We need someone to start a special Republican scandal blog. A clearinghouse for everything corrupt and GOP.
Posted by Tim at July 12, 2005 05:41 AMOne massice gas/ricin attack in a New York subway, 2-3 stinger missile downed jumbo jets leaving Reagan Int'l and La Guardia, 1500 pounds of C-4 detonated at the base of a skyscraper and Bush and Rove buy the remaining time they need to finish their work. Not much ethic committe work gets done under a red alert with pockets of martial law in effect. And it doesn't take a foreign terrorist to commit any of the above. I think the DIA/NSA/CIA have enough winger cowboys beholden to Der Fuhrer to pull it off.
Posted by steve duncan at July 12, 2005 05:57 AMSteve, well they haven't come this far to surrender now. You can rest assured that something is being brewed in the witch's cauldron.
Posted by Judith at July 12, 2005 06:33 AMAmazingly, Condi's the only one not mentioned n the scandalpalooza.
Steve - did you just recently witness the mass banning of conspirasists over at Daily Kos? Just checking.
Apparently, the right wingnuttery are working themselves into a distracting lather over Hillary's recent public remarks comparing the administration to Alfred E. Newmann. To which we should say, so what? It's not like the wingers have a leg to stand on in comparing their invective. That 200-some 'news' articles have been complied by Google in reference to it should be a good example to burn the notion of the SCLM.
And would someone explain to me how MensNewsDaily -a blog of the worst quality- got onto the Google News page and is the top-ranked subject story?
Posted by idiosynchronic at July 12, 2005 06:55 AMJohn Tierney over at the NYTimes seems to think it would be a good idea to execute hackers. He points to a nice little comparative study that equates the financial costs of computer hacking and virus writing with those of such mundane crimes as murder.
Typical conservative. It all comes down to the money. Gotta protect the bottom line.
Culture of life eh?
Posted by muckcat at July 12, 2005 07:05 AMSalon compiled a bill of particulars that is rather handy to keep track of all the water under the bridge. Here it is presented to us by Lockergnome.
As noted in the article, now that the independent counsel statute has expired and there is a mewling, obsequious congressional majority, the odds of any of these outrages having any lingering political effect are slim. It is almost as if, after the roiling political drama of Clinton's second term, the current administration is innoculated against any creeping cancers on the presidency because we all don't want the bother of going through all the hoo-hah.
Ah, if it were only as easy as an online poll to get rid of a pestilence such as Bush.
Posted by obelus at July 12, 2005 07:11 AMSh*t, sounds like a good time to investigate the Vince Foster "suicide" again...
Posted by darms at July 12, 2005 07:13 AMRE: Bannings at DailyKos.
Good for Kos. I have very little tolerance for the moonbat conspiracy theorists myself. From any point on the political spectrum. There are plenty of other places they can continue to post their tripe.
Posted by muckcat at July 12, 2005 07:14 AMWe should ban trolls. All they do is lie and take up space. No honest exchange here.
Posted by Judith at July 12, 2005 07:42 AMIt is almost as if, after the roiling political drama of Clinton's second term, the current administration is innoculated against any creeping cancers on the presidency because we all don't want the bother of going through all the hoo-hah.
It's been commented on before. Some soapboxing bloggers have even said that the impeachment mess, and then subsequent election mess in 2000 was so un-popular to the country as a whole that it made it easier to preemptively steamroll drawn-out political fights that no one other than the Beltway wanted to see.
It's the big reason that I consider this administration one of the most opportunistic ever. They saw the potential for running amok both before and after September 2001, and took full advantage of it.
Posted by idiosynchronic at July 12, 2005 08:01 AMJuan Cole reports that 54% of the country now believes the war in Iraq made us less safe. I guess it took the terrorist attack in London to make that clear.
Posted by Mary at July 12, 2005 08:03 AMOooh, oooh, I got one Mary! I hope you consider adding it as an edit to the front page. Good 'ol Kentucky moonshine!:
Woohoo! How 'bout them Southern GOPers?:
FRANKFORT - Kentucky Republican Party Chairman Darrell Brock Jr. and two officials in Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration were indicted last night by a special Franklin County grand jury in an ongoing investigation of personnel action by the administration.
