax the hell out of the illegals - Democrat idea #1
Who cares that they are stealing jobs away from legals, just tax the hell out of them and all is good.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:59 PM

53 Micki
Ya that's it! Fitz can't prove Libby outed Val the gal so he's going to prove who forged the documents! ha ha ha!
That corn-nut kool-aid is a little strong for you light weights!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:03 PM

55 Pande
Let me help you out with that Jr College degree;
definition of a leak;
An UNAUTHORIZED disclosure of information!
Bush had every right (legal and ethical) to ought dipshit Wilson as a liar. Wilson has been proven a liar over and over and you Corn-nuts don't seem to be able to except the facts.
So keep up the democrat talking points that you read off Barbara Streisands web site- you're yesterdays news!!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:08 PM

57 Pande
"The Grand jury is still in session" so what? Fitz has already filed his indictment on Libby and it had nothing to do with outing your gal Val! Move on already!!
It's the ecomony? So why are all your ext family from Mexico trying to get here in the millions illegally? Because our economy sucks? What a moron!
You ask how Mr Bush feels when he meets the families of war casualties? I don't pretend to know how anyone feels (thats a progressive trait, conservatives deal with facts not feelings). What I do know is that Cindy Sheehan had nothing but praise for Bush when He met her personally.
Now your buddy Clinton was stiffed a handshake by the father of the a soldier that died in Mogadishu in front of the TV cameras. This, if I had to guess about feeling would be considered embarrassing. You say no one died under Clintons wars, well tell that to the 84 families that had loved ones die in this failed battle because Clinton lost his balls.
More lies without facts by Pande
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:20 PM

59 Pande
Boy, you have gotten some balls back- better watch out or capt and saladin will scold you and send you back to your room!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:28 PM

60 Hey Pete in TX
Haven't you heard boy, it's liberals who abort their baby's not conservatives. However, I'm sure you liberals would love to make it legal to force conservatives to abort also.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:31 PM

67 Pete in Tx
Control yourself, friend!!! No need for getting all emotional.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:49 PM

67 Pete in Tx
Control yourself, friend!!! No need for getting all emotional.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:49 PM

68 Jeanne
The onlt thing out of line is the corn-nut thinking process. I'm just here to point out were you've gone wrong!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:50 PM

69 Coroline asks Saladin who left her in charge of defining what a troll is- actually that was me;
T-tough
R-republican
O-outwits
L-liberal
L-lefties
On the other hand, caroline kicks saladins ass on a regular basis. I love this site!!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:55 PM

70 Pete in Tx
Hey Pete, did you really have to look up "nincompoop" from Random House to learn it's meaning? That's a good one!!!
Petes been cyber-educated!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:59 PM

72 Pande this ones for you buddy!
State (D Fl) Sen. Gary Siplin facing criminal charges. Siplin was charged with using taxpayer money to pay for part of his campaign.
Cynthia McKinney admits mis-using tax payer money and hitting police officer.
Alan Mollohan (D WVa) 250 ethics violations.
Difference:
Dems don't steal from lobbyist like republicans they steal from taxpayers.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 05:12 PM

The war on Christians continues

Oppressed homobigots fight for their rights

Yesterday's LA Times featured an article about a Georgia Tech student who's crusading for her right to harass gay people, arguing that her religion "compels her to speak out against homosexuality." She's part of a growning number of conservative Christians who claim that anti-discrimination policies put in place to protect the LGBT community from harassment infringes upon their freedom of religion. My new favorite Christian crackpot, Vision America's Rick Scarborough, who organized the recent War on Christians Conference, has thrown his weight behind the case. "Christians," he said, "are going to have to take a stand for the right to be Christian."

The Green Knight, a liberal Christian blogger, quite bluntly retorts: I Can't Stand These People.

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

It would be funny if it was not so true!

capt

Caroline #76, exactly. Would he say, "I have just bothered to figure out how to ban individual commenters from this site"? Not to mention he's not a webmaster guru, he's a writer.

93 Yes, and just before he posted that entry, he deleted a rude and profane post from that thread.

Satan victim of a devilish image problem

A FORMER Jesuit turned university professor has set himself an ambitious project: rehabilitating the devil.

Henry Angsmar Kelly says Satan is the most maligned figure in history and has endured 17 centuries of unjustified character assassination.

"For 1700 years Satan has been the enemy of God, whereas in the Bible he works for God, he's his prime minister or attorney-general, in charge of policing the world," Professor Kelly said.

"He is one of God's angels, and his job is to test people."

The 71-year-old University of California professor has played devil's advocate for four decades, and is the author of many books and scholarly articles.

The devil did not have a kingdom, did not rule over hell, and did not try to damn people, Professor Kelly said. These ideas had developed from the second to the fourth centuries AD, and were refined for the next 1000 years. Professor Kelly said it was important to recapture the biblical understanding of Satan to combat the doctrine of original sin, "in which the whole human race is delivered to Satan".

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

This guy reminds me of a Busheney PR shill! They were talking about some "new blood" to rehabilitate this free fall poll numbers?

capt

"The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right."

~ William Safire
US columnist & speechwriter (1929 - )

The right to do something does not mean you did it right, either.

Several posts above point to the power of secretive Jewish organizations, citing Quigley. What they fail to point out is the growing power of the establishment faction delineated in "The Yankee and Cowboy Wars" (Carl Oglesby). Quigley was quite aware of this, as was President Eisenhower. He called it "the military, industrial, congressional complex." Those on the right are quite happy to trumpet the power of the "Anglo-American Establishment" but are curiously silent about the contending forces.

Neither has the interests of the common person at stake. They're both our enemies.

Lock up Bush and Cheney until they rot.

#91

Wow! Thanks for that tribute to me!!! I never realized how good I was until that post. It's no wonder Pande can't keep up! David surely can appreciate my outstanding humor since he had a gig as a stand up comic.

"Fact- If ... Pande would mind their own business for once instead of being the hall monitors ...."
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 06:35 PM

Remember. I'm the one that wants you here as a permanent reminder to the dopes who are interested in defending the Grand Ol' Spending Party. I know that the grownups GoOPers worry that your homophobic, xenophobic, borderline racist rants make them look idiotic by extension. I'm fine with that. As long as the rest of the folks can see that the Grand Ol' Lynchin' Party is at its highest point with dimwits like you defending it.

Same with Mr. Bush. Please, dear Lord, don't let anything happen to our precious pointy-headed leader. I want him to be an anvil in the Grand Ol' Lying Party's sinking kayak.

"Gas prices (that also went up and down under Clinton) etc, blah blah blah."
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:29 PM

Facts. If only you were able to bring up relevant facts I wouldn't have to educate you so often. Gas prices went down (from over $1.50 to almost $1.00, careful, that's one of those pdf jobbies) under Big Dawg's administration. As I said, with friends like you, conservatives need not worry about their enemies.

"Dems don't steal from lobbyist like republicans they steal from taxpayers."
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 05:12 PM

Complaining about stealing from the taxpayers is a little pot calling the kettle black. That's something conservatives specialize in. Conservatives stealing money from the public purse runs in the Billions of dollars. Earmarks have gone from a hundred or so under Dem control to almost 10,000 pet projects under Republican control. That has resulted in almost $29 BILLION in precious dollars that were taken from our pockets and put into their pet projects. Even Mr. Bush likes to get into the money squandering including a little sumthin' special for Mrs. Bush.

I almost forgot to mention another Republican indictment in the most corrupt White House since the Harding administration, David Safavian. He'll be telling stories about his White House connections in the pokey, too.

89, what on earth do fractional banking practices have to do with Jews? Or facists for that matter? I am neither a Jew or anti-Jew, semite or anti-semite. I know for a fact that no one race or religion has a monopoly on racist thinking or greedy motives, I also know that race is played to the hilt when internal strife is desired, and in that area you fill the bill. So transparent and pathetic.

Larry Johnson has an updated timeline of Plamegate at truthout. If you haven't seen it yet here it is.

Once you review this material, there should be no doubt that President Bush is a bald-faced liar...

Has anyone seen the doc "Why we Fight"? It's very good.

This is a paragraph from the article James linked at # 5. Pan, I have to say that the gas prices and the people who play with them have nothing to do with partisan politics. This is a bankers game, it always has been. You may want to read that article, the blame should be placed where it belongs. I despise bushco, but even they have no control over the big players. When clinton said someone else is making the decisions, this is the someone else he was referring to.
-------------
In the mid 1970s, the final phase of System 2000, a "global creditors' unilateral totalitarian plan" was put into effect. A Pentagon official and three other US officials went to the Prime Minister of Nigeria and offered him fifty million dollars in cash to double the price of light crude oil. Nigeria is one of only two countries in the world that produce light crude, which is an extremely pure form of oil whose price sets the standard for all other forms of crude oil.
Armed with the knowledge that, because of their deal with Nigeria, the price of Mid-east oil was about to skyrocket, the international bankers went to the Arabs and said, "We will send the price of crude oil as high as you want if you will promise to invest some of the money you make in the United States."

Watch out Pande's on the attack!

Hey, it only took you 3 hrs and 35 mins this time to come up with that brilliant master piece of a rebuttal. Your getting better at the quick responses, Pande. I better watch out or you might step that up by another 15 mins. next time.

