The nation's press is finally awake. Many newspapers, including some in red hot red states endorse Democratic candidates. In Florida, 22 newspapers endorse Katharine Harris's opponent. And, for the first time since Nixon, the New York Times endorses no GOP candidate. LS
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
THE HUFFINGTON POST LIST OF NEWSPAPERS
NELSON RECEIVES ENDORSEMENTS FROM ALL NEWSPAPERS IN FLORIDA
NEW YORK TIMES ENDORSES NO GOP CANDIDATE
THE ENDLESS LIST OF GOP SLEAZE AND SLIME
The RNC accepted a generous donation from one of the nation's largest producers of gay porn.
RNC DONATION FROM PRODUCER OF GAY PORN
OHIO'S BLACKWELL GETS DESPERATE AS HE TRAILS BEHIND OPPONENT
Blackwell panders to the far right by suggesting his opponent is gay.
DESPERADO BLACKWELL WAITING FOR A TRAIN THAT AIN'T COMING
GOP DIRTY TRICKS BACKFIRE
A newspaper in Wisconsin says GOP manipulations may backfire in election.
Excerpts:
By pumping up voter hatred of gay people and blood lust for the death penalty, Republicans hoped to turn out many more voters who are ready to vote against Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle as well.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the polls.
The backlash against the Republicans on those issues seems to be doing much more to organize progressives and reasonable folks in the middle to turn out voters on the other side.
Even more surprising, perhaps, homophobia and hanging 'em high seem to be losing the power to drive right-wing voters to the polls. It's true that most public opinion polls show a slight majority in favor of both restoring the death penalty and in opposition to gay marriage. But the small size of that majority is surprising in itself.
FED UP WITH GOP DIRTY TRICKS
AND THE INEVITABLE GOP INCOMPETENCE.
The GAO Chief warns of impending economic disaster. The outcome in no small part, no doubt, of generous tax cuts for the extremely wealthy and the GOP's penchant for throwing our hard earned tax dollars into the sewer.
Excerpts:
What they don't talk about is a dirty little secret everyone in Washington knows, or at least should. The vast majority of economists and budget analysts agree: The ship of state is on a disastrous course, and will founder on the reefs of economic disaster if nothing is done to correct it.
There's a good reason politicians don't like to talk about the nation's long-term fiscal prospects. The subject is short on political theatrics and long on complicated economics, scary graphs and very big numbers. It reveals serious problems and offers no easy solutions. Anybody who wanted to deal with it seriously would have to talk about raising taxes and cutting benefits, nasty nostrums that might doom any candidate who prescribed them.
Their basic message is this: If the United States government conducts business as usual over the next few decades, a national debt that is already $8.5 trillion could reach $46 trillion or more, adjusted for inflation. That's almost as much as the total net worth of every person in America Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and those Google guys included.
A hole that big could paralyze the U.S. economy; according to some projections, just the interest payments on a debt that big would be as much as all the taxes the government collects today.
And every year that nothing is done about it, Walker says, the problem grows by $2 trillion to $3 trillion.
GAO CHIEF WARNS OF IMPENDING ECONOMIC DISASTER
AND LYING
GOP Candidate for U.S. Senate lied about his stand on stem cell research yesterday on Meet the Press
GOP CANDIDATE LIES ON MEET THE PRESS
AND OF COURSE, IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, THAT ROVE IS HARD AT WORK. A DESPERATE ROVE IS A SCARY THING. It seems that Rove is spending the taxpayers money to keep his corrupt party in power. This is what happens with one-party rule. No one is around to keep the crooks in check.
ROVE USES TAX PAYER MONEY TO KEEP GOP IN POWER
Monday, October 30, 2006
Sunday, October 15, 2006
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A REPUBLICAN
If one votes Republican it means one believes:
It is OK to talk tough at election time about national security but deliver zip afterwards.
It is OK to lie to the American people all of the time about everything.
GOP HOUSE OF LIES
W. AND WIFE UPSET WITH CARD FOR TELLING WOODWARD THE TRUTH
PATHOLOGICAL LYING COMES BACK TO HAUNT GOP
16% OF AMERICANS BELIEVE BUSH IS TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT 9/11
THINGS ARE GOING REMARKABLY WELL IN IRAQ ACCORDING TO CHENEY
It is OK to scare the bejesus out of Americans for the sole purpose of getting elected.
BUT WE ARE NOT STUPID. WE KNOW SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG IN WASHINGTON
It is OK to attack and smear an individual relentlessly for purely political gain, even when there isn't a lick of truth to the attack.
GOP ATTACKS ON MESSENGERS OF TRUTH
PROPAGANDA BILL SMEARS PELOSI
It is OK to make false claims about the rationale for declaring war on another nation.
BUSH FLIP FLOPS ON IRAQ
MORE CARNAGE IN IRAQ TODAY, OCT. 16
It is OK to go to war with no real plan in place after a military victory.
MORE REVENGE KILLING IN IRAQ
It is OK to turn our back on the real war on terror and start a war instead in another country with the end result of fomenting more terrorism. Turn on the TV and watch it all in real time.
It is OK to ignore a country that lusts for nuclear weapons. Now N. Korea is a not so small threat to our national security. What to do about it? Blame the shame on a former president.
GOP DROPPED THE BALL WITH N. KOREA
War is good for business, especially Halliburton. Rummy sat on board of directors for a company that won a $200. million contract to sell nuke reactors to N. Korea in 2000. In 2002 Rummy declares N. Korea as part of the axis of evil.
SELLING NUKES TO N. KOREA
It is OK to allow Americans to drown after a catastrophic hurricane, especially if those Americans happen to be minorities.
ON HURRICANE KATRINA
It is OK for elected officials to work for corporate interests, big business and lobbyists, even corrupt ones, instead of their constituents.
NON PROFITS TIED TO ABRAMOFF
ABRAMOFF'S FAR REACHING INFLUENCE IN OUR GOVERNMENT
It is OK for a known perverted teen predator to remain in Congress for purely political reasons. It is OK to split up the perv’s contributions among other GOP lawmakers instead of sending the funds to an appropriate charity.
FOLEY WANTED TO LEAVE CONGRESS BUT ROVE WOULD NOT LET HIM
It is OK to cater to the top wage earners in the U.S. and ignore the majority of them.
TAX CUTS FOR THE NATION'S WEALTHY
It is OK that the number of Americans without health insurance is rising.
CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY PRIORITIES
It is OK to gut social security and turn it over to a best buddy in the private sector who will do with American’s blood, sweat and tear money what Kenny boy did to that of Enron’s employees and shareholders.
WHY THE GOP WANTED TO GUT SOCIAL SECURITY
It is OK to give huge tax breaks to big oil and insurance companies while tossing a few pennies at average working Americans.
