OPEN THREAD: Petraeus asks for "patience", Condi works the VP thing, what else?

Sorry everyone! I thought I deleted the extra thread (THIS one) and I deleted the one with the comments! I am HORRIFIED!

I cannot imagine how it happened and I apologize deeply to all of you! Please recreate what you can remember...

I am going to do some meaningful work now before I screw up anything else...

But before I go, please watch our friend Zool here:

Watch from 1:23-1:54. Zool is in a DC jail cell tonight and will be arraigned in the morning for what he said and did. Meanwhile, the beat goes on...

April 8, 2008 9:14 AM
Christy said:

I really can not muster any empathy for anything beautiful anymore.

I want my own president arrested, tried and exposed to the entire world as the war criminal he is. I don't know how to deal with it any better today than I did yesterday.

Not even the genius's among us seem to know what to do except watch as our way of life is eliminated.

Oh, BTW..

Dear General Betray-Us,

Shut. Up.

Love,
Christy

April 8, 2008 9:22 AM
not my president Author Profile Page said:

So far I hope that wasn't credible about Condi. From what I read, it wasn't. I hope not.

April 8, 2008 9:43 AM
not my president Author Profile Page said:

Saw this at DKos (B of Portland ME)

General David Petraeus testifies before Congress today and tomorrow. Our predictions:

To intimidate the committee, he'll strip down to a 4-star tank top, revealing anvil-like biceps. When he tests the microphone by tapping on it, the table will crumble into a pile of splinters.

Committee Republicans will claim that the biggest enemy in Iraq is al Qaeda, strongly imply that al Qaeda in Iraq is the same as bin Laden's al Qaeda, and make several inappropriate references to 9/11. They simply can't help themselves.

Joe Lieberman will be forcibly restrained when he tries to whisper corrections into the general's ear.

We'll be told that things are going well enough in Iraq that we can talk about drawing down forces, but not so well that we can actually draw down forces. This "news" will be treated with great gravitas even though it's the same line we've been hearing since the start of the war.

Too many lawmakers will ask too few questions.

Joe Biden will discreetly lift a buttcheek and let one rip. John McCain will get the blame. "Farting Senator" will be the #1 video on YouTube for a week.

Fox News's chyrons will be working overtime to fuel the muskiness: ... Gen. Petraeus: Top Choice For Ben Hur Remake? ... Should Petraeus Save The Economy While He's Here? ... Sen. Lindsay Graham: "Dave Had Me At 'Five Rugs For Five Bucks'" ... Should General's Cellphone Be Modified So 3am Calls Can Be Auto-Forwarded From White House? ... Bush Suggests He Might Make Exception on Cloning To Create "Grand Petraeus Army"... Hannity: Petraeus Could Have Saved Laci Peterson If Democrats Hadn't Interfered ... Homeland Security Terror Alert Level: Red, White and Petraeus ...

Thirty five percent of C-SPAN viewers will confuse Ambassador Ryan Crocker with Mr. Phelps from Mission Impossible.

No one will ask why the number of criminals being accepted into the military has doubled since 2004, while law-abiding gay people are still banned from fighting for their country because...well...just because.

If General Petraeus gets flustered and yells "Oh, balls!" I'll buy everyone a Coke.
April 8, 2008 9:46

pril 8, 2008 9:46 AM
not my president Author Profile Page said:

Chris Matthews vs guy from VoteVets

Chris Matthews: What was the mission of the surge?

Pete Hegseth, Vets for Freedom: "The intent of the surge was to bring the violence down to a level where Iraqis could take advantage of it politically. And so with violence dropping in the neighborhoods, Iraqis have been able to first secure their own neighborhoods with Iraqi security forces, and second, Iraqi politicians have had the ability to pass key legislation, which is exactly what they've done.... Iraqis have taken advantage of this and passed important political benchmarks that Congress had set. And also, at the neighborhood level, where I saw -- when I was in Baghdad a month ago -- the streets are open, shops are being opened, homes are being rebuilt. There is true reconciliation happening at the neighborhood level as families return."

Matthews: Jon, your view of the mission and its success, or not?

Jon Soltz, VoteVets.org: "The surge has been another failure, because the purpose of the surge was for Iraqi domestic politics. And the two major Shia militias in the country are at war with each other: the SCIRI militia, which is the Badr Corps/Hakeem group, versus the Mahdi army, which is Sadr's group. And the bottom line was, the surge was supposed to disarm these militias. It never happened. And that's why they've been going to battle with each other the entire last week. The core issue in Iraq is the Shia revolution and the control of the Shia Arab state for the first time in the history of the Middle East. And this administration wants to sell us on, you know, Al Qaeda in Iraq. The surge has been a huge failure, because it's been a policy of retreat from bin Laden and Afghanistan."
April 8, 2008 9:47 AM
Christy said:

400 children in custody in polygamist compound raid
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5681283.html

Wow!

8, 2008 9:52 AM
Christy said:

"Hannity: Petraeus Could Have Saved Laci Peterson If Democrats Hadn't Interfered"

HAHAHA!

Sick and twisted, yet timely and hillarious. A truly perfect comment.
April 8, 2008 10:43 AM
monkey said:

OMG that DKos piece is SOOOOOO funny...

Joe Biden will discreetly lift a buttcheek and let one rip. John McCain will get the blame.... bwahahaha!!!

We're all paying too much for gas these daze.
April 8, 2008 11:41 AM
monkey said:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain said success in Iraq was "within reach," as a Senate panel held a high-profile hearing on the war Tuesday that will involve all three presidential candidates.

"Our goal -- my goal -- is an Iraq that no longer needs American troops, and I believe we can achieve that goal, perhaps sooner than many imagine," the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said. "But I also believe that the promise of withdrawal of our forces regardless of the consequences would constitute a failure of political and moral leadership."

"Success, the establishment of peaceful, democratic state, the defeat of terrorism -- this success is within reach," he said. "Congress must not choose to lose in Iraq. We must choose to succeed."

more...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/08/iraq.candidates/index.html

test

April 8, 2008 3:47 PM
kangaroo Author Profile Page said:

The surge is a success? You Decide.

52 blasts hit Green Zone last week

BAGHDAD (AFP)--At least 52 rockets or mortar bombs hit the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad in the past week, Brigadier General Qassim Atta, spokesman for the Iraqi army in the capital, said Tuesday.

Atta said another 90 mortar bombs or rockets struck various other places in Baghdad over the same period.