I like how you cherry pick from my comments what you want to respond to instead of addressing all my key points. I guess you just don't have an answer for everything.

Hello, earmarks are what congressman (Dem and Rep) do for their home states that bring money into local projects. That is unless the illegal Mexicans show up.

Now it is a Republican named John McCain that wants to include earmarks into the ethics bill but your buddy Harry wouldn't have it.

"Remember I'm the one who wants you to stick around" says Pande.

Ya see corn-nuts, Pande wants me here, so I guess I'm here to stay! I think Jooeek has the hots for me but is afraid to admit it. That's what all the sparring is about. I hear it's a form of progressive flirting.

The gas prices under Clinton only went down when he drained our strategic oil reserve that is to be used in national emergencies only. Ah, screw national emergencies, Clintons poll numbers were more important.

Now I don't expect you to know this about your buddy Clinton cause you were still in diapers when he was Prez. I know, you think of him as your big daddy, the first brown President.

Later Pande

You have all night to brain storm a better come-back. Maybe you and Pete from Tx can put your heads together and use that cyber knowledge to your advantage. Later Dudes!!!

Jojo, #98, the doc movie "Why We Fight" is based on President Eisenhower's parting admonition to beware the military industrial complex.

The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves.: William Hazlitt (1778-1830)

=
He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, science for him the spinal cord would fully suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, deplorable love-of-country stance, how violently I hate all this, how despicable an ignorable war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action! It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder." : Albert Einstein

=
Big money and big business, corporations and commerce, are again the undisputed overlords of politics and government. The White House, the Congress and, increasingly, the judiciary, reflect their interests. We appear to have a government run by remote control from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute. To hell with everyone else: Bill Moyers - PBS Commentator

=
The principal power in Washington is no longer the government of the people it represents. It is the Money Power. Under the deceptive cloak of campaign contributions, access and influence, votes and amendments are bought and sold. Money established priorities of action, holds down federal revenues, revises federal legislation, shifts income from the middle class to the very rich. Money restrains the enforcement of laws written to protect the country from abuses of wealth--laws that mandate environmental protection, antitrust laws, laws to protect the consumer against fraud, laws that safeguard the securities markets, and many more: Richard N. Goodwin - Speechwriter for John F. Kennedy

=
"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.": Mussolini

===

Thanks ICH Newsletter!

Pande

One last thing before I go. That link you provided for the 29 billion pork barrel was good stuff but maybe you should have read the whole article because it had as many Democrats listed as Republicans. LOL - good one!!!! Jooeek your so funny!!!

Hey lbh

Us libruls wish we could have forced your mom to abort you.

The Daily Drip of Special Favors for Special Interests

We need to keep up with the daily drip, that endless succession of special favors for special interests performed by Congress, or we’¨l never figure out how we got so far behind the eight ball. While the top Bushies lunge about test-driving new wars (great idea—¥he one we’≤e having is a bummer, so let’≥ start another!), Congress just keeps right on cranking out those corporate goodies.

Earlier this month, the House effectively repealed more than 200 state food safety and public health protections. Say, when was the last time you enjoyed a little touch of food poisoning? Coming soon to a stomach near you. What was really impressive about H.R. 4167, the "National Uniformity for Food Act," is that it was passed without a public hearing.

"The House is trampling crucial health safeguards in every state without so much as a single public hearing," said Erik Olson, attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "This just proves the old adage, ‘çoney talks.’†The food industry spared no expense to ensure passage."

Thirty-nine attorneys general, plus health, consumer and environmental groups, are opposing the law. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the food industry has spent more than $81 million on campaign contributions to members of Congress since 2000

More HERE

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Money is the problem for the people, the answer for the politicians. The disconnect is a given.

capt

Feckless leader

Bush still can't answer important questions; life's just a big old joke.

Yesterday, during at appearance at Johns Hopkins School of International Studies, Bush opened it up to some unscripted Q&A, which is always a disastrous idea under the best of circumstances, but things took a terrible turn when a first-year student in South Asia studies asked him about the law governing the actions of private military contractors in Iraq.

Three years into the war, that the president still has no idea how to answer questions like this (sobbing) is just a dreadful embarrassment (blushing), not only for him, who must now be used to the shame of his own idiocy (crawling into the fetal position), but also for us, who probably ought to be used to it (sobbing), which is perhaps the most pathetic commentary of all (uncontrollable wailing).

The intrepid Crooks and Liars has the video. Be prepared to cringe in agony as you witness Dear Leader do his manic tapdance under the excruciating misapprehension that the crowd is laughing with him rather than at him.

(Crooks and Liars)

*****end of clip*****

The guy is a joke just not a funny one.

capt

Miss Jeanne, Now, I find out that Dick Cheney was once on the receiving end of a shotgun

Dear Miss Jeanne:

Before I tell you the latest news about Mr. Cheney and his shotguns, how is your arm? You are young and spritely, I would imagine you're healing real well. I certainly hope so.

Miss Jeanne, I have to tell you when I learned that Dick Cheney was on another hunting trip and someone was "pelted" with a shotgun blast, you could have knocked me over with a feather! The person who was hit was Dick Cheney himself! It does appear that he and his fellow hunters have a lot to learn about safety and, possibly, a lot to learn about mixing guns and alcohol. I can guarantee you that hunting trip in February was the first and the last time I'll ever share a hunting trip with trigger happy, safety-deficient "canned" hunters.

The reason I call this incident to your attention, is that what are the odds that Mr. Cheney, who is supposed to be such an accomplished hunting sportsman, has both shot someone in the face and gotten shot himself on a hunt?

The vice president should put his gun away once and for all. I do wonder if he would have better gun skills today if he had joined the military back when he was young and that awful Viet Nam War was being waged.

I noticed he threw out the first pitch today and was roundly booed. I would like to have been there.

Happy Easter to you and your family.

110, lowering yourself to his depth does not help. It only encourages him to step up the level of abusive and obnoxious commentary. He obviously finds it impossible to behave like a civilized grown-up. I hope non-trolls can rise above this juvenile rhetoric and treat him like the snotty 5 year old he emulates, in other words, blow him off, he isn't worth it, and David's blog deserves the respect he gives to us.

Well what do you think of this!

Cheney shot in hunting accident when he was CEO of Haliburton. I don't know how this slipped by the MSM. But then again, I do.

MSNBC

As Hajji would say, go figgur!

It's just amazing at how great this administration is at lying and covering up their crimes. You would think that scandal after scandal after scandal after scandal would result in some charges against Bush. But no. Maybe the people who continually claim Bush commited crimes, starting with "stealing" the election, should start to realize that Bush is just too powerful to touch. Since Mr. Corn and countless others simply CAN'T be wrong so many times about Bush regarding so many things, I think it's best to just give up. Don't think about it. If Bush was gonna be accused of a crime by someone with the ability to do something about it, it would have had to have happened by now. As it stands, Bush is too smart, powerful, evil, and cunning to be caught doing anything a special council would consider illegal.

Saladin 114

There you go again, lecturing us about talking to the trolls as your talking to trolls.

Damn lecturing hypocrite.

45% believe Bush Should be censured

In a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. poll 45% say he should be censured and 53% think he shouldn't. The gap has closed and now Russ Feingold looks even stronger for his stand.

Also:

"A majority of registered voters, 55 percent, say they plan to vote for the Democratic candidate in their House district, while 40 percent support the Republican candidate. That is the largest share of the electorate favoring Democrats in Post-ABC polls since the mid-1980s."
(link)

Phone Jamming--White House

"Key figures in a phone-jamming scheme designed to keep New Hampshire Democrats from voting in 2002 had regular contact with the White House and Republican Party as the plan was unfolding, phone records introduced in criminal court show....read on" (link)

Most Americans Critical of President in CIA Leak Case
By E&P Staff | April 11, 2006 7:50 AM ET

NEW YORK A new Gallup poll released today finds that most Americans are critical of President Bush's actions in the Plame/CIA leak scandal, but only one in four is following the matter closely.

Overall, 63% of Americans believe Bush did something either illegal (21%) or unethical (42%), while 28% say he did nothing wrong. While many more Democrats are critical, 3 in 10 Republicans also find that Bush did something illegal or unethical.

The more closely people are following the issue, the more likely they are to say he did something illegal rather than merely unethical.

The poll, conducted April 7-9, 2006, shows that just 25% of Americans are following the matter "very" closely, while another 39% are following the issue "somewhat" closely. Another 36% are not following the issue closely at all.

Despite the latest turns in the CIA leak case, and news from Iraq, the president's overall approval rating did not fall still further, hanging on at 37%, which is in line with most other polls. (link)

Well said Easyliving, repeat:

It's just amazing at how great this administration is at lying and covering up their crimes. You would think that scandal after scandal after scandal after scandal would result in some charges against Bush. But no. Maybe the people who continually claim Bush commited crimes, starting with "stealing" the election, should start to realize that Bush is just too powerful to touch. Since Mr. Corn and countless others simply CAN'T be wrong so many times about Bush regarding so many things, I think it's best to just give up. Don't think about it. If Bush was gonna be accused of a crime by someone with the ability to do something about it, it would have had to have happened by now. As it stands, Bush is too smart, powerful, evil, and cunning to be caught doing anything a special council would consider illegal.