OIL COMPANIES GET BILLIONS IN ROYALTY PLAN
It is OK to increase the minimum wage in this country only if estate taxes are repealed for fewer than 1% of the population.
MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE BILL FAILS
It is OK to be gay, as long as one is quiet about it, if gays serve GOP political usefulness.
DICEY PATH FOR GAY GOP LAWMAKERS
It is OK to pander to and trick the Christian right for their political value and then after elected poke fun at them and vote on legislation that hurts their charities.
GOP TRASHING OF THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT
It is OK to put friends in high and sensitive positions in government although the friends have absolutely no qualifications or necessary credentials for these jobs. Remember ol' Brownie boy?
It is OK to vote yes to building a wall along our southern border without caring about the implications for the citizens and their communities in the impacted areas. It is OK to vote to build a wall before having done studies on its feasibility.
WILL A WALL REALLY WORK?
It is OK to ignore science.
IGNORING SCIENCE
It is OK that some, if not many, of our lawmakers are corrupt.
CORRUPT LAWMAKERS
MORE ON CORRUPTION
It is OK to sow the seeds of fascism.
SOWING THE SEEDS OF FASCISM
FOX HIDES UNFAVORABLE POLL RESULTS FOR BUSH AND IRAQ
It is OK to steal elections.
HISTORY OF RECENT STOLEN ELECTIONS
BLACK BOX VOTING.ORG
US COUNTS VOTES.ORG
LOU DOBBS OF CNN ON ELECTRONIC VOTING FRAUD
HOW AND WHY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY BECAME SO CORRUPT AND OUT OF TOUCH WITH AMERICAN VALUES
Connect the dots. Think about the GOP merging of fundamentalist religion, politics and big money. Who are the prime beneficiaries? After watching the videos below, check out the link at the bottom of this blog to President Eisenhower's warnings about a US military/industrial complex. I think you will figure it out. LS
DOCUMENTARIES ON THE RIGHT WING GOP
PRESIDENT EISENHOWER'S WARNINGS ABOUT A U.S. MILITARY/INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
Sources for links: Truthout.org, Raw Story.com, The Huffington Post.com, Buzz Flash.com, Truthdig.com, Crooks and Liars.com, CNN.com, usliberals.com, azstarnet.com, The Brad Blog, Black Box Voting.org, U.S. Counts Votes.org, You Tube, throwaway your V.com.
It is OK to talk tough at election time about national security but deliver zip afterwards.
It is OK to lie to the American people all of the time about everything.
GOP HOUSE OF LIES
W. AND WIFE UPSET WITH CARD FOR TELLING WOODWARD THE TRUTH
PATHOLOGICAL LYING COMES BACK TO HAUNT GOP
16% OF AMERICANS BELIEVE BUSH IS TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT 9/11
THINGS ARE GOING REMARKABLY WELL IN IRAQ ACCORDING TO CHENEY
It is OK to scare the bejesus out of Americans for the sole purpose of getting elected.
BUT WE ARE NOT STUPID. WE KNOW SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG IN WASHINGTON
It is OK to attack and smear an individual relentlessly for purely political gain, even when there isn't a lick of truth to the attack.
GOP ATTACKS ON MESSENGERS OF TRUTH
PROPAGANDA BILL SMEARS PELOSI
It is OK to make false claims about the rationale for declaring war on another nation.
BUSH FLIP FLOPS ON IRAQ
MORE CARNAGE IN IRAQ TODAY, OCT. 16
It is OK to go to war with no real plan in place after a military victory.
MORE REVENGE KILLING IN IRAQ
It is OK to turn our back on the real war on terror and start a war instead in another country with the end result of fomenting more terrorism. Turn on the TV and watch it all in real time.
It is OK to ignore a country that lusts for nuclear weapons. Now N. Korea is a not so small threat to our national security. What to do about it? Blame the shame on a former president.
GOP DROPPED THE BALL WITH N. KOREA
War is good for business, especially Halliburton. Rummy sat on board of directors for a company that won a $200. million contract to sell nuke reactors to N. Korea in 2000. In 2002 Rummy declares N. Korea as part of the axis of evil.
SELLING NUKES TO N. KOREA
It is OK to allow Americans to drown after a catastrophic hurricane, especially if those Americans happen to be minorities.
ON HURRICANE KATRINA
It is OK for elected officials to work for corporate interests, big business and lobbyists, even corrupt ones, instead of their constituents.
NON PROFITS TIED TO ABRAMOFF
ABRAMOFF'S FAR REACHING INFLUENCE IN OUR GOVERNMENT
It is OK for a known perverted teen predator to remain in Congress for purely political reasons. It is OK to split up the perv’s contributions among other GOP lawmakers instead of sending the funds to an appropriate charity.
FOLEY WANTED TO LEAVE CONGRESS BUT ROVE WOULD NOT LET HIM
It is OK to cater to the top wage earners in the U.S. and ignore the majority of them.
TAX CUTS FOR THE NATION'S WEALTHY
It is OK that the number of Americans without health insurance is rising.
CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY PRIORITIES
It is OK to gut social security and turn it over to a best buddy in the private sector who will do with American’s blood, sweat and tear money what Kenny boy did to that of Enron’s employees and shareholders.
WHY THE GOP WANTED TO GUT SOCIAL SECURITY
It is OK to give huge tax breaks to big oil and insurance companies while tossing a few pennies at average working Americans.
OIL COMPANIES GET BILLIONS IN ROYALTY PLAN
It is OK to increase the minimum wage in this country only if estate taxes are repealed for fewer than 1% of the population.
MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE BILL FAILS
It is OK to be gay, as long as one is quiet about it, if gays serve GOP political usefulness.
DICEY PATH FOR GAY GOP LAWMAKERS
It is OK to pander to and trick the Christian right for their political value and then after elected poke fun at them and vote on legislation that hurts their charities.
GOP TRASHING OF THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT
It is OK to put friends in high and sensitive positions in government although the friends have absolutely no qualifications or necessary credentials for these jobs. Remember ol' Brownie boy?
It is OK to vote yes to building a wall along our southern border without caring about the implications for the citizens and their communities in the impacted areas. It is OK to vote to build a wall before having done studies on its feasibility.
WILL A WALL REALLY WORK?
It is OK to ignore science.
IGNORING SCIENCE
It is OK that some, if not many, of our lawmakers are corrupt.
CORRUPT LAWMAKERS
MORE ON CORRUPTION
It is OK to sow the seeds of fascism.
SOWING THE SEEDS OF FASCISM
FOX HIDES UNFAVORABLE POLL RESULTS FOR BUSH AND IRAQ
It is OK to steal elections.
