Rumsfeld has an "epiphany" on "insurgency"

Rummy, a a bizarre press conference, decides that the enemy in Iraq are not "insurgents." This kind of semantic dancing makes you wonder whether the Defense Secretary has lost his mind. A modern-day Patton, perhaps? Maybe not - Patton, at least, was a master militarist...

California GOP Wasteland

Chalk another scandal up for the GOP - this time in California as Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham admits to taking bribes and resigns. Yep, the wheels seem to falling off the BushCo wagon as more and more local, regional, and state officials are caught in a ring of corruption.

Securing the Hack

There are worse times ahead for voters who use Diebold e-voting machines. California Republican Secretary of State Bruce McPherson seems to be reversing the previous Secretary for State's de certification process and requirements for the Diebold machines. Via Seeing the Forest He has required a paper trail and receipts for all machines. Right now the failure rate for these machines that provide a paper receipt is 20%. Unacceptable.

However, Black Box Voting has apparently been invited by the CA Sec. of State to perform a "test hack" of the Diebold machines. The Oakland Tribune confirms this latest development.

For more information, GuvWurld has been following the electoral reform process in detail. Go there for ways to act and halt the bogus certification of these flawed voting machines. GuvWurld has been instrumental in passing the Voter Confidence Resolution is the town of Arcata in Humboldt County, California. Humboldt is one of 17 counties in California using the broken Diebold AccuTouch voting machines.

BushCo knew there was no Iraq-Al-Qaeda connection, but lied anyway...

Via Daily Kos, check out the article from Murray Waas at National Review about a Presidential Daily Briefing some 10 days after the Sept. 11th attacks.

Kos rightly points out that the administration's current campaign claiming Democrats knew the same intelligence information as the White House is just as much a lie as the reasons to go to war in the first place.

Remembering JFK

November 22, 2005 Today is the anniversary of the death of John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Fox News Won't Show Ad Opposing Alito

Unfair and unbalanced, FoxNews reveals some truth about itself. As a mouthpiece for BushCo, what would you expect?

BuchCo thrown another 'Curveball'

German intelligence agents indicate that the BushCo administration exaggerated further pre-Iraq war intelligence from an informant. From the Los Angeles Times:

Five senior officials from Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, said in interviews with The Times that they warned U.S. intelligence authorities that the source, an Iraqi defector code-named Curveball, never claimed to produce germ weapons and never saw anyone else do so.

BushCo officials seemed to ignore this bit of information in their planning. But, as Americans are finding out more and more, they mischaracterized, misstated, misappropriated, and missed everything that led to this unjust invasion and war in Iraq. I would now they don't out any convert German intelligence officers. The Times lays out a good timeline for Curveball. Check it out...

And further - House GOP in retreat as desperation sets in

They decide to seek veto of an immediate pullout from Iraq, claiming it is not a personal attack on Murtha.

And further...

Fitzgerald may be seeking new grand jury proceedings. This is a bad sign for BushCo. Woodward should be on the short witness list. That's if we can trust him now...

BushCo sinking further...

House Democrat, John Murtha, who was originally a supporter of BushCo's war in Iraq and quite conservative, calls for an immediate pullout.

"This is the immediate redeployment of American forces because they have become the target," said Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., one of Congress' most hawkish Democrats. At times during his remarks to reporters, the decorated Vietnam War veteran was choking back tears.

"It is time for a change in direction. Our military is suffering, the future of our country is at risk. We cannot continue on the present course. It is evident that continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf region," Murtha said.

And the poll numbers are hammering BushCo as well. The latest Fox poll gives Bush only a 36% approval rating, and only 34%, according to the conservative Wall Street Journal. Republicans are starting to jump...

Woodward walks through TreasonGate

Apparently, he was told of Valerie Plame some 2 years ago and will not divulge the source. (Hint. Hint. Cheney?). Crooks and Liars asks the question.

Then, he issues an apology for not telling the WaPo. Pathetic.

I am finding this new information disturbing and sketchy. Why did Woodward not come forward during the Rove/Libby inquiry? From WaPo (mind you):

In a more than two-hour deposition, Woodward told Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald that the official casually told him in mid-June 2003 that Plame worked as a CIA analyst on weapons of mass destruction and that he did not believe the information to be classified or sensitive, according to a statement Woodward released Tuesday.

