The WAWG Blog

If attacks by terrorist groups around the world are partially enabled by those who feel they are a step child or inferior or abused or subhuman, and if those types are few and far between in America’s Moslem communities, what kind of attack has Osama Bin Laden envisioned for America? What horrible catastrophe might this be? Will it be quick and dramatic like 9/11 or slow, insipid and hard to realize until it’s too late? And who would cause this catastrophe? A few Islamists or someone we know and whom we would ask how this could be?

For a possible answer of how and who, here is part of what Osama said in a video on October 29, 2004:

All that we have mentioned has made it easy for us to provoke and bait this administration. All that we have to do is to send two mujahidin to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al-Qaida, in order to make the generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic, and political losses without their achieving for it anything of note other than some benefits for their private companies [Haliburton].

This is in addition to our having experience in using guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers, as we, alongside the mujahidin, bled Russia for 10 years, until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat.

So we are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. …

And even more dangerous and bitter for America is that the mujahidin recently forced Bush to resort to emergency funds to continue the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq, which is evidence of the success of the bleed-until-bankruptcy plan

Maybe we have been following Osama’s grander plan since March 20, 2003 – the invasion of Iraq. He distracts us with violent attacks where they are easier to instigate while his real intent is to bankrupt America – over $100,000,000,000 a year just for policing Iraq?

And who ‘decided’ to attack Iraq? Who has expanded our efforts in Iraq? Who, at the same time, cut our taxes and said we need not sacrifice?

The Decider.

How much longer are we going to let the Decider play Osama’s game? When are we going to put an end to playing policeman in Iraq? When are we going to impeach these authoritarians who are attacking us from within?

Bush Gets His Iraq Report Card Changed
The draft Iraq progress report showed all 18 benchmarks were missed. Two days later, the released report shows eight benchmarks graded as “satisfactory.” How did that happen? The facts show that some benchmarks claimed as “satisfactory” only demonstrate minimal progress, not achievement. Others have been achieved on the surface, but fail to accomplish the overall purpose of the specific measurement. A point-by-point analysis of six of the benchmarks by the National Security Network follows:

Benchmark (i)
Assessment: The Government of Iraq has made satisfactory progress toward forming a Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) and then completing the constitutional review.

Response: The committee reviewing the constitution has experienced numerous delays. Most of the highly contested issues have been put off. Even if the government managed to pass the constitution, there would still need to be a national referendum.

Benchmark (viii)
Assessment: The Government of Iraq has made satisfactory progress toward establishing supporting political, media, economic, and services committees in support of the Baghdad Security Plan.

Response: Establishing committees has had little impact on Baghdad’s population which still lacks access to many basic services like water and electricity.

Benchmark (ix)
Assessment: The Government of Iraq has made satisfactory progress toward providing three trained and ready Iraqi brigades to support Baghdad operations.

Response: According to military officials the three brigades that came to Baghdad were understaffed and poorly trained causing a major delay in Baghdad security operations.

Benchmark (xiii)
Assessment: The Government of Iraq with substantial Coalition assistance has made satisfactory progress toward reducing sectarian violence but has shown unsatisfactory progress towards eliminating militia control of local security.

Response: Estimates of civilian casualties in Iraq remain roughly the same as they were when the surge began in February.

Benchmark (xiv)
Assessment: The Government of Iraq — with substantial Coalition assistance — has made satisfactory progress toward establishing the planned Joint Security Stations in Baghdad.

Response: While the Joint Security Stations have been established there is little to indication that they are having a substantial impact on security and in some cases are actually making Iraqis feel less safe.

Benchmark (xvi)
Assessment: The Government of Iraq has made satisfactory progress toward ensuring that the rights of minority political parties in the Iraqi legislature are protected.

Response: The Sunnis – one of the largest and most important minority groups – are currently boycotting the government. The Iraqi Accordance Front is also boycotting.

Another similar reality check on the benchmarks

Mitt Romney’s False Boasting – Out on the campaign trail, Mitt Romney has been boasting of some impressive accomplishments as governor of Massachusetts, while also outlining bold foreign policy proposals. But Romney sometimes alters the past, exaggerates his record and traffics in ambiguous language. Here are a few of Romney’s dubious statements:

He claims that President Clinton “began to dismantle the military” when it was President George H.W. Bush who started making deep cuts in defense budgets years before Clinton took office.
He claims to have balanced the Massachusetts budget through the elimination of duplicate state agencies when he actually relied mainly upon increases in fees and cuts to education and local aid to do so.
Romney takes credit for submitting state income tax cuts, although income tax rates did not change during his term as governor.

Free Calls Home for Soldiers May End Soon – Officials with the Freedom Call Foundation have announced that they have run out of money to cover the expenses associated with telephone calls from soldiers to their families. The Morristown, N.J.-based charity has been providing the service for military families for free since 2004. “We do about 2,000 of these a month,” said John Harlow, executive director and founder of Freedom Calls. The calls can get very expensive, Harlow said. “We have to maintain these satellite links which costs tens of thousands of dollars a month.” Harlow said the organization is looking for donations and is planning some fund-raisers to help find money for its $1,000 a day budget. The organization uses e-mail, phone calls, and video tele-conferencing to connect soldiers with their families. “If we don’t find the funds we are going to have to stop operation,” Harlow said. For more information on Freedom Calls Foundation, visit www.freedomcalls.org or call 973-290-7886.

Tax Loopholes for the Rich – The Blackstone Group, the big buyout firm, has devised a way for its partners to effectively avoid paying taxes on $3.7 billion, the bulk of what it raised last month from selling shares to the public. Although they will initially pay $553 million in taxes, the partners will get that back, and about $200 million more, from the government over the long term. Lee Sheppard, a tax lawyer who critiques deals for Tax Notes magazine and has studied the Blackstone arrangement, said it was a reminder of the disconnect between the tax debate in Congress and how the tax system actually operates at the highest levels of the economy. Stephen A. Schwarzman, the co-founder of the Blackstone Group, made nearly $400 million last year.

Bush Objects to Public Health Care – Speaking in Cleveland this week, Bush boldly asserted, “I strongly object to the government providing incentives for people to leave private medicine, private health care to the public sector. And I think it’s wrong and I think it’s a mistake. And therefore, I will resist Congress’s attempt … to federalize medicine…In my judgment that would be — it would lead to not better medicine, but worse medicine. It would lead to not more innovation, but less innovation.”

What “innovations” has it produced? The deductible, the co-pay, and the pre-existing condition are the only ones that leap to mind.

