Mr. David Corn,

Good piece, I have been reading far too much about the insanity that is our "secrets" and such.

What can we do with a chief executive that is:

"asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution."

I guess there is nothing we can do legal or otherwise unless Bunnypants says so? We need to change that.

Thanks for all of your work

Kirk

And what if the Senate Intelligence Committee could access that information? Does anyone trust Pat Roberts to act on it? Our system is broke and its going to take more than a hammer to fix it.

Bolten, our ambassador to the UN, s testifying to a House committee on C SPAN. Theu're talking about Iraq and Iran and nuclear weapons. It's a heated discussion. Watch if you can.

The criminals in D.C. scratch each others backs. For all our problems, troubles, and sinful ways just blame Bill and Hillary?

The unfortunate logical extention of this is that the citizens of this republic and their elected officials no longer are deemed worthy of the information needed to conduct informed debate.

Policy construction by willfully, complicitly, ignorant legislators.

Check out this bit of conversation from Democracy Now between Dan Ellsberg and John Dean:

DANIEL ELLSBERG:That brings us up to the present right now. If I can really sum up a lot of what we’ve been saying, listening to John also, and my situation, what does a patriotic official who’s taken an oath to uphold the Constitution, which is what we all did, including the President, not to uphold a Fuhrer or a Commander-in-Chief, but to uphold the Constitution, what should she or he do when he discovers that the administration, under the direction of the President, is violating the Constitution or greatly endangering the public, the country, the security, as is happening right now with our plans to attack Iran? And we listen to the -- with the Iranians promising that they will retaliate against Americans in Iraq and here. They can lie. They can bluff. I believe that threat. I think that these plans are endangering us. Okay, what do you do then if you know that the public is being lied to about very dangerous plans?

The rules say go up the chain. Tell your boss. Tell the agency. Tell your inspector general. Tell the President. As a matter of fact, the woman just fired had written a letter to the President, saying -- Clinton in that case --disagreeing with his decision to bomb Sudan on the grounds that he didn’t have really good evidence for it. But she didn’t go outside, and that wasn’t known, didn't affect the President. I would say that under those circumstances, you have to do what I did belatedly -- I wish I had done it years earlier -- and what John Dean did when he went before the committee and when he talked to the prosecutors: tell the truth. Uphold your oath to the Constitution.

What offset Dean, correct me if I’m wrong, athwart, at odds with the administration was that he refused to lie under oath, refused to perjure himself. In my case, I failed my promises to keep secrets when I discovered that those secrets were lies about dangerous criminal activities. And I’m saying to the people right now, whoever it was who put out that information about the illegal N.S.A. wiretaps -- we don’t know who it was yet -- whoever it was who put out the information on the secret torture camps and detention and kidnapping -- may not have been Mary McCarthy, her lawyer has denied that -- whoever it was was acting patriotically, courageously, in interest of their oath to the Constitution, and frankly, their colleagues who didn't tell that were not upholding their oath to the Constitution, and they can do better. And they can learn from that example.

AMY GOODMAN: So, you’re calling for them to speak out.

DANIEL ELLSBERG: I’m calling for them to speak out with documents.

AMY GOODMAN: John Dean, are you also calling for people to speak out with documents?

JOHN DEAN: If Dan says that alone, we don’t have a conspiracy. We’ll -- let’s have Dan say that alone.

DANIEL ELLSBERG: Well, you can say it separately. Now, we’re on the same table together.

AMY GOODMAN: We have 30 seconds.

DANIEL ELLSBERG: But, okay. I would say, for example, whoever that was, if they find them with their lie-detector tests or -- I don't think they’ve gotten to the point of torturing Americans citizens yet, although notice that whereas the break-in to my psychiatrist's office would now be legal under the PATRIOT Act, as would the wiretapping, as far as the President sees it -- I was overheard on warrantless wiretaps, that's legal in the President's eyes -- some things are not yet legal. The attempt to incapacitate me are not yet legal. I would say to people who knew of that sort of thing, if they get found out, I hope they will call on me for their fundraising in their trials. Don't rely on the New York Times, by the way, for helping them on the trial. I didn't get any help on there. But I’ll be happy to support them, just as Jack Anderson did support me. They’re doing the right thing. That's what I’d love to say. And I want more people to do more of it.

Dear Cornposters:

I do not recall whether or not I have shared with you an article by a Nazi writer who has said that all of our problems, troubles, and sinful ways can be blamed on Bill and Hillary.

I guess he would not blame Bushitler as a murderer and a war criminal, just blame Bill and Hillary. The establishment of the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia can also be blamed on Bill and Hillary. The School of the Americas is a training center for foreign government leaders and their militia to murder and torture dissenters in a country.

We can blame sodomy, oral sex, and homosexuality on Bill and Hillary even though they were established before the birth of Jesus Christ. When Moses received the Ten Commandments, these commandments were given to him because Bill and Hillary invented all these sins.

What really amazes me that to look at Bill and Hillary, you would never believe they look 4,000 years old? If you ever sin, all you have to do is blame Bill and Hillary.

Sincerely,

Gerald

A Reverse Thousand Days

In five-plus years in office, Bush has pushed radical approaches in each of these areas – asserting "plenary," or unlimited, powers as Commander in Chief; abrogating legal and constitutional rights of citizens; disdaining the "reality-based community"; and ordering "preemptive" strikes in an indefinite conflict against vague notions, "terror" and "evil."

No question, it has taken the American people collectively a long time to catch on to Bush’s game. In November 2004, Bush received a huge number of votes across large swaths of the country (even if his total may have been boosted by some ballot tampering here and there).

In 2005, however, as the Iraq War dragged on, as hundreds of more U.S. soldiers returned home in coffins and as new evidence about Bush’s pre-war deceptions surfaced, the tide of public opinion turned decisively.

More HERE

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"asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution."

What the public thinks does not matter - unless Bunnypants says so. Only what HE thinks matters.

capt

Kelvin Wade: 'The worst president?'

If you put on blinders, cherry-pick intelligence and Pinocchio the country into war, you might be the worst president in history.

More.

Thank You Mr. Colbert

A president runs criminally amok, dismantling the American democracy.

The press, cowering, forgets its obligation to the citizenry.

A comedian emerges as the Edward R. Murrow of our day.

This site is a Thank You to Mr. Colbert.

Seems to be a conundrum, "Catch 22" as David says.

Well, inquiring minds would like to know some facts:

1) What kind of loyalty/security checks/screenings do the `average' member of Congress AND their staff receive? and
2) What ADDITIONAL levels of loyalty/security checks/screenings do members of Congressional Inteeligence Committees AND their staff receive?

This should be a non-partisan issue to resolve! Setting up Journalists for Pulitzers should be the least preferred `solution' to the Conundrum-21.

Why did Colbert matter?

In trying to describe what Colbert did Saturday night, we have a little sympathy for the reporters who didn't do it themselves. In the core of his performance, standing just feet away from the president, Colbert adopted Bush's phony or just feckless "from the gut" style of talking and thinking, then revealed it for the international embarrassment that it is. You can't say something like that without sounding strident and heavy-handed; if you're a reporter for a major American newspaper, you can't really say it at all. But over the course of 10 minutes or so -- for the president, it must have seemed much longer -- that's what Colbert did. He put the lie to the Bush presidency: Iraq, domestic spying, the outing of Valerie Plame and all the folksy, consistency-and-character crap that's so often used to legitimize it all.

Read on (link)

I am a whistleblower and Nazi America is the center of terrorism.

Yes, Mein Fuehrer

Happy, Good question. You would think the Senate Intelligence Committee would have the highest level of clearance. It's not like just because you have a security clearance, you can look at whatever you want. You still have to have a "need-to-know" and an Intelligence Committee hearing sounds like "need-to-know" to me.

Frank Rich: Downing Street memo 'proved accurate'

After a three month hiatus, Frank Rich returns to the New York Times with a column slated for Sunday's edition which asserts that "[e]ach week brings new confirmation" that the Downing Street memo leaked last May has proved accurate, RAW STORY has learned.

Excerpts from Rich's column:

More HERE

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Of course the memo was accurate.

capt

I'm blowing the whistle on Bushitler

1) What kind of loyalty/security checks/screenings do the `average' member of Congress AND their staff receive? and
2) What ADDITIONAL levels of loyalty/security checks/screenings do members of Congressional Inteeligence Committees AND their staff receive? - Mr. Happy

Poor choice, sticking that loyalty word in there, the connotations historical are reminiscent of the McCarthy witch-hunts.

