Secret memo—send to be tortured

Another memo leaked to the press regarding the illegal tactics of Bush Crime Family.

Aug. 8, 2005 issue - An FBI agent warned superiors in a memo three years ago that U.S. officials who discussed plans to ship terror suspects to foreign nations that practice torture could be prosecuted for conspiring to violate U.S. law, according to a copy of the memo obtained by NEWSWEEK. The strongly worded memo, written by an FBI supervisor then assigned to Guantanamo, is the latest in a series of documents that have recently surfaced reflecting unease among some government lawyers and FBI agents over tactics being used in the war on terror. This memo appears to be the first that directly questions the legal premises of the Bush administration policy of "extraordinary rendition"—a secret program under which terror suspects are transferred to foreign countries that have been widely criticized for practicing torture.

Bush again threatening recess appointment of Bolton to UN

Because lying to Congress means nothing to a guy who has just spent the past five years lying to an entire nation.

Liar.

Liar.

Liar.

Republicans have no respect for the law, or morality.

Cross-posted from AmericaBlog.

Crazy wing of republican party attack Frist

In a rare break with President Bush and anti-abortion conservatives, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on Friday endorsed legislation that would expand federally funded embryonic stem cell research...read on

Focus Action founder says Senate majority leader's position a "betrayal" of values voters. Frist's announcement today is designed to improve his chances of winning the White House in 2008 should he choose to run. If that is the case, he has gravely miscalculated. To push for the expansion of this suspect and unethical science will be rightly seen by America's values voters as the worst kind of betrayal – choosing politics over principle.--- Focus on the Family Press Statement (via email)

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, said, "Senator Frist cannot have it both ways. He cannot be pro-life and pro-embryonic stem cell funding.

You can have it both ways. A person can be considered pro-life and still have a wide range of views, especially on stem cell research.

Was Frist worried that his alignment with the Circus Clowns has hurt his chances at a run for the White House? The Schiavo matter didn't help him and the gang of fourteen made him look even weaker. Was this a calculated move? Probably. It still is good news for stem cell research overall no matter what his political motivations are. I congratulate him on his flippiness.
Ted Kennedy has also sang him songs of praise. Steve has more on what he calls the flip-flop-flip.

Update-The Moderate Voice has a huge round up on the Frister: Bill Frist Breaks With Bush On Stem Cell Research

Tom Delay slams Frist

"I think a candidate that, that-umm-believes in the destruction of life would have a very hard time appealing to the vast majority of the republicans in this party."-Tom Delay 7/29/05

So how tight were these guys during the Schiavo affair? If Frist had really helped Delay and they are friends, then you would figure Tom might have eased the pain the circus clowns will inflict upon him.

Delay quite clearly states that the republican party is now the party of Dobson, Perkins, Robertson and Falwell.

cross-posted from C&L

Puritanical Hysteria

pu·ri·tan·i·cal (pyr-tn-kl)
adj.1. Rigorous in religious observance; marked by stern morality.2. Puritanical Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Puritans.

hys·ter·i·a (h-str-, -stîr-)
n.1. Behavior exhibiting excessive or uncontrollable emotion, such as fear or panic.
2. A mental disorder characterized by emotional excitability and sometimes by amnesia or a physical deficit, such as paralysis, or a sensory deficit, without an organic cause.

Frist backs expanded stem cell research

Thank you Bill Frist in supporting expanded federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Truth Serum supports this legislation not only because it is the right thing to do but such research could some day help someone very dear and precious to us. Please thank Bill Frist at it took a lot of courage, and he deserves credit. Send a thank you through StemPac today.

Senator Frist, as a supporter of stem cell research, I want to thank you for your courage in supporting HR 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. I have cc'd Senators Hatch, Harkin, Reid, and Specter to alert them of my support.

Millions of Americans have already waited long enough for the promise of stem cell research. But thanks to the courage of leaders like you, that wait may now be a lot shorter.

Thank you for your courage. If I can do anything to help ensure this bill passes the Senate, please let me know.

Send Thank You here.

Majority in U.S. feels misled on Iraq War

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in the United States are troubled by their government’s rationale to launch military action in Iraq, according to a poll by Gallup released by CNN and USA Today. 51 per cent of respondents believe the Bush administration deliberately misled the American public about whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, a 12 per cent increase in two years.

The coalition effort against Saddam Hussein’s regime was launched in March 2003. At least 1,780 American soldiers have died during the military operation, and more than 13,600 troops have been injured.

Pre-war speeches by U.S. president George W. Bush mentioned specific chemical agents, such as mustard gas, sarin and VX nerve gas as banned substances allegedly secured by Iraq. State secretary Colin Powell assured the United Nations (UN) Security Council in February 2003 that Hussein possessed biological weapons.

The final report of the Iraq Survey Group—presented to the U.S. Congress on Sept. 30, 2004—concluded that Hussein’s regime did not possess chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, and had not implemented a significant program for their development.

Polling Data

Do you think the Bush administration deliberately misled the American public about whether Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, or not?

Source: Gallup / CNN / USA Today

Hackett - Honorary Texan

Inspired by Greg Wythe when he bestowed the title of Honorary Texan on Paul Hackett, Texas Bloggers, led by Burnt Orange Report, Off the Kuff, PinkDome, and Greg's Opinion are calling today upon all Texans (and friends of Texas) to join ranks and donate towards the very cause we have been arguing for this past week- Run Everywhere, because it's what our Party and our Democracy needs.



His success is our success, not just as Texas Democrats, but as Democrats period.

"Paul Hackett is hereby granted "Temporary Texan" status from now and election day in the Ohio 2nd (August 2). I'm pretty sure I have no legal standing whatsoever to convey Texan-ship, but who am I to let that stop me?"

Certainly not us Greg. So join us today, in a special edition, Texas Thursday, for Honorary Texan Paul Hackett. Let's roll.

Sugar Land celebrates sweetheart deal

Think Progress does it again.

Yesterday on ThinkProgress, we wrote that, after the conference for the energy bill closed, Tom DeLay slipped in “a $1.5 billion giveaway to the oil industry, Halliburton, and Sugar Land, Texas.” Specifically, the provision was written to benefit an consortium located in DeLay’s home district.

In today’s Boston Globe, Bill Wicker, a spokesman for Sen. Jeff Bingaman, disagreed:

“We don’t see this as a sweetheart deal for anyone.” Wicker said.

In case you had any doubts, check out this article about the provision, just published by the Houston Business Journal:

The final draft of the energy bill expected to be approved this weekend by House and Senate negotiators contains a research funding provision long awaited by a Sugar Land energy consortium…The Sugar Land-based Texas Energy Center has been counting on this source of funding ever since it was established two years ago…In 2003, the consortium was awarded $31 million in state economic development funds, but that funding later evaporated under regulations that stymied the consortium’s access to the money. The TEC has been basically on hold since then, waiting and hoping for federal funding to revive its mission.