What the War Has Done to Our Sons and Daughters – Interviews with 50 US veterans show the pattern of brutality in Iraq. A few abbreviated excerpts:

Planting Kalashnikov AK47 rifles beside Iraqi corpses to make it appear that they had died in combat.
Hit-and-run in which a military convoy ran over a 10-year-old boy and his three donkeys, killing them all.
Raid on a house: You grab the man of the house. You rip him out of bed in front of his wife. You put him up against the wall… Then you go into a room and you tear the room to shreds.
My squad leader, just out of nowhere, just shoots the family dog. The family is sitting right there, with three little children and a mom and a dad, horrified.
Some 14-year-old kid with an AK47, decides he’s going to start shooting at this convoy. It was the most obscene thing you’ve ever seen. Every person got out and opened fire on this kid. Using the biggest weapons we could find, we ripped him to shreds.
I guess while I was there, the general attitude was, ‘A dead Iraqi is just another dead Iraqi… You know, so what?
A lot of guys really supported that whole concept that if they don’t speak English and they have darker skin, they’re not as human as us, so we can do what we want.
I just remember thinking, ‘I just brought terror to someone under the American flag.’

Bush and Republicans Don’t Listen to Iraqis Either – We know Bush and the Republicans aren’t listening to the American people. Now, a poll of Iraqis, conducted by the BBC and other news organizations, found that only 22 percent of Iraqis support the presence of coalition troops in Iraq, down from 32 percent in 2005. If Iraqis were pleading with us to stay and quell the violence, maybe we would have a moral responsibility to stay. But when Iraqis are begging us to leave, and saying that we are making things worse, then it’s remarkably presumptuous to overrule their wishes and stay. We simply can’t want to be in Iraq more than the Iraqis want us to be there.

DoD No Bid Contracts Have “Put Troops At Risk” – A study completed in late June by the Pentagon’s Inspector General concludes that the Department of Defense (DoD) has risked the lives of U.S. troops in Iraq due to malfeasance in awarding and monitoring contracts for badly-needed armored vehicles. The study, which was requested by Democratic Congresswoman Louise Slaughter of New York, found that since 2000 the DoD has awarded “sole-source” contracts valued at $2.2 billion to just two companies, Force Protection, Inc.(FPI) and Armor Holdings, Inc (AHI). Inspector General auditors found that the Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) made these two companies the sole providers of armored vehicles and armor kits for troops, despite knowing that other suppliers may have produced the equipment so desperately needed in Iraq substantially faster. Both manufacturers fell far behind delivery schedules, while AHI also produced inadequate and faulty equipment.

White House, Pentagon Cite Executive Privilege to Hold up Documents on Friendly-Fire Victim Pat Tillman – Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) revealed on Friday afternoon that the White House and Pentagon were holding up a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigation into the friendly fire death of former professional football player and Army Corporal Patrick Tillman.

Regards,

Jim

Senate Republicans Block U.S. Troop Rest Plan – U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a proposal to insure that U.S. troops, many of whom have endured multiple deployments to Iraq, get adequate time at home between tours of duty. 56 Senators voted for the plan, but that was still four votes short of the 60 needed on the motion, a procedural hurdle erected by Republicans. (Comment: How many of these Republicans have “Support the Troops” bumper stickers? This sort of thing will continue until there are less Republicans in the Senate.)

Bush Says the Insurgents Attacking US Troops in Iraq “are the same ones who attacked us on Sept. 11” – President Bush, defending his troop surge in Iraq, insisted Thursday that the insurgents attacking US troops in Iraq “are the same ones who attacked us on Sept. 11.” “The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq are the ones who attacked us on Sept. 11,” Bush said. He added, “We need to take al Qaeda in Iraq seriously just like we need to take al Qaeda anywhere in the world seriously.” (Comment: Sounds like Bush has alot more countries to invade.)

Neocon Bill Kristol Expects Bush to Attack Pakistan – On Fox News, the host cited a new report that “al Qaeda … is running from Iraq, apparently to Pakistan” and asked “did this report come out on purpose so that we will have the right … to go after Pakistan now?” Bill Kristol responded, “I think the president’s going to have to take military action there over the next few weeks or months. … Bush has to disrupt that sanctuary.” “I think, frankly, we won’t even tell Musharraf,” Kirstol continued. “We’ll do what we have to do in Western Pakistan and Musharraf can say, ‘Hey, they didn’t tell me.'”

But We’re Nothing Like Those Muslims! – Three men were in the Johnson County Jail on Friday night after a church deacon caught two of them attempting to ignite an explosive device at a church under construction in north Burleson near Forth Worth. Cmdr. Chris Havens, the Police Department spokesman, said the suspects boasted about belonging to a leaderless group of 10 or 15 who share a belief that society has become too focused on self-improvement and self-gratification and has lost focus on the glorification of God. “They admit to being Christian and being brought up Christian, but they believe there should be one denomination and one church, not multiple denominations,” Havens said. “They did not say they had a name for their group, other than they were a radical Christian activist group,” he said.

McCain Campaign Florida Co-chairman is Arrested – A member of the Florida House of Representatives arrested yesterday on charges of soliciting a male undercover police officer is the co-Chairman of the Florida campaign of presidential hopeful John McCain. Officers say they noticed Allen acting suspicious as he went in and out of the men’s restroom 3 times. Minutes later, he solicited an undercover male officer inside the restroom, offering to perform oral sex for $20. Allen has a strong conservative record. Between 2003 and 2006 Allen voted with the Christian Coalition over 90% of the time.

Ted Poe Under-Reported His Campaign Cash According to an Audit Report – A draft audit report of U.S. Rep. Ted Poe’s (R-Humble) campaign finances from his first year in office alleges multiple violations of campaign law, including the misstatement of cash on hand by $90,000 as well as inadequate identification of 40 percent of his donors.

Huckabee Personally Attacks Michael Moore – Former Arkansas governor and GOP presidential candidate, Michael Huckabee verbally attacked “Sicko” filmmaker Michael Moore, when he told a group of reporters, “Frankly, Michael Moore is an example of why the health care system costs so much in this country. He clearly is one of the reasons that we have a very expensive system. I know that from my own personal experience. I know how much more my health care cost when I didn’t take care of myself than when I do take care of myself, not only in terms of doctor visits but regular diseases, illnesses, chronic things that come up, monthly prescription bills. (Comment: Resort to bad-mouthing a person’s physical appearance when you don’t want to discuss the issues.)