The Green Zone, seat of the Iraqi government and the U.S. embassy, has come under sustained attacks in recent weeks, causing the deaths of four Americans, including two soldiers, and two of Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi's Iraqi guards.

The U.S. military says the mortar and rocket attacks are by Shiite militants from eastern Baghdad's Sadr City, bastion of the Mahdi Army militia of anti- American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

His Shiite fighters are currently engaged in fierce clashes with Iraqi and U.S. forces in Sadr City. Dozens of people have been killed in the firefights.

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20080408%5cACQDJON200804080840DOWJONESDJONLINE000351.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=Iraqi%20Army:%2052%20Blasts%20Hit%20Baghdad%20Green%20Zone%20Last%20Week%20-%20AFPhttp://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20080408%5cACQDJON200804080840DOWJONESDJONLINE000351.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=Iraqi%20Army:%2052%20Blasts%20Hit%20Baghdad%20Green%20Zone%20Last%20Week%20-%20AFP

pril 8, 2008 3:58 PM
kangaroo Author Profile Page said:

Rove: I'll testify on Siegelman

Rove's attorney tells MSNBC he'll testify in Siegelman case

In a new development in the Don Siegelman case -- the Democratic Alabama governor who was prosecuted and jailed for bribery in a trial that is now largely viewed as political -- Karl Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, told MSNBC Monday that Rove would testify if called to subpoena under oath.

Rove has decried the allegations of Alabama Republican whistleblower Dana Jill Simpson, who says she witnessed his involvement in the takedown of the governor. Siegelman was voted out of office and replaced by Robert Riley, a Republican.

On Dan Abrams' show Monday evening, Abrams said: "We asked this question to his attorney: Will Karl Rove agree to testify if Congress issues a subpoena to him as part of an investigation into the Siegelman case? The answer we got -- 'Sure.'" (Hat tip: ThinkProgress).

These videos are from MSNBC's Verdict, broadcast April 7, 2008. The first is the Rove specific clip; the second is of Siegelman's fuller appearance on the show.

angaroo Author Profile Page said:

Condi works the VP thing, what else?

HAS ANYONE FORGOTTEN KATRINA YET?

Roo

HAS ANYONE FORGOTTEN, But we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.

April 8, 2008 5:08 PM
kangaroo Author Profile Page said:

Bush's Orwellian Address

Published on Saturday, September 22, 2001 by CommonDreams.org
Happy New Year: It's 1984
by Jacob Levich
Seventeen years later than expected, 1984 has arrived. In his address to Congress Thursday, George Bush effectively declared permanent war -- war without temporal or geographic limits; war without clear goals; war against a vaguely defined and constantly shifting enemy. Today it's Al-Qaida; tomorrow it may be Afghanistan; next year, it could be Iraq or Cuba or Chechnya.
No one who was forced to read 1984 in high school could fail to hear a faint bell tinkling. In George Orwell's dreary classic, the totalitarian state of Oceania is perpetually at war with either Eurasia or Eastasia. Although the enemy changes periodically, the war is permanent; its true purpose is to control dissent and sustain dictatorship by nurturing popular fear and hatred.
The permanent war undergirds every aspect of Big Brother's authoritarian program, excusing censorship, propaganda, secret police, and privation. In other words, it's terribly convenient.
And conveniently terrible. Bush's alarming speech pointed to a shadowy enemy that lurks in more 60 countries, including the US. He announced a policy of using maximum force against any individuals or nations he designates as our enemies, without color of international law, due process, or democratic debate.
He explicitly warned that much of the war will be conducted in secret. He rejected negotiation as a tool of diplomacy. He announced starkly that any country that doesn't knuckle under to US demands will be regarded as an enemy. He heralded the creation of a powerful new cabinet-level police agency called the "Office of Homeland Security." Orwell couldn't have named it better.

http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=/views01/0922-07.htm

pril 8, 2008 5:16 PM
woz said:

General Betrayus is an excellent title for this man. We knew he was this way inclined from the beginning. After all, the Generals who disagreed with the president had very short tenures.

I hope his Betray(al of)US is shouted from the rooftops. I do hope that Obama or Clinton will call upon a more decent military big boss than General Betrayus has proven to be.

The north Vietnamese won that war - because the US left too soon apparently. And guess what? The Taliban are winning now in Afghanistan, too.

I have begun to watch a 4 part documentary (including real film clips) that begins prior to 911 with Bush and cohorts talking about going into Iraq. Long before. Before the fight between the CIA and Rumsfeld over who was in charge. It was the CIA but Rumsfeld soon got rid of that obstacle. Afghanistan, it seems was simply a little diversion. To satisfy We the People.

The real goal all along has been Iraq. Duuhh. Surprise. Surprise.

Bush's War - Part 1
8.30pm – 9.30pm SBS
Tuesday 8 April 2008
Bush's War is a definitive documentary analysis of one of the most challenging periods in US history. 9/11 and Al Qaeda, Afghanistan and Iraq, WMD and the Insurgency, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, and the Surge.

Bush's War - Part 2
10pm – 11.40pm SBS
Tuesday 8 April 2008
The full saga of the Iraq invasion will unfold in this four part special, which will also include the political dramas played out at the highest levels.

April 8, 2008 5:22 PM
woz said:

I'm sorry that I can't give details of the series. You may have better luck finding it. I think it may be a collaborative effort between the US and the BBC. Not sure about that. It's just called Bush's War parts 1 to 4. The title alone says a hell of a lot.
April 8, 2008 5:35 PM
kangaroo Author Profile Page said:

IRAQ HEARINGS: Sen. Feingold Questions Gen. Petraeus

FRONTLINE | "Bush's War" | Preview of Night 1 | PBS

watch the full series online
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/

April 8, 2008 6:30 PM
woz said:

Thanks roo
April 8, 2008 6:41 PM
kangaroo Author Profile Page said:

Thanks roo

Your Welcome.
April 8, 2008 7:31 PM
kangaroo Author Profile Page said:

Michael Ware On Iraq Hearings: A Lot Of Oxygen Being Wasted Here

Speaking to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday, the cable news outlet's Baghdad Bureau Chief Michael Ware expressed his disappointment with the way in which lawmakers were questioning General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Ware said that it seemed like the hearings were more about political grandstanding than solving the Iraq crisisjust see a lot of oxygen being wasted here," Ware said. He also took the members of the committees to task for their lack of knowledge about the Iraq situation. Watch the exchanges below:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/08/michael-ware-on-iraq-hear_n_95706.html

April 8, 2008 7:43 PM
kangaroo Author Profile Page said:

Obama: $1 Million in a Minute

The latest salvo in the Presidential hopeful's Web campaign is a site designed to process a million dollars in 60 seconds
by Matt Vella

Last week the Obama camp announced it had raised $40 million in March alone, nearly twice the amount raised by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) during the same period. In all, he has raised some $234 million. Through February, Clinton's campaign had raised $156 million.
AnObamaMinute.com calls for pledgers (who can pre-register) to register a donation within 60 seconds, at 1pm on Apr. 21. Could the site be interpreted as just another stunt in an environment where $1 million isn't what it used to be? "There is certainly an element of theater," admits one member of Obama's national finance committee who's familiar with the project (the campaign is participating to make sure all contributions meet federal giving requirements). But, it is also another ambitious fund-raising effort in a political season marked by campaigns that have aggressively pushed the boundaries of raising money, both off and online.