HISTORY OF RECENT STOLEN ELECTIONS
BLACK BOX VOTING.ORG
US COUNTS VOTES.ORG
LOU DOBBS OF CNN ON ELECTRONIC VOTING FRAUD
HOW AND WHY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY BECAME SO CORRUPT AND OUT OF TOUCH WITH AMERICAN VALUES
Connect the dots. Think about the GOP merging of fundamentalist religion, politics and big money. Who are the prime beneficiaries? After watching the videos below, check out the link at the bottom of this blog to President Eisenhower's warnings about a US military/industrial complex. I think you will figure it out. LS
DOCUMENTARIES ON THE RIGHT WING GOP
PRESIDENT EISENHOWER'S WARNINGS ABOUT A U.S. MILITARY/INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
Sources for links: Truthout.org, Raw Story.com, The Huffington Post.com, Buzz Flash.com, Truthdig.com, Crooks and Liars.com, CNN.com, usliberals.com, azstarnet.com, The Brad Blog, Black Box Voting.org, U.S. Counts Votes.org, You Tube, throwaway your V.com.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
GOP DESPERADOS TRY TO PIN THEIR MALFEASANCE ON CLINTON
The PervPublicans know they are in deep trouble, having been busted for lying and their shameful attempts to cover up Page Predator Gate. And so they are therefore in high attack mode, pathetically attempting, in a rather cartoon like fashion, to pin their insidious perv-hood, predisposition for pathological lying, beyond-the-pale-incompetence and corruption on our very own good ol' Billy Boy Clinton.
Me thinks this pitiable and wretched hail mary pass will not work.
Why?
The Grand old Party of Sin is headed straightaway on a one-way path to hellfire and damnation because their “base,” that is, the evangelical Christians that the GOP has exploited for pure political purposes, now knows the stunning and dark truth.
Recent news reports reveal that The Party of Sin has nothing but contempt and disgust for evangelical Christians.
Evangelical Christians, like all of average Jane and Jo America, have been used and abused by the Bush GOP.
Welcome to the planet of hurt, EC’s.
Please do not linger long in the self-pity or outraged mode.
No matter what one’s faith, race or economic circumstance is, all of us (except for perhaps 1%) would be far better served by any party than the GOP.
Write (type, click, dial and enter, etc) any name of your choosing if no candidate on the ballot pleases you. This is America, after all, the land of the free and home of the brave. LS
From Crooks and Liars.com via The Huffington Post.
Excerpt:
According to Kuo, Karl Rove's office referred to evangelical leaders as 'the nuts.'
Kuo says, 'National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as 'ridiculous,' 'out of control,' and just plain 'goofy.' "
GOP CONTEMPT FOR THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT THAT PUT THEM IN POWER
A NOW NUKE LOADED AND READY TO UNLOAD NORTH KOREA
Bushies are trying to blame Clinton for their gross neglect and inattention to N. Korea’s lust for nukes.
Written by Mr. William Perry, Secretary of Defense 1994-1997 in the Washington Post.
Excerpts:
President Bush, early in his first term, dubbed North Korea a member of the "axis of evil" and made disparaging remarks about Kim Jong Il. He said he would not tolerate a North Korean nuclear weapons program, but he set no bounds on North Korean actions.
The most important such limit would have been on reprocessing spent fuel from North Korea's reactor to make plutonium. The Clinton administration declared in 1994 that if North Korea reprocessed, it would be crossing a "red line," and it threatened military action if that line was crossed. The North Koreans responded to that pressure and began negotiations that led to the Agreed Framework. The Agreed Framework did not end North Korea's aspirations for nuclear weapons, but it did result in a major delay. For more than eight years, under the Agreed Framework, the spent fuel was kept in a storage pond under international supervision.
Then in 2002, the Bush administration discovered the existence of a covert program in uranium, evidently an attempt to evade the Agreed Framework. This program, while potentially serious, would have led to a bomb at a very slow rate, compared with the more mature plutonium program. Nevertheless, the administration unwisely stopped compliance with the Agreed Framework. In response the North Koreans sent the inspectors home and announced their intention to reprocess. The administration deplored the action but set no "red line." North Korea made the plutonium.
The administration also said early this summer that a North Korean test of long-range missiles was unacceptable. North Korea conducted a multiple-launch test of missiles on July 4. Most recently, the administration said a North Korean test of a nuclear bomb would be unacceptable. A week later North Korea conducted its first test.
It appears that the administration is deeply divided on how to deal with North Korea, with some favoring negotiation and others economic and political pressure to force a regime change. As a result, while the administration was willing to send a representative to the six-party talks organized by the Chinese in 2003, it had no apparent strategy for dealing with North Korea there or for providing leadership to the other parties. In the meantime, it increased economic pressure on Pyongyang. Certainly an argument can be made for such pressure, but it would be naive to think it could succeed without the support of the Chinese and South Korean governments, neither of which backs such action. North Korea, sensing the administration's paralysis, has moved ahead with an aggressive and dangerous nuclear program.
WAPO ON SEARCHING FOR A NORTH KOREA POLICY
PERV FOLEY PAGE SCANDAL IS NO OCTOBER SURPRISE DESPITE THE SCREECHING, RANTING AND RAVINGS FROM RUSH AND HIS "COLLEAGUES" WITH THE RIGHT WING SPIN MACHINES.
What are these dudes shooting into their veins to get by? "Rush" suggests a heroin junkie, doesn't it? I suppose the wing nuts must shoot or take something to be able to tell the tall tales and spin the make believe that they do, day in and day out. LS
From Harper's Magazine "REPUBLICANS WANT TO TURN OVER A NEW PAGE."
Excerpts:
Leading Republicans, with the support of conservative media outlets, are charging that the Mark Foley scandal was a plot orchestrated by Democrats to damage the G.O.P.'s electoral prospects this November. According to the Washington Post, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert appeared on Rush Limbaugh's radio show and “agreed when the host said the Foley story was driven by Democrats ‘in some sort of cooperation with some in the media’ to suppress turnout of conservative voters” before the midterm elections.
Conservative talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt has said that Hastert had become the “target right now of the left-wing media machine,” and House Majority Leader John Boehner has charged that the release of the Foley documents so close to the elections “is concerning, at a minimum.” Meanwhile, accounts I've heard about the FBI's initial inquiries suggest the bureau is as interested in uncovering how the story came to public attention as it is in investigating Foley's actions.
The Republican leadership is lying when they claim that Democrats have engineered an “October Surprise”; there was never a plan to undermine the G.O.P. or to destroy Hastert personally, as the speaker has vaingloriously suggested. I know this with absolute certainty because Harper’s was offered the story almost five months ago and decided, after much debate, not to run it here on Washington Babylon.
