Let the modern day fascists expose themselves now; as the reich-wing engages in the internet equivelant of book burning...

I don't say this at every column, but thank you David. For this work, and for this space.

Go David Corn! Thanks for dig dig digging! Now we have one more group of professional insiders added to the list of people that were unable to confirm the Bush administration's relentlessly repeated pre-invasion mantra "Iraq posesses WMD'S".

Valerie's findings put her on the Iraq has NO WMD's bus with Iaea's Han Blix, Iaea's Mr. El Baradei, David Kelly (remember Bush sent this guy over to Iraq), the Duelfer report, and Scott Ritter.

Damn I hope Patrick Fitzgerald takes Cheney out.

On the topic of accountability it certainly appears that this Republican controlled congress requires LIES having to do with a BLOWJOB to thoroughly investigate in house criminal activities that have "allegedly" threatened our National Security. The pre-invasion INTELLIGENCE SNOWJOB shoved down the throats of the American people is just not serious enough for this Republican controlled congress..

(R) Senator Patrick Roberts should be required to step down if he continues to roadblock, divert and delay the investigation of the false pre-war intelligence. These delays have left the door open for those (Ledeen, Feith, Hannah, Wurmser, Bolton and others) who "cakewalked" (lied) our nation into Iraq to run free and set the stage and push hard for pre-emptive military strikes in Iran.

What is the status of Phase II of the SSCI (Senate Select Committee on Intelligence) ?
Will Senator Reid have to call for a special session again?

And with a grain of salt:

Fueling the debate surrounding Rove and Libby's supposed innocence have been new assertions from right-wing pundits that Plame was never truly a covert CIA operative when her identity was leaked and as such the investigation was a sham from its genesis in September 2003.

That theory, however, is factually flawed and contradicted by a February 15, 2005, opinion by Judge David Tatel,of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, who wrote that Plame had in the past five years conducted "covert work overseas" on counter-proliferation matters and that the CIA "was making specific efforts to conceal" her identity.

"As to the leaks' harmfulness, although the record omits specifics about Plame's work, it appears to confirm, as alleged in the public record and reported in the press, that she worked for the CIA in some unusual capacity relating to counterproliferation," Tatel's opinion says. "The special counsel refers to Plame as 'a person whose identity the CIA was making specific efforts to conceal and who had carried out covert work overseas within the last 5 years' - representations I trust the special counsel would not make without support."

As to why the leak investigation has dragged on for more than three years, look no further than Rove and Libby, whose misleading statements to investigators are what ultimately led to Ashcroft's recusal and forced Fitzgerald to shift the probe toward an obstruction of justice and perjury inquiry in early February 2004.

Libby had initially told FBI investigators and a grand jury months later that he discovered Plame's CIA status from Tim Russert, host of "Meet the Press." But evidence FBI agents obtained early on contradicted Libby's sworn statements to investigators.

"One set of documents that prosecutors repeatedly referred to in their meetings with White House aides are extensive notes compiled by I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff and national security adviser," the New York Times reported in a February 10, 2004, story.

The notes showed that Libby found out about Plame in May and June 2003, long before he spoke to Russert.

"Prosecutors have described the notes as "copious," the lawyers said, according to the Times report.

Still, as early as October 2003, a little more than two months before Fitzgerald was appointed special prosecutor, FBI investigators told Ashcroft they did not believe Rove and Libby were being truthful when they were questioned about their role in the leak.

According to an investigative report in June in the National Journal, senior Justice Department officials told Ashcroft that the FBI had uncovered evidence that Libby.had misled the bureau about his role in the leaking of Plame's identity to the press."

The report added that the FBI told Ashcroft in November 2003 that "investigators also doubted the accounts that Rove had given the FBI as to how he, too, learned that Plame was a CIA officer and how he came to disclose that information to columnist Robert Novak."

There was also suspicion among FBI investigators that in September 2003 Novak and Rove conspired to devise a cover story to protect Rove from being found out as one of the senior administration officials who was a source for Novak's July 14, 2003, column that exposed Plame's CIA covert status, the National Journal reported.

That allegation may be the reason that Rove reportedly lied when he told FBI investigators on October 8, 2003, that the first time he disclosed Plame's identity and CIA status to other journalists was after Novak's column was published.

Excerpted from: FBI Suspected Rove and Libby Pre-Fitzgerald
By Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t | Report
Wednesday 06 September 2006

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

It isn't that the salt hides the taste of the dish as much as accents it. Still I'd feel better if Mr. Leopold came clean with who told him (and with what evidence) that Karl Rove was or had been indicted

Colin Powell remains intensely bitter and angry about his UN Security Council Speech, during which he presented the case for war. After it became clear that much of his speech was wrong,...

"gosh, am i a fool or a liar? why can't i catch a break?"
poor colin - just so misunderstood!

Well, we've seen Colin Powell do the Village People, maybe he can next perform the Animals:

Baby, do you understand me now
Sometimes I feel a little mad
But don't you know that no one alive
Can always be an angel
When things go wrong I seem to be bad
But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood
Baby, sometimes I'm so carefree
With a joy that's hard to hide
And sometimes it seems that all I have do is worry
Then you're bound to see my other side
But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood
If I seem edgy I want you to know
That I never mean to take it out on you
Life has it's problems and I get my share
And that's one thing I never meant to do
Because I love you
Oh, Oh baby don't you know I'm human
Have thoughts like any other one
Sometimes I find myself long regretting
Some foolish thing some little simple thing I've done
But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood
Yes, I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood
Yes, I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood - B.Benjamin/S.Marcus/C.Cadwell

This one-meter resolution satellite image of the Pentagon was collected at 11:46 a.m. EDT on Sept. 12, 2001 by Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite. The image shows extensive damage to the western side and interior rings of the multi-ringed building. Also visible are the emergency and rescue vehicles parked around the helipad. Since all airplanes were grounded over the U.S. after the attack, IKONOS was the only commercial high-resolution camera that could take an overhead image at the time.

satellite photo of pentagon taken 9/12/01

click on the image to see a great zoom-in close-up taken the day after 9/11. it sure is weird how the entire section of the pentagon that was allegedly hit on the ground floor by a 500+mph 757 seems to be outlined with burn marks!

Here's a little excersize for folks, try doing a search for Laurie Mylroie + Judith Miller.

A few of Juan Cole's thoughts about Judith Miller and Laura Myrolie's book " Saddam Hussein and the Crisis in the Gulf"

" Journalists are often part of the political establishment themselves. Judith Miller is a Neocon who co-authored with the highly unreliable Laura Mylroie, and so was predisposed to buy the nonsense she was fed by Chalabi and his contexts. (The NYT seems to have a fair number of Neocons on its staff, for a supposedly liberal newspaper).

