Tracking the Growth of American Authoritarianism

“Can There Really Be Fascist People In A Democracy?”
Libertarians are stealthily taking over America.

Since the 1971 Powell Memo, America has moved closer and closer to Fascism.

 

Bad Deeds for 2-14-07

U.S. Election Assistance Commission Chair, Donetta Davidson, Knew About Problems of Voting Machine Test Labs But Kept Quiet – Bush-Appointed Chair Found Near Center of the Growing Scandal/Cover-Up Which Even Included a Stealth Attack on Election Integrity Advocate John Gideon. The EAC’s current Chair, Donetta Davidson, seems to have a long, storied and increasingly well-documented history of silence concerning electronic voting machine test laboratory problems and has been an active partner with EAC Executive Director Tom Wilkey in keeping the public uninformed about failures in the secret test labs. Wilkey is at the center of the controversy surrounding a failure to disclose to both the public and election officials around the nation that CIBER, Inc, the country’s largest so-called “Independent Test Authority” (ITA), was banned last summer from further testing of voting machines. Wilkey kept test lab problems hidden from public scrutiny for years in his earlier duties at the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) where he was in charge of monitoring and qualifying the labs. Davidson is now Wilkey’s boss at the EAC where she landed after serving as Colorado’s Secretary of State since 1999 where she was later tied to significant failures by that state in properly certifying electronic voting systems.

Veterans face consecutive budget cuts – The Bush administration plans to cut funding for veterans’ health care two years from now — even as badly wounded troops returning from could overwhelm the system. Bush is using the cuts, critics say, to help fulfill his pledge to balance the budget by 2012. After an increase sought for next year, the Bush budget would turn current trends on their head. Even though the cost of providing medical care to veterans has been growing rapidly — by more than 10 percent in many years — White House budget documents assume consecutive cutbacks in 2009 and 2010 and a freeze thereafter. The proposed cuts are unrealistic in light of recent VA budget trends — its medical care budget has risen every year for two decades and 83 percent in the six years since Bush took office — sowing suspicion that the White House is simply making them up to make its long-term deficit figures look better.

Foggo And Wilkes Indictments About To Come Down In San Diego Despite Bush Regime’s Efforts To Derail Investigation – With two key GOP operatives in the Republican Culture of Corruption, Brent Wilkes and Kyle Dusty Foggo about to be indicted extreme paranoia is sweeping the Republican congressional caucus. At least two dozen GOP congressmen were on the receiving end of goodies from these two. If either turns state’s evidence, you will see crooked congressmen like Virgil Goode, Jr., Jerry Lewis, Duncan Hunter, John Doolittle and many more joining their pals Cunningham and Ney in prison. Think of this as a farewell gift from Carol Lam, the Republican prosecutor fired by the Bush Regime– without cause in order to derail the investigation which had already nailed Cunningham and is close to ending the political careers of at least 4 California Republican congressmen.

From the Wonderful Folks Who Brought You Iraq – By now, the story of how neoconservatives hijacked American foreign policy is a familiar one. With Vice President Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld leading the way, neocons working out of the office of the vice president and the Department of Defense orchestrated a spectacular disinformation operation, asserting that Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction posed a grave and immediate threat to the U.S. Veteran analysts who disagreed were circumvented. Dubious information from known fabricators was hyped. Forged documents showing phony yellowcake-uranium sales to Iraq were promoted. What’s less understood is that the same tactics have been in play with Iran. Once again, neocon ideologues have been flogging questionable intelligence about W.M.D. Once again, dubious Middle East exile groups are making the rounds in Washington—this time urging regime change in Syria and Iran. Once again, heroic new exile leaders are promising freedom.