Rudy Giuliani: Urban Legend

Regards,

Jim

Homeland Security Secretary Uses Stephen Colbert’s Method to Predict Terror Attacks – On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the editorial board of The Chicago Tribune that he had a “gut feeling” about a new period of increased risk. Who needs facts or logic when you can use “gut feeling?” Besides, facts have a liberal bias.

Rick Santorum Would Very Much Like It If You Blew Up And Couldn’t Vote for a Democrat – Rick Santorum apparently has some sort of info that we don’t, as he said yesterday on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show that there’s going to be a terrorist attack before the elections so people will vote Republican.

Sun Not Living Up to Conservatives’ Expectations in Warming Earth – The sun’s changing energy levels are not to blame for recent global warming and, if anything, solar variations over the past 20 years should have had a cooling effect, scientists said on Wednesday. Their findings add to a growing body of evidence that human activity, not natural causes, lies behind rising average world temperatures, which are expected to reach their second highest level this year since records began in the 1860s. Britain’s Royal Society — one of the world’s oldest scientific academies, founded in 1660 — said the new research was an important rebuff to climate change skeptics. “At present there is a small minority which is seeking to deliberately confuse the public on the causes of climate change. They are often misrepresenting the science, when the reality is that the evidence is getting stronger every day,” it said in a statement.

E-Mail Shows CNN and Dr. Gupta Were Given The Right Facts Before Getting Them Wrong – Dr. Sanjay Gupta today admitted that he was wrong about some of the facts in his CNN report on SiCKO — a report that led Michael Moore to blast Wolf Blitzer. The e-mail exchange below, between Moore’s team and Gupta’s producer, shows that Gupta and CNN had the facts — including the one he apologized for — a full day before the Gupta piece first aired on AC360 on June 29 (following Moore’s first appearance regarding SiCKO on Larry King Live), and a full 10 days before the network re-aired it preceding Moore’s volatile July 9 appearance on The Situation Room.

People in the US Are Waiting an Average of About 70 Days to See a Health-Care Provider – What country endures such long waits for medical care that even one of its top insurers recently admitted that care is “not timely” and people “initially diagnosed with cancer are waiting over a month, which is intolerable?” If you guessed Canada, guess again. The answer is the United States. Scrambling for a response to the popular reaction to Michael Moore’s Sicko and a renewed groundswell for a publicly-financed, guaranteed health care, single-payer health care solution like HR 676, the big insurers and their defenders have pounced on Canada, pulling out all their old tales of people waiting years in soup kitchen-type lines for medical care. But, here’s the dirty little secret that they won’t tell you. Waiting times in the U.S. are as bad as or worse than Canada. And, unlike the U.S., in Canada no one is denied needed medical care, referrals, or diagnostic tests due to cost, pre-existing conditions, or because it wasn’t pre-approved.

Bush Says YOU Are the Problem With Health Care – Bush spoke in Ohio today and blames YOU for lawsuits on doctors, not choosing the correct health plan, being in poor health.it goes on and on. The medical industry is freaking since Michael Moore’s movie just came out. They need you dumbed down and Bush tries to do that for them. Having a health savings account won’t help you when your HMO refuses treatment or won’t let you see the doctor of your choice. All the Republican candidates use the same talking points: health care “reform” based on “personal responsibility,” meaning it’s all up to you.

Ex-Bush Aide Refuses Answer Senate Questions About US Attorney Firings – President Bush’s former political director Sara M. Taylor obeyed his instructions and declined to answer Congress’ questions Wednesday about her role in the firings of federal prosecutors. “It is apparent that this White House is contemptuous of the Congress and feels that it does not have to explain itself to anybody,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said as he opened the hearing. “I urge Ms. Taylor not to follow that contemptuous position and not to follow the White House down this path.” Taylor, who met briefly with Leahy before the hearing, said she would answer only limited questions to comply with her former boss’ orders, unless a court orders her to comply with the congressional subpoena instead.

The ‘Grand Obstructionist Party’ – Does it seem as if every time the Senate is poised to consider an important measure, Republicans launch a filibuster? Senate Republicans have obstructed almost every bill in the Senate – even ones with wide bipartisan support. So far, in the first half of the first session of the 110th Congress, there have been THIRTEEN cloture votes on motions to proceed – each one wasting days of Senate time. In comparison, in the first sessions of the 108th and 109th Congresses combined, there were a total of FOUR cloture votes on motions to proceed. It’s quite a record the Senate minority has assembled:
EIGHT times Republican obstruction tactics slowed critical legislation

• Fulfilling the 9/11 Commission Recommendations (Passed 97-0, Roll Call Vote #53)
• Improving security at our courts (Passed 93-3, Roll Call Vote #133)
• Water Resources Development Act (Passed 89-7, Roll Call Vote #162)
• A joint resolution to revise U.S. policy in Iraq (Passed 89-9, Roll Call Vote, #74)
• Comprehensive Immigration Reform (Passed 69-23, Roll Call Vote #173)
• Comprehensive Immigration Reform (Passed 64-35, Roll Call Vote #228)
• CLEAN Energy Act (Passed 91-0, Roll Call Vote #208)
• Funding for the Intelligence Community (Passed 94-3, Roll Call Vote #129)

FOUR times Republicans blocked legislation from being debated

• Senate Republicans blocked raising the minimum wage. (Rejected 54-43, Roll Call Vote #23)
• Senate Republicans blocked ethics reforms (Rejected 51-46, Roll Call Vote #16)
• Senate Republicans blocked comprehensive immigration reform (Rejected 45-50, Roll Call Vote #206)
• Senate Republicans blocked funding for renewable energy (Rejected 57-36, Roll Call Vote #223)

FOUR times Republicans stopped bills from reaching a vote

• Senate Republicans blocked funding for the intelligence community. (Rejected 41-40, Roll Call Vote #130)
• Senate Republicans blocked raising the minimum wage. (54-43, Roll Call Vote #23)
• Senate Republicans blocked ethics reforms (Rejected 51-46, Roll Call Vote #16)
• Senate Republicans blocked funding for renewable energy (Rejected 57-36, Roll Call Vote #223)

TWICE Republicans blocked bills from going to conference

• Senate Republicans blocked appointing conferees on the 9/11 Commission Recommendations (6/26/07)
• Senate Republicans blocked appointing conferees on ethics reform (6/26/07)

Outside of budget resolutions, you need 60 votes in the Senate to pass a bill. So the solution to getting something done is less Republicans in the Senate.