In addition to Brock, Basil W. Turbyfill, Fletcher's executive director of personnel and efficiency, and Robert H. Wilson Jr., deputy Personnel Cabinet secretary, were each charged with one count of criminal conspiracy. The misdemea-nor charge comes from allegedly violating the 45-year-old state Merit Law, which requires that personnel decisions involving rank-and-file state employees be based on qualifications -- not politics.
The indictments mark the third time in less than a month that the grand jury has brought charges against Fletcher administration officials. Eight individuals have been charged. This is the first round of charges that do not involve Transportation Cabinet officials. However, two officials of the department were mentioned in last night's indictments.
Third time is definitely a charm!
Posted by MisterOpus1 at July 12, 2005 08:06 AM(7/12/05)TOON O' THE DAY:A Story With Wings
Posted by jjoats at July 12, 2005 08:09 AMCentrist,
Condi's time will come when we finally bring the lying warmongers to justice. Afterall, who can forget this statement about desire to wage war in Iraq?
"Condi's enthusiasm for regime change is undimmed. But there were some signs, since we last spoke, of greater awareness of the practical difficulties and political risks. ... From what she said, Bush has yet to find the answers to the big questions: How to persuade international opinion that military action against Iraq is necessary and justified; What value to put on the exiled Iraqi opposition; How to coordinate a U.S./allied military campaign with internal opposition; (assuming there is any); What happens on the morning after?"
And when was that exactly? March 14, 2002
Posted by Mary at July 12, 2005 08:42 AMWhat happens on the morning after?
On the morning after there'd be a big argument about who was going to change the soiled sheets in the Lincoln bedroom and whether or not Condi should take some RU-487.
Oh....that's not the morning after you were talking about....was it?
Posted by snark at July 12, 2005 08:48 AMThought for the Day -- from Garrison Keillor and the Writers Almanac:
It's the birthday of Julius Caesar, born in Rome around 100 B.C., who said, "Beware the leader who bangs the drum of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor. For patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind."
Posted by ck at July 12, 2005 08:52 AMWe should ban trolls. All they do is lie and take up space. No honest exchange here.
Not my blog here, but I disagree dear Judith. It's important to know what these people have to say. It's American to know it. How many neo-con blogs can I go to and say my peace? I'm deleted.
Yes, they are a pain in the neck, but they hone our arguments. Myself, I've seen you whack trolls upside the head with common sense and truth and then seen them disappear along with their arguments. Also, how important is it for someone doing a Google search to hit an archive where troll arguments have been shredded from several different perspectives? That's priceless. It informs our society. There is no other resource available doing this.
There is a very good balance here. I've seen it self-correct many times when the mix gets too lopsided.
Posted by phidipides at July 12, 2005 09:03 AMKos needs a reality check. Is he suggesting nothing happens in this administration that's byzantine, convoluted, conspiratorial, deceitful, illegal and far from what it appears to be on the surface? We're to take everything at face value, all is as it seems at first glance? Motives are true, there's no maneuvering, bribes, trade-offs, back-scratching, subterfuge, foreign intrigue or deception? Tell me Kos, who would have believed 5 years ago an American citizen could be thrown into jail with no charges brought, no indictment, no right to a lawyer, trial or visitation by family? None of the above, EVER! Indefinite detention by order of the Executive Branch, with the eventual acquiescence of SCOTUS on the matter? Go to hell Kos, if conspiracy theories piss you off, too bad. All is not always as it seems, get over it.
Posted by steve duncan at July 12, 2005 09:03 AMSteve Ducan - you are right. Kos must have a huge hangover and is not thinking straight. Like what about the conspiracy to lie us into war?
Posted by dag at July 12, 2005 09:17 AMTell me Kos, who would have believed 5 years ago an American citizen could be thrown into jail with no charges brought, no indictment, no right to a lawyer, trial or visitation by family?
Why, the British, 230 years ago. They were called "writs of attainder" and were one of the fundamental reasons we have a Bill of Rights. Of course, neo-cons are so manly they don't need no stinking Bill of Rights.
