We are lawyers in the United States of America. As such, we have all taken an oath obligating us to defend the Constitution and the rule of law…. We believe the Bush administration has committed numerous offenses against the Constitution and may have violated federal laws…. Moreover, the administration has blatantly defied congressional subpoenas, obstructing constitutional oversight …. Thus, we call on House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers and Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy to launch hearings into the possibility that crimes have been committed by this administration in violation of the Constitution…. We call for the investigations to go where they must, including into the offices of the President and the Vice President. -- American Lawyers Defending the Constitution
Over one thousand lawyers – including former Governor Mario Cuomo and former Reagan administration official Bruce Fein – have signed onto the above statement demanding wide-ranging investigative hearings into unconstitutional and potentially criminal activity by the Bush administration.
In a conference call with reporters yesterday, Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights and winner of the 2007 Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship, said: "The majority of lawyers in this country understand that the Bush administration has really gone off the page of constitutional rights and off the page of fundamental rights, and is willing to push the Congress to restore those rights." Ratner said he was "dismayed" that a Democratic majority has failed "to push on key illegalities… the torture program, and now the destruction of the tapes involving the torture program; the warrantless wiretapping, the denial of habeas corpus, the secret sites/rendition program, special trials, and of course what we now know is the firing of US Attorneys scandal…. The minimal that absolutely is needed to get us back on the page of law is to have serious investigative hearings that go up the chain of command and figure out who is responsible for what."
Ratner noted that even with regard to the US attorney's investigations, where Congressional committees held Harriet Miers, Josh Bolten, and Karl Rove in contempt, leadership has failed to enforce these actions by bringing the resolutions to a vote. "Just announcing that investigations will be held and subpoenas will be issued is terribly insufficient unless Congress is willing to enforce the subpoenas by issuing contempt citations," Ratner said. "Congress has a constitutional duty to oversee the activities of the executive branch and our entire system of government is threatened when Congress simply folds before an obstinate executive. Issuing contempt citations against Bolten, Miers, and Rove should be Congress's first order of business in 2008."
Marjorie Cohn, president of the National Lawyers Guild, discussed the administration's torture program violating three US-ratified treaties and the US torture statute; the illegal War in Iraq violating the US-ratified UN Charter as a war of aggression; and Attorney General Michael Mukasey's conflict of interest in overseeing investigations into the torture program and the destruction of the CIA interrogations tapes. More on the story.
The following individuals were the original signers of the "American Lawyers Defending the Constitution" statement to the U.S. House and Senate Judiciary Committees. Except where noted, all organizations listed are for identification purposes only:
Nan Aron
President, Alliance for Justice*
Marjorie Cohn
Professor of Law
Thomas Jefferson School of Law
President, National Lawyers Guild*
Bruce Fein
Chairman
American Freedom Agenda*
Eva Paterson
President
Equal Justice Society*
Michael Ratner
President
Center for Constitutional Rights*
Vince Warren
Executive Director
Center for Constitutional Rights*
* Sponsoring organizations
Richard L. Abel
Connell Professor of Law
University of California, Los Angeles
George J. Annas
Edward Utley Professor and Chair
Department of Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights
Boston University School of Public Health, School of Law, & School of Medicine
Fran Ansley
Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus
University of Tennessee College of Law
Elvia R. Arriola
Associate Professor of Law
Northern Illinois University
Frank Askin
Professor of Law and Director, Constitutional Litigation Clinic
Rutgers Law School
Michael Avery
Professor of Law
Suffolk Law School
Past President, National Lawyers Guild
C. Edwin Baker
Nicholas F. Gallicchio Professor of Law and Professor of Communication
University of Pennsylvania Law School
Derrick Bell
Visiting Professor of Law
New York University School of Law
Barbara L. Bezdek
Professor of Law
University of Maryland School of Law
Maria Blanco
Executive Director
Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity
Berkeley School of Law, University of California
Carolyn P. Blum
Clinical Professor of Law Emeritus
Boalt Hall Law School, University of California, Berkeley
John C. Bonifaz
Founder, National Voting Rights Institute
Legal Director, Voter Action
Richard Boswell
Professor of Law
University of California, Hastings College of the Law
Cynthia Grant Bowman
Dorothea S. Clarke Professor of Law
Cornell Law School
Richard Oliver Brooks
Professor Emeritus
Vermont Law School
James Brosnahan
Trial Lawyer
Doug Cassel
Professor of Law and Director, Center for Civil and Human Rights
University of Notre Dame Law School
Erwin Chemerinsky
Alston & Bird Professor of Law and Political Science
Duke University
Kenneth D. Chestek
Clinical Associate Professor of Law
Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis
Carol Chomsky
Professor of Law
University of Minnesota Law School
Kenneth Cloke
Director, Center for Dispute Resolution
Santa Monica, CA
Luke W. Cole
Executive Director
Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment
Ruth Colker
Heck Faust Memorial Chair in Constitutional Law
Moritz College of Law
The Ohio State University
Lois Cox
Clinical Professor of Law
University of Iowa College of Law
The Honorable Mario Cuomo
Former Governor of New York
Constance de la Vega
Professor of Law and Academic Director of International Programs
University of San Francisco School of Law
Elizabeth de la Vega
Former federal prosecutor
Author, United States v. George Bush et. al
Pamela Edwards
Professor of Law
CUNY School of Law
Nancy Ehrenreich
Professor of Law
Sturm College of Law, University of Denver
Peter Erlinder
Professor of Const. Criminal Law
Wm. Mitchell College of Law
Past President, National Lawyers Guild
Anthony Paul Farley
Raymond and Ella Smith Distinguished Professor of Law
Albany Law School
Martin Flaherty
Leitner Family Professor of International Human Rights and Co-Director, Leitner Center for International Law & Justice
Fordham Law School
Sally Frank
Professor of Law
Drake University
Ann L. Iijima
Vice Dean for Academic Programs
William Mitchell College of Law
Marc Galanter
John & Rylla Bosshard Professor Emeritus of Law and South Asian Studies
University of Wisconsin Law School
Phoebe A. Haddon
Professor of Law
James Beasely School of Law, Temple University
Paul Harris
Charles Garry Professor of Law
New College Of California School of Law
Kathy Hessler
Professor of Law and Associate Director, Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Conflict and Dispute Resolution
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Steven J. Heyman
Professor of Law
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Aziz Huq
Director, Liberty and National Security Project
Brennan Center for Justice
Eileen Kaufman
Professor of Law
Touro Law Center
Co-president, Society of American Law Teachers
Kevin Keenan
Executive Director
ACLU San Diego & Imperial Counties
Walter J. Kendall, III
Professor
The John Marshall Law School
Stephen Loffredo
Professor of Law
City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law
Gregory P. Magarian
Professor of Law
Villanova University School of Law
Tayyab Mahmud
Professor of Law
Seattle University School of Law
Co-president, Society of American Law Teachers
Wendy K. Mariner
Professor of Health Law, Bioethics, and Human Rights
Boston University School of Public Health
Vanessa Merton
Professor of Law
Pace University School of Law
Margaret Montoya
Professor of Law
University of New Mexico School of Law
Jennifer Moore
Professor of Law
University of New Mexico School of Law
Odeana R. Neal
Associate Professor
University of Baltimore School of Law
Kate O'Neill
Associate Professor
University of Washington School of Law
Angela Onwuachi-Willig
Professor of Law
University of Iowa College of Law
James Gray Pope
Professor of Law
Rutgers Law School
Kevin G. Powers
Rodgers, Powers & Schwartz LLP
Boston, MA
William P. Quigley
Professor of Law
Loyola University New Orleans
Jamin Raskin
Professor of Law and Director of the Law and Government Program
Washington College of Law at American University
Arlene Rivera Finkelstein
Professor of Legal Methods and Director, Public Interest Resource Center
Widener University School of Law
Ruthann Robson
Professor of Law & University Distinguished Professor
City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law
Naomi Roht-Arriaza
Professor of Law
University of California, Hastings College of the Law
Florence Wagman Roisman
William F. Harvey Professor of Law
Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis
David Rudovsky
Senior Fellow
University of Pennsylvania Law School
Liz Ryan Cole
Professor of Law and Director, SiP/ESW
Vermont Law School
Herman Schwartz
Professor of Law
Washington College of Law at American University
Judith A. Scott
General Counsel
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Peter M. Shane
Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law and Director, Project on Law and Democratic Development
Moritz College of Law
The Ohio State University
Steven Shiffrin
Charles Frank Reavis Sr. Professor of Law
Cornell Law School
Marjorie A. Silver
Professor of Law
Touro Law Center
John Strait
Associate Professor of Law
Seattle University School of Law
Jamienne S. Studley
President
Public Advocates Inc.
