Wexler Wants Hearings

Links stolen borrowed from The Bulldog Manifesto at Kos from 2005.

And btw...since beginning my most recent theft, the ticker now stands at 63,158

If you haven't signed and emailed and called...hop too it! Even if you disagree on impeachment you have to admit it makes them have to take some positive action.

It is rather inconceivable that we could have had an impeachment take place in our history as recent as the prior administration, and yet still, somehow, incredibly, it seems to be treated under current circumstances far more dire, with zero regard for the rule of law or the spirit of the Constitution that impeachment was designed to protect.

The world has watched this farce go on long enough, and they continue to watch as we turn a blind eye to the obvious.

Someone must stand up and restore our what's left of our dignity, before it is too late.

Singer Dan Fogelberg dies at age 56

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22287199/

RIP Dan Fogelberg.

His songs were poetry to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1_0PC8gPAM&feature=related

Someone must stand up and restore our what's left of our dignity, before it is too late.

Someone has. Many people have.

The question becomes how to make our public servants stop behaving like immoral jerks and accomplisses and actually do the job we pay them to do.

Maybe we should blockade Fox News and Congress!

Please recommend at Kos too if you can.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/16/215919/09/1018/423081

WOW!!! THE HOUSE COMMITTEE TAKES A STAND:

Despite the Justice Department's objections, a Congressional panel will press ahead with its investigation into destroyed CIA interrogation tapes, according to a key Republican on the panel.

"I think we will issue subpoenas," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), the House Intelligence Committee's ranking Republican, on Fox News Sunday (video below). "And once these witness appear in front of the committee, then I think we'll have to make the decision as to whether we're going to provide them with immunity or not. But our investigation should move forward."

@@@@@@@

I am really surprised that Repub. Rep. Hoekstra is supporting this investigation - he is a farrightwinger from safe and warm Republican dominated Congressional District in Michigan.

Could the Repubs be feeling the heat from the rightwing on Bush's blunders? Whatever, it is a good sign that things might be changing. I thought Snoopy Hayden's lame talking about the tapes's destruction "we have to protect the identity of the agents" was just that; a lame talking point and not the truth.

I wonder whether the White House didn't order Hayden to use this reason in his public statements. In my mind, if he did take orders from the W.H. which he knew to have false information, Hayden's integrity and credibility are gone.

IMPEACHMENT WOULD MAKE SUCH A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR CERTAIN ADULTS!!!

ho ho ho

I think during the holidays I am going to attempt to get some my family members to sign on to Wexler's petition (but I have to be very gentle and tactful about it...)

Here is my video @ You Tube on the Wexler video:

The impeachment has gone nowhere. Reid's decision to allow the Intelligence Commitee's FISA bill get to the point where it is filibustered by a member of his own party is particularly heinous. Approving a budget which continues to fund the occupation. Rewarding the Attorney General position to a man who can not publicly state that water boarding is torture..... The list goes on. Impeach all the coconspirators... I am thoroughly disgusted.

Maybe we should blockade Fox News and Congress!
======
I have been asking for that for 8 years now, If I lived in America I would have been doing it for the last 8 years even if I had stood alone.

Impeach all the coconspirators... I am thoroughly disgusted.

That includes members of a sellout political party. And I am NOT talking about the Republicans.

Seriously, the party of Zell Miller and Joe Lieberman is not worth its name.

It's official. I am staying independent for the primary.

Christy from the last thread:

And, that is one reason why I now consider myself an orphan who has no siblings anymore. I do not ever want to see them again.

By the same token, I am one person without a country, much less family.

And it feels so damn good.

Kangaroo

You should've fought the Murdoch empire, at home, BEFORE it became an international menace!

Um, Ralph, I already did sign the petition. A few days ago.

Kangaroo
I guess I haven't blockaded Fox but I haven't watched television since 1991. (probably a maximum of one hour per month over that time)

Christy you around, my grand daughters, Tonys daughters first concert. I am still trying to figure out how to get it on my site
The Veronicas Concert 07
http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=807933620101343978&pr=goog-sl

anyone help me out there.

Sorry Ally the A****** is your problem

Let's all wish Senator Dodd a restful night's sleep. He will need it tomorrow if he has to start his filibuster. Lets all also wish Senator Reid the worst case of hemorrhoids imaginable. The thing about Reid is, he will be able to see those painful varicosities without having to bend his neck, and that makes it all the better. Christy says he is complicit in this. To a degree he is. But I think he is just one of the stupidest men ever to be Senate majority leader. I will never believe he was once a boxer, because the way he has fought in the Senate, I am convinced he could not fight his way out of a paper bag.

Here's a precursor to the kind of reports we'll probably hear when we leave Iraq. The British have left Basra and it's a mess.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2228690,00.html

monkey and sparrow - I'd never heard of Dan Fogelberg before you posted about his death. Now I've seen him and heard him sing. He looks too young; too healthy; too good to have died. The world is upside down. And sparrow - that tribute to his dad proved my undoing - Within 4 and a half minutes I'd heard of a new musician and heard him sing a song that he wrote and I'm sobbing. Good grief. I hope my life doesn't get much sadder than this - I don't think I'll survive the sobbing.

Thanks for the introduction. What a loss!

Oncall said

I will never believe he was once a boxer, because the way he has fought in the Senate, I am convinced he could not fight his way out of a paper bag.

I guess that explains it to some extent - brain damage. How do people like Reid and Pelosi get to be leaders?

nmp - worse news than that - the US supposedly approved of Turkey's raids into northern Iraq where they killed many civilians.

NEWS EUROPE
Turkey says US backed raids on PKK

The US gave the go-ahead for cross-border attacks on Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq, according to Turkey's military chief.

General Yasar Buyukanit reportedly made the claims on Turkish television late on Sunday as the Iraqi government summoned Ankara's ambassador in Baghdad and demanded an end to the air raids.
"America last night opened Iraqi airspace to us. By opening Iraqi airspace to us last night, America gave its approval to the operation," the Anatolian state news agency quoted Buyukanit as saying.

"The United States gave intelligence."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AD7FA375-1751-4EF3-A252-614611761C9A.htm

NEWS MIDDLE EAST
'US is the main irritant in Iraq'
By Ahmed Janabi

Al-Dhari says the resistance has chosen not to engage
al-Sahwa militias to avoid internecine fighting

Sheikh Harith al-Dhari, head of the Association of Muslim Scholars, is arguably one of the most influential Iraqi Sunni leaders today.

His unequivocal opposition to the US-led occupation and criticism of the Nouri al-Maliki government attracted threats against his life and forced him into exile.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/358F4592-A9B6-4BBC-8C3A-4FBC700C0BBC.htm

Turkey bombs Kurdish rebels in Iraq
December 17, 2007 - 10:52AM

Turkish warplanes targeting Kurdish rebels bombed villages deep in northern Iraq today, killing one woman and forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes.

In Ankara, the Turkish military's General Staff confirmed in a statement its warplanes had attacked targets of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which uses northern Iraq as a base from which to attack security forces inside Turkey.

But the head of the General Staff, General Yasar Buyukanit, quoted by Turkey's Anatolian state news agency, denied any civilian targets were hit and said his forces had acted with the implicit approval of US occupying forces in Iraq.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/turkey-bombs-kurdish-rebels-in-iraq/2007/12/17/1197740138371.html

Sorry for ducking out Rossi. I have a real high fever, bad night.

Oncall, I do not know if he is bought off, bullied, or being blackmailed, but ALL of those are more likly than him just being a dumbf@ck.

Like I said, what if they would rather you believe them incompetent?

Because if it were any other thing than just incompetence, then that makes them complicit.

And maybe even ...evil.

If I were evil, I would also prefer you believe I am incompetent, because then my motives still lay undiscovered or discussed.

She is so cute Rossi. That's so funny.

So sad to hear about Dan Fogelberg. He's one of my favorites, and I've been looking for my CD for the last week for some reason!

What a loss.

Exiles
by Dan Fogelberg

Exiles, running from each other
We are exiles, living undercover
Looking for another day to make it all work out
Exiles, standing in the shadows
We are exiles, weary of the battles
Looking for another day to make it all work out

You sit there and I sit here
Looking at you used to be like looking in a mirror
But now it's dark, no light reflects
It never ends like one expects
I don't know where we went wrong
If I knew that I'd never had to write this song
But here we stand so far apart
Separate pieces of a broken heart
We live like..

Exiles, running from each other
We are exiles, living undercover
Looking for another day to make it all work out
Exiles, standing in the shadows
We are exiles, weary of the battles
Looking for another day to make it all work out

You said you need time to think
But I just couldn't go on living on the brink
So now we take this frozen stance
In hopes that we'll find one more chance
Different wants and different needs
Moving through our changes at such different speeds
I don't know why and I don't know when
But somewhere we'll find love again

Exiles, running from each other
We are exiles, living undercover
Looking for another day to make it all work out
Exiles, running from each other
We are exiles, living undercover
Looking for another day to make it all work out
Exiles, standing in the shadows
We are exiles....
Looking for another day to make it all work out

A new chance for peace in Iraq?
With violence in Iraq at its lowest in years, a window is open for reconciliation of rival sects, U.S. general says.