Seems pretty clear to me.

Chris is in

It's official, Chris Bell is in the running for Governor of the great state of Texas.

Bush signals 'Adios MoFo' to press

Bush shows his disapproval with the press. The press is asking questions you want to hear, so he is basically telling you to 'fuck off'.

onegoodmove's got the quicktime

And not to be confused with this older clip.

Ok laugh

You have got to see this...

Poppy knows best

Bush Sr. calls Bush Jr. administration the most insidious of traitors. Not really but this is what he said in 1999.

GEORGE H.W. BUSH: “I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors.” [Speech at CIA, 4/26/99]

Activist?

Karl Rove: Sinister Sex Symbol

Avery Ant and his one minute rant on Rovegate.

Delay abuses power once more

Via Raw Story.

RAW STORY received today a letter from Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) to House Speaker Dennis Hastert today regarding a $1.5 billion provision benefiting oil and gas companies, Halliburton, and Sugar Land, Texas, that was inserted into the energy legislation after it had been closed to further amendment. Writes Waxman:

The provision at issue is a 30-page subtitle called "Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources."[1] This subtitle, which was taken from the House-passed energy bill, was mysteriously inserted in the final energy legislation after the legislation was closed to further amendment.

Obviously, it would be a serious abuse to secretly slip such a costly and controversial provision into the energy legislation.

Read the text of the letter.

Do what I say and you will be rewarded

In this administration, if you totally screw up you either get a promotion or a medal of honor . If you break the law you get a raise.

Go Wes

Savage hates Bushbots, nobody likes Savage

Here in Houston, local and national syndicated talk sucks and conservative yak yak is all you get day in and day out. These clowns yell the same talking points all day long and and it's no wonder half the city walks around like mummies. I really don't give any of these talking robots a second of my time unless I'm driving my Sirius free second car, in which case I have no choice but to spin the dial from AM talk to AM talk. On a slow sports day, the dial will occasionally stop at the trash mouth of Michael Savage (Wiener), who is the one conservative who is not afraid to speak out against his own party. Don't get me wrong, I disagree with his rant 99.9% of the time but he sure has it right when he speaks of Bushbots. How dare he say such things and offend and criticize his own.

Bush has managed in Iraq to get 1,700 Americans killed in a war that will create yet another Islamic republic. Just yesterday we learned that the new constitution in Iraq will incorporate sharia, Islamic law.

That's why we right-wing commentators believe the Iraq war has been the biggest blunder in America military history. As for Bimbo and Vanity, if I may employ Savage's labels, they are simply too uneducated to realize that the Iraq war represents a failed liberal exercise in nation-building.

"There is no college in Rush. There is no college in Hannity," said Savage. "He's a high school dropout. It's like listening to an uneducated, unthinking man on the radio."

These guys are Hot

Bob needs serum

Via Think Progress.

Here’s what Bob Novak just told Candy Crowley on CNN:

NOVAK: “I can’t — I can’t tell anything I ever talked to Karl Rove about, because I don’t even think I talked to him about anything, even the time of day, on the record.” [CNN, Inside Politics, 7/26/05]

Oh really?

Bob Novak op-ed, The New York Post, May 3, 1999

“According to Iowa sources, Rove asked for cancellation of this year’s vote. Iowa Republican Chairman Kayne Robinson declined, though voting this time will be limited to Iowans. Rove, however, told me he definitely made no cancellation request and merely joked about busing in Texans.”

Bob Novak op-ed, The New York Post, June 18, 1999

“Bush campaign manager Karl Rove told me his candidate wants ‘judges that share his philosophy, and this (the ‘96 platform language) is his philosophy.’”

Kinkipedia

Eddie from The Red State informs us of Kinky's entry on Wikipedia... and outraising Chris Bell.

In the early 1980s, Friedman ran a semi-serious campaign for Justice of the Peace in Kerrville, Texas, but lost the election.

In 2004, Friedman began a serious campaign to become the Governor of Texas in 2006. One of his stated goals is the "dewussification" of Texas. Among his campaign slogans are "How Hard Could It Be?" and "Why The Hell Not?" He's hoping to follow in the footsteps of other entertainers-turned-governors, including Jesse Ventura, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Ronald Reagan. When the campaign finance reports came out after the second quarter had ended, Friedman shockingly outraised former Democratic Congressman Chris Bell.

Friedman is friends with both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both of whom have invited him to visit the White House. He wrote about his friendships with them in his November 2001 column ("Hail to the Kinkster") for Texas Mont

; )

Remember Tom Delay

Let us not forget the other investigation.

Remember Tom DeLay. The MSM has been jumping between Roberts and Rove with no mention of DeLay in several weeks. As a matter of fact, I suspect DeLay could be the happiest Republican on the Hill right now, as the press has been adequately distracted by the Roberts/Rove show.

We need to make sure the Texas trio of Bush/Rove/DeLay are seen as the triplets of corruption, when it comes to the use of their power. We need to make sure DeLay is investigated and held to account for the unethical ( and possible illegal) behavior he is famous for.

If we allow the Rove/Roberts show to detract from DeLay, we lose an amazing shot at defeating him in 2006. So this is a simple plea to not let up on Tom DeLay. His corruption of power cannot be ignored, simply because the Rover has all of our attention.

Conflicts' costs may exceed $700 billion

War in Iraq, Afghanistan saddles U.S. taxpayers with enormous debt, critics say; deficit spending blamed.

700 Billion with no end in site...and we can't even take of our own.

One of the most vocal Republican critics has been Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who said the costs of the war -- many multiples greater than what the White House had estimated in 2003 -- are throwing U.S. fiscal priorities out of balance.

"It's dangerously irresponsible," Hagel said in February of the war spending.

Democrats have also raised concerns about the apparent lack of an exit strategy and the fast-rising costs, particularly since President Bush has chosen to pay for the war with special supplemental appropriations outside the normal budget process.

Twelve hours in the white house

The French are all excited about the twelve hours that occurred between the time Inquisitor General Gonzales told Bush Chief of Staff Andy Card about the investigation into Valarie Plame's betrayal and his warning to the White House staff to secure all of the associated documents. They're worried that the staff may have used that time to destroy important evidence. I'm sure that didn't happen. I even have a timeline to prove it.

8:00 pm - Pastor General Ashcroft calls Gonzales, informing him of the investigation.

Our Leader is preparing for his nightly meeting with the Lord by smearing his body with bacon grease and downing a quart of NyQuil.