Lawrence Velvel
Dean
Massachusetts School of Law
Joan Vogel
Professor of Law
Vermont Law School
Peter Weiss
President
Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy
New York, NY
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Vampire Kristol's take on Person of the Year.
Gen. David Petraeus, Man of the Year — Time magazine got it wrong. — I remember the excitement. It was the week before Christmas a year ago, and I had lazily picked up my copy of Time magazine. And there it was: Time's Person of the Year for 2006 is “You." — Wow!
McRove lands a book deal.
Thinkprogress:
After a three-week bidding period, Karl Rove has signed a deal with conservative Mary Matalin’s publishing imprint, Threshold Editions, to publish his memoirs. The bidding reached at least $1.5 million, but Threshhold would not disclose Rove’s final payment. When bidding began on Dec. 6, industry experts predicted Rove would get offered $3 million, though a publisher at Alfred K. Knopf said Rove “doesn’t have the personality” to land a major deal for his memoirs.
Also, Tenet's book deal was more than Tubby's..
Rudd tells Maliki: Australian troops are coming home.
Thinkprogress:
Newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a surprise visit to Baghdad today and assured Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki “of a long-term partnership but stressed his combat troops deployed here would head home by June next year”:
“Earlier today I visited Australian battle group in Talil (southern Iraq) and spoke directly to what is a fine body of men and women,” Mr Rudd told a Baghdad news conference with his counterpart, Nouri al-Maliki.
“That battle group will come to a conclusion as of June next year. And that will be the last battle group we deploy.”
Venezuela Enters Fifth Consecutive Year of Economic Growth.
December 20th 2007, by Chris Carlson - Venezuelanalysis.com
The Venezuelan economy enters its fifth consecutive year of sustained growth in 2008, according to predictions from the Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL). Venezuela had the third fastest growing economy in the region for 2007, but the growing demand of the domestic market could create problems of undersupply in 2008, say some analysts.
Venezuela led the region in 2007 with a growth rate of 8.5 percent, surpassed only by Argentina (8.6 percent) and Panama (9.5 percent), a CEPAL report said last week. The region as a whole grew by 5.6 percent, finishing its fifth consecutive year of economic expansion, in spite of high levels of inflation and social spending that were criticized by some experts.
The economic expansion is the greatest in 40 years and should continue through 2008, although at a slightly slower rate, said the report. CEPAL attributes the growth in part to the growing demand from China and India, as well as the recovery of Brazil. As a result, since 2003, around 31 million Latin Americans have been able to pull themselves out of poverty.
The economic growth has allowed Venezuela to improve in many respects, including an improved purchasing power among its population of around 8 percent annually from 2004-2007, only surpassed by Uruguay at 10 percent annually.
The unemployment rate reached its lowest point in November at 6.3 percent, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), a decrease of 2.5 percent from 2006, and the formal sector of the economy showed an increase from 2006, reaching 55.6 percent of the work force. Venezuela also maintains one of the highest minimum wages in the region.
The situation has also allowed Venezuela to drastically increase its social spending, as well as reduce its external debt. Venezuela led the region in social spending with an expansion of 37 percent in 2006-2007, surpassed only by Argentina with 43 percent.
The Venezuelan government has approved a budget for 2008 of Bs. 137.5 billion (US$ 63.9 billion) with an emphasis on increased social spending. 46 percent of the 2008 budget is directed toward social programs and projects, reported Prensa Latina, with the government “missions” alone receiving Bs. 5.6 billion (US$ 2.58 billion), a 61.5 percent increase from the 2007 budget.
External debt was reduced by US$ 1 billion during 2007, according to the director of the National Office of Public Credit, Luis Davila. Total external debt is currently US$ 26 billion, said Davila, and will not be increased in 2008. Internal debt will also be maintained around the current level of US$ 6 billion in 2008, he said.
But Venezuela’s sustained growth has created an increased demand among the population that could create problems in 2008, according to some analysts. Ex-director of the Central Bank of Venezuela, Domingo Maza Zavala, warned that 2008 will be a “difficult, complicated, and unpredictable” year for Venezuela for various reasons, and recommended that the government change its policy on price controls.
Zavala warned about the increase of imported goods in recent years, and insisted that the government needs to take measures in 2008 to assure supply in the domestic market. In his opinion, the most urgent measure to be taken is increased flexibility in the government price controls.
“If effective measures aren’t taken to supply the market of the most-demanded goods, the situation will continue as it is now, with the consequence that the sectors with lowest income suffer the most,” he said.
The ex-director of the Central Bank insisted that the government will need to have dialog with the various productive sectors of the economy to achieve a successful policy of price controls and supply. He also warned of continued high inflation (18.6 percent in the first 11 months of 2007) for which he said the causes have not been attended to.
However, Venezuelan Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas announced on Wednesday that the national government was analyzing the possibility of increasing the flexibility of price controls on some goods. Although he didn’t give details, Cabezas explained that they would be developing an “extraordinary plan” for 2008 to supply the domestic market and control inflation.
Cabezas noted that last week’s decision to loosen the price controls on some types of milk is a part of the government’s plan to make price controls in general more flexible, but he assured that they would not totally remove controls.
Since 2003, the national government has maintained price controls on around 400 basic goods and services to guarantee their supply to all sectors of the population. National production has increased in recent years, but imports have also increased due to the growing purchasing power and demand of the Venezuelan population.
The Venezuelan economy is expected to continue to grow in 2008 at a rate of between 7 and 8 percent.
The Venezuelan economy enters its fifth consecutive year of sustained growth in 2008, according to predictions from the Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL). Venezuela had the third fastest growing economy in the region for 2007, but the growing demand of the domestic market could create problems of undersupply in 2008, say some analysts.
Venezuela led the region in 2007 with a growth rate of 8.5 percent, surpassed only by Argentina (8.6 percent) and Panama (9.5 percent), a CEPAL report said last week. The region as a whole grew by 5.6 percent, finishing its fifth consecutive year of economic expansion, in spite of high levels of inflation and social spending that were criticized by some experts.
The economic expansion is the greatest in 40 years and should continue through 2008, although at a slightly slower rate, said the report. CEPAL attributes the growth in part to the growing demand from China and India, as well as the recovery of Brazil. As a result, since 2003, around 31 million Latin Americans have been able to pull themselves out of poverty.