Then again, the most stringent screening that congresscritters receive, is as it should be, is from the voters. Which is why the voters need as much information as possible. The urge to stamp secret on the criminal, to the mearly embarassing, activities of this and any administration is simply unacceptable if a government wishes to maintain a level of legitimacy.

Three leading Democratic senators attack Bush over 'signing statements'

Three leading Democratic senators blasted President Bush Monday for having claimed he has the authority to defy more than 750 statutes enacted since he took office, saying that the president's legal theories are wrong and that he must obey the law, the BOSTON GLOBE will report in Tuesday papers, RAW STORY has learned.

"We're a government of laws, not men," Senate minority leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, said in a statement. "It is not for George W. Bush to disregard the Constitution and decide that he is above the law."

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, accused Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney of attempting to concentrate ever more government power in their own hands.

"The Bush-Cheney administration has cultivated an insidious brand of unilateralism that regularly crosses into an arrogance of power," Leahy said in a statement. "The scope of the administration's assertions of power is stunning, and it is chilling."

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, also warned that the Bush administration, abetted by "a compliant Republican Congress," was undermining the checks and balances that "guard against abuses of power by any single branch of government."

More HERE

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These senators had better be careful since Bush is:

"asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution." .

It is no leap to assume HIS interpretation of the constitution excludes whining senators, heck if HE decides to use the death penalty HE could put the complainers to the ax!

I am starting to see why this dictator thing is his only option.

capt

County cancels 2 days of school to save on gas

CHATTANOOGA — With high prices for diesel fuel squeezing school transportation budgets nationwide, one Tennessee school system took action on its own by canceling class for two days.

Dallas Smith, superintendent of Rhea County schools in east Tennessee, canceled school Friday and planned to do the same thing Monday to ease transportation spending.

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High gas prices reverse the "NCLB" as it leaves all the children at home. What a great economy will do for education!

capt

I am a whistleblower by sharing with you the number of our dead soldiers who have died in these wrong and immoral wars that were started by the Liarfuehrer, Bushitler.

GREAT IS THE GUILT OF AN UNNECESSARY WAR. John Adams

American Soldiers

2,690 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan for Bush and his lies.

Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events. Sir Winston Churchill

Henry Kissinger says that military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.

In the eyes of empire builders men are not men but instruments. Napoleon Bonaparte

Nazi America is a mirror image of Hitler Bush.

Arundhati Roy says that Hitler Bush is the world nightmare incarnate. Gerald asks the question is Hitler Bush the father of the devil incarnate party?

Confucius spoke that before you seek revenge dig two graves.

When an illegal war is launched, every person killed and injured, every piece of property destroyed, and all environmental damage is a war crime. A war without borders and limits is a perpetual war. This war of aggression proliferates terrorism in proportion to its reckless widening, making the world ever more dangerous. TCR News

One cannot help but wonder: Where there alternative ways of spending a fraction of the war's $1 to 2 trillion in costs that would have better strengthened security, boosted prosperity, and promoted democracy? Joseph E Stiglitz The dollar amount for the war now rages around $8 trillion.

We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

G.K. Chesterton said that Jesus speaks sanity to a world of lunatics.

The thought of Jesus being stripped, beaten, and derided until His final agony on the Cross should always prompt a Christian to protest against similar treatment of their fellow beings. John Paul II

The soldier's main enemy is not the opposing soldier, but his own commander. Ramman Kenoun! Yes, Bushitler, as Commander in Chief, is the American soldier's main enemy. His endless lies and his love for nuclear wars will destroy planet, Earth.

Since 911, 2,690 American soldiers have given their lives in wrong and immoral wars.

This week is the anniversary of President Bush's infamous "mission accomplished" speech. When he gave that speech, I [Paul Rieckhoff] was in Baghdad. My new book Chasing Ghosts: A Soldier's Fight For America From Baghdad to Washington hits the shelves on May 1 nationwide to correspond with that notorious date.

Excerpt: I reclined in the first-class section of a civilian 747 bound for Kuwait with an M-16 wedged between my legs and my gut firmly stuffed with all the Krispy Kreme doughnuts I could scarf down in twenty minutes, courtesy of the old Red Cross ladies who saw us off at Hunter Army Airfield, Fort Stewart, Georgia. It seemed a bad omen that the Red Cross was the last organization to see us off to war. The Red Cross sends emergency notifications to deployed soldiers when something urgent happens back home-like when someone is in a car accident or a grandmother dies. Everyone shuddered whenever word came that a Red Cross notification was on the way. It was the soldiers' equivalent of the knock at the door.

Read on www.huffingtonpost.com (link)

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America IAVA

Are Cornposters starting to believe me when I blew the whistle on Bushitler's plan to declare martial law before the 2008 election in order to cancel the elections and declare himself emperor and king of our devil incarnate nation?

"Mission Accomplished," George Bush, May 1, 2003

MISSION ACCOMLISHED???

Even elected officials hire lobbyists

More and more, the people you pick to represent you are paying people to represent them in Tallahassee

TALLAHASSEE - What started as a trickle has become a flood: More and more, the local officials that taxpayers elect are turning around and spending millions of tax dollars to hire lobbyists to represent them in Tallahassee.

Ten years ago, 24 Florida counties hired a total of 118 lobbyists; this year, 43 counties hired 478 lobbyists. Ten years ago, 34 cities hired 64 lobbyists; this year 126 cities hired 322 lobbyists.

Pinellas County governments will spend almost $800,000 this year, a pittance compared to the millions Miami-Dade county and cities are spending.

Advocating for counties, cities and school boards has become big business. Lobbyist Ronnie Book rakes in more than $2-million a year from 27 local government agencies.

More HERE

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I am positive this issue is in every state. Amazing what the slugs and thugs can do with our money.

capt

David Corn posted...."he or she should work within the system--and that would include first blowing the whistle internally and then, if that leads nowhere, informing the congressional oversight committees about the troubling conduct."

That type of tactic is also used by the right-wing when discussing six retired generals.

The right wing pundits say "They should have spoken out first-then retired or resigned." Apparently the right wing pundits can discredit these generals based upon the pundits concept of appropriate procedure rather than the content of the concern the generals expressed.

So that is going to be the tactic we can look foward to in the upcoming elections. I can hardly wait.

Later,
th

Bushitler is insane for power

Gosh, the Bush Administration sees no evidence of price gouging by Big Oil.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1907119

Certainly not since Big Oil is so tight with their family and family interests. Doing all they can do, to fleece America and the rest of the world. Can't you see them working so hard for America? It is hard work to undermine the dollar to the point that it is the single biggest reason oil is skyrocketing and getting an additional boost from all the talk of war and terrorism.

There is no question that Bushitler is insane!!!

qWagmire not so funnies

but with a chuckle.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

malfunctional links aren't funny!

A few facts on Dems with security clearances:

In December 2004 intelligence types were allegedly seeking a criminal investigation into the outing of a top-secret spy-satellite program by some disagreeable Democrat senators.

The Bush administration was major league torqued over leaks about a new covert generation of satellites.

The premature, inappropriate congressional brain flatulence was articulated by Senators Jay Rockefeller and Ron Wyden. Although the petty partisan hacks didn't ID the satellite program or give details, a Washington Post follow-up identified the program for what it is. The details included in the Post make clear that people with intimate knowledge of the program leaked details.

"At a minimum, what they did was irresponsible," said an official.

It was way more.

Once upon a time discussions were under way about whether to ask Senate Republicans to consider removing Rockefeller and Wyden from the committee. That was December. I haven't been able to find ‘Jack' since.

Despite the vacuous incompetence of the Senate Ethics Committee (as worthless as mammary glands on a bull), in the interest of maintaining the fiction of credibility, the ‘form' of an investigation should have been imperative.

Meanwhile, a criminal grand jury allegedly is still looking into whether former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger should be charged for removal of documents from the National Archives. This is (or should be) a big deal:

Berger admitted that he removed as many as 50 top-secret documents from the archives, calling it an "honest mistake." Not even!

He also acknowledged that he destroyed some documents, but claimed it was by accident. Accident, my Airborne fourth point of contact!

The pilfered documents were classified "Code Word," the highest security classification, above Top Secret. Hellooo!?!?!

Senator Pat Leahy was annoyed with the Reagan administration's war on terrorism in the 1980s. At the time he was vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"Leaky Leahy," allegedly threatened to sabotage classified strategies he didn't like.

