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Larry Johnson Gives Radio Address
Via Atrios:
Larry Johnson to give Democrats radio address tomorrow morning. Transcript:
"Good morning. I'm Larry Johnson, an American, a registered Republican, a former intelligence official at the CIA, and a friend of Valerie Plame.
I entered on duty at the CIA in September 1985 with Valerie. We were members of the Career Trainee Program. Senator Orin Hatch wrote the letter of recommendation for me which I believe that helped open the doors to me at the CIA.
From the first day we walked into the building, all members of my training class were undercover, including Valerie. In other words, we had to lie to our family and friends about where we worked. We could only tell those who had an absolute need to know where we worked. In my case, I told my wife.
I knew the wife of Ambassador Wilson, Valerie, as Valerie P. Even though all of us in the training class held Top Secret Clearances, we were asked to limit our knowledge of our other classmates to the first initial of their last name.
So, Larry J. knew Val P. rather than Valerie Plame. I really didn't realize what her last name was until her cover was betrayed by the Government officials who gave columnist Robert Novak her true name.
I am stunned that government officials at the highest level have such ignorance about a matter so basic to the national security structure of this nation.
Robert Novak's compromise of Valerie led to scrutiny of CIA officers that worked with her. This not only compromised her "cover" company but potentially every individual overseas who had been in contact with that company or with her.
We must put to bed the lie that she was not undercover. For starters, if she had not been undercover then the CIA would not have referred the matter to the Justice Department.
Val only told those with a need to know about her status in order to safeguard her cover, not compromise it. She was content with being known as an energy consultant married to Ambassador Joe Wilson and the mother of twins.
I voted for George Bush in November of 2000 because I was promised a President who would bring a new tone and a new ethical standard to Washington.
So where are we? The President has flip-flopped on his promise to fire anyone at the White House implicated in a leak. We now know from press reports that at least Karl Rove and "Scooter" Libby are implicated in these leaks and may have lied during the investigation.
Instead of a President concerned first and foremost with protecting this country and the intelligence officers who serve it, we are confronted with a President who is willing to sit by while political operatives savage the reputations of good Americans like Valerie and Joe Wilson.
This is wrong and this is shameful.
We deserve people who work in the White House who are committed to protecting classified information, telling the truth to the American people, and living by example the idea that a country at war with Islamic extremists cannot focus its efforts on attacking other American citizens who simply tried to tell the truth.
I am Larry Johnson.
Thank you for listening.
[Audio available at Atrios' place]
[Welcome Huffington Post readers. For a definition of the term covert operative, you can find it here in the McMichael testimony given on July 22, 2005, or you can refer to the Intelligence Section of the Defence Appropriation Act of 1991. McMichael paraphrased it thusly for the committee:
And I want to point out to you that -- because we're talking about truth here -- in the 1991 Defense Appropriation Act, in the intelligence section, it finally incorporated a definition of covert operations. And those are -- and I paraphrase -- actions undertaken by the United States government of a political, economic or military nature conducted in foreign countries, carried out in such a way that the role of the United States is not known or, if revealed, plausibly can be denied.
UPDATED by Casey Morris, July 26, 2005, 18.47.00 EDT]
In today's hearing on Capitol Hill, Larry Johnson pointed out that Sen. John McCain was "an apologist" for the WH, when McCain was on MSNBC Hardball last night.
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NPR's timeline:
Timeline: The CIA Leak Case
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4764919
Ex-CIA Officers Rip Bush Over Rove Leak
By DONNA DE LA CRUZ, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 58 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Former U.S. intelligence officers criticized President Bush on Friday for not disciplining Karl Rove in connection with the leak of the name of a CIA officer, saying Bush's lack of action has jeopardized national security.
In a hearing held by Senate and House Democrats examining the implications of exposing Valerie Plame's identity, the former intelligence officers said Bush's silence has hampered efforts to recruit informants to help the United States fight the war on terror. Federal law forbids government officials from revealing the identity of an undercover intelligence officer.
"I wouldn't be here this morning if President Bush had done the one thing required of him as commander in chief — protect and defend the Constitution," said Larry Johnson, a former CIA analyst. "The minute that Valerie Plame's identity was outed, he should have delivered a strict and strong message to his employees."
Rove, Bush's deputy chief of staff, told Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper in a 2003 phone call that former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife worked for the CIA on weapons of mass destruction issues, according to an account by Cooper in the magazine. Rove has not disputed that he told Cooper that Wilson's wife worked for the agency, but has said through his lawyer that he did not mention her by name.
In July 2003, Robert Novak, citing unnamed administration officials, identified Plame by name in his syndicated column and wrote that she worked for the CIA. The column has led to a federal criminal investigation into who leaked Plame's undercover identity. New York Times reporter Judith Miller — who never wrote a story about Plame — has been jailed for refusing to testify.
Bush said last week, "I think it's best that people wait until the investigation is complete before you jump to conclusions. And I will do so, as well."
Dana Perino, a White House spokesman, said Friday that the administration would have no comment on the investigation while it was continuing.
Patrick Lang, a retired Army colonel and defense intelligence officer, said Bush's silence sends a bad signal to foreigners who might be thinking of cooperating with the U.S. on intelligence matters.