Karl Rove is holding his hand over a candle to prove that he's tougher than G. Gordon Liddy.

Scooter Libby is waxing Deputy Leader Cheney's back.

8:01 pm - The Special Political Electronic Surveillance team patches Karl Rove into the audio portion of the call. He immediately begins drafting a plan to safeguard important evidence.

8:10 pm - Gonzales informs White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card.

8:15 pm - Card notifies the White House and Vice Presidential staffs via Blackberry, asking them to preserve the evidence.

8:30 pm - Our Leader places his face into the Mighty Tony Llama Boot of the Lord and asks God when he's going to supply him with flower-throwing, liberated Iraqis. God chuckles and punches him in the arm.

Scooter calls his friend, the scoutmaster, and tells him that he can use his office for that urban survival outing they planned but only if they do it that night.

Rove calls Jeff Gannon, White House journalist, and asks him to meet him at the White House.

10:00 pm - Our Leader throws up into the Mighty Tony Llama Boot of the Lord and passes out.

Rove has spread out all the important evidence onto the floor of his office. He asks Gannon what he thinks is the best way to protect it. Gannon suggests vasoline. He and Rove strip off their clothes and begin protecting the documents by smearing their bodies with vasoline and then rolling on the evidence.

Scooter's scoutmaster friend shows up at Libby's office with the only two scouts he could locate at such short notice. Scooter anticipated that he'd be working with an understaffed troop, so he brought Ari Fleischer and John Bolton along. They're dressed in ill-fitting Webelos uniforms.

10:01 pm - Rove is heard to scream, "get along little doggie."

10:02 pm - spent and exhausted and covered with documents, Rove and Gannon collapse onto the floor and share a smoke.

10:30 pm - Scooter teaches the scouts how to make a campfire out of things found in filing cabinets. Bolton berates a fellow scout who's having trouble with his fire until the young man cries.

Deputy Leader Cheney is checking Haliburton's latest profit statements.

11:00 pm - Lynne Cheney brings the Deputy Leader two-pints of O-positive and helps him into his sleeping shroud.

Bolton heads off to a bar still wearing his Webelos uniform, hoping it'll give him and excuse to knife someone.

Scooter shows the remaining campers the best way to turn an office into a swimming pool.

Gannon sets off for his next White House journalist appointment, a meeting with Scott McClellen about the best way to preserve important Plame-related documents.

Rove begins workups on all of the possible candidates for special prosecutor.

4:00 am - Scooter shows the campers how to make office mulch.

Gannon finishes his fourth document preservation meeting of the evening. Ken Melhman rewards him with a fifty-dollar tip.

Laura helps Our Leader escape from the millions of "spiders" crawling out of the Mighty Tony Llama Boot of the Lord. She gives him a shot of NyQuil and puts him to bed.

5:00 am - Rove returns home. He notices that the newspaper has been thrown into the bushes again and decides to do a workup on the paperboy.

6:00 am - Lynne Cheney restarts her husband's heart and helps him into the shower.

Scooter gives the scouts compasses and tells them to find their way home.

8:00 am - Gonzales emails the White House and Vice Presidential staffs, telling them to preserve any evidence they might possess.

Cross-posted from Jesus' General

Inspiration: Bush Aide Learned Early of Leaks Probe andSecretary Rosemary Woods Who Erased Nixon Tape Dies -IW

Pardongate? Like father like son

Remember this? Will little Bush follow poppy's footsteps and pardon Rove and others before they go to trial to prevent them from outing Bush as a co-conspirator?

Imagine the Headline " Bush pardons 6 on Treasongate affair, averting a Rove trial; prosecutor assails 'cover-up' "

Who told Bush what in leak case, and when was he told?

Wow, a few posts back I mentioned something smells very fishy in regards to Bush's knowledge on this whole Plamegate affair. This smell is now very rotten and the SF Gate has the balls to report it.

For starters, did Bush know in the fall of 2003, when he was telling the public that no one wanted to get to the bottom of the case more than he did, that Rove, his longtime strategist, senior adviser and alter ego; and Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, had touched on the CIA officer's identity in conversations with journalists before the officer's name became public? If not, when did they tell him, and what would the delay say in particular about his relationship with Rove, whose career and Bush's have been intertwined for decades?

Then there is the broader issue of whether Bush was aware of any effort by his aides to use the CIA officer's identity to undermine the standing of her husband, a former diplomat who had publicly accused the administration of twisting its prewar intelligence about Iraq's nuclear program.

Haloscan Commenting feature added

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog and I have lost every friggin' comment ever posted. I knew that going in but it still sucks.

Perjury and obstruction

That's right...this is what it has come to, lying to the special prosecutor on an issue as important as national security. The word Perjury is soon to be splattered on the front page of your local paper.

The special prosecutor in the CIA leak investigation has shifted his focus from determining whether White House officials violated a law against exposing undercover agents to determining whether evidence exists to bring perjury or obstruction of justice charges, according to people briefed in recent days on the inquiry's status.

Differences have arisen in witnesses' statements to federal agents and a grand jury about how the name of Valerie Plame, a CIA agent, was leaked to the press two years ago.

Another long time aid to Bush, Karen Hughes , has also been questioned by the special prosecutor. How soon will it be before the trail leads to George Bush? Something smells very fishy here.

John O’Neill and Jerome R. Corsi turn on Bush

read on brother...

Bad republicans

James Marcinkowski testimony about the Plame Leak!

David Corn writes: A True Patriot Would Shut Up"

I saw James Marcinkowski, a former CIA case office and a former prosecutor, testify, I realized his statement was perhaps the most powerful rebuttal of and rebuke to the rightwingers who have been pushing disinformation about the Valerie Wilson case. I wish they all could have been tied to a chair and forced to listen to him. (Ken Mehlman, Tucker Eskew, Clifford May, William Safire--this means you.)...read on

Here's a low quality video of some of his powerful testimony:

Video-WMP

Cross-posted from C&L

James, It's your turn to get the treatment from the right wing Smear Machine.

Delay Legal Fund contributions way down

Who are your Friends? Hot Tub Tom's legal fund raised $43,000 for the quarter, not even enough to cover expenses. The way I see it, why would anyone want to give money to a cause that is headed down the same path as Karl Rove and the White House.

The legal fund contributions are running far below 2004, when DeLay raised $439,300. In the quarter ending March 31 this year, DeLay raised $47,750 — enough to cover his first quarter expenses of more than $34,000.

The fund has raised $1,089,871 since its formation in July 2000, according to Public Citizen, a congressional watchdog group that keeps track of the donations

ouch!

For two aides in leak case, 2nd issue rises - perjury

This is getting so juicy I just can't stand it. For such a non-story it is such a big story here and a big story here. Fitzgerald needs cases and cases of Truth Serum because these guys are busted.