5) Journalism does not practice, or sometimes sufficiently respect, peer review. As editor of the International Journal of Middle East Studies for Cambridge University Press, when I receive an article on Iraq I send it out to five or so of the major experts on Iraq in universities. If they all come back and say it is weak in evidence and argument, I don't publish it. This way of proceeding ensures that articles in my journal are solid. There is no time to referee newspaper articles, though some national magazines, like The Nation, do excellent fact checking. We can contrast academic peer review to the practice at think tanks. The American Enterprise Institute just publishes the book, without peer review. It publishes books that push or support policies to which the think tank is dedicated. This is why silly books like those of Mylroie or Khidir Hamza can see print, and sometimes even sell well. Some journalists do not know the difference between a solid book by Peter Sluglett on Iraq, published by a major academic press, and some screed put out of a Washington think tank by someone who does not know Arabic and has never been in an archive. (I hasten to add that there are lots of real intellectuals in the ranks of journalists, and there are even many former academics, who know these distinctions all too well, but I believe they are a minority). Lee Bollinger at Columbia University is thinking seriously about how this sort of problem could be solved by tinkering with the degree program in journalism there."

robert as you wrote I was all ready searching.

Laurie Mylroie's War
Bush Gang Swore Saddam was Behind 9/11 in Lawsuit
By EVELYN J. PRINGLE

Much to the dismay of President Bush, Americans can remember all on their own, without any coaching from Democrats, that in the run up to war in Iraq, it was top official from the administration who were making the claim that Saddam was in cahoots with bin Laden and that he was secretly involved to 9/11.

The fact that the administration's disinformation campaign was entirely successful is evidenced by an October 2004, Harris Poll, taken three weeks before the last presidential election, which reported that 62% of all voters, and 84% of those planning to vote for Bush, still believed that Saddam had ''strong links" to Al Qaeda, and that 41% of all voters, and 52% of Bush backers, believed that Saddam had ''helped plan and support the hijackers" who had attacked the country on 9/11.

As we now know, the basis for these allegations were false but the saddest part of the situation is that many Americans are just now beginning to realize that Bush knew the stories were false for more than a year when he cited them as justification for taking the country to war.
@counterpunch

Today on Amy Goodman's Democracy Now she interviews Carlos and Melida Arredondo on the loss of their son in Iraq. This interview is so worth watching.

Wednesday, September 6th, 2006
Father Recounts Burning Marine Van and Himself After Learning of Son's Death in Iraq

Listen to Segment || Download Show mp3
Watch 128k stream Watch 256k stream
-------------------------------------------------
When Marines came to Carlos Arredondo's home two years ago to inform him that his son had been killed in Iraq, he destroyed their van in a frenzy and accidentally set it, as well as himself, on fire, burning 30% of his body. Carlos Arredondo is now heading to Washington DC to join protesters at "Camp Democracy." We speak with Carlos Arredondo and his wife, Melida. [includes rush transcript - partial]
-------------------------------------------------
For the second year in a row, activists convened in Crawford, Texas this August as President Bush took his late-summer vacation at his ranch. The gathering is called Camp Casey, named for the son of anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan. Casy Sheehan died in Iraq on April 4, 2004.
On Tuesday, Camp Casey followed the President back to Washington, D.C. to launch a new protest gathering: Camp Democracy. It's taking place over the next few weeks on the National Mall. In addition to the Iraq war, the event will also focus on other social justice causes at home and abroad. Events will be held around the rights of immigrants, workers, women, voters and victims of Hurricane Katrina.

On Friday night, as we began our 80 city-Breaking the Sound Barrier tour, we pulled up to Provincetown Highs School. In front of it stood a man and his wife with a coffin. Hanging off of it was an Army jacket and next to it, were Army boots. It was Carlos Arredondo and his wife Melida. They told me about his son, Alexander, who died two years ago in Najaf, on Carlos' 46th birthday. Carlos will be heading to Camp Democracy later today.

Carlos Arredondo, his son, 20-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Alexander S. Arredondo, was killed in Najaf on Aug. 25, 2004.
Melida Arredondo, wife of Carlos Arredondo.

- Read Carlos' account in The Nation
- See photos of Alexander Arredondo and his family

Toot, Toot! Mr. Corn!
This was an effort for which you have every right to blow your horn loudly and strongly. Hopefully we will see you return to the Mclaughlin Group in the near future.

Toot, Toot! Mr. Corn!
This was an effort for which you have every right to blow your horn loudly and strongly. Hopefully we will see you return to the Mclaughlin Group in the near future.

David I am sorry but your accusations sound a bit sophomoric to me. From what I have read post Iraqi liberation Saddam was in bed with Bin Laden. Joe Wilson tea sipping trip proved nothing except the that Iraqi intelligence was inquiring about yellow cake in 97 and 98 via Senate Intelligence reports. You may call this dissension I call it sedition. I guess we will find out if your political ploy works in November. There should be a book written about you and your ilk "Power at any cost, for the Extreme Liberal Democratic Party"

Anderson Cooper's CIA Secret

Anderson Cooper has long traded on his biography, carving a niche for himself as the most human of news anchors. But there's one aspect of his past that the silver-haired CNN star has never made public: the months he spent training for a career with the Central Intelligence Agency.

More.

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

Not commenting fon the veracity of the story, but it is more than plausible.

As I recall John Burns sitting with Tommy Franks and 41 as he described getting his job at the NYTIMES through the good offices of GHWBUSH...no wonder Saddam thought he was a spy...

I can just picture Cheney during a meeting, madly waving a satellite photo of a watering hole, demanding surgical strikes.

Midnight at the oasis
Hide your WMD here?
Neo-cons with red faces
Gracious! They'll find something else to fear...

These are the people in charge of our country.

Can't wait to read the book, David.

From what I have read post Iraqi liberation Saddam was in bed with Bin Laden.

And what, pray tell, have you been reading? Transcripts of Cheney's speeches?

From what I have read post Iraqi liberation Saddam was in bed with Bin Laden.
H.H.

Sounds like a case of selected reading; does the author's name sound like Mylroie?

I wonder how all these people that did not come forward for whatever reason to dispute bush can sleep at night knowing people are dying?

David Corn & Michael Isikoff:

Kudos. Turn this book into a video documentary before the November election and watch the right-wingers go ballistic!

Oh, if only...

'* The CIA missed an obvious clue that showed that the infamous Niger documents--the basis for Bush's false statement in a State of the Union speech--were crude forgeries. The clue was a bizarre companion document detailing a supposed global alliance of rogue nations (including Iraq and Iran)--a notion so unlikely that one State Department intelligence analyst immediately labeled it a hoax. The CIA also blew the call on these documents partly because an officer misplaced the papers. (pp. 147-148, 162-164)'

Well, first the forged documents were NOT the source of the famous 16 words. Actual visits by Iraqis to Niger were known to British intelligence were that.

Second, since you've got Valerie Wilson heading the operations group on Iraq's WMD program, is she responsible for misplacing the documents?

Pray tell captured Iraqi intelligence. I doubt if you bothered to read the reports. It is just another inconvenient truth that does not fit your narrow liberal minded paradigm.

See link below for investigative timeline assembled by MJ-- a "big picture" timeline worth picking up Friday at the bookstore. If only Katy Couric could take us through it in 5 minutes or less. Alas, NFL football is upon us.

http://www.motherjones.com/bush_war_timeline/index.html

Israel demonstrating once again just how much they want Peace. Hogwash

CALL YOUR REPRESETATIVES LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU DO NOT WANT U.S. FOREIGN AID TO SUPPORT ISRAEL'S CONTINUED VIOLATIONS OF UN RESOLUTIONS.