"This says to them that if you decide to cooperate, someone will give you up, so you don't do it," Lang said. "They are not going to trust you in any way."
Johnson, who said he is a registered Republican, said he wished a GOP lawmaker would have the courage to stand up and "call the ugly dog the ugly dog."
"Where are these men and women with any integrity to speak out against this?" Johnson asked. "I expect better behavior out of Republicans."
http://tinyurl.com/c4aq8
I have been emailing everyone I know with all these articles.
I got back one terse note from a religious person telling me I need to just pray and not say anything bad about our government officials. I wrote back and told her that Martin Luther King didn't have any problem speaking truth to power.
She is African American. Then I sent her his speech made in NYC one year to the day of his murder. She backed down some in her reply.
Keep it coming folks, and thank you, I send it all over!
Full written transcript of today's Dorgan/Waxman hearing on national implications of disclosing covert identifications:
Its in acrobat reader format.
http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/Documents/20050722145835-13707.pdf
Not a lot they can argue with you about when the facts are staring them in the face.
I am trying to not gloat, honest. It is just so good after months of trying to tell people when they couldn't see alot of tangible evidence (thanks in large part to our media block) to be able to back up your hunches, all the information and proof you had been reading and gathering, and show them something that is now in the media.
Larry Johnson, one of my new heroes...!!! (I'll even forgive him for being a Republican - he must be of the old school kind of Republican...?) :-) The rest of the ex-CIA agents are also definitely my new heroes!!! :-)
Senator Dorgan (ND) is continuing to surprise me and fast becoming someone to admire for speaking up!!!
Senator Waxman is becoming someone I can admire.
The C-SPAN replay of the hearing: WOW! Priceless!!! If it's on again, I hope others will listen and/or watch. The fact that those ex-agents were so forthright and articulate in a world gone mad on secrecy (and their jobs used to be nothing but secrets!) just blew me away!!!
{{{ Another nod to OTV4D: Thanks so much for tracking down the link and the time of the replay. I sent it out to my email list and added it to my emails to the networks. You're the greatest!!! :-) }}}
Not only was McCain an apologist,he was saying :"elections are about consequences" and just gave Bush a free pass on EVERYTHING!! Too bad the people didn't realize that least year at this time. Just look where we are today....in only twelve months and counting till the END of this presidency!
He made me so ill I couldn't even stomach FOOD Network after that play!
I know in my bones and corpuscles that George W. knew and approved every inch of what was done in our name. Revenge is his religion.
Remember that he was goon and loyalty squad for his dad's campaign, with mentors and brain melds to Atwater and Rove. Such a low-life as POTUS.
Waxman has been doing great work for a while...
OT
CSPAN 2 is re-showing the House & Senate attempting the reconcile the versions of the Bush Energy Bill passed by each side of Congress
Posted by: NonnyO at July 22, 2005 06:46 PM
I'm glad I had the time available today to spend tracking down info on this story.
I wanted to also tell you how much I appreciate your regular round-up of links and posting them here to enlighten us all...so we can stay informed & go forth with knowledge to inform others. I try to do the same, but don't always have the time it takes to scour the web.
Everyone makes a tremendous contribution here and I learn something new every time I stop by here.
Kudos to all!
Congress Report: TSA Broke Privacy Laws
By LESLIE MILLER, Associated Press Writer
5 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The Transportation Security Administration violated privacy protections by secretly collecting personal information on at least 250,000 people, congressional investigators said Friday.
The Government Accountability Office sent a letter to Congress saying the collection violated the Privacy Act, which prohibits the government from compiling information on people without their knowledge.
The information was collected as the agency tested a program, now called Secure Flight, to conduct computerized checks of airline passengers against terrorist watch lists.
TSA had promised it would only use the limited information about passengers that it had obtained from airlines. Instead, the agency and its contractors compiled files on people using data from commercial brokers and then compared those files with the lists.
The GAO reported that about 100 million records were collected.
The 1974 Privacy Act requires the government to notify the public when it collects information about people. It must say who it's gathering information about, what kinds of information, why it's being collected and how the information is stored.
And to protect people from having misinformation about them in their files, the government must also disclose how they can access and correct the data it has collected.
Before it began testing Secure Flight, the TSA published notices in September and November saying that it would collect from airlines information about people who flew commercially in June 2004.
Instead, the agency actually took 43,000 names of passengers and used about 200,000 variations of those names — who turned out to be real people who may not have flown that month, the GAO said. A TSA contractor collected 100 million records on those names.
Justin Oberman, the TSA official in charge of Secure Flight, said that was a highly instructive test.
"When you cannot distinguish one John Smith from another, you're going to get records from John Smiths who aren't boarding flights on an order of magnitude we can't handle," Oberman said.
He said the testing is designed to find out what kind of data airlines will need to get — such as passengers' birthdates — so they can turn it over to the government to check against watch lists.
The GAO letter said that the TSA also said originally that it wouldn't use and store commercial data about airline passengers. It not only did that, it collected and stored information about the people with similar names.
"As a result, an unknown number of individuals whose personal information was collected were not notified as to how they might access or amend their personal data," the letter said.
It was only after meeting with the GAO, which is overseeing the program, that the TSA published a second notice indicating that it would do the things it had earlier said it wouldn't do.