Memo with Plame's name marked top secret. See it discussed at length on Olbermann.

CLOSE YOUR EARS WHEN YOU ARGUE WITH A CONSERVATIVE!

Its so hard to take a vacation these days, just ask the folks at Faux News.

I'm still "on vacation," but watching this Karl Rove thing unfold in the arena of political talk shows has compelled me to break away for a moment, to offer some serious, non-satirical advice to anyone who both reads this and wishes to argue our case:

CLOSE YOUR EARS WHEN YOU ARGUE WITH A CONSERVATIVE.

I mean that figuratively, but if you have to put your fingers over your ears to stop hearing their jabbering, DO IT!

We forward-thinkers are, ironically, more right-brained than our neocon-anderthal cousins. Hence, we're better at communicating (among so many other things). This means we can HEAR AND TALK AT THE SAME TIME.

Unfortunately, in today's atmosphere of talking head-political tacticians, this attribute seems more like a liability. It's what drives me crazy about most of us liberals. We're three words into our argument... the right-wing nutjob next to us decides to interrupt... so we SHUT UP SO WE CAN HEAR THEM TALK. It's not what we want to do... it's what we're wired to do.

I've seen it a million times.LEARN TO WORK AROUND THIS REFLEX! Please please please...

I just watched a Democratic spokesman on MSNBC get creamed in what should have been the easiest debate of his life - simply because he couldn't stop stammering every time Monica Crowley interrupted him.

We all need to learn that the conservative mind excels at the singular, tunnel-vision tactic. Any tactic. We, the strategists, are the BIG PICTURE viewers. Those with ingrown tunnel-vision can easily ignore their neighbors' racket, while, unfortunately for us, the "big picture" includes what the Nazis next door are screaming.

CLOSE YOUR EARS WHEN YOU ARGUE WITH A CONSERVATIVE.

Clowns indeed

Click to see Betty Bower's Yellowcake Road

Meet Turd Blossom

For a good read on a bit of history on "Bush's Brain", you can find it here at Who Hijacked Our Country. Then you decide on whether leaking information is something that is right up his alley.

A simple question

Via Think Progress. You gotta luv em'.

Way back in 2001, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer went public with a declaration:

While a few [White House] senior aides are free to speak to media organizations if they alert the press office, others “should not talk to the press without authorization — it’s not their job.”

Furthermore, Fleischer claimed that the “policy [predated] Sept. 11, but it has more urgency now. ‘In a time of war, people are more concerned about nobody making mistakes,’ he said.”

So here’s a question: When Karl Rove leaked the identity of Valerie Plame, was he authorized to do so?

If no, then Karl Rove betrayed the trust of the White House.
If yes, and Rove’s actions were cleared through the press office, then the White House betrayed the trust of the American people and our nation’s security.

So, which one was it?

Perry shows lack of leadership again

Governor MoFo has announced another special session for tomorrow. Rep. Aron Pena live blogged tonight's activities on the floor. This means another 2 million lost because of Perry's incompetence.

9:25 p.m. We are still sitting around waiting for the bill, or the session, to die. While we are doing that here is a list of what passed and what failed this session.

10:00 p.m. GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES SPECIAL SESSION TOMORROW at ten a.m.

10:10 p.m. Still in the House waiting. Why you ask? Well now begins the well worn art of blaming. Senator Whitmire is at this moment talking the bill to death. We on the other hand can not gavel the session out first because the House would be to blame. So we sit and watch the clock tick away........

11:00 p.m. At the end of last session the end of session song was Elton John's "I'm still standing." Well tonight with one hour to go in the session I can only say, "I'm still sitting" here on the House floor, waiting for this bill and session to die.

CIA Agents to Repulicans - stop lying about Plame

CIA agents have sent a letter to the Senate and House demanding they get the facts right regarding Valerie Plame's covert status. As of today, I continue to visit blogs or receive email that Valerie had a desk job..blah blah blah. Here is what the CIA agents had to say which really makes the right look like complete fools.

We are not lawyers and are not qualified to determine whether the leakers technically violated the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act. However, we are confident that Valerie Plame was working in a cover status and that our nation’s leaders, regardless of political party, have a duty to protect all intelligence officers. We believe it is appropriate for the President to move proactively to dismiss from office or administratively punish any official who participated in any way in revealing Valerie Plame's status. Such an act by the President would send an unambiguous message that leaks of this nature will not be tolerated and would be consistent with his duties as the Commander-in-Chief.

We also believe it is important that Congress speak with one non-partisan voice on this issue. Intelligence officers should not be used as political footballs. In the case of Valerie Plame, she still works for the CIA and is not in a position to publicly defend her reputation and honor. We stand in her stead and ask that Republicans and Democrats honor her service to her country and stop the campaign of disparagement and innuendo aimed at discrediting Mrs. Wilson and her husband.

Our friends and colleagues have difficult jobs gathering the intelligence, which helps, for example, to prevent terrorist attacks against Americans at home and abroad. They sometimes face great personal risk and must spend long hours away from family and friends. They serve because they love this country and are committed to protecting it from threats from abroad and to defending the principles of liberty and freedom. They do not expect public acknowledgement for their work, but they do expect and deserve their government’s protection of their covert status.

Read the whole letter

The plot thickens

There is a State Department memo that further implicates the White House and proves the White House was fixing the intelligence to push their case for war. Rove is just one of the many pieces of shit in a big nasty toilet bowel that will eventually be flushed right down the toilet into their new home the sewage drain. My friends on the right claim there is no story, but I pity them as their hero slowly loses his dignity, respectability and most of all... believability

The memo has become a key piece of evidence in the CIA leak investigation because it could have been the way someone in the White House learned and then leaked the information that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA and played a role in sending him on the mission.

I'm not sure how much more they can spin this story...but it will fun and funny when they try.

Save Ellington Field

Leave a caption

Bush Nominates 'Himself' For Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (IWR News Parody) - To surprise of almost no one, except the Washington press corps, President Bush yesterday selected a "good ol' boy just like me" John G. Roberts for his supreme court nominee.

"I really had you guys like Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson going there for a while, didn't I?

You all thought I was going to nominate a colored person like Fredo or worse yet another goddam woman to the high court.

Hell, every man knows you can't trust women drivers let alone woman judges," said Mr. Bush.

The president then laughed and snorted several times like a pig through his nose. ----Inernet Weekly

Lying liars

Via DNC who continues to expose the lies and lying liars...

There's a must-read article in the online version of the American Prospect about Rove. Turns out that when he was first interviewed by the FBI, his "I was just waiving a reporter off a bad story" line didn't exist. In fact, he never even mentioned that he talked to Matt Cooper about Plame (or "Joe Wilson's wife"). Investigators have been suspicious ever since...