Israel issues tenders to build 690 settlement homes in the occupied West Bank Written by Saed BannouraIMEMC, Palestinian News Network & Agencies
Monday, 04 September 2006 The Israeli Ministry of Housing issued on Monday tenders to construct 690 settlement homes in the Occupied West Bank. The new units will be constructed in large settlement blocs in the West Bank and is coherent with Olmert's Convergence Plan.;The bids are the biggest since Olmert officially took office. Since the beginning of the year, the Israeli government issued tenders to construct at least 788 units.;The new settlement houses will be built in large settlements; 342 houses will be built in Bitar Ilit settlement near Ramallah, while 348 houses in Ma'aleh Adumim near Jerusalem.&Israeli sources reported that the new houses in the large settlement blocs will be constructed in areas Israel intends to annex from the Palestinians and will be part of the final agreement. The boundaries of Bitar Ilit settlement were expanded last year in order to bring the orthodox settlement closer to Jerusalem.;Also, Israel is planning to expand Maali Adumim settlement by implementing the E1 project which is currently on hold. The project will expand the settlement located to the east of Jerusalem by blocking the Palestinian areas there and barring geographical contiguity of the West Bank.The Israeli Peace Now Movement slammed Israel for the expansion and annexation plan and said that Olmert's government is functioning as a right-wing government.Peace Now stated that instead of removing the illegal settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and freezing settlement construction, the government is building hundreds of units and plans to authorize dozens of illegal outposts.

"With the growing lethality and availability of weapons, can we truly afford to believe that vicious extremists can somehow be appeased?

Can we really continue to think that free countries can negotiate a separate peace with terrorists?

Can we truly afford to pretend that the threats today are simply "law enforcement" problems rather than fundamentally different threats requiring fundamentally different approaches?

Can we truly afford to return to the destructive view that America - not the enemy - is the real source of the world's troubles?

These are the central questions of our time, and, as in all periods of conflict, we have no choice but to face them honestly.

The last question is particularly important, because this is the first war of the 21st century - a war that, to a great extent, will be fought in the media on a global stage. We cannot allow the terrorists' lies and myths to be repeated without question or challenge.

We also should be aware that the struggle is too important - the consequences too severe - to allow a "blame America first" mentality to overwhelm the truth that our nation, though imperfect, is a force for good in the world.

Consider that a database search of the nation's leading newspapers turns up 10 times as many mentions of one of the soldiers punished for misconduct at Abu Ghraib than of Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith, the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in the global war on terror.

Then there is the case of Amnesty International, a long-respected human-rights organization, which called the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay the "gulag of our times" - a reference to the vast system of Soviet prisons and labor camps where innocent citizens were starved, tortured and murdered. The facility at Guantanamo Bay, by contrast, includes a volleyball court, basketball court, soccer field and library (the book most requested is "Harry Potter"). The food, served in accordance with Islamic diets, costs more per detainee than the average U.S. military ration.

With examples like these prevalent in the world media, I do worry about the lack of perspective in our national dialogue - a perspective on history and the new challenges and threats that free people face today. Those who know the truth need to speak out against the myths and distortions being told about our troops and our country. My remarks at the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion conventions have generated much discussion. I encourage everyone to read what I actually said at defenselink.mil/speeches."

Donald Rumsfeld wrote this for The Washington Post.

*************************************************
This is a very eloquent speech and I agree with his observations. You corncobs would do well to read and understand the truth of what is really happening in our world today.

In particular, I think it's dispicable to always blame our great nation while dismissing the true murderers and their regimes.

Initially, Iraq advanced far into Iranian territory, but was driven back within months. By mid-1982, Iraq was on the defensive against Iranian human-wave attacks. The U.S., having decided that an Iranian victory would not serve its interests, began supporting Iraq: measures already underway to upgrade U.S.-Iraq relations were accelerated, high-level officials exchanged visits, and in February 1982 the State Department removed Iraq from its list of states supporting international terrorism. (It had been included several years earlier because of ties with several Palestinian nationalist groups, not Islamicists sharing the worldview of al-Qaeda. Activism by Iraq's main Shiite Islamicist opposition group, al-Dawa, was a major factor precipitating the war -- stirred by Iran's Islamic revolution, its endeavors included the attempted assassination of Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz.)

...speaking of television

I don't follow football, but is it true that the "Path to 9/11" DOCUDRAMA will run opposite the opening of the NFL on NBC and ESPN?

Is so, maybe ABC was brilliant rather than villianous it its scheduling. Hahaha

The Post states it all

End of an Affair

It turns out that the person who exposed CIA agent Valerie Plame was not out to punish her husband.
Friday, September 1, 2006; Page A20

WE'RE RELUCTANT to return to the subject of former CIA employee Valerie Plame because of our oft-stated belief that far too much attention and debate in Washington has been devoted to her story and that of her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, over the past three years. But all those who have opined on this affair ought to take note of the not-so-surprising disclosure that the primary source of the newspaper column in which Ms. Plame's cover as an agent was purportedly blown in 2003 was former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage.

Mr. Armitage was one of the Bush administration officials who supported the invasion of Iraq only reluctantly. He was a political rival of the White House and Pentagon officials who championed the war and whom Mr. Wilson accused of twisting intelligence about Iraq and then plotting to destroy him. Unaware that Ms. Plame's identity was classified information, Mr. Armitage reportedly passed it along to columnist Robert D. Novak "in an offhand manner, virtually as gossip," according to a story this week by the Post's R. Jeffrey Smith, who quoted a former colleague of Mr. Armitage.

It follows that one of the most sensational charges leveled against the Bush White House -- that it orchestrated the leak of Ms. Plame's identity to ruin her career and thus punish Mr. Wilson -- is untrue. The partisan clamor that followed the raising of that allegation by Mr. Wilson in the summer of 2003 led to the appointment of a special prosecutor, a costly and prolonged investigation, and the indictment of Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on charges of perjury. All of that might have been avoided had Mr. Armitage's identity been known three years ago.

That's not to say that Mr. Libby and other White House officials are blameless. As prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has reported, when Mr. Wilson charged that intelligence about Iraq had been twisted to make a case for war, Mr. Libby and Mr. Cheney reacted by inquiring about Ms. Plame's role in recommending Mr. Wilson for a CIA-sponsored trip to Niger, where he investigated reports that Iraq had sought to purchase uranium. Mr. Libby then allegedly disclosed Ms. Plame's identity to journalists and lied to a grand jury when he said he had learned of her identity from one of those reporters. Mr. Libby and his boss, Mr. Cheney, were trying to discredit Mr. Wilson; if Mr. Fitzgerald's account is correct, they were careless about handling information that was classified.

Nevertheless, it now appears that the person most responsible for the end of Ms. Plame's CIA career is Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson chose to go public with an explosive charge, claiming -- falsely, as it turned out -- that he had debunked reports of Iraqi uranium-shopping in Niger and that his report had circulated to senior administration officials. He ought to have expected that both those officials and journalists such as Mr. Novak would ask why a retired ambassador would have been sent on such a mission and that the answer would point to his wife. He diverted responsibility from himself and his false charges by claiming that President Bush's closest aides had engaged in an illegal conspiracy. It's unfortunate that so many people took him seriously.