Oberman said it's not unusual to revise such notices.
"We are conducting a test," he said. "I didn't know what the permutations would be."
Oberman also said that the test has no impact on anyone who travels and that the data will be destroyed when the test is over.
Friday's GAO letter shed new light on how the TSA expanded the testing of Secure Flight well beyond its original scope and why it had to publish the second notice.
The letter drew a sharp rebuke from Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and the ranking Democrat, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff dated Friday.
"Careless missteps such as this jeopardize the public trust and DHS' ability to deploy a much-needed, new system," the letter said, citing the project's "unfortunate history."
___
On the Net:
Transportation Security Administration: http://www.tsa.gov
Homeland Security Department: http://www.dhs.gov
from Buzzflash, a must read:
excerpt~
And here's something else you can take to the bank about Mr. Rove: he knows where all the skeletons in the RNC closet are. Just as J. Edgar Hoover kept Washington terrified with what dirty secrets he knew; Karl Rove is flush with the same currency. If even half of the horrible things we believe about BushCo leading us into war for lies and war-profiteering are true, Karl is the man who knows the details, all the way back to every lie Bush has told since he first set his hand-made cowboy boots on the campaign trail. Does that sound like the resume of a man who is going down alone?
Rove is not Ed Meese, or Caspar Weinberger, or John Mitchell or John Poindexter. There is no historical correlation for Karl's role in presidential history that I know of. The closest is probably Hillary Clinton, no offense to Sen. Clinton. Rove is not just a team member serving at the pleasure of the president. He is, in the context of what he knows about the President and his Administration, the closest thing to a co-president this country has ever had. Unholy matrimony.
So, is there even a snowball's chance in Hell that Bush would let Karl go down? With what Karl knows? Does anyone believe for a minute that Karl's ego would allow him to take one for his "boss"? That massive ego must have smoldered for years under the Bush sobriquet, "Turd Blossom," but at least he could comfort himself knowing that he was the smart one; the Architect. But, slink away with his tail tucked? Not an option. Not even for a guaranteed cushy future as a K St. insider. And, more importantly, Bush won't ask him to. Barbara might have him taken out if she thinks his existence is a threat to her boy, but that's a different story. Bush and Karl are tied together in a Devil's Knot. It is a symbiotic relationship. Neither exceeds the sum of their total. They rise and fall together, or not at all. No one else could make Bush look as good, no one else can make Rove less unsavory. This is a fight for the very existence they have created together, for, and with, each other.
They will not cave. Not to threats, not to media pressure. They don't think they have to. When an impertinent reporter asked Bush about Rove as Bush walked past, Bush dismissed the man with a royal flick of his wrist, as if brushing a bug away. That said it all. Bush and Rove had imbued themselves with a sense of entitlement backed by destructive force. They believe that all they have to do is keep the party circling the wagons while the faithful repeat the talking points and the chaff gets tossed up until some murder, some scandal, takes the heat off. If necessary, a few lives can be ruined to expedite the process and ensure success. It's never failed them before.
Keep in mind too, this is the gang that simply changes any science, any data, any report that challenges their propaganda. And the authors of such information are usually the first casualties, if they can't, or won't, be muzzled.
If I were Mr. Fitzgerald, I'd be looking over my shoulder, unless they've already gotten to him. I only say that because Bush looks about as worried about Fitzgerald coming out with an indictment as he looked on election night. Which is to say, not at all.
This looks less like Nixon and Watergate to me than it does Al Capone and Chicago. The question is whether Mr. Fitzgerald is an Eliot Ness or just an already compromised Chicago Alderman.
Don't relax, the fat lady's limo hasn't even arrived, she's not singing yet.
continue~
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/05/07/con05252.html
THIS has been bugging me today. Think Progress gets it:
Excuse me, but do you ENJOY being in the minority?? «
This morning the Wall Street Journal reported that Senate Democrats were planning “to grill Bush confidant Karen Hughes” about her involvement in the ever widening leak-case. But, Senate Democrats must have gotten lost on the way to the hearing. Not one showed up. Instead, according to the Associated Press:
“A scaled-back Senate Foreign Relations Committee showered praise Friday on Karen Hughes and put the former political adviser to President Bush on a fast track to confirmation as the State Department’s top public relations official.”
The absence of the Democrats is even more glaring considering just today the New York Times reported that Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald called Karen Hughes before the grand jury to testify as to her involvement in the leak-case. Of course, this begs the obvious question: Karen Hughes, did you have a role in leaking the name of an undercover CIA agent?
Instead of any substantive questions, the Democrats simply didn’t show up.
continue here~ [for the kinds of questions the DEMS COULD/SHOULD have asked, had they been there]
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/07/22/excuse-me-but-do-you-enjoy-being-in-the-minority/
teevee alert!
an interview with former Amb. Joe Wilson, coming up next on MSNBC, Countdown with Olbermann
An inspiring story of what an ordinary person can do-- even after screwing up. The author is the son of one of the women this man protected.
Link to video is on the web page.
The Search for Major Plagge: The Nazi who Saved Jews
Dr. Michael Good
Michael Good profiles the life of Nazi army officer Major Karl Plagge. In "The Search for Major Plagge," the author recounts how the officer saved his mother, Pearl, and 250 Jews from death in a concentration camp Lithuania during the Holocaust.
http://www.booktv.org/history/index.asp?schedid=354&segid=5825
geez, do i feel silly..
i'm over talkin to myself on another thread, duh!