BAGHDAD (AP) - Violence in Iraq is at its lowest levels since the first year of the American invasion, finally opening a window for reconciliation among rival sects, the second-ranking U.S. general said Sunday as Iraqi forces formally took control of security across half the country.

Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the man responsible for the ground campaign in Iraq, said that the first six months of 2007 were probably the most violent period since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The past six months, however, had seen some of the lowest levels of violence since the conflict began, Odierno said, attributing the change to an increase in both American troops and better-trained Iraqi forces.

"I feel we are back in '03 and early '04. Frankly I was here then, and the environment is about the same in terms of security in my opinion," he said. "What is different from then is that the Iraqi security forces are significantly more mature."

Violence killed at least 27 Iraqis on Sunday — 16 of them members of a U.S.-backed neighborhood patrol killed in clashes with al-Qaida in a volatile province neighboring Baghdad. Thirty-five al-Qaida fighters also died in that fighting, Iraqi officials said.

Odierno said Anbar province, once plagued by violence, only recorded 12 attacks in the past week, down from an average of 26 per week over the past three months.

"The violence last week was the lowest ever," he said of Anbar.

"So that kind of defines 2007 very simply. A long hard fight and a lot of sacrifice by a lot of soldiers, Marines and airmen to get there," Odierno said.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22287314/

CNN Quick Vote
Do you pay attention to endorsements when deciding which presidential candidate to vote for?

Yes 10% 1023
No 90% 9107
Total Votes: 10130

Yet still, I'd like to spit in Joe Liebermans face this morning.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/17/82113/885/906/423193

Peter Daou, Hillary's online cordinator, has a new diary up at kos.

Go tell Peter what we want Hillary to do.

"I have the greatest respect for Joe, but I simply have to disagree with his decision to endorse Senator McCain," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, told CNN in a written statement.

Ohhhh, do you, ya friggin spineless wonder?

"Being a Republican is important. Being a Democrat is important. But you know what's more important than that? The interest and well-being of the United States of America," the Democrat-turned Independent said in announcing his decision Monday morning in New Hampshire.

"Let's put the United States first again, and John McCain is the man as president who will help us do that," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/17/mccain.endorsements/index.html

Monkey:
Here's what I wrote at http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com yesterday.

Don't show them kissing. I hate tv especially Sunday shows, which I don't watch, and sounds like today was especially repugnant. Highlights from New York Times included Romney on Meet the Press, saying "Mike Huckabee should apologize to the president. I can’t believe he’d say that (President Bush is arrogant). I’m afraid he’s running for the wrong party.” Huckabee: “I didn’t say the president was arrogant, I said that the policies have been arrogant.”

The Mormon church has excluded blacks, but Romney claims when the church dropped its exclusion of blacks, he "pulled over, and literally wept.” Please don't show that! He also lied, claiming "I just talked about, about guns. I told you what my position was, and what I, what I did as governor; the fact that I received the endorsement of the NRA." Romney was never endorsed by the NRA.

An article in National Review, compared Mr. Huckabee to the former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont, who ran in 2004. “Like Dean, Huckabee is an undervetted former governor who is manifestly unprepared to be president of the United States. As with Dean, his vulnerabilities in a general election are so screamingly obvious that it’s hard to believe that primary voters, once they focus seriously on their choice, will nominate him.” Huckabee then said that he alone, among the candidates, “actually had to work for a living.”

Also noticed that Huckabee's son and a friend once slit a dogs neck then pelted it with stones. Meanwhile (antiwar antiPatriot candidate who is also antifeminist, racist and anti-tax/anti-federal) Ron Paul once again raised 4-1/2 million dollars in one day, with an especially strong concentration of support in Austin.

Oon the Democratic side, from the very snarky Maureen O'Dowd, this satirical exchange called "Reefer Madness in Iowa":

WASHBURN: I would like to talk about the Peru free trade deal that was signed on Friday. You both missed the vote.

CLINTON: Oh, Barack should take that one. His views on Peruvian are positively flaky.

OBAMA: You’re the flaky one, Hillary, backing up the president when he wanted to rush into Iraq and wage this trillion-dollar war.

CLINTON: It’s no wonder you didn’t want to go into Iraq, Barack. There are no free bases there.

Monkey
The title was "Photo Caption Contest: Lieberman Endorses McCain" but I couldn't bring myself to talk about them further.

Conservatives Can't Dance: Pt II (the new one)

No comment

Signers of the Wexler petition:

74388
signed up
and counting...

I would say that 300,000+ signers would be a fantastic number to get to. This is about what a hit video at You Tube or a controversial question at AOL polls gets in number of hits....

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Mike Huckabee shot down calls from fellow candidate Mitt Romney that he apologize to President Bush for a recent critique of administration foreign policy, telling CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Sunday that his Republican presidential rival “needs to read the article."

"It would really help if he would do that. Because if he did, he would see that there's no apology necessary," said Huckabee.

The former Arkansas governor said he has been a firmer supporter of the president than Romney, backing White House positions on the troop surge in Iraq, tax cuts, gun control, abortion rights and same-sex marriage when the former Massachusetts governor had not.

“I was with the president on the legacy of the president's dad and Ronald Reagan when Mitt Romney wasn't,” he added. “So, you know, I don't have anything to apologize for. But I'm running for president of the United States. I've got to show that I do have my own mind when it comes to how this country ought to lead, not only within its own borders but across the world.”

Romney had called for Huckabee to back down from a Foreign Affairs article he had written. In the piece, released this weekend, Huckabee accused the Bush administration of an “arrogant, bunker mentality.”

On Sunday, former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, who is remaining neutral in the GOP primary race, called Huckabee’s Foreign Affairs comments “unwarranted and unwise.”

“There is much to like about Mike Huckabee. But he will serve Republican primary voters, and our nation, better if he focused his criticisms on the Democrats who will run against our eventual nominee and not on the President who has kept us safe,” said Fleischer.

more on...
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/17/huckabee-%e2%80%98i-don%e2%80%99t-have-anything-to-apologize-for%e2%80%99/

Gee, thanks for those pics of McCain and Bush fondling each others steadfast convictions...

I just tossed my cookies.

MORE ON THE CIA TAPES CAPER

House Vows to Pursue CIA Inquiry
By Julian E. Barnes
The Los Angeles Times

Monday 17 December 2007

A key GOP lawmaker says his committee will investigate the destruction of interrogation tapes over the objections of the Justice Department.

Washington - The top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee vowed Sunday to press ahead with the congressional investigation of the CIA's destruction of interrogation videotapes, despite the strenuous objections of the Justice Department.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan said Congress would call witnesses and demand documents in order to investigate the CIA's decision to destroy videotapes of the interrogations of two suspected Al Qaeda operatives.

"We want to hold the [intelligence] community accountable for what's happened with these tapes," Hoekstra said. "I think we will issue subpoenas."

On Friday, the Justice Department said it would not cooperate with any congressional investigation, contending that giving lawmakers information could subject the inquiry to political pressures. Immediately after that announcement, Hoekstra and

Ari Melber is from here and worked with us some on the John Kerry campaign. He was also at both YearlyKos conventions. I was very glad to see him do this piece at Huffington Post and it also appeared at The Nation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ari-melber/liebermans-new-kiss-of-d_b_77021.html

It's called "Lieberman's New Kiss of Death."

Ralpheh
Sounds like a huge "separation of powers" showdown, with even some Republicans (such as Hoekstra) very pissed at the Justice Department.

Actually, it sounds to me like the GOP is playing it up to look like they aren't Bush lapdogs, counting on the incredibly short memory of the electorate to forget how they have walked in lockstep with Furious Georges trampling of the Constitution.

Forgive my cynicism, but they've got something up their sleeves here, and it surely isn't searching for the truth or upholding the laws of the land.

Somehow, they are gonna make the Dems look bad on this, like they need any help.

I smell Rove in the wings.

CNN Breaking News

Four floors of Fox News headquarters in New York evacuated after reports of a chemical explosion, fire officials say.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (AP) - President Bush worked to reassure Americans on Monday about the economy but said "there's definitely some storm clouds and concern" because of the nation's credit crunch and mortgage problems.

"But the underpinning is good," Bush told business and community leaders at a gathering of Rotary Club members.

"We've had a pretty good economic run," the president said in a speech intended to show he is aware of the public's edgy mood these days. Consumer confidence has eroded as turmoil in the housing and credit market have battered the economy.

Bush tried to position himself as an advocate for working families by taking aim at his favorite target — the Democratic Congress.