White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove did not disclose that he had ever discussed CIA officer Valerie Plame with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper during Rove's first interview with the FBI, according to legal sources with firsthand knowledge of the matter.

The omission by Rove created doubt for federal investigators, almost from the inception of their criminal probe into who leaked Plame's name to columnist Robert Novak, as to whether Rove was withholding crucial information from them, and perhaps even misleading or lying to them, the sources said.

Also leading to the early skepticism of Rove's accounts was the claim that although he first heard that Plame worked for the CIA from a journalist, he said could not recall the name of the journalist. Later, the sources said, Rove wavered even further, saying he was not sure at all where he first heard the information.

Iraq vets to Bush, 'Mr. President, You're Either With Us or Against Us'

OpTruth.org, a coalition of U.S. veterans of the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars whose slogan is "Really Support the Troops - Listen to Them!", is taking out an ad in today's Washington Post critical of the Bush Administration and calling on Bush to "provide leadership" by meeting the needs of healthcare for returning vets. This is the first time a n Iraq vets group as taken out a mojor print ad.

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION recently admitted that they miscalculated the health care costs for Veterans of the War on Terror this year by at least $1 billion. In 2006, the shortfall will be $3 billion.

WITHOUT IMMEDIATE CHANGES, four out of five returning Veterans could be turned away from care at VA hospitals. That’s a raw deal the American people will not tolerate.

A UNANIMOUS, BIPARTISAN SENATE has moved quickly to cover this year’s outrageous budget gap with a $1.5 billion emergency supplemental. Congress should adopt the Senate’s plan, and should make up the 2006 budget gap as well.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, President Bush needs to act immediately and provide the leadership that will prevent Veterans from being shortchanged now and in the future.

See PDF copy of ad.

Karl Rove talking points

It the liberal media

We have a Republican president, a Republican Congress and a Supreme Court dominated by seven Republican nominees. The mainstream media in this country are dominated by liberals. I was informed of this fact by Rush Limbaugh. And Thomas Sowell. And Ann Coulter. And Rich Lowry. And Bill O'Reilly.

And William Safire. And Robert Novak. And William F. Buckley Jr. And George Will. And John Gibson. And Michelle Malkin. And David Brooks. And Tony Snow. And Tony Blankely. And Fred Barnes. And Britt Hume. And Larry Kudlow. And Sean Hannity.

And David Horowitz. And William Kristol. And Hugh Hewitt. And Oliver North. And Joe Scarborough. And Pat Buchanan. And John McLaughlin. And Cal Thomas. And Joe Klein. And James Kilpatrick. And Tucker Carlson. And Deroy Murdock. And Michael Savage. And Charles Krauthammer. And Stephen Moore.

And Alan Keyes. And Gary Bauer. And Mort Kondracke. And Andrew Sullivan. And Nicholas von Hoffman. And Neil Cavuto. And Mike Rosen. And Dave Kopel. And John Caldera. And Matt Drudge.

On the X-Files they used to say "The truth is out there." I'm not so sure. And with everything going on in the world today I think we’re finding out why leaning too far to the right is wrong.

Daniel Soshnik, La Crosse, Wisc., in a letter to the editor of local newspaper

Forget about Karl for a minute

This prime time address scam is getting a bit old, guys. It's a Supreme Court nomination, he can't make it without the "we're going to war" prime time address slot. I'm surprised he didn't make the announcement on ground zero in NYC, or perhaps at Pearl Harbor.

President Bush has decided whom to nominate to succeed Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court and was poised to announce his pick in a prime-time Tuesday night address.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the Bush administration was asking television outlets to broadcast the speech live. Bush's spokesman would not identify the president's choice. But there was intense speculation that it would be Judge Edith Clement of the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

The televised speech was scheduled for 9 p.m. EDT.

Cross-posted from AmericaBlog

"can't comment on an ongoing investigation."

The President has said that anyone who leaked the identity of Ms. Plame would no longer be part of his Administration. The American people and Congress expect the President to keep his word. See the proof in the new DCCC video - then tell President Bush that Rove must go:

Tell President Bush to Fire Karl Rove Now.

Who said that?

"I am saying that if anyone was involved in that type of activity which I referred to, they would not be working here." --Ron Ziegler, Nixon's press secretary, defending a presidential aide in Watergate.

"Any individual who works here at the White House has the confidence of the president. They wouldn't be working here at the White House if they didn't have the president's confidence." --Scotty McCllellan, Bush's press secretary, defending a presidential aide in Rovegate.

Spin and crash

As Bush and company falls...Iraq burns. Ken Mehlman's weekend spin has now solidly kicked him and the guilty ones in the ass. Ahh the happy happy joy joy.

USA Patriot to the rescue

From Tom Delay's press release. Today he claims the USA Patriot act is our answer to winning the war on terror and again, democrats are freedom-hating terrorist lovers. Never mind that we are in the mess today because of GW Bush's pack of lies.

The grilling and lying continues

Frim Kos via AmericaBlog

Scottie is saying the president hasn't changed his standard. We want to know what the facts are.

Q. But you had said that anyone involved with this would no longer be in this administration, you didn't say anyone who committed a crime.

A. Yeah, we've been through these issues over the past week, I know what was said previously.

Q. Did the president equate the word leaking to a crime? Is the only threshold for firing someone involved being charged with a crime?

Q. Two years and he can't call Rove in and find out what the hell is going on? (Helen Thomas, love her) All he has to do is call him in?

A. Because there's an investigation continuing at this point, the appropriate people handling these issues are the people investigating this investigation.

Q. We don't know all the facts, but we know some of the facts. Given the facts you said these men didn't discuss a CIA agent's identitity, does the white house have a credibility problem?

A. No.

Q. You made statements that have proven to be untrue.

Q. Given the new formulation of somebody committing a crime....

A. I'm not going to add to what the president said...

Q. What about president's previous statements. Do they remain operative? (funny, the media is using Watergate language here, statements remaining "operative")

Q. Dancing around definitional issue. You're telling us there's nothing new in what the president said today, yet you said before that someone would be fired if they were even involved in the leak. The president appears to have set up a higher bar. They are not the same thing on their face.

A. I would not read anything into it more than what the president said.

Q. You said you talked to Scooter and Rove and Abrams, you said they weren't involved. Do you stand by that?

A. blah blah blah

Q. Has the president asked Karl Rove to detail any involvement he's had.

A. The president directed the White House to cooperate fully.

Q. Has the prosecutor asked the White House not to speak to his top aides about this topic?

A. You can ask the prosecutor.

Q. Has the White House coordinated with the RNC and GOP members of congress on this issue?

A. I answered that last week.

Caught lying again

Via Think Progress

Even the Associated Press isn’t falling for President Bush’s attempts to now move the goalposts on the Karl Rove leak case. Fresh off the wire:

President Bush said Monday that if anyone in his administration committed a crime in connection with the public leak of the identity of a CIA operative, that person will “no longer work in my administration.” At the same time, Bush yet again sidestepped a question on the role of his top political adviser, Karl Rove, in the matter.