Leahy ‘inadvertently' disclosed a top-secret communications intercept during a 1985 television interview.

"The intercept … made possible the capture of the Arab terrorists who had hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro and murdered American citizens. …"

"The reports cost the life of at least one Egyptian operative involved in the operation."

In July 1987, it was reported that Leahy leaked secret information about a 1986 covert operation planned by the Reagan administration to topple Libya's Moammar Gaddhafi.

U.S. intelligence officials said Leahy, along with the Republican panel chairman, sent a written threat to expose the operation directly to then-CIA Director William Casey.

Weeks later, news of the secret plan turned up in the Washington Post, causing it to be aborted.

A year later, as the Senate was preparing to hold hearings on the Iran-Contra scandal, Leahy had to resign his Intelligence Committee post after he was caught leaking secret information to a reporter.

He should have been indicted, tried and sentenced.

9-11 LAWSUITS SUPPRESSED

VICTIMS FAMILIES ANGERED OVER SILENCE FROM MEDIA

While the media plays up the significance of the government show trial of the seemingly deranged "20th hijacker" Zacharias Moussaoui, not one 9-11 victim's lawsuit has been allowed to be heard in a trial by jury. Why have the 9-11 victims families not been given the same right to have their cases heard in an open trial?

Ellen Mariani, who lost her husband Neil on United Air Lines (UAL) Flight 175, filed the first 9-11 wrongful death lawsuit against UAL on Dec. 20, 2001. Mariani was interviewed on national television in May 2002 by Bill O'Reilly of Fox News, who repeatedly questioned her about why she had chosen to pursue litigation instead of accepting the government fund.

More HERE

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This stinks.

capt

Senator Pat Leahy was annoyed with the Reagan administration's [war on] terrorism in the 1980s. At the time he was vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. lbh

Then: Death squads in el Salvador, etc.

Now: Death squads in Iraq.

"I Was Tortured"
By Sister Dianna Ortiz, OSU

Sister Ortiz relates her personal experiences and tell us that U.S. personnel were present in interrogation and torture rooms,” in Guatemala in 1989 when she was kidnapped, taken to a secret prison and repeatedly raped and tortured by troops commanded by General Hector Gramajo (a CIA asset and graduate of the U.S. Army School of the Americas).

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

Good ole Ronnie Raygun, shame on Pat Leahy for exposing criminal activities.

Militias steal new recruits with better pay and perks

Iraq'a militias are growing in strength, attracting many recruits from the US-run police academy

SOON after he graduated near the top of his class at the American-run police academy, Alah defected. He did not bother to inform his superiors. The young Iraqi police officer simply walked into a recruitment office in a rundown neighbourhood of Baghdad and signed on for the Mahdi Army, the private militia run by the radical young cleric Moqtada al-Sadr that has been blamed for some of the most savage atrocities in this city in recent weeks.
The 23-year-old absconder described it as "a career move". The pay was better, the duties less onerous and there was far less chance of being killed.

Three years after President Bush declared "mission accomplished" in Iraq, young gunslingers such as Alah are what passes for the law across much of this city today.

More HERE

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Better pay and perks - far less chance of being killed?

Why would anybody join the Bush Brigade?

capt

Not that Ronnie started that ball rolling...

Democracy Now! interview with Alfred McCoy:

AMY GOODMAN: A new expose gives an account of the C.I.A.’s secret efforts to develop new forms of torture, spanning half a century. It reveals how the C.I.A. perfected its methods, distributing them across the world, from Vietnam to Iran to Central America, uncovering the roots of the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo torture scandals. The book is called A Question of Torture: C.I.A. Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror, and we're joined by its author, Alfred McCoy, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. We welcome you to Democracy Now!

ALFRED McCOY: Thank you, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: And glad to have you with us, especially in light of your history. I first learned of you with your first book The Politics of Heroin: C.I.A. Complicity in the Global Drug Trade, for which you almost died. What happened then?

ALFRED McCOY: Oh, when I was researching that book in the mountains of Laos, hiking from village to village, interviewing Laotian farmers about their opium harvest, and they were telling me that they took it down to the local helicopter pad where Air America helicopters would land, Air America being a subsidiary of the C.I.A., and officers, tribal officers in the C.I.A.’s secret army would buy the opium and fly it off to the C.I.A.’s secret compound, where it would be transformed into heroin and ultimately wound up in South Vietnam. And while I was doing that research, hiking from village to village, interviewing farmers, we were ambushed by a group of C.I.A. mercenaries. Fortunately, I had five militiamen from the village with me, and we shot our way out of there, but they came quite close. Then later on, a C.I.A. operative threatened to murder my interpreter unless I stopped doing that research. And then when --

AMY GOODMAN: How did you know they were C.I.A.?

ALFRED McCOY: Oh, look, in the mountains of Laos, there aren’t that many white guys, okay? I mean, the mercenaries? First of all, the C.I.A. ran what was called the “Army Clandestine.” They had a secret army, and those soldiers that ambushed us were soldiers in the secret army. That, we knew.

Click to continue.

What are your "many non-WMD reasons" that justify war in Iraq? How many of the aformentioned existed at the time of the invasion?

No wonder some people grow up to vote GOPher:

Most US young people can't find Iraq on map: study
Tue May 2, 2006 12:40 PM ET
By Deborah Zabarenko

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most American young people can't find Iraq on a map, even though U.S. troops have been there for more than three years, according to a new geographic literacy study released on Tuesday.

Fewer than 4 in 10 Americans aged 18-24 in a survey could place Iraq on an unlabeled map of the Middle East, a study conducted for National Geographic found. Only about one-quarter of respondents could find Iran and Israel on the same map.

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

President Roosevelt during WWII encouraged Americans to buy maps and described the progress of our forces in Europe, as opposed to this stallion milker.

From The Daily Reckoning:

"...let us check in on the Financial Times from whence comes a report on the sorry state of U.S. federal finances. The "President's Budget" shows a deficit of $319 billion for this fiscal year. But the president's financial intelligence is subject to the same persuasion as his strategic
intelligence; his budget shows not what is, but what he wished were.
The U.S. Treasury Department also produces its own budget, called the "Financial Report of the US." It shows a budget deficit of twice as much:
$760 billion. The difference between the two is that the U.S. Treasury Department prepares the budget more or less as every company must - on an
accrual basis. It takes into account not only cash outlays, but contracts and commitments. The President's Budget is merely a statement of cash in, cash out. Were GM and Ford to account for their businesses that way,they'd be gushing profits, too!"

Yes, our devil incarnate nation is a terrorist nation!!!!!

Archbishop Oscar Romero

At one a.m. on November 16, 1989, 26 soldiers, 19 of them trained at the U.S. Army School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia, stormed a Jesuit community in San Salvador, El Salvador. They killed six Jesuits and destroyed the house, word processors, Bibles, and filing cabinets. They also killed the cook and her daughter.

The deaths stunned the world. These good people were advocating the end of the brutal war within El Salvador and the daily $1.3 million in U.S. military aid that has funded the war. These people were killed because they were speaking out on behalf of the poor and oppressed. They had encouraged negotiations between the government and the rebel forces as well as the U.S. embassy. They had preached the gospel and comforted the poor and they paid the price.

Archbishop Romero was a champion for the poor, oppressed, and justice. Archbishop Romero was assassinated in 1980 and the people who loved him picked up his works of solidarity, peacemaking, and truth-telling. Since 1980 countless thousands of people in El Salvador have joined Oscar Romero in martyrdom. Romero's life gave strength to the Jesuits. Since 1980, despite their most brutal efforts, the government and soldiers had one great problem: Romero, like Christ, refused to stay dead.

What the Salvadoran and U.S. government death squads did not know was that bullets cannot kill the spirit. They killed the bodies of 75,000 Salvadoran martyrs but they could not kill their spirits.

Perhaps the purveyors of death are beginning to learn a basic Christian lesson. CHRISTIANITY MAINTANS THAT THOSE WHO LOVE LIFE AND LIVE A LIFE OF LOVE, LIVE ON IN THE LOVE OF OTHERS. We Christians call this great truth, resurrection, the eternal spirit of nonviolent, revolutionary love that insists on justice and peace. It grows in the human community of love and truth that side with the poor in the nonviolent struggle for justice. Whoever dies in that nonviolent struggle lives on in the spirit of those who take up the struggle anew. Someone always picks up where the martyr leaves off. The spirit of love and truth lives on, the coming of God's reign of justice and nonviolence gets closer and closer. Peace and justice become reality. Such is the lesson of martyrdom, the practice of resurrection, the essence of Christian love.