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/apr2008/id2008047_357799.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily
April 8, 2008 7:48 PM
kangaroo Author Profile Page said:

On the Web, Obama Is the Clear Winner

He is miles ahead of Hillary Clinton when it comes to online organizing and fundraising. But does that translate into votes?

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2008/tc2008035_280573.htm
April 8, 2008 7:58 PM
kangaroo Author Profile Page said:

A nation ruined

The war against Iraq, now five years old, is unquestionably one of the most unpardonable crimes against humanity.

JOHN CHERIAN

...More than two million Iraqis have been displaced from their homes and have become refugees in neighbouring countries such as Syria and Jordan. For the pauperised Iraqi middle class, the violence and anarchy that followed the American invasion was the last straw. Most of them have fled the country. Another two million Iraqis have become refugees inside Iraq. As a result of the occupation, there are now around 4.5 million orphans. Many of them are homeless. All sectors of Iraqi society have been affected, with women bearing the brunt of the war. Under Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party, women were represented in all sectors of society. More than half of the civil service personnel were women and a fourth of the parliament members since the 1980s comprised elected female members. Today all the gains made by Iraqi women have been negated. Even girls in Christian schools are forced to wear veils. According to the latest statistics provided by Iraq’s Ministry of Education, more than 70 per cent of Iraqi girls and women no longer attend school or college...
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m42871&hd=&size=1&l=e

Ok...Karen, I've rescued you and everyone else, too.

All recreated...

Sorry for not popping in earlier everyone and commenting but I'm still extremely swamped.

As you can see, my heart is here with all of you, even when my work travails are leading me away.

(Besides, I was 'busy' today having a flame war about Obama with someone I actually care about, only to discover after the fact that the email she sent me actually shows up on snopes even though the 'author' who sent it to her said they looked at snopes and didn't see it. Disappointing...)

(Oh. in case you're curious go to snopes and search for Michelle Obama and Thesis (white racism.)

sparrow, I love you!

thank you for your rescue efforts!

Zool did GREAT. I love the determination and inflection in his voice.

He should feel proud of his courageousness in calling out the way he did.

Petrayus sort of didn't even have a response in his face. That disturbs me.

I wonder what he thought.

Anyways, was that a 'hint' of applause I heard for Zool before he was taken out of the room?

Zool was indeed applauded as he exited.

The police have been quite nice.

It's just that HE is not the criminal...

US water pipelines are breaking

Water Pipelines Across the US Are Breaking; Repair Costs Put at Nearly $300 Billion
COLLEEN LONG
AP News

Apr 08, 2008 14:31 EST
Two hours north of New York City, a mile-long stream and a marsh the size of a football field have mysteriously formed along a country road. They are such a marvel that people come from miles around to drink the crystal-clear water, believing it is bubbling up from a hidden natural spring.
The truth is far less romantic: The water is coming from a cracked 70-year-old tunnel hundreds of feet below ground, scientists say.
The tunnel is leaking up to 36 million gallons a day as it carries drinking water from a reservoir to the big city. It is a powerful warning sign of a larger problem around the country: The infrastructure that delivers water to the nation's cities is badly aging and in need of repairs.
The Environmental Protection Agency says utilities will need to invest more than $277 billion over the next two decades on repairs and improvements to drinking water systems. Water industry engineers put the figure drastically higher, at about $480 billion.
Water utilities, largely managed by city governments, have never faced improvements of this magnitude before. And customers will have to bear the majority of the cost through rate increases, according to the American Water Works Association, an industry group.
Engineers say this is a crucial era for the nation's water systems, especially in older cities like New York, where some pipes and tunnels were built in the 1800s and are now nearing the end of their life expectancies.
"Our generation hasn't experienced anything like this. We weren't around when the infrastructure was being built," said Greg Kail, spokesman for the water industry group. "We didn't pay for the pipes to be put in the ground, but we sure benefited from the improvements to public health that came from it."

http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/US_water_pipelines_are_breaking_04082008.html

Karen, you know the best people. Zool was amazing. I thought Betrayus looked a little discomfited and as soon as he realised what was being chanted he dropped the blank mask down over his face. I had to laugh. I wonder when someone has shown him such disobedience and disrespect.

And Betrayus's answers were no more comforting than McStupid's plan for a hundred years of nothing but heartache for Iraqi's and families of the military and journalists and others who are there for humanitarian reasons.

Hooray for Zool.

US Lawmakers Invested in Iraq, Afghanistan Wars

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040808S.shtml

According to Abid Aslam, Inter Press Service, "US lawmakers have a financial interest in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, a review of their accounts has revealed."

Of course they have a 'financial intrest'. in it.

OMFG I just got so mad my eyeballs are burning.

OF COURSE THEY HAVE A FINANCIAL INTREST IN IT.

Otherwise we are killing those people for NOTHING.

Nada. Zip. Ziltch.

Wow. It is hard to even articulate how p*ssed off I just got. I hope that money serves them well when they are roasting in hell.

I especially liked when Ryan Crocker went on to proudly state just how important oil revenues were to the citizens of Iraq.

Crockery

Denmark just topped the list as the most tech savvy country. Freaking Denmark. God bless them.

See what happens when capitilism is well balanced with socialism...?

http://blogs.wsj.com/biztech/2008/04/09/the-worlds-top-ranked-tech-countries/?mod=WSJBlog

Damn. We are behind in everything.

Zool Rules.

Sparrow Rules. That is cool.

BTW, are you ok? Sounds like you are working too hard.