Easyliving

Fractional Banking

Bush will attack Iran in order to recover from the disastrous poll numbers he now "enjoys". The attack on Wilson reveals the lengths this messianic madman will go to in order to recover from failed WMD discovery revelations, and low poll numbers. He stated unequivically that he would not permit Iran to develope nuclear capability. Diplomacy was never his forte. We have to take him at his word. AIPAC will ensure that he sticks to those words. The goose stepping republican senate and house will now reap the "benefits" of not performing their "checks and balance" duties early in Bush's power holding tenure. I hold the republican controlled congress more responsible for our current sordid state of affairs, than that churlish spoiled child in the white house. Never has congressional goosestepping paid off so handsomely since they always got their veto proof earmarks. Their shameful silence implicitly endorsed their leader's view that "the constitution is only a god damned piece of paper". Law makers swearing to uphold the constitution?? Their oaths are a standing insult to the people of this country, which each illegal immigration day, is so glaringly attested to. But hey, our form of government was always characterized as an experiment. Only thing is, the founding fathers did warn us of the possibliity that a clumsy oafish buffoon like Bush may drop the beaker.

The NH GOP did not get their voter lists from us! http://www.voterslist.us

Frank,

Messianic Madman? I have heard this phrase in more than one context. None were really positive. "Goose stepping Republicans" Republicans know the end is near, hopefully for their party, not the world? Frankly Only a third Party can save us now. If over 500,000 people can march for civil rights that they do not possess, certainly we citizens can march for what we do.

David Corn, with his Legal Strategist cap on, speculates on Fitz's chess moves:

"The other option was to prosecute Libby for disseminating classified information.....turning laws not usually used by prosecutors for media leak cases into an Official Secrets Act.... Fitzgerald signaled he was not enthusiastic about doing this."
==============================================

Having laws that are NOT enforced (think ILLEGAL immigration that IS A MESS for all of us) is much worse than having no laws at all! Yet, Fitz `signaled' exactly that!

Why? Perhaps to ensure a steady stream of Leaks/Leakers that most recently embarrass the GOP? For long-term Employment Protection for Special Prosecutors? We will probably find out when Fitz writes his book!

Remember November the year 2000. Remember the IZOD clad thugs, faces flush with last knights strategy session. "Sore Loserman" is it a real surprise, when we consider the events of the day? The privileged greed of the "chosen" has co-opted the collective fear of the “controlled”. Hey as Mr. Gore said "we stared down 10,000 warheads" surely we can stare down the Neo-Conman super frat boys.

Dammit, I wish I would stop being so transparent. When I posted as caroline to saladin, I made that stupid mistake I always make, you know that contraction thing about you and your and you are.

There you go again, lecturing us about talking to the trolls as your talking to trolls.

I know, I know, caroline never makes that mistake. She knows the difference between you're and your. I'll stop this nonsense.

the effects of DU are terrible
maybe uncle sam truly is the devil

A fake LBH.

'The Washington Post': At War With Itself (link)

The newspaper's editorial page on Sunday declared Scooter Libby's notorious 2003 gift to reporters "The Good Leak." On the same paper's front page two reporters thoroughly debunked the notion.

Mr. Corn did NOT write that email threat. Get a grip. If he had something to say to us he would write it in an official post. And what's wrong with assholes showing up anyway? Geez. Let's keep our mouth's shut and let Pande take care of them. It's entertaining as hell.

David Shuster reports on the Presidential Leaker (video link)

David:

I am real Happy! If you are bored, take a look into who made this Post #91, a huge tribute to the hard-working LBH and of course, humbly yours. The imposter `looks' like O'Reilly but, looks CAN be deceiving!
=========================================
#91
You be the judge:

7 James Ha 5
We know you don't care about that! All you care about is naked Britney Spears photo's!! HA HA Ha
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 11:51 AM

8 David twists the truth and says-Cheney gets off the hook.
Cheney never broke any laws. Fitzzy can't prove that Val "the lime light gal" was undercover.
Funny how facts seem to work against the Dems. Can't prove Bush leaked but McDermott gets slammed in court for it and it's OK because he's a liberal Demrocrat.
What a joke!!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 11:57 AM

15 Another Dem in trouble;
Reids Image Takes a Hit - Las Vegas Review Journal
Since Reid has taken the job of minority leader his favorable rating have dropped 10 pts and his unfavorable ratings has gone up 14 pts.
The voters back home viewed him as a independent before becoming minority leader. They now view him as a partisan obstructionist.
His favorable rating is 43% down from 53% and his unfavorable is 39% up from 25%. Gee and it doesn't even have anything to do with corruption or Iraq, just incompetence!!!!
There goes the Dem take over!!!
Posted by: LBh at April 11, 2006 12:45 PM

17 Jeanne 13
That's the dumbest statement out of a cornnut yet!
If Fitzgerald gets a conviction on lying about the dates Libby spoke to a reporter, this is some how going to taint Bush and Cheney? What planet are you Cornnuts from?
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 01:06 PM

25 Hey Anderson
Stick to your petition, who knows, by the time the wars over you might have enough signatures to be relevant!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 02:15 PM

26 Saladin
Supports Hamas suicide bombers that kill women and children.
Does not support Isreals right to exist!
Saladin= terrorist loving, f**king anti-semite!!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 02:27 PM

31 PS check ANY poll numbers against Cheney's-nobody is lower.
Cheney isn't running for office Einstein- keep focusing on Bush/Cheney while the Democrats lose again in Nov.
Brilliant!!! he he he
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 02:43 PM

34 The Double-Standard of the Liberal Media
By Bruce Bartlett, Human Events
There have been 70 different members of the House who have been investigated for serious offenses over the last 30 years, including many involving actual criminality and jail time. Of these only 15 Republicans, with the remaining 55 involving Democrats.
Facts again paint a different picture than Cornnut fantasy land!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 02:47 PM

41 Pande
Pandes getting his courage back!
Pande links to MSM article that says for fact that Plame was covert, but Fitz can't prosecute him for it! Sounds like you cornnuts need a new prosecuter.
Pande whines about destroyed emails, social security, economy, lies, Terri Schiavo, Gas prices (that also went up and down under Clinton) etc, blah blah blah.
You're a broken Democrat talking point Pande-
You point out Mr 36% approval when your hero Haryy is only at 43%. Bush's low number is because of the war, Harry's is because he's a failure.
You sight the Mooney Times to give Dems the immagration boost when in reality the American public supports building a wall and kickin your illegal ass back to Mexico. Rassmusen poll has 37% favor Gop to 31% Dems over immmagration. Even your hero Harry was against illegals back in 93 before being for them today before killing the bill in Congress that would let them stay. Just another corn-fused corn-nut like you.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:29 PM

42 Pande
so far all your whining about indictments only points to one for Cunningham.
So that makes 16 Republicans to 55 Democrats- we have a longggggg way to catch up with you crooks!!!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:31 PM

45 Pande
Did you forget that it was Latinos that put Bush in office? You have no one to blame but your ext family.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:42 PM

48 Pande
An Alabama employment agency that sent 70 laborers and construction workers to job sites in that state in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina says the men were sent home after just two weeks on the job by employers that told them "the Mexicans have arrived" and were willing to work for less.
Don't you Latino progressives have any compassion for Katrina victims?
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:54 PM

51 That's it Jeanne
Lets tax the hell out of the illegals - Democrat idea #1
Who cares that they are stealing jobs away from legals, just tax the hell out of them and all is good.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:59 PM

53 Micki
Ya that's it! Fitz can't prove Libby outed Val the gal so he's going to prove who forged the documents! ha ha ha!
That corn-nut kool-aid is a little strong for you light weights!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:03 PM

55 Pande
Let me help you out with that Jr College degree;
definition of a leak;
An UNAUTHORIZED disclosure of information!
Bush had every right (legal and ethical) to ought dipshit Wilson as a liar. Wilson has been proven a liar over and over and you Corn-nuts don't seem to be able to except the facts.
So keep up the democrat talking points that you read off Barbara Streisands web site- you're yesterdays news!!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:08 PM

57 Pande
"The Grand jury is still in session" so what? Fitz has already filed his indictment on Libby and it had nothing to do with outing your gal Val! Move on already!!
It's the ecomony? So why are all your ext family from Mexico trying to get here in the millions illegally? Because our economy sucks? What a moron!
You ask how Mr Bush feels when he meets the families of war casualties? I don't pretend to know how anyone feels (thats a progressive trait, conservatives deal with facts not feelings). What I do know is that Cindy Sheehan had nothing but praise for Bush when He met her personally.
Now your buddy Clinton was stiffed a handshake by the father of the a soldier that died in Mogadishu in front of the TV cameras. This, if I had to guess about feeling would be considered embarrassing. You say no one died under Clintons wars, well tell that to the 84 families that had loved ones die in this failed battle because Clinton lost his balls.
More lies without facts by Pande
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:20 PM

59 Pande
Boy, you have gotten some balls back- better watch out or capt and saladin will scold you and send you back to your room!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:28 PM

60 Hey Pete in TX
Haven't you heard boy, it's liberals who abort their baby's not conservatives. However, I'm sure you liberals would love to make it legal to force conservatives to abort also.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:31 PM