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some of it is relevant, so bare with me...:)
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the CSPAN hearing on rove leak is started again right now.
posted really at 2:12PM Hawaii time
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Posted by: faith1 at July 22, 2005 08:11 PM
chuck, please get into this hearing.
The cia agents will answer all your questions
and in a great and wonderful way.
We are cooking with gas now.
Unfortunatly just saw cnn on this issue
even tho 'more' was revealed, nothing really was published... media still scared???
they cannot argue with these wonderful AMERICANS
whom you will shortly hear testify.
on CSPAN
NOW!
Posted by: faith1 at July 22, 2005 08:17 PM
------------------------------
Blogs are driving the news cycles, and they should. In a few years over 40 Million people will be podcasting the days news, direct from independant groups. No more mainstream news, no more filtering, no more white house arm twisting, no more Corporate agenda.
Hard news, reported live without commercial interruption from thousands of people hooked into the Mobilenet. Commentary delivered by independant analysts that spend money on research, not hair spray.
If a News story hits home, you will be able to download websites that contain detailed reporting and allow you to interact with the story itself; give contributions, give time, submit research, etc.
It will be a great world, and we can thank idiot reporters like the lead casey posted who stares a major news story in the face and cannot make heads or tails of it.
Posted by: Toolmaker at July 22, 2005 06:31 PM
do you know, is yahoo, microsoft, unix
working with China to filter their internet?
{anne applebaum today, CSPAN Washington Journal
and Washington Post and http://www.foreignpolicy.com/
Posted by: faith1 at July 22, 2005 08:23 PM
i beg your pardon. must be friday. 2:30pm hawaii
CSPAN RealPlayer link to Karen Hughes' hearing
rtsp://video.c-span.org/15days/e072205_hughes.rm
Lugar's intro almost made me puke--
Blurb-
Karen Hughes at State Department Nomination Hearing
Pres. Bush has nominated Karen Hughes to be Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy. The former speech writer and counselor to Pres. Bush joins other State Department nominees at a confirmation hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) chairs this meeting.
7/22/2005: WASHINGTON, DC: 2 hr. 5 min.
CSPAN RealPlayer link to Hearing on Rove leak
rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/ter/ter072205_identity.rm
I haven't gotten it to load yet-- lots of prople must be listening to it- :)
probably accessable later
LOL Faith- you sound very different today!
And in Prime Time!
I am so glad to see CSPAN re-broadcasting the CIA agents hearing from earlier today on Bu$hco-Rove leak right now. That's the 2nd rebroadcast today, hopefully more than a few interested Republicans have watched, with eyes and ears open.
I am hopeful.
I am waiting for 10 PM EST, for the McLaughlin Group on PBS. I understand it is syndicated and is broadcast at different times & days around the country, but I catch it here on Fri nights on PBS.
It was on that show 3 weeks ago, that Lawrence O'Donnell first opened up the "Its Rove" story...its a very good 30 minute news show, fast paced and they have been covering the Rove-leak story for 3 weeks now.
The McLaughlin Group on PBS. Worth watching if you can find it.
from CNN
Inside Politics cartoon:
Roberts & Rove Bullseye
http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/analysis/toons/2005/07/22/mitchell/index.html
So does anyone else think it's a bit weird that Porter Goss, director of the CIA, has remained silent -- or in fact, out-of-sight-out-of-mind -- in this whole Rovergate affair?
CrooksandLiars has the excerpt from last nights' Hardball, with Sen John McCain being an apologist for the WH:
John McCain waffles on Rove
McCain is thought to be as honest as they come. He doesn't tote the party line. He's an independent thinker and the extreme religious right hates him. John even railed President Bush for attacking his family during the 2000 South Carolina primary and told the Prez that he should be embarrassed. Last night on Hard Ball, he caved like a cheap suit on the issue of Rove-gate. He stuck to the Ken Mehlman defense.
Matthews asked the proper question and tried to get him to give a basic right or wrong opinion.
MATTHEWS: I want to know what your ethical standard would be here if it is shown that somebody in the White House, the vice president's staff or somebody on the president's staff, whoever they are, intentionally leaked an undercover agent's identity as a way of either just pushing them back or punishing them, whatever the motive. Do you think the standard should be, did they break a criminal act or not?
MCCAIN: I don't know, because it depends on—look, I can't be the president of the United States. I trust this president. I believe that he will do the right thing.
And, right now, the status of this situation is, is that Karl Rove still publicly denies that he did leak this name, OK. And I believe he has the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. And, again, as we said earlier in our conversation, he was trying to refute allegations that Ambassador Wilson made that turned out not to be true. And he knew they were not true. Well, I'm talking about Karl Rove knew they were not true.
Notice he didn't answer the question. Matthews wasn't asking about the President or the current status of the case. He asked him for an opinion. McCain brought it back to Wilson. The question is an easy one to answer. With McCain flopping around you have to figure that the entire GOP is worried about the direction and outcome of the investigation.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/07/22.html#a4090
madame~
with this comment on Crooks and Liars about John McCain's reaction to the Rove leak, perhaps this answers your question about Porter Goss also:
"the entire GOP is worried about the direction and outcome of the investigation."