William Donohue Smear of Edwards May Violate 501(c)(3) Laws – William Donohue, President of the Catholic League, may have broken the law by attempting to intervene in a political campaign. Donohue appears to be using the Catholic League to campaign against John Edwards bid for the 2008 Democratic nomination for President. Beyond Donahue’s appearances on broadcast media, during which he has spoken out against the John Edwards campaign, Donahue used the Catholic League’s 501(c)(3) non-profit status website to publish the following articles that included explicit attempts to intervene in a political campaign:

Edwards Blogger Strikes Again: They Must Be Fired Now!
Newsweek Lies About John Edwards
Look What John Edwards Has Done
John Edwards Tolerates Anti-Catholicism
Barbara Walters-House Mom To Bigots
John Edwards Hires Two Anti-Catholics
CBS Stifles Free Speech; Promotes Anti-Catholicism
Democrats Haven’t Changed On Life Issues

Bill O’Reilly Chalks Off John Edwards – Bill O’Reilly proudly put another notch in his belt declaring John Edwards finished. Calling Edwards “arrogant” for standing by the two bloggers working on his campaign, he claimed that Edwards only did something after ” critical mass” had been reached and by then “it was too late”. From his throne at the center of the universe, O’Reilly patted himself on the back for the recent Edwards hit job until his guest, Jane Fleming, offered some perspective.

O’Reilly announced in his Talking Points that ” within minutes” of his talking points, Amanda Marcott resigned and soon after Melissa McEwen was ” shown the door”. O’Reilly added that he gave Edwards a chance to set the record straight but Edwards response was a ” middle digit”.

Jane Fleming supported Edwards for showing leadership by not folding under pressure and held William Donahue responsible for the smear campaign. She added that the two women had been harrassed and threatened. O’Reilly couldn’t have cared less making a nasty comment about them being ” victims”.

Of course, Bill O’Reilly had no intention of humanizing Marcotte and McEwen who he portrayed as vicious bigots. Here is Amanda Marcotte’s announcement of leaving the Edward’s campaign posted on Pandagon

Fleming tried to expose Donahue but BOR pretending he was protecting Donahue sounded like he just wanted all the credit. ” He only fired them when we got involved” However, neither Marcotte or McEwen were fired. Here is Mellissa McEwen’s statement about leaving the Edwards campaign posted on her blog Shakespeare’s Sister.

Comment: Bill O’Reilly may think he’s won some sort of victory but he’s wrong. Bill O’Reilly and his vicious hate squad only look uglier now if that’s possible.

The Fox TV Show ’24’ is Hurting Our Troops. Who Says So? A U.S. Army General – The United States Military Academy at West Point yesterday confirmed that Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan recently travelled to California to meet producers of the show ’24’, broadcast on the Fox channel. He told them that promoting illegal behaviour in the series – apparently hugely popular among the US military – was having a damaging effect on young troops. According to the New Yorker magazine, Gen Finnegan, who teaches a course on the laws of war, said of the producers: “I’d like them to stop. They should do a show where torture backfires… The kids see it and say, ‘If torture is wrong, what about 24’? “The disturbing thing is that although torture may cause Jack Bauer some angst, it is always the patriotic thing to do.”

Troop Surge to Take Place Without Proper Equipment – U.S. Army units in Iraq and Afghanistan lack more than 4,000 of the latest Humvee armor kit, known as FRAG Kit 5, according to U.S. officials. The Army has ramped up production of the armor, giving priority to troops in Baghdad, but the upgrade is not scheduled to be completed until this summer, Army officials said. That is well into the timeline for major operations launched last week to quell violence by Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias, which the U.S. military now views as the top security threat in Iraq.

Regards,

Jim

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We’re Right Because We’re Paid, Therefore Those We Pay Must Also Be Right – AEI Tries to Justify Bribing Writers.

AEI’s “uber-hawk“, resident fellow and former speech writer for President G. W. Bush, David Frum, takes issue with Market Place’s review of AEI’s offering to pay $10,000 for writers to poke holes in global warming and it’s causes. Here is part of what he had to say on today’s Market Place about what AEI was doing:

Think tanks, like all nonprofit institutions, raise their money from foundations, corporations and individuals. The funding flows only if the work is rigorous, accurate, and useful.

Of course we have views. Strong ones. But it’s the evidence and integrity behind those views that gains audience.

What arrogance. If people pay us and we yell load enough, we must be right?

Would Stephen Colbert agree that “rigorous, accurate, and useful” and “evidence and integrity” could be classified as “truthiness?” Maybe all of AEI’s papers should be summarized on Wikiality.com? Or maybe they are just practicing what Leo Strauss preaches – Noble Lies.