The economic growth has allowed Venezuela to improve in many respects, including an improved purchasing power among its population of around 8 percent annually from 2004-2007, only surpassed by Uruguay at 10 percent annually.
The unemployment rate reached its lowest point in November at 6.3 percent, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), a decrease of 2.5 percent from 2006, and the formal sector of the economy showed an increase from 2006, reaching 55.6 percent of the work force. Venezuela also maintains one of the highest minimum wages in the region.
The situation has also allowed Venezuela to drastically increase its social spending, as well as reduce its external debt. Venezuela led the region in social spending with an expansion of 37 percent in 2006-2007, surpassed only by Argentina with 43 percent.
The Venezuelan government has approved a budget for 2008 of Bs. 137.5 billion (US$ 63.9 billion) with an emphasis on increased social spending. 46 percent of the 2008 budget is directed toward social programs and projects, reported Prensa Latina, with the government “missions” alone receiving Bs. 5.6 billion (US$ 2.58 billion), a 61.5 percent increase from the 2007 budget.
External debt was reduced by US$ 1 billion during 2007, according to the director of the National Office of Public Credit, Luis Davila. Total external debt is currently US$ 26 billion, said Davila, and will not be increased in 2008. Internal debt will also be maintained around the current level of US$ 6 billion in 2008, he said.
But Venezuela’s sustained growth has created an increased demand among the population that could create problems in 2008, according to some analysts. Ex-director of the Central Bank of Venezuela, Domingo Maza Zavala, warned that 2008 will be a “difficult, complicated, and unpredictable” year for Venezuela for various reasons, and recommended that the government change its policy on price controls.
Zavala warned about the increase of imported goods in recent years, and insisted that the government needs to take measures in 2008 to assure supply in the domestic market. In his opinion, the most urgent measure to be taken is increased flexibility in the government price controls.
“If effective measures aren’t taken to supply the market of the most-demanded goods, the situation will continue as it is now, with the consequence that the sectors with lowest income suffer the most,” he said.
The ex-director of the Central Bank insisted that the government will need to have dialog with the various productive sectors of the economy to achieve a successful policy of price controls and supply. He also warned of continued high inflation (18.6 percent in the first 11 months of 2007) for which he said the causes have not been attended to.
However, Venezuelan Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas announced on Wednesday that the national government was analyzing the possibility of increasing the flexibility of price controls on some goods. Although he didn’t give details, Cabezas explained that they would be developing an “extraordinary plan” for 2008 to supply the domestic market and control inflation.
Cabezas noted that last week’s decision to loosen the price controls on some types of milk is a part of the government’s plan to make price controls in general more flexible, but he assured that they would not totally remove controls.
Since 2003, the national government has maintained price controls on around 400 basic goods and services to guarantee their supply to all sectors of the population. National production has increased in recent years, but imports have also increased due to the growing purchasing power and demand of the Venezuelan population.
The Venezuelan economy is expected to continue to grow in 2008 at a rate of between 7 and 8 percent.
SPB News for Saturday.
Iraq 'torture complex' discovered US and Iraqi forces have discovered a "torture complex" in an al-Qaeda safe haven near Muqdadiya in central Diyala province, the US military has said. Three buildings containing chains on the walls and ceilings, and a metal bed connected to a power supply were found during an operation on 9 December. [Things that make you go 'hmm.' Lori Price notes the US brand (or English words) on the boxing gloves found at the 'al Qaeda' torture chamber in Iraq. See: GIs find 26 bodies next to Iraq torture center 21 Dec 2007. Click on DoD video, 'Al-Qaida torture chamber discovered?' (10-16 seconds;45-57 seconds; and 1:27-1:39 into video) Also, see In pictures: Iraq 'torture complex' (Click on 'Pictures of the complex,' advance to Image #3) to view boxing gloves on metal cot.]
Iraq authorities detained 1,350 children in 2007: Report --Iraq children 'paying high price' for Bush occupation. Two million children in Iraq are facing threats including poor nutrition, lack of education, disease and violence, the UN children's agency, Unicef, has said. Hundreds were killed in violence during 2007, while 1,350 were detained by the authorities, it said in a new report. Unicef said more than 4m children were vaccinated 'against' polio and 3m 'against' measles. [There's no electricity, food, water, or education in Baghdad, but Bush made sure 7 million Iraqi children got their mandatory doses of mercury, formaldehyde - and God knows what else - while his pharma-terrorists make a killing. That's part of the 'quiet corporate genocide' that Bush wages every day against the Iraqi people. --LRP]
Iraq Shi'ite leader wants U.S.-backed units curbed A powerful Shi'ite Muslim leader in Iraq called on Friday for U.S.-backed, mainly Sunni neighborhood patrols to be brought under tight government control with a more balanced sectarian makeup.
Pentagon: U.S. troop reduction in Iraq "on schedule" A plan to reduce U.S. troops in Iraq from 158,000 currently to about 100,000 by the end of 2008 is still on schedule, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday at a press conference. However, he emphasized that many developments could affect that plan, and he left open the possibility that the United States may need to add troops in Afghanistan.
US Wants Iran to Admit to Nuke Program Iran must "confess" [!?!] to running a past nuclear weapons program or its claims of cooperating with a U.N. investigation will not be credible, the chief U.S. envoy to the U.N. atomic watchdog agency said Friday. [Bush can't even 'confess' to being human - Ahmadinejad should just say 'b*** me.']
Pentagon: U.S. troop reduction in Iraq "on schedule" A plan to reduce U.S. troops in Iraq from 158,000 currently to about 100,000 by the end of 2008 is still on schedule, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday at a press conference. However, he emphasized that many developments could affect that plan, and he left open the possibility that the United States may need to add troops in Afghanistan.
US Wants Iran to Admit to Nuke Program Iran must "confess" [!?!] to running a past nuclear weapons program or its claims of cooperating with a U.N. investigation will not be credible, the chief U.S. envoy to the U.N. atomic watchdog agency said Friday. [Bush can't even 'confess' to being human - Ahmadinejad should just say 'b*** me.']
9/11 Panel Study Finds That C.I.A. Withheld Tapes.
WASHINGTON — A review of classified documents by former members of the Sept. 11 commission shows that the panel made repeated and detailed requests to the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 and 2004 for documents and other information about the interrogation of operatives of Al Qaeda, and were told by a top C.I.A. official that the agency had “produced or made available for review” everything that had been requested.
The review was conducted earlier this month after the disclosure that in November 2005, the C.I.A. destroyed videotapes documenting the interrogations of two Qaeda operatives.
A seven-page memorandum prepared by Philip D. Zelikow, the panel’s former executive director, concluded that “further investigation is needed” to determine whether the C.I.A.’s withholding of the tapes from the commission violated federal law. More on the story
Click here----->Evolution of Interrogation Tactics
The review was conducted earlier this month after the disclosure that in November 2005, the C.I.A. destroyed videotapes documenting the interrogations of two Qaeda operatives.
A seven-page memorandum prepared by Philip D. Zelikow, the panel’s former executive director, concluded that “further investigation is needed” to determine whether the C.I.A.’s withholding of the tapes from the commission violated federal law. More on the story
Click here----->Evolution of Interrogation Tactics
‘Expansive’ Dollar Bill Jefferson ruling blocking corruption probes.
Thinkprogress:
In an appeal filed with the U.S. Supreme Court this week, the Justice Department said that the “overly expensive” ruling over the search last year of Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-LA) congressional office “is blocking investigations of other congressional corruption cases.” The DoJ “asked the high court to overturn a ruling by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia prohibiting agents from searching locations where legislative records are likely to be found unless they have the permission of the congressional member.” The ruling is already confirmed to have stalled the investigation into Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA).