On the topic of odd news stories. You all know I'm in the buckle of the bible belt wedged between irrational anti-evolutionists to the north and fundamentalists Assembly of Godders to the south. The local news had a well researched investigative piece on the military stop-loss policy. They shredded everyone from military recruiters to neo-con congressmen over the reporter being unable to get information about the policy and being unresponsive to the reporters requests for information. A very well researched and presented piece. My conclusion? Someone got distracted and pulled their finger out of the neo-con dike.
Posted by phidipides at July 12, 2005 09:19 AMAtrios has a story up that shows Condi was involved with trying to spread the lies about Wilson's trip. You'll remember that she went around during that time, saying that the report never bubbled up to the White House, which is why the 16 words still made their way into the SOTU. If I recall, she blamed Hadley for sitting on the report disproving the yellowcake forgeries. In the clip Atrios presents, it's apparent she's trying to steer reporters towards the CIA. Interesting, huh?
Posted by iamcoyote at July 12, 2005 09:32 AMWoohoo! Front page, man! Thanx a gob!
Opus
Posted by MisterOpus1 at July 12, 2005 09:33 AMArmando at DailyKos makes a point I was going to make in a post here:
Two years ago, Scott McClellan lied on behalf of Karl Rove and/or the President or McClellan was lied to by Karl Rove and/or the President.
It can not be disputed now that Karl Rove did indeed "leak classified information." McClellan denied this fact two years ago. Who told McClellan to tell this lie to the American people? Was it Rove and/or Bush?
Why do I speculate as to whether the President was involved in this lie to the American people? Very simple. Karl Rove STILL works for the President. He has not been fired.
Exactly. If Rove isn't fired today, we know that the lie runs deep.
Posted by CA Pol Junkie at July 12, 2005 09:37 AMdumping Rove might be bad. That would free him to start working on the 08 Candidate immediately. Might be better to keep him tied to George's coat right on up to the next election.
Posted by T2 at July 12, 2005 10:12 AMOkay Phidipides, I know your are right, but sometimes I want to ban their little derrieres. One thing positive that has come from their postngs has been the affirmation of the liberal principals I believe in.
Posted by Judith at July 12, 2005 11:18 AMCA Pol Junkie. From Scotty: "There will be no firing as long as there is an investigation on going."
Posted by Judith at July 12, 2005 11:25 AMWhoa, Judith, I thought Scotty wasn't going to comment. He's a Liar!!
Posted by iamcoyote at July 12, 2005 11:47 AMIamcoyote. From Scotty: "there will be no truth telling while there is an investigation going on."
"The special prosecutor has requested that I not comment on my lying my ass off while there is an investigation going on."
Posted by Judith at July 12, 2005 12:04 PMBy the way, the law does not require witnesses to remain mum about their testimony. Fitzgerald might have said it would be nice, but he can't legally insist on--or even ask for--anything.
Notice that McClellan didn't say stuff like "we can't" or "we're not allowed." He resolutely stuck with "it would be most helpful" and "we won't." I think he's afraid that if he spoke in broader terms, Fitz's office might publicly say, "Hey! You guys go right ahead! We can't stop you!"
Posted by Matt Davis at July 12, 2005 12:16 PMDid you know that the Democratic Party has been hijacked by us far left liberals, according to Bernard Goldberg, formerly of CBS. He has written a book entitled "100 People who are Screwing Up America" and accusing us for the vulgarity and nastiness of this Country. On the list of those who are waging a war on our culture are, Al Frankin, Howard Dean, Michael Moore, Ted Kennedy, Jerry Springer?, teachers on college campuses, lawyers, etc. Projection, thy name is GOP.
Posted by Judith at July 12, 2005 12:18 PMFitzgerald just may come out and say that very thing.
Posted by Judith at July 12, 2005 12:20 PMJudith, I agree with most of what you said. I don't think you've hijacked the Democrats. I don't think the religious right has hijacked the GOP, either.
Most of America is in the middle.