ALTHOUGH THE MUSLIMS ARE NOT CHRISTIANS, THEY, TOO, MAY HAVE TAKEN UP THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTIANITY IN A WRONG AND AN IMMORAL WAR IN IRAQ.

Oscar Romero lived and died in that nonviolent struggle for justice. His life message was a call to conversion, solidarity with the poor, a speaking of truth to power. He proclaimed life when the system around him demanded death. He announced peace when the government and rebels waged war. He exuded hope when despair ruled the day. The message of the Christian community today is as dangerous as the message of Romero: Jesus lives! The Salvadoran death squads, the Pentagon, and the U.S war makers know it too: Romero lives! The nonviolent struggle for justice continues.

"The U.S. Treasury Department also comes up with a number for how much Americans actually owe, thanks to federal deficits. Are you sitting down?
It's a chunky number: $750,000 per household. That's what you get when you take the total commitments of the feds - $49 trillion -and divide them by the number of families.

The Financial Times goes on to note that it took 204 years for the U.S. government to accumulate its first $1 trillion in debt. Now, it adds that
much every 18 months. George W. Bush has added more debt than any president who ever lived. In fact, he's added more debt than all the
presidents who ever lived...combined."

The devil incarnate nation is the most evil and vile nation to have ever been part of our universe's history.

Then: Death squads in el Salvador, etc.

Now: Death squads in Iraq.

Posted by: Robert Schwartz

Leahy had to resign his Intelligence Committee post after he was caught leaking secret information to a reporter.

Then: Incompentent Dem Leakers

Now: Imcompentent Dem Leakers

Hmmm, Financial Times, eh? Isn't that one of those left wing pinko commie freedom hating rags blinded by their hatred for George Bush?

Ha Ha I bet they think burning kerosene melts structural steel!

Our crimes and sins are on par with Nazi Germany and Communist Russia.

"When the Soviet Union collapsed, the United States stepped into a vacuum. It became the world's only superpower, with practically a monopoly on the use of state-sponsored violence. Nature must have found the United States too big for her britches, and decided to find a way to take her down a peg. She came up with George W. Bush."

The Decider

I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I'm the decider, and I decide what's best. George Bush April 18, 2006 (WHEN HE SPEAKS, I MUST PUKE UP AN ENDLESS STORM.)

Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite. John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006)

The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy, that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006)

if there were to be an official musical soundtrack to go along with the last 6 years it would have to be 'darth vader's theme' from the original star wars played in counterpoint with the theme from 'get smart'

Says there's documents to prove what he's saying.

United 93: The real picture vs. Washington's fairy tale
Film about 9/11 closer to truth than official version

By JOHN FARMER

How accurate is United 93, Universal Pictures' new movie depicting the drama and heroism aboard the fourth plane hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001? The answer tells us a lot about Hollywood and government in the age of terrorism: The film is closer to the truth than every account the government put out before the 9/11 commission's investigation. Its release marks our passage through the post-Sept. 11 looking glass, with our wildest fairy tales now spun not in Hollywood but in Washington.

The facts of Sept. 11 are as simple as they are grim. The military officers in charge of the air defense mission did not receive notice of any of the four hijackings in time to respond before the planes crashed. The passengers and crew aboard United Airlines Flight 93 really were alone. They were all that stood between the hijackers and the Capitol (or possibly the White House). That is the core reality of that morning, and United 93 gets it right.
(snip)
That truth, the final commission report notes, emerges "not just from taped conversations at NEADS but also from taped conversations at FAA centers; contemporaneous logs compiled at NEADS, Continental Region headquarters, and NORAD; and other records." In short, anyone who looked would have seen right through the fog.
(snip)
That, of course, was impossible. At the time when NORAD officials told the commission they began tracking United 93 — 9:16 a.m. — the plane hadn't been hijacked yet. That didn't occur until 9:28.
=========================
I'm still of the opinion that the coverup was to conceal incompetence, not a conspiracy to commit a crime against American citizens.

The film is closer to the truth than every account the government put out before the 9/11 commission's investigation - ?

and yet the film is based on the account that we are given by the govt.

photos speak for themselves.
HUNT THE BOEING in shanksville
HUNT THE BOEING at the pentagon

and yet the film is based on the account that we are given by the govt.

uh huh, some of the government
Similiar to Iraq, with some government officials telling the truth and referring to documents that prove it.

#44

The problem isn't our illegal programs it's the pesky democrats snitching on us. - Logic Bent in Half

Thank you for the Galbraith quotes. What an incredible contribution to our society he made.

When history is written, GWB will go down as a failure. The war in Iraq, the endless spending, and the inability to appreciate expertise.

Mollohan gets investigated for shady deals and resigns from the ethics committee. That's doing the right thing. DeLay gets reprimanded multiple times by the Ethics committee. He wasn't clean enough to be on the Ethics committee; but the Conservatives made them their leader. When you're the lawbreaking Party, you pick the biggest and best lawbreaker to be your leader.

Ney, Doolittle, Pombo, Burns, Cunningham, and the rest of the gang get caught in ethics violations; and the Conservatives give 'em a wink and a nod. That's doing the right thing, the GOP way.

GOP=Grand OrangeJumpsuit Party

Leahy had to resign his Intelligence Committee post after he was caught leaking secret information to a reporter."

He was investigated for leaking. Folks who get are suspected of breaking the law usually get arrested, go on trial (like Libby, Safavian, and soon Claude Allen). That's a lot of lawbreaking. Removing himself from the committee was the right thing for Leahy to do.

Pat Roberts gets caught leaking sensitive information and he doesn't resign, he doesn't apologize, he's too important to the White House in his role on the Senate Whitewash Committee.

three years ago on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, Roberts himself was involved in disclosing sensitive intelligence information that, according to four former senior intelligence officers, impaired efforts to capture Saddam Hussein and potentially threatened the lives of Iraqis who were spying for the United States.

The former intelligence officials said in interviews that Roberts was never held accountable for his comments, which bore directly on the issue of intelligence-gathering sources and methods, and revealed that Iraqis close to Hussein were probably talking to the United States.

No resignation from the committee. No accountability. Gotta keep Roberts on the Whitewash Committee, can't have the truth leaking out. The GOP double-standard.

New Army documents reveal US knew of and approved torture before Abu Ghraib scandal
RAW STORY
Published: Tuesday May 2, 2006

New Army documents released by the American Civil Liberties Union today reveal that Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez ordered interrogators to "go to the outer limits" to get information from detainees. The documents also show that senior government officials were aware of abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan before the Abu Ghraib scandal broke.

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

Heck of a job, Rummy, heck of a job.

Who is Happy Robb? Now we have;
1. Happy blaa blaa
2. O'Reilly is Happy to wait for an answer
3. Happy Robb blaa blaa

And where is #1 our war-profiteering scoutmaster? (Just kidding. Everyone has the right to make a profit.) That was a cheap shot. I'm sorry. You know it's your support for the invasion that I'm at issue with. So then,

What are your "many non-WMD reasons" that justify war in Iraq? How many of the aformentioned existed at the time of the invasion?

You folks with broadband should watch the old Metallica video at Crooks.

Robb 42, Haven't I been whining about that for months? One of the many horrible consequences of inflation and deficit spending. We've already passed the point of no return fiscally, you have every reason to be bummed, because we are doomed.

51, I'd like to know where they came up with the screenplay for Flight 93, the "alleged" transcript of the recorder was just released a couple weeks ago and you know they filmed that movie way before then. They call it accurate? In who's fantasy?

O'Reilly, Happy Robb, AKA King Robb and just plain old Robb, has been around for quite awhile, he doesn't post very often, which I am BUMMED about, but he is one of the good guys.

Saladin, I'd say that all cornposters are 'good guys' (and gals). It's just that some are only good for a laugh (or maybe pity?)...

Of course I know Robb, and I should have made the connection between Robb and Happy Robb. He's one in the same just more Happy. Robb, if you're Happy, I'm Happy.

If you see Happy, tell him I'll wait until he's good and Happy (to continue the discussion from yesterday:)

What are your "many non-WMD reasons" that justify war in Iraq? How many of the aformentioned existed at the time of the invasion?