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Bad Deeds for 2-12-07

A bill introduced last week by Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) would require Internet Service Providers to record all users’ surfing activity, text messages and email traffic indefinitely

The bill, dubbed the Safety Act by sponsor Lamar Smith, a republican congressman from Texas (San Antonio and Austin areas), would impose fines and a prison term of one year on ISPs which failed to keep full records. Under the guise of reducing child pornography, the SAFETY (Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today’s Youth Act) Act <> is currently the gravest threat to digital privacy rights on the Internet. Given the fact that the Act requires all Internet Service Providers to record the web surfing activity of all Internet users, this amounts to the warrantless wiretapping of the entire Internet.

Please contact any or all of the people and organizations listed below. Let them know that the SAFETY ACT, as it is written, is not acceptable.

Sponsor:

Rep. Lamar Smith, web form, 202-225-4236
Cosponsors:
Rep. Steve Chabot, (202) 225-2216
Rep. Tom Feeney, (202) 225-2706
Rep. J. Randy Forbes, (202) 225-6365
Rep. Trent Franks, (202) 225-4576
Rep. Elton Gallegly, (202) 225-5811
Rep. Dan Lungren, (202) 225-5716
Rep. Mike Pence, (202) 225-3021
House Judiciary Committee Chair:
Rep. John Conyers, (202) 225-5126
More

Republicans file bills in Austin to shoot first, retreat later in self-defense – Sen. Jeff Wentworth of San Antonio and Rep. Joe Driver of Garland have sponsored bills to have Texas join more than a dozen states with the so-called “Castle Doctrine,” a sort of shoot-first, retreat-later approach to defending hearth, home, truck and business. Legal experts wonder if they change is really needed. Jerry Dowling, a criminal justice professor at Sam Houston State University, said state law already protects self-defense of life and property, particularly in one’s home, or castle. [Republicans think the Bible says, “An eye for a eye, your life for my truck.”

Conservative pundit Mike Gallagher admits that he views terrorism not so much as a tragedy but as a campaign commercial for the Republicans – Gallagher said, “Seeing Jane Fonda Saturday was enough to make me wish the unthinkable: it will take another terror attack on American soil in order to render these left-leaning crazies irrelevant again. Remember how quiet they were after 9/11? No one dared take them seriously. It was the United States against the terrorist world, just like it should be.”

That’s some insight into the wingnut mind where they imagine 9/11 as a good thing, not just because you could buy crying eagle T-shirts and commemorative plates, but because it shut all those liberals with their facts and inconvenient truths up.

Nightline host Terry Moran says there is a deep anti-military bias in the mediaMoran, co-anchor of ABC’s Nightline, said, “There is, Hugh, I agree with you, a deep anti-military bias in the media. One that begins from the premise that the military must be lying, and that American projection of power around the world must be wrong. I think that that is a hangover from Vietnam, and I think it’s very dangerous.” [Isn’t “projection of power” the same as bullying? – JLV]

Former Undersecretary of Defense Says Faulty Pre-War Intel Was ‘Good Government’ – Douglas J. Feith, the former Undersecretary of Defense whose Office of Special Plans was recently accused of pushing highly suspect pre-war intelligence to bolster the White House’s case for invasion, yesterday appeared on Fox News to defend his findings as “good government”. The Pentagon’s inspector general wrote last week that the claims of Iraq-terror ties were so unsupported that Feith, while not acting illegally, acted inappropriately by creating “alternative intelligence assessments on the Iraq and al-Qaida relationship.” and that Feith’s office discredited or bypassed any officials who might disagree with or undermine the findings.

John McCain Taps Cash He Sought To Limit – In his early efforts to secure the support of the Republican establishment he has frequently bucked, John McCain has embraced some of the same political-money figures, forces and tactics he pilloried during a 15-year crusade to reduce the influence of big donors, fundraisers and lobbyists in elections. That includes enlisting the support of Washington lobbyists as well as key players in the fundraising machine that helped President Bush defeat McCain in the 2000 Republican primaries.