Didn't we hear that McCain inherited Bush's media guru, Mark McKinnon? Maybe the '08 run says everything thing about party over anything else.
Never really a straight-shooter.
from Alan in Seattle:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/22/politics/22leak.html?th&emc=th
GEE WIZ! WITH ALL THESE LEAKS LOOKS LIKE WE NEED "The Plumbers" [ AKA- Watergate!] AGAIN! And I'm amazed that Karl Rove was concerned about Welfare Reform when his boss was just caught lieing???
_________________________________________________
from Elizabeth in Seattle:
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Advance_Colleague_of_outed_agent_seeks_to_setrecord_st_0722.html
CIA agent defends Val Plame
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aY51e404Lx_8
Rove’s testimony differs from that of reporters
. . . .As Americans watch the battle between Joe Wilson and Karl Rove unfold in the media, it is important to remember the big picture: President Bush took the nation to war to prevent a nuclear attack from Iraq. Now we know that all of that evidence was false.
Instead of asking who was the real source in the White House that released the name of Valery Plame to the press, we should all be asking a much more important question: If the President knew Iraq did not have nuclear weapons and that Iraq could not launch a nuclear attack against the United States, why did he tell Americans that they were in danger of nuclear attack? Why did the President claim to be protecting American from a nuclear threat that did not exist? And why did President Bush campaign for re-election on the basis that if the Democrats were to be elected, the nation would once again be in danger of a nuclear attack?
When a President, who is in charge of protecting the nation, uses his power to spread fear in the population--so as to garner support for policies that the public might otherwise not support--how should Americans respond?
A President willing to use false claims to toy with the emotions of the American people--to scare the public and to convince young men and women to die in war--is a President who must answer for more than the emails of his advisers.
________________________________________________
From my hero, Jim McDermott - will see him speak tomorrow at the Downing Street event & will "live blog" to you here:
GOOD NEWS
As many of you know by now, I am fighting a long-running court battle against right-wing Republicans who want to punish me for contributing to the downfall of Newt Gingrich by passing along incriminating information to the media. On June 15, 2005, I received some much-needed good news: 17 news organizations—representing nearly all the major U.S. media outlets—filed an amicus curiae (friends-of-the-court) brief in my defense.
Why? Because they realize, as we have all along, that this case is not about me: It's a bold-faced attack on freedom of the press.
As a result of the last decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in this case in 2001, the court has created the possibility that a reporter who obtains information of public importance could be subject to punishment, even if the reporter did not break any law in obtaining it and disseminating it to the public.
We've already had a chilling preview of what's to come with the recent Supreme Court decision that reporters should serve jail time for refusing to reveal sources and the Cleveland Plain Dealer editor's recent decision not to publish two investigative pieces because they were based on material that was illegally leaked.
Here are just a few of the familiar signatures on the brief: the Associated Press; the New York Times Company; ABC, Inc.; CBS Corporation; and NBC Universal, Inc. (You'll note, with little surprise, I'm sure, that FOX declined to sign.)
To date, the Republicans have not had any amicus curiae briefs filed on their behalf in this case.
Unfortunately, the brief has not yet been posted to the Web, but as soon as it is, we will link to it in this newsletter and on my home page. To get full details on the case, visit my my Web site. Or help us fight to protect the First Amendment by making a contribution to my Legal Expense Trust.
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IT'S TIME TO WITHDRAW FROM IRAQ
Whether you oppose the war in Iraq or not, most of us believe that we should finish what we started by cleaning up the mess we made. But that doesn't mean we have to keep our under-resourced troops there indefinitely and continue writing multibillion-dollar check after multibillion-dollar check.
There is a way out:
It is time to involve the rest of the world in Iraq and stop anyone from calling this is the "U.S.-Iraq War." Only the United Nations has the international imprimatur to lead an international coalition in Iraq. Only the United Nations can credibly install a peace-keeping force in Iraq that is seen as such by the entire world.
I would gratefully support a Republican resolution to get the U.N. into Iraq. This would be a positive development to safeguard U.S. ground forces and send a positive signal to a skeptical Arab world that America's intentions are not what the insurgents claim them to be.
Here are links to a couple of thought-provoking articles I've found on the subject, plus a link to a recent speech I made on the House floor:
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 23: Seattle Downing Street Minutes Town Meeting, hosted by Jim McDermott
Where: Seattle Labor Temple, 2800 1st Ave, Hall #1 When: 1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
Details: Visit the Backbone Campaign Web site.
August 13: Rolling Thunder Democracy Festival 2005 Where: Magnuson Park, Seattle
When: 12:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Details: Visit the Seattle Thunder: Reclaiming Democracy Web site.
WEB SITES I LIKE
Here are just a couple of the Web sites I rely on to get the facts.
• Evergreen Politics: http://www.evergreenpolitics.com/
• WashPIRG (Washington State Public Interest Group): http://www.washpirg.org/
BOOKS I'M READING
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
By Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 2005)
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman takes a break from his usual explorations of strife in the Middle East to ponder the long-term effects of globalization. He's followed the movement of money around the globe and is predicting tough times for U.S. businesses that aren't planning now for major competition from countries like China and India. It's a real wake-up call.
Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East
By Rashid Khalidi (Beacon Press; 2004)
Rashid Khalidi, chair of Arab Studies at Columbia University and a frequent writer of op-eds for major daily newspapers, brings us an in-depth look at the possible outcomes of Western involvement in the Middle East. Though things look grim when he follows our current route to its logical destination, he also offers ideas that could help the West find a path to peace.
I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE, NO MATTER WHAT STATE YOU LIVE IN, TO GET TO KNOW JIM (as seen in Fahrenheit 9/11). Get on his mailing list.
Become his friend.
Truth no longer matters. Ethics no longer matter. Facts are there for the twisting. Decades-old conservative ideals regarding the budget and the size of the Federal government have been thrown under the bus because they are no longer convenient, and get in the way of the manufacture of reality. Soviet self-delusion led that nation into Afghanistan and disaster. The Bush administration’s self-delusion has led us into Iraq. Res ipsa loquitor.
The parallel between this Bush administration and the old, failed Soviet regime can be taken one step further. One of the main reasons the Soviet government was able to stagger on for years making up facts out of whole cloth was that the leaders of that regime were accountable to no one. The Politburo said it, and so it must be true, and if it wasn't true, there was no authority or check to their power that could blow a whistle, throw a flag or demand an investigation. The old Soviet government lived in a bubble, free from the fear that they might be called to the carpet for lying, getting a lot of people killed and putting the State in mortal danger.
Sound familiar? Bush and his people have managed to walk through the raindrops since 2001, managed to pull off more than a few impeachable crimes, for no other reason than that they are accountable to no one in government ... or, more properly, no one in government who has the power to call them to account has done so. Congress is run by Bush allies, the Justice Department is run by his longest-standing hatchet man, and all of them prefer to maintain the pleasant fictions over any attempt to fix what has gone so drastically and demonstrably wrong.
We watched the Soviets smash themselves to pieces because they refused to deal with what ailed them, because lies made life easier on the powerful, because actually attempting to address a problem might expose the powerful to censure or even removal, because no one had the power to stop them.
It is happening again, right before our eyes.
Excerpted from:
FOCUS | William Rivers Pitt: Bush's Soviet State
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/072205Y.shtml
I keep wondering how BushCo plans to punish Larry Johnson
re reframing-- I was thinking the other day that it's much more powerful to compare the BushCo regime to the USSR's authoritarians. They laugh off analogies to fascists (unless they can use a comment to squeeze a Senator). Their behaviors are more analogous to the long-term organized Soviet type than to flash-in-the-pan fascists. Ultimately the effects of their policies will resuslt in a society with a USSR-type class structure (ie-flat, except for the top tier). I could go on, but am too sleepy.
10:27 PM was in reference to:
not my president at July 22, 2005 09:59 PM
Aimzz
I agree. I have also been recognizing parallels to European colonialism, ever since I heard on NPR broadcast last week about how Belgium had capitalized on problems between tribes in Africa - made me so think of the Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis, the tribes in Afghanistan & even how we used the Muong people to fight in the mountains of Vietnam - when trying to consolidate our Oil Colonies. (& Britain alongside, with BP etc, & in Vietnam, it was Royal Dutch Shell, with infrastructure such as toilets provided by Brown Root & Kellogg, a subsidiary of Halliburton).
Marjorie G
McCain = war hawk, primarily
[Sen. Kerry, taking on another fact-finding mission]
Kerry Seeks Release of Roberts' Documents
By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 5 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. John Kerry urged the White House on Friday to release "in their entirety" all documents and memos from Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' tenure in two Republican administrations.
"We cannot do our duty if either Judge Roberts or the Bush administration hides elements of his professional record," said the Massachusetts senator who was his party's presidential candidate last year.
Opening what is expected to be a broader attempt by Democrats to pry loose documents, Kerry issued his statement as Roberts made the latest in a series of courtesy calls on senators in advance of confirmation hearings.
Democratic officials also said Friday they want access to all material regarding Roberts at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. Roberts served in the White House counsel's office from 1982-1986. He was principal deputy solicitor general in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050723/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_bush
OK, Peeps.... the Waxman hearing was center stage for the hearing and the re-run and of major interest to DCP bloggers... and Waxman found eleven security violations.... so I'm posting the whole article and link, minus the long list of references you can check out via the link:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/072205Q.shtml
Multiple Administration Security Breaches Involving Valerie Plame Wilson
By Rep. Henry Waxman
YubaNet
Friday 22 July 2005
The disclosure of the covert identity of Valerie Plame Wilson in a July 14, 2003, column by Robert Novak has triggered a criminal investigation and led to calls for congressional investigations. The Novak column, however, appears to be only one of multiple leaks of Ms. Wilson's identity. A new fact sheet released today by Rep. Waxman documents that there appear to be at least 11 separate instances in which Administration officials disclosed information about Ms. Wilson's identity and association with the CIA.
New Fact Sheet Details Multiple Administration Security Breaches Involving Valerie Plame Wilson
On July 14, 2003, columnist Robert Novak revealed that the wife of Ambassador Joseph Wilson, Valerie Plame Wilson, was a covert CIA agent. This disclosure of classified information has triggered a criminal investigation by a Special Counsel and led to calls for congressional investigations.