Lieberman Says Give the Troops a Break by Not Giving Them a Longer Break – Joe Lieberman is counseling his colleagues to vote against Jim Webb’s amendment requiring that active-duty troops have at least the same amount of time at home as the length of their previous tour of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan because he thinks they should give the troops a break.

People for the American Way (PFAW) Continues Dishonest Lobbying Campaign for Holt Election Bill – People for the American Way (PFAW) — previously the “good guys” in many a fight for your democracy — continues their dishonest and misleading campaign to support Rep. Rush Holt’s dangerous Election Reform Bill (HR 811). The bill, as written currently fails on a number of levels. Most notably, its institutionalization of the use of disenfranchising Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) touch-screen voting machines for all of America. Such machines use secret, unverifiable, invisible ballots to count your vote. As HR 811 comes towards the U.S. House floor for a vote, PFAW is ramping up their efforts by sending out emails to members requesting they call Nancy Pelosi’s office at (202) 225-2965. We suggest you do the same. But demand that Pelosi amend the bill to include a ban on DRE voting systems or otherwise vote against the bill. Then send this item to everyone you know!

Regards,

Jim

Former Bush Surgeon General Says He Was Muzzled by Bush Administration – The first U.S. surgeon general appointed by President George W. Bush accused the administration on Tuesday of political interference and muzzling him on key issues like embryonic stem cell research. “Anything that doesn’t fit into the political appointees’ ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried,” Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as the nation’s top doctor from 2002 until 2006, told a House of Representatives committee.

CNN Makes Incorrect Accusations about Sicko – Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN reviews Michael Moore’s Sicko, but the doctor gets a lot of his “facts” wrong. The Sicko Truth Squad sets him straight , providing references for the facts presented in the movie.

Republican Health Care Plans Rely on “Personal Responsibility”, “Private Sector” and “Market Based.” – Translation: If You’re Not Rich, You’re Out of Luck. A side-by-side comparison of Democratic and Republican presidential candidates’ heath care plans shows that the Democratic candidates provide lots of detail about their approaches to universal heath care for all Americans. Republican candidates, on the other hand, describe plans based on “personal responsibility”, “private sector” and “market based.” As for details, most of the attributes of the Republican candidates’ plans are labeled as “No information found.”

Executive Privilege: An Assertion of Power Not to be Lightly Invoked, Unless You Are George W. Bush – In the United States v. Nixon, the Supreme Court however rejected the notion that the President has an “absolute privilege.” In an 8-0 decision, the Supreme Court found that the president does have a right to confidentiality, particularly in national security or law enforcement situations, but that it must be balanced against the need for disclosure. In a separate Supreme Court decision in 2004, Justice Anthony Kennedy noted “Executive privilege is an extraordinary assertion of power not to be lightly invoked.”

Here is a brief history of claims of presidential executive privilege:

• George Washington claimed it successfully to refuse to give documents about a treaty to the House of Representatives, which does not ratify treaties. He did give the documents to the Senate, which does ratify treaties.
• Thomas Jefferson claimed it unsuccessfully in an attempt to withhold his private letters concerning the Aaron Burr treason trial.
• Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully invoked executive privilege by refusing to turn over to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s investigatory Committee the notes of Eisenhower’s meetings with members of the United States Army, “claiming that matters of national security might be breached if administration officials were forced to testify under oath.”
• Richard Nixon claimed it unsuccessfully in an attempt to conceal the audiotapes of conversations concerning Watergate that he and his colleagues had in the Oval Office of the White House.
• Bill Clinton claimed it unsuccessfully in an attempt to not testify about the Lewinsky affair.
• The Bush administration has claimed executive privilege four times (so far). His claims have not been formally challenged (so far).

Fred Thompson: Big, Mean and Dumb – During the time of the Watergate hearings, Richard Nixon said Fred Thompson was “dumb as hell.” The president did not think Thompson was skilled enough to interrogate unfriendly witnesses and would be outsmarted by the committee’s Democratic counsel. “Oh s—, that kid,” Nixon said when told by his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, of Thompson’s appointment on Feb. 22, 1973. “Well, we’re stuck with him,” Haldeman said. In a meeting later that day in the Old Executive Office Building, Baker said of Thompson, “He’s tough. He’s six feet five inches, a big mean fella.” Nixon expressed concern that Thompson was not “very smart.” “Not extremely so,” Buzhardt agreed. “But he’s friendly,” Nixon said. Five days later, Buzhardt reported to Nixon that he had primed Thompson for the Dean cross-examination. “I found Thompson most cooperative, feeling more Republican every day,” Buzhardt said. “Uh, perfectly prepared to assist in really doing a cross-examination.” Thompson blew it for the Nixon team, when he asked about the White House taping system, which he already knew about.

Gonzales Lied to Congress About FBI Abuses – Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was given a report detailing FBI abuses of power six days before testifying to Congress where he sought to renew the Patriot Act. In front of the Senate Intelligence Committee he claimed he knew of no wrongdoing or abuse of power, and that the Patriot Act was free of problems, despite the reports of numerous violations of the law and FBI protocol.

White House argues that zero days behind bars is the appropriate punishment for two counts of perjury, one count of obstruction of justice, and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators – Compare Scooter Libby’s original 30-month prison sentence to those of others convicted of similar crimes and you will find that it was, if anything, a bit short . Records show that the Justice Department under the Bush administration frequently has sought sentences that are as long, or longer, in cases similar to Libby’s. Three-fourths of the 198 defendants sentenced in federal court last year for obstruction of justice, one of four crimes Libby was found guilty of in March, got some prison time. According to federal data, the average sentence defendants received for that one charge alone was 70 months.

Iraq Government Misses All Targets – A progress report on Iraq will conclude that the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad has not met any of its targets for political, economic and other reform, speeding up the Bush administration’s reckoning on what to do next, a U.S. official said Monday.

Clinton, Obama Skip Iraq Debate in Senate for Iowa Campaigning – Instead of Washington DC, both Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will be spending time in Iowa, as the Senate convenes today to start considering policy options for Iraq

Southern Regional Chair of Rudy Giuliani’s Presidential Campaign Admits That He’s on the DC Madam’s List – Republican Senator David Vitter, the southern regional chair of Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign, admitted Monday night that his phone number was on the phone records of the so-called “DC Madam.” In 2004, Vitter campaigned with a promise of “protecting the sanctity of marriage,” and was a co-author of the “Federal Marriage Act” that sought to prohibit courts from interpreting same-sex marriage laws. “This is a real outrage. The Hollywood left is redefining the most basic institution in human history,” he said then. (Looks like it’s the DC right-wing that’s doing the redefining.)