He did not think it was classified? Yet, we find out this information after the Libby indictment and it is awfully convenient for Libby. He, however, still lied and obstructed justice, whether he was the leak or not. If anything, it may open up new inroads for Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald. We shall see.

Woodward's testimony appears to change key elements in the chronology Fitzgerald laid out in his investigation and announced when indicting Libby three weeks ago. It would make the unnamed official -- not Libby -- the first government employee to disclose Plame's CIA employment to a reporter. It would also make Woodward, who has been publicly critical of the investigation, the first reporter known to have learned about Plame from a government source.

So, what, Novak and Miller are off the hook? Woodward seems to imply that he started this mess. The Huffington Post gives us a blogosphere reaction. Josh Marshall at TPM explores Woodward's cred:

[I]t now seems that Woodward -- who has long been publicly critical of the Fitzgerald investigation -- has been part of it from the beginning. Literally, the beginning. […]
At a minimum…Woodward seems to have some explaining to do, at least for the fact that he became an aggressive commentator on the leak story without ever disclosing his own role in it, not even to his editors.

Marshall notes that Woodward goes on to say that he told Walter Pincus of The Washington Post at the time, which Pincus denies. Murky. What is infuriating here is that BushCo is sitting back and waiting. We need to cut the shit and get to the big dogs playing these reporters. BushCo officials leaked the information and broke the law.

I guess Woodward has forgotten his roots...

The New York Times, recovering from TreasonGate, issues a scathing editorial.

Decoding Mr. Bush's Denials

The Times, it seems, has gotten over its Judith Miller withdrawal. After years of lobbing soft balls at the administration, the paper hits BushCo hard on Iraq. Contrary to popular belief, it the paper's collective voice has been losing its no-nonsense reporting (am sure a few BushCo-wingers will be screaming shortly). MillerGate and the CIA Leak has taken its toll and Times could suck up any longer...

BushCo Digs In further on Iraq

Defiant war speech on Veteran's Day uses new GOP Talking Point - Blame the Democrats for voting to go to war on Iraq! (BTW, Air America's Randi Rhodes was right). When in doubt, blame someone else.

The stakes in the global war on terror are too high and the national interest is too important for politicians to throw out false charges," the president said in his combative Veterans Day speech.

While it's perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began," the president said.

Rewrite history? Black kettles all around folks. This constant denial and denial and deflection and distraction and denial is the only strategy of this Administration. BushCo's numbers are in the tank right now. 37%. He concentrates his attack on Dems saying that they are "undercutting" the US forces on the ground and says nothing of the indictment of his Vice President's Chief of Staff for treasonous related activities. That is not very American or patriotic or says nothing of protecting the troops.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass, responded:

"Its deeply regrettable that the president is using Veterans Day as a campaign-like attempt to rebuild his own credibility by tearing down those who seek the truth about the clear manipulation of intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war," Kennedy said in a statement.

"Instead of providing open and honest answers about how we will achieve success in Iraq and allow our troops to begin to come home," Kennedy said, "the president reverted to the same manipulation of facts to justify a war we never should have fought."

What nobody in the White House wants us to know is that very few Senators and Congresspeople knew the complete details in the run-up to the invasion. The power lays with the Republicans right now, not the Dems, and taking responsibility is not an option for this Administration. Much of the intelligence came from the DIA in the Pentagon, where BushCo puppeteers resided, and even some documents were known to be false. Was this what was presented to Dem and GOP lawmakers at the time before the blank check for war was issued? The false docs can be convincing, especially to Dems, who don't want to be attacked as not protecting their constituents, since politically, they were weak on this front. There is a GOP talking point for everything and the force and overwhelming nature of the situation led some Dems regrettably to vote for war.

Does this mean that they should not question the war now? Now that evidence to the contrary has arrived? No. Situations and people change and officials have an obligation to their constituents to lead with integrity and with the peoples' best interests in mind. Now that the evidence that the White House and Pentagon lied about pre-war intelligence on Iraq, Dems and even Repubs are prudent to believe they are right to investigate - not for politics, but for people...

O'Reilly advocates for terrorist attacks on San Francisco

This guy is a real coward. He can never argue the facts and stammers about when called on. His alternative to actual discussion is to lie and demean people.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

"You know, if I'm the president of the United States, I walk right into Union Square, I set up my little presidential podium and I say, 'Listen, citizens of San Francisco, if you vote against military recruiting, you're not going to get another nickel in federal funds,' " O'Reilly said Tuesday on his radio show as San Franciscans were approving the two measures. Perhaps, he didn't realize that he'd be speaking mostly to foreign tourists and suburbanites if he were standing in Union Square.