Texas Water Development Board Ignores Effects of Global Warming – Statements saying that Texas doesn’t need to plan for global warming, written into the 2007 State Water Plan approved by the Texas Water Development Board ,whose members are appointed by the Governor, have puzzled some of the top climate scientists in Texas who expect increasing evaporation but not additional rainfall as temperatures warm. Commenting on the board’s lack of action, Gerald North, distinguished professor of geosciences at Texas A&M University, said, “It is very hard to distinguish between ignorance and political motivation, but both hypotheses fit the data.”

Regards,

Jim

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Bad Deeds for 2-9-07

Friendswood City Councilman Chris Peden Says English is the Official Language of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) – Voicing his support to make English the official language of Friendswood, Councilman Chris Peden said, “I just find it hypocritical of an organization like LULAC to criticize us and threaten us with legal action for putting this in our charter, when part of their constitution has an article that refers to English as the official language of LULAC,” However, what LULAC’s constitution and bylaws states, under Aims and Purposes, Article III, Section 2 is: “To foster the learning and fluent use of the English language that we may thereby equip ourselves and our families for the fullest enjoyment of our rights and privileges and the efficient discharge of our duties and responsibilities to our country, but at the same time, exerting equal effort to foster the fluent mastery of the Spanish language which is part of our heritage and a means of extending the cultural horizons of our nation”

Bill O’Reilly Attacks Houston Chronicle For Honoring Soldiers Killed In Iraq – O’Reilly bashed the Houston Chronicle tonight for writing a moving article about the importance of honoring the soldiers killed in Iraq. The Houston Chronicle article respectively suggested that we should be allowed to see the flag draped coffins returning from Iraq.

Fox News and other Conservatives spread false story about Nancy Pelosi’s aircraft – Fox News’ John Gibson, Brian Wilson and Sean Hannity continued to play up falsehoods about Nancy Pelosi’s aircraft complete with unsubstantiated rumor and GOP talking points. CNN Headline News’ Glenn Beck did the same. But Thursday, Bill Livingood, the House sergeant at arms, said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not request a larger plane for personal use to travel cross-country without stopping. Livingood said the request was his, and he made it for security reasons. “The fact that Speaker Pelosi lives in California compelled me to request an aircraft that is capable of making non-stop flights for security purposes, unless such an aircraft is unavailable,” Livingood, who has been at his post for 11 years, said in a written statement.

Fox News, Tucker Calrson (on MSNBC), and Matt Druge Make Up Stuff About Oregon’s Democratic Governor – The right wing has resorted to distorting the facts and spreading misinformation by falsely claiming that Oregon’s governor is going to fire the state’s climatologist. George Taylor, who has suggested that natural variations, not human-induced greenhouse gases, are to blame for the Earth’s recent warming, says that he is Oregon’s State Climatologist. However:

1) Taylor is not the “state climatologist.” Oregon abolished the position in 1989. He was bestowed the title by Oregon State University, not by Gov. Kulongoski or the state of Oregon.

2) Taylor is not a “climatologist.” Taylor is a meteorologist. He does not possess a PhD or have a background in climatology.

3) He will not be fired. Taylor will not lose his job or income, which comes from Oregon State University. He will merely be stripped of his title, which he never earned but claims to retain. Gov. Kulongoski has the right to appoint a climatologist who is an expert in the field and adheres to the state’s climate policies.

World ‘losing battle against extinctions’ – Dr Peter Raven, says the rich world in particular is not confronting the extinction crisis. He believes we know scarcely 15% of animal and plant species alive today. And most of those we are driving to extinction will vanish without us ever having known they were here.

Over the last half-century, Dr Raven said, drastic human changes to the Earth included:

  • about a fifth of arable land lost to over-fertilization, deserts and urban sprawl
  • roughly a third of the forests cut down and not replaced
  • atmospheric carbon dioxide increasing by a sixth, contributing to climate change
  • the loss of 6-8% of the Earth’s protective ozone layer.
  • Lieberman’s Demagoguery or What It Means to Support the Troops

    Regards,

    Jim

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    Bad Deeds for 2-8-07

    US Refuses to Sign Accord on Secret Detentions – Representatives from 57 countries on Tuesday signed a long-negotiated treaty prohibiting the arrest, detention or kidnapping of a person by state agents or affiliates and subsequent denials about the detention or location of the individual. The United States refused to endorse the document, saying its text did not meet U.S. expectations.