[snip]

Bush said in June 2004 that he would fire anyone in his administration shown to have leaked information that exposed the identity of Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame. On Monday, however, he added the qualifier that it would have [to] be shown that a crime was committed.

UPDATE: Bush on June 10, 2004:

Q: Given — given recent developments in the CIA leak case, particularly Vice President Cheney’s discussions with the investigators, do you still stand by what you said several months ago, a suggestion that it might be difficult to identify anybody who leaked the agent’s name?

THE PRESIDENT: That’s up to –

Q: And, and, do you stand by your pledge to fire anyone found to have done so?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. And that’s up to the U.S. Attorney to find the facts.

Press briefing by Scott McClellan - Day 1

the White House is not going to comment on it...we're not going to get into commenting on an ongoing criminal investigation from this podium...we are not going to get into commenting on it while it is an ongoing investigation...not get into commenting on it while it is an ongoing investigation...I will be glad to talk about it, but not until after the investigation is complete...we not get into discussing it while it is ongoing...this is a question relating to an ongoing investigation...we're going to continue not to comment on it while it's ongoing...we're not going to get into commenting on it...I will be glad to talk about it at the appropriate time. The appropriate time is when the investigation--...there will be a time to talk about this, but now is not the time to talk about it...Again, I've responded to the question...investigators had requested that we not get into commenting on an ongoing criminal investigation...I look forward to talking about it. But until the investigation is complete, I'm just not going to do that...you're continuing to ask questions relating to an ongoing criminal investigation, and I'm just not going to respond any further...You can keep asking them, but you have my response...I've responded to the questions...after the investigation is complete, I will be glad to talk about it at that point...those overseeing the investigation expressed a preference to us that we not get into commenting on the investigation while it's ongoing...so I think in order to be helpful to that investigation, we are following their direction...these are all questions coming up in the context of an ongoing criminal investigation. And you've heard my response on this...you're asking this question in the context of an ongoing investigation. And I would not read anything into it other than I'm simply not going to comment on an ongoing --...This continues to be an ongoing criminal investigation...And we're just not going to have more to say on it until that investigation is complete...Again, you're asking questions relating to an ongoing investigation, and I think I've responded to it...This is still coming at the same question relating to reports about an ongoing investigation, and I think I've responded to it...I'm going to be happy to talk about this at the appropriate time...But I will be glad to talk about this at the appropriate time, and that's once the investigation is complete...you're still trying to come at this from a different angle, and I've responded to it...this is an ongoing matter; I'm just not going to get into commenting on it further at this time. At the appropriate time, when it's complete, then I'll be glad to talk about it at that point...You're asking me to comment on an ongoing investigation, and I'm not going to do that...And the way to help them do that is to not get into commenting on it while it is ongoing...I'm just not going to say anything further. I expressed all I'm going to say on this matter from this podium...

Same answers day after day. Something has got to give.

Reporters waking up

Howard Fineman explains why reporters are out for blood on Karlgate. They are tired of the habitual lying coming from White House which eventually makes them look like fools. If only they would of listened to me from the start.

Freedom on the march

One person dies every hour in Baghdad alone with not enough coffins to go around. Is this what Bush calls making success?

White House fears indictment

United Press International

Post: White House fears indictment
Jul. 14, 2005 at 11:55AM

White House officials told The Washington Post they fear someone in the Bush administration may be indicted regarding the leak of a covert CIA operative's name.

The Post report Thursday did not name its sources, saying "officials acknowledged privately" that an indictment naming a member of the administration could come this year.

Special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald has been investigating the release of the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame, which is a crime for a government official. But the Post said legal experts said there are other possible problems related to the case, including perjury and obstruction of justice.

Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper appeared Wednesday before a federal grand jury convened to look into the case. Another reporter, Judith Miller of The New York Times, remains jailed in Virginia because she refuses to appear before the grand jury.

<>

http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20050714-104442-6075r.ht...

This guy sucks

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed the percentage of Americans who believe Bush is "honest and straightforward" fell to 41 percent from 50 percent in January, while those who say they doubt his veracity climbed to 45 percent from 36 percent.

Two from Delay Inc. soon to stand trial

Austin American-Statesman:

State District Judge Bob Perkins today said he believes two officials with Texans for a Republican Majority should stand trial on felony charges of money laundering.

Wow, the TRMPAC scandal is really starting to get out of Tom DeLay's control.

If his allies in Texas start falling due to money laundering convictions, and other violations of state law, how long before Tom DeLay get hauled in front of a judge to answer for himself?

Hopefully sooner than later.

Cross posted via Come and Take it from The Supreme Irony of Life ...

Kerry speaks

A word from John Kerry.

It's time for the President to do what he said he'd do and remove from the White House someone who leaked the identity of a CIA agent and made her dangerous job even more dangerous. And, if he's not willing to do that, George W. Bush should look the American people in the eye and admit that he didn't mean what he said when he promised to fire anyone responsible for the leak.

If you haven't already signed our Fire Rove petition, act now:

http://www.johnkerry.com/firerove

If you have signed it, help build momentum around the country by passing this along to five people on your email list.

It's remarkable that the presidential aide who should be packing his bags is instead sitting in White House meetings about stacking the Supreme Court with rigid ideologues. The last thing America needs -- and the last thing we will tolerate -- is Rove-style tactics in the critical decisions our nation is about to make about the shape of the Supreme Court.

Sinking ships?

Rick Perry (38%) is alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger (36%) as one of the country's worst approval rating as Governor. Maybe he should call Bush or Rove for help. Not!

Adios Perry

Adios, MoFo clothing, buttons and Stickers at PinkDome. Get yours, I got mine.

Fun with Chris and Tom

Via Burnt Orange, Chris Bell admits that he and Tom Delay are not very close. Please Tom, no more flowers.

Lying for a traitor - GOP talking points

read the rest here

Update 7/13/05 2.24pm - Lefter Coaster has full debunking of talking points.

Typical Bush Strategy

Bush, again, presents his crusade yesterday in front of a typical audience (such as FBI, Military folks and Republicans) outlining the same typical strategy on defeating terrorism - "take this fight to the enemy" and "fight until the enemy is defeated".