Bush admin. to appeal visitor records decision.
Not a big surprise given the herculean efforts and elaborate scheming undertaken by the Bush administration to foster secrecy. There will be an appeal of the decision requiring the Bush administration to make public its visitor records. We're supposed to receive the records within 20 days of the decision, but they've asked the judge to stay that, too:
The Bush administration asked a federal judge Thursday not to force the release of White House visitor logs until it can appeal a ruling that the documents are public.
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth rejected the government's secrecy arguments and ordered the Secret Service to turn over the records to a liberal watchdog group that sought them through a public records.
The logs being sought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington relate to White House visits regarding nine conservative religious commentators, including James Dobson, Gary Bauer and Jerry Falwell.
The Bush administration asked a federal judge Thursday not to force the release of White House visitor logs until it can appeal a ruling that the documents are public.
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth rejected the government's secrecy arguments and ordered the Secret Service to turn over the records to a liberal watchdog group that sought them through a public records.
The logs being sought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington relate to White House visits regarding nine conservative religious commentators, including James Dobson, Gary Bauer and Jerry Falwell.
Tucker: Edwards Can’t Be President, His House Is Too Big.
Memo to MSNBC: Dump this clown...
Crooks and Liars:
MSNBC claims to have a great political line up, yet they continue to allow feckless Tucker Carlson to darken their network. To show just how low the bar can be lowered, Tucker decides that John Edwards’ large house makes for good political discussion. Never mind the fact that both John and Elizabeth came from modest means and built their wealth, they’re hypocrites because they’re liberals — you just can’t own a huge house and still care about people who are less fortunate — therefore, he’s not fit to be president.
Student Life Newspaper: Let Alberto Gonzales speak.
Gonzales is scheduled to speak on Feb. 19 at Washington University in St. Louis, where more demonstrations are expected, according to the student body president.
And here is the op-ed article from the school newspaper:
Staff Editorial
Recently, Student Union and the College Republicans announced plans to bring former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to campus to speak next semester. The speaking engagement, which will cost $35,000 from Student Union funds, includes $30,000 for Gonzales' honorarium.
Many students, including those who disagree with him politically, believe that inviting Gonzales to campus is a unique and valuable opportunity. We agree with this assessment. We should, however, note that our desire to see him speak on campus does not mean that we approve of the policies he helped shape and defend while he worked for the Bush administration.
To be frank, our list of concerns about Gonzales is too long to adequately summarize in one editorial. His role in sanctioning the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program has established dangerous precedents regarding executive power. As White House Counsel, Gonzales also participated in an attempt to get Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to reauthorize President Bush's domestic surveillance program by visiting Ashcroft at his intensive care hospital room. It should be noted that Ashcroft had previously refused to reauthorize the program citing concerns over its constitutionality.
Our gravest concerns, however, involve Gonzales' opinions regarding the treatment of enemy combatants. According to the Washington Post, Gonzales played a key role in preparing an August 2002 memorandum advising that torturing alleged al-Qaeda terrorists in captivity abroad "may be justified."
Gonzales also played a key role in shaping the Bush administration's positions toward the Geneva Convention. In a January 25, 2002 memorandum to President Bush, Gonzales argued, "there are reasonable grounds…to conclude that [the Geneva POW Convention] does not apply…to the conflict with the Taliban." As White House counsel, Gonzales also referred to certain portions of the Geneva Convention as "quaint" and "obsolete." In his capacity as Attorney General, Gonzales also made repeated statements asserting that the Geneva Convention did not apply to military tribunals for enemy combatants, an argument that was later rejected by the Supreme Court in its Hamdan v. Rumsfeld decision.
And here is the op-ed article from the school newspaper:
Staff Editorial
Recently, Student Union and the College Republicans announced plans to bring former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to campus to speak next semester. The speaking engagement, which will cost $35,000 from Student Union funds, includes $30,000 for Gonzales' honorarium.
Many students, including those who disagree with him politically, believe that inviting Gonzales to campus is a unique and valuable opportunity. We agree with this assessment. We should, however, note that our desire to see him speak on campus does not mean that we approve of the policies he helped shape and defend while he worked for the Bush administration.
To be frank, our list of concerns about Gonzales is too long to adequately summarize in one editorial. His role in sanctioning the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program has established dangerous precedents regarding executive power. As White House Counsel, Gonzales also participated in an attempt to get Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to reauthorize President Bush's domestic surveillance program by visiting Ashcroft at his intensive care hospital room. It should be noted that Ashcroft had previously refused to reauthorize the program citing concerns over its constitutionality.
Our gravest concerns, however, involve Gonzales' opinions regarding the treatment of enemy combatants. According to the Washington Post, Gonzales played a key role in preparing an August 2002 memorandum advising that torturing alleged al-Qaeda terrorists in captivity abroad "may be justified."
Gonzales also played a key role in shaping the Bush administration's positions toward the Geneva Convention. In a January 25, 2002 memorandum to President Bush, Gonzales argued, "there are reasonable grounds…to conclude that [the Geneva POW Convention] does not apply…to the conflict with the Taliban." As White House counsel, Gonzales also referred to certain portions of the Geneva Convention as "quaint" and "obsolete." In his capacity as Attorney General, Gonzales also made repeated statements asserting that the Geneva Convention did not apply to military tribunals for enemy combatants, an argument that was later rejected by the Supreme Court in its Hamdan v. Rumsfeld decision.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Results of last week's poll.
Here was last week's poll:
There have also been reports (especially the Royal United Services Institute) of increased drug taking and positive drug tests in other armies during times of combat, including the US army. Do you think that there is a drug problem in the military?
The majority of thr readers voted yes.
Now poll is now up.
There have also been reports (especially the Royal United Services Institute) of increased drug taking and positive drug tests in other armies during times of combat, including the US army. Do you think that there is a drug problem in the military?
The majority of thr readers voted yes.
Now poll is now up.
White House tour omits rare 1963 JFK Christmas card.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of the stops on this year's popular White House tour of holiday decorations is the collection of Christmas cards from previous presidents and first ladies. But noticeably missing is the card from 1963.
It is the rarest and most tragic of the presidential cards because it was not sent out after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas that November 22.
It is the rarest and most tragic of the presidential cards because it was not sent out after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas that November 22.
The display features Christmas cards from Dwight Eisenhower through George W. Bush but some visitors on the White House holiday tour have noticed the Kennedys' card is missing. The White House has a copy of it but first lady Laura Bush's office said the 1963 card was not included because it was never sent.
Boxes of the 1963 card, featuring a color photo of a nativity scene in the East Room of the White House, had been delivered to President Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline for their signatures before he was killed. It was the first time a religious image was put on a White House Christmas card.
Five hundred of the 750 Christmas cards ordered from Hallmark with the engraved message "With our wishes for a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year" were at the White House. There also were 150 cards ordered with the message "With best wishes for a Happy New Year."
Five hundred of the 750 Christmas cards ordered from Hallmark with the engraved message "With our wishes for a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year" were at the White House. There also were 150 cards ordered with the message "With best wishes for a Happy New Year."
However, fewer than 30 of the cards actually were signed by the president and Mrs. Kennedy before they left for Dallas.
"They are the most rare pieces of presidential Christmas memorabilia today," said Mary Seeley, author of "Season's Greetings From the White House."
Another 1,500 identical Christmas cards also had been ordered but with the Kennedys' printed signatures included.