"The Congress cannot take economic vitality for granted," Bush said.

"The most negative thing Congress can do in the face of economic uncertainty is to raise taxes on the American people," Bush said.

The audience of roughly 80 people listened to Bush with respectful silence. Yet a line that normally gets him applause — "I'll veto any tax increase" — drew no reaction at all.

Bush chose to highlight positive economic news, such as job growth. "People are working; productivity is high," Bush said.

He acknowledged the nation's major economic woes — mainly the housing and credit crunch — in the context of explaining what his administration is doing to help.

"We can mitigate some of the issues," Bush said.

"I just want to let you know we've got a strategy. And Congress can help," the president said, citing a list of bills he's proposed to lawmakers.

more on...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22298219/

"Adil and Salim were two of 15 people, the rest Afghan, recently released by the US. Neither have ever been told why they were imprisoned." One was a hospital administrator, the other a journalist, both in Afghanistan. I wonder what useful information the CIA and Guantanamo torturers got from the torture of these men. How many American lives did the torture of these two men save?

NEWS AFRICA
Back from Guantanamo
By Mohamed Vall in Khartoum, Sudan

Rahma is now six but was only a few months old
when her father was taken to Guantanamo Bay
Adil Hassan Hamad can scarcely believe he is back with his family in Sudan, because only days ago he was still in the US's Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

"I am very, very happy and not believing this," Adil tells Al Jazeera, "That I am here with my family - even now I feel this could all be taken away at any moment."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2CB83FE4-7803-4E6D-B1C9-B31EDEDBC790.htm

Ron Paul's Revolution

John Nichols | Ron Paul collected more that $6 million in campaign donations Sunday--and the libertarian could well end up raising more than any GOP contender. Will Republican voters follow the money?

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?pid=260694

oh god - those photos nmp. I need to go and throw up. How the worst people in the world fall in love with each other. puke.

How much you want to bet they have been destroyed?

WASHINGTON (AP) --

White House visitor logs are public documents, a federal judge ruled Monday, rejecting a legal strategy that the Bush administration had hoped would get around public records laws.

The ruling is a blow to the Bush administration, which is fighting the release of records showing visits by lobbyist Jack Abramoff and prominent religious conservatives.

The records are created by the Secret Service, which is subject to the Freedom of Information Act. But the Bush administration has ordered the data turned over to the White House, where they are treated as presidential records outside the scope of the public records law.

U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth said logs from the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's residence are subject to public records request.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/12/17/national/w100931S95.DTL

If those records have been destroyed...

There is no suspects except georgie himself.

Army Times Describes U.S. Troop "Mutiny" in Iraq

"Not us. We're not going:"

Soldiers in 2nd Platoon, Charlie 1-26 stage a 'mutiny' that pulls the unit apart."

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003686058&imw=Y

Bet yer right Christy, those visitor logs will somehow have been "mistakenly or unknowingly" deleted or somesuch nonsense.

It's not democracy we are spreading, it's manure.

Wed., May. 30, 2007

WASHINGTON - A lawyer for Vice President Dick Cheney told the Secret Service in September to eliminate data on who visited Cheney at his official residence, a newly disclosed letter states.

The Sept. 13, 2006, letter from Cheney's lawyer says logs for Cheney's residence on the grounds of the Naval Observatory are subject to the Presidential Records Act.

Such a designation prevents the public from learning who visited the vice president.

The Justice Department filed the letter Friday in a lawsuit by a private group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, seeking the identities of conservative religious leaders who visited Cheney at his official residence.

The newly disclosed letter about visitors to Cheney's residence is accompanied by an 18-page Secret Service document revealing the agency's long-standing practice has been to destroy printed daily access lists of visitors to the residence.

Separately, the agency says it has given Cheney's office handwritten logs of who visits him at his personal residence.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18927300/

Ummm, Monkey.

From what I understand, the visitor 'logs' are literally log BOOKS, that are signed by those coming and going from the White House.

It would take one hell of an 'accident' to destroy that kind of paper evidence.

I bet $10 that they honestly never gave the visitors logs a second thought until people started asking to see them. Then they had to realize ...'Oh sh*t...!'.

It would be as hard to dispose of as a corpse.

HAHA!

But then again, not many people have the luxury of spending $2.7 million dollars for 'shredding services' to get rid of their corpses.

You don't really think Dick is just shredding old newspapers..do you?

Closing the book on presidential records
By Florence Olsen
Published on April 12, 2004

In the midst of his research on presidential records in 2001, the late historian Hugh Davis Graham ran afoul of a little-known executive order that keeps presidential records out of the public domain for longer than 12 years. Graham, a professor of history and political science at Vanderbilt University, and Stanley Kutler, an emeritus professor of law at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, subsequently became involved in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the executive order. Although a federal judge recently issued a decision effectively settling the lawsuit, it left unclear whether an executive order trumps a congressional statute in governing access to presidential records. On March 28, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the lawsuit brought by the historians against the National Archives and Records Administration.

In 2001, the historians alleged that NARA had unlawfully blocked access to 68,000 pages of former President Reagan's records. Electronic records were not the focus of the decision, but observers say the principle in the case applies to electronic and nonelectronic records. The district judge dismissed the case as moot because NARA had released the sought-after records before the conclusion of the lawsuit. Consequently, Kollar- Kotelly failed to rule on what she wrote was the principle of the case: Did President Bush overstep the limitations of his power when he issued an executive order altering the terms of the Presidential Records Act of 1978?

The American Historical Association, which filed the lawsuit, had asked the court to overrule the executive order that Bush issued on Nov. 1, 2001. Calling it "an impermissible exercise of executive power," the historians' group alleged that Bush's executive order put new restrictions on records to which public access had been guaranteed under the Presidential Records Act...

more...
http://www.fcw.com/print/10_10/news/82598-1.html

Public Citizen Litigation Group
1600 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009-1001
(202) 588-1000

November 5, 2001

The Honorable Stephen Horn
United States House of Representatives
2331 Rayburn House Office Bldg
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative Horn:

I understand that the Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Financial Management and Intergovernmental Relations of the House Committee on Government Reform intends to hold oversight hearings on the Presidential Records Act this coming Tuesday, November 6, 2001. On behalf of Public Citizen, a public advocacy group with a longstanding interest in openness of presidential historical records, I urge you to press any administration officials who appear at that hearing to provide an explanation of how the recent Executive Order on presidential records conforms to the Act and to governing principles of constitutional law.

The new Executive Order, signed by President Bush on November 1, 2001, provides that in the absence of "compelling circumstances," the incumbent president will concur in any assertion of executive privilege by a former president who seeks to block public access to presidential materials. In addition, the Order provides that even if the sitting president finds that "compelling circumstances" require him to disagree with a former president s assertion of executive privilege, the Archivist still may not release materials to the public without the former president s agreement unless required to do so by a final court order.

more...
http://www.citizen.org/litigation/briefs/FOIAGovtSec/articles.cfm?ID=6418

Thanks rossi. Well, hooray for the mutineers in Iraq. May there be more to come from your ranks in the days and weeks to follow. The only way to end an invasion is to down tools and not fight the landowners. It's the only way your leaders will get the message - no matter what they promise, the truth is out, all the reaction they will get will be *the finger* from people all over the world.

White House Visitor Records Closed
White House, Secret Service Sign Agreement Designating Visitor Records Nonpublic

By PETE YOST Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON Jan 5, 2007 (AP)

The White House and the Secret Service quietly signed an agreement last spring in the midst of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal declaring that records identifying visitors to the White House are not open to the public.

The Bush administration didn't reveal the existence of the memorandum of understanding until last fall. The White House is using it to deal with a legal problem on a separate front, a ruling by a federal judge ordering the production of Secret Service logs identifying visitors to the office of Vice President Dick Cheney.

In a federal appeals court filing three weeks ago, the administration's lawyers used the memo in a legal argument aimed at overturning the judge's ruling. The Washington Post is suing for access to the Secret Service logs.

The five-page document dated May 17 declares that all entry and exit data on White House visitors belongs to the White House as presidential records rather than to the Secret Service as agency records. Therefore, the agreement states, the material is not subject to public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

In the past, Secret Service logs have revealed the comings and goings of various White House visitors, including Monica Lewinsky and Clinton campaign donor Denise Rich, the wife of fugitive financier Marc Rich, who received a pardon in the closing hours of the Clinton administration.

The memo last spring was signed by the White House and Secret Service the day after a Washington-based group asked a federal judge to impose sanctions on the Secret Service in a dispute over White House visitor logs for Abramoff.

more...
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2774077

Millions of taxpayers' dollars to shred millions of taxpayers' documents. I don't see too many complaints from taxpayers' representatives over this illegality, that just sits beside all the other crimes.

Destroying documents.... how transparently democratic, eh?

What is there to hide, the identities of CIA interrogators or something?