The Novak column, however, appears to be only one of multiple leaks of Ms. Wilson's identity. As this fact sheet documents, there appear to be at least 11 separate instances in which Administration officials disclosed information about Ms. Wilson's identity and association with the CIA.
Under Executive Order 12958, the White House is required to investigate any reports of security breaches and take "prompt corrective action," such as suspending the security clearances of those involved. Unlike prosecutions for criminal violations, which require "knowing" and "intentional" disclosures, the executive order covers a wider range of unauthorized breaches, including the "negligent" release of classified information. There is no evidence that the White House has complied with its obligation to investigate any of the 11 reported instances of security breaches relating to Ms. Wilson or to apply administrative sanctions to those involved.
The Disclosures of Valerie Wilson's Identity
1. The Disclosure by Karl Rove to Columnist Robert Novak
In a column dated July 14, 2003, Robert Novak first reported that Valerie Plame Wilson was "an agency operative on weapons of mass destruction." [1] Mr. Novak cited "two senior administration officials" as his sources. [2] According to multiple news reports, one of these two sources was Karl Rove, the Deputy White House Chief of Staff and the President's top political advisor. [3] During a phone call on July 8, 2003, Mr. Rove confirmed for Mr. Novak that Ms. Wilson worked at the CIA. During this conversation, Mr. Novak referred to Ms. Wilson "by her maiden name, Valerie Plame," and said he had heard she was involved in "the circumstances in which her husband ... traveled to Africa." [4] Mr. Rove responded, "I heard that, too." [5] Mr. Novak's name also appeared "on a White House call log as having telephoned Mr. Rove in the week before the publication of the July 2003 column." [6]
2. The Disclosure by a "Senior Administration Official" to Columnist Robert Novak
In addition to his communications with Mr. Rove, Mr. Novak learned about Ms. Wilson's identity through communications with a second "senior administration official." [7] Mr. Novak's second source has not yet been publicly identified. Mr. Novak has stated, however, that the source provided him with Ms. Wilson's identity. As he stated: "I didn't dig it out, it was given to me." [8] He added: "They thought it was significant, they gave me the name and I used it." [9]
3. The Disclosure by Karl Rove to TIME Reporter Matt Cooper
During a phone call on July 11, 2003, Mr. Rove revealed to TIME reporter Matt Cooper that Ms. Wilson worked at the CIA on weapons of mass destruction. [10] Mr. Cooper reported that this "was the first time I had heard anything about Wilson's wife." [11] Mr. Rove provided this information on "deep background," said that "things would be declassified soon," and stated, "I've already said too much." [12]
4. The Disclosure by Scooter Libby to TIME Reporter Matt Cooper
During a phone call on July 12, 2003, TIME reporter Matt Cooper asked the Vice President's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby "if he had heard anything about Wilson's wife sending her husband to Niger." [13] Mr. Libby replied, "Yeah, I've heard that too," or words to that effect. [14] Mr. Libby provided this information "on background." [15]
5. The Disclosure by an "Administration Official" to Washington Post Reporter Walter Pincus
On July 12, 2003, an "administration official" told Washington Post reporter Walter Pincus that "Wilson's trip to Niger was set up as a boondoggle by his CIA-employed wife." [16] Mr. Pincus has not publicly identified his source, but has stated that it "was not Libby." [17]
6. The Disclosure by a "Top White House Official" to an Unidentified Reporter
In addition making disclosures to Mr. Novak, Mr. Cooper, and Mr. Pincus, White House officials may have had conversations about Ms. Wilson with three other reporters about Ms. Wilson's identity. According to the Washington Post, a "senior administration official" confirmed that "before Novak's column ran on July 14, 2003, two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife." [18] According to this official, "Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge." [19] Press reports suggest that one of these unidentified reporters may be NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell. [20]
7. The Disclosure by a "Top White House Official" to an Unidentified Reporter
In addition making disclosures to Mr. Novak, Mr. Cooper, and Mr. Pincus, White House officials may have had conversations about Ms. Wilson with three other reporters about Ms. Wilson's identity. According to the Washington Post, a "senior administration official" confirmed that "before Novak's column ran on July 14, 2003, two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife." [21] According to this official, "Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge." [22] Press reports suggest that one of these unidentified reporters may be NBC Meet the Press host Tim Russert. [23]
8. The Disclosure by a "Top White House Official" to an Unidentified Reporter
In addition making disclosures to Mr. Novak, Mr. Cooper, and Mr. Pincus, White House officials may have had conversations about Ms. Wilson with three other reporters about Ms. Wilson's identity. According to the Washington Post, a "senior administration official" confirmed that "before Novak's column ran on July 14, 2003, two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife." [24] According to this official, "Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge." [25] Press reports suggest that one of these unidentified reporters may be MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews. [26]
9. The Disclosure by an Unidentified Source to Wall Street Journal Reporter David Cloud
On October 17, 2003, Wall Street Journal reporter David Cloud reported that an internal State Department memo prepared by U.S. intelligence personnel "details a meeting in early 2002 where CIA officer Valerie Plame and other intelligence officials gathered to brainstorm about how to verify reports that Iraq had sought uranium yellowcake from Niger." [27] This "classified" document had "limited circulation," according to "two people familiar with the memo." [28]