Less than two dozen of the 1963 dual-signed Kennedy cards are known to exist. One sold last year at an auction for $45,000. It came from the estate of Kennedy's personal secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, who had reportedly destroyed the rest of the cards.
Less than two dozen of the 1963 dual-signed Kennedy cards are known to exist. One sold last year at an auction for $45,000. It came from the estate of Kennedy's personal secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, who had reportedly destroyed the rest of the cards.
"At such a traumatic time in our history, when taking over the reins after the assassination the Johnson administration requested that things moved quickly so the country would continue to go forward," Seeley said. "Desks had to be cleaned out in a short time."
Lyndon Johnson, who became president after Kennedy's assassination, was not planning to send an official Christmas card that year but the State Department's protocol officer insisted he carry on the tradition started by Calvin Coolidge in 1927.
A very simple white card with the presidential seal on the cover and a thin red strip on the bottom was quickly printed for the new Johnson administration. Seeley said they were mailed to foreign ministers, heads of governments and the top ranking officials who attended Kennedy's funeral.
The White House said it does not have a copy of Johnson's 1963 card. Hallmark has donated a full set of presidential Christmas cards from Dwight Eisenhower through Ronald Reagan, including the Johnson and Kennedy 1963 cards, to the Smithsonian Museum of American History.
A broken healthcare system.
And I hear about this on the news. It is an outrage that profits becomes the concern than a life.
Crooks and Liars:
The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee today blasted insurance giant CIGNA for failing to approve a liver transplant one week earlier for listen to 17-year-old Nataline Sarkisyan, who tragically died last night just hours after CIGNA relented and agreed to the procedure following a massive national outcry.
On Dec. 11, four leading physicians, including the surgical director of the Pediatric Liver Transplant Program at UCLA, wrote to CIGNA urging the company to reverse its denial. The physicians said that Nataline “currently meets criteria to be listed as Status 1A” for a transplant. They also challenged CIGNA’s denial which the company said occurred because their benefit plan “does not cover experimental, investigational and unproven services,” to which the doctors replied, “Nataline’s case is in fact none of the above.”…read on
Gonzo unpopular on college campuses.
Thinkprogress:
Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has had a tough time on the speaker’s circuit this year. First he was heckled as a “criminal” and a “liar” at the University of Florida then Pomona College canceled his speech because “students would not attend.” Yet his talent agency, Greater Talent Network, is refusing to answer questions from reporters about Gonzales’s unpopularity:
Though one crisis the agency cannot handle is questions from reporters about Gonzales’ popularity - or lack thereof - on the speaking circuit. “No one here would answer questions from a reporter,” snapped one of the associates who answered the agency’s phone, before she hung up on us.)
The Washington Post notes that when Greater Talent pitches Gonzales as a speaker, it neglects to mention “that he’s raising money for his legal defense fund” with the exorbitant fees.
Bush on the economy...
BLT:
President Bush says he’s confident the economy is strong enough to avoid a recession, reports the WaPo. Referring to the steps he’s taken to address the housing crisis, such as a plan to freeze interest rates on certain subprime mortgages, the president said at a news conference yesterday that his view of the economy is that “the fundamentals are strong.” His comments are in opposition to the views of many economists who have urged the government to take a harder line to prevent a potential long-term recession.
President Cheney Repeatedly Met With Auto Execs Before White House Killed CA's Emissions Law.
Thinkprogress:
Before EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson “answered the pleas of industry executives” by announcing his “decision to deny California the right to regulate greenhouse gases from vehicles,” auto executives directly appealed to Vice President Cheney. EPA staffers told the LA Times that Johnson “made his decision” only after Cheney met with the executives.
Before EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson “answered the pleas of industry executives” by announcing his “decision to deny California the right to regulate greenhouse gases from vehicles,” auto executives directly appealed to Vice President Cheney. EPA staffers told the LA Times that Johnson “made his decision” only after Cheney met with the executives.
On multiple occasions in October and November, Cheney and White House staff members met with industry executives, including the CEOs of Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler. At the meetings, the executives objected to California’s proposed fuel economy standards:
In meetings in October with Mr. Cheney and sessions with White House staff members, auto executives made clear that they were concerned not just about the fuel economy measures in the bill but also about the California proposal for stricter emissions standards.
Thanks for the Memories Tom Tancrazy -- Or Hasta La Vista, Tomás.
Dana Milbank has a great story in the Washington Post about the candidacy. According to the polls, only a few percent of likely Iowan caucus voters supported Tancredo's candidacy. One of the cruel (perhaps delicious is a better word) ironies is that
"Adding to the pain, the Marriott restaurant, just steps from the meeting room [in Iowa] where Tancredo quit the race, was serving a`"South of the Border Thursday' lunch buffet." (emphasis added)
LOL!
Military Evangelism Deeper, Wider Than First Thought.
Soldiers at Fort Jackson Army Base pose with their rifles and Bibles.
A Hamas suicide bomber posing with a rifle and a copy of the Koran.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation says the two photos show how the infiltration of fundamentalist Christianity in the US military is starting to mirror Islamic fundamentalism.
By Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t Report
Friday 21 December 2007
For US Army soldiers entering basic training at Fort Jackson Army base in Columbia, South Carolina, accepting Jesus Christ as their personal savior appears to be as much a part of the nine-week regimen as the vigorous physical and mental exercises the troops must endure.
That's the message directed at Fort Jackson soldiers, some of whom appear in photographs in government issued fatigues, holding rifles in one hand, and Bibles in their other hand.
Frank Bussey, director of Military Ministry at Fort Jackson, has been telling soldiers at Fort Jackson that "government authorities, police and the military = God's Ministers,"
Bussey's teachings from the "God's Basic Training" Bible study guide he authored says US troops have "two primary responsibilities": "to praise those who do right" and "to punish those who do evil - "God's servant, an angel of wrath." Bussey's teachings directed at Fort Jackson soldiers were housed on the Military Ministry at Fort Jackson web site. Late Wednesday, the web site was taken down without explanation. Bussey did not return calls for comment. The web site text, however, can still be viewed in an archived format. More on the story.
More problems for Bush and DOJ investigation.
“Governors and other officials from at least eight states” have “pledged to help California as it prepares to sue” the Bush administration after the EPA denied a waiver for the state’s tough greenhouse gas emissions law. “We’re going to be out there on California’s side,” Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski told the Sacramento Bee.
The CIA has asked the Justice Department to investigate whether John Kirikaou “illegally disclosed classified information in describing the capture and waterboarding of an al-Qaeda terrorism suspect.” CIA officials previously said they were “furious” at Kirkikaou for openly talking about waterboarding.
The CIA has asked the Justice Department to investigate whether John Kirikaou “illegally disclosed classified information in describing the capture and waterboarding of an al-Qaeda terrorism suspect.” CIA officials previously said they were “furious” at Kirkikaou for openly talking about waterboarding.
World Powers in Opposition over Iran Sanctions.
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- The United States and five other powers failed again to reach agreement Thursday on tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.
"We continue to have some tactical differences about the timing, but more than that, about how deep this (UN) resolution should go," Rice said in an interview with AFP after senior diplomats from the six powers consulted Thursday.
The United States has been involved in difficult talks with Russia, China, Britain and France - the five permanent UN Security Council members, or P5, that all have veto power - and Germany for another UN resolution against Iran.
Washington is promoting a two-track strategy aimed at offering Iran a dialogue that would give it economic benefits if it stops enriching uranium, or at threatening a third round of sanctions.
The political directors of the State Department and the foreign ministries of the five other countries did not reach agreement during a conference call Thursday.