Israel to lift Lebanon air, sea blockade By ARON HELLER, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 5 minutes ago
JERUSALEM - Israel said it will lift its sea and air blockade of Lebanon on Thursday as it faced widespread international pressure more than three weeks after a cease-fire took effect, ending a bloody monthlong conflict with Hezbollah guerrillas.

A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said Wednesday that international forces would replace the Israelis at command positions over Lebanese seaports and airports.

Israel imposed the air, land and sea blockade shortly after the 34-day war against the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah erupted on July 12.

In practical terms, the lifting of the blockade will allow Lebanon to begin rebuilding and resuming normal trade and life much more quickly. The blockade also had become something of a symbolic thorn across the Arab world, and its removal was likely to help decrease tensions.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has been working to get the blockade lifted since a U.N.-brokered cease-fire went into effect on Aug. 14, but Israel had maintained that the blockade was necessary to prevent new arms shipments to the Islamic militant group.

Hezbollah pelted Israel with almost 4,000 rockets during the war. Israel charged that Syria and Iran were supplying Hezbollah with its weapons, using air, sea and land routes.

The announcement was an important breakthrough Ѡproving that Israel and Lebanon could work with the help of mediators to reach deals on unresolved issues. It also raised some hope for possible deals on the more contentious question of releasing prisoners

Ahh, bush bots, you just gotta love them all that empty space between their ears and nothing gets in, just the talking points. Wonder what they do for fun? Jerks.

Bravo, Davey, you are a true patriot. I'm sure your Islamo-fascist pals will be buying your book in large quantities. Do you know what our 2 greatest presidents, Washington and lincoln would have done to you Dave? Rope or lead.

David:

Some good & bad news for you/HUBRIS! Bad News first: Just got back from Barnes & Noble; there are NO ADVANCE ORDERS at this store for HUBRIS....so, NONE will be in the store on B&N's `Release Date' of Sept. 8th!

The Good News: As I said I would, I bought/ordered one to be shipped home...Cost incl. Shipping & Tax, under $24! So there, you will have sold at least ONE book to a Houstonian!

As for Crown's promotional snippets posted, doesn't seem to have much that would "discomfit" your side of the aisle! What's matter with the Crown maketing idiots? Don't they know to put in some teasers for my side of the aisle? Dumbos!!

GUESS THE WAPA IS A BUSH BOT TOO!! Little girly Man

It turns out that the person who exposed CIA agent Valerie Plame was not out to punish her husband.
Friday, September 1, 2006; Page A20

WE'RE RELUCTANT to return to the subject of former CIA employee Valerie Plame because of our oft-stated belief that far too much attention and debate in Washington has been devoted to her story and that of her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, over the past three years. But all those who have opined on this affair ought to take note of the not-so-surprising disclosure that the primary source of the newspaper column in which Ms. Plame's cover as an agent was purportedly blown in 2003 was former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage.

Mr. Armitage was one of the Bush administration officials who supported the invasion of Iraq only reluctantly. He was a political rival of the White House and Pentagon officials who championed the war and whom Mr. Wilson accused of twisting intelligence about Iraq and then plotting to destroy him. Unaware that Ms. Plame's identity was classified information, Mr. Armitage reportedly passed it along to columnist Robert D. Novak "in an offhand manner, virtually as gossip," according to a story this week by the Post's R. Jeffrey Smith who quoted a former colleague of Mr. Armitage.

It follows that one of the most sensational charges leveled against the Bush White House -- that it orchestrated the leak of Ms. Plame's identity to ruin her career and thus punish Mr. Wilson -- is untrue. The partisan clamor that followed the raising of that allegation by Mr. Wilson in the summer of 2003 led to the appointment of a special prosecutor, a costly and prolonged investigation, and the indictment of Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on charges of perjury. All of that might have been avoided had Mr. Armitage's identity been known three years ago.

That's not to say that Mr. Libby and other White House officials are blameless. As prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has reported, when Mr. Wilson charged that intelligence about Iraq had been twisted to make a case for war, Mr. Libby and Mr. Cheney reacted by inquiring about Ms. Plame's role in recommending Mr. Wilson for a CIA-sponsored trip to Niger, where he investigated reports that Iraq had sought to purchase uranium. Mr. Libby then allegedly disclosed Ms. Plame's identity to journalists and lied to a grand jury when he said he had learned of her identity from one of those reporters. Mr. Libby and his boss, Mr. Cheney, were trying to discredit Mr. Wilson; if Mr. Fitzgerald's account is correct, they were careless about handling information that was classified.

Nevertheless, it now appears that the person most responsible for the end of Ms. Plame's CIA career is Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson chose to go public with an explosive charge, claiming -- falsely, as it turned out -- that he had debunked reports of Iraqi uranium-shopping in Niger and that his report had circulated to senior administration officials. He ought to have expected that both those officials and journalists such as Mr. Novak would ask why a retired ambassador would have been sent on such a mission and that the answer would point to his wife. He diverted responsibility from himself and his false charges by claiming that President Bush's closest aides had engaged in an illegal conspiracy. It's unfortunate that so many people took him seriously.

What Harlin Hendricks (can that possibly be someone's real name?) probably read was the pre-packaged garbage designed by corporations in partnership with the White House and fed to people with his level of mind as "news".
Hendricks, you are a living breathing example of what Orwell envisioned---where the cattle of humanity (that's you) accept all lies as truth, as long as it comes from your slavemasters.
You wouldn't know "extreme liberalism" if it bit you on the ass. You could offer neither a clear cut definition of this term you learned from watching Bill O'Reilly, nor an intelligent exposition of the historical background of how we got in this mess in the Middle East in the first place.
Do your evolutionary duty and disappear with the rest of our pathetic and dead culture.

And what culture should we then adopt, Casolaro

182 (previous thread)

I enjoyed reading HAPPY POST LABOR DAY's note #3. ....those rocks in my back yard are a reminder... that I am intent on doing evil. I can't deliver those rocks anywhere but they are still weapons.
Posted by: Kal Palnicki at September 6, 2006 07:14 AM
=================================================
Kal Pal,

You have weaker wits than your pile of `rocks'!

IF you had used your `rocks' to kill on multiple occassions, and IF your parole officer and the Court didn't issue injuctions for you to ever getting close to `rocks' again, IF I am your neighbor, I'll personally blow all your `rocks' to kingdom come and wouldn't at all be sorry that you just happened to be hiding in a hole among your pile of `rocks'!

No appaluse necessary, I know I'm good that's why I am spoofed!

Government, Industry To Use Computer Microphones To Spy On 150 Million Americans

spy on this!

The seeds of "The Next Culture" lie in the embryonic stage of the organism that is History. Maybe someone with penetrating insight (like a Spengler, an Einstein, or any number of brilliant and futurist minds our culture is no longer capable of producing) or far-reaching vision will be able to give us an idea of what that culture will look like.
But one thing is certain---if we are to evolve as a species, we are doing a terrible job of it.
In fact, to me it looks finished---over---done with.
Lies are truth, human life is value-less, art is dead, material has triumphed over spirit, the will is subjugated----it is definitively a dead culture.
Sorry to bring you down---but the party's over.