67 Pete in Tx
Control yourself, friend!!! No need for getting all emotional.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:49 PM

67 Pete in Tx
Control yourself, friend!!! No need for getting all emotional.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:49 PM

68 Jeanne
The onlt thing out of line is the corn-nut thinking process. I'm just here to point out were you've gone wrong!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:50 PM

69 Coroline asks Saladin who left her in charge of defining what a troll is- actually that was me;
T-tough
R-republican
O-outwits
L-liberal
L-lefties
On the other hand, caroline kicks saladins ass on a regular basis. I love this site!!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:55 PM

70 Pete in Tx
Hey Pete, did you really have to look up "nincompoop" from Random House to learn it's meaning? That's a good one!!!
Petes been cyber-educated!!
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:59 PM

72 Pande this ones for you buddy!
State (D Fl) Sen. Gary Siplin facing criminal charges. Siplin was charged with using taxpayer money to pay for part of his campaign.
Cynthia McKinney admits mis-using tax payer money and hitting police officer.
Alan Mollohan (D WVa) 250 ethics violations.
Difference:
Dems don't steal from lobbyist like republicans they steal from taxpayers.
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 05:12 PM

Posted by: Happy at April 11, 2006 06:40 PM
=========================================

Leaker in Chief can't answer the question (video link)

Archives OK'd Removing Records, Kept Quiet

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The National Archives agreed to seal previously public CIA and Pentagon records and to keep silent about U.S. intelligence's role in the reclassification, according to an agreement released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The 2002 agreement, requested three years ago by The Associated Press and released this week, shows archivists were concerned about reclassifying previously available documents - many of them more than 50 years old - but nonetheless agreed to keep mum.

"It is in the interest of both (unnamed agency) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to avoid the attention and researcher complaints that may arise from removing material that has already been available publicly from the open shelves for extended periods of time," the agreement said.

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

Nobody hides the things of which they are proud they hide their crimes, errors, and fears from the light of day. This is where their fears have taken control of their common sense, in those hidden places.

When is enough enough?

capt

AP, USA Today uncritically reported Bush's misleading response to question about NIE leak

Both the Associated Press and USA Today uncritically reported President Bush's highly misleading claim that he authorized the selective declassification of an October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate because he "wanted people to see the truth" behind his dubious prewar arguments regarding the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. (link)

Senators grill corps, FEMA
Hearing details waste in relief spending
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 | By James Varney

Testimony at a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing Monday in New Orleans showed that in the matter of the Katrina cleanup, taxpayers got taken to the cleaners.

The senators are investigating the massive federal spending on relief that continues to unfold along the portions of the Gulf Coast savaged by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. In particular, Monday's hearing was focused on big-ticket items handled by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers -- debris removal, blue tarp roofs and temporary trailer housing -- which have already cost about $4.5 billion, testimony showed.

Although the committee's work is not finished, and the lack of answers Monday means more questions will have to be submitted in writing, its chairman, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said he had no doubt the findings would show gross overspending. (link)

TODAY'S TRIVIA

Q. Which country has the most violent weather on Earth?

A. The U.S. has the world's most violent weather. In a typical year, the country can expect some 10,000 violent thunderstorms, 5,000 floods, 1,000 tornadoes and several hurricanes.

http://www.sciam.com

It's the Cover-Up
The Nation | Katrina vanden Heuvel | Tue Apr 11,12:37

After all the breathless suspense, after all the effort federal agents spent trying to seal a national security breach, after all the fingers were pointed directly at the Vice-President, last week it was revealed that the President of the United States, who everyone had previously thought was way too clueless to be involved, was behind the scandal the entire time. Yes, I'm talking about President Logan on Fox's long-running hit show 24.

How life imitates art.

In the long-running Washington DC tragicomic reality show The Bushies, it was also revealed last week that it was President George W. Bush who was behind the leak that led to the uncovering of CIA agent Valerie Plame's undercover identity.

Whatever the legality of his actions, it is clear that he lied to the American public when he pretended not to know who was responsible for the leak. Instead of clearing up the matter three years ago, Bush's belligerence cost the American tax-payers millions of dollars as Patrick Fitzgerald, the prosecutorial version of Jack Bauer, wasted three years sending reporters to jail to track the deceit back to the highest office in the land.

Bush promised to fire the leaker. If he was a man of his word, he would resign. But we know he is not. (link)

In case you missed it.

David Corn: The Cheney Conspiracy? at Huffington Post

Exercept from #79 Graceful Karma

"United States has proven itself to be the most successful nation... the most diverse..... accepting of all people, religions, countries, and socially and globally prepared to be of assistance...until the twenty-first century, that is."
===========================================
Your very long post started really well and gradually, your partisanship became overwhelming. I will just pick the above one paragraph to rebut you...

"Until the twenty-first century", was our country as accepting of `all people' as you imply with regards to the Native Americans back in the days of Manifest Destiny? The Chinese who built the railroads? The Negros for the ~250 years pre-1970s'? The Japanese-Americans during WWII?

In the 21st century, did our nation NOT go to the aid of Indonesia? Pakistan?

You, every bit as the rest of us, are part of the problem! It is the world as it has evolved; for good, bad or ugly!

#132 Hearing from Pande is not only entertaining, it's informative.

Carol, when you're not blogging here, are you Miss Marple? You have an uncanny knack for zeroing in on the "evidence."

#113
Dear Harry,
I'm glad you weren't at the ball game. He probably would have hit you with the pitch. The sound of the crowd was loud and clear. It was a beautiful sound, like the sounds you hear in the spring. Your heart flutters a little when you hear the frogs croak because you can hope and dream that winter is over. I wonder how many Republican senators were in the bleachers. I wonder what they were thinking. Hmmmm.

I come from a hunting state, Minnesota. I too am baffled by the fact that Cheney could have been shot during a hunting trip and yet take the same kind of chances a few years later. Had he learned nothing? Well, I think we know the learning curve with this group.

I can't say he'd have learned anything from Viet Nam because I have yet to see a sense of compassion. He's a kind of a...I, me, me, I, kind of a guy. Even when he talked about your incident it was..and I paraphrase - I feel terrible.- and - It was the worst day of my life. and - it was a difficult subject to talk about, frankly.
I never got the impression he was more concerned about you than he was about himself.

Enough about him. Lets get to my favorite subject, ME. As of last Friday I am officially all better. I am good as new. Now I'm building the muscle back up by rowing and gardening. (I bought a rowing machine, the kind the people who are serious about rowing use. I go down every morning and row. Now whenever something is driving me crazy I can row my stress away. I think by the time Bush and Cheney are out of office I'll have rowed a million miles.)

I hope you're feeling better too.

Fans Boo Cheney at Washington Nationals Home Opener

Cheney wore a red-and-blue Nationals jacket that seemed bulky, perhaps filled out by a bulletproof vest. Security agents ringed the top edge of the outdoor stadium.
==========
There's a few pictures, and check out the poll question. haha
Is a baseball game an appropriate place to boo the vice president?
Yes 59%
No 39%
I'm not sure 3%
Total Votes: 75,838
=======
*hell fkn yeah it's an appropiate place... any- damn-where he shows his face, is a good place.

Oh and Harry,
Happy Easter to you and your family.

micki, the carol post looks like a sock puppet.

Support for Democrats Increases in U.S.

Many adults in the United States think the Democratic Party should take control of the United States House of Representatives and the Senate this year, according to a poll by Ipsos-Public Affairs released by the Associated Press. 49 per cent of respondents want the Democrats in charge of Congress, while 33 per cent favour the Republican Party.

In the November 2004 congressional ballot, the Republican Party elected 232 lawmakers to the U.S. House of Representatives, while the Democratic Party secured 202 seats. The Republicans also have a majority in the Senate, with 55 members in the 100-seat upper house.

On Apr. 9, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee Brian Nick discussed the effect of the coalition effort in the campaign, saying, "It’s really up to particular candidates in the states, but I think in large part, most Republican (senators) up in this cycle, are very supportive of the war (in Iraq). It’s not as though they aren’t asking the important questions and how long this is going to take."

American voters will renew the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate on Nov. 7.

*****end of clip*****

49% Dem. 33% Rep. 15% neither and 3% too scared to talk politics over the phone.

capt

Jeanne,

Glad to hear your arm is better.

capt

reading judy miller (link)

Capt,
Thanks.

117 not falling for it. And if you are real, get therapy.

Jay Rosen: Murray Waas Is the Woodward of Now (link)

It should be obvious from the work who the Woodward of Now is. And if it isn't Greg Sargent can explain things to you over at the American Prospect.

The guy's name is Murray Waas; he's an independent journalist who recently went to work as a staff writer for the National Journal and the Atlantic Media Company, which owns the Atlantic Monthly, the Journal, and other titles. Waas has been in the game since he was 18, when he started working for the columnist Jack Anderson. He's also written for the Huffington Post.

By Woodward Now I mean the reporter who is actually doing what Woodward has a reputation for doing: finding, tracking, breaking into reportable parts--and then publishing--the biggest story in town. He's also putting those parts together for us.

The Biggest Story in Town (almost a term of art in political Washington) is the one that would cause the biggest earthquake if the facts sealed inside it started coming out now. Today the biggest story in town is what really went down as the Bush team drove deceptively to war, and later tried to conceal how bad the deception--and decision-making--had been.