"REPUBLICANS WANT TO TURN OVER A NEW PAGE BY HARPER'S MAGAZINE HERE
SEEMS THAT RUMMY HAS TWO FACES: THREE YEARS AGO HE SAT ON BOARD THAT SOLD NUCLEAR REACTORS TO N. KOREA.
Fancy that! Remember President Eisenhower's warnings about the industrial/military complex? Well, it seems that both Rummy and Cheney mightily profit from war, as the Bush family has always done. From my friend Ken in Cali. LS
The two faces of Rumsfeld
2000: director of a company which wins $200m contract to sell nuclear reactors to North Korea
2002: declares North Korea a terrorist state, part of the axis of evil and a target for regime change
FROM THE U.K. GUARDIAN: "THE TWO FACES OF RUMSFELD"
FOLEY WANTED TO QUIT BUT ROVE AND WHITE HOUSE WOULD NOT LET HIM
Said his career as a lobbyist would be compromised if Foley quit Congress. The Rove gang forced Foley to serve for another two years to avoid possible Congressional hearings. From The New Republic via The Huffington Post.com LS
Excerpts:
According to the source, Foley said he was being pressured by "the White House and Rove gang," who insisted that Foley run. If he didn't, Foley was told, it might impact his lobbying career.
"He said, 'The White House made it very clear I have to run,'" explains Foley's friend, adding that Foley told him that the White House promised that if Foley served for two more years it would "enhance his success" as a lobbyist. "I said, 'I thought you wanted out of this?' And he said, 'I do, but they're scared of losing the House and the thought of two years of Congressional hearings, so I have two more years of duty.'"
The White House declined a request for comment on the matter, but obviously the plan hasn't worked out quite as Rove hoped it would.
FOLEY WANTED OUT BUT ROVE SAID NO
BE A PATRIOT! VOTE! FIRE THE LOT OF THEM ON NOVEMBER 7. VOTE! LS
Me thinks this pitiable and wretched hail mary pass will not work.
Why?
The Grand old Party of Sin is headed straightaway on a one-way path to hellfire and damnation because their “base,” that is, the evangelical Christians that the GOP has exploited for pure political purposes, now knows the stunning and dark truth.
Recent news reports reveal that The Party of Sin has nothing but contempt and disgust for evangelical Christians.
Evangelical Christians, like all of average Jane and Jo America, have been used and abused by the Bush GOP.
Welcome to the planet of hurt, EC’s.
Please do not linger long in the self-pity or outraged mode.
No matter what one’s faith, race or economic circumstance is, all of us (except for perhaps 1%) would be far better served by any party than the GOP.
Write (type, click, dial and enter, etc) any name of your choosing if no candidate on the ballot pleases you. This is America, after all, the land of the free and home of the brave. LS
From Crooks and Liars.com via The Huffington Post.
Excerpt:
According to Kuo, Karl Rove's office referred to evangelical leaders as 'the nuts.'
Kuo says, 'National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as 'ridiculous,' 'out of control,' and just plain 'goofy.' "
GOP CONTEMPT FOR THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT THAT PUT THEM IN POWER
A NOW NUKE LOADED AND READY TO UNLOAD NORTH KOREA
Bushies are trying to blame Clinton for their gross neglect and inattention to N. Korea’s lust for nukes.
Written by Mr. William Perry, Secretary of Defense 1994-1997 in the Washington Post.
Excerpts:
President Bush, early in his first term, dubbed North Korea a member of the "axis of evil" and made disparaging remarks about Kim Jong Il. He said he would not tolerate a North Korean nuclear weapons program, but he set no bounds on North Korean actions.
The most important such limit would have been on reprocessing spent fuel from North Korea's reactor to make plutonium. The Clinton administration declared in 1994 that if North Korea reprocessed, it would be crossing a "red line," and it threatened military action if that line was crossed. The North Koreans responded to that pressure and began negotiations that led to the Agreed Framework. The Agreed Framework did not end North Korea's aspirations for nuclear weapons, but it did result in a major delay. For more than eight years, under the Agreed Framework, the spent fuel was kept in a storage pond under international supervision.
Then in 2002, the Bush administration discovered the existence of a covert program in uranium, evidently an attempt to evade the Agreed Framework. This program, while potentially serious, would have led to a bomb at a very slow rate, compared with the more mature plutonium program. Nevertheless, the administration unwisely stopped compliance with the Agreed Framework. In response the North Koreans sent the inspectors home and announced their intention to reprocess. The administration deplored the action but set no "red line." North Korea made the plutonium.
The administration also said early this summer that a North Korean test of long-range missiles was unacceptable. North Korea conducted a multiple-launch test of missiles on July 4. Most recently, the administration said a North Korean test of a nuclear bomb would be unacceptable. A week later North Korea conducted its first test.
It appears that the administration is deeply divided on how to deal with North Korea, with some favoring negotiation and others economic and political pressure to force a regime change. As a result, while the administration was willing to send a representative to the six-party talks organized by the Chinese in 2003, it had no apparent strategy for dealing with North Korea there or for providing leadership to the other parties. In the meantime, it increased economic pressure on Pyongyang. Certainly an argument can be made for such pressure, but it would be naive to think it could succeed without the support of the Chinese and South Korean governments, neither of which backs such action. North Korea, sensing the administration's paralysis, has moved ahead with an aggressive and dangerous nuclear program.
WAPO ON SEARCHING FOR A NORTH KOREA POLICY
PERV FOLEY PAGE SCANDAL IS NO OCTOBER SURPRISE DESPITE THE SCREECHING, RANTING AND RAVINGS FROM RUSH AND HIS "COLLEAGUES" WITH THE RIGHT WING SPIN MACHINES.
What are these dudes shooting into their veins to get by? "Rush" suggests a heroin junkie, doesn't it? I suppose the wing nuts must shoot or take something to be able to tell the tall tales and spin the make believe that they do, day in and day out. LS
From Harper's Magazine "REPUBLICANS WANT TO TURN OVER A NEW PAGE."
Excerpts:
Leading Republicans, with the support of conservative media outlets, are charging that the Mark Foley scandal was a plot orchestrated by Democrats to damage the G.O.P.'s electoral prospects this November. According to the Washington Post, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert appeared on Rush Limbaugh's radio show and “agreed when the host said the Foley story was driven by Democrats ‘in some sort of cooperation with some in the media’ to suppress turnout of conservative voters” before the midterm elections.
Conservative talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt has said that Hastert had become the “target right now of the left-wing media machine,” and House Majority Leader John Boehner has charged that the release of the Foley documents so close to the elections “is concerning, at a minimum.” Meanwhile, accounts I've heard about the FBI's initial inquiries suggest the bureau is as interested in uncovering how the story came to public attention as it is in investigating Foley's actions.