Gunman Attacks Child’s Birthday Party Killing Mom and 5-Year-Old Daughter, Wounded 3 Children And Woman In Fort Worth, Texas

http://www.gunguys.com/?p=2941

Forecast: U.S. near recession

The world economy will slow sharply this year, according to a new International Monetary Fund forecast, with the United States sliding into a recession amid the housing and credit slumps. Many economists think the country already is in a recession.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/09/news/international/world_economy.ap/index.htm?cnn=yes

Somewhere, bin Laden is giggling his ass off.

We have to decide whether to pay for another year of the Camp Democracy website. Check this out and tell me if you think it is worth it to keep this stuff around and accessible:

http://chun.afterdowningstreet.org/video/zinn.wmv

Somewhere, bin Laden is giggling his ass off.

Exactly what he said he would do, wipeout the American Economy, they did it to Russia with the help of America. The only ones that have profitted of this war and occupation of Iraq are Georgie and his gang of thugs and the US law makers pushing this war to continue.

I'm usually last to catch these pieces but this one is so good that if you've seen it before - and remember - you'll want to see it again.......

Zool released from jail at around 4 pm today. Resting comfortably. Consuming a fish dinner. Ready for whatever is next.

The clip of him at the Petraeus hearing made it onto Hardball last night. It was followed by Sen. Jim Webb wondering when ARE the troops coming home?

And MoveOn answers:

Karen, tell Zool, his was the news feature on all Australian news about Betrayus. I love it!!

In fact Petraeus barely got a camera shot - it was all about zool!

"Somewhere, bin Laden is giggling his ass off."

How true, roo. Unfortunately, he has acheived everything he set out to achieve thanks to our blunderer in chief and his administration. Gas prices keep hitting new records and I thank the Petrol Gods that I have a hybrid even though I am getting less then 42/mpg right now. How many more days till the Chimp voluntarily leaves? Shall we call a moving company to help them pack?

Court Sides With Insurers on Flood Damage in Louisiana

An insurance company is not obligated to pay for water damage from the failure of New Orleans area levees after Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana’s highest court ruled in a case that could affect thousands of homeowners. In a major victory for insurers, the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed a state appeals court decision that favored a New Orleans property owner, Joseph Sher, in his suit against the Lafayette Insurance Company. In November, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal concluded that Lafayette’s homeowner policy failed to exclude all forms of flooding because its language was ambiguous. But the State Supreme Court disagreed, and said Lafayette was entitled to limit its liability for damage from a levee breach. John W. Houghtaling, a lawyer who represented the state when the Fourth Circuit heard the case, said the ruling had “very troubling” implications for the Louisiana insurance market and dealt a blow to thousands of homeowners devastated by the August 2005 hurricane. Lafayette and other insurers say their policies cover damage from wind but not flooding, including water from a levee breach.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/us/nationalspecial/09...

Shall we call a moving company to help them pack?

Should have done that 8 years ago abqjohn.

Five more U.S. soldiers die in Iraq (17 killed since Sunday)

Source: USA Today/AP

BAGHDAD (AP) — Five U.S. soldiers died in Iraq, including three killed in roadside bombings in Baghdad and north of the capital, the military said Wednesday.

That raised to 17 the number of U.S. troop deaths in Iraq since Sunday.

The explosion that killed a Multi-National Division — North soldier occurred in Salahuddin province, according to a statement.

A Multi-National Division — Baghdad soldier also was killed by a roadside bomb in a northeastern section of the capital, the military said.

A separate statement said a Multi-National Division — Center soldier died in a roadside bombing Tuesday while conducting operations east of the capital.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-04-09-iraq-soldiers_N.htm

To anyone who was ever scolded or scorned for comparing them to Nazi Germany:

"History Will Not Judge This Kindly"
04.09.08 -- 8:59PM By David Kurtz
ABC News' Jan Crawford Greenburg reports:

In dozens of top-secret talks and meetings in the White House, the most senior Bush administration officials discussed and approved specific details of how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency, sources tell ABC News.
The so-called Principals who participated in the meetings also approved the use of "combined" interrogation techniques -- using different techniques during interrogations, instead of using one method at a time -- on terrorist suspects who proved difficult to break, sources said.

Highly placed sources said a handful of top advisers signed off on how the CIA would interrogate top al Qaeda suspects -- whether they would be slapped, pushed, deprived of sleep or subjected to simulated drowning, called waterboarding.

The high-level discussions about these "enhanced interrogation techniques" were so detailed, these sources said, some of the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed -- down to the number of times CIA agents could use a specific tactic.

The advisers were members of the National Security Council's Principals Committee, a select group of senior officials who met frequently to advise President Bush on issues of national security policy.

At the time, the Principals Committee included Vice President Cheney, former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as CIA Director George Tenet and Attorney General John Ashcroft.

…

Then-Attorney General Ashcroft was troubled by the discussions. He agreed with the general policy decision to allow aggressive tactics and had repeatedly advised that they were legal. But he argued that senior White House advisers should not be involved in the grim details of interrogations, sources said.

According to a top official, Ashcroft asked aloud after one meeting: "Why are we talking about this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/188167.php

6th anniversary of the "toppling Saddam" hoax

CNN QuickVote

Would Condoleezza Rice as VP make you more or less likely to back Sen. John McCain for president?

More 34% 12359
Less 66% 23836

Total Votes: 36195

Ah, One Turd of the peeps still like 'them".

Bush to embrace pause in troop drawdowns
He'll announce shorter combat tours, but that won't take effect until August

updated 51 minutes ago
AP

WASHINGTON - Taking the advice of his top commander in Iraq, President Bush has decided not to order additional troop drawdowns for now, leaving open the possibility that about 140,000 U.S. servicemen and women will still be in the war zone when the next president takes office.

In a 12- to 15-minute progress report, Bush on Thursday planned to announce shorter combat tours, but troops already in Iraq won’t be going home any earlier, at least for now. Senior defense officials said Bush would announce that Army units heading to Iraq after Aug. 1 would serve 12-month tours rather than their current 15-month deployment, a move that war critics say the president had to make to ease strain on the Army.

The White House disclosed few other details about the speech Bush was to deliver in the Cross Hall of the White House, five years after the U.S. capture of Baghdad. Yet his words were expected to echo the congressional testimony by Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, and U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker.

-snip-

“We are six years into a war that has claimed more than 4,000 American lives ... cost nearly a trillion dollars that could have been used to meet urgent needs at home and damaged the reputation of the United States in the eyes of the world,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote to Bush in a letter she released late Wednesday. “General Petraeus admitted on Tuesday that ‘we haven’t turned any corners, we haven’t seen any lights at the end of the tunnel’ in Iraq.