Fox News Attacks the Environment – Tell Home Depot to stop advertising on Fox. No responsible company claiming to support the environment should be advertising with a corporation that consistently deceives America about the climate crisis.

TELL HOME DEPOT TO STOP ADVERTISING ON FOX!

Dead Al-Qaeda Leader Threatens to Attack Iran Over Interfering in Iraq

Regards,

Jim

Over Politicization of the Top Rank of the Homeland Security Department Management – There is a “gaping hole” in the United States’ preparedness for any sort of attack. A committee chaired by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) concludes that “One of the continuing problems appears to be the over politicization of the top rank of the Homeland Security Department management… This could lead to heightened vulnerability to terrorist attack.”

White House Trying to Block Testimony From Former Aide to Karl Rove – An attorney for Sara Taylor, former top aide to White House adviser Karl Rove, informed the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that the White House sought to block her testimony. “Ms. Taylor expects to receive a letter from Mr. Fielding on behalf of the President directing her not to comply with the Senate’s subpoena,” wrote W. Neil Eggleston, counsel to Taylor, in a Saturday letter to Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA).

Mixed-Up Priorities in Congress – Thursday, the Judiciary Committee will move on to the weighty subject of too many Americans not knowing the words to the national anthem and will consider S. Res. 236, “a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of the National Anthem Project, which has worked to restore America’s voice by re-teaching Americans to sing the national anthem.”

U.S. Coal Company Linked To Colombian Union Leader Assassinations – The bus had just left Drummond Co. Inc.’s coal mine carrying about 50 workers when gunmen halted it and forced two union leaders off. They shot one on the spot, pumping four bullets into his head, and dragged the other one off to be tortured and killed. In a civil trial set to begin Monday before a federal jury in Birmingham, Ala., union lawyers have presented affidavits from two people who allege that Drummond ordered those killings, a charge the company denies.

Women Not Highly Regarded by Fox News Guests and Viewers – Here’s a couple of recent quotes:

“You have a problem with Joe Lieberman because without him, the toughest man in your party is a girl.” – Jed Babbin to Alan Colmes on Hannity & Colmes, 7/6/07

“Lately your show has deteriorated into a screaming match for liberal, filibustering women. How about limiting your women to one each show, or even none? Men can demonstrably discuss things politely, sharing the time.” – An email Neil Cavuto read at the end of his show on Monday, 6/25/07

Head of Republican Political Action Committee Falsely Claims That Non-Citizens Do Not Have Rights Under the US Constitution – On Hannity and Colmes, Michael Steele, head of GOPAC, said, “Oh, come on, Alan. Of course the Constitution exists at a time of war, but our enemies do not have rights under our Constitution, thank you very much.” Colmes pointed out the error, “Actually, that’s not true. In fact, in our country, if you’re in the United States, the Constitution pertains, Ellis (Henican, the other guest), to persons, not to citizens, according to Judge Napolitano.” Comment: Colmes is correct.

Regards,

Jim

Let’s start with this quote from John Dean’s Conservatives Without Conscience, “But Karl Rove has all the credentials of a right-wing authoritarian, and if he has a conscience, it has hardly been in evidence …. He is conspicuously submissive to authority, exceedingly aggressive in pursuing and defending the policies and practices he embraces … and he is highly conventional. As a political strategist, Rove appreciates the values of fear, so it is not surprising that he proclaimed that the 2006 midterm elections would be won or lost based on how frightened Americans are about terrorism.”

Now for a summary of Karl’s authoritarian experience at building “bad barrels.” The first examples are excerpted from Right Web’s profile of Karl:

In 1970, Rove stole 1,000 sheets of letterhead from the office of Illinois Democrat Alan Dixon, who was running for state treasurer. Rove printed the message “Free beer, free food, girls, and a good time for nothing” on the sheets and distributed them as a supposed invitation to a Dixon rally. Though the rally was disrupted, Dixon won the election. Rove owned up to the stunt many years later, saying: “It was a youthful prank at the age of 19 and I regret it” (Washington Post, July 23, 1999).

Rove went to work for the College Republicans National Committee and became involved in the Nixon campaign, which brought him to the attention of then-CIA director George H.W. Bush. In a 2003 article on Rove, Robert Reich reported: “It’s no accident that Karl Rove was one of Richard Nixon’s moles. Using techniques developed by his first mentor, dirty-tricks strategist Donald Segretti, Rove infiltrated Democratic organizations on behalf of Nixon’s infamous 1972 campaign.

Karl Rove and Another Law Breaker –
at the 4 min mark

In 1986, Rove, in Texas and working on a campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Clements, declared that Democrats had bugged his office. The accusation, which spurred an FBI investigation, never panned out, leading critics to charge that Rove had bugged his own office.

In late 1999, there was wise speculation that Rove was behind the whisper campaign alleging that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), then a leading contender for the Republican nomination for president, was in danger of cracking from stress of having been a POW in Vietnam (Nation, March 5, 2001).

In 2002, the BBC reported: “The White House has acknowledged that Rove took part in meetings that helped shape the Bush government’s energy policy, while he still held Enron shares and stock in other energy companies—though the administration denies that the meetings were specific enough to raise conflict-of-interest.”

Widely believed to be involved with the leak that revealed CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity [2003], Rove is being sued by Plame and her husband; also named as defendants in the suit are Vice President Dick Cheney and I. Lewis Libby, as well as Richard Armitage, who admitted in September 2006 to being the actual source of the leak (Washington Post, September 13, 2006).

Rove is also believed by many to be behind another, perhaps more vicious whisper campaign against McCain during the race for the presidential nomination (Democracy Now, September 3, 2004). “Anonymous opponents used ‘push polling’ to suggest that McCain’s [adopted] Bangladeshi-born daughter was his own, illegitimate black child. …”

During Bush’s 2004 presidential campaign, Rove was accused of being connected to the so-called Swift Boat veterans whose efforts to denigrate John Kerry’s Vietnam record seemed cribbed directly from the “Rovian” playbook.

From Rove, Still In the Mix, by Michael Isikoff of Newsweek, “Deputy chief of staff Karl Rove participated in a hastily called meeting at the White House two months ago. The subject: The firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year. The purpose: to coach a top Justice Department official heading to Capitol Hill to testify on the prosecutorial purge on what he should say.”

In addition to helping the Justice Department with Congressional testimony, Karl’s assistant, Timothy Griffin, has been promoted by President Bush as the US Attorney for the Eastern district of Arkansas. According to Greg Palast, BBC television reported that Mr. Griffin , “was the hidden hand behind a scheme to wipe out the voting rights of 70,000 citizens prior to the 2004 election.”