WASHINGTON (AP) - The shortfall between the promises the government has made on Social Security, Medicare and other benefit programs is $45 trillion over the next 75 years, up nearly $1 trillion in just one year, the Bush administration reported Monday.

The administration, releasing the "Financial Report of the United States Government" for 2007, said that the gap between benefits that have been promised and projected revenues is up 67.8 percent from just four years ago, when it was estimated at $26.9 trillion.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22299587/

More great work from the Bush administration... add it to the list, sorry, "legacy" of things unaddressed or f***ed up by The Waterboard of Directors.

The 'Body Contractors':

Death Squads Are Killing Fewer People but Taking More Care to Hide Handiwork

http://www.newsweek.com/id/78156

This is getting more and more disturbing,,,

....was involved in the hanging of a stray dog at a Boy Scout camp in 1998. The incident led to the dismissal of David Huckabee, then 17, from his job as a counselor at Camp Pioneer in Hatfield, Ark. It also prompted the local prosecuting attorney— bombarded with complaints generated by a national animal-rights group—to write a letter to the Arkansas state police seeking help investigating whether David and another teenager had violated state animal-cruelty laws. The state police never granted the request, and no charges were ever filed. But John Bailey, then the director of Arkansas's state police, tells NEWSWEEK that Governor Huckabee's chief of staff and personal lawyer both leaned on him to write a letter officially denying the local prosecutor's request. Bailey, a career officer who had been appointed chief by Huckabee's Democratic predecessor, said he viewed the lawyer's intervention as improper and terminated the conversation. Seven months later, he was called into Huckabee's office and fired. "I've lost confidence in your ability to do your job," Bailey says Huckabee told him. One reason Huckabee cited was "I couldn't get you to help me with my son when I had that problem," according to Bailey. "Without question, [Huckabee] was making a conscious attempt to keep the state police from investigating his son," says I. C. Smith, the former FBI chief in Little Rock, who worked closely with Bailey and called him a "courageous" and "very solid" professional.

Huckabee called Bailey's account "totally untrue" and described him as a "bitter" exemployee. "I asked him to resign because he had so alienated the entire state police," he said. "It had nothing to do with my son." Brenda Turner, Huckabee's then chief of staff, and Kevin Crass, the Huckabee family lawyer, also disputed Bailey's account, although both acknowledged talking to him about the dog killing. "I asked him, 'Is it normal for the state police to … investigate something that happened at a Boy Scout camp?' " Turner says. "We wanted the same treatment that anybody else would get."
was involved in the hanging of a stray dog at a Boy Scout camp in 1998. The incident led to the dismissal of David Huckabee, then 17, from his job as a counselor at Camp Pioneer in Hatfield, Ark. It also prompted the local prosecuting attorney— bombarded with complaints generated by a national animal-rights group—to write a letter to the Arkansas state police seeking help investigating whether David and another teenager had violated state animal-cruelty laws. The state police never granted the request, and no charges were ever filed. But John Bailey, then the director of Arkansas's state police, tells NEWSWEEK that Governor Huckabee's chief of staff and personal lawyer both leaned on him to write a letter officially denying the local prosecutor's request. Bailey, a career officer who had been appointed chief by Huckabee's Democratic predecessor, said he viewed the lawyer's intervention as improper and terminated the conversation. Seven months later, he was called into Huckabee's office and fired. "I've lost confidence in your ability to do your job," Bailey says Huckabee told him. One reason Huckabee cited was "I couldn't get you to help me with my son when I had that problem," according to Bailey. "Without question, [Huckabee] was making a conscious attempt to keep the state police from investigating his son," says I. C. Smith, the former FBI chief in Little Rock, who worked closely with Bailey and called him a "courageous" and "very solid" professional.

Huckabee called Bailey's account "totally untrue" and described him as a "bitter" exemployee. "I asked him to resign because he had so alienated the entire state police," he said. "It had nothing to do with my son." Brenda Turner, Huckabee's then chief of staff, and Kevin Crass, the Huckabee family lawyer, also disputed Bailey's account, although both acknowledged talking to him about the dog killing. "I asked him, 'Is it normal for the state police to … investigate something that happened at a Boy Scout camp?' " Turner says. "We wanted the same treatment that anybody else would get."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/78241

Opps I totally copy/pasted that wrong.

Did Bush Eat Popcorn While Watching the Torture Tapes?
Larry C. Johnson, Atlantic Free Press
So let me explain why I am certain that George W. Bush, and probably Dick Cheney, watched the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah and maybe that of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. Let’s begin with the White House smoke screen on this issue. When spokeswoman Dana Perino was asked the other day: QUESTION: . . . On these CIA videotapes, did either the President or Vice President or Condoleezza Rice, when she was National Security Advisor, or Steve Hadley, see them before they were destroyed? Perino offered this artful phrasing: PERINO: I spoke to the President, and so I will have to defer on the others. But I spoke to the President this morning about this. He has no recollection of being made aware of the tapes or their destruction before yesterday. He was briefed by General Hayden yesterday morning. No recollection of being made aware? Sorry, if he did not know anything about the tapes then the answer is very simple–Never heard of them, never saw them, and this is the first we have heard of this matter. No room for doubt with that answer....
http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/3041/81/

Allies losing Afghanistan war, Australian minister warns: report

Monday, December 17, 2007
Allies losing Afghanistan war, Australian minister warns: report
AFP
December 16, 2007SYDNEY (AFP) — Australia's new government has warned NATO and its allies they will lose the war against hardline Taliban forces in Afghanistan unless they urgently change tactics, a report said Monday.The country's new Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon issued the stark warning at a meeting in Edinburgh last week of eight nations engaged in the conflict, including the United States, The Australian newspaper said.The coalition of NATO and allied forces engaged in the conflict since 2001 must overhaul military and civil programmes aimed at fostering stability in the troubled country if they are to win the conflict, he cautioned.The minister's comments to the closed-door gathering were based on classified intelligence assessments prepared for the previous Australian government of John Howard which painted a bleak picture of the Afghan conflict."The previous government would have us believe that good progress is being made in Afghanistan. The reality is quite a different one," Fitzgibbon told The Australian after returning from the meeting in Britain."We are winning the battles and not the war, in my view. We have been very successful in clearing areas of the Taliban but it's having no real strategic effect," he said.Fitzgibbon also told the meeting in Edinburgh, attended by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, that while NATO and its allies had been successfully "stomping on lots of ants, we have not been dealing with the ants' nest".

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hzHGlf_rk7UFg8-FwKvLktX47UmA

Who's the reason for the season? Oh, that's right--He is.

In a new ad set to debut tomorrow in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, Mike Huckabee puts the "Christ" back in Christmas. Wearing a red sweater and standing before a glowing Tannenbaum as "Silent Night" softly plays, the former Arkansas governor asks viewers if they're "about worn out of all the television commercials you've been seeing, mostly about politics."

(Insert mental image of red-sweatered Iowans, New Hampshirites and South Carolinians nodding in agreement here.)

"I don't blame you," he says. "At this time of year, sometimes it's nice to pull aside from all of that and remember that"--pause, inhale, smile sincerely--"what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ." After which he mentions "Christmas" twice more and closes with a final "God bless."

This might be the smartest ad of the cycle. For all the observers wondering how the candidates would manage the awkward holiday/caucus overlap, Huckabee delivers a master class.

The first step: beating his rivals to the "This Is No Time for Politics" punch; now every on-air attempt they make to topple the frontrunner from his above-the-fray pedestal looks tawdry.

The next step: reminding voters which side of the "War on Christmas" he's on. Most campaigns run tame, PC "holiday" fare. Not Huckabee. A Southern Baptist pastor, he's counting on evangelicals to win in Iowa. What better way to prove he will put religion in the public square as president than by rejecting establishment attempts to banish Christ from Christmas and defiantly putting religion in the public square today? With very few Jews, Muslims or atheists in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina to take offense--and none who were planning to vote for Huckabee--it's all upside in electoral terms.

The final, and most important, step: getting the secular media all riled up. Expect plenty of "Oh, No He Di'n't" coverage on cable news, with a hearty dollop of "What Does It All Mean?" The press loves nothing more than to huff and puff over religion. For Huckabee's cash-strapped campaign, that means priceless free exposure--and millions of opportunities for its neighborly candidate to connect with the vast majority of Americans who agree with his idea of "what really matters."

http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2007/12/17/ad-hawk-the-greatest-story-ever-told.aspx

UPDATE: New one from Kayakbiker - this is just what I was afraid of! Watch that hand!

A surge in the polls and some controversial comments have put GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee in the spotlight! He speaks to Larry King tonight on CNN at 9 p.m. ET

Is McCain giving free personal prostate exams for everyone who endorses him?

Free Cup of Joe

Paulson rules out bailout for mortgage crisis
Administration cool to Greenspan suggestion of homeowner relief

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration reacted coolly Monday to a suggestion from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan that the government should consider bolder efforts to deal with the current mortgage crisis.