“The American people are entitled to know when they will receive a more hopeful report than the one provided by General Petraeus, and what changes in policy you will make to achieve it before you leave office,” Pelosi, D-Calif., said.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24034202/

Woz:

Loved that Don McLean. I've sworn off blogging politics but music should still be OK. Here's a Martha and the Vandellas I liked (I wish they would have shown the band too, though, not fair):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkywoZDg5Ak&feature=related

Chuck in Bangkok

PS: The bar band here at the hotel, jazz (piano, singer, stand-up-bass), just did "Rain Drops Keep Falling on my Head," which, if you ever take the tour at the LBJ ranch between Johnson City and Fredricksburg on the Pederales river, you will find was LBJ's favorite tune. The MacDonald's here have small portions, though, so it's not quite like home, although the weather is about the same as Houston right now. Off-topic I know; apologies. Unless it fits under "what else"....

PPS: Do you Australians get like 90% of all the jobs here in Southeast Asia or what when it comes to oil and gas?

Chuck
Be sure to have some green curry there.

NMP:

In my dottage, Pad Thai and Singha/Tiger is about as good as I can manage. I wish it weren't true but it is....

Chuck

There is nothing wrong with Pad Thai .. if you are in Thailand!

and it must be nice to be further away from .. this:

Talking Points Memo story
Cheney fly- fishing (from White House website) - What is reflected in his glasses?

A new report Thursday reveals that Secretary of Veterans affairs James Peake told two Democratic senators his department will not help injured veterans register to vote before the 2008 election.

"VA remains opposed to becoming a voter registration agency pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act, as this designation would divert substantial resources from our primary mission," Peake said in an April 8th letter to Sens. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA) acquired by Steven Rosenfeld at Alternet.

Peake refers to a 1993 law that allows government departments to engage in voter registration efforts, Rosenfeld says.

What this means is that many injured veterans still in VA hospitals who can't find means to register outside of their facilities will effectively lose their right to vote. Wounded veterans who have moved must re-register at their "new addresses" or file for absentee ballots in order to participate in the presidential and other elections.

Peake defends the decision by saying that a court recently ruled the VA's limits on "partisan political activities" "does not on its face violate [veterans'] First Amendment' rights," Rosenfeld notes, without articulating how registering veterans is a partisan activity.

Peake added, "VA shares your commitment to assisting veterans in exercising their Constitutional right to vote."

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Veterans_Department_not_keen_on_veterans_0410.html

Hmmmmm.

CNN's Blitzer asserted Petraeus and Crocker are not "political appointees" -- but Bush appointed both to current positions

While discussing Sen. Hillary Clinton's questioning of Gen. David H. Petraeus, Multinational Force-Iraq commanding general, and Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, during the April 8 edition of CNN's Situation Room, host Wolf Blitzer asserted that "General Petraeus is a career military officer. Ambassador Crocker is a career diplomat, a foreign service officer. It's not as if they're political appointees by the Bush administration in which they can sort of, you know, roll up their sleeves and really go after them."

http://mediamatters.org/items/200804090012

If you can watch this video, and listen to this song, without crying,... good for you, cause I still can't.

The ultimate protest song. And video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu8Kh2_l12Q

Look at what we will leave behind. Can any of us live with that?

Thai food - yummy!

Christy, Veterans Affairs is pulling that crap because injured vets are less likely to vote Republican, while uninjured vets tend to be very Republican.

Oncall, if you see this, can you drop me an email? I have a question for you.

~V

Ahem....

McCain erases Obama 10-point national lead
Poll: Presumptive GOP nominee now tied with both Democratic contenders

WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. John McCain has erased Sen. Barack Obama's 10-point advantage in a head-to-head matchup, leaving him essentially tied with both Democratic candidates in an Associated Press-Ipsos national poll released Thursday.

The survey showed the extended Democratic primary campaign creating divisions among supporters of Obama and rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and suggests a tight race for the presidency in November no matter which Democrat becomes the nominee.

McCain is benefiting from a bounce since he clinched the GOP nomination a month ago. The four-term Arizona senator has moved up in matchups with each of the Democratic candidates, particularly Obama.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24051361/

Hey Indy, can I throw my daily k'nipshun yet?

April 10, 2008 9:42 AM
Christy said:
A new report Thursday reveals that Secretary of Veterans affairs James Peake told two Democratic senators his department will not help injured veterans register to vote before the 2008 election.
**

How many injured Vets are there? Thousands?
Hundreds of thousands?

Seems like a good voting block there, if we could get their votes in.

This country just amazes me.

monkey

Just look at the pathetic excuses we have overseas for "allies."

For example, we have Saudi Arabia, which is beheading people for the slightest offenses - not different from Iran, which we are trying so hard to bring modern democracy to.

We have "allies" that do nothing but twist and f**k up our politics for their own gain - Israel and South Korea being prime examples.

With friends like these, we don't need any enemies. And as long as that's the case, this country will continue to amaze you.

... and our (govt) current enemies were once our friends, and we've (current govt) made new enemies of longtime friends... it's like an enema anymore.

Amoeba wrong but amoeba right.

Hey, so how many months ago was it that the Bush administration unveiled their new initiative to improve air travel?

Oh yeah....

By Ben Rooney, CNNMoney.com staff writer
November 15, 2007

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- President Bush announced a plan Thursday (11/15/07) to address what he calls an "epidemic of aviation delays" as the nation gears for one of the year's traditional travel nightmares, the Thanksgiving holiday.

Issuing a statement at the White House, Bush said it is time "to bring order to America's skies."

http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/15/news/economy/bush_airlines/index.htm

... and less than 5 months later...

3 Airlines go out of business in last 2 weeks

American cancels 900 more flights

Flight delays, cancellations likely to continue

‘No excuses’ as Congress seeks to satisfy fliers

Travelers should prepare for a rough summer

United Airlines raises round-trip domestic fares

There’s no turning back now. Any moment now, we'll have to declare extra fees for a second bag to be the industry-wide standard. Most of us will try to carry more stuff with us onto the plane, which also means it'll be easier to lose track of your belongings (not to mention creating longer waits for so-called security inspections of your now larger amount of carry-on luggage)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032123/

I Shall Return
by Gov't Mule

As this wheel goes 'round and I search to find my way
Struggle just to hold on through an ordinary day
I do believe I'm slipping away

But I shall return though I'm losing myself
I shall return
I shall return from the depths of my own hell
I shall return

Fate should not have blinded me
For your beauty steals my eyes
and what good is my wisdom
when there are no words to say
How I feel everyday

But I shall return though I'm losing myself
I shall return
I shall return from the depths of my own hell
I shall return

Daylight finds me sleeping dreaming of my youth
But darkness calls my name out loud
And I answer to the truth

But I shall return though I'm losing myself
I shall return
I shall return from the depths of my own
I shall return

Oh, I shall return though I'm losing myself
I shall return
I shall return from the depths of my own hell
I shall return

Bush: ‘I’m going to Beijing’

Newsweek: President says he's pressed China on human rights and doesn't "need the Olympics to express my position."