Posted by muckdog at July 12, 2005 01:02 PMMDog,
Precisely. Most of America are "swing voters". They are there for the taking. Give em a good thing to hate (like freshly gay men french kissing on the courthouse steps) and they will turn out en masse to defeat the party that supported such nonsense (in this case the Dems)
Yet Dems continue to allow loose cannons (Dean, Teddy,Michael Moore) to be spokesmen for the Dems, smearing middle America bible-belt xtians' faces in the things they find most vile, (gay marriage, partial birth abortions) while trying to restrict the rights given to all of us in the second Amendment to defend ourselves against well armed criminals. Oh yeah, those Dem strategists....best friends the GOP ever had.
Ouch.
Posted by Bones at July 12, 2005 01:16 PMNow bones why is it that you get yourself so exercised about someone trying to control what kinds of guns you can own but you yourself would like to control the intimate lives of complete strangers?
Why is that?
Posted by muckcat at July 12, 2005 01:45 PMYet Dems continue to allow loose cannons (Dean, Teddy,Michael Moore) to be spokesmen for the Dems,
Tom DeLay, Bill Frist, Duke Cunningham, Ralph Reed, James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Rick Santorum, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Rush Limbaugh.....
while trying to restrict the rights given to all of us in the second Amendment to defend ourselves against well armed criminals.
Whats-a-matta-u? Couldn't get a permit for a rocket launcher? You can own a fucking cannon if you want it. What's the problem? I don't rmember the 2nd being an issue during the last election.
Posted by phidipides at July 12, 2005 02:29 PMWith the Valerie Palme, Joe Wilson, Novak, Rove drama evolving I was just searching for a site I had seen a while back and finally found all and more than I hope for at Plame Leak timeline From dKosopedia, the free political encyclopedia.
It is good as it deal by date about this sordid affaire from the beginning to July 6, 2005. All have links to prove each claim.
The of Novak’s connection, the fake document/Italian connection that bush relied on, and also the role of Jeff Guckert/Gannon appearance in the White House (Feb. 28.2003) They are all here.
It was a key document at; After Downing street.org Started
DSM Day July 23, 2005
Downing Street Minutes 3rd Anniversary Events
Mourn the Losses, Learn the Truth, and Investigate the Lies
Nobody really cares about Rove et al. The S & P 500 hit a four year high today. My account is up over $50,000 this month. Get a REAL life guys! Make your own fortune.
Posted by at July 12, 2005 04:33 PMGees bones, you really are a very unhappy old man. Perhaps you should consider FLA -- you can carry your hardware almost anywhere there. Oh, sorry, that's probably not even good enough for you.
But back to the main point (in that this doesn't seem to be on the up and up), I only found one reference to this and am not so sure about it's authenticity (it names UNICAL as UNOCAL)-- but there seems to be a bush connection to the Chinese bid for UNICAL -- seems a PR firm which has done the same kind of work for the BFEE is working for the Chinese.
It is pretty dense text, but it's in there.
Does anyone know about the authenticity of this?
Posted by caroline at July 12, 2005 04:38 PMWould someone, who knows, post the percentage of swing voters?
While I certainly believe that most people, Republican or Democrat, or more moderate in their beliefs, Bush has proven that a minority can hijack a party when given the power and control.
How would the GOP like a book that lists the "100 People Who Are Taking This Country into Fascism."
Of course, Bush would be at the top of the list.
Thanks caroline for the link on the unical offer.
About two years ago, a local investment "guru" was pushing investment in China. Amongst other things he referred to China as a "formerly communist country." There is nothing former about China's communism, this is a centrally directed economy that is only different from the old U.S.S.R. in that they learned from Soviet mistakes. To pretend that this is just another business deal is foolish at best.
caroline and rlprather,
There was just an article in WaPo on this very company today and it's US connections to the current WH. Interesting read and might help those inquiring about it. Here's the first graph+ of the article.
Bush Adviser Helped Law Firm Land Job Lobbying for CNOOC
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 12, 2005; Page D01
President Bush's top independent intelligence adviser met last winter with investment bankers in China to help secure his law firm's role in lobbying for a state-run Chinese energy firm and its bid for the U.S. oil company Unocal Corp., according to his law firm, Akin Gump.