Another assistant to Karl, Susan Ralston, had to resign last year when a congressional report said she had passed inside White House information to Abramoff while she was also accepting his tickets to as many as nine sports and entertainment events. Ms. Ralston was also a former assistant to Jack Abramoff and reported to him while working for Karl, “I now have an RNC blackberry which you can use to e-mail me at any time. No security issues like my WH email.” There is also suspicion that Ms. Ralston may have some direct knowledge of how the results of the 2004 presidential election may have been manipulated. More recently, Ms. Ralston, pleaded the 5th before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

For a more complete history of Karl, refer to Frontline’s chronology. He had a major part in putting the Republicans in control in Texas. Here are some excerpts:

… At age 9, Rove is a vocal supporter of Richard Nixon’s presidential campaign — so vocal, in fact, that an older girl, a would-be Kennedy voter, beats him up.

… Often seen at school carrying a briefcase and wearing a coat and tie, he hones his skills in debate tournaments. He is good at intimidating his opponents — sometimes bluffing by bringing boxes of index cards that are actually blank. …

… During his first year of college his parents divorce and not long after, he learns that Louis Rove, the man he thought was his father, is not. He does not meet his biological father until he is in his 40s.

… Politics has become his passion. But because of this, Rove never gets his college degree.

Shortly after his move to Texas, Rove marries a Houston socialite, Valerie Wainwright, who is friendly with the Bush family. But Rove’s busy schedule keeps him away from home much of the time. She files for divorce in 1979. Two years later, Rove’s mother commits suicide.

Rove … drafts a memo that foreshadows future Rove campaigns. He quotes Napoleon, advising candidates to put forth “a well-reasoned and extremely circumspect defensive, [sic] followed by rapid and audacious attack.” In a later memo, he tells his candidates to focus on suburban voters, emphasizing education, traditional values and lower taxes and to take pains to appear “compassionate.”

… Rove allegedly arranges for the printing of anonymous fliers viciously attacking Harold See, his own candidate for a state Supreme Court seat. The ploy makes See’s opponent look bad, and See wins the race. [Sound familiar? Refer to Right Web entry above for 1970.]

… As he did with Bush’s gubernatorial campaign, he brings in teams of experts to tutor the candidate. He also ensures that reporters see Bush talking with luminaries from across the country ….

In June [2002], a PowerPoint presentation written by Rove — and describing the war on terror as a crucial campaign issue — is mysteriously found in Lafayette Park, across from the White House.

In his [2004] acceptance speech, Bush thanks Rove, calling him simply “the architect.”

“Everyone in the room knew what that meant,” says Washington Post reporter Mike Allen. “He was the architect of the public policies that got them there, he was the architect of the campaign platform, he was the architect of the fundraising strategy, he was the architect of the state-by-state strategy, he was the architect of the travel itinerary. His hand was in all of it.”

With Bush re-elected, Rove is thinking long-term. He intends to use both politics and policy to create a permanent Republican majority. He designs a legislative agenda that he hopes will lead to future Republican gains. High on the list: an overhaul and partial privatization of Social Security, and the appointment of “strict constructionist” judges who will reverse what many Republicans see as judicial activism. “I think what they are trying to do is bigger than the Great Society, and approaches the New Deal,” says Washington Post reporter Thomas Edsall. “They aren’t kidding around.”

View the complete Frontline program online.

What Goes Around, Came Around – In the all talk about commuting the prison sentence of Scooter Libby, we have been repeatedly reminded over the past weeks that President Bill Clinton pardoned Marc Rich, who was convicted of tax evasion and illegally making oil deals with Iran. Who could have talked Bill Clinton into doing that? Well, Marc Rich’s attorney was…drum roll, please …Scooter Libby. During hearings after Rich’s pardon, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who had represented Rich from 1985 until the spring of 2000, denied that Rich had violated the tax laws, but criticized him for trading with Iran at a time when that country was holding U.S. hostages. In his letter to the New York Times, Bill Clinton explained why he pardoned Rich, noting that U.S. tax professors Bernard Wolfman of Harvard Law School and Martin Ginsburg of Georgetown University Law Center concluded that no crime was committed, and that the companies’ tax reporting position was reasonable. [New York Times, February 18, 2001]. In the same letter Clinton listed Libby as one of three “distinguished Republican lawyers” who supported Rich’s pardon.

Bush Administration Argues That 33-Month Sentence is Reasonable in Another Case With Same Charges on Which Scooter Libby Was Convicted – When President Bush decided this week that longtime vice presidential aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby would not face jail time for perjury, his primary justification was that Libby’s 30-month sentence was “excessive.” In commuting Libby’s sentence, Bush directly contradicted an opinion outlined in a friend-of-the-court brief filed last year by his administration arguing that a 33-month sentence for perjury was “reasonable,” In the case, which was decided last month, the Supreme Court upheld the nearly three-year sentence handed down to Victor Rita, a 25-year military veteran, who was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice. The court ruled that prison sentences falling within federal guidelines established in the mid-1980s can be presumed to be reasonable, as the Bush administration advocated in its brief. The Justice Department brief, written by Solicitor General Paul D. Clement, argued in Rita’s case that because his crimes were “serious” and he “expressed no remorse at sentencing” the defendant could not show his sentence “is outside the range of reasonableness.” Libby’s 30 month sentence fell within the same guidelines, and an appeals court found the sentence to be reasonable and ordered the neoconservative war architect to prison, before Bush’s 11th-hour intervention ensured he would never spend a day behind bars.

Contact the White House Regarding the Commutation of Libby’s Prison Sentence
Some discussion points:
The sentence in this case was imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencing which occur every day throughout this country. In this case, an experienced federal judge considered extensive argument from the parties and then imposed a sentence consistent with the applicable laws. It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals. That principle guided the judge during both the trial and the sentencing.

Bush vowed to fire anyone in his White House involved with leaking classified information. It is now known that the leakers were Richard Armitadge and Karl Rove. They have not been fired and Rove just had his security clearance renewed. Why?

Bush’s action has negative implications for current and future CIA operatives and our national security.

This commutation implies that Bush is an accessory and has more to cover up.