Let's contrast this style with that of Wesley Clark's as depicted in an article he wrote in yesterday's USA Today. He says, "But fighting terrorism at home isn't just a matter of "killing terrorists." Terrorists aren't born that way. They are created by their interaction with their surroundings. To win this war, we must defeat the ideology of terrorism, depriving angry young people of their ability to justify their hateful actions in the name of Allah.

This will require not only strong Islamic condemnation of terrorists and their acts, but also a winning dialogue within Islam to defeat Koranic interpretations seeking to justify the use of force against innocent people. We need to encourage "moderates" in Islam to debate, to proselytize and to win over potential terrorists. They are the only ones who can do it".

Judge for yourself.

White House Press run by MoveOn?

Via DNC:

RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman responded to the controversy that has engulfed the White House this week. His statement, in whole:

It's disappointing that once again, so many Democrat[ic] leaders are taking their political cues from the far-left, Moveon wing of the party. The bottom line is Karl Rove was discouraging a reporter from writing a false story based on a false premise and the Democrats are engaging in blatant partisan political attacks."

This is the same defense Tom Delay is using and the American people just isn't buying it.

But why won't the dems?

Russert on the Today Show this morning.

Russert: One Republican said to me last night. If this was a Democratic White House, we'd have Congressional hearings in a second.

There you have it. All the apologists know that if it was a democrat, Power Line and the like would have written a three headed story on why the person responsible for this eggregious behavior should go to jail and the rest would follow suit. The Republicans would be calling for investigations and 24/7 would lead the charge.

Crossposted from C & L.

Bush World

More say Iraq has reduced U.S. safety - Ouch! Bush's approval rating only go up after terror attack. Double ouch!

Forces in Iraq Deny Pressure to Speed Up Pullout - This after a leaked British memo said Washington hopes to pull out in a year. What is it with all the leaked British memos?

Iraq Shi'ites Campaign for Foreign Troop Pullout - yes they want us out also.

Iraqi Commandos Accused in Deaths of 10 Sunni Tribesmen - Captured men left in air tight container to fry by American trained Iraqi police commandos. I wonder if they read the Gonzales torture memos?

Iraq, Internet Fuel Growth of Global Jihad - Flypaper gone bad!

Eleven Iraq Soldiers Killed as Diplomats Promised More Protection - Last throes my ass.

Two Marines Killed in Iraq - Does anyone care anymore?

Quieter Than Bombs, Iraq's Foul Water Also Kills - Billions of dollars for this?

US Army National Guard's Recruiting Woes Deepen - This is a bigger story than lead to believe.

and it goes on and on...

Help!

Looking for contributors. Post Comment or send email to texastruthserum at yahoo dot com.

Me worry?

The right has their panties in a wad because Hillary compares Bush to Alfred E. Neuman. I agree, it's an insult to poor Alfred to be compared to the sitting monkey. What did he do to deserve this? But then I found an old copy of The Nation and damn if she isn't right.

Scotty needs truth serum

Finally the White House Press Corp get off their lazy butts and tear MCCLELLAN a new a-hole as Newsweek has now outed Karl Rove.

Raw story has the transcript and you can see the video here. Fort Bend Democrats speak their mind.

Update 7/11/05 9:45 pm - Countdown, the only "Fair and Balanced" news show on television breaks down the story in this news clip via Crooks and Liars.

Winning the terror war

This is how Bush wins the war on terror.

Experts fear 'endless' terror war

Analysts say al-Qaida is mutating into a global insurgency.

In fact, says Michael Scheuer, the ex-CIA analyst, rather than move toward solutions, the United States took a big step backward by invading Iraq.

Read more from this AP story.

Their words not ours

Some fine quotes from the right regarding the London Bombings.

And that was the first time since 9-11 when they should know, and they do know now, that terrorism should be Number 1. But it's important for them all to be together. I think that works to our advantage, in the Western world's advantage, for people to experience something like this together, just 500 miles from where the attacks have happened. - Fox News' Brian Kilmeade suggested that the attacks were somehow beneficial.

It [Edgeware Road] is an area that has a very large Arab population. Surrounding that station, a large number of Middle Eastern restaurants. So, it's a further indication, if in fact these attacks were carried out by Al Qaeda-affiliated cells, that these people are, if necessary, prepared to spill Arab blood in addition to the blood of regular -- of non-Arab people living in London. - Fox News contributing correspondent Simon Marks distinguished between Arabs and "regular" Londoners, in reporting on the scope of the attacks, as the weblog Daily Kos noted.

I mean, my first thought when I heard -- just on a personal basis, when I heard there had been this attack and I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank, I thought, "Hmmm, time to buy." - Fox News Washington managing editor Brit Hume saw the attacks as a way to make a quick buck in the futures market.

By the way, just wanted to tell you people, we missed -- the International Olympic Committee missed a golden opportunity today. If they had picked France, if they had picked France instead of London, to hold the Olympics, it would have been the one time we could look forward to where we didn't worry about terrorism. They'd blow up Paris, and who cares? - Fox News host John Gibson suggested that the real tragedy of the bombings wasn't that they happened at all, but that they didn't happen in Paris.

That's, ah, the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. Very powerful, excellent. And it was such a great contrast to what we're seeing in our own media this morning with the hand-wringing I was speaking about and the "Oh, woe is us" and "Oh, what did we do to cause this?" and "Oh, does this mean we're going to get hit?" and "Oh ..." It's like I said -- 40 people dead, 150 seriously wounded, 1,000 wounded, out of over 1 million people in that transit tube. It's not a successful terrorist attack, folks. - Rush Limbaugh implying the the deat of 40 people is no big deal.

Quotes from Media Matters

"The time of revenge has come"

Blowback from Bush and Blair's incompetently pursued war on terror has hit London. When will the U.S. figure out how to fight smart?

Read on ...

George Bush is sure to try to use the London bombings to rally the American people to support his policies. If Americans look closer, however, they will realize that Bush's incompetent crusade has made the world more dangerous, not less. ...

It's all we are asking for

Letter to Pres Bush Concerning the "Downing Street Minutes

Fly on the windscreen

Condolences to those who lost loved ones in London

It's a shame that we have cowards in this world who murder innocent ones without facing them eye-to-eye. Even with these alleged branched al-Qaida cells doing the harm, we must continue to hunt down Osama and his chief lieutenants.

On the same token, it's a shame that almost four years after 9/11, the deadliest attack on US soil, Osama is still a free man. This administration made the mistake to divert military resources from Afghanistan to only pre-emptively invade Iraq for false announced reasons. At that moment in time, we had the support of the World to do anything remotely possible to capture Osama, even if that meant for our troops to enter into Pakistan.

With the gospel of Osama still living, more attacks like London and Madrid will occur. We had Osama cornered, and then, the decision to fortify our forces from Afghanistan to Iraq is a colossal mistake from the Bush administration.