The political directors of the six countries held a 90-minute conference call on December 11 about Iran's nuclear program, but did not finalize a draft sanctions resolution.
Rice admitted afterward that the United States has "tactical differences" with Russia and China about the "timing, about the nature of any further sanctions."
But she said that "the two-track strategy remains in place," when asked if the US National Intelligence Estimate, published December 3, undercut the US drive for sanctions.
The report said Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapons program substantiating Iran's claims about the peaceful nature of its nuclear program and activities.
"We continue to have some tactical differences about the timing, but more than that, about how deep this (UN) resolution should go," Rice said in an interview with AFP after senior diplomats from the six powers consulted Thursday.
The United States has been involved in difficult talks with Russia, China, Britain and France - the five permanent UN Security Council members, or P5, that all have veto power - and Germany for another UN resolution against Iran.
Washington is promoting a two-track strategy aimed at offering Iran a dialogue that would give it economic benefits if it stops enriching uranium, or at threatening a third round of sanctions.
The political directors of the State Department and the foreign ministries of the five other countries did not reach agreement during a conference call Thursday.
The political directors of the six countries held a 90-minute conference call on December 11 about Iran's nuclear program, but did not finalize a draft sanctions resolution.
Rice admitted afterward that the United States has "tactical differences" with Russia and China about the "timing, about the nature of any further sanctions."
But she said that "the two-track strategy remains in place," when asked if the US National Intelligence Estimate, published December 3, undercut the US drive for sanctions.
The report said Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapons program substantiating Iran's claims about the peaceful nature of its nuclear program and activities.
TGIF! Open Thread.
Click on picture for animation.The Bushisms Quiz
15 Questions to Test Your Bushspeak IQ
Does your president sometimes leave you feeling bewildered and confused? Do you struggle to understand his peculiar speech patterns, or have you learned to decipher his meaning? Test your Bushspeak IQ with this quiz on President Bush's hilarious malapropisms, stupid verbal gaffes, and scrambled syntax.
Start The Quiz
White House Menu for the 2007 Holiday Receptions
Holiday Buffet Reception
An Assortment of Artisanal and Local Cheeses served with a
Bountiful Display of Crackers, Winter Fruits and Spiced Nuts
Bountiful Display of Crackers, Winter Fruits and Spiced Nuts
Chilled Gulf Shrimp Cocktail served with
Cocktail Sauce and Remoulade
Bourbon-Glazed Virginia Ham served with
Cheesy Stone-Ground Grits
Bourbon-Glazed Virginia Ham served with
Cheesy Stone-Ground Grits
Crispy Chicken-Fried Steak Fingers with Creamed Pan Drippings
Roasted Lamb Chops with Rosemary Sea Salt with
Mission Fig Chutney and Mint Jelly
Roasted Lamb Chops with Rosemary Sea Salt with
Mission Fig Chutney and Mint Jelly
Fruitwood Smoked Copper River Salmon served with
Fresh Potato Pancakes and Traditional Garnitures
Maryland Crab Cakes with Lemon Caper Sauce
Orzo Salad with Roasted Artichokes, Tomatoes and Olives
with Feta Cheese Vinaigrette
with Feta Cheese Vinaigrette
Homemade Tamales with Roasted Poblanos and Vidalia Onions
with Black Beans and Tomatillo Sauce
with Black Beans and Tomatillo Sauce
White and Green Asparagus and French Green Bean Tier
with Garlic Aioli
Holiday Reception Desserts
with Garlic Aioli
Holiday Reception Desserts
Barney and Miss Beazley Cookies
(Chocolate-Dipped with Gold Collars)
(Chocolate-Dipped with Gold Collars)
Decorated Animal Cookies
(Grizzly Bear, Elk, Fox, Wolf, Eagle, Mountain Lion,
Moose, Road Runner, Buffalo, Coyote, Deer)
(Grizzly Bear, Elk, Fox, Wolf, Eagle, Mountain Lion,
Moose, Road Runner, Buffalo, Coyote, Deer)
Park Trees and Leaves Cookies
(Gold Magnolia Leaf, Pine Cone, Acorn, Oak Leaf, Aspen Leaf, Elm Leaf)
(Gold Magnolia Leaf, Pine Cone, Acorn, Oak Leaf, Aspen Leaf, Elm Leaf)
Maple Cookies
Park Arrow Head Cookies
Long-Stemmed Fresh Strawberries
Orange-Spiced Infusion with Mixed Tropical Fruits and Berries
Chocolate Truffles with Forest Flavors
(Honey, Maple, Huckleberry)
(Honey, Maple, Huckleberry)
Chocolate Mice
Log Cabin Cake
(Chocolate Dolly Sin Cake, Chocolate Buttercream Frosting)
(Chocolate Dolly Sin Cake, Chocolate Buttercream Frosting)
Lemon Meringue Sequoia Cake Tree
Coconut Cake with Seven-Minute Frosting
Yule Log – Bûche de Noël
Brioche Bread Pudding
Walnut Pound Dundee Cake
Gingerbread Crown Cake
Mackintosh Apple and Sun-Dried Cherry Cobbler
Don't forget the White House yummy appetizers: President Cheney Cookies, Supreme Leader Dick Dumplings, McTreason Burgers, Holiday Hamhocks, and wash it down with GOP Koolaid.
SPB News for Friday.
Guantanamo prisoner is not POW, U.S. judge says --"Unlawful enemy combatant" will face military tribunal at U.S. naval base. Osama bin Laden's driver is not a prisoner of war as defined by the Geneva Conventions and can be tried by a Guantanamo war crimes tribunal, a U.S. military judge ruled in a decision made public on Thursday. The judge said Yemeni prisoner Salim Ahmed Hamdan is an "unlawful enemy combatant" under the law passed by Congress last year to provide a legal basis to try non-Americans on terrorism charges in a special war crimes kangaroo court at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Bush Says "Does Not Recall" Being Briefed on CIA Tapes --Will "Reserve Judgment" on Destruction of CIA Torture Tapes. President [sic] Bush insisted today that he would "reserve judgment" on the CIA's destruction of interrogation videotapes pending inquiries by the federal government and Congress, and stood by his previous assertion that he does not recall being informed of the matter until he was briefed on it this month. In response to questions about the videotapes at a year-end [?] White House news conference, Bush also suggested that critics ofharsh interrogation techniques torture shown in the tapes want the United States to become isolationist.
Bush Says "Does Not Recall" Being Briefed on CIA Tapes --Will "Reserve Judgment" on Destruction of CIA Torture Tapes. President [sic] Bush insisted today that he would "reserve judgment" on the CIA's destruction of interrogation videotapes pending inquiries by the federal government and Congress, and stood by his previous assertion that he does not recall being informed of the matter until he was briefed on it this month. In response to questions about the videotapes at a year-end [?] White House news conference, Bush also suggested that critics of
Iraq, Afghanistan War Costs Top Vietnam Congress' approval Wednesday of $70 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan mean the twin conflicts are now more costly to American taxpayers than the war in Vietnam. According to a study by the Washington-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Congress has now approved nearly $700 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Torture chamber found north of Baghdad Blood-splotches on walls, chains hanging from a ceiling and swords found on the killing floor of a suspected al-Qaida Blackwater in Iraq torture chamber are the latest horrors discovered by U.S. soldiers pushing into Diyala province. The U.S. military -- which discovered the torture site, along with nine weapons caches during a Dec. 8-11 operation north of Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad.