Orwell I am impressed didn't think a goose stepping communist like you would get near Orwell. Kinda like garlic to a vampire. As far as time line I think we can start it with one dumb peanut farmer who was at the right place at the wrong time for our country. Lit the fuse on this mess. Oh and prey tell what was the sexual perverts policy from 93 to 01 on the Middle East. That one really worked now didn't it. He and ole Monica just huffed and puff and blew ( no pun intended ) down Bin Laden's house with a warrant from the Justice Department and cruise missile. That really showed em now didn't it.

culture club

No appaluse necessary, I know I'm good that's why I am spoofed!

Um, no. You're spoofed because you're a moron.

Harlin--I don't really want to embarass you here--because you are clearly out of your depth--your knowledge of history obviously came from the back of a CrackeJack box--but when I say "History", I am not referring to what happened 20, 30, or 200 years ago.
I am talking about the roots of Middle Eastern conflict with Western Culture, where the grown-up word that comes to play is IMPERIALISM and white people have been trying to get their hands on Middle Eastern Resources since the time of Alexander and before.
However, if you do want to make yourself look more like a typical American uneducated moron, let's look at Iran in 1953. What's that? You can't? Because you didn't know that the CIA overthrew the popularly elected leader of Iran (Mossadegh) and installed a brutal and repressive (read: pro-US and pro-Big Oil) Shah instead? Well, Harlin, if you don't know anything about the history of the region, how can you have an intelligent conversation about the subject?
And I notice you reference Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton---boy, you really got my goat attacking my friends the Democans. I mean the Republicrats. Oh, well, what's the difference? In My America, they would all swing from the same tree.
Not exactly goose-stepping, Harlin--but here's a hint--I'm so far left I make Karl Marx look like Hitler. Not sure whether to laugh or cry yet? Put away your intellectual toys, Harlin--you're outmatched here.

Spy-freak at #37,

You need to quit visiting that site as it provides nothing but bogus information and crackpot conspiracy theories.

For example, the article states that all new computers come standard with microphones. That is total bullshyt. Further, it is a simple matter to block any transmission of information from your computer by using a firewall.

Get a grip.

David Corn:

Amazon.com emailed my husband @ 10:54 PDT notifying him that Hubris has been shipped to him.

That makes him HAPPY!

41
No appaluse necessary, I know I'm good that's why I am spoofed!
Um, no. You're spoofed because you're a moron.
Posted by: Don at September 6, 2006 03:23 PM&
================================================
Detroit Dumb Don (DDDon):

You prove yet again, why you so richly deserve your Happily selected name! Either way, You Nuts spoofe me because of Envy or being sore Losers or you spoof me because you are morons! LMAO!!!!!

Let's just all breathe a sigh of relief that Casolaro's vision of the future will remain simply a tortured figment of his dark imagination.

Happy will be unhappy to know that our local bookseller, Village Books, has 24 copies of HUBRIS on order -- expected to arrive today or tomorrow.

Maybe Barnes & Noble in Houston knows that Alan is one of the few readers in that city, so they didn't bother to order any since Alan likes to buy from small, local booksellers.

Ma and Pa bush call Houston home (for political and tax purposes only) -- reading is not a big priority in the bush dynasty. Ban the books! Burn 'em!

Well Casserole, you don't intimidate me one bit. "The Decline of the West" lost all of it's validity after the fall of the Berlin Wall. How shall I say it Spengler and you are both on the ash heap of history. Oh and I understand history and know all to well who put who where. Not that the KGB did anything wrong mind you. Please ohhh please Mr Fox don't throw me into that ole briar patch. Listen hear you socialist pig I will not stand hear and let you blame America for all of the ills in the world. Be very careful there is an election going on and it would not be wise for you and Democratic friends show your true face to America just yet. November is still a ways off and I am quite sure middle America is quite ready for your revised failed socialist crap.

A New Direction

Dear Cornposters:

I will be trying a new direction regarding my posts. I hope to drop the number of dead soldiers and contractors from my posts. Typing in the number of dead of dead soldiers and contractors has taken a toll on my health. I will also exclude the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The wasting away of this money could be better spent on humanitarian projects. I am also amazed at the Americans' silence and lack of outrage for mass murders and war crimes.

My hope is to be more involved in peace and justice movements and organizations. There are many great websites that can help me.

I will try to avoid posting from articles in Smirking Chimp, Truthout, BuzzFlash, anti-war.com, Lew Rockwell, Watching America, opednews.com, Information Clearinghouse, etc.

I have come to the conclusion that America is a lost cause and she is a banana republic under the rule of a despotic creature. There will never be any outrage for our loss of freedoms and rights. I am also firmly camped in the belief that America is in partnership with England and Israel to form the true axis of evil.

Basically, I hope to have my posts attempt to share information for you from the below organizations, blogs, and writers. This new direction must take into account health concerns. Trying to share information from the above great websites reminds me of the person who kept banging his head against the brick wall. When he was asked why he banged his head against a brick wall, his answer was that it felt so great when he stopped. Americans are set in their ways of mass murders and war crimes. The American people love the smell of napalm in the morning and burning human flesh in the evening.

*****Peace and Justice Organizations

Code Pink

Gold Star Families for Peace

Pax Christi USA

Amnesty International

Catholic Peace Fellowship

Voices for Creative Nonviolence

Veterans for Peace

United for Peace and Justice

Traprock Peace Center

*****Peace and Justice Blogs and Writers

Father John Dear

Sister Joan Chittister

Nonviolent Jesus

Cornposters, if you have names of other great peace and justice movements, please share the names with me.

Sincerely,

Gerald

Harlin, Harlin, Harlin.

You small-minded fool.

If you had taken the time to READ (I know that's difficult for someone so used to getting their opinions from pundits and John birch Society websites), nowhere in my posts would you find advocacy for socialism. I would never believe the State should waste its time supporting the rights of subhumans like you who think that your nation's white middle class Christian cock should be the definitive element of the culture you force feed the rest of the world.
There is nothing more pathetic and sad than a blind nationalist---although, once again, nowhere in my posts have I blamed America for all of the "ills of the world".
America was the greatest experiment in human government ever attempted--too bad zealous morons like you highjacked the ideals the nation was founded on and used it to justify a rape never before seen in human history in the form of rampant, globetrotting, beastly greed and conquest.
Harlin, The Founding Fathers would have pegged you for a loyalist and you would have been an enemy of the Revolution.

Hapless, although I'd never stoop so low, I'm really surprised that your buddy, factless, has never commented on the incomprehensible mish-mash of commas, capitalization, and misspellings that form the bulk of your posts. Bias, perhaps?

I would never believe the State should waste its time supporting the rights of subhumans like you who think that your nation's white middle class Christian cock should be the definitive element of the culture you force feed the rest of the world..........

This states it all. Were you beaten as a child? Your paradigm of the world and Casserole it is just your paradigm and far from the truth. I truly feel sorrow for your arrogant pathetic condescending little mind.