Asked about Greenspan's suggestion that perhaps public money should be used to help struggling homeowners, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the administration remained opposed to any type of government bailout.

"I don't think what we need is a big government bailout right now," Paulson said in an interview on Fox Business News. "I think what we need is to help the markets work the way they're intended to work and avoid those foreclosures that are preventable."

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22301892/

From a friend in AZ:

I just sent a letter to Senator Reid and let him know I wanted him to
support Chris Dodd's filibuster to stop lawless telecom companies
from getting immunity for illegally spying on Americans.

Wanna join me?

http://action.firedoglake.com/page/petition/ReidDoddFISA/kvgem

The leading Republican candidates for the presidential nomination have all been campaigning heavily on their religious beliefs. The Democrats have also touched on the importance of faith in their lives, but have not made it a campaign issue in the same way.

Father Jonathan Morris, a conservative Catholic priest who regularly offers comnmentary for Fox News, was asked on Fox & Friends why there is "less of a response" from Democrats when it comes to talking about God. Morris first giggled and quipped, "Would you like me to give you the politically correct answer?"

Morris then explained, "When you have a political platform, like the Democratic platform right now, that on major issues goes against Biblical teaching, okay -- about abortion, about homosexual marriage, other issues -- it's very, a delicate issue. Now, this is not judging any Democrat's individual faith, but when their platform goes against Biblical teaching they know they have to be careful when they start getting into details."

When asked whether the Republican platform also goes against Christian doctrine on issues like poverty, Morris replied somewhat cryptically, "There's always a hierarchy of value. When there's no life that's permitted, poverty is not an issue." Morris may have been trying to say that aborted fetuses don't get the chance to be poor, so poverty doesn't have to be addressed until after the abortion issue is resolved.

This video is from Fox's Fox & Friends, broadcast on December 16, 2007.

more...
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Fox_priest_Democratic_platform_against_Biblical_1216.html

WEXLER WANTS HEARING update:

I called Wexler's office this afternoon about the petition drive. I asked how many signers were they going for. The guy on the phone said 50,000 but by then they already had 60,000. I suggested a good number would be 200,000 or 300,000 for an online petition. Here is the current number:

84,234
signed up
and counting...

BTW: Wexler sent op-ed pieces on impeachment hearings to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Miami Herald, all of which were rejected.....

Monkey

What do the candidates say about this? It's in the Bible.

Chris Dodd filibuster threat resulted in FISA bill being pulled til after the holiday. Where were Clinton and Obama? Who knows. Maybe it's a little too controversial during an election year. Where is the spine.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/17/192734/21/590/423517

Clinton Obama Edwards: The Three Are One
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/17/203251/40/552/423547

Spoiling for a Fight
http://mediamatters.org/items/200712150003?f=s_search

These are very provocative, thoughtful articles. The first is about how similar the candidates are, how the money they accept is really not so different, and how no matter who gets in, there will be a bit of "same diff" in terms of advisors and who is behind the scenes.

The second talks about the media's role, and how they are meant to build up a candidate (ie. HIllary's "inevitability") then knock them down later, so there will be a "horse race" (remember what they did with/to Dean?) - they literally brag about how they can make and break careers. & remember - they can't have any Dem candidate up too high, or there might be a big enough spread with the trailing Republican that their cheating strategies would fail. They have to keep it within the margin of error, say never more than 5 or so percentage points between the two parties' candidates as it gets close to voting day.

Today I met a man from Belgium who told me how the US helped create Belgium after WW2. He has 3 PhD degrees and is now a Kung Fu instructor, though he's in his mid 70s. He lived under German occupation and knows the definition of fascism. He warned about how corporate control is not something either party can dare go against, and how much power the CIA has to sway governments in order to support "US interests" (corporations). It was fairly chilling.

DEMOCRACY FOR AMERICA ON THE FISA BILL IN THE SENATE:

Dear Ralph,

You did it! Minutes ago, Senator Reid pulled the FISA bill from the Senate floor.

Since Friday at noon, you made 2,443 reported calls to Senator Reid demanding he stop this bill. All weekend internet blogs, like Firedoglake and DailyKos, kept it in the news cycle. From the ACLU to the Courage Campaign, progressives took action. And today, Senator Dodd threatened to filibuster. Together, we won.

When Progressives stand up, Beltway Democrats back down.

Today is a victory. But the battle for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party continues. Contribute $15 right now to keep up the fight.

You did it! Minutes ago, Senator Reid pulled the FISA bill from the Senate floor.

Since Friday at noon, you made 2,443 reported calls to Senator Reid demanding he stop this bill. All weekend internet blogs, like Firedoglake and DailyKos, kept it in the news cycle. From the ACLU to the Courage Campaign, progressives took action. And today, Senator Dodd threatened to filibuster. Together, we won.

When Progressives stand up, Beltway Democrats back down.

Of course they will want money.

wow Ralpheh

Another good one:

The Long Road Back to Respectability
http://www.docudharma.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=D61F53A6C52EDD9286C27467BABBB5F5?diaryId=3066

Addresses alot of things we have talked about - what if 2004 had gone differently, what would still have been hard, why weren't the Dems as strong as we hoped, what can we expect in 2008, etc.?

A U.S. judge ordered the Secret Service on Monday to disclose records of visits by nine prominent conservative Christian leaders to the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's residence.

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1742338820071217

How many of us can say "told ya so?"

We need separation of Church and State.
We need to retain the existence of the State, to preserve social safety
nets such as for the poor.

These hypocrites have worked in league with the corporatists to make
destroy the middle class, run this country deep into debt, and to
create a welfare system for rich CEO and munitions makers.

The moneylenders need to be run out of the temple, and these
hypocrites need to be run out of the government.

When asked whether the Republican platform also goes against Christian doctrine on issues like poverty, Morris replied somewhat cryptically, "There's always a hierarchy of value. When there's no life that's permitted, poverty is not an issue." Morris may have been trying to say that aborted fetuses don't get the chance to be poor, so poverty doesn't have to be addressed until after the abortion issue is resolved.

This is why the Death Book belongs only in the shredder or on the stove for me.

This is a belief system of DEATH.

The moneylenders need to be run out of the temple, and these hypocrites need to be run out of the government.

Not enough. The temple itself needs to be destroyed, and replaced with something that serves everyone - not just "The Chosen" or "The Truth" (which is ANYTHING but).

It is my sincere belief that Christians who boast "NOT OF THIS WORLD" on their wretched SUVs shall NEVER have a place in this world - or anyone else's world for that matter.

If you hate this world so much, and can't wait for the Rapture to come, just bring the Rapture on a bit early, and go kill your sorry selves. The rest of the world will thank you.

No wonder this nation is so f'd up when such an antisocial death cult has such a powerful grip on the only political party that matters - and lesser but significant grip on the political party that doesn't matter.

These are very provocative, thoughtful articles. The first is about how similar the candidates are, how the money they accept is really not so different, and how no matter who gets in, there will be a bit of "same diff" in terms of advisors and who is behind the scenes.

The second talks about the media's role, and how they are meant to build up a candidate (ie. HIllary's "inevitability") then knock them down later, so there will be a "horse race" (remember what they di

@@@@@@@@@

They are wrong about HIllary's money and her fundraising. Hillary's has been coming from Fat Cat contributors - her first $50 million came from overwhelming wealthy contributors. In fact, many of her contributors had maxed out early on.

Hillary has had several fund-raising scandals: - the one in 2000 in California; this year in Chinatown, New York City; and this year with fugitive felon Hsu who raised over $100,000 and had arranged for a Fat Cat fund-raising dinner in California for Hillary as well. We could also talk about Hillary's money from Defense contractors, Hillary's money from people like Marc Rich, and the people that are funneling money to Hillary through Bill (the donations to Clinton's presidential library, his enormous speaking fees etc...)

The upshot is, of course, that HIllary is a war-hawk, an interventionist, has been saber-rattling on Iran, supported the invasion of Iraq:

she should NOT be president....

omg nmp - your photos in this open thread have had me popping the stemetil pills all day - the truly grotesque men of American politics!

Woz
I know .. it's visuals we really didn't need.

Sparrow,

Dianna is on her way.

And Ralph, great work on the FISA bill.

And I know atleast 2 more names just added to Wexlers petetion.

Yes, Ralph - great work and great ideas to get attention out there.

Now is that sick or what? another bush in the White House?

Bill Clinton: Bush Sr Will Help President Hillary

Former President Bill Clinton said Monday that the first thing his wife Hillary will do when she reaches the White House is dispatch him and his predecessor, President George H.W. Bush, on an around-the-world mission to repair the damage done to America's reputation by the current president -- Bush's son, George W. Bush.

"Well, the first thing she intends to do, because you can do this without passing a bill, the first thing she intends to do is to send me...