The Republican leadership is lying when they claim that Democrats have engineered an “October Surprise”; there was never a plan to undermine the G.O.P. or to destroy Hastert personally, as the speaker has vaingloriously suggested. I know this with absolute certainty because Harper’s was offered the story almost five months ago and decided, after much debate, not to run it here on Washington Babylon.
"REPUBLICANS WANT TO TURN OVER A NEW PAGE BY HARPER'S MAGAZINE HERE
SEEMS THAT RUMMY HAS TWO FACES: THREE YEARS AGO HE SAT ON BOARD THAT SOLD NUCLEAR REACTORS TO N. KOREA.
Fancy that! Remember President Eisenhower's warnings about the industrial/military complex? Well, it seems that both Rummy and Cheney mightily profit from war, as the Bush family has always done. From my friend Ken in Cali. LS
The two faces of Rumsfeld
2000: director of a company which wins $200m contract to sell nuclear reactors to North Korea
2002: declares North Korea a terrorist state, part of the axis of evil and a target for regime change
FROM THE U.K. GUARDIAN: "THE TWO FACES OF RUMSFELD"
FOLEY WANTED TO QUIT BUT ROVE AND WHITE HOUSE WOULD NOT LET HIM
Said his career as a lobbyist would be compromised if Foley quit Congress. The Rove gang forced Foley to serve for another two years to avoid possible Congressional hearings. From The New Republic via The Huffington Post.com LS
Excerpts:
According to the source, Foley said he was being pressured by "the White House and Rove gang," who insisted that Foley run. If he didn't, Foley was told, it might impact his lobbying career.
"He said, 'The White House made it very clear I have to run,'" explains Foley's friend, adding that Foley told him that the White House promised that if Foley served for two more years it would "enhance his success" as a lobbyist. "I said, 'I thought you wanted out of this?' And he said, 'I do, but they're scared of losing the House and the thought of two years of Congressional hearings, so I have two more years of duty.'"
The White House declined a request for comment on the matter, but obviously the plan hasn't worked out quite as Rove hoped it would.
FOLEY WANTED OUT BUT ROVE SAID NO
BE A PATRIOT! VOTE! FIRE THE LOT OF THEM ON NOVEMBER 7. VOTE! LS
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
GOP: GRAND OLD PARTY OF PERVS
The party of corruption and liars is now also a party that protects sick and twisted pervs. For five years an elected sicko could sexually prey upon children while our renowned conservative Republican lawmakers, especially those from the so-called red states, who will utter "Christ is my savior" on demand, whenever necessary, covered up the evil. Tricky Dick suddenly looks innocent. And what is this nonsense about a Clinton impeachment over an affair? Where is Ken Starr when we need him? Ken, oh Ken, where are you??????
The mainstream media is all over the Foley story so I don't have to go there, thank goodness. I don't have the stomach to post stories about a middle aged perv who preys upon children who are supposedly under his mentorship. Excuse me while I vomit. LS
PERV-PUBLICAN MELTDOWN
Ken sent a boatload of very interesting news today. LS
The last link on this page is to a video from a GOP-centered newscast. (Like we can find one that isn't these days.) Even those talking heads are suddenly very pessimistic about the GOP's chances next month. They make the point that every single GOP Speaker of the House since 1994 has resigned in disgrace. (They try to lump Dem Tom Foley in there, too, but Foley did not resign, he was beaten in his local election.)
mydd.com
Total Republican Collapse Imminent
by Chris Bowers, Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 08:21:50 PM EST
The last ten days have been amazing. Starting with Bill Clinton fighting back against Faux News, we have now seen:
The National Intelligence Estimate declare that the war in Iraq in increasing terrorism worldwide.
NIE Report
Colin Powell says he was fired.
POWELL FIRED
Rice is on the verge of having to resign.
CONDI ON VERGE OF RESIGNING
Bill Frist says that the Taliban should rule Afghanistan
FRIST THINKS TALIBAN SHOULD RULE AFGHANISTAN
The White House met with Jack Abramoff 485 times, and had a huge amount of influence. (New emails revealed this morning show Abramoff talking about the coming Iraq war over a year before the invasion. Not if we invade, but that we will invade. -K)
HUGE ABRAMOFF INFLUENCE
Bob Woodward comes out with a book saying the Bush administration is lying about Iraq.
Droves of Republicans are under investigation for something.
REPUBLICANS UNDER INVESTIGATION
I'm sure that I am forgetting some stuff too. But there is this other thing that is going on:
For five years, most of the Republican leadership covered up for and protected a Republican congressman / sexual predator who was targeting young pages who worked on Capitol Hill. And the establishment media is saying just that.
GOP COVERS UP SEXUAL PREDATOR
GOP BLOCKS INVESTIGATIONS
GOP SAYS PERV INCIDENT UNIMPORTANT
The Republican House Leadership has been figuratively decapitated as a result, and now can't speak effectively on anything. (This may be the most important fact, in that the people whose job it was to retain a GOP congress are suddenly kinda busy and have little credibility. -K)
The Republican response has been to blame the pages, blame each other, block investigations, call the incident unimportant, blatant lying, and show once again just how homophobic and ignorant they really are. Because defenses like that really work.
GOP BLAMES PAGES
GOP BLAME ONE ANOTHER
And they did it all because they were worried it might cost them power.
GOP SAYS ANYTHING GOES TO CLING TO POWER
This meltdown has been breathtaking. Even before it started, Democrats were already on the brink of at least taking control, if not a huge wave election. Now, even taking the Senate seems entirely possible. At this point, who knows how bad things will get for Republicans in elections around the country. There is no way to hold off an onslaught like this when they were already in such a bad position. Even the generally cautious, uber-insider Hotline is now starting to see a wave:
Matt is right that Democrats in Congress once again showed how they are not an effective opposition party because of their weak campaign to stop the torture bill (although I disagree when he says they could have "easily" stopped" the bill with an effective campaign). However, I am starting to seriously think that that bill may be the last time we have to worry about ineffective opposition form Democrats in Congress. In the face of total Republican collapse, a good situation for Democrats is quickly turning into a rout. My only regret is that the election ends in five weeks instead of two weeks, because there may be enough time for Republicans to at least somewhat recover and keep the battle for control close. Right now, at least in the House, I don't think the battle for control is very close. There is just no way they can win in the face of this when they were already losing before it.