"Fine. You want to be your own country? Go right ahead," O'Reilly went on. "And if al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead."

The Chronicle calls out the hyprocrisy in his statement early indicating that his fictitious presidential rant in Union Square would only be to tourists.

"The man is a sensationalist fool," said Paul Hickey, a 76-year-old visiting from Texas.

And, that, my friends is the no spin truth...

Italian documentary shows US use of chemical weapons in Fallujah.

It makes know bones about how the US military used white phosphorus and napalm in Iraq, especially during Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah. Daily Dissent provides a link to the story and the video. THIS IS A MUST SEE. Some scenes are graphic.

Elections weaken Bush in world

This analysis by Martin Sieff of UPI discusses the foreign impact of GOP election losses in the US yesterday. BushCo foreign policy is hitting many brick walls as more and more countries reject the ill-advised and irresponsible Bush Doctrine. The marks against the Administration are adding up - domestic and international and, for the time being, it looks like Americans are also rejecting these inadequate policies... More to come.

Californians reject Schwarzenegger

All propositions fail in California Special election called by Arnold. I what is considered the most costly election in California history, the Governator could not concede. The SF Chronicle:

Two years after an angry electorate looking for a new voice in Sacramento thrust Schwarzenegger into office, voters appear to have turned their anger back on him.

The governor clearly recognized that Tuesday night. Taking the stage in a huge ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Schwarzenegger did not concede. But he did reach out to his opponents -- thanking Californians for participating in the election and thanking those "who were so passionately vocal against us.''

It seems Arnie knows he made mistakes and should take Californians for granted. We only hope compromise is on the agenda in the furture. He claimed that he was doing this for the people, but, in the end, isolated everyone but his Republican base.

Latin America rejects BushCo...

Argentinian President Hugo Chavez leads massive protests against Bush and his Trade policies.

But the opposition to Bush and his proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), as well as neoconservative economic policies and capitalism in general, took on a creative twist this time, with a massive march that ended in a rally at a sports stadium involving a heterogeneous group of Latin American leaders: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Bolivian socialist leader Evo Morales, Argentine leaders of the unemployed, Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, singers from all over the continent, and, of course, Diego Maradona, legendary soccer hero.

The LA Times talks in detail about how the talks ended in disagreement, giving BushCo another foreign policy defeat.

The lack of a closing declaration delivered by chief executives — generally a standard feature of global summits — underscored the polarized nature of the free-trade issue. The fiercest debate of the sessions focused on the hemispheric treaty, an idea that has been on the table for more than a decade but hasn't advanced much beyond the talking stage. The Bush administration had hoped to change that this weekend.

The FTAA never had a chance. If BushCo was to expect cooperation from countries he has expoited, snubbed, and tried to oust, they would be dreaming. Aside from Venezuela - Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay also dissented, while the 28 others want the free trade accord. But, take a look at the makeup of the dissenters. They represent the largest economies in the region. The other nations are to poor and have nothing to lose. Why should any country not look out for its best interests?

So what does this mean? The Nation concluded:

Regardless, it seems to be that opposition toward Bush and his policies has created a powerful space, one which regional leaders, especially Chávez, are more than willing to take advantage of.

Big Bird Strikes Back

Tomlinson quits public broadcasting board

Thanks to Bill Moyers and Viewers Like You, fighting the push to inject radical GOP ideology in PBS is beginning to pay off. Tomlinson, of course, claims there is this "vast left-wing conspiracy" at PBS and NPR. Funny, last time I listened, James Dobson's ranting was blaring through the radio. Dobson would not be characterized as a "mainstream" conservative, but rather a radical religious right leader of a minority congregation.

Tomlinson, a Republican, quit shortly before CPB Inspector General Kenneth Konz was to publish a report after investigating his activities, including paying outside researchers to check public programing for liberal bias.

Critics, including broadcasters and congressional Democrats, accused Tomlinson of trying to advance his own conservative agenda in public broadcasting, which is supposed to be non-partisan.

But this is a small victory in a very long battle...