Bill go wank yourself jerkoff

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/17/bill-clinton-george-hw-bush-will-help-president-hillary/

What does he think if McCain is nominated, he will nominate the WANKER to be his Vice President?

Lieberman Jumps On Board McCain's Sinking Ship

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/17/bill-clinton-george-hw-bush-will-help-president-hillary/

Sorry wrong link for Lieverman McCain Story

http://www.236.com/news/2007/12/17/lieberman_2998.php

Rich torturers enjoying their work within the confines of home. Can they be swapped with a few more of the current inmates of Guantanamo? Give these charmers to the current torturers at Guantanamo to practice on. That seems fair.

New York millionaires guilty of keeping slaves
December 18, 2007 - 3:47PM

A millionaire New York couple have been found guilty of keeping two Indonesian women as slaves in a dramatic verdict that resulted in the wife fainting.

Indian-born Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 35, and Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, were convicted of 12 charges including forced labour, harbouring illegal residents and conspiracy in what prosecutors dubbed "a case of modern-day slavery''.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/new-york-millionaires-guilty-of-keeping-slaves/2007/12/18/1197740249690.html

Monkeys can do mental math, too

Rhesus macaques perform quick addition almost as well as college kids

MSNBC staff and news service reports
Dec. 17, 2007

Rhesus macaque monkeys performed nearly as well as college students at quick mental addition, researchers reported Monday, adding to the evidence that non-verbal math skills are not unique to humans.

The study from Duke University follows findings by Japanese researchers earlier this month that young chimpanzees performed better than human adults at a memory game.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22303264/

monkey - the conclusion was - peanuts are more important to the monkeys than to the college students.

I hope that's a necklace and not a noose/chain around that monkey's neck.

Since the tests aren't being conducted at Guantanamo, it's gotta be a necklace...

Monkeybling is all the rage!

grrrrrrrr

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Democrat Hillary Clinton got visibly emotional at an Iowa campaign event Monday morning designed to showcase a softer side of the New York senator.

Flanked by childhood friends and constituents who each offered testimonials on the Democratic presidential candidate, a glassy-eyed Clinton spoke noticeably softer than most past appearances on the stump.

"It is very exciting for me to have so many of my friends from my entire life who have come out here, to talk with Iowans, to answer questions, to give you some insight and information about our relationships, about what I've been trying to do my entire life, and particularly as an adult," Clinton said at a campaign event in Johnston, Iowa Monday.

"What I try to do every day is figure out how to help somebody,” she said later in the event. “You can try to help somebody every single day, and I’ve tried to do that as a public servant, as an activist, and now as a senator."

The event coincides with a new campaign Web site — www.TheHillaryIKnow.com — that includes videos for several friends, colleagues, and constituents of Clinton's speaking on her behalf.

The event and Web site are all part of an effort to convey a softer image of Clinton, as polls continue to indicate Democratic primary voters view her as less likeable and more like a "typical politician" than her chief rival, Barack Obama.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/18/clinton-gets-emotional/

"Designed" by the campaign to show a softer side... if that's not a "typical politician", I don't know what is.

Funny.

Wonder how they will display her 'hard side'...?

Someone should, since we only ever get to see her flipfloppy side.

It's all so contrived, I think that's what makes Huckabee look good to the Amurkan, he actually appears to be himself all the time (not that that's a good thing!)

Look Monkey... Not as good as the Smush Bush doll, but still cool. 30 ft, That's impressive.

http://www.firststreetonline.com/product.jsp?id=77210

woz said:

monkey - the conclusion was - peanuts are more important to the monkeys than to the college students.

HAHAHA! Hahaha!

Amen!

I think it's good that Bush Sr. is turning on his own son. This may be considered by some a pandering to Republicans by Hillary but this has been publicly in the works for months. I think it could be good if it worked out right.

I have a friend who worked for Clinton Global Initiatives. Bill Clinton has a way of getting people to do humanitarian things. Read his book "Giving." Among those he inspired were Gates, Blair, Powell. They have done bad things, granted, but shouldn't throw the baby out with the death penalty til you know for sure.

excuse me I meant throw the baby out with the BATHWATER - I was preoccupied with the DEATH PENALTY, as you can see from my posts on the front page thread header.

I learned about the "electric chair" when I was a child and about lost my lunch, adding it to the evidence that adults were to be questioned about their sanity.

Ofcourse george sr will be helping hillary.

I wonder if that also includes rigging an election for her....?

Turning on his own son..? Not hardly.

More like once again making sure his messes are cleaned up by someone who won't ask too many questions.

BTW, I hear the clinton presidential library donation list finally was revealed.

OMG! Saudis gave clinton just as much for his library as they did for georgies.

But then again, since clinton took care of the royal family so well after Khobar Towers, I guess they thought he deserved it.

I am so tired of little william.

And his new bestest new friend ever, ghwb.

I am surprised he said it though, cause now her poll numbers are gonna tank HARD.

Just what kind of fools do they think we are?

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Democrat Hillary Clinton got visibly emotional at an Iowa campaign event Monday morning designed to showcase a softer side of the New York senator.

Flanked by childhood friends and constituents who each offered testimonials on the Democratic presidential candidate, a glassy-eyed Clinton spoke noticeably softer than most past appearances on the stump.

@@@@@@@

THE CALCULATING CACKLE

THE CALCULATING CRY....

does Hillary have a mood disorder???

Who wants any part of them in 2008?

1980=BUSH VP
1984=BUSH VP
1988=BUSH
1992=CLINTON
1996=CLINTON
2000=BUSH
2004=BUSH
2008=CLINTON
2012=CLINTON

Bush Wants Control Over Military Lawyers

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121707A.shtml

Charlie Savage, reporting for The Boston Globe, says, "the Bush administration is pushing to take control of the promotions of military lawyers, escalating a conflict over the independence of uniformed attorneys who have repeatedly raised objections to the White House's policies toward prisoners in the war on terrorism."

FCC OKs controversial media-ownership rule
After 32 years, commission permits broadcasters to also own a newspaper

Breaking news
updated 41 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Communications Commission, overturning a 32-year-old ban, voted Tuesday to allow broadcasters in the nation’s 20 largest media markets to also own a newspaper.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was joined by his two Republican colleagues in favor of the proposal, while the commission’s two Democrats voted against it.

Martin pushed the vote through despite intense pressure from House and Senate members on Capitol Hill to delay it. The chairman, however, has the support of the White House, which has pledged to turn back any congressional action that seeks to undo the agency vote.

more from these scumbag mutherf*ckers....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22313479/

At Tuesday’s meeting, the chairman described the media ownership proceeding as “the most contentious and divisive issue” to come before him.

That proved true as the two Democrats in the commission blasted the proposal in unusually strong language for the normally sedate agency.

Martin, noting the steady decline in revenue for newspapers, said his proposal “strikes a balance” between the changing media marketplace and the need to protect diversity and competition.

The Democrats blasted the chairman for making changes to the proposal “in the dead of night” and just before the meeting that created new ownership loopholes instead of closing them, as he pledged during a recent hearing on Capitol Hill.

“Anybody who thinks our processes are open, thoughtful or deliberative should think twice in light of these nocturnal escapades,” said Democrat Jonathan Adelstein.

The Democrat said Martin’s proposal “will allow for waivers for six new newspaper-broadcast combinations and 36 grandfathered stations.”

Copps described the commission’s action as a “terrible decision.”

“In the final analysis, the real winners today are businesses that are in many cases quite healthy, and the real losers are going to be all of us who depend on the news media to learn what’s happening in our communities and to keep an eye on local government,” he said.

Republican Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate described the process as “transparent and thorough.” She said the changes proposed are narrow, and hinted she was in favor of a greater liberalization of the media ownership rules.

Fellow Republican Commission Robert McDowell, who also defended the proposal, noted the explosion of new media in the modern marketplace and denied the proposal was “pockmarked with loopholes” as claimed by the Democrats.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22313479/

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina (CNN) – Former President Bill Clinton said Monday that the first thing his wife Hillary will do when she reaches the White House is dispatch him and his predecessor, President George H.W. Bush, on an around-the-world mission to repair the damage done to America's reputation by the current president — Bush's son, George W. Bush.

"Well, the first thing she intends to do, because you can do this without passing a bill, the first thing she intends to do is to send me and former President Bush and a number of other people around the world to tell them that America is open for business and cooperation again," Clinton said in response to a question from a supporter about what his wife's "number one priority" would be as president.

I just went back and reread this. It is.. stunning.

For 1 is daddy admitting georgie screwwed up? Guess so.

And Hillarys Numer One Priority.... would not be hearings, or investigations, or transparency... It would be to RECRUIT HIS DADDY, along with her lovely dovey... to go out into the world... and restart 'bidness'.

HOW MUCH MORE BLATANT CAN IT GET?

Karl Rove himself declared hillary 'WILL BE' the next president. You don't think they would really leave their successor to chance, would you?