152 I agree Sal, it's another sock puppet post.

capt 148 yahoo, something to look forward to. I'm sure they will save the day. UGH. PS maybe they will invite all of Mexico over so we can all work for $3.00 an hour, woo hooo! Go NWO! Equal opportunity for all. Soon we can all celebrate the banana republic of North America, us I mean.

sock puppets

again & again (NWO)

What the heck does sock puppet post mean? I don't get it.

That's when someone posts under someone else's name, or posts using multiple names.

Oh. Well, I only post under my own name. I'm not creative enough to try to play games.

some of the caroline posts today were sock puppets

Wag the Camel (link)
Talk about a fearful symmetry.

Iran was whipping up real uranium while America was whipped up by fake uranium.

Obsessed with going to war against a Middle East country that had no nuclear weapon, the Bush administration lost focus on and leverage over a Middle East country hurtling toward a nuclear weapon.

That's after the Bush crew lost focus on and leverage over an Asian country that says it has now produced a whole bunch of nuclear weapons.

To paraphrase Raymond Chandler, if brains were elastic, these guys wouldn't have enough to make suspenders for a parakeet.

While Dick Cheney was getting booed as he threw out the first pitch for the Nationals ? it bounced in the dirt and Scooter wasn't even there to catch it ? Iran was jubilantly welcoming itself to the nuclear club and spitting in the eye of the U.S. and U.N.

Speaking before a mural of fluttering white doves, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad bragged that his scientists had concocted enriched uranium. They will now churn out nuclear fuel as fast as they can.

"If you believe everything you read, better not read."

~ Japanese Proverb

Adventures in Testifying (link)

It's very hard to figure out what Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is trying to tell the nation when he testifies about President Bush's domestic spying program. But it is important to listen, because there is news between the lines. None of it is good.

U.S.: Trailers in Iraq Prove Weapons Claim

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration claimed trailers captured soon after the fall of Baghdad proved Iraq had weapons of mass destruction even though U.S. intelligence officials had strong evidence that was not the case, The Washington Post reported.

When the two small trailers were seized in late May 2003, President Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his administration in Iraq. The administration said they were mobile "biological laboratories," and Bush declared, "We have found the weapons of mass destruction."

The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was cited at the time as supporting evidence for the decision to go to war.

But a secret mission to Iraq had already concluded the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons. Leaders of the Pentagon-sponsored mission sent their findings to Washington in a report on May 27, 2003, two days before the president's statement, the Post reported on its Web site Tuesday night.

The brief initial report and a 122-page final report finished soon after that were shelved. Meanwhile, for nearly a year, administration and intelligence officials continued to publicly claim the trailers were weapons factories.

The actions of the special team were described to a Washington Post reporter in interviews with government officials and weapons experts who participated in the mission or had direct knowledge of it. None would agree to be named because of fears that would cost them their jobs. The final report remains classified.

The trailers along with aluminum tubes acquired by Iraq for what was believed to be a nuclear weapons program —†were primary pieces of evidence offered by the Bush administration before the war to support its contention that Iraq was making weapons of mass destruction.

Intelligence officials and the White House have repeatedly denied claims that intelligence was exaggerated or manipulated in the months before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Asked about the Post report, a Pentagon spokesman, Navy Lt. Cmdr. J.D. Gordon, referred calls to the Defense Intelligence Agency. Attempts to reach someone from the DIA late Tuesday night were unsuccessful.

The Post quoted a DIA spokesman as saying the team's findings were incorporated into the work of the Iraqi Survey Group, which led the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The survey group concluded the trailers were "impractical" for biological weapons production and were probably intended for manufacturing hydrogen for weather balloons.

*****end of clip*****

Fun with headlines.

capt

well, duhh!

Young Officers Leaving Army at a High Rate

WASHINGTON, April 9 — Young Army officers, including growing numbers of captains who leave as soon as their initial commitment is fulfilled, are bailing out of active-duty service at rates that have alarmed senior officers. Last year, more than a third of the West Point class of 2000 left active duty at the earliest possible moment, after completing their five-year obligation.

Mutually Assured Dementia

Billmon got his keyboard on. It's kinda long, but always interesting. At the very bottom, from the April 4th post are some funny pictures of Markos, in the post titled "Spiritual Leader"

border problem solved:

A 50 yard wide, 1500 miles long mine field,
with a sniper stationed every 500 yards. It
would keep illegal aliens out, and, if any
illegal aliens try to jump the border, this
plan could end up feeding the little animals
of the prairie.

It is a win - win deal all the way around.

Now Powell Tells Us (link)
By Robert Scheer

The president played the scoundrel -- even the best of his minions went along with the lies -- and when a former ambassador dared to tell the truth, the White House initiated what Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald calls "a plan to discredit, punish or seek revenge against Mr. Wilson." That is the important story line.

If not for the whistle-blower, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, President Bush's falsehoods about the Iraq nuclear threat likely would never have been exposed.

On Monday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell told me that he and his department's top experts never believed that Iraq posed an imminent nuclear threat, but that the president followed the misleading advice of Vice President Dick Cheney and the CIA in making the claim. Now he tells us.

All the President's Leaks (link)
By E. J. Dionne Jr. | Tuesday, April 11, 2006

What's amazing about the defenses offered for President Bush in the Valerie Plame leak investigation is that they deal with absolutely everything except the central issue: Did Bush know a lot more about this case than he let on before the 2004 elections?

But first, let's offer full credit to the Bush spin operation for working so hard and so effectively to change the subject.

The news was the court filing by Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald reporting that Bush, through Vice President Cheney, had authorized I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby to leak sensitive intelligence information in July 2003 to discredit claims made by former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV.

Watched the USA-Jamaica soccer game at a pub with some amigos. Told Capt. I'd raise a glass or two to the folks here who take time from their day to spread the truth about the lyingest administration since the days of The Depression. Did more than that and am feeling a little fuzzy right now.

"You have all night to brain storm a better come-back."
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 08:06 PM

Why do you worry so much about me shredding your idiotic posts while you're away. Anything you say should be able to withstand scrutiny. Unfortunately, it never does. I can undo in fifteen minutes what it takes you all day to write.

"That link you provided for the 29 billion pork barrel was good stuff ... as many Democrats listed as Republicans."
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 08:11 PM

Yes, because unlike you, I am here to point out the corruption on both sides of the political divide. I don't make excuses for it like you do and I don't try to hide it. If you look at the dollar amounts that were mentioned attributed to the Dems it was less than 10% of the dollars that were spent by the Big Money conservatives. The organization that put that study together is trying to point out as much pork barrel spending by Dems as they can in the hopes of bringing them down. In shooting at these Dems, they've brought down a few Republicans down with them. Hunting down crooked Republicans is like shooting fish in a barrel.

"Hey, it only took you 3 hrs and 35 mins this time to come up with that brilliant master piece of a rebuttal."

Remember, I'm posting from work sometimes. It only takes about 5 minutes to write, format and link the whole thing. You oughta try it sometime. Doesn't the Gas-n-sip have internet?

Same thing goes when I post from home. It takes me a minute or two to hunt down and link the info that I need. Obviously you are worried about me tearing your posts to shreds while you aren't around to defend yourself. It's alright. Everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) thinks you're a dumbass whether you defend yourself or not. Most times you're actually shooting yourself in the ass with a blowdart. LIke when you point out what an idiot the Preznit is.

"I like how you cherry pick from my comments ...."

Three quarters of the shit that you write makes little or no sense. There is no way to address some of the numbskull tripe that you post like the gay-bating and the racist comments that you make. I like to let those comments stand for themselves as representative of the thinking of the Grand ol Lynchin' Party. The rest is lies and talking points. Those are easy enough to dispose of. That leaves the rotting carcas of your little rants to drive conservatives screeching from your side.

Your post at 105 is the quintessential example. gay-baiting and racism all in one rant.

"Now it is a Republican named John McCain that wants to include earmarks into the ethics bill ...."

Republicans want? They are in the majority. Why don't they just vote it in? Obviously they want to continue in their corrupt money-grubbing ways. Like I said regarding welfare, if conservatives want to put an end to corruption they only have to stop breaking the law. That would put an end to 99% of the corruption in DC right now.

"The gas prices under Clinton only went down when he drained our strategic oil reserve...."

You really oughta get out more and read the truth and stop drinking that crap they serve at FauxNews and Free Republic. Less than 4% of the SPR was used in the Clinton Admin. (careful it's one of those PDF bastards), did nothing to lower prices, and the money was used to pay down the Federal Debt. The swapout for Petroleum was completed and the reserves were better than before. Facts are a bitch. You oughta try them sometime.

"Fitz can't prove Libby outed Val the gal so ...."
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 04:03 PM

It's hard to prove who did what when every single member of the Administration has told 4 different version of the events in question. I know that Lying comes easy to conservatives; but sheesh, that's gotta be a record.

"So that makes 16 Republicans to 55 Democrats- we have a longggggg way to catch up with you crooks!!!!"
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:31 PM

Add in all of the indictments and convictions in the Reagan and Bush administrations and the gap closes virtually to zero. There are some big name Republicans that have gotten zapped by the law.