Please, someone pinch me to make sure that I am not dreaming. This is a total Republican collapse. The House of Representatives may now be ours to lose, but we need to make sure that we stay on the attack as much as possible, and not slack off for one second. (On the other hand, anything can happen. -K)
HOW FOX FAKE NEWS, I.E. THE PROPAGANDA ARM FOR THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION, WOULD HAVE REPORTED PERV GATE HAD THE PERP BEEN A DEMOCRAT LS
Excerpt:
THIS IS A FOX NEWS ALERT! Again, we have a FOX NEWS ALERT! We have just learned that Florida DEMOCRAT, Congressman Limp Wrist, has been forced to resign his House seat, effective immediately. Again, this is BREAKING NEWS, it just happened a little while ago and we're working on getting all the details for you as soon as possible but since it's BREAKING NEWS we have to go with what we know so far. What we know is that, again, BREAKING NEWS HERE, several days ago, as we've been telling you all along, it came to light that DEMOCRAT Wrist has been corresponding via email, in some very suggestive, sexual ways, with a teenage BOY page at the Capitol. Not knowing how to handle the situation, since, after all, Wrist is a POWERFUL, INFLUENTIAL and PROMINENT DEMOCRAT, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and DEMOCRAT Chair of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, the BOY wrote to another congressman, saying he was totally and completely "freaked out" and that what Wrist wrote made him downright "sick." Poor kid.
Our own Greta Van Sustren is on her way to the Capitol building right now and we hope to have a live feed from her in a few minutes. I'm also hearing in my ear that we are trying to get the BOY in for a live interview in the next few minutes -- again, we're working under BREAKING NEWS conditions here -- and we hope to have that LIVE INTERVIEW regarding this crisis for the House DEMOCRATS - for you in this hour. Stay with us. We'll get back to House DEMOCRAT leader Nancy Pelosi, we'll see what she knows about what appears to be developing into a sex scandal involving a House DEMOCRAT, later.
FOX FAUX NEWS AND PERV GATE
The mainstream media is all over the Foley story so I don't have to go there, thank goodness. I don't have the stomach to post stories about a middle aged perv who preys upon children who are supposedly under his mentorship. Excuse me while I vomit. LS
PERV-PUBLICAN MELTDOWN
Ken sent a boatload of very interesting news today. LS
The last link on this page is to a video from a GOP-centered newscast. (Like we can find one that isn't these days.) Even those talking heads are suddenly very pessimistic about the GOP's chances next month. They make the point that every single GOP Speaker of the House since 1994 has resigned in disgrace. (They try to lump Dem Tom Foley in there, too, but Foley did not resign, he was beaten in his local election.)
mydd.com
Total Republican Collapse Imminent
by Chris Bowers, Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 08:21:50 PM EST
The last ten days have been amazing. Starting with Bill Clinton fighting back against Faux News, we have now seen:
The National Intelligence Estimate declare that the war in Iraq in increasing terrorism worldwide.
NIE Report
Colin Powell says he was fired.
POWELL FIRED
Rice is on the verge of having to resign.
CONDI ON VERGE OF RESIGNING
Bill Frist says that the Taliban should rule Afghanistan
FRIST THINKS TALIBAN SHOULD RULE AFGHANISTAN
The White House met with Jack Abramoff 485 times, and had a huge amount of influence. (New emails revealed this morning show Abramoff talking about the coming Iraq war over a year before the invasion. Not if we invade, but that we will invade. -K)
HUGE ABRAMOFF INFLUENCE
Bob Woodward comes out with a book saying the Bush administration is lying about Iraq.
Droves of Republicans are under investigation for something.
REPUBLICANS UNDER INVESTIGATION
I'm sure that I am forgetting some stuff too. But there is this other thing that is going on:
For five years, most of the Republican leadership covered up for and protected a Republican congressman / sexual predator who was targeting young pages who worked on Capitol Hill. And the establishment media is saying just that.
GOP COVERS UP SEXUAL PREDATOR
GOP BLOCKS INVESTIGATIONS
GOP SAYS PERV INCIDENT UNIMPORTANT
The Republican House Leadership has been figuratively decapitated as a result, and now can't speak effectively on anything. (This may be the most important fact, in that the people whose job it was to retain a GOP congress are suddenly kinda busy and have little credibility. -K)
The Republican response has been to blame the pages, blame each other, block investigations, call the incident unimportant, blatant lying, and show once again just how homophobic and ignorant they really are. Because defenses like that really work.
GOP BLAMES PAGES
GOP BLAME ONE ANOTHER
And they did it all because they were worried it might cost them power.
GOP SAYS ANYTHING GOES TO CLING TO POWER
This meltdown has been breathtaking. Even before it started, Democrats were already on the brink of at least taking control, if not a huge wave election. Now, even taking the Senate seems entirely possible. At this point, who knows how bad things will get for Republicans in elections around the country. There is no way to hold off an onslaught like this when they were already in such a bad position. Even the generally cautious, uber-insider Hotline is now starting to see a wave:
Matt is right that Democrats in Congress once again showed how they are not an effective opposition party because of their weak campaign to stop the torture bill (although I disagree when he says they could have "easily" stopped" the bill with an effective campaign). However, I am starting to seriously think that that bill may be the last time we have to worry about ineffective opposition form Democrats in Congress. In the face of total Republican collapse, a good situation for Democrats is quickly turning into a rout. My only regret is that the election ends in five weeks instead of two weeks, because there may be enough time for Republicans to at least somewhat recover and keep the battle for control close. Right now, at least in the House, I don't think the battle for control is very close. There is just no way they can win in the face of this when they were already losing before it.
Please, someone pinch me to make sure that I am not dreaming. This is a total Republican collapse. The House of Representatives may now be ours to lose, but we need to make sure that we stay on the attack as much as possible, and not slack off for one second. (On the other hand, anything can happen. -K)
HOW FOX FAKE NEWS, I.E. THE PROPAGANDA ARM FOR THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION, WOULD HAVE REPORTED PERV GATE HAD THE PERP BEEN A DEMOCRAT LS
Excerpt:
THIS IS A FOX NEWS ALERT! Again, we have a FOX NEWS ALERT! We have just learned that Florida DEMOCRAT, Congressman Limp Wrist, has been forced to resign his House seat, effective immediately. Again, this is BREAKING NEWS, it just happened a little while ago and we're working on getting all the details for you as soon as possible but since it's BREAKING NEWS we have to go with what we know so far. What we know is that, again, BREAKING NEWS HERE, several days ago, as we've been telling you all along, it came to light that DEMOCRAT Wrist has been corresponding via email, in some very suggestive, sexual ways, with a teenage BOY page at the Capitol. Not knowing how to handle the situation, since, after all, Wrist is a POWERFUL, INFLUENTIAL and PROMINENT DEMOCRAT, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and DEMOCRAT Chair of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, the BOY wrote to another congressman, saying he was totally and completely "freaked out" and that what Wrist wrote made him downright "sick." Poor kid.