The involvement of James C. Langdon Jr., chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and a major Bush fundraiser, underscores the tangled Washington connections beneath CNOOC Ltd.'s bid. Both CNOOC and its rival for Unocal, Chevron Corp., have enlisted lobbyists and public relations professionals with deep ties to the Bush White House and Republican leaders in Congress. Wayne L. Berman, a principal lobbyist for Chevron, is a Bush "Ranger," having raised at least $200,000 for the president's campaign. His wife, Lea, is the White House social secretary.
REally need to read the whole thing to get a full flavor of how Washington and the big players work. The line between the political/private-public/government sector is so blurred these days. Corporate America is such an understatement.
The line between the political/private-public/government sector is so blurred these days.
Well said. The wild card in these machinations is when things don't go quite as planned by the political sector. I propose the Iraqi oil fields as an example. The whole thinking of the administration was that the oil would flow like beer from a keg at a George Bush frat party. The military was sent in. The contracts were passed out to American and British oil companies. They never once thought the piplines would be blown up at every turn. Go figure.
Posted by phidipides at July 12, 2005 07:40 PMThanks rlprather and emal, you both have always been staight up. rl, as I was clarifying to one of my students (who didn't know that americans knew the difference) the Chinese are communist/capitalist economically, but facists politically -- seems I read that somewhere else on another thread maybe.
I'm going to your link after this post emal.
I hesistate to say, but having had a stellar day today, I will. You both, rlprather and emal, are why I have stayed and posted, under various names. I am glad it has come back to you both.
You can ignore me after this confession, but I hope you won't -- either of you.
I look for your responses and take them very seriously.
And thank you both.
I stay, come back, for you guys
Posted by caroline at July 12, 2005 07:45 PMMC,
Your question doesn't even make sense. What is it you're assuming?
Caroline. It's UnOcal. With an O.
Posted by Bones at July 12, 2005 07:47 PMThen you admit the BFEE connection?
Posted by caroline at July 12, 2005 07:52 PMThanks emal -- went to the link, thanks.
Posted by caroline at July 12, 2005 07:56 PMI missed thanking Phidip for this last weekend too. Thanks to you too. You are the man -- more than.
I can't be here so often, but I try.
Thanks all.
Posted by caroline at July 12, 2005 08:03 PMThank you for your kind words caroline. I've found that the writers and the other bloggers here give me perspectives not found anywhere else. The leftcoaster is like an e-community to me, and though I of course look at other blogs, I always start and end here. You write well and I hope you do continue to comment.
Posted by rlprather at July 12, 2005 09:16 PMcaroline, I'm with rlprather and s/he expresses my sentiments about TLC very nicely. Also thanks for the kind words. There are many gifted and intelligent people with interesting perspectives and opinions that post here. It is well worth the experience of visiting. I have learned so much and hope that continues. The managers here set the tone and lead by example (tolerance) and that is why the atmosphere (for the most part) is so successful. Keep posting and good luck.
Posted by emal at July 13, 2005 06:08 AM
I don't see why we all don't bite the bullet, start the draft, and beat the crap out of religious extremism everywhere. These Confederate Conservatives don't have what it takes to catch Bin Laden, win a small war, protect KKKarl Rove the traitor or even save Terry Shiavo. We must start the draft, and fight for this nations very survival.They've dug us a hole that I don't want to ask my kids to dig everyone out of. These Contractors are incompetent.
NeoCons have been blowing and blowing but they won't blow our house down.
Remember when people like us rise up we always win and everyone is the better for it.
They just never really get it right in the right wing.
We have developed laser rifles, start the draft. This war is a war we must actually win, believe it or not. Ask yourself did God make lasers? I'd say no, but if 3 million Americans showed up in Iraq the insurgency would have been over by now, especially if they had the weapon we just developed. All of the Abu Garib stories, all of the wounded people, all of the Karl Rove/Bill Clinton hogwash would be somehow unimportant. The question we'd ask is "how are the troops?" It would be asked so much you'd get tired of it and want the suffering to end, even if your country had to ask you. We have once again failed to officially declare war and the country is being run by draft dodgers.
Posted by Professional Progressive at July 17, 2005 09:19 PM