    The 25 Most Corrupt Officials of the Bush Administration

    Bush administration Cuts AmeriCorps by $25 Million – AmeriCorps, which began in the early 1990s as a way to tap into and stimulate interest in community service, is attracting more people per year (roughly 75,000, nearly a fourth of whom are college students) than ever before. Yet the federal funding picture doesn’t appear as rosy. The Bush administration’s fiscal 2008 budget would allocate about $480 million to AmeriCorps programs — more than $25 million less than what’s called for in the 2007 spending plan that Democratic Congressional leaders have crafted and significantly less than the fiscal 2006 enacted total.

    How the US sent $12 Billion in cash to Iraq and watched it vanish – The US flew nearly $12 billion in shrink-wrapped $100 bills into Iraq, then distributed the cash with no proper control over who was receiving it and how it was being spent. “One CPA official described an environment awash in $100 bills,” the memorandum says. “One contractor received a $2 million payment in a duffel bag stuffed with shrink-wrapped bundles of currency. Auditors discovered that the key to a vault was kept in an unsecured backpack. “They also found that $774,300 in cash had been stolen from one division’s vault. Cash payments were made from the back of a pickup truck, and cash was stored in unguarded sacks in Iraqi ministry offices.

    George W. Bush is trying—yet again—to slash funding for NPR and PBS. This week, Bush proposed a new budget with devastating cuts to public broadcasting.1 “Sesame Street” and other ad-free kids’ shows are under the knife. So is the independent journalism our country needs.

    Enough is enough. We’ve fought this fight before and won—but we can’t afford the risk anymore. With the new Congress, we can make sure this never happens again. We need Congress to insulate NPR and PBS from the political winds.

    We can make it happen if enough of us sign this petition: “Congress must save NPR and PBS once and for all. Congress should guarantee permanent funding and independence from partisan meddling.” Clicking here will add your name to the petition:

    Regards,

    Jim

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    The “Shrub” Has Proposed Drastic Budget Cuts to NPR and PBS

    President Bush just proposed drastic cuts to NPR and PBS. Previous attempts have been stopped, but enough is enough: With the new Congress, we can make sure this never happens again.

    We need Congress to save NPR and PBS once and for all.

    Can you help out by signing this petition to Congress?

    Here are my personal comments on the situation:

    NPR radio is my main source of in depth news and I’ve been a member for many years.  Last year I made my biggest contribution ever.   But membership contributions only account for a small number of the listeners who take advantage of NPR and those of us who do pay our way.   

    What little the government adds to the funding pool doesn’t even come close to making up for the freeloaders.   But since these freeloaders pay taxes, some of those taxes should go to fund NPR and PBS.

    Posted in Media-Info Control   |   2 Comments   |  

    Bad Deeds from Glenn Beck

    BECK: “I don`t have a lot of African-American friends, and I think part of it is because I`m afraid that I would be in an open conversation, and I would say something that somebody would take wrong, and then it would be a nightmare. Am I alone in feeling that?”

    Let me translate. Glenn Beck just said that he doesn’t have many black friends because he is scared of saying something racist that would create a “nightmare”. (But he implies hat it would be the black person’s fault because he took it wrong.) In other words, Beck is so scared that his racism will reveal itself, and that something bad will happen as a result, that he makes a point of not having many black friends.

    What else has Glenn Beck said?

    Beck asked the first Muslim-American member of the US Congress to prove he wasn’t working with terrorists simply because he’s a Muslim-American.

    Beck fantasized, on the air, about assassinating filmmaker Michael Moore

    Beck said he “hates” the families of the victims of September 11: “I didn’t think I could hate victims faster than the 9-11 victims…. when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I’m just like, ‘Oh shut up!’ I’m so sick of them because they’re always complaining.”

    Beck called the residents of New Orleans who stayed behind during Hurricane Katrina “scumbags.”– He also said the following about the Katrina victims forced to relocate to the Houston Astrodome: “[When I saw these people and they had to shut down the Astrodome and lock it down, I thought: I didn’t think I could hate victims faster than the 9-11 victims.”