Where shall I start?
Perhaps your total mis-use of the word "paradigm"?
No, that would be petty.
Arrogant?
Actually---no. You see, Harlin---the prefix "a" meaning "without" and the root "rog"--"rule, law, or right"---without right?
Am I without right?
Of course not, Harlin.
Am I without right in your America?
The beautiful land of freedom where everyone has the right to crush others under their heel as long as they are the right race, gender, age, color, sexual orientation, and mindset?
Surely even I have rights in your America, Harlin.
Condescending?
You better believe it.
You see, Harlin---your evolutionary type is becoming extinct.
It is in its last gasps---fighting bitterly and thrashing about in its final attempts to extend itself. The organism of your failed culture is dying. It is plainly evident.
The desperation with which people of your mindset (and that includes the majority of the so-called "voting" public) assert themselves globally is a tell-tale sign.
It all has the stink of rot.
Something else is coming.
It will surpass your reptilian-brained nationalism, racism, sexism, and cultural supremacy in a way very few people in history have conceived.
So, you see, guys, I really don't have that dark of a vision for the future.
Sure, it will be difficult---but all nature is renewed by fire.
He who has ears, let him hear.

From the ALL WOMEN COUNT website!

Women do 2/3 of the world's work for 5% of the income. But our work is unvalued and devalued, and we are unwaged and low-waged. We give birth to, raise and care for all the people of the world, ensuring the survival of every community in every country. Wealth and profit come from our work and the work of the people we produce. Yet our values of survival and welfare are dismissed, and the brutal values of the global market are imposed on us as inevitable. But together we can stop the world and change it.

Women are the key to our planet's survival! All the countries and all the nations should have women prime ministers, presidents, and ruling bodies for a better world!!!

My advise to men! LET THE WOMEN RULE IN EVERY FACET OF SOCIETY AND WHILE THEY ARE RULING JUST KISS, HUG, AND CUDDLE THEM!!!

#3 Robert I continue to think that Rove flipped and is talking to Fitzgerald. Is that possible?

Backstabbing.

Also backstabbing corn flakes...

Is this justice?

"Trafficking" is not prostitution but forced or bonded labour, in the domestic, sex or any other industry. Existing offences of kidnapping, rape, sexual assault, false imprisonment, grievous bodily harm, extortion, etc., could be used to prosecute the assailants of women and children, whatever work they are being forced into. Traffickers escape prosecution not because of a lack of applicable laws, but as with domestic violence and rape, because protecting women is not the priority.

The anti-trafficking lobby often focusses on a salacious opposition to sexual exploitation, ignoring other forms of exploitation, for example in domestic or rural work, factories and sweatshops.

Ending trafficking and all forms of violence and exploitation, is about making poverty history – that is by giving women and men the power to deal with poverty in their own way, and ending wars that devour resources for life and the planet.

We must work to end poverty and to open doors where human beings are offered a quality of life.

Men, we should love women to the point that drives them crazy. Since they drive us crazy, let us respond in kind through a different way by loving them.

If we live as people of God, there will be room for all nations in the Balkans and in the world. If we liken ourselves to Cain who killed his brother Abel, then the entire earth will be too small even for two people. The Lord Jesus Christ teaches us to be always children of God and love one another. We should remember the words of St. Paul: "If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men." -
Аatriarch Pavle of the Serbian Orthodox Church

The bodies of fellow human beings must be treated with greater care than our own. Christian love teaches us to give our brethren not only spiritual gifts, but material gifts as well. Even our last shirt, our last piece of bread must be given to them. Personal almsgiving and the most wide-ranging social work are equally justifiable and necessary. The way to God lies through love of other people and there is no other way. At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked if I was successful in my ascetic exercises or how many prostrations I made in the course of my prayers. I shall be asked, did I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoners: that is all I shall be asked.

Saint Maria Skobtsova of Paris

Can we honestly say that America can can answer the question in the affirmative on the Last Judgment Day?

47
Happy will be unhappy to know that our local bookseller, Village Books, has 24 copies of HUBRIS on order -- expected to arrive today or tomorrow.
Posted by: Micki at September 6, 2006 03:43 PM
===============================================
As usual, when you venture onto Happy ground, you are wrong! You live in blue Washington State! I sincerely hope Village Books sold 2,400 `Hubris'! Nothing better than David being supported by Blues in Blue states....you know, where the moneyed, high-brow, reading folks are!

We Texans are poor, no State Income Tax and all! But hey, it's truly great to be Happy in a No State Income Tax state! Thanks for the lift, I needed it after a dismal day for the market!

Casserole, I never said you did not have the right to say or state any idea you please. You have every right. I just disagree with everything you state. That's America. I do love it though when you know it all types (liberals) who think you are better than the rest, try to pass your tripe off as the "enlightened view". Chill out have a beer or I guess in your case a white wine spritzer!! In America we should all agree to disagree.

God Bless President Bush and the USA

tim oron 43

maybe it's easy enuf to block but that doesn't mean they aren't going to implement the program.

Support from some old grads

Omar N. Bradley, Class of 1915

United States Military Academy

West Point, New York

"Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war that we know about peace, more about killing that we know about living."

"Wars can be prevented just as surely as they can be provoked, and we who fail to prevent them, must share the guilt for the dead."

"With the monstrous weapons man already has, humanity is in danger of being trapped in this world by its moral adolescents."

More than a little out-of-tune, yet...... very heartfelt. This is a song the cowards of commercial radio don't want YOU to hear.......

Stevie Wonder " Saturn "
Packing my bags, going away,
to where the rings of gold cover Saturn,
where people live to be 205 .

We have come here many times before,
to find your strategy for peace

is WAR ,

killing helpless men, women, AND CHILDREN who don't even know what they're dying for.

Going back to Saturn ,
we cannot trust you when you take a stand, with that gun and Bible in your hand, saying " Give us what we want or we will destroy you. "

Going back to Saturn with its rings of gold......................

Please consider signing the petition at

www.warisaracket.org

Thanks, Anderson Petition

THE ANTI-WAR PRO-PEACE CANDIDATES

Hope for the future.

We Won!

We are very pleased to announce that we won the Democratic Primary election! The final tally from the Division of Elections is shown in the table below. Dr. Bowman is now the official Democratic candidate running against the Republican incumbent in November.

Votes Percent
Dr. Bob Bowman 14,946 54.5%
John Kennedy 12,493 45.5%
We want to thank all of our supporters for their outstanding efforts - waving signs, canvassing neighborhoods, spreading our message - for their generous donations of time and money. We could not have come this far without you.
================
YES!!!

Juan Cole really rakes bushco over the coals today...

Casolaro -

Perhaps the nome de plume of one of our regulars.

Although, upon reading his rants, probably another conservative spoofer like some of the rest of us.

Sorry, guy (or gal). Your posts are so funny that they just can't be serious. Not even the biggest loser in the world would make such assertions, so you have revealed yourself to be a brilliant conservative satirist.

Welcome to the club!! Unlike the pusillanimous liberals who post here, we conservatives enjoy the give and take of ideas.