I was just trying to offer some clarification so Robb wouldn't be mistaken for the happy cornnut.

The most popular word in the most recent Libby filing is "misrecollected."

Dr. Benson, I saw an article the other day that mentioned that Steven E. Jones, BYU, has done work for the Department of Energy.

I recall reading your opinion of DoE, so just thought I would mention that, for what it's worth. Which isn't much. ;- )

Big Happy Day!!!!!!

Stocks back in the high life
Dow's strongest finish since January 2000; S&P hits nearly 5-year high..

O'Happy Reilly:

I DO NOT like to rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash, rehash
old materials.

Before your arrival on the Corn blog, I had already posted the "non-WMD reasons" for taking out Saddam; mostly the same GOP talking points you (and all of the Far Left) have read/heard but not understood. That's OK! You are entitled NOT to understand just as I'm entitled to understand.

You may continue to `wait' as you wish while I go count up my loot for the day!

David,

So, according to your logic, because Julius and Ethel Rosenberg thought the United States was waging an unjust cold war, it was legal/appropriate for them to disclose secrets to the Soviets?

Back to the old, "if it feels good, do it" mantra.

One other thing that needs to be mentioned here. Ms. McCarthy was in the division of the CIA responsible for verifying the authenticity of possible abuses of authority. Her business was to ferret out the real from the imagined. She released these innuendos without any proof. Could that have been because of all the money she and her husband contributed to the Democrats over the years, especially in 2004? Have any of these stories of foreign torture prisons ever been verified?

Re #64: caroline, the DoE scientists, including those receiving grants from DoE, are as competent as scientists elsewhere, or who receive $$ from elsewhere. S.E. Jones does some sort of nuclear physics, and I suppose he's competent there...

Saladin, even the cornnut is a 'good guy', although I find him (them?) often rather repetitious and so boring...

65 Chickenshit

Here is an interesting development, AFP, (American Free Press) in an attempt to have Professor Jones 52 page paper reviewed by three scientists who support the official theory, got this in response:

Thomas W. Eagar of MIT refused to even look at the paper and said there is no evidence of molten metal pouring from the WTC. Challenged with the
evidence, he hung up the phone.

Zdenek P. Bazant of Northwestern University submitted his fire-induced collapse theory to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) two days after 9-11, without examining any evidence. Asked if he would review Jones's paper, Bazant also refused, I have seen Jones's fiction before. If you want my private opinion, it is nothing but sensationalism, he said. His purported refutation of my analysis is baseless.
Asked to simply look at five photos in an e-mail showing the cascading molten metal and core columns, which appear to have been cut with thermite, Bazant responded, I do not have time.

Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl, an Iranian-born professor at Berkeley, who was a member of the ASCE team studying the WTC collapse, also refused to look at Jones's paper.

I will not be able to find time to review the material that you have sent me, said Astaneh-Asl.
-------------
Is that an example of the great science someone was referring to a few days ago? This is the kind of science that produces things like the 6000 year ID theory. Scientists who won't even LOOK at the alternatives are worthless. Jones, along with 60 collegues, reached the conclusion that a truly independent investigation needs to be performed. Not one of the govt. funded investigations even considered the possibility of a controlled demolition, and the 9/11 Commission report omitted the destruction of #7 altogether. Anyone who is adverse to further study of the many questions remaining about that awful day is suspect in my book.

Unfortunately, this administration is in the habit of wholesale power grabbing whereby they change the rules first and then present the argument to provide the authority for the already existing outcome. When opponents of this administration assert that this backdoor approach is a pattern and practice, in light of numerous examples, it becomes increasingly difficult to ignore their argument. With this constant chiseling away at the delicate yet deliberate balance intended by the founders of our governmental system, one is left in doubt as to either the degree of Constitutional understanding or its disregard driven by the desire to dictate predetermined deviations.

The rationale for any necessary expansion of executive authority is undermined by the means by which this administration proceeds to obtain it. Such practice has the potential to make all future exchanges between the Congress and the President rife with skepticism. For these reasons, this is a failed policy strategy wholly entrenched in the Bush style of act first, defend vigorously, discuss when forced, and lastly compromise and co-opt the solution when defeated.

For a President who fashioned himself as a prot?g? of Ronald Reagan, he has ironically become the purveyor of policies that Ronald Reagan characterized as requiring a strategy of ‘¥rust but verify’Æ Sadly, the cold war that pitted America against the Soviet Union has been replaced by an increasingly divisive internal cold war. History will ultimately determine if the America envisioned by our forefathers prevailed.

read more observations here:

www.thoughttheater.com

The Celtics are done for the season.

DB, we just have different criteria for good guys. bush supporting fascists don't meet mine.
What does doing work for the DoE have to do with anything? Jones is from a county with an 85% approval rating for bush. Provo Utah is the most conservative city in the country, yet Jones is speaking out, which is more than I can say for all those spineless dems who are too terrified to even squeak for fear of losing their funding. Disgusting whores the lot of them.

And thus we conclude this segment of....Alice in Wonderland.

Good post David. I'm sure the smart half of the evil empire in the white house planned this out. Gonzales is just smart enough to paint the CIA and NSA employees into a corner but not look at the implications for the country or himself for that matter. It wouldn't surprise me if Scalia is giving advice from the duck stand. This era in politics is just one big gathering of cronies.

Re #75: Saladin, maybe we can agree that spamming 'Tickets' on this site is 'not a good guy'? I'm willing to glance at opinions other than my own. My mind is not completely made up, so I'm willing to learn 'the facts'.

With regard to S.E. Jones, all those others simply find they have better things to do with their time than to consider wildly implausible scenarios --- I understand that David Corn largely agrees with me, but for somewhat different reasons.

Finally, very few engineers are other than republicans. The few who are not are in academia, not practice. The issues have nothing to do with their (misguided, imho) political stances.

However, I already know yours, I believe, so you needn't continue on the subject... I'm finding it repititious and boring.

#5
Robert,
That was a great segment on Democracy Now. So interesting to listen to two guys who have lived behind the scenes in a deceitful administration.

Re #76: jeanne, is the word 'cabal' appropriate?

BTW,
What I also find interesting concerning the story David has posted is the lack of security for classified documents before. It is very selective. I go back to the story about Cheney talking about classified material at the Republican get togethers with congress. Let us not forget Trent Lott's take on the secret prison information leaking to the press.

Trent Lott says GOP Senator guilty of leaking story re: secret torture prisons

Too funny! Hastert and Frist make a big show of calling for an investigation into a leak allegedly affecting national security -- the locations of secret "black site" torture prisons. And then -- BOOM!!! Lott just said, Tuesday afternoon, that he thinks it was a GOP Senator who leaked the info to the Washington Post last week. He says the details had been discussed at a GOP Senators-only meeting last week, and that many of those details made it into the WaPo story.

Money quote from Lott; "We can not remain silent. We have met the enemy, and it is us."

All just reported on CNN. We are, folks, witnessing the full-on implosion of the national Republican Party. And not a second too soon.

David thanks for the insights and reminders about heroes like Russell Tice. Mr. Tice is an inspiration, really brave and a true patriot. I wish someone with the where with all and the knowledge would create a list of all of the people who have come out of these agencies and have shared their serious concerns having to do with the illegal and underhanded strategies used by this administration. It would be a long list.

Another list of Republicans who stand in defiance of this radical administration and those who have jumped ship. This would also be a long list.

I will never forget the testimony of I belive his name was Carl Ford, the Former chief of the State Dept of Bureau of Intelligence and research who testified at the Senate's hearings on John Boltons nomination as the U.S. Ambassador to the UN. Ford described himself as a "loyal Republican of 35 years." He went on to desribe his very serious concerns about Boltons nomination and the wisdom in what he described as a "brazen choice." He described Bolton as a bully who had inflicted humiliating tirades towards one of Fords employees, the likes of Ford had never seen before in his career.The "loyal Republican" Paul Ford described Bolton as a "kiss up, kick down kind of guy."

If that employee had not had the complete support of Ford he would have been in the same situation that so many analyst and folks like Russell Tice have described. No place to turn on the inside. The american people should be so thankful for these individuals who have been willing to risk their own careers and necks, to tell the truth. True patriots!

#9 Capt. Thanks for posting that link to "Thank You Stephen Colbert."

#37 Robert Informative interview. I have quite a few Vietnam Vet friends. I have heard many stories about their heroine use in Vietnam. Most of them say that it was everywhere as well as pot. Many came home addicted.