    Beck compared former President Jimmy Carter to David Duke, the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, suggesting that Carter believed in Holocaust denial theories, when he most certainly does not.

    Beck compared US Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to Adolph Hitler, suggesting that her health care proposal is akin to Hitler’s plan to euthanize babies and the elderly.

    What can I do about Glenn Beck?

    First, contact the companies who are financing Glenn Beck’s hate speech by advertising on his show. They include Office Depot , and Welch’s. Tell them that you do not appreciate them associating their brand with people who preach hate.

    Next, contact CNN. Tell them that you are outraged that they would provide a microphone to someone broadcasting hate speech against entire classes of American citizens. And before CNN responds that this is simply “an opinion show,” ask them if they’d give David Duke “an opinion show” to rail against blacks and Jews? Unlikely. When you contact the advertisers and CNN, make sure to be cordial, and not to use any foul language or any insults. Simply be professional, and they will listen.

    Regards,

    Jim

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    Bad Deeds for 2-7-07

    Republican Congressman Chose Golf Over Legislating – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) missed 19 House votes over four days in order to play in a ‘Pro-Am’ charity golf game.

    Army made video warning about dangers of depleted uranium but never showed it to troops – Depleted uranium — or DU — was used in the Gulf War as a projectile that could penetrate tank armor. A group of soldiers are suing the US government because they are sick from exposure; despite the unshown video, the Army denies that depleted uranium represents a serious health risk. A special investigation on the effects of depleted uranium reveals the Army made a tape warning of the effects of depleted uranium which was never shown to troops despite the fact the Pentagon knew the agent to be potentially deadly.

    Three Army Reserve officers and a U.S. contractor in bid-rigging scam in Iraq

    O’Reilly And Beck Agree: We’re ‘Afraid’ To Have ‘A Lot Of African-American Friends’ – Bill O’Reilly said blacks should “feel sorry for us white folks here, because I’m telling you now I’m afraid to say anything. … White Americans are terrified.” CNN’s Glenn Beck hosted a similar discussion last night, during which he said, “I don’t have a lot of African-American friends, and I think part of it is because I’m afraid that I would be in an open conversation, and I would say something that somebody would take wrong, and then it would be a nightmare.”

    Iraq Administrator Paul Bremer Paid “Ghost Employees” To Avoid “Real Trouble” – Paul Bremer told members of Congress today that he was aware that nonexistent “ghost employees” were on America’s payroll when he was administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq in 2003 and 2004.

    Cheney’s Son-In-Law Delayed Investigations of Homeland Security Department – The Department of Homeland Security refuses to cooperate on oversight activities, according to testimony offered today by GAO Comptroller General David Walker and Homeland Security Inspector General Richard Skinner. The investigators highlighted the role of Philip Perry — Chief Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security and Vice President Cheney’s son-in-law as the major stumbling block in their investigations.

    Regards,

    Jim

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    Bad Deeds for 2-6-07

    Former Republican Representative Katherine Harris (FL) is still parking her car in a Congressional building

    Convicted terrorist serves in Iraq parliament – A member of the new Iraqi Parliament was convicted in 1984 by Kuwaiti authorities of having bombed the US Embassy in that country in 1983. The Kuwaiti government has sentenced him to death for the attack. Jamal Jaffar Mohammmed has also been accused by US authorities of being a “conduit” for Iranian influence and weapons smuggling in Iraq after serving in the Iranian military. His membership in the Parliament grants him immunity from prosecution for assisting Shi’a insurgents. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki says that there is little that his government can do, as it is a parliamentary matter.

    Two reports on the same item; I report, you decide

    The New York Times version: “Republicans on Monday blocked Senate debate on a bipartisan resolution opposing President Bush’s troop buildup in Iraq, leaving in doubt whether the Senate would render a judgment on what lawmakers of both parties described as the paramount issue of the day.”

    The Fox News version: “The Senate’s Democratic majority failed Monday to shut off debate on a non-binding resolution that “disagrees” with President Bush’s troop surge in Iraq, throwing debate on the policy into limbo and depriving Democrats of a bipartisan rebuke of the White House.”