Bush's bid to punish Iranian banks stalls The Bush regime's new policy of penalizing Iranian banks is facing a critical challenge as financial institutions in Russia, China and much of the Middle East decline to cut ties, analysts and diplomats say. Even Afghanistan and Iraq have so far declined to take action against Bank Melli, Iran's largest public financial institution, which was among the first foreign banks to open branches in Kabul and Baghdad.
Bush: Patience with Syria's Assad ran out long ago President [sic] George W. Bush on Thursday warned Damascus against interfering in Lebanon's political crisis, saying his patience with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had run out long ago. [Right, and our patience with Bush bin Laden ran out on 20 January 2001.]
Descendants of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse break away from US The Lakota Indians, who gave the world legendary warriors Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, have withdrawn from treaties with the United States, leaders said Wednesday. "We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us," long-time Indian rights activist Russell Means told a handful of reporters and a delegation from the Bolivian embassy, gathered in a church in a run-down neighborhood of Washington for a news conference.
Romney: My daddy marched with MLK.
Crooks and Liars:
Romney: …And I’m not going to distance myself in any way from my faith. But you can see what I believed and what my family believed by looking at, at our lives. My dad marched with Martin Luther King.
Mitt Romney has defended his position on civil rights, in multiple high-profile settings, by insisting that his father marched with Martin Luther King during his tenure as governor of Michigan in the 1960s. Pressed for specifics, the Romney campaign pointed to an event that occurred in Grosse Point, Mich.
The claim appears to be false — Romney’s father did not march with King. Unfortunately, the campaign has come up with an unpersuasive defense.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said he watched his father, the late Michigan Gov. George Romney, in a 1960s civil rights march in Michigan with Martin Luther King Jr.
On Wednesday, Romney’s campaign said his recollections of watching his father, an ardent civil rights supporter, march with King were meant to be figurative.
“He was speaking figuratively, not literally,” Eric Fehrnstrom, spokesman for the Romney campaign, said of the candidate.
Next Mitt will say that his father was with Malcolm X in Mecca.
Good luck Grampa Fred...
DAVENPORT, Iowa — Fred Thompson’s plan is simple: Get on a bus and haul around to some 50 Iowa towns and cities between now and Jan. 3.
It’s the only option he has.
Thompson has little money left in bank and has had to slash his television presence here to a level well below that of Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. His cash crunch is so severe that he’s even had to freeze his direct mail plan.
So now, for the next two weeks before the caucuses, he'll be largely living off the land.
Thompson fell in the polls as Mike Huckabee rose — in seeming direct correlation to one another. One network pulled their embedded reporter from the Thompson beat and another network divided their embed between the two candidates.
But a different Fred Thompson showed up at the GOP debate last week outside Des Moines. The funny, commanding performance turned some heads, perhaps not the least of which that of conservative Iowa congressman Steve King, who threw his support to Thompson in a press conference Monday.
King’s support, and Thompson’s debate showing, also caught the eye of veteran Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen, who made the case this week that Thompson should not be counted out.
The confluence of events has combined to give Thompson aides at least the appearance of optimism.
“The important thing for Thompson was to get into the mix in this final fortnight,” said senior adviser Rich Galen. “He needed to be part of the conversation. And that has happened.”
So now they’re trying to capitalize.
Thompson’s bus tour is aimed less at retail, one-on-one politicking than at earning media attention to compensate for his lack of ads and direct mail.
Daily “Radio Town Halls,” coordinated with local radio stations, are a potentially smart way to do that. Akin to a weekend “live remote” from, say, a car dealership or restaurant, stations broadcast Thompson’s events live with questions of their own mixed with those from the audience.
Meanwhile, Thompson is visiting small-town newspapers every day. A 15-minute chat with the editors at The Tipton Conservative, for example, will likely merit him a front-page photo and story in next week’s edition.
He is also visiting businesses on or near the main drag, meeting few people but perhaps garnering do-you-know-who-stopped-in-the-other-day buzz.
A day in eastern Iowa spent watching the process reveals a candidate who appears to be enjoying himself more — it helps that he's accompanied by his wife, Jeri — but one who is still not entirely enthused for the process. And partially because they want to maximize the number of media markets he reaches, he also doesn’t stay at any one stop for too long.
“Iowa expects that you’re going to come see them,” Muscatine County GOP activist Marilyn Wedel said, after a Thompson tour that consisted of sticking his head into two stores for a total of 15 minutes.
“I would like to see him come back,” Wedel added, as though the caucuses were not 15 days away.
Thompson has been drawing solid if not spectacular crowds. In a fluid race where Huckabee is suffering tough press scrutiny and Mitt Romney is trying to reverse his own slippage, Thompson could ride his bus right up the middle.
But his prospects are long. And his largest obstacle could be father time.
“We haven’t seen as much of him,” said Janet Rudolph after a radio town hall meeting in Coralville. “I get a phone call from Mitt Romney every day.”
It’s the only option he has.
Thompson has little money left in bank and has had to slash his television presence here to a level well below that of Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. His cash crunch is so severe that he’s even had to freeze his direct mail plan.
So now, for the next two weeks before the caucuses, he'll be largely living off the land.
Thompson fell in the polls as Mike Huckabee rose — in seeming direct correlation to one another. One network pulled their embedded reporter from the Thompson beat and another network divided their embed between the two candidates.
But a different Fred Thompson showed up at the GOP debate last week outside Des Moines. The funny, commanding performance turned some heads, perhaps not the least of which that of conservative Iowa congressman Steve King, who threw his support to Thompson in a press conference Monday.
King’s support, and Thompson’s debate showing, also caught the eye of veteran Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen, who made the case this week that Thompson should not be counted out.
The confluence of events has combined to give Thompson aides at least the appearance of optimism.
“The important thing for Thompson was to get into the mix in this final fortnight,” said senior adviser Rich Galen. “He needed to be part of the conversation. And that has happened.”
So now they’re trying to capitalize.
Thompson’s bus tour is aimed less at retail, one-on-one politicking than at earning media attention to compensate for his lack of ads and direct mail.
Daily “Radio Town Halls,” coordinated with local radio stations, are a potentially smart way to do that. Akin to a weekend “live remote” from, say, a car dealership or restaurant, stations broadcast Thompson’s events live with questions of their own mixed with those from the audience.
Meanwhile, Thompson is visiting small-town newspapers every day. A 15-minute chat with the editors at The Tipton Conservative, for example, will likely merit him a front-page photo and story in next week’s edition.
He is also visiting businesses on or near the main drag, meeting few people but perhaps garnering do-you-know-who-stopped-in-the-other-day buzz.
A day in eastern Iowa spent watching the process reveals a candidate who appears to be enjoying himself more — it helps that he's accompanied by his wife, Jeri — but one who is still not entirely enthused for the process. And partially because they want to maximize the number of media markets he reaches, he also doesn’t stay at any one stop for too long.
“Iowa expects that you’re going to come see them,” Muscatine County GOP activist Marilyn Wedel said, after a Thompson tour that consisted of sticking his head into two stores for a total of 15 minutes.
“I would like to see him come back,” Wedel added, as though the caucuses were not 15 days away.
Thompson has been drawing solid if not spectacular crowds. In a fluid race where Huckabee is suffering tough press scrutiny and Mitt Romney is trying to reverse his own slippage, Thompson could ride his bus right up the middle.
But his prospects are long. And his largest obstacle could be father time.
“We haven’t seen as much of him,” said Janet Rudolph after a radio town hall meeting in Coralville. “I get a phone call from Mitt Romney every day.”
Sen. Gordon Smith under fire for Lott praise.