Center for Digital Democracy Executive Director Jeff Chester, a critic of Tomlinson, said his departure was unlikely to stop what he described as behind-the-scenes programing pressure on PBS and NPR.

"Board chair Halpern and vice chair Gaines will continue Tomlinson's legacy to reshape public broadcasting more to the liking of conservatives," Chester said in a statement.

Public Television and Radio is a bedrock of non-partisan information. Its function is to be factual, allow expression of legitimate voices from all sides. It is hard to believe that Halpern, former RNC fund-raiser and co-chair, won't push a radical shift Right...

Tax 'em Till They Turn Red

I know this is a couple days old, but Daniel Gross of Slate does a great job of explaining BushCo's new tax reform proposals and how his red state constiuents have nothing to worry about. One of the proposals BushCo's advisory commission recommends is to cut the deduction of mortgage interest payments to say around $300,000.

This leaves Blue States - primarily coastal communities on both coasts high and dry, since they currently have the highest property taxes. Gross notes:

On the one hand, gutting the mortgage-interest deduction seems progressive, because the deduction now favors the well-off: The mortgage deduction gets more generous the more expensive the home you buy, and the more income you have. And property taxes are generally a function of home size and value. On the other hand, regional variations in home prices and state and local taxes would heavily skew the burden of these tax changes onto blue-staters. Who has the most to lose if the mortgage deduction is capped at $313,000, and if you can no longer deduct local taxes from your taxable federal income? People who live in places where (a) real estate is expensive; (b) states and/or cities tax income; and (c) property taxes are high, to support local schools and services. In other words, people who live in California, Seattle, the entire Atlantic seaboard from Maryland up to Maine, and well-off suburbs of Chicago. If you live in a $300,000 McMansion in a state with no income tax, like, say, Texas or Wyoming, these changes aren't likely to affect you at all. But if you just bought a $700,000 house in Takoma Park, Md., you're screwed three ways.

Is this coincidental or calculated? Why are Republicans interested in tax reform all of a sudden, given that the top tier of BushCo donors benefit the most from the rash tax cuts?

There is more to come on this...

Can't sue the big pharma reaper...


Merck cleared in Vioxx drug case

See, the trouble here is that Merck knew that Vioxx doubled the risk of heart attacks and finally, after pressure, and testimony from a FDA official, they pulled it. Now, magically, the 2nd lawsuit has failed, even though the first lawsuit ruling was in favor of the man who died as a result of taking Vioxx.

Merck shares rose $2.09 to $30.50 on New York's Stock Exchange on the news.

Enough said...

Another Ethics Brush Fire Flares Along Potomac

Abramoff strikes again. This guy gets around. This time his tribal clients were working J. Steven Griles, a former deputy Interior secretary. In return, Griles worked Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton on behalf of the lobbiest. What makes this less speculative that just trial by association is that former Interior Department Counsel Michael Rosetti, a colleague, was doing the accusing...

Sigh. Has Abramoff and his GOP cronies left nothing scared and untouched?

Griles' efforts to insinuate himself into Norton's decision-making sessions on behalf of an Indian tribe Abramoff represented so worried him, Rosetti told senators, that he confronted the deputy secretary before two other officials and asked, "What was he doing? Whose water was he carrying?"

The public dispute between the two offered a dramatic close to hearings that had explored the complex web of influence, money and access Abramoff wove as one of Washington's best-connected lobbyists.

Wednesday's hearing focused on whether Abramoff, when working for the Coushatta tribe of Louisiana, relied on Griles to influence the Interior Department to block a rival tribe from opening a casino that would compete with the Coushattas' gaming business.

Rosetti recounted an incident in which, he said, Griles gave him a binder filled with letters and documents critical of the bid by the Jenna Band of the Choctaw tribe to build a casino one hour from the Coushattas' $300-million-a-year casino. Griles, Rosetti said, wanted him to make sure Norton saw the file.

BushCo can't seem to be unglued from Abramoff, who is connected to several high level officials and congressmen, including David Safavian (former head of procurement for the General Services Administration), Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), and Rep. Tom DeLay, former GOP Majority Leader - all leading to a culture of corruption for this administration.

Tempest in the Senate as Democrats Fight Back and force a closed session on Iraq war

Angry GOP agrees to deal for task force to look into status of intelligence inquiry, notes the San Francisco Chronicle.