We must continue to be diligent about seeking both Osama and the Truth.

Home run

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The excess of ethics problems facing the Republicans is not a matter of technicalities. Members of Congress like Tom DeLay feel that they are above reprimand, above accountability, and above their constituents.

This week, in papers across the country, including Fort Bend County Newspaper, the DCCC is running ads that expose the truth about Tom DeLay and his cronies. Putting these ads in the newspapers is the DCCC's top priority. However, we need your help to do it. By contributing today, you can help guarantee ads like these will stay in the papers

Download a printable version of the ad >>.

Iraq war not pissing anybody off

Think Progress explains just how out of touch the Bush Administration is.

Condoleezza Rice was interviewed today by the BBC and she was asked a very good question:

BEALE: Do you think that Britain and America in Iraq are perhaps fighting the wrong war? They went to war to remove physical weapons of mass destruction but partly Saddam Hussein as well, but that hasn’t stopped the terrorist attacks in Western cities like Madrid, in London today. It seems to have fueled those attacks.

RICE: Oh, I don’t think that anything is being fueled here except the fact that the terrorists are finally being confronted. Again, they were — they’ve been doing this now for a couple of decades and for a while the world, going all the way back to Beirut and going back to the attacks on the World Trade Center in 1993 or the attacks on American Embassies in 1998, this has been going on for a while.

Rice’s response underscores the fundamental problem with the Bush’s attitude and approach to the war on terror. The president and his closest advisors refuse to acknowledge – no matter what happens – that the Iraq war has precipitated more terrorist attacks and more terrorists. This has been confirmed by the CIA and the State Department.

Energy Co. paid $25,000 for DeLay meeting

Read between the lines on this one.

A Kansas energy company said it donated $25,000 so that it could attend a golf outing with U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to try to influence pending energy legislation.

The admission from Topeka, Kan.-based Westar Energy marks the first time a company has publicly admitted to donating to DeLay's political action committee in exchange for a meeting and possible legislative help.

Ellington Field must stay

Houston needs Ellington Field. This is one area Delay and I can agree on.

"Texas is too large an area to downsize its interior defense capacity, especially in light of the unique homeland security responsibility shouldered by the border states," Mr. DeLay said while standing in front of nine Apache helicopters on a runway at Ellington Field. "Texas' size, its geography and its strategic importance make its National Guard capacity critical to our national and homeland security."

Flypaper strategy

Tap into the flypaper talk at Kos.

Bush's latest rationale for maintaining the course in Iraq adventure has been the "flypaper strategy" -- it's better to fight the terrorists over there than at home. Nevermind that the Iraqis never asked to have their country turned into a dangerous den of terrorism, insurgency, violence and death. For war supporters looking for an excuse, any excuse, to justify the continued disastrous American presence in Iraq, the flypaper rationale was as good as any.

Except that it's not working. The war isn't making the West any safer. In fact, it's creating a whole new class of terrorists. Today it was London. Next time it could easily be the United States. And waging the war in Iraq, rather than make us safer, is further motivating Islamic terrorists to strike at the West.

Five of the London fatalities were killed by a bomb in the Edgware Road Tube station. Elisa and I have friends that use that stop every morning and we're both sick with worry. Every one of those deaths today sickens me. Those committing these attacks, like those committing any terrorist attack, need to be brought down.

But Bush (and Blair) took their eyes off the prize -- neglected to finish the job in Afghanistan, let Al Qaida off the hook to rebuild and reorganize, and helped swell its ranks with an unecessary and inept campaign in Iraq.

There are consequences to the mess in Iraq. And today, we're seeing one of them. Unfortunately, it won't be the last

Iraq signs military pact with Iran

Is this deal supposed to be a good thing? I'm not sure.

Chaos

Terror in London...

A safer world under GW

washingtonpost.com - There were nearly 3,200 terrorist attacks worldwide last year, a federal counterterrorism center said Tuesday, using a broader definition that increased fivefold the number of attacks the agency had been counting.

... but noted many attacks overseas are aimed at U.S. and Western interests.

"Americans should come away saying this is something we are not immune to," he said.

******

Also, Gallup: Only 1 in 3 Think the U.S. Is Winning War on Terror. Read more here...

We are now screwed more than ever!!!

Stinking rot

I don't have much time to post this week...so here you go.

A face tells it all

Since we are about the truth here, I want to show you what someone looks like who is not.

Via Crooks and Liars:

This is the part of the interview on Iraq, and the last throes. You can see how uncomfortable he is without being in his cocoon...

Video-WMP

James Wolcott writes exactly what I was thinking. What the hell was with all that blinking?

And yes I am talking about out prez.

When will this happen?

I love my flag

This week's DU The Top 10 Conservative Idiots. It's a riot.

Since today is Independence Day, we should probably mention that two weeks ago the House of Representatives endorsed a constitutional amendment to ban flag desecration. This is the umpteenth time the House has tried this, and so far the measure has never made it past the Senate. But in these times, the flag desecration amendment may actually stand a chance.

So the next time you see someone flying a ratty, tattered Stars & Stripes from the window of their car, make sure to let them know that they are un-American. Next time your neighbor hangs Old Glory in the front yard and leaves it there for the wind to rip to pieces, remind them that they are helping the terrorists. Next time you see someone wrapping their head or their tits or their ballsack in the Star Spangled Banner, tell them that not only are they desecrating the flag, but they look like a clown.they look like a clown.

And the next time you see someone burning a flag in the street... ha ha! Yeah right - that happens all the time. - DU #7

Happy 4th

Dems afraid

Staying on the subject of backbones, or lack there of. Dems afraid to talk about GOP "culture of corruption". Dean left standing alone on subject, along with Chris Bell.

Weak sisters

Rove: Asshole

It's late, I'm sleepy. I check a news feed and this story caught my eye. Lawrence O'Donnell, senior MSNBC political analyst points the finger at Karl Rove as source in Plame case. If true, this is right up his alley.

Here is the transcript of O'Donnell's remarks:

"What we're going to go to now in the next stage, when Matt Cooper's e-mails, within Time Magazine, are handed over to the grand jury, the ultimate revelation, probably within the week of who his source is.

"And I know I'm going to get pulled into the grand jury for saying this but the source of...for Matt Cooper was Karl Rove, and that will be revealed in this document dump that Time magazine's going to do with the grand jury.

If true, this would suggest a perjury rap for Rove, if he told the grand jury he did not leak to Cooper.

Denise and PDiddie have more on this fine story...

Update: O'Donnell reacts to Rove lawyer remarks.

Crooks and Liars has the O'Donnell clip from From the McLaughlin Group.

Yikes!!