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Going to the Games?
What Bush plans to do about calls to boycott the opening ceremonies.

By Raymond Arroyo | Newsweek Web Exclusive

RAYMOND ARROYO: You are now planning on going to the Olympics …
GEORGE W. BUSH: Yes.

RAYMOND ARROYO: ... to be at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. You just said earlier, freedom is a gift from the Almighty. Considering the human-rights record …
GEORGE W. BUSH: Yes.

RAYMOND ARROYO: … of that [Chinese] regime, how can you in good conscience go to that ceremony, Mr. President?
GEORGE W. BUSH: Because I—you know, I'm going to the Olympics, for starters. My plans haven't changed ... I don't need the Olympics to express my position to the Chinese leadership on freedom. I just don't need them—because that's all I have been doing as your president. In other words—if people say, well, you need to express yourself clearly about freedom of religion, my answer is, what do you think I've been doing?

RAYMOND ARROYO: Angela Merkel boycotted it—
GEORGE W. BUSH: I don't think she boycotted it, necessarily.

RAYMOND ARROYO: She's not attending the opening ceremonies, it appears.
GEORGE W. BUSH:She's not attending the Games, period. I don't think she's going to Beijing at all, at least that's what she told me. But look, I hear all this rhetoric. I want to be an effective president. And I don't think it—as I say, I'm going to Beijing.

We're talking about the Chinese people, as well. And the question is, does the American president take decisions that will enable the next president to be effective or not. I've made my case. These Chinese leaders know exactly my position. I've talked about freedom of religion every time I visited with them. I've talked about Darfur. I've talked about Burma. I've talked about the Dalai Lama. As a matter of fact, I'm the only president to ever stand up in public with the Dalai Lama here in the United States. So they know my position.

And my question that I think about is, if I politicize the Olympic Games, will that make it less effective for me to deal with them, or more effective? But nobody needs to tell old George Bush what to—that he needs to bring religious freedom to the doorstep of the Chinese, because I've done that now for—I'm on my eighth year doing it.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/131446

monkey

What does W know about human rights?

What does W know about freedom of religion, other than for Christianity?

He can burn in hell. And the Dalai Lama ought to be ASHAMED of meeting with W.

If the only the Enterprise were real, and either Captain Kirk or Picard could beam Bush and Cheney directly into the Brig - or better yet, into a Holodeck simulation of hell.

monkey

Re: airline woes

The $25 excess baggage fee for the second bag is not applicable if you fly first class or business class, or if you are an elite-level customer.

The problem is, it takes a LOT of flying to qualify as an elite on a US airline. I've never qualified, and I don't know of any who ever did. (My mother is an elite, but on a foreign airline that has looser requirements - though she does get reciprocal benefits at United and US Air.)

Basically, unless you have lots of money, or unless you're a "road warrior," you're screwed. The airlines will screw you over, and expect you to accept that as "business as usual." We need a passengers' bill of rights more than ever.

We also need to step away from the "anybody at the lowest cost" mentality, that proved so successful for Wal-Mart. I don't want, say, Southwest doing to the airlines what Wal-Mart did to the retail industry. I'll only fly airlines that offer what I need, in terms of schedule and amenities, at a reasonable (not necessarily the lowest, since some of these amenities cost money) price (it will also help if the airline doesn't treat me like a potential terrorist just because I am not a Christian), though that's harder and harder to find.

The airlines probably charge $25.00 for the second bag because some people transport heavy items via suitcase to save postage. When we were in the book business we regularly used our baggage allowance with one suitcase between the two of us, and checked in three heavy boxes of books for free. That weight has to eat up gas.

I wonder if more airlines are going to file for bankruptcy after all these days of grounding planes and cancelling flights.

Now we probably won't even get our gourmet meal of five honey roasted peanuts and half a can of soda.

U.N. Official Calls for Study Of Neocons' Role in 9/11
By ELI LAKE
Staff Reporter of the Sun
April 10, 2008
WASHINGTON — A new U.N. Human Rights Council official assigned to monitor Israel is calling for an official commission to study the role neoconservatives may have played in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

On March 26, Richard Falk, Milbank professor of international law emeritus at Princeton University, was named by unanimous vote to a newly created position to report on human rights in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. While Mr. Falk's specialty is human rights and international law, since the attacks in 2001, he has devoted some of his time to challenging what he calls the "9-11 official version."

On March 24 in an interview with a radio host and former University of Wisconsin instructor, Kevin Barrett, Mr. Falk said, "It is possibly true that especially the neoconservatives thought there was a situation in the country and in the world where something had to happen to wake up the American people. Whether they are innocent about the contention that they made that something happen or not, I don't think we can answer definitively at this point. All we can say is there is a lot of grounds for suspicion, there should be an official investigation of the sort the 9/11 commission did not engage in and that the failure to do these things is cheating the American people and in some sense the people of the world of a greater confidence in what really happened than they presently possess."

Mr. Barrett, who is the co-founder of the Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth, said in an interview yesterday of Mr. Falk, "I would put him on a list of scholars who are sympathetic to the 9/11 truth movement."

He added, "Unlike most public intellectuals today, he is both honest and very, very knowledgeable in that he understands the probable reality of 9/11. He understands that the evidence that it was a false flag operation is very strong."

The narrative that the attacks from 2001 were a "false flag" operation is a recurring theme in the literature challenging the consensus that 19 Al Qaeda hijackers flew commercial jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. False flag refers to espionage or covert actions taken by one government made to seem like the work of another. The false flag thesis has it that the Bush administration is somehow responsible for the September 11 attacks as a pretext for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mr. Falk yesterday did not return e-mails and phone calls asking for a comment. But in 2004 he wrote the foreword to the book "The New Pearl Harbor," by David Ray Griffin. Mr. Griffin has posited that such an inside job is the likely explanation for the attacks.
http://www2.nysun.com/article/74465?page_no=1

Iraq Veterans Against War seizes National Archives Building

Veterans demand that Cheney and Bush are charged with war crimes

2 Minute Video

IVAW members seize National Archives Building in front of hundreds of surprised museum visitors. Response from visitors including teachers, students, vacationers was highly positive though there were a few horrified faces in the crowd. IVAW read the terms of our Citizens Arrest Warrant.