Republicans were outraged at what they called a political stunt. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., complained that the Senate had been "hijacked by the Democratic leadership."

The claim that GOPers were shocked by this move and not warned that Democrats would be determined to push the issue is misleading and flat-out, false. The Raw Story outlines how GOP leaders stalled and broke promises for years. It is disgraceful to see Republicans complain and point fingers about one of the most important issues today. They attempted to change the subject by appointing an extremist activist right wing judge to the Supreme Court. But it did not work. The indictment of Libby and the CIA Leak case are not going away. Everything is tied to this illegal war. It is time that the accountability be accessed. This Republican-controlled Congress has a constitutional duty to investigate the wrongdoings of the Administration. They are not doing their job.

Again, from the SF Chronicle:

The dispute Tuesday focused on a promise made in February 2004 by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, to conduct an inquiry into whether statements and reports by top administration officials before the war misrepresented intelligence from U.S. agencies.

But the committee's ranking Democrat and vice chairman, Sen. John D. Rockefeller of West Virginia, complained that the Bush administration had stymied the investigation by withholding documents and pressuring Republicans to ease off the inquiry.

The Democrats are successful in bringing back attention to the priority issues - the reasons to invade Iraq, its relationship to misused intelligence by the The White House and TreasonGate. Senator Rockefeller states the fundamentals in his statement:

Senator Rockefeller STATEMENT ON THE CLOSED SESSION OF THE SENATE TO DISCUSS MATTERS RELATED TO THE MISUSE OF INTELLIGENCE

“At its core, this is about accountability -- Congressional accountability and White House accountability.

“Congress has a fundamental, constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight – that’s what checks and balances are all about – and we have utterly failed.

“My colleagues and I have tried for two years to do our oversight work, and for two years we have been undermined, avoided, put off, and vilified by the other side. Any line of questioning that has brought us too close to the White House has been thwarted.

“At some point the majority needs to understand that we are willing to bring the Senate to a halt until they will join us in conducting the kind of investigation this situation demands.

“The American people still want to know – now more than ever – why the United States went to war, whether they were misled, and whether our intelligence was misused.

“Whether these actions amount to crimes is not the litmus test for congressional oversight. Mr. Fitzgerald is investigating possible criminal activity by senior White House officials, and we won’t and shouldn’t get in the way of his work.

“But the American people deserve to know not just whether this Administration committed crimes, but whether this Administration told the truth – the full truth, the straight story.

“And if they didn’t – if they misled about the war and if they misused intelligence, then the American people need to know that the Congress will do everything in its power to make sure that it never happens again.”

So It Begins...

As both sides prepare for fight over Alito

This was a fight they have all been waiting for. Now that BushCo cowardly gave in to the very small extremist radical right, will Moderate Republicans tow the line? We all expected this nomination. BushCo's poll numbers are in the tank. TreasonGate handed out its first indictments and Libby is to appear in court. The GOP majority leaders from both houses are on the block for corruption, fraud and ethics violations. They need a distraction and a win from their small base. So here it is.

The Left is galvanizing. So will the few Dems that are in power make a stand? Let's hope so, we have nothing left to lose.

I had a conversation with a female friend last night that did her best to explain the fundamental issues of women's rights to protection and choice. I, as a man, would never presume to understand what it means for someone to control what I can do with my body. Alito feels that he has the right to do so - he and the brazen treasonous white men who run the show right now. And this whole struggle, ultimately, is about rights. And no one, not one person, has the right to decide what or who she is or I am or they are... The foundations of a free and democratic society protect peoples from this invasion. The radical right and their extremist activist judges seem to want to dissuade these rights. Why? Do they feel persecuted? Do they believe that the power of the religious few only have the right to run societies? Are they fearful of apocalyptic reprise from their God for living in a society that accepts everyone on equal terms and will be judged by the decisions of others?

My friend mentioned that a woman's right to choose is a fundamental support system for society. The decision belongs to her only and she will deal with the effects alone and on her terms. These men in the BushCo cabal don't have that burden. They take no responsibility for their mistakes, missteps, and human tendencies. They refuse to allow themselves to seek alternative solutions for the same problem over and over and over again. They see collateral damage as a nuisance, the environment as a dumping ground, government as a bad business venture. They destroy people with their petty words and distort religious ideology into anything that suites their needs. They are arrogant, disrespectful, racist, and rude.

So why and how can they take responsibility for women?