Phone comments: 202-456-1111
e-mail comments to White House
Or: call all these phone numbers

Rep. Duncan Hunter Says Ann Coulter is ‘Approaching That Level of Being a Great American’ – Yesterday on MSNBC’s Hardball, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) defended Ann Coulter’s attacks on John Edwards, including that she wishes he “had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot.” He said that Elizabeth Edwards’s calls to stop making personal attacks against her family were attempts to “silence conservative voices.” He added that Coulter “is a very articulate spokeswoman for the conservative view” and “closely approaching that level of being a great American.” Coulter has repeatedly made anti-gay slurs compared Muslims to members of the Ku Klux Klan, and advocated assassinating President Clinton. These extremely hateful views aren’t what characterize a “great American.” There is a huge difference in asking someone not to speak hatefully and trying to silence conservative voices. Watch the video for yourself.

According to Hunter’s website, in order to send e-mail to Congressman Hunter, you must be a resident of the 52nd Congressional District of California, so here’s his phone number: (619) 448-5201.

Fred Thompson Was a Spy for the Nixon Criminal Clique in the White House. – The day before Senate Watergate Committee minority counsel Fred Thompson made the inquiry that launched him into the national spotlight — asking an aide to President Nixon whether there was a White House taping system, he telephoned Nixon’s lawyer. Thompson tipped off the White House that the committee knew about the taping system and would be making the information public. In his all-but-forgotten Watergate memoir, “At That Point in Time,” Thompson said he acted with “no authority” in divulging the committee’s knowledge of the tapes, which provided the evidence that led to Nixon’s resignation. It was one of many Thompson leaks to the Nixon team, according to a former investigator for Democrats on the committee, Scott Armstrong , who remains upset at Thompson’s actions. “Thompson was a mole for the White House,” Armstrong said in an interview. “Fred was working hammer and tong to defeat the investigation of finding out what happened to authorize Watergate and find out what the role of the president was.”

Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson Has Admitted that Securing Oil Supplies is a Key Factor Behind the Presence of Australian Troops in Iraq

News Corp Trying to Own All News – News Corp., parent of Fox News, has been in the limelight in recent weeks for its bid to acquire Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, the company also owns a number of small local papers in New York. On Monday, News Corp. said it would expand the reach of the Brooklyn and Queens newspaper chains it bought last September into more neighborhoods. They just bought two weekly newspapers in the Bronx, The Bronx Times and The Bronx Times Reporter, which it hopes will complement The New York Post.

How the War in Iraq Was Almost the War With China – Early in 2001, the U.S. Commission on National Security in the 21st Century,” aka the Hart-Rudman Commission, presented a report to the incoming George.W. Bush administration warning that terrorism would be the nation’s greatest national security problem, and saying that unless the United States took proper protective measures a terrorist attack was likely within its borders. The commission headed by former Senators Gary Hart (Democrat, Colorado) and Warren Rudman (Republican, New Hampshire), included other former legislators, Executive Branch officials, military leaders and representatives from business, academia and the news media. According to Gary Hart, neither the president nor the vice president nor any other senior official from the new administration took time to meet with the commission members or hear about their findings. Hart says that in the first few meetings, commission members would go around the room and volunteer their ideas about the nation’s greatest vulnerabilities, most urgent needs, and so on. At the first meeting, one woman on the commission said that the overwhelming threat was from China. Sooner or later the U.S. would end up in a military showdown with the Chinese Communists. There was no avoiding it, and we would only make ourselves weaker by waiting. No one else spoke up in her support. The same thing happened at the second meeting — discussion from other commissioners about terrorism, nuclear proliferation, anarchy of failed states, etc, and then this one woman warning about the looming Chinese menace. And the third meeting too. Perhaps more. Finally, in frustration, this woman left the commission.

“Her name was Lynne Cheney,” Hart said. “I am convinced that if it had not been for 9/11, we would be in a military showdown with China today.” Not because of what China was doing, threatening, or intending, he made clear, but because of the assumptions the Administration brought with it when taking office. (There are relatively few complaints from China about the Iraq war. They know that it got the U.S. off China’s back!) Lee Hamilton, who had also been on the commission, was sitting at the same lunch table and backed up Hart’s story.

Bush Pardons Cheney – At Fourth of July picnic, Cheney belches after eating hot dog and says, “Pardon me.’ Bush replies, “OK.” Sign the petition to impeach Cheney.

Regards,

Jim

U.S. Law Enforcement Received Intelligence Two Weeks Ago Warning of Terror Attacks Against the Glasgow Airport, But Did Not Pass It to Scotland – U.S. law enforcement officials received intelligence reports two weeks ago warning of terror attacks in Glasgow and Prague, the Czech Republic, against “airport infrastructure and aircraft.” The warnings apparently never reached officials in Scotland, who said this weekend they had received “no advance intelligence” that Glasgow might be a target.

Compare How the UK Responds to a Terror Attempt vs. How it Portrayed in the US – Let’s call it the UK department of calm heads vs. the US department of headless chickens. First of all, notice that they treat it as a criminal act, with police making arrests. Further, no doomsday hype.

Compare These Stories: Democratic Debate – Few errors, lots of dreaming Republican Debate – Candidates Miscast Some Facts and Get Others Flat Wrong Fact – Check checks the facts on the third round of Democratic and Republican debates and finds most of the factual claims from Democratic candidates were accurate, or reasonably close; but as for Republicans – “All we can do is remind you not to believe everything you hear.”

Conservative Bloggers Try to Link Michael Moore to UK Terror Attempts – In reaction to the terrorist attack on the Glasgow airport in Scotland and seemingly related attempts in London, several conservative bloggers attempted to draw a connection between filmmaker Michael Moore and his film Sicko with the bombers, two of whom appeared to be doctors. One writer, Mark Steyn, who contributes to the National Review Online’s Corner blog, posted an e-mail he received in order to identify the connection between Moore’s Sicko and the British terrorists.

“‘Would these be Doctors who work for the U.K. health care system so lavishly praised by Michael Moore? …Perhaps they are not Jihadists at all but simply men driven insane by their employer? Maybe Michael Moore has spawned an entirely new breed of suicide bomber — the alienated UK health care worker'” Steyn quotes from one e-mail, after noting “I’ve been getting more than a few letters along these lines.” Other conservative bloggers used similar non-logic.