Our own Greta Van Sustren is on her way to the Capitol building right now and we hope to have a live feed from her in a few minutes. I'm also hearing in my ear that we are trying to get the BOY in for a live interview in the next few minutes -- again, we're working under BREAKING NEWS conditions here -- and we hope to have that LIVE INTERVIEW regarding this crisis for the House DEMOCRATS - for you in this hour. Stay with us. We'll get back to House DEMOCRAT leader Nancy Pelosi, we'll see what she knows about what appears to be developing into a sex scandal involving a House DEMOCRAT, later.
FOX FAUX NEWS AND PERV GATE
Monday, October 02, 2006
THOSE LYING AND DYING REPUBLICANS
Ever try to have a rational conversation with a right-winger? Don't waste your time. They are so seeped in party ideology that they can no longer think for themselves. Their brains are programmed by the Rove playbook. The RW doesn't care about our country. It's all about attacking the messenger, winning at any cost, greed, of course and power, naturally. I should know for I live in Texas and I post comments on blogs in our big cities in which folks are supposed to be more informed and educated. Apparently the schools in Texas are far worse than most of us suspected. There are a lot of fools out there who still think Bush is doing right by America. Fools rush in where wise men never go.
Want to take a peek at one of the blogs? CLICK HERE, THEN ON REFRESH LS
Moving along...
WHITE HOUSE LIED ABOUT VISITS FROM ABRAMOFF
Well, it seems that "We didn't know Abramoff" or he visited a "time or two" is yet another mendacious statement. Indeed, official records show Abramoff had access to the White House 485 times. Wonder what the unofficial count is. LS
From Newsweek.com via MSNBC
Ho hum and what else is new excerpt:
The folks around Karl Rove are on the hot seat again. The White House has launched an internal ethics inquiry into one Rove aide in response to new e-mails showing that Rove's office had far more extensive conduct with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff than previously acknowledged. The e-mails, obtained by a House committee, show that Rove's executive assistant, Susan Ralston, may have violated a White House ban on accepting gifts worth more than $20 from lobbyists. At the same time, Ralston—who previously worked for Abramoff—was helping the lobbyist and his associates set up meetings with Rove and providing them with inside info about presidential appointments and White House decision making, including at least one matter relating to a business deal in Iraq for an Abramoff client, the e-mails show. Ralston also discussed future business opportunities with Abramoff, such as her plan to help him capitalize on the "rush to get lucrative government contracts" being awarded by the Department of Homeland Security—another possible breach of ethics rules.
LOBBYISTS AND THE EMAIL TRAIL
STAYING THE COURSE MEANS PROTECTING SPIN AND REPUTATIONS
Great article from Mr. Frank Rich of the New York Times via Truthout.org
Excerpts:
Against this ominous reality, the debate over the N.I.E. is but a sideshow: politics as usual on both sides. The president reluctantly declassified what had already been leaked, somehow hoping he could override the bad headlines with Pavlovian repetition of shopworn slogans. (He said America must "stay on the offense" four times in one speech on Friday alone.) Democrats are huffily demanding that the White House release more than a few scraps of the 30-page-plus N.I.E., a debating point with no payoff. The N.I.E. is already six months out of date, and Americans can guess most of it, classified or not. In this war at this late stage, the devil can be found everywhere, not merely in the details.
The facts of Iraq are not in dispute. But the truth is that facts don't matter anyway to this administration, and that's what makes this whole N.I.E. debate beside the point. From the start, honest information has never figured into the prosecution of this war. The White House doesn't care about intelligence, good or bad, classified or unclassified, because it believes it knows best, regardless of what anyone else has to say. The debate over the latest N.I.E. or any yet to leak will not alter that fundamental and self-destructive operating principle. That's the truly bad news.
This war has now gone on so long that we tend to forget the early history that foretold the present. Yet this is the history we must remember now more than ever, because it keeps repeating itself, with ever more tragic results. In the run-up to the war, it should be recalled, the administration did not even bother to commission an N.I.E., a summary of the latest findings from every American intelligence agency, on Iraq's weapons.
Why not? The answer can be found in what remains the most revealing Iraq war document leaked to date: the Downing Street memo of July 23, 2002, written eight months before the invasion. In that secret report to the Blair government, the head of British intelligence reported on a trip to Washington, where he learned that the Bush administration was fixing the "intelligence and facts" around the predetermined policy of going to war in Iraq. If we were going to fix the intelligence anyway, there was no need for an N.I.E., except as window dressing, since it might expose the thinness of the administration's case.
A prewar N.I.E. was hastily (and sloppily) assembled only because Congress demanded it. By the time it was delivered to the Capitol after much stalling, on Oct. 1, 2002, less than two weeks remained before the House and Senate would vote on the Iraq war resolution. "No more than six senators and only a handful of House members got beyond the five-page executive summary," according to an article last spring in Foreign Affairs by Paul Pillar, the C.I.A. senior analyst for the Middle East from 2000 to 2005. In a White House press briefing after the war started, an official said Condi Rice hadn't read it at all, leaving that menial duty to her retinue of "experts."
When one senator who did read the whole N.I.E., the now retired Democrat Bob Graham of Florida, asked that a declassified version be made public so that Americans could reach their own verdicts on the war's viability, he was rebuffed. Instead the administration released a glossy white paper that trumpeted the N.I.E.'s fictions ("All intelligence experts agree that Iraq is seeking nuclear weapons") but not its doubts about much-hyped evidence like aluminum tubes and uranium from Africa. The only time the president cared about the N.I.E., a document he never wanted, was when he thought it would be politically useful in fighting growing criticism in 2003 that he had manipulated prewar intelligence. Then he authorized his own cherry-picked leaks, which Scooter Libby fed to Mr. Woodward and Judith Miller of The Times. (Neither wrote about it at the time.)
As the insurgency continued to grow in the fall of 2003, the White House again showed scant interest in reality. The American military's Central Command called for an N.I.E. instead. The existence of this second N.I.E. was only discovered in February of this year by Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay of Knight Ridder Newspapers. It found that the growing violence in Iraq was "fueled by local conditions - not foreign terrorists - and drew strength from deep grievances, including the presence of U.S. troops." Yet the president ignored that accurate intelligence, refusing to raise troop levels and continuing to argue erroneously that the insurgency was mainly linked to Saddam and Al Qaeda. Three years later, he still makes that case rather than acknowledge that our troops are caught in the cross-fire of a civil war.
WHAT STAYING THE COURSE REALLY MEANS
SEEMS THAT A MEETING BETWEEN RICE AND TENET PRIOR TO 9/11 NEVER TOOK PLACE
Here we go again. More lying. This time Condi is the one who tells tall tales.