Dr. Bowman's Vision for America
"I envision an America that leads the world, not with military force, but with its vision, its compassion, its democracy, its freedom, its standard of living, its care for the global environment, its treatment of its own people, and its goodness. It is an America whose government serves the needs of the people, not the greed of multinational corporations and their K Street lobbyists. It is an America in which elected officials, at all levels, see their offices as a chance to serve their fellow Americans, not as an opportunity to line their own pockets. It is an America in which every person (regardless of their race, creed, color, age, or sexual orientation) is valued and lives in dignity, every person is cared for, every person is free to choose his or her life partner, and every person is free to reach his or her full potential.
"It is an America in which every family can be supported by one wage-earner with one job paying a living wage. It is an America in which single parents can freely choose to stay home to care for their children or to work outside the home knowing that their children are taken care of in a safe and nurturing environment. It is an America in which health care (including dental care, vision care, hearing care, long-term care, home health care, and prescription drugs) is provided to all as a right. It is an America in which education is freely available to all, including university, graduate school, medical school, law school, and whatever advanced education the person can successfully handle, and in which educators (including those at the pre-school, elementary school, and high school levels) are highly valued and financially compensated accordingly. It is an America in which policemen, nurses, poets, firefighters, teachers, and garbage collectors can afford a good house in a nice neighborhood and live in comfort along with scientists, brain surgeons, CEOs, rock stars, and basketball players. It is an America whose borders are secure, immigrants are legal, and workers are amply rewarded. It is an America in which faith is respected, culture is preserved, the arts are supported, and the Constitution is followed.
"Above all, it is an America at peace with the world and with its own people. That�s the kind of America our people deserve, and that�s the kind of America a Citizens� Congress can build. When I get to Washington, with your help, that�s the kind of America I will pursue." -- Dr. Bob Bowman, May, 2006
===========
I like that too!

"The Iraqi force, known as the Scorpions, was being trained to seize an isolated Iraqi military post-in order to create a provocation that could trigger a war with Iraq."

Well I guess that didn't work either, it seems those Iraqi's just can't be properly trained at anything. I wonder what the code name for the Israeli force was, the one that created the provocation to send Lebanon "Back twenty years"?

uncledad, "Sacrificial Lambs?"

XDR TB --- be very afraid. 'Cause the Republicants certainly are not going to do anything...

Saladin,

I have found that when I cut and paste, sometimes the symbols get jumbled. You can correct that if you do a preview first and then correct the errors.

Thanks.

As I said I would, I bought/ordered one to be shipped home...

Posted by: Happy on Hubris at September 6, 2006 02:29 PM

I stand corrected. Not all trolls are dead heads.

"The selling of Bush's Iraq debacle is one of the most important-and appalling-stories of the last half-century, and Michael Isikoff and David Corn have reported the hell out of it."
-- Hendrik Hertzberg, Senior Editor, The New Yorker

FC, I always preview first but don't always catch everything. The Firefox browser is strange to me and I am still trying to figure out it's quirks. Please be patient, Thanks.

"The selling of Bush's Iraq debacle is one of the most important-and appalling-stories of the last half-century..."

And let us not forget how they got away with it, lots of preplanning and that one horrible day that was so fortuitous to those plans. bushco, the luckiest damn guys in the room. A New Pearl Harbor, who could wish for more when overthrowing the oil rich middle east is the goal?

Corny,

Stop. Please. No one cares.

Once upon a time in America, the land of opportunity, a group of foreign guys at a Florida strip club said: "Let's get Korans and boxcutters and hijack airplanes and crash them into skyscrapers."

And so they did.

They bought flight manuals and lapdances, Korans and double martinis. They took flight lessons and bad photos. But most of all they flew badly and partied and flunked flight school.

"But how will we deceive NORAD," said one flunky? "And how will we get past airport security," asked another? "And how many millions should we invest in Put Options," said a third?

They discovered that NORAD and the Pentagon would be having some military exercises on the exact same day they chose for their mission. Although several top US officials knew in advance not to fly that day, nobody warned any average citizen.

Next the G-string jihadists outwitted the FBI. They outfoxed the Bureau's top officials by brilliantly exposing their plans to FBI field agents months in advance. The plotters seemed to know that the FBI head honchos would never believe their most patriotic field agents. Instead they would harass these agents long after the plot unfolded.

Next the 19 outlined their plan. "We'll get past Israeli security at Logan airport in Boston by posing as Arab terrorists. We won't even check in or show proper credentials. We'll just go right on through, like ghosts."

And so they did.

But one BIG problem vexed them greatly. How exactly would steel skyscrapers, seven of them, fall down once two aluminum airplanes hit them? So they went bowling and decided that the two airplanes would be like the bowling ball and the WTC buildings would be like the pins.

Still they wondered: How to make these massive towers, built with an enormous inner core to withstand 180 mph hurricanes, engineered to survive the impact of a jumbo jet, actually fall down?

So the 19 flight school dropouts put their minds together and thought and thought. The Newtonian laws of gravity and physics, and the long history of burning steel skyscrapers (None had ever fallen down before--or since) seemed to be against them.

"What if we make the Twin Towers pancake down," said one flunky, with a face full of buttermilk hotcake? The plotters were all eating a pre-dawn breakfast special with their bleary-eyed lapdancers. A group of Iraqi undercover agents, Saddam's finest, had joined them, savoring a short stack of blueberry pancakes. And so the laws of physics and logic waffled that day.

"We can also knock down the CIA headquarters in New York City, demolish the mayor's command post, and wreck the SEC records building while we're at it, crushing the entire building while smacking the structure with a few objects the size of an I-beam" said one bright plotter, remembering his Put Options.

And so they did.

The mighty Pentagon was next to fall. A fortress guarded by many layers of security, the trillion dollar war toy shopping mall seemed impregnable. But not to the 19 G-string jihadists.

They had discovered, by trial and error, that it was mush easier to fly a hijacked jumbo jet with screaming passengers than to control a small Cessna with a calm instructor beside them. The flew those jumbo jets like Blue Angels--except better--pulling ten G's before leveling off and smacking the Pentagon exactly where it had been recently remodeled.

But unfortunately for the G-string jihadists, the Pentagon bigwigs knew months in advance. The Pentagonals even published a report with a hijacked plane exactly in the center. They knew no hijacker could ever score a bull's eye---and they were right.

The flight school dropouts only hit the edge.

But by outflanking, outfighting, and outthinking the combined resources of the Pentagon, CIA, NSA and FBI,, the flight school dropouts had succeeded. Sure, they never received their certification in small planes but they had outfoxed NORAD, Israeli security and the combined resources of the US Air Force in the airspace over America.

And even more amazing: the 19 stripclub afficiandos had engineered their own deaths to look like deaths. Nearly half of them were still alive the next day.

Call it a modern mission impossible. 19 flight school dropouts who couldn't control a Cessna had destroyed seven heavily-insured steel skyscrapers and the recently remodeled wing of the Pentagon, while outwitting airport security, smashing CIA and SEC headquarteras in a 47-story New York skyscraper they hadn't even hit, while devising a brand new scientific "pancake" theory. All while remaining alive and forcing the entire US population to live in terror, utterly taxed for the unforeseeable future, to pay for the trillions in new war toys and security measures, in a fruitless manhunt to find the alleged mastermind.