Amazing karl said that. I think his tounge slipped. He said it at a time he was still telling other republicans not to believe the polls showing they would be decimated, cause he had found a SECRET MATH that said everything would stay just the same.

No investigations, no. No trying to get us out of a war that was started on lies. No. Sending out his daddy to cover up his crimes around the world... THAT is her number one priority.

I told Rossi two weeks ago their families would strike a deal. One that would ensure hillarys' victory.

It ensured georgies. It is not about republican/democrat, it is about POWER and maintaing 'business'.

Screw all the dead people! Hillarys' 'first priority' is to cover up georgies crimes. To get HIS DADDY to go clean up his messes.

How much more blatant can it get?

Hillary can't win, I guaranteedamntee it.

... and I guarandamntee it, too.

Top Iraqi Kurd refuses to meet Rice
Source: AFP

ARBIL, Iraq (AFP) - The president of Iraq's Kurdish region is refusing to meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in Iraq Tuesday, because of the US position over Turkey sending soldiers into northern Iraq, a top Kurdish official said.

President Massud Barzani, who had been due to fly to Baghdad to meet Rice, will not do so in protest, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said.

"It was decided that Massud Barzani would go to Baghdad to take part in a meeting with Condoleezza Rice and other officials, but he will not go now as a sign of protest against the American position on the bombings by Turkey."

"It is unacceptable that the United States, in charge of monitoring our airspace, authorised Turkey to bomb our villages," he told reporters.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071218/pl_afp/iraqunrestusbarzanirice_071218144024

Says Who Monkey? Me? You? The voters?

georgie was never LEGALLY ELECTED either. Not without perverting the meaning of 'legal'.

If Ally wants to say otherwise OK, we can have a catfight or whatever... But almost all the rest of us damn sure know if they can rig Florida, Ohio, Alabama, Louisiana... AT WILL...

You know that our elections can no longer be guarandamnteed.

Their successor will NEVER be left to chance. These people have been involved in war crimes and a global looting spree. Treason, extortion, domestic spying.

They will NOT leave it to chance.

The pre-election Hillary uproar will make Dumbya's negatives look like childplay, of that I am positive...

Stop bein so negative ;-)

IF she were to get the nomination, or domination, or the right denomination, but I think more than likely she'll get more demonization.

Negative..? I am being realistic Monkey.

I told Rossi, this very thing would happen two weeks ago.

Because that is what mafia families do to maintain thier common intrests. They strike deals and hide each others bodies. They make 'business' their number one priority.

I didn't want to believe it though till I saw it.

I no longer have any doubt in my mind who our next 'president' will be. He won't be black and it won't be a he.

Who says otherwise? We The People are no longer allowed to make that choice, and we have not had the power to determine the outcome for a very long time.

Negative? I have not even told you how I FEEL about it all.

Now that would be a 'negative' conversation, indeed.

Maybe We Just Can't Handle the Truth ...
… even when the truth is this in-your-face obvious:
The invasion of Iraq was justified, because Saddam Hussein had WMDs. They were never found because when he heard he was about to be attacked by US forces, Saddam decided to get rid of the very weapons he could have used to defend himself and retain control of his wealth and power.
Since landing in Baghdad, our troops have continually been hailed as liberators and barraged with sweets and flowers. The liberal media has just steadfastly refused to report it.
No one from this administration ever attempted to make a connection between 9-11 and Iraq, or Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. The millions of people who heard such statements are all delusional, and the videotapes of those words being spoken were all tampered with after-the-fact.
On-the-ground success in Iraq is directly proportionate to the number of magnetic yellow ribbons displayed on US trucks and cars.
“Support the Troops” is a snappy slogan, and was never proffered as administration policy.
Every prediction made by PNACers like Bill Kristol came to pass exactly as foreseen. Any statements proving the contrary were simply taken out of context by the left-leaning mainstream media.
The use of torture has resulted in the thwarting of thousands of plots against our country. The fact that the administration has never released details of same is in keeping with their usual stance of downplaying their many successes in the War on Terror.
Increased prices at the pump are necessary to offset the massive losses in oil company profits that have occurred since Bush took office.
We are currently experiencing a booming economy thanks to tax-cuts for the wealthy, who have invested their money in American businesses, thereby creating the new jobs and increased wealth all Americans now enjoy.
The sub-prime mortgage crisis is a direct result of experienced, well-established financial institutions being completely duped by a scam perpetrated by naïve, inexperienced home buyers.
American children rank poorly in education as compared to children in other nations because all of the other countries’ kids are cheating on the tests.
The theory of global warming has been completely debunked by the fact that it still snows in the wintertime.
All fossils alleged to be more than 6,000 years old have been found to bear a Made by Satan to Fool You! label upon closer scrutiny – a fact which has been covered-up by scientists for the past 6,000 years.
Larry Craig and Bob Allen are not gay. They were part of a special GOP sting operation set up to snare gay cops who hide out in public bathrooms hoping to force straight Republican men to convert to the gay lifestyle.
Flooding the US market with cheap, made-in-sweatshop products is a humane way of providing employment for tens of thousands of Chinese children who would otherwise be wasting their childhood by being unemployed.
All administration staffers should be protected from having to testify under oath on the basis of executive privilege in matters where the executive branch has denied any involvement whatsoever.
There is no correlation between investigations into GOP wrongdoing and sudden resignations. Family-values Republicans only give up their positions when overwhelmed by a desire to spend more time with their loved ones.
Despite the most frequent reasons cited for the breakdown of marriages being abuse, adultery, alcohol/drug addiction, etc., most marriages actually fail because a gay couple moved into the neighborhood.
There is nothing untoward about the awarding of no-bid government contracts to companies owned by administration family members and friends. The names of those companies were randomly picked out of a hat, and any association with Bush or Cheney is merely coincidental.
Despite the very lengthy list of Republicans who have been found guilty of corruption – e.g. Duke Cunningham, Jack Abramoff, Dusty Foggo, et al – they are all innocent. They were railroaded by mean-spirited Democrats, and were forced to perjure themselves and/or admit to crimes they did not commit.
Alberto Gonzales cannot remember attending a number of meetings he was noted as being present for. But he can remember, with complete clarity, what wasn’t discussed at those same meetings.
Valerie Plame was a lowly desk-jockey at the CIA. Ironically, due to a rotating secretarial assignment pool, it was her turn to choose who to send on an all-important mission to investigate alleged purchases of yellow-cake in Niger.
George W. Bush is an intelligent, well-read, well-informed man. He only acts the buffoon to keep our nation’s enemies off-balance.
Dick Cheney hides himself in undisclosed locations in order to escape the constant intrusion of well-wishers, adoring fans, and autograph-seekers.
Jeff Gannon’s many visits to the White House were not of a personal nature. He just needed his WH press pass revalidated, which, due to the president’s busy schedule, often required waiting in line overnight.
Dana Perrino is not as dumb as she seems. If she was as dumb as she seems, a teleprompter flashing the words inhale/exhale would be clearly visible during televised briefing sessions.
Billions of dollars, millions of electronic records and communications, and countless hours of video and audio tapes have not gone missing during this administration. They are merely hiding in a corner of a dryer somewhere in a DC laundromat, under a pile of hundreds of thousands of long-lost socks.
The fact that federal spending on paper shredding has increased more than 600 percent since George W. Bush took office is merely reflective of the fact that he has received 600 percent more fan mail during his years in office than Clinton did.
Everything wrong with the country today can be directly linked to the actions of Bill Clinton, even the things that happened before he was born.
Everything right with the country today can be directly linked to the actions of Ronald Reagan, even the things that happened after he became a drooling, senile old man.
Any link between the current unprecedented national debt and control of government by the fiscally responsible Republicans has never been proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
All Gitmo detainees are guilty of all of the crimes they have never been charged with. Republicans who have been caught red-handed with their hands in the till are innocent victims of having been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
God always intended that American corporations have unfettered access to oil – he was just so busy inventing the universe in six days, he totally forgot to put it underneath the most deserving country.
George W. Bush has staunchly adhered to the Constitution, if you include the recently-discovered footnotes that were written in crayon by an anonymous original-signer’s hand.
Laura Bush is not living in a prescription drug-induced dreamlike state – she is just permanently bedazzled by her husband’s wit, style, wisdom, and compassion for all of the people he has killed, maimed, orphaned or tortured.
Karl Rove is not attempting to rewrite history. He is simply offering an alternate theory to the concept that history should be based on things that actually happened.
Face it, we can’t handle the truth.
What is wrong with US?

http://www.democraticunderground.com:80/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3839097

I just had an idea for the perfect bumper sticker..sign, whatever.

Join the Revolution

REGISTER TO VOTE!

FOCUS | Justice Department's Voting Rights Chief Resigns

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121507Y.shtml

Greg Gordon reports for McClatchy Newspapers: "The Justice Department's voting rights chief stepped down Friday amid allegations that he'd used the position to aid a Republican strategy to suppress African-American votes."