"Did you forget that it was Latinos that put Bush in office? You have no one to blame but your ext family."
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 03:42 PM

Could you be a bigger dipshit? Try doing a little research before you shoot your mouth off. Look at the Hispanics that are most likely to vote:
In the 2000 presidential election, Latino voting by religious affiliation and voting broke down this way:
* 76 percent of Latino Catholics voted Democrat, and 24 percent voted Republican.
* 67 percent of Latino Protestants voted Democrat, and 33 percent Republican.
Then in 2004, Latino voting by religious affiliation broke down this way:
* 69 percent of Latino Catholics voted Democrat, and 31 percent voted Republican.
* 63 percent of Latino Protestants voted Democrat and 37 percent voted Republican.
Like other immigrant groups, Latinos rally for the Democratic Party. Issues of economics, race, class, poverty and immigration historically play well with Democrats, and these are all concerns among Latinos.

With the conservatives slapping at the hornet's nest of immigration, those numbers will swell for the Dems. Just like with all of the Katrina upfuckery that brought down support amongst Black Americans, Mr. Bush and Krazy Karl are doing everything possible to make sure that Blacks and Hispanics never vote Republican ever again.

"Brilliant!!! he he he"
Posted by: LBH at April 11, 2006 02:43 PM

"Why? Perhaps to ensure a steady stream of Leaks/Leakers that most recently embarrass the GOP? For long-term Employment Protection for Special Prosecutors? We will probably find out when Fitz writes his book!"
Posted by: Happy on Subject at April 11, 2006 10:39 PM

All of the major news about the Libby-Bush-Cheney lies have come from court filings. Virtually nothing has "leaked" out of the Fitzgerald side of the court case. Rove and Libby's lawyers have been sieves in comparison. If there are leaks for the White House to worry about, they are coming from inside or very close to the White House. That's why they call Mr. Bush the Leaker in Chief or the Leaker in Command.

Did anyone link the news of the Abramoff emails?
"Federal bribery law prohibits public officials from taking actions because of gifts or political donations and bars lobbyists from demanding government action in exchange for donations.
"Abramoff's team repeatedly discussed donations as the reason Republican leaders should intervene for the Saginaw, the e-mails show.
"The tribes that want this (not just ours) are the only guys who take care of the Rs," Abramoff deputy Todd Boulanger wrote in a June 19, 2002, e-mail to Abramoff and his lobbying team, using "Rs" as shorthand for Republicans.

Vice President Dick Cheney is among the most secretive members of the Bush administration. But he's been in his bunker long enough. It's time for him to answer some questions and not in the friendly venue of Fox News.

Given the allegations about his role in the surreptitious disclosure of classified information related to the war in Iraq, Americans have a right to hear his story. The best way to get it is by an unscripted news conference in which the vice president confronts all the questions that have been raised. For him to remain silent amid the current turmoil suggests that he or the president has something to hide.

Cheney has long been suspected of involvement in revealing the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame whose husband, Joseph Wilson, had publicly disputed the Bush administration on Saddam Hussein's supposed attempts to obtain uranium for nuclear weapons.

So someone is lying. It could be that Libby acted on his own in leaking the information. It could be that Cheney told him to do so without the president?s approval. Or it could be that Bush was behind the leak. Those are questions that the Cheney ought to step forward and answer, along with questions about the unmasking of Plame.

Surprising editorial from Chicago Tribune (link)

Feingold is helping to redefine the political 'mainstream' (link)

I mentioned Peter Beinart's piece on Russ Feingold a few weeks ago, but it's relevant again in light of the senator's comments yesterday on gay marriage.

As Beinart explained, Feingold is taking chances by staking out bold positions on controversial public policies, but in the process he's helping Dems make incremental progress.

The conventional wisdom is that, by making Democrats look radical, Feingold has shot his party in the foot, if not the head. But some radicalism is politically useful, particularly in the long run. Liberal bloggers often make this point, and they're right: Occasionally you need to stake a position beyond what is mainstream in Washington ? and take some hits ? in the hope that you eventually redefine what "mainstream" is.

Lies, damn lies and George W. Bush

No doubt about it. George W. Bush's lying, rotten, putrid, soulless destruction of a once-great nation called America is now open for all to see.

Bush is not just a liar. He's a serial liar who avoids truth at all costs because facts don't' support his perverted, twisted view of the world. Truth exposes his corrupt administration and lays bare his many crimes against the American people and the Constitution of the United States.

Impeachment? Nah. Too good for this lowlife. Arrest the son-of-a-bitch, lead him from the White House in chains, parade him down Pennsylvania Avenue and then lock him in stocks on the Washington Mall so everyone can see what happens when anyone thinks they are above the law of the land.

Today's Washington Post lays out yet another example of how Bush lied to the American people, detailing a deliberate White House pattern of misinformation on the so-called "biological warfare" trailers captured soon after American troops invaded Iraq.

Turns out the trailers had nothing to do with biological warfare. Intelligence officers in the field knew it. They told the White House. Yet Bush ignored the truth and went before the American people to claim otherwise, trumpeting the trailers as "proof" that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.

More HERE

Woodward Affirms Bush Is a Liar (link)
By Steve Cobble on Bob Woodward [and David Corn]

I found the back-and-forth between David Corn & Bob Woodward fascinating today.

What I found most fascinating, though, is what Corn dragged out of Woodward, who defends himself by pointing out all the times in his book that he wrote that Bush was telling his close advisors and Tony Blair that we were going to war, while at the same time publicly maintaining that we were searching for peace.

In other words, Woodward defends himself by pointing out, in numerous ways, that George W. Bush is a liar.

Now the fact that Bush is a liar comes as no shock to HuffPost readers, and certainly not to the multitudes who have perused my little posts over these past months, or gone to the web site I co-founded.

But I am puzzled--you see, I read the Washington Post every single morning, and for the life of me I can't remember the big front-page headlines where the biggest-name reporter in the Western World specifically called George W. Bush a liar about the biggest issue facing America.

And if Bob Woodward called Bush & Cheney out on one of his numerous TV appearances, I sure didn't hear about that, either.

So Bob, now that you've taken offense at David Corn's essay, would you mind following up on your own points?

Did you show these Bush Administration lies to your editors?

Did you ask for them to run a "Bush Is Lying Us Into a Needless War!" headline for the front page?

Did you ask to run an opinion column, where you drove home those lies with full force, day after day, with the intensity of Bob Novak pushing for a capital gains tax cut?

Did you ask to go on Larry King in March of 2003, as war approached, in order to make a last-ditch personal effort to stop the war, based on the insider knowledge that you had, but the mothers of the thousands of soon-to-be dead and wounded soldiers did not have?

Did you offer to write a piece for the London papers, pointing out Tony Blair's integral role in these lies?

Did you ask your editors to treat the Bush lies with at least as much intensity on the front pages, and as much repetition, as they gave the dread Whitewater/Lewinsky saga?

Did you, once you learned that Bush & Cheney & Rumsfeld & Rice were all lying to the American people, did you do everything you could to stop the war from starting?

And now that you're being so public about it, are you ready to come out publicly for impeachment? or at least censure?

Let me guess. No.

#23 Robert....the question for me is did Phase II of the SSCI have access to all intelligence. I had read that Douglas Feith was refusing to release documents out of the Office of Special Plans and Cheney was refusing to release documents from the WHIG (white house Iraq Group).

If the past actions of Senator Pat Roberts( R-Kansas) is any indication.. the Phase II investigation will not be thorough. WE can hope.

I have always thought it was obvious that Senator Diane Feinstein D-Califonia should have been asked to step down from the SSCI. Her family profitted from this war. She should not be serving on any investigative committee having to do with this war. In fact her conflict of interest should be investigated.

Harry Taylor blasts Bush (video link)

Saladin, sometimes you amaze me. I'm a latecomer to this particular thread. What I think is he's really going to do this to us. He really is. He wants WWIII.

EXTRA..EXTRA..READ ALL ABOUT IT..

General Zinni will be on the Diane Rehms show today/ Wednesday at 11 a.m. He has been on the MSM a great deal lately, (cspan, Hardball, Meet the Press) talking about accountability for the false pre-war intelligence. Diane's screener has been very liberal with me, even when I change my name, so as of late I have been trying not to take advantage of this hospitality.

Although I have been tag-teaming with some folks in this region getting questions on.

If you are so moved please call in and ask General Zinni some questions about accountability. Of course I have an agenda...I am trying to get questions on air about the status of Phase II of the SSCI. Questions about Republican Senator Pat Roberts continued efforts to block the thoroughness of the pre-war intelligence investigations?
Questions about Douglas Feith's attempts to block access to all intelligence from the Office of Special Plans. Micheal Ledeens role? Will we see anyone held accountable for the false and cherry picked , pre-war intelligence?

These individuals have not been held accountable and as a result they have been able to move the pre-emptive unilateral regime change agenda down the tracks.

A clear example of their success has been their focus on Iran immediately after the invasion of Iraq.(the MsM has basically ignored the not so subtle build up to military action in Iran for the last three years). As of late they have decided to put their spotlight on this issue. (deja vu)

Holding those responsible for this false pre-war intelligence seems like the very least our representatives can do for those who have needlessly lost their lives in this war of choice...

Just a suggesstion.. Diane Rehm drshow@wamu.org...800-433-8850..start at the top of the hour or e-mail your question for Zinni.