Thanks for that one roo! Excellent. I'm so glad that we're hearing from the IVAW and to point out that what has been done is against the constitution.

I hope there is more and more of this as McCain heads into the campaign proper.

Oh please, by the time the general election gets here, some will have allowed McCain to have painted himself enough of an independent patriotic war hero that the pea-sized brains of the electorate will hardly remember why they ever thought they shouldn't vote for him in the first place.

Catch & Release

Ahem...

Top officials OK’d harsh interrogation tactics
Cheney, Powell, Rice linked to meetings that focused on techniques

WASHINGTON (AP) - Bush administration officials from Vice President Dick Cheney on down signed off on using harsh interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists after asking the Justice Department to endorse their legality, The Associated Press has learned.

The officials also took care to insulate President Bush from a series of meetings where CIA interrogation methods, including waterboarding, which simulates drowning, were discussed and ultimately approved.

A former senior U.S. intelligence official familiar with the meetings described them Thursday to the AP to confirm details first reported by ABC News on Wednesday. The intelligence official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the issue.

Between 2002 and 2003, the Justice Department issued several memos from its Office of Legal Counsel that justified using the interrogation tactics, including ones that critics call torture.

"If you looked at the timing of the meetings and the memos you'd see a correlation," the former intelligence official said. Those who attended the dozens of meetings agreed that "there'd need to be a legal opinion on the legality of these tactics" before using them on al-Qaida detainees, the former official said.

Meetings after Sept. 11 attacks
The meetings were held in the White House Situation Room in the years immediately following the Sept. 11 attacks. Attending the sessions were then-Bush aides Attorney General John Ashcroft, Secretary of State Colin Powell, CIA Director George Tenet and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24055778/

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., lambasted what he described as "yet another astonishing disclosure about the Bush administration and its use of torture."

"Who would have thought that in the United States of America in the 21st century, the top officials of the executive branch would routinely gather in the White House to approve torture?" Kennedy said in a statement. "Long after President Bush has left office, our country will continue to pay the price for his administration's renegade repudiation of the rule of law and fundamental human rights."

The American Civil Liberties Union called on Congress to investigate.

"With each new revelation, it is beginning to look like the torture operation was managed and directed out of the White House," ACLU legislative director Caroline Fredrickson said. "This is what we suspected all along."

-snip-

Not all of the principals who attended were fully comfortable with the White House meetings.

The ABC News report portrayed Ashcroft as troubled by the discussions, despite agreeing that the interrogations methods were legal.

"Why are we talking about this in the White House?" the network quoted Ashcroft as saying during one meeting. "History will not judge this kindly."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24055778/

Hague, Hague we're the monkeys, and people say we monkey around...

Christy:

The Lupe Fiasco video is very depressing. Especially after just finishing a biography of Stalin. Google Alice Miller.

Chuck in Bangkok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ0YgAvrQ6M

Grounded flights may pull down wider economy
Politicians bicker with FAA as lost productivity, undelivered cargo mount

WASHINGTON (AP) - It's not just angry passengers who are suffering. The grounding of thousands of flights is disrupting cargo, mail and other crucial business for financially strapped airlines, and that means painful new strains on a U.S. economy teetering on the edge of recession.

Apologetic airlines suggest the cancellations won't extend beyond this weekend. But there are indications the problems may just be beginning as federal regulators step up their scrutiny of carriers' compliance with safety rules.

Air traffic systems, computers and other crucial equipment are aging, as are many of the planes themselves. Critics of the industry say that cutbacks on maintenance and inadequate government safeguards are starting to take a toll.

Meanwhile, record-high jet fuel prices have squeezed airlines and led to a new round of bankruptcies — most recently ATA Airlines, Skybus and Aloha Airgroup — in an industry whose finances have always been shaky.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Congress authorized $5 billion in cash to help shore up the industry and followed up with $10 billion in loan guarantees. The industry now is suffering its hardest times since then.

Delays already were costing the economy an estimated $9 billion a year, according to Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. "The U.S. economy can't afford to have one of its major airlines just shut down for days," he said Thursday. "The ripple effect is tremendous, it's like putting a vise on commerce."

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24055079/

This is from an answer on Obama for Seattle to Why Cheney was grinning in the photo (see earlier post) of Cheney with a reflection in his glasses while fishing.

Cheney is grinning because everything is proceeding according to plan....
The key in battle is to know thine enemy...Who is Karl Rove, who are the people he and Cheney hand picked to fill every cabinet position? What is their real agenda??? From all appearances it would seem to be to run our nation into the ground....wildly gross incompetence. That is the easy and lazy approach, if you look closer they are pretty much all lifted directly from PNAC, the Project For A New American Century, which happens to be a neo-Zionist front group.
Reverend Wright knew what he was talking about, dont buy the media baloney...investigate these jokers yourselves...its all out there. If the whole country really knew what has been going on this revolution would really get rolling....Seriously, dont dismiss this, investigate it, tell your neighbors, write an editorial. Dont let "PC" baloney keep you from the truth....this is an invidious plague. Research PNAC...they are war criminals, and will stop at nothing, and i mean NOTHING to stay in power unless we stop them...these people take a long view politically, and it took them decades to get where they are now, they will not give up power unless we take it back. Make no mistake...these people control all the mechanisms of our economy, have been pushing GM crops as a means of control, went to extraordinarily dramatic and bloody legnth to trick us into the war they wanted....make no mistake, they knew it wasnt in America's interest when we went to Iraq. The horrible truth...if you have the courage to suspend your cynicism or knee jerk reaction when faced with such an unfathomable concept. Know thine enemy.... the truth will set you free...These people are Straussian (named for Leo Strauss) Neo-Zionists...and they are aligned behind Clinton now...that is the reason Hillary still has the illusion of a competitive campaign running in the media... Think they wont try to steal or stop this election??? Think again.
Note the patriotic American names of these organization...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_for_the_New_American_Century
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_the_Defense_of_Democracies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Enterprise_Institute
http://www.newamericancentury.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Strauss
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kristol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wolfowitz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abram_Shulsky
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Kagan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Donnelly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Schmitt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Libby
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Jackson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Bork
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliott_Abrams
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Bauer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_A._Cohen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Friedbe rg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Ikle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Kagan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Podhoretz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Quayle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Wieseltier
it goes on and on and on....and then there is the media, and the Fed Bank...
The war profit trail leads back to the war planners....we are slaves

Signature on Presidential Memo authorizing torture

Party Like Iraq Star
Party Like Iraq Star
Party Like Iraq Star

Kangaroo

My first reaction to the planes crashing into WTC was: W must've PO'd someone badly enough into doing this.