#44 LBH Speaking of death squads in Iraq and El Salvador. Peggy who came home to Athens recently from spending over three years in Iraq with the Christian Peace Maker team. My friend who just recently came home to Athens from Iraq reportied that many Iraqi's believe that the insurgency there was instigated and is continually being stirred up by individuals who have been trained by U.S. special forces. She said that there are three well known U.S. officials who had served in both El Salvador and Columbia stirring up and training death squads in Iraq.

Peggy is not a person who is easily persuaded by such thinking. so there had to be a great deal of evidence for her to be so convinced.

Saladin, if you must know the truth, I mentioned DoE and S.E. Jones to Dr. Benson as a "cobra comment" expecting you'd strike at it. Bingo.

Truce.

LBH you have not been here in a while, have you? Are you # 71,72 and 73 with the tickets for sale?

Go Colbert!

Skewering comedy skit angers Bush and aides
By Paul Bedard

Posted 5/1/06
More from Inside Washington
Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert's biting routine at the White House Correspondents Association dinner won a rare silent protest from Bush aides and supporters Saturday when several independently left before he finished.

"Colbert crossed the line," said one top Bush aide, who rushed out of the hotel as soon as Colbert finished. Another said that the president was visibly angered by the sharp lines that kept coming.

"I've been there before, and I can see that he is [angry]," said a former top aide. "He's got that look that he's ready to blow."

Colbert's routine was similar to what he does on his show, the Colbert Report, but much longer on the topic of Bush, suggesting that the president is out of touch with reality. Aides and reporters, however, said that it did not overshadow Bush's own funny routine, which featured an impersonator who told the audience what Bush was thinking when he spoke dull speech lines.

In fact, some aides crowed over reports that the president easily bested Colbert in the reviews of both comedy acts.

#80 Jeanne "and not a second too soon". You said it gal!

After reports, New Jersey senator calls on CIA director to conduct Plame damage assessment
John Byrne
Published: Tuesday May 2, 2006

In light of reports that CIA Agent Valerie Plame was working to track Iran’≥ effort to obtain nuclear weapons when her identity was leaked, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) today called on CIA Director Porter Goss to provide an assessment of the damage to national security from the incident, RAW STORY has learned.

The call comes after MSNBC confirmed a RAW STORY report that Plame was working on Iran.

In RAW STORY's original Feb. 13, 2006 report, by Larisa Alexandrovna, intelligence officials said that while Goss has not submitted a formal damage assessment to Congressional oversight committees, the CIA's Directorate of Operations did conduct a serious and aggressive investigation.

Current and former intelligence officials familiar with the damage assessment say that what is called a "counter intelligence assessment to agency operations" was conducted on the orders of the CIA's then-Deputy Director of the Directorate of Operations, James Pavitt.

Former CIA counterintelligence officer Larry Johnson said that such an assessment would have had to be done for the CIA to have referred the case to the Justice Department.

"An exposure like that required an immediate operational and counter intelligence damage assessment," Johnson said. "That was done. The results were written up but not in a form for submission to anyone outside of CIA."

Lautenberg’≥ letter to Goss follows. The New Jersey Democrat was the first Senator to call for Karl Rove’≥ security clearance to be revoked or suspended while his role in the CIA leak case is under investigation.

Pandes version:

Mollohan gets investigated for shady deals and resigns from the ethics committee. That's doing the right thing.

What really happened:

Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 22, 2006; Page A01

Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (W.Va.) stepped down temporarily from his post as ranking Democrat on the House ethics committee, amid accusations that he used his congressional position to funnel money to his own home-state foundations, possibly enriching himself in the process.

As recently as Thursday, Mollohan, a 12-term lawmaker, had said he would not step aside, but he bowed to pressure yesterday from House Democratic leaders eager to pursue their campaign against what they call a "culture of corruption" in the Republican Party.

April 24th

Mollohan swiftly rethought his position after press from Pelosi Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) was adamant Thursday that he would not resign his position as the top ranking Democrat on the House ethics committee, despite a recent barrage of negative press about his financial dealings. “I’m not contemplating that at all,” he told Fox News.
-----------------------------------------------

Leahy had to resign his Intelligence Committee post after he was caught leaking secret information to a reporter."

Posted by LBH

Pandes version:

He was investigated for leaking. Removing himself from the committee was the right thing for Leahy to do.

What really happened:

The Senate conducted an internal investigation of Leahy's penchant for leaking classified information, and he was allowed to save face by resigning from the intelligence committee.

"[Leahy] Leaked A Draft Report On The Iran-Contra Affair, Leading To His Resignation From The Intelligence Panel. Behavior Like This Earned For Him The Sobriquet, 'Leaky Leahy.'" (Jay Nordlinger, "The 'Nastiest' Democrat: Sen. Patrick Leahy, Republican Nightmare," National Review, 7/9/01)

Kathleen,

#44 LBH Speaking of death squads in Iraq and El Salvador. Peggy who came home to Athens recently from spending over three years in Iraq with the Christian Peace Maker team. My friend who just recently came home to Athens from Iraq reportied that many Iraqi's believe that the insurgency there was instigated and is continually being stirred up by individuals who have been trained by U.S. special forces. She said that there are three well known U.S. officials who had served in both El Salvador and Columbia stirring up and training death squads in Iraq.

Peggy is not a person who is easily persuaded by such thinking. so there had to be a great deal of evidence for her to be so convinced.

What evidence?

Exclusive: Top CIA Official Under Investigation
No. 3 Official at CIA Is Subject of Investigation Related to Bribery Probe
By BRIAN ROSS, RICHARD ESPOSITO and RHONDA SCHWARTZ
March 3, 2006 —†- A stunning investigation of bribery and corruption in Congress has spread to the CIA, ABC News has learned.

The CIA inspector general has opened an investigation into the spy agency's executive director, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, and his connections to two defense contractors accused of bribing a member of Congress and Pentagon officials.

LBH you have not been here in a while, have you? Are you # 71,72 and 73 with the tickets for sale?

Posted by kathleen

kathleen, no, no and no.

Pande posts:

No resignation from the committee. No accountability. Gotta keep Roberts on the Whitewash Committee, can't have the truth leaking out. The GOP double-standard.

The DEM double-standard:

Senate Democrat Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) On Senate Floor Referred To Judicial Nominee's FBI File:

"Minority Leader Harry Reid Strayed From His Prepared Remarks On The Senate Floor Yesterday And Promised To Continue Opposing One Of President Bush's Judicial Nominees Based On 'A Problem' He Said Is In The Nominee's 'Confidential Report From The FBI.'" (Charles Hurt, "Reid Cites FBI File On Judicial Pick," The Washington Times, 5/13/05)

"Those Highly Confidential Reports Are Filed On All Judicial Nominees, And Severe Sanctions Apply To Anyone Who Discloses Their Contents. Less Clear Is Whether A Senator Could Face Sanctions For Characterizing The Content Of Such Files." (Charles Hurt, "Reid Cites FBI File On Judicial Pick," The Washington Times, 5/13/05)
Reid: "Henry Saad Would Have Been Filibustered Anyway ... All You Need To Do Is Have A Member Go Upstairs And Look At His Confidential Report From The FBI, And I Think We Would All Agree That There Is A Problem There." (Charles Hurt, "Reid Cites FBI File On Judicial Pick," The Washington Times, 5/13/05)

More Dem double-standard:

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) Revealed Name Of Undercover CIA Officer In Senate Hearing:

"John R. Bolton, President Bush's Nominee To Be Ambassador To The United Nations, Delicately Referred To The Undercover Officer As 'Mr. Smith' At His Confirmation Hearing On Monday."" (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Loose Lips Let Slip Agent's Name At Hearing," The New York Times, 4/13/05)

"Though Mr. Armstrong [Name Kerry Revealed] Had Been Identified In News Reports Two Years Ago About His Dispute With Other Officials Over Intelligence Involving Cuba, That Was When He Was The National Intelligence Officer For Latin America, And His Name Was No Secret. When The Bolton Nomination Resurrected The Old Accounts, However, The C.I.A. Asked News Organizations To Withhold His Name." (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Loose Lips Let Slip Agent's Name At Hearing," The New York Times, 4/13/05)

"[M]r. Kerry Mentioned [Armstrong] By Name While Questioning Mr. Bolton. The Hearings Were Televised, And Transcripts Were Widely Published." (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Loose Lips Let Slip Agent's Name At Hearing," The New York Times, 4/13/05)