There is a one hour interview with Zinni on C-Span/ Washington Journal

I think Patrick Fitzgerald is the "real deal." I keep holding onto his words from his first press conference in October "truth is the engine of our judicial system". I think he really believes this, I want to believe this.

If truth, justice and accountability are what Fitzgerald is truely after, Cheney, Rove and Bush are still in his view. I am still hoping and praying that this is the case.

Carey, it's not any one person pushing for this. The same monsters that have always profited from war and bloodshed will profit again, it's a group effort. Like I always say, follow the money.

Mr. Bush, We Know What You Did That Summer! September 11th, 2001

An Open Letter to: Mr. George W. Bush, Mr. Richard Cheney, Members of PNAC and your supporting cast:

Guess what? WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID THAT SUMMER - that long ago time of innocence before the events of September 11th, 2001. We know what you did, and the game is over - even though you don’¥ yet know it.. The work of the independent 9/11 researchers is paying off. The evidence is steamrolling through the information super highway and is now creeping into the clogged arteries of the mainstream media. We may not know every detail and we may not agree on your individual motives, but two facts are now irrefutable: the official story of what happened on September 11th is not true and you were involved.

Somebody, somewhere does not like you guys anymore. Somebody, somewhere has given the corporate media the OK to open the one topic that has been totally verboten up till now. Somebody, somewhere has made it permissible for hints to be dropped into the public arena.. Those hints - which focus on the reasonable suspicion that has been raised about the attacks of 9/11 - have been well received. The cover-up is disintegrating slowly but surely.
-----------
Clogged arteries of the mainstream media, what a perfect description! I wonder if this push towards Iran has anything to do with the fact that the whole 9/11 cover-up is steadily unraveling and they know it? What better distraction than to drop a nuke on Iran?

Kathleen

I think we're going to be amazed by Sir Fitzgerald. He has much up his sleeve.

Israel, doesn't it make you want to cry. What a horridly painful situation. No they are not moving ahead, they're moving in circles. it makes me feel silly to express that.

#165 Gee, Alan, how can this be? Rummy's minions are claiming that recruitment and retention are just hunky dorey! More lies I suppose.

#180 I agree, Kathleen. Fitz = Real Deal

The REAL DEAL (link)

Sal

It's all part of the bargain. Of course it's distraction, and once again our children are in trouble. Let's just kill off a few more so that we can live in luxury. Oh it doesn't matter, they're families don't make enough.

O'Reilly -- this from "Adventures in Testifying" that you linked above really is Orwellian!!!

"...The Justice Department later tried to clarify Mr. Gonzales's comments with a statement so profoundly Orwellian that it just made us more nervous: "The attorney general's comments today should not be interpreted to suggest the existence or nonexistence of a domestic program or whether any such program would be lawful under the existing legal analysis."

I think if Fitz is going to accomplish the goal he better hurry it up, time is running out. No one will care about any of this if bushco pushes the button. They are rabid, cornered rats. A bad combination indeed.

Oh, I see. If a Democrat says something like this, it's providing comfort for the enemy, but if a Repug says it, it's "good military strategy:"

Newt Gingrich, April 10, 2006: "It was an enormous mistake for us to try to occupy [Iraq] after June of 2003. We have to pull back, and we have to recognize it."

It's time to barbeque Delay. Ms. Molly has toastd her fellow Texan.

Fitz is committed to vindicating the interests of those harmed by the illegal disclosure of Valarie Plame Wilson's identity. He believes current and future CIA public servants were harmed by the disclosure of classified information in an attempt to punish Joseph Wilson for his public dissent for the Bush administration?s case for war. I have no doubt, Pat will continue the pursuit of those who perpetrated the crime until they have been brought to justice.

If we attack Iran that will all go right down the memory hole, his dedication notwithstanding. bush must be feeling the heat by now, everything's falling apart, his poll numbers are in the toilet, and the world is fed up. Like I said, Fitz better make it snappy.

More Proof that bush is a Wanton, Ruthless, Lying Sack of Shit Who will Say Anything to The American People - Anyone who Still supports the LSS is as Bad as He is

bush declared, "We have found the weapons of mass destruction."

The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true...."

THE BELOVED CYNTHIA McKINNEY

The virulent, spit-dripping, white, racist commentators from Boortz to DeLay and the oh-so-PC and dainty black Democratic pundits, columnists and pols who pick Cynthia McKinney apart, pretending to defend her while putting her black butt on the E-Bay auction block for November, are actually allies. They both want her to go away. They both want the issues that have come too close to public recognition in this case to go away. Leaders from left and right, black or white, cannot bear the thought of actually looking deeper at what happened with Cynthia McKinney and what it means.

I have walked the halls of Congress with Cynthia McKinney maybe eight to ten times. I have walked into and out of the Cannon and Longworth house office buildings with her. I have walked to hearings in the Rayburn house office building with her. I have walked the underground tunnels from one of those office buildings directly to the edge of the House floor and its anteroom with her. I can tell you one thing for certain because I have seen it and I have felt it. Cynthia McKinney and her staff get treated differently from just about anyone else on the Hill. It's subtle, but so is the taste of dirt when it's in your mouth.
----------
Very good essay. McKinney is one of the handful I trust implicitly because she makes waves, big ones, and suffers for it, but never stops.

Dr. Benson (from a previous thread), thank you for your comment. I will "replicate" your comment here ;-))

380

Micki --- Yes, I am most dubious regarding some of the re-occuring subthreads which sometimes claim "peer review" to be authoritative. However, I encourage the understanding that all scientific work has to be replicated before being taken seriously. Replication in some areas, say ice sheet melting, cannot be exact, only approximate. Nonetheless, only one paper cannot be taken as definitive.

Posted by: David B. Benson at April 9, 2006 05:44 PM

Today on Democracy Now! Greg Palast reports that at the OPEC meeting in Venezuela coming up in June Hugo Chevez is looking for official confirmation that Venezuela has 5 times the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia...

Kathleen, it appears that Pat Roberts believes that the report is complete without allowing any new interviews or heearings.

Robert, why am I not surprised?

Well, as I highlighted originally, Roberts spokesperson admitted it was to allow them to focus on the more pressing issue of Iran.

Blade:

See what your relatives can do for the Dems even while they are getting it from the rear!

April 12, 2006
The Democrats Sell Out Latinos
By Ruben Navarrette

SAN DIEGO -- Who killed immigration reform? The autopsy shows it was Senate Democrats.

Republicans were tireless in search of comprehensive, and bipartisan, reform. Sen. John McCain of Arizona joined with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., to draft the guest-worker legislation, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter made that legislation central to what his committee sent to the full Senate. Sens. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and Sam Brownback of Kansas were vocal in their support. Sens. Mel Martinez of Florida and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska offered a helpful compromise. And Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist showed leadership by reaching out to the other side.

Too bad you can't say the same for Democratic Leader Harry Reid, who was the villain in this drama.

Hector Flores, president of the League of United Latin-American Citizens, told me that he tried to impress upon Reid's office that it was important to get immigration reform done.

``Apparently, it fell on deaf ears," Flores said.

Reid claims it was GOP hard-liners who killed reform by running roughshod over Frist.

Baloney. The hard-liners had -- by all accounts -- no more than 30 votes, including those of conservative Democrats. On the other side, you had -- according to McCain -- as many as 70 votes.

A deal was at hand that would have offered legal status to some illegal immigrants. It would have made the GOP seem more Latino-friendly, but it would also have infuriated organized labor, which opposes something that was in the mix: guest workers.

After the Senate Judiciary Committee put out a guest-worker bill, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney issued a statement saying: ``Guest-workers programs are a bad idea and harm all workers.''

That did it. Senate Democrats sided with labor, and sold out Latinos. The deal came undone because Reid refused to allow the legislation to go through the amendment process.

It was a masterstroke by Democrats. Labor is happy. And while Latinos are angry, there's always the chance that Democrats can fool them into channeling that anger toward Republicans.

Some Latino leaders don't think it'll be that easy. Cecilia Munoz, vice president of the National Council of La Raza, told me: ``I don't believe that it's wise for Democrats to come to our community and ask for votes by saying: 'Hey, we kept an immigration bill from going forward.' ... People understand when they're being used.''

The Washington Post said in an editorial: ``Democrats -- whether their motive was partisan advantage or legitimate fear of a bad bill emerging from conference with the House -- are the ones who refused, in the end, to proceed with debate on amendments, which is, after all, how legislation gets made.''

Frank Sharry, the executive director of the liberal National Immigration Forum, said in a statement: ``We cannot escape the conclusion that the Democratic Senate leadership was more interested in keeping the immigration issue alive in the run-up to midterms than in enacting immigration reform legislation.''

The moral: Marches and Mexican flags don't equal power. Labor uses millions of dollars in political contributions to take care of Democrats, and so Democrats take care of labor.

You see, in a twist on the famous words of one of their icons, Democrats no longer ask what they can do for Latinos, only what Latinos can do for them.

ruben.navarrette@uniontrib.com
(c) 2006, The San Diego Union-Tribune

Diversionary tactic in order to cause enlightenment of musically interested individualls. Steven Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteens axe man and AKA Sylvio on the Sopranos, Has a multi faceted site that provides an excellent diversion from the daily drivel.