Christy

If Ally wants to say otherwise OK, we can have a catfight or whatever... But almost all the rest of us damn sure know if they can rig Florida, Ohio, Alabama, Louisiana... AT WILL...

Okay, we shall have a catfight then. :)

Seriously though, it's Democratic Party's own selling out of its base, and its tactical ineptitude, that is causing even its good politicians to look bad, and lose to Republicans (blatant case in point: Blanco being succeeded by Jindal).

Another case in point: the Democrats created the Alaska oil dividend, but everyone in Alaska thanks the Republicans.

Another case in point: the Democrats sent American troops to Korea and Vietnam, but the Korean- and Vietnamese-Americans hold only the Republicans in gratitude.

Yet another case in point: Southern California is a lost cause to the Democrats, partly because of the loss of Koreatown and Little Saigon, and partly because the Democrats are too cozy with its Bay Area island.

Christy

And you said it yourself before - Democrats who sell out are as despicable as Republicans.

Don't defend the Dems unless they do deserve to be defended.

"Don't defend the Dems unless they do deserve to be defended."

Amen Sister!

Oh yeah, catfight. I get your point, however, none of that addresses the fact georgie did steal the elections he won.

In my honest opinion, I believe that even you believe this, and know it to be true.

However, I think I also know why you choose to stick with the 'he won it because..' line. It is honestly easier to believe it.

But, We all know it is not that easy. And both opinions can not simultainiously be true.

Either he stole it, or he won legitamately. There is much evidence suggesting it was stolen. Not just in 04 but 02 and 2000 as well.

They have the whole damn system rigged. They would not have rigged it for any other reason than to predetermine the outcome.

Either it is OUR fault... Or it is THEIR fault.

No more blaming the victims. Time to kick THEIR ass.

Ally, Did you say defend or defund? ;-)

You say Tomato, and I say D'Amato.

Umm, Christy, now what????

Elder Bush nixes Clinton trip idea

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former President George H.W. Bush has shot down his successor Bill Clinton’s idea of a diplomatic mission under a Hillary Clinton presidency that would send him and other notables abroad to assure other nations that “America is open for business and cooperation again.”

The move came one day after Bill Clinton made the suggestion on the campaign trail in South Carolina, in response to a question from a supporter about his wife’s “number-one priority” upon reaching the White House.

In a statement sent to CNN Tuesday afternoon, former President Bush’s chief of staff Jean Becker said that he “wholeheartedly supports the President of the United States, including his foreign policy. He has never discussed an ‘around-the-world-mission’ with either former President Bill Clinton or Sen. Clinton, nor does he think such a mission is warranted since he is proud of the role America continues to play around the world as the beacon of hope for freedom and democracy.

“President Bush is excited about several of the excellent Republican candidates running for president, and looks forward to discussing their candidacy once the Republican nominee is determined.”

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/18/elder-bush-nixes-clinton-trip-idea/

Ummmm, hmmm.

Cause we both know how mistaken slick willie would be about his wifes 'number one priorities'. So mistaken he would bring another ex president into it.

Yeah, maybe bill isn't that bright after all.

I am sorry, ghwb has no more credibility than his son does. BTW, there is no actual denial in his denial.

We are BEING SET UP.

"Well, the first thing she intends to do, because you can do this without passing a bill, the first thing she intends to do is to send me and former President Bush and a number of other people around the world to tell them that America is open for business and cooperation again," Clinton said

Again, he seems VERY CLEAR about what his wife will do 'FIRST THING'. He could just be dumb, but then he shows how they could do it so easily....

'..because you can do this without passing a bill..'

Then he clearly names GHWB as being part of it.

But maybe he was just ...name dropping.

Look, from crooks and liars...

Dan Abrams offers this update to last week’s Bush League Justice series. DoJ Voting Chief John Tanner resigned last last week after his unbelievably stupid comments about minority lifespans and how voting rights laws discriminated against whites made it too difficult for even the Bush adminstration to wave off. But fear now, like most loyal Bushies, Tanner is not gone so much as he is pushed further into the shadows of a lower profile position with the DOJ.

And where has Mr. “Minorities Die Sooner” Tanner been moved to? The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices. Oh, I bet he’ll just be great at that job.

It's game after game after game isn't it? Nothing's serious. With so many people in the world at death's door and being brutalised minute by minute, the most estimable are out there playing games. Again? Still. All this primaries stuff is a huge waste of time to keep the real problems hidden. No matter who the next president is, he/she will never have to answer to a single "we the people". No matter who the next president is, he/she will not have any money to fund the most basic of programs.

If they don't stand up to the BushCorp now - there will be no hope of changing anything for decades after. You won't even be able to bring your troops home because there will be no money to help them build a life of some kind when they get home. Walter Reed? These people are playing games on all fronts. There will be more casualties than those from Iraq and Afghanistan. There will be even more casualties on the domestic front.

Unless, this president is called to account immediately. Although I do think that it is already way too late.

It's a game. A joke. And the losers as always are those who can least afford it - the youngest and the oldest, the sickest and the least educated. And the laughers, as always, are those who contribute the least to the world - they only know of their own needs.

FOCUS | Justice Department's Voting Rights Chief Resigns

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121507Y.shtml

Greg Gordon reports for McClatchy Newspapers: "The Justice Department's voting rights chief stepped down Friday amid allegations that he'd used the position to aid a Republican strategy to suppress African-American votes."
December 18, 2007 4:29 PM

@@@@@@@@@

the shiite is hitting the fan:

THE REPUBLICANS BEGAN AN EXTENSIVE AND SYSTEMIC SUPPRESSION OF THE BLACK AND ETHNIC VOTERS IN FLORIDA IN 2000 (with the help of Jeb Bush, Katherine Harris, friendly/unethical county clerks, voting machine companies, private "elections" contractors - Choicepoint; probably coordinated by Karl Rove), and have continued this through to 2006 and are planning, one can assume, for 2008.

In 2004 voter suppression occurred in Ohio and New Mexico (at least). I believe it was attempted in Washington state and Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Karen must have done a number on the WaPo. Froomkin NAILS IT!

Bush's Exhibit A for Torture

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, December 18, 2007; 1:04 PM

At the heart of President Bush's defense of torture lies Abu Zubaida.

Bush has described Zubaida (alternately spelled Zubaydah) as a major al Qaeda figure who resisted questioning until the CIA applied its "alternative set" of interrogation procedures -- and who then provided crucial, life-saving intelligence.

Indeed, Bush has been personally invested, for more than five years, in the notion that Zubaida's capture and interrogation were momentous achievements.

As early as April 9, 2002, Bush bragged to fellow Republicans at a political fundraiser: "The other day we hauled in a guy named Abu Zubaydah. He's one of the top operatives plotting and planning death and destruction on the United States. He's not plotting and planning anymore. He's where he belongs."

In a June 6, 2002, address, Bush called Zubaida al Qaeda's "chief of operations" and said that "[f]rom him and from hundreds of others, we are learning more about how the terrorists plan and operate, information crucial in anticipating and preventing future attacks."

At a Republican fundraiser on October 14, 2002, Bush called Zubaida "one of the top three leaders in the organization."

But investigative journalist Ron Suskind wrote in his 2006 book " The One Percent Doctrine" that even as Bush was publicly proclaiming Zubaida's malevolence, he was privately being briefed about doubts within the intelligence community regarding Zubaida's significance and mental stability. Suskind quotes the following exchange between Bush and then-CIA director George Tenet:

"'I said he was important," Bush said to Tenet at one of their daily meetings. 'You're not going to let me lose face on this, are you?'

"'No Sir, Mr. President.'"

When Bush for the first time publicly acknowledged the existence of a secret CIA detention and interrogation program, in a September 2006 speech, Zubaida was front and center. Bush proudly described how Zubaida -- "a senior terrorist leader and a trusted associate of Osama bin Laden" -- was questioned using the CIA's new "alternative set of procedures" and then "began to provide information on key al Qaeda operatives."

But Bush's Exhibit A in defense of torture may in fact be an exhibit for the prosecution.

As I wrote in my Dec. 7 column, evidence uncovered by Suskind suggests Zubaida was a mentally ill minor functionary, who under brutal questioning sent investigators chasing after false leads about al-Qaeda plots on American nuclear plants, water systems, shopping malls, banks and supermarkets.

As I wrote for NiemanWatchdog.org in October, the White House has failed to document a single plot that was disrupted based on information gleaned from torture.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/12/18/BL2007121800862_pf.html

Shazam!

GREAT article by Froomkin, but did it only appear on as a "special" to washingtonpost.com, or will it actually run in the print edition of The Washington Post?

This is just the kind of stuff that needs to see the light of day...

"Yer not gonna make me look bad on this, are ya?"

What a douchebag.

new thread