"'Did Otto Reich Share His Belief That Fulton Armstrong Should Be Removed For His Position?' Mr. Kerry Said During The Hearing On Monday, Reading From Committee Records Of Interviews Its Staff Had Conducted. 'The Answer Is Yes.'" (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Loose Lips Let Slip Agent's Name At Hearing," The New York Times, 4/13/05)

"Mr. Bolton Was Not Ruffled. 'As I Said,' He Replied, Sticking To The Alias, 'I Had Lost Confidence In Mr. Smith, And I Conveyed That.'" (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Loose Lips Let Slip Agent's Name At Hearing," The New York Times, 4/13/05)

More Dem double-standard:

Sen. Patrick "Leaky" Leahy (D-VT) Forced To Resign Intelligence Committee Post Because Of Loose Lips:

Leahy Was Forced To Resign From The Senate Intelligence Committee After Leaking Information On The Iran-Contra Investigation. "Sen. Patrick Leahy's admission that he resigned from the Intelligence Committee this year for 'carelessly' exposing the panel's draft report on the Iran-Contra investigation comes at a time of increased political tension over the issue of leaks to the news media." (George Lobsenz, UPI, 7/29/87)

"Leahy Asserted His Only Goal Was To Prove That The Draft 'Was Being Held Up Because There Were Major Gaps And Other Problems With It, And Not Because Of A Desire To Embarrass The President.' He Said He Was 'Angry With Himself For Carelessly Allowing The Press Person To Examine The Unclassified Information.'" (George Lobsenz, UPI, 7/29/87)

"[Leahy] Leaked A Draft Report On The Iran-Contra Affair, Leading To His Resignation From The Intelligence Panel. Behavior Like This Earned For Him The Sobriquet, 'Leaky Leahy.'" (Jay Nordlinger, "The 'Nastiest' Democrat: Sen. Patrick Leahy, Republican Nightmare," National Review, 7/9/01)

Leahy Leaked Information He Received During A CIA Briefing On A Television Show. "The article [in Reader's Digest] said [Sen. Patrick] Leahy inadvertently revealed intelligence secrets obtained during a CIA briefing just two hours prior to the Senator's appearance on television." (UPI, 10/30/86)

"[W]ritten By Washington Political Columnists Rowland Evans And Robert Novak, Said Leahy's Mistake Tipped Off Governments Around The World About A CIA Tactic Of Intercepting Tele Phone [Sic] Calls To Obtain Intelligence Information." (UPI, 10/30/86)

"In The Letter [To Reader's Digest], Leahy Said The Material He Discussed In The Show Had Already Been Disclosed By Administration Officials. The Letter Calls The Article 'A Well-Timed, Politically Motivated Libel By Two Writers Known To Have Close Ties To The Far Right.'" (UPI, 10/30/86)
"Also, In The '80's, Leahy Gained Some Notoriety As A Member Of The Intelligence Committee. He Was Charged With Revealing Classified Information During The Achille Lauro Terrorist Incident, Outraging Administration Officials." (Jay Nordlinger, "The 'Nastiest' Democrat: Sen. Patrick Leahy, Republican Nightmare," National Review, 7/9/01)

One more for Pande:

Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senate Intelligence Committee Member, Revealed Information On Classified Spy Program:

"Sen. Ron Wyden, During This Month's Debate On Intelligence Reform, Said A 'Major Acquisition Program' Was 'Too Expensive' And 'Unnecessary.'" (Jeff Kosseff, "Wyden Treads Slippery Slope In Intelligence Reform Debate," The Oregonian, 12/20/04)

"But In The Arcane World Of Intelligence Spending, Where Billions Are Doled Out With No Public Discussion, It Was The Equivalent Of Shouting Fire In A Crowded Theater. Wyden Is A Member Of The Senate Intelligence Committee, Which Typically Meets In Top-Secret, Closed Sessions." (Jeff Kosseff, "Wyden Treads Slippery Slope In Intelligence Reform Debate," The Oregonian, 12/20/04)

Yes, one more:

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Ranking Member, Senate Intelligence Committee, Revealed Information On Classified Spy Program:

"Tucked Inside Congress' New Blueprint For U.S. Intelligence Spending Is A Highly Classified And Expensive Spy Program." (Katherine Pfleger Shrader, "Lawmaker Says Mystery Spy Project 'Dangerous To National Security'," The Associated Press, 12/9/04)

"In An Unusually Public Rebuke Of A Secret Government Project, Sen. Jay Rockefeller Of West Virginia, The Senior Democrat On The Senate Intelligence Committee, Complained Wednesday That The Program Was 'Totally Unjustified And Very, Very Wasteful And Dangerous To The National Security.' He Called The Program 'Stunningly Expensive.'" (Katherine Pfleger Shrader, "Lawmaker Says Mystery Spy Project 'Dangerous To National Security'," The Associated Press, 12/9/04)

Turbin Durbin:

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) Alluded To Secret Spy Program In ABC Interview:

"Durbin, During An Interview Sunday With ABC's 'This Week,' Alluded To The Secret Dispute Within Congress. 'Eventually Some Information Will Come Out,' Durbin Told ABC. 'But It Does Point To The Weakness In The Whole Process. It Takes A Leak To Understand That Billions Of Taxpayers' Dollars Are Being Wasted That Could Be Spent To Make America Safer.'" (Ted Bridis, "Feds Urged To Probe Leaks On Spy Project Opposed By Levin," The Associated Press, 12/15/04)

Sandy Burglar:

Clinton National Security Advisor Sandy Berger Stole And Destroyed Classified Documents From National Archives:

"Former National Security Advisor Samuel R. 'Sandy' Berger Admitted ... That He Had Stolen Classified Documents, Destroyed Some Of Them, Then Lied About What He Had Done. As A Seasoned Foreign Policy Manager Under President Clinton, Berger ... Had Also Been Entrusted With The Highest Security Clearance Granted By The Government." (Johanna Neuman, "Top Clinton Aide Admits He Pilfered Documents," Los Angeles Times, 4/2/05)

"[H]e Pleaded Guilty To A Misdemeanor And Acknowledged In Painstaking, Often Humiliating Detail How In 2003 He Had Secretly Removed Sensitive Documents Involving Anti-Terrorist Policy From The National Archives, And Afterward Sought To Mislead Investigators And The Public." (Johanna Neuman, "Top Clinton Aide Admits He Pilfered Documents," Los Angeles Times, 4/2/05)

"In Addition To Removing The Five Documents And Lying About His Actions, Berger Acknowledged That He Destroyed Three Of Them With Scissors." (Johanna Neuman, "Top Clinton Aide Admits He Pilfered Documents," Los Angeles Times, 4/2/05)
Berger: "I Exercised Very Poor Judgment ... I Deeply Regret It. It Was Mistaken And It Was Wrong. ... I'm Pleased That This Matter Is Resolved, And I Look Forward To Moving On." (Johanna Neuman, "Top Clinton Aide Admits He Pilfered Documents," Los Angeles Times, 4/2/05)

"Prosecutors Are Recommending That Berger Be Fined $10,000 And Stripped Of His Security Clearance For Three Years." (Johanna Neuman, "Top Clinton Aide Admits He Pilfered Documents," Los Angeles Times, 4/2/05)

NBC's Andrea Mitchell: "Berger Has Stepped Down From The Kerry Campaign, But That Didn't Stop The Sniping. Democrats Claim The Story Was Leaked Just In Time To Distract From The 9/11 Report." John Podesta Clinton White House Chief Of Staff: "I Think That A Lot Of People Are Skeptical That This Wasn't Engineered By People Some Place In The Government." (NBC's "Nightly News," 7/21/04)

Chucky:

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Has Repeatedly Opposed Measures To Strengthen Anti-Leak Laws:

Schumer Voted Against "Adoption Of The Conference Report On The Bill To Make It A Felony To Publicly Expose The Identities Of U.S. Covert Intelligence Officers, Agents, Informants And Sources." (H.R. 4, CQ Vote #125: Adopted: 315-32: R 159-0; D 156-32; 6/3/82, Schumer Voted Nay)

"A New Federal Policy To Prosecute Federal Employees Who Leak Certain Kinds Of Information To The Press Not Only Could Inhibit Whistle-Blowing About Government Abuse, But Also Could Pose A Direct Threat To Reporters' Use Of Confidential Sources, Legislators And Free-Speech Attorneys Said Thursday." (Thomas B. Rosenstiel, "Rule May Curb Press's Use Of Secret Sources," Los Angles Times, 8/4/89)