Thinkprogress:
On Tuesday, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) took to the Senate floor and defended Trent Lott’s controversial comments on former senator Strom Thurmond, despite claiming in 2002 that he was “deeply dismayed” by them. Today, Smith’s home state paper, the Oregonian, sharply criticized the senator:
It’s true that speakers at retirement tributes are under no oath to tell the whole truth; if they were, such events might be a little less warm but a lot more interesting. And nobody thinks that Smith’s remarks on Lott’s remarks on Thurmond somehow make Smith a racist twice removed.
But on issues carrying as much emotional freight as race — and there aren’t many — a U.S. senator needs to speak with care and consistency.
Otherwise, he could find people speaking at his own retirement tribute.
On Tuesday, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) took to the Senate floor and defended Trent Lott’s controversial comments on former senator Strom Thurmond, despite claiming in 2002 that he was “deeply dismayed” by them. Today, Smith’s home state paper, the Oregonian, sharply criticized the senator:
It’s true that speakers at retirement tributes are under no oath to tell the whole truth; if they were, such events might be a little less warm but a lot more interesting. And nobody thinks that Smith’s remarks on Lott’s remarks on Thurmond somehow make Smith a racist twice removed.
But on issues carrying as much emotional freight as race — and there aren’t many — a U.S. senator needs to speak with care and consistency.
Otherwise, he could find people speaking at his own retirement tribute.
Bush and the FCC want corporate control of all media.
Earlier this week the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to relax rules against cross-ownership of different media outlets in the same region. Basically, this means that a media conglomerate can own all the outlets for information in an area–a TV station, radio station, and newspaper–without any competition.
It’s been fairly widely known that this was a goal of current FCC chair Kevin Martin for some time–a corporatist who has been generally laissez-faire towards every aspect of consolidation of media (except for the cable industry), Martin never met a merger or buyout he didn’t like. What was not widely known, but should come as no surprise, is that the FCC vote had the full support of the Bush regime. From my article:
Martin, however, has the backing of the White House to pursue the media consolidation changes. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez wrote Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warning him that the Bush administration would fight any “attempt to delay or overturn these revised rules by legislative means.” Martin, a former Bush campaign operative whose wife Cathie has worked for both Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney, has aggressively pursued a conservative, free-market agenda since succeeding Michael Powell to become FCC chair in 2005
It’s been fairly widely known that this was a goal of current FCC chair Kevin Martin for some time–a corporatist who has been generally laissez-faire towards every aspect of consolidation of media (except for the cable industry), Martin never met a merger or buyout he didn’t like. What was not widely known, but should come as no surprise, is that the FCC vote had the full support of the Bush regime. From my article:
Martin, however, has the backing of the White House to pursue the media consolidation changes. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez wrote Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warning him that the Bush administration would fight any “attempt to delay or overturn these revised rules by legislative means.” Martin, a former Bush campaign operative whose wife Cathie has worked for both Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney, has aggressively pursued a conservative, free-market agenda since succeeding Michael Powell to become FCC chair in 2005
Countdown: Bushed! on Gonzo, Contractor Assaults & Blackwater.
Crooks and Liars:
Wednesday’s Bushed! segment on Countdown looks at Attorney General Micheal Mukasey reversing Gonzo’s practice of allowing Justice Department staffers to have full access to the White House. Republican congressman Ted Poe revealed that since being told about a KBR employee being gang raped and held against her will, he has received word from three more women who say they have been sexually assaulted by co-workers, and more Blackwater – shooting the dog belonging to New York Times staffers in Iraq.
Cynthia McKinney announces presidential bid.
Former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is on the political comeback trail again. This time, she's running for president.
In a speech posted on her campaign Web site, runcynthiarun.org, McKinney, 52, ended weeks of speculation and officially announced her run as a Green Party candidate. She sounded the theme "Come Home To The Green Party" while attacking both major parties as supporters of the war in Iraq and tools of corporate interests.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2007/12/19/mckinney_1219_web.html
In a speech posted on her campaign Web site, runcynthiarun.org, McKinney, 52, ended weeks of speculation and officially announced her run as a Green Party candidate. She sounded the theme "Come Home To The Green Party" while attacking both major parties as supporters of the war in Iraq and tools of corporate interests.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2007/12/19/mckinney_1219_web.html
NBC’s David McGregory gets down with Mary J.
Gee, David got some rhythm. Is he preparing himself for Dancing with the Stars?
Via Wonkette, NBC White House correspondent David Gregory shows off his dance moves on The Today Show:
Via Wonkette, NBC White House correspondent David Gregory shows off his dance moves on The Today Show:
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Report: Gonzo Opposed Destruction of CIA Torture Tapes.
The AP reports that Alberto Gonzales was among a group of White House lawyers who opposed destruction of the tapes:
One official familiar with the investigation said the review so far indicates that Alberto Gonzales, who served as White House counsel and then attorney general, advised against destroying the videotapes as one of four senior Bush administration attorneys discussing how to handle them. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation. Gonzales' attorney, George Terwilliger, declined comment.
Another of the administration attorneys, John Bellinger, then a lawyer at the National Security Council, has told colleagues that administration lawyers came to a consensus that the tapes should not be destroyed, said a senior official familiar with Bellinger's account of the 2003 White House discussion. Bellinger could not be reached for comment.
"The clear recommendation of Bellinger and the others was against destruction of the tapes," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. "The recommendation in 2003 from the White House was that the tapes should not be destroyed."
No mention of Cheney's David Addington.
Yeah, Gonzo might had opposed the destruction of the torture tapes but he still knew about it.
FEMA ranks at bottom of public approval.
Not surprised..
Thinkprogress:
In a public approval poll of federal agencies, FEMA came in last, followed by the IRS. Two years after the disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina, FEMA’s distribution of toxic trailers was labeled one of the top ten worst ethics scandals of 2007, and the agency’s staged press conference ranked as the year’s top PR blunder.
Thinkprogress:
In a public approval poll of federal agencies, FEMA came in last, followed by the IRS. Two years after the disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina, FEMA’s distribution of toxic trailers was labeled one of the top ten worst ethics scandals of 2007, and the agency’s staged press conference ranked as the year’s top PR blunder.
So hard to let go...
Bradblog:
It looks like the now-resigned but newly-reassigned former chief of the Voting Section in the DoJ's Civil Rights Division, John "Minorities Die First" Tanner, may be having trouble letting go.
The BRAD BLOG received the following email from a DoJ insider who has requested anonymity. We've confirmed the details with another insider DoJ source...
Something odd is in the air at the voting section.
John Tanner, the chief that “resigned immediately” last Friday after extreme controversy seems to have not gotten the memo to depart. Tanner has been lingering in the chief’s office playing on his computer for the last two days. He claims to have needed time to “pack” but there is nothing left to pack. Could the announcement that he was leaving be a ruse to buy some Congressional peace??
In a follow up note, the source added some detail that the lingering Tanner "had all weekend to pack," but "had very very little actually to pack as he only has one file cabinet in his office."
No doubt, that file cabinet is chock-full of letters to Ohio election officials telling them they did a swell job in 2004.
A second DoJ source confirms the sorry tale. That source told The BRAD BLOG, that Tanner "has been in his office for the last two days" and "he has not been talking to anybody."
A second DoJ source confirms the sorry tale. That source told The BRAD BLOG, that Tanner "has been in his office for the last two days" and "he has not been talking to anybody."
"He is ostensibly packing his office, but he has been there," the source told us, before both offered still more insight on the very different way that others were forced, by Tanner, to leave the section in a hurry when their time was up, and on the fete being held tonight by staffers, current and former, in his dishonor...
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