In conclusion, the 19 boxcutter boyz were either the Ultimate Fighting Champions, or the the above account remains a modern fairy tale, fabricated by the very same people who placed those Put Options and demolition charges and continue to profit today.

As Israel announces that they will expand the illegal West Bank Settlements... (R)Congressperson Ros Lehtinen continues to push the Israeli Lobby agenda, expressed in the "Clean Break a New Strategy for Securing the Realm".

Ros-Lehtinen now pushing for sanctions against Syria, all part of the "Clean Break" plan. Just so happens that this plan is bloody as hell.

-------------------------------------------------

Aipac website
Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) led 115 House Members in sending a letter to the president urging him to impose the full range of potential U.S. sanctions on Syria for its continuing support of Hamas and Hizballah. While the president has imposed some sanctions on Syria under the 2003 Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act, increased pressure on Syria from additional U.S. sanctions is needed to hold the Syrian regime accountable for its continuing support of terrorism. Please thank your Member of Congress for signing the Ros-Lehtinen/Engel letter.

Outlawing Hizballah

-------------------------------------------------

More than 200 members of the House and 88 senators have sent letters to European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Javier Solana urging the EU to designate Hizballah as a terrorist organization, a move that would eliminate its ability to openly fundraise throughout Europe. The House letter, signed by 209 lawmakers, was led by Reps. Elton Gallegly (R-CA) and Robert Wexler (D-FL), while the Senate letter was led by Sens. Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Bill Nelson (D-FL). These letters address the EUճ failure to designate and outlaw Hizballah despite continuing rocket and missile attacks on Israeli civilians. Please thank your members of Congress for urging the EU to take action to isolate Hizballah

Call or e-mail your representatives let them know that you do not want them to support Israel when they continue to ignore UN resolutions that apply to them. Let them know that Israel must get out of the West Bank not expand their illegal settlements. This is just one more example that confirms that Israel does not want peace.

Great article!
Special Counsel Under Attack
By Marc Ash t r u t h o u t Tuesday 05 September 2006

Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald and his investigation of the outing of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame are under attack by multiple mainstream media organizations acting simultaneously. The reports are - at best - shoddy journalism and at worst a deliberate attempt to bury one of the most powerful political news stories in US history.

Friday, September 1st, began with perhaps one of most curious stories I have ever seen published. "End of an Affair," the unsigned editorial published by the Washington Post, was a bizarre fusillade against not only Valerie Plame and Joseph Wilson, but Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald as well. The story begged a motive. The day ended with the New York Times blatantly trying to ignite a media stampede through Fitzgerald's office with their "news" piece authored by David Johnston titled "New Questions About Inquiry in CIA Leak." Again, motive conspicuously absent.

All of this followed closely on the heels of what was heralded as a revelation by Newsweek's Michael Isikoff and The Nation's David Corn. Isikoff and Corn - who will shortly release a book on the subject - purportedly led American journalism out of the darkness by reporting that former State Department official Richard Armitage was columnist Robert Novak's primary source for the information on Valerie Plame's CIA status. This apparently provided enough ammunition for both the Times and the Post to declare Fitzgerald's investigation dead on arrival, and ill-conceived to boot.

A startling decision on its face. The information on Armitage was hardly new: it had been reported months ago by several news agencies, including Truthout and the New York Daily News. Further, Fitzgerald's investigation/prosecution is hardly dead, as both the Times and Post are well aware. So why the deliberate attempt to kill the story?

The threat to the White House posed by Fitzgerald's investigation is abundantly clear, but Fitzgerald threatens another powerful institution in his pursuit of the Plame truth, America's multibillion-dollar commercial news industry. The threat is not abstract or academic, it's quite real. For undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame to have been "outed," someone had to reveal her identity, but someone else had to publish the information. Enter the US Fourth Estate - all rights intact.

Fitzgerald viewed the reporters and publications who published classified details of Plame's role with the CIA as little better than those who supplied the information to them. That became abundantly clear on July 6th, 2005, when Fitzgerald persuaded federal Judge Thomas Hogan to jail New York Times reporter Judith Miller on contempt of court charges for refusing to testify as to the identity of her source for the Plame information. TIME Magazine's Matt Cooper might well have ended up as Miller's cell-mate had he not, reluctantly and with great fanfare, decided to cooperate with the Special Counsel.

In all, Miller spent 85 days in jail before deciding she really wasn't cut out for martyrdom and rolling over on her source, with his permission of course - not Richard Armitage, but Scooter Libby. Cooper likewise got the green light from his source and revealed an even bigger fish - again not Armitage, but White House power broker Karl Rove.

Fitzgerald sent shock waves through the highest levels of the most powerful news organizations in the country with his hardball pursuit of the truth in the Plame case. From his perspective, the outing of Valerie Plame was not only an attack on the career of Plame - and her work group - but a deliberate compromising of their mission and personal safety as well. One justice department official I spoke to called it "treason." Valerie Plame's assignment and that of her group was WMDs. It was the very thing the Bush administration professed to be their highest priority. While Valerie Plame risked her life to combat WMD threats, Bush administration officials made speeches and in the end, many federal law enforcement personnel believe, betrayed her and her group.

Fitzgerald showed no patience with members of the press he viewed as instruments in an attack on the federal law-enforcement family as a whole. He wanted to leave an indelible impression that they too would be held accountable. This does not sit well with the overlords of American journalism. They view this as an attack on the freedom of the press, and the jailing of Judith Miller as an act of intimidation against the entire journalism fraternity.

Whether righteous or misguided in their ire toward Fitzgerald's perceived attacks on them, the US commercial press has abandoned objectivity in their reporting of the Plame investigation. Fitzgerald's investigation is ongoing, there are multiple individuals under examination, and right now US commercial press can't bring themselves to say it.

Bush snapped: "Did you tell her I intend to kick his sorry mother fucking ass all over the Mideast?" In a meeting with congressional leaders, the President angrily thrust his middle finger inches in front of the face of Senator Tom Daschle to illustrate Saddam's attitude toward the United States.
--------------
How mature. Very....diplomatic.

I watched Bush live on TV this afternoon.

It is clear what he is doing.

This is their last attempt to keep one (or both) houses of Congress from falling. Make the last two weeks of Congress before the election 100% about terrorism.

In fact, most of the bills Bush is backing intentionally DO have poison pills in them, so Democrats MUST oppose them. So, Republicans can accuse them of being soft on terrorism. As far as I can tell, that was what Bush's speech was all about today....symbolic legislation doomed to fail in the next two weeks or so.

Bob

#27
Micki,
Beautiful.

The new ABC 9/11 Docu-drama should be called
"Desperate Republicans".

On Scarborough country NBc Terror analsyt Roger Cressey said he was shocked at "how much they had gotten wrong", that it is "sheer fantasy, factually wrong and more drama than fact". Crooks and Liars has a link to the program

I mean they are actually attempting to turn the 9/11 tragedy that took place during the Bush administrations watch and blame it on Clinton.

But what do we expect from a