    Bush signed an executive order making the papers in his future library more secret – Weeks after 9/11, President Bush signed an executive order giving presidents and former presidents much more control over their records — and extended that right to a family member when a former president dies. While there have been periodic disputes over how much control presidents should have over their papers, the Bush order goes beyond the control asserted by any president since Nixon (whose efforts to control his papers led to various laws to promote access). Also, a policy institute is to be affiliated with the library that would have as its mission promoting the Bush philosophy. Such an institute, with an explicitly ideological identity and reporting to the president’s foundation instead of to the university, runs counter to academic values

    Bush Budget Doesn’t Include Escalation Cost – The Bush administration’s war budget for next year doesn’t allow for the cost of the planned troop buildup in Iraq, a decision clearly intended to bolster White House claims that the escalation is short-term. However, Defense officials conceded yesterday that the omission assumes Iraq’s security situation will improve drastically in the near future; referring to that assumption, the Pentagon’s budget director said, “I think we know that it will be wrong”.

    Regards,

    Jim

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    Bad Deeds for 2-5-07

    Fox News Parent Company CEO Rupert Murdoch Confesses To Propaganda On Iraq – News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch was part of a panel at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday. Asked if his News Corp. (parent of Fox News) managed to shape the agenda on the war in Iraq, Murdoch said: “No, I don’t think so. We tried.” Asked by panel moderator Charlie Rose for further comment, he said, “We basically supported the Bush policy in the Middle East…”

    Good Deed ! – Conservative Republican Tells Truth! – Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey says DeLay is a bad person, Bush is a failure. From an interview with McClatchy Newspapers:

    Q. Did Tom DeLay become a liability to the party?
    A. Oh yeah. I’m amazed at the number of people who tell me this. I have my own understandings and feelings about Tom DeLay. . . . I don’t believe he’s a good person and I don’t believe he is a person who should have been in public office.

    Q. Why don’t you like him?
    A. I don’t like sneaky, conniving people. I don’t like people who get behind closed doors and contrive against other people. (He) has had — what’s the word I want? — an aggressive tendency to create the opportunity to do back-door, behind-the-door, closed-door, dark-room contrivances against people. I just consider that unacceptable.

    Q. Did he do that in redistricting? (DeLay pressured the Texas legislature to redraw congressional boundaries to favor Republican members of Congress.)

    A. What Tom Delay did in redistricting was more correct than it was improper. … Poor old Tom. He could even make doing the right thing look ugly in how he did it.

    Q. Is George W. Bush a failed president?
    A. I’ve said over the years that every president either ends up a pleasant surprise or a bitter disappointment. And we haven’t had a pleasant surprise since Ronald Reagan. I don’t see how anybody can look at the Bush presidency and say this was a success in public policy terms.

    Q. Your views on the Iraq war?
    A. I’m not sure that it was the right thing to do. You might say removing Saddam from power was a right thing to do. Maybe it was, but was that necessarily then our responsibility to do that? And was it our responsibility to do that by invading a country that had in no way declared any war on us?

    OK, back to the bad deeds …
    More Fox News Bashing Democrats
    From the “Cavuto on Business” show, 2/3/07:

    Neil Cavuto: “My own FOX on the Spot. Al Gore. He’s already been nominated for the Nobel Prize. I think he’s going to get it, not because he’s into global warming, but because he’s into bashing the President and they love that stuff in Sweden. Ben, what do you think of that?” –

    Ben Stein: “I’m not a big fan of Al Gore. I really think he should be a subject for testing of mental disease drugs.”
    (Have you written letters to the sponsors telling them how you feel?)

    Iraq War Spurs Most Refugees Since 1948 – Nearly 2 million Iraqis — about 8 percent of the prewar population — have embarked on a desperate migration

    McCain Hiring People He Called “Over The Line” In 2000

    Civil rights-era killers escape justice – Despite high-profile convictions in the past two decades, most killers from the civil rights era will go unpunished. Many of the murder cases from 1954 to 1968, the years that bracket the height of the civil rights movement, were not investigated or given cursory attention, leaving authorities little to work with today.

    The I.R.S. commissioner said the government could recover between $50 billion and $100 billion in unpaid taxes, but just like in Iraq, the Bush Administration comes up with their own figures

    And just for fun

    Regards,

    Jim

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