200
Blade:

See what your relatives can do for the Dems even while they are getting it from the rear!

Does this comment rise to the level of profanity which will be tolerated on www.DavidCorn.com?

A government consultant with close ties to the civilian leadership in the Pentagon said that Bush was "absolutely convinced that Iran is going to get the bomb' if it is not stopped. He said that the President believes that he must do "what no Democrat or Republican, if elected in the future, would have the courage to do," and "that saving Iran is going to be his legacy."
____________

well they saved the hell out of Iraq, might as well save Iran while they're at it

#183 Carey ..that is why it is critical to hold the "The Israeli lobby" accountable for the disproportionate amount of power and influence that this lobby has over U.s. foreign power policy. We must also challenge our representatives on this issue.

April 10, 2006
Smear and Fear
That's how Israel's lobby operates
by Justin Raimondo
Editor's note: Justin Raimondo is traveling. His column will return Friday.

Israel's once-powerful lobby in the U.S. is running scared. The American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is facing a burgeoning scandal with the upcoming trial of Steve Rosen their longtime chief lobbyist, and Iran policy expert Keith Weissman, who are accused of spying on behalf of Israel. Their source in the Pentagon –†Iran analyst and neoconservative ideologue Larry Franklin –†was caught red-handed by the FBI handing over top secret information to the two AIPAC officials, who then turned the vital data over to Israeli embassy employees. Franklin pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years, with time off for good behavior –†i.e., testifying against his fellow spies.

Another big problem for the Lobby is that people are beginning to wake up to their game. A recent study, published by Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, shows how the Lobby has been able to dominate the foreign policy debate and divert policymakers from pursuing American interests, while assiduously pursuing Israel's. The authors, John Mearsheimer, known as a spokesman for the "realist" school of foreign policy analysis, and Stephen Walt, academic dean of the Kennedy School, have since come in for a relentless assault, a furious round of smears so vicious and hysterical that the effect

more at anti.war.com

Moussaoui Jurors Hear Flight 93 Tape

moussaoui was the "20th highjacker" - what exactly did he highjack? a taxi? - right.
flight 93 was the plane that many cell phone calls were made from even though the technology at the time didn't allow for cell service from 30k feet at 500+ mph.
"hello, mom? this is mark bingham!" - right.
flight 93 was the plane that the karate hero rallied the passengers into attacking the highjackers and caused it to crash -
as if! look at the photos!

FLIGHT93 hoax

Osama Bin Laden? I'm just not that concerned about him.
....george w. bush

Patrick Fitzgerald Fumble!!!!

Looks like Fitz has written a letter to the judge explaining why he lied at a press conference about Cheney's involvemant.

Fitzgerald should indicted himself for lying instead of Libby.

This is friggin great- spin this one Pande!!!

Pande

Haven't you learned yet from the African Americans that the Dems are just using you man! You're such a sucker!!!

Keep your eyes and ears (not much in the msm) tuned into the Aipac trial's change of dates and developments. If this trial is dismissed the issues brought to the surface by Professor Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt recently released research paper 'The Israeli Lobby" will be confirmed.

Jewish Week
04/07/2006)
Why The Silence On AIPAC Trial?
Gil Troy
Unless U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis rules sensibly on April 25, two former lobbyists for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee are scheduled to be tried May 23. The Washington Post correctly fears this 泥angerous prosecution ・criminalize[s] discussions among people who do not work ・for the government.・br />
Yet most journalists, academics, lobbyists, civil libertarians and pro-Israel activists who should be howling about this assault on American civil liberties are strangely silent.

Are progressives unwilling to defend Zionists, even to protect wronged constitutional fundamentals? Are American Jewish leaders still too afraid of rocking the boat when the waters get choppy? Alas, our American Jewish organizational lions are timid lambs collecting high salaries as two Jewish public servants twist in the wind.

By contrast, The Washington Post has been one of the lonely voices for justice in this case, heroically trying to keep information flowing freely and reasonably.

The two former lobbyists, Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, allegedly passed secret information to Israeli officials, reporters and others. The FBI had been wiretapping them for two years, but had to deploy Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin in a sting operation to snarl the two. Franklin claimed Iran was plotting to kidnap and kill Americans and Israelis in Iraq. Trying to save lives, Rosen and Weissman allegedly passed on the warnings.

Rosen and Weissman are not being prosecuted for spying. They did not uncover the information, nor did they handle any documents. Instead, the government is using an obscure, never-before-used provision from the 1917 Espionage Act basically charging these private citizens with illegal gossip. Judge Ellis recently warned that by invoking this statute in this way, the prosecution entered 渡ew, uncharted waters・that might threaten free speech.

The Washington Post concurred, warning in an article that 鍍he experts, lobbyists and journalists who in the normal routines of their jobs discuss confidential information could now become criminals.・br />
This important constitutional threat to free speech and vigorous debate represents only half the problem. The other half concerns prosecutorial discretion and allocation of resources. Deciding to mount a sting operation in a white-collar case reflects governmental priorities ・in this case twisted ones.

Why did the FBI waste at least two years wiretapping AIPAC? Why did agents concoct a sting after the wiretaps presumably failed to bear fruit? And why did prosecutors decide to pursue this case so creatively and aggressively?

Let痴 be frank: AIPAC and Israel are not the enemy. The FBI failed miserably on Sept. 11, 2001 to protect Americans from a real threat, the al-Qaida terrorists. Its resources would be better spent on fixing computer systems, improving interagency cooperation and targeting the real bad guys rather than demonizing loyal American citizens and America痴 ally in fighting terror.

This institutional and prosecutorial animus does not pass the smell test. It seems like the governmental equivalent of the flawed, one-sided, unprofessional, propagandizing paper demonizing the 的srael Lobby・co-authored by a dean at Harvard痴 Kennedy School of Government. Similarly, the muffled response to the case seems connected to fears of defending the so-called 的srael Lobby・too ardently.

Gabriel Schoenfeld, writing in Commentary, wonders correctly why Rosen and Weissman are being prosecuted, while The New York Times reporters who disclosed the government痴 secret eavesdropping program against terrorists are hailed as heroes.

Jews should not be penalized or demonized for exercising democratic rights, no matter how effectively. Support for Israel in the U.S. has soared in recent weeks as a result of the Hamas victory for fanaticism, not Jewish 斗obbying.・It is legitimate ・and essential ・to promote the friendship between these two democracies, especially in an age of terrorism where Iranian mullahs, al-Qaida maniacs, Islamicist annihilationists and Palestinian terrorists target America and Israel together.

Twenty years ago, unlike the AIPAC two, Jonathan Pollard spied for Israel while working for the American government. Pollard behaved despicably, but so did prosecutors who trampled Pollard痴 rights by breaking his plea bargain, adding on secret ・and apparently exaggerated ・allegations, and punishing Pollard for aiding an American ally with a sentence that ended up being far harsher than punishment for spies aiding American enemies.

Yet in Pollard痴 case, too, civil libertarians who blithely defend constitutional procedures even if it frees mass murderers remain quiet, while the American Jewish establishment squirms in silence, hoping the case will fade away.

Jonathan Pollard is not fading away ・but the Rosen-Weissman prosecution might. Judge Ellis is pondering whether the prosecution violates the First Amendment, and while we are not supposed to admit it, the fact is that judges notice public opinion.

Legal experts and First Amendment champions must shout 土es,・this prosecution is ill advised and unconstitutional; 渡o,・Israel, Rosen, Weissman, and AIPAC are not the enemy; and 杜aybe・it is time for the FBI to stop harassing our friends while redoubling efforts against our Islamicist enemies, who are no doubt enjoying this sorry sideshow. n

Gil Troy is a professor of history at McGill University in Montreal.

Special To The Jewish Week

New Thread

I have read and listened and thought about the Iran issue. I couldn't figure out why or how the Bush administration would use the threat of nuclear war. No one wants it. I see the Bush administration using the unfathomable as a weapon not only against Iran but the US. It holds us hostage. It holds the Democrats and Republican in Congress hostage. We are all scrambling to deal with this. We are concentrating on this issue rather than the CIA leak, the NSA wiretapping and spying, the low poll numbers, shooting Harry in the face (lord knows why they put dick cheney in any position to use weapons. He's proven his lack of responsibilty in a clear way)

Also, it's easy. The Bush administration likes things easy. Destroy now, think about it later. No thought involved. No worry about casualties. There will be no casualties. I guess casualties only include members of the immediate family. If you're outside the castle walls you don't exist. This is obviously a group who has never had to pay consequences. Don't cross george W.

Dear Happy on Karma,

As you are most certainly entitled to a given right of free citizen thinking opinion, as we all are, I will not sit here and oppose it.

However, I will clarify that particular paragraph for you, which was:

The US was perceived by the world as the dominant super power from the time of WWII and thereafter because of the atom bomb propensity they demonstated in Japan and the nuclear capability they had achieved afterwards, and prior to any other countries capabilites. In other words, no other country had made an atom bomb or a nuclear bomb, plain and simple.

I have linked two articles which may be satisfactory to your reading interest.

I do thank you for the time you took to read my post.

Aid to Indonesia

Aid to Pakistan

Most sincerely,
Graceful Karma