Glenn Beck Suggests Fuel Made From the Bodies of Illegal Immigrants From Mexico – On the June 28 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Glenn Beck commented on a mock ad — produced by subscribers to his website known as “Insiders” — depicting a “giant refinery” that produces “Mexinol,” which, according to the ad, is a fuel made from the bodies of illegal immigrants from Mexico. Beck read from the ad: “At Evil Conservative Industries, we know four things for certain. The country needs cheap, alternative fuel source. Two, the human body is 18 percent carbon. Three, carbons can be turned into hydrocarbons. Four, we have a buttload of illegal aliens in our country.” Beck continued to read from the ad: “Evil Conservative Industries is proud to present the fuel of the future, Mexinol. A clean-burning, cheap alternative to gasoline, Mexinol’s future seems unlimited in its potential. There are other gasoline alternatives available such as ethanol. However, Mexinol has certain advantages from corn. Corn has to be grown, harvested, and processed. With Mexinol, raw materials come to you in a seemingly never-ending stream. Go ahead and purchase that boat-sized SUV. There’s plenty of Mexinol for everyone.”

Bill O’Reilly Says People Without Health Insurance are Irresponsible and If You Like Universal Health Care Then You’re into Socialism

Pentagon Hides Piles of IED-Shredded Humvees From Public -On American military bases all across Iraq, the shredded wreckage of scores of humvees damaged by IEDs and other explosive devices lie under tarps, hidden from public view. Much like the coffins of soldiers killed in the line of duty, the Pentagon refuses to allow images of the physical toll of battle to be seen by the public.

Bad Deeds in Cartoon Form

And then there is me.

I don’t see a problem

Distruction of human life

Regards,

Jim

Key Presidential Aides Were Often Intentionally Kept Out of the Loop by Vice President Cheney on Important Decisions – For example, President Bush’s decision to try detainees in military commissions and strip them of their due process rights was not conveyed to Secretary of State Colin Powell:

“What the hell just happened?” Secretary of State Colin L. Powell demanded, a witness said, when CNN announced the order about military commissions that evening, Nov. 13, 2001.

In addition, the Post reported that a Cheney-commissioned Justice Department memo that advocated the legal justification for torture was kept out of Powell’s sight:

On June 8, 2004, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell learned of the two-year-old torture memo for the first time from an article in The Washington Post.

Last night (6-28), in an interview with Larry King, Powell criticized Cheney, saying, “[He] sometimes went directly to the president and the rest of us weren’t aware of what advice he was giving.” He also chastised the White House’s manner of doing business. “It was not a system where we routinely exposed all points of view,” he said.

Vice President Cheney Killed 70,000 Salmon , But Didn’t Shoot Them in the Face – personally contacted the Interior Department official in charge of the program to push for more irrigation water be delivered from the river to drought-stricken farmers and ranchers. Environmentalists and officials in California and Washington blame the federal policy, which critics say violated the Endangered Species Act, was responsible for the deaths of 70,000 salmon, whose corpses lined the banks of the river. The Post said the plan was enacted “because of Cheney’s intervention.”

Cheney Makes Up His Own Security Classified Document Designation -He calls it “Treated as Top Secret/SCI.” So it’s not really top secret, but Cheney treats it like it is. In other words, he doesn’t want you and I to know.

Enough Bad Deeds for the Unspeakable? -Seems to way outnumber Nixon’s. And maybe this is just scratching the surface.

Award of Noncompetitive Contracts Is Accelerating Dangerously – Last year’s congressional report on federal spending found that no-bid contracts and other forms of contracts awarded without full and open competition had risen from $67.5 billion in 2000 to $145.1 billion in 2005. This year’s report finds that spending on these no-bid and limited-competition contracts surged over $60 billion to $206.9 billion in 2006, the largest single-year increase ever. The value of federal contracts awarded without full and open competition has more than tripled since 2000. For the first time on record, more than half of federal procurement spending was awarded through no-bid and limited-competition contracts in 2006.

Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Continue to Soar – Last year’s report identified 118 contracts valued at $745.5 billion that had been found by government auditors to involve significant waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement. This year’s report identifies 189 contracts valued at $1.1 trillion that have been plagued by waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement. In the case of each of these 187 contracts, reports from the Government Accountability Office, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, agency inspectors general, or other independent federal oversight officials have documented significant overcharges, wasteful spending, or mismanagement over the last six years.

Bush Has Filled 105 Positions with Recess Appointments – As of June 4, President Bush has filled 105 positions with recess appointments during his terms as presidents. During President Clinton’s time in office, he had only filled 42 positions with recess appointments.

Bush Administration Communications Strategist Dan Bartlett Says Donald Rumsfeld Lied About “Mission Accomplished” – Donald Rumsfeld, claimed he took the phrase “mission accomplished” out of a draft of President Bush’s speech:

“I took ‘Mission Accomplished’ out,” Rumsfeld said. “I was in Baghdad and I was given a draft of that thing and I just died. And I said, it’s too inclusive. And I fixed it and sent it back. They fixed the speech but not the sign.”

But Dan Bartlett says Rumsfeld is lying.

“There was a comment Rumsfeld made in one of those books where he claimed that he took the phrase mission accomplished out of the speech itself but that he couldn’t get the banner pulled down. That’s just wrong. I went back and looked at every draft of the speech. That phrase was never in it.”

Both of these guys do agree it was the Bush Administration signed off on and printed up the “Mission Accomplished” banner, but remember when Press Secretary Scott McClellan proclaimed it was all the sailor’s idea?

Rudy Giuliani Blames President Clinton for the Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks – Giuliani said that Clinton treated the 1993 World Trade Center bombing “as a criminal act instead of a terrorist attack which “emboldened other strikes” on U.S. targets. According to Giuliani, “The United States government, then President Clinton, did not respond.” Giuliani himself knows this attack on Clinton is false. Just last year, before he became a presidential candidate, Giuliani said, “The idea of trying to cast blame on Clinton [for the 9/11 attacks] is just wrong for many, many reasons, not the least of which is I don’t think he deserves it.”

Mitt Romney Strapped Family Dog to Roof of Car – Republican presidential candidate former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., has angered animal rights activists for strapping his dog to the roof of his car on a family trip from Boston to Ontario, Canada. According to the Boston Globe, in one of the family’s 12-hour drives to their family’s cottage in Canada over 25 years ago, Romney strapped a dog carrier to the roof of the car for the whole trip — with the family Irish setter, Seamus, inside. He probably got the idea from one of those Chevy Chase Vacation movies. Seamus protested in a scatological way, going to the bathroom on the roof of the car.

How Dick Cheney Dodged the Vietnam Draft – Elizabeth Cheney’s birth date falls precisely nine months and two days after the Selective Service publicly announced its policy to start drafting childless husbands. This would seem to indicate that the Cheneys, though doubtless planning to have children sometime, were seized with an untamable passion the moment Dick Cheney became vulnerable to the Vietnam draft.

Regards,

Jim