"The New Policy, Announced By The Justice Department On Wednesday, Reverses Department Guidelines Dating Back 11 Years That Were Designed To Protect Government Whistle-Blowers In The Wake Of The Watergate Scandal And Revelations Of CIA Misconduct." (Thomas B. Rosenstiel, "Rule May Curb Press's Use Of Secret Sources," Los Angles Times, 8/4/89)
"'I Am Worried That This Policy Is So Broad It Could Easily Be Abused,' Said [Then-] Rep. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). 'Whistle-Blowers Could Be Prosecuted On Political Whim.'" (Thomas B. Rosenstiel, "Rule May Curb Press's Use Of Secret Sources," Los Angles Times, 8/4/89)

Florida Times-Union Editorial: "But The Democrats Want More. Much Of The Rhetoric Is Coming From Sen. Chuck Schumer, Who Has Sought To Decriminalize The Leaking Of Classified Data For Over A Decade. This Makes Him Come Off As Petty, And A Little Hypocritical." (Editorial, "Politics Much Ado," Florida Times-Union, 10/2/03)

LBH.. Evidence may have been too strong of a word..how about, strong indicators, suspicions.

Peggy's group was way ahead of the american press in regard to torture at Abu Gharib (they were interviewing Iraqi detainees starting in the summer just after the invasion. Seymour Hersch actually used some of their work and reports in his prison story. CPT was also first to report that the Iraqi police force had been infiltrated. So there is solid evidence that CPT has been on target about the very serious claims that they made that turned out to be facts.

I will ask her for specifics and if you like I will put you in direct contact with her.

LBH..are you the ticket/sex person? If you are stop it!

Bolton is pushing hard..
US and Europe Draft Iran Resolution By Elaine Sciolino
The New York Times
Tuesday 02 May 2006
Paris - The United States, Britain and France have drafted a binding Security Council resolution requiring Iran to stop key nuclear activities, but Russia and China are already resisting, officials involved in the negotiations said today.

The Americans and the Europeans want to move swiftly against Iran, and to that end, the resolution will be introduced in New York on Wednesday or Thursday, according to R. Nicolas Burns, the under secretary of state who has led American diplomatic efforts concerning Iran.

Last, the Dems Presidential hopeful:

Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) Voted Against Law Making It Crime To Disclose Covert Agents' Names:

Biden Was One Of Only Three Democrats To Vote Against The Intelligence Identities Protection Act. (H.R. 4, CQ Vote #170: Adopted 81-4: R 44-1; D 37-3; 6/10/82, Biden Voted Nay)

"By A Vote Of 81 To 4, The Senate Cleared The Intelligence Identities Protection Act, Which Makes A Crime Of Disclosing The Name Of Covert Agents." (Michael Wright, William C. Rhoden And Caroline Rand Herron, "Senate Approves Agent Protection," The New York Times, 6/13/82)

"The 'No' Votes In The Senate Were Cast By Joseph R. Biden Jr. Of Delaware, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Of New York And Gary Hart Of Colorado, All Democrats, And Charles Mathias Jr. Of Maryland, A Republican." ("Bill To Penalize Uncovering Of Agents Passed By Senate," The New York Times, 6/11/82)

LBH..are you the ticket/sex person? If you are stop it!

Kathleen, I'm not a Dodgers fan!

TORTURE IS UN-AMERICAN

TO: Condoleezza Rice
U.S. Secretary of State

Dear Madam Secretary:

Torture. Government kidnapping. Indefinite detention.

These are not ideas we associate with the United States of America. They do not represent who we are as Americans. By promoting and condoning these practices in our military and intelligence forces, your administration has broken faith with the American values of freedom and fairness.

Last week marked two years since the world first saw the terrible images from Abu Ghraib prison. As human rights experts from around the world gather in Geneva to condemn torture, the U.S. must stand by its own time-honored principles.

Widespread evidence, including over 100,000 government documents released to the ACLU under the Freedom of Information Act, shows a systemic pattern of torture and abuse of detainees in U.S. custody.

These acts go against our most cherished American ideals. When our leaders promote torture and fail to hold themselves accountable for illegal abuses, they no longer speak for me or for the America in which I believe.

We demand our country back.

More HERE

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

Please consider signing the petition!

capt

From the article Kathleen posted above: In fact, some aides crowed over reports that the president easily bested Colbert in the reviews of both comedy acts.

har-de-har-har!! bush besting Colbert?! Crow on, bush aides! You sickening, servile, self-seeking sycophants!

Colbert rocks!

DoE overruns: The DoE Hanford waste isolation plant is overtime and overbudget. The current estimated cost is $11.6 billion. That is $38 per adult and child in the USA. (See today's BuzzFlash.)

DoE management point outs that the waste isolation plant is unique and that plans had to be changed due to unplanned earthquake concerns.

"The DoE is not-your-friend."

Benson,

Was that the plant that was fetured on "60 Minutes" Sunday, before the extollation of "ColBEAR, and his RePORE"?

-T

Whoever the ticket/sex poster is, they need to get a life. And I mean a real one, not a blow up doll.

This early evening has been a glorious time. There is now talk about opening our borders from Panama and into Canada. Our population will soar to 600 million by 2015 and not the original date of 2055. We will be programmed like rats in a maze. Oh, how glorious our lives will be in Nazi America? Road rage, communal burial graves, squalor, people dying in the streets with no health care, etc! Yes, glorious times are ahead for Nazi Americans.

I remember hearing... "Bechtel pushed through know defects to make their on-time bonuses...and now a "Plume" of toxic waste is traveling through the groundwater toward the Columbia River...!"

-t

There are people who will share with you what they see as the future for America. Here is part of my perception of what is in store for Americans. Katrina was the beginning of communal graves.

Communal Graves

My perception of America is that America is synonymous with Nazi concentration camps. When I think of Nazi concentration camps, I visualize communal graves. Since the 10% of wealthy Americans desire more land, communal graves are the answer.

Communal graves will be the size of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The 90% of Americans who are poor will be laid in communal graves. Human bodies will fill these graves. As the bodies decompose, the land will be fertile and rich for the pleasure of the 10% wealthy.

Mini gardens can be planted so the wealthy can grow more food for their way of life. They will have more food to eat and as the food passes through their bodies, they will have mother loads of all mother loads so their servants can scoop up the human dung so the dung can be baked into cake dung for fuel. The wealthy will donate the cake dung to the 90% of Americans who are poor for fuel during the winter months.

The wealthy can feel that these charitable donations will offset their miserable, pathetic, and worthless lives of corruption and decadence. These miniscule donations for 90% of Americans will help make the wealthy feel important.

The choice for America is very clear. Do we want Shalom for America and the world or do we want to continue our path toward communal graves?

those spam idiots (71 72 73) make good $$ doing that. at least I hope they do, imagine how much time it would take to make a link for each one of those.

"I'm the decider, and I decide what's best." -- George W. Bush, 43rd president of the United States.

"It is a great mistake, possibly perilous, ever to assume that because people were in positions of responsibility, they were therefore behaving responsibly." -- David McCullough, author.

"Moral principle is a looser bond than pecuniary interest."

"With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed."

"Those who would deny freedom to others deserve it not themselves, and under a just God cannot long retain it."

"Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets."

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher."

"History is not history unless it is the truth." -- Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States.

Hajji --- I don't watch tv, but yes, Bechtel is doing the engineering and construction. And yes, the plume of toxic waste continues to make its way through the groundwater toward the Columbia River. That is, however, a completely separate problem, which is being (finally) addressed by volunteers, at least one state agency, and some $$ (and maybe other support) from DoE. This has been continuing for about 55--60 years. Hanford is a desert, so there is little 'push' to the groundwater flows. Summarizing, it appears that the worst possible scenario is not going to occur...

Meanwhile, to the southeast of here, in Idaho, is DoE's Idaho National Laboratory (or whatever they have, as a coverup, changed the name to (once again) now) and in that location ...

Read the next exciting episode of "Caught Between Two DoE Facilites" (when the next appears)

"The DoE is not-your-friend"

Immigration

Dear Cornposters:

Immigration is a complex issue and it is an issue that if the devil incarnate nation was more God-like instead of devil-like, we could be a role model for the world. Foreign countries and governments would look upon us as a model for their citizens. Our country and