But then, if Hitler can burn the Reichstag and blame it on the Communists, then anything can happen.

Bush, Cheney Tax Returns Released: Earnings In Millions

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/11/bush-cheney-tax-returns-r_n_96268.html

Ahahahahahahaha, Now that is a good one,

Fire in Clinton Campaign Headquarters Destroys Tax Returns

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (BorowitzReport) -- A blazing fire that ravaged Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign headquarters in Terre Haute, Indiana, destroyed more than just the building, campaign officials revealed today.

A spokesman for the Clinton campaign said that the 2007 tax returns of Mrs. Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, went up in flames along with everything else.

In fact, according to a spokesman for the Terre Haute Fire Department, the tax returns may have been ignited first, setting off the conflagration that burned the building to the ground.

"Based on our initial investigation, it looks like gasoline was poured all over the tax returns and then set ablaze," said THFD spokesman Tracy Klujian. "Whoever did this has experience in destroying records."

While the Terre Haute police have yet to name any suspects in the inferno, an eyewitness to the fire said he saw a "person in a yellow pantsuit with black trimming" fleeing the building moments after the campaign headquarters caught on fire.

At a press conference in Pittsburgh, Mrs. Clinton said that the incineration of her tax records was "a great personal loss," adding, "I was so looking forward to sharing them with the American people."

Mrs. Clinton cut her press conference short after a protracted coughing fit, complaining of smoke inhalation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-borowitz/fire-in-clinton-campaign_b_96210.html

Columnist: Hillary Actually 1-2 Million Votes Behind Obama

Many DNC insiders fear that if Hillary Clinton manages to lose the pledged delegates, she may still take the lead in the popular vote, thereby causing the superdelegates to make a hard decision as to which candidate they should choose come August. Their fears are rooted in the notion that Clinton is only behind by roughly 800,000 votes, and that she could feasibly catch up with a big win in Pennsylvania.

They'd be wrong.

In fact, Obama leads in the popular vote by anywhere between 2 million to 3 million voters. How is this possible? The reason lies in the ever elusive math of the Democratic caucus.

When voters everywhere were watching the returns of, say, Kansas on Super Tuesday, most of them naturally assumed that Barack Obama won 27,172 votes to Hillary Clinton's 9,462. But those aren't voters they're counting, they're really just more delegates. County delegates. The county delegates represent an undefined amount of peoples' votes, depending on how many people arrive to the caucus and how many county delegates are assigned. This number could be anywhere from 5 to 100 people and beyond.

Since there is no exact number of how many votes are actually represented in a caucus, let's just round it out to 20 voters per delegate, out of morbid curiosity. That means each delegate, on average, represents about 20 people, and we will multiply the final tally by 20.

Therefore, in Kansas, Barack Obama gained 543,440 votes to Hillary Clinton's 189,240 votes. This is a far wider margin of victory than Clinton supporters would like to admit, but decidedly more accurate.

But let's just say, for arguments sake, that we're overestimating how many people a county delegate represents. Let's call it 10 rather than 20. Then the tally becomes 271,720 votes for Obama, and 94,620 for Clinton. Still a substantial victory. And that is the absolute rock bottom lowest average estimate.

If we apply this math to all of the caucuses, the results are astounding. But to be fair, we won't count Texas for the final tally. Their caucuses were basically repeat voters who most likely voted in the Primary earlier in the day. Also, there are no clear figures as of yet for Washington and Wyoming.

There have been 13 caucus states so far in the Primary and Clinton has only won one of them. Obama handily defeated her in Iowa, Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Colorado, North Dakota, Nebraska, Washington, Maine, Hawaii and Wyoming. Clinton won Nevada.

The current tally of county delegates (that are available) for these states, has Obama at 366,764 and Clinton at 156,563. When we multiply these numbers by 10, it puts Obama at 3,667,640 and Clinton at 1,565,630, a margin of roughly 2 million votes.

When this math is applied to the final tally, it puts Obama ahead of Clinton by 2,300,000 votes, a far cry from the 800,000 most DNC insiders think is the estimate.

Obviously, there is no way to truly estimate how many people these county and city delegates represent. But the fact remains, these caucus tallies are not accurate depictions of the popular vote, nor are they representative of any singular person or voter. Multiplying these figures by 10 gives a far more telling story towards the truth. And when the Clinton Campaign makes blind claims that they may somehow trump Obama on the popular vote, they may not clearly realize how far behind they actually are in the count.

There are many people who estimate that a state pledged delegate represents roughly 10,000 voters. So, in August, the DNC members need to ask themselves this one question: If a state pledged delegate does not represent a single voter... then why should a county delegate?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shawn-christensen/dont-be-fooled-obama-is-a_b_96118.html

Berkeley law school dean won't fire 'torture memo' author

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Berkeley_law_school_dean_wont_fire_0411.html

Pope a No-Show at White House Dinner
WASHINGTON (AP) — Guess who's not coming to dinner?
Pope Benedict XVI — he's not attending a White House dinner in his honor on Wednesday.
President Bush will go out to Andrews Air Force Base on Tuesday to welcome the pope on his first visit to the United States since he was elected pontiff in 2005. On Wednesday there will be a formal welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House with up to 12,000 guests.
...
Wednesday night's dinner, hosted by the president, will be in the East Room, which normally contains little furniture and traditionally is used for large gatherings such as news conferences, bill-signing ceremonies, awards presentations and after-dinner entertainment.
"It's in honor of his visit," White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said. "There will be leaders from the Catholic community from all over the country who are in town for that visit."
He said he did not know why the pope would not attend.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-BMdyBE1OTgcAGkicARRoO_-kSQD8VVS2O00

Jury deadlocked in Sears Tower terrorism case
Advertisements [?]Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl...

"Jurors in the retrial of six South Florida men accused of plotting to blow up buildings in Chicago and Miami told a federal judge Friday they have been unable to reach agreement.

In a note to U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard on their 10th day of deliberations, jurors said they have not reached a verdict for any of the six defendants on any of four terror-related counts, suggesting a second mistrial could be declared in the high profile case.

Lenard denied a defense motion for a mistrial and instructed the jury to continue delibe