From the New York Times.
Excerpt:
The book says that Mr. Tenet hurriedly organized the meeting — calling ahead from his car as it traveled to the White House — because he wanted to “shake Rice” into persuading the president to respond to dire intelligence warnings that summer about a terrorist strike. Mr. Woodward writes that Mr. Tenet left the meeting frustrated because “they were not getting through to Rice.”
The disclosures took members of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission by surprise last week. Some questioned whether information about the July 10 meeting was intentionally withheld from the panel.
9/11 COMMISSION MEMBERS NOT TOLD OF MEETING BETWEEN RICE AND TENET
Want to take a peek at one of the blogs? CLICK HERE, THEN ON REFRESH LS
Moving along...
WHITE HOUSE LIED ABOUT VISITS FROM ABRAMOFF
Well, it seems that "We didn't know Abramoff" or he visited a "time or two" is yet another mendacious statement. Indeed, official records show Abramoff had access to the White House 485 times. Wonder what the unofficial count is. LS
From Newsweek.com via MSNBC
Ho hum and what else is new excerpt:
The folks around Karl Rove are on the hot seat again. The White House has launched an internal ethics inquiry into one Rove aide in response to new e-mails showing that Rove's office had far more extensive conduct with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff than previously acknowledged. The e-mails, obtained by a House committee, show that Rove's executive assistant, Susan Ralston, may have violated a White House ban on accepting gifts worth more than $20 from lobbyists. At the same time, Ralston—who previously worked for Abramoff—was helping the lobbyist and his associates set up meetings with Rove and providing them with inside info about presidential appointments and White House decision making, including at least one matter relating to a business deal in Iraq for an Abramoff client, the e-mails show. Ralston also discussed future business opportunities with Abramoff, such as her plan to help him capitalize on the "rush to get lucrative government contracts" being awarded by the Department of Homeland Security—another possible breach of ethics rules.
LOBBYISTS AND THE EMAIL TRAIL
STAYING THE COURSE MEANS PROTECTING SPIN AND REPUTATIONS
Great article from Mr. Frank Rich of the New York Times via Truthout.org
Excerpts:
Against this ominous reality, the debate over the N.I.E. is but a sideshow: politics as usual on both sides. The president reluctantly declassified what had already been leaked, somehow hoping he could override the bad headlines with Pavlovian repetition of shopworn slogans. (He said America must "stay on the offense" four times in one speech on Friday alone.) Democrats are huffily demanding that the White House release more than a few scraps of the 30-page-plus N.I.E., a debating point with no payoff. The N.I.E. is already six months out of date, and Americans can guess most of it, classified or not. In this war at this late stage, the devil can be found everywhere, not merely in the details.
The facts of Iraq are not in dispute. But the truth is that facts don't matter anyway to this administration, and that's what makes this whole N.I.E. debate beside the point. From the start, honest information has never figured into the prosecution of this war. The White House doesn't care about intelligence, good or bad, classified or unclassified, because it believes it knows best, regardless of what anyone else has to say. The debate over the latest N.I.E. or any yet to leak will not alter that fundamental and self-destructive operating principle. That's the truly bad news.
This war has now gone on so long that we tend to forget the early history that foretold the present. Yet this is the history we must remember now more than ever, because it keeps repeating itself, with ever more tragic results. In the run-up to the war, it should be recalled, the administration did not even bother to commission an N.I.E., a summary of the latest findings from every American intelligence agency, on Iraq's weapons.
Why not? The answer can be found in what remains the most revealing Iraq war document leaked to date: the Downing Street memo of July 23, 2002, written eight months before the invasion. In that secret report to the Blair government, the head of British intelligence reported on a trip to Washington, where he learned that the Bush administration was fixing the "intelligence and facts" around the predetermined policy of going to war in Iraq. If we were going to fix the intelligence anyway, there was no need for an N.I.E., except as window dressing, since it might expose the thinness of the administration's case.
A prewar N.I.E. was hastily (and sloppily) assembled only because Congress demanded it. By the time it was delivered to the Capitol after much stalling, on Oct. 1, 2002, less than two weeks remained before the House and Senate would vote on the Iraq war resolution. "No more than six senators and only a handful of House members got beyond the five-page executive summary," according to an article last spring in Foreign Affairs by Paul Pillar, the C.I.A. senior analyst for the Middle East from 2000 to 2005. In a White House press briefing after the war started, an official said Condi Rice hadn't read it at all, leaving that menial duty to her retinue of "experts."
When one senator who did read the whole N.I.E., the now retired Democrat Bob Graham of Florida, asked that a declassified version be made public so that Americans could reach their own verdicts on the war's viability, he was rebuffed. Instead the administration released a glossy white paper that trumpeted the N.I.E.'s fictions ("All intelligence experts agree that Iraq is seeking nuclear weapons") but not its doubts about much-hyped evidence like aluminum tubes and uranium from Africa. The only time the president cared about the N.I.E., a document he never wanted, was when he thought it would be politically useful in fighting growing criticism in 2003 that he had manipulated prewar intelligence. Then he authorized his own cherry-picked leaks, which Scooter Libby fed to Mr. Woodward and Judith Miller of The Times. (Neither wrote about it at the time.)
As the insurgency continued to grow in the fall of 2003, the White House again showed scant interest in reality. The American military's Central Command called for an N.I.E. instead. The existence of this second N.I.E. was only discovered in February of this year by Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay of Knight Ridder Newspapers. It found that the growing violence in Iraq was "fueled by local conditions - not foreign terrorists - and drew strength from deep grievances, including the presence of U.S. troops." Yet the president ignored that accurate intelligence, refusing to raise troop levels and continuing to argue erroneously that the insurgency was mainly linked to Saddam and Al Qaeda. Three years later, he still makes that case rather than acknowledge that our troops are caught in the cross-fire of a civil war.
WHAT STAYING THE COURSE REALLY MEANS
SEEMS THAT A MEETING BETWEEN RICE AND TENET PRIOR TO 9/11 NEVER TOOK PLACE
Here we go again. More lying. This time Condi is the one who tells tall tales.
From the New York Times.
Excerpt:
The book says that Mr. Tenet hurriedly organized the meeting — calling ahead from his car as it traveled to the White House — because he wanted to “shake Rice” into persuading the president to respond to dire intelligence warnings that summer about a terrorist strike. Mr. Woodward writes that Mr. Tenet left the meeting frustrated because “they were not getting through to Rice.”
The disclosures took members of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission by surprise last week. Some questioned whether information about the July 10 meeting was intentionally withheld from the panel.
9/11 COMMISSION MEMBERS NOT TOLD OF MEETING BETWEEN RICE AND TENET
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