10. The Disclosure by an Unidentified Source to James Guckert of Talon News
On October 28, 2003, Talon News posted on its website an interview with Ambassador Joseph Wilson in which the questioner asked: "An internal government memo prepared by U.S. intelligence personnel details a meeting in early 2002 where your wife, a member of the agency or clandestine service working on Iraqi weapons issues, suggested that you could be sent to investigate the reports. Do you dispute that?" [29] Talon News is tied to a group called GOP USA [30] and is operated by Texas Republican Robert Eberle. [31] Its only reporter, James Guckert (also known as Jeff Gannon), resigned when it was revealed that he gained access to the White House using a false name after his press credentials were rejected by House and Senate press galleries. [32] In a March 2004 interview with his own news service, Mr. Guckert stated that the classified document was "easily accessible." [33] In a February 11, 2005, interview with Wolf Blitzer of CNN, Mr. Guckert said the FBI interviewed him about "how I knew or received a copy of a confidential CIA memo," but he refused to answer FBI questions because of his status as a "journalist." [34] A week later, Mr. Guckert changed his account, claiming he "was given no special information by the White House or by anybody else." [35]
11. The Disclosure by a "Senior Administration Official" to Washington Post Reporters Mike Allen and Dana Milbank
On December 26, 2003, Washington Post reporters Mike Allen and Dana Milbank reported on details about the classified State Department memo, writing that it was authored by "a State Department official who works for its Bureau of Intelligence and Research." [36] The Post story was attributed to "a senior administration official who has seen" the memo. [37] The Post also reported that the CIA was "angry about the circulation of a still-classified document to conservative news outlets" and that the CIA "believes that people in the administration continue to release classified information to damage the figures at the center of the controversy, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV and his wife, Valerie Plame." [38]
The McLaughlin Group on PBS. Worth watching if you can find it.
Posted by: on.to.victory4Dems at July 22, 2005 09:02 PM
Well, once again I logged on too late to catch notification of an interesting tee vee broadcast.
I did catch the hearing on the outing of a CIA agent on C-SPAN 1 earlier this evening. I feel so hopeful! Those retired CIA officers are very credible, and straight shooters.
"do you know, is yahoo, microsoft, unix
working with China to filter their internet?
{anne applebaum today,
Posted by: faith1 at July 22, 2005 08:23 PM
Hello Faith,
China is in the midst of an Internet revolution that is accelerating. Despite Beijing's desperate attempts to control Web content, the flow of 'illegal' and 'undesirable' information continues to bypass the state's regulatory system. Not only are China's surveillance and bureaucratic arrangements inadequate, counter-filtering technologies have been implemented both in and out of China to ensure a relatively free flow of information. Anti-blocking software, mirror sites, remailers, secret Usenet groups, and anonymous e-mail services have all contributed to a noticeable breakdown in Beijing's enforcement mechanisms.
The Internet / Mobilenet is going to force true Democracy, and give each person the power to change their sphere of the world, no matter where they live.
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at July 22, 2005 11:02 PM
TSP,
you missed a good program.
the McLaughlin Group hit the top 3 topics of the week:
London bombings; SC- Roberts; and Rovegate.
The panel discussed the possibility that Bu$h went with the "easier to confirm" Roberts instead of an in-yer-face Dobson-clone, because Bu$h can't afford another huge fight with the Senate Dems right now, what with Bu$h's sinking poll numbers and the mood of the country= majority of Americans want to uphold Roe, no one is buying Bu$h's plan for SS, and quagmire in Iraq....so they were saying Bu$h went for the easier confirmation in Roberts, because he had to!
On Rove,
Lawrence O'Donnell was a guest again, he is saying that Fitzgerald is going after not just perjury but also a conspiracy charge....
Larry Johnson gives me hope for this country. I need that now, I've been very depressed realizing how political, and un-patriotic the administration has been.
Larry Johnson is a real patriot. Meanwhile, congressional republicans are pushing to change the constitution to prohibit flag burning or something, all in the name of patriotism. Argh!
Horrible news in Egypt, btw. What we need are intelligene officers working on WMD, like Valerie Plame...
LOL Faith- you sound very different today!
Posted by: aimzzz at July 22, 2005 08:45 PM
yes, thank you. Great hearing wasn't it! I was actually starting to cheer!
(snip)
The Internet / Mobilenet is going to force true Democracy, and give each person the power to change their sphere of the world, no matter where they live.
Posted by: Toolmaker at July 22, 2005 11:23 PM
yes, but are yahoo, microsoft, and unix "really"
supplying the chinese authority with "blocking" software???
ANYONE???
i mean i know anne said it, i just want to know if others said it???
posted really at 5:44pm hawaii time (news time)
just a personal note...
i miss tutter whom is so fly!
thought a bitty note might get her attention.
we are in such different time zones.
speaking of that; Hear you guys get more daylight savings, maybe they just want america to work harder.
we don't have daylight savings here.
The Evening Hodge-Podge of Links....
White House threatens veto on detainee policies:
The White House on Thursday threatened to veto a massive Senate bill for $442 billion in next year's defense programs if it moves to regulate the Pentagon's treatment of detainees or sets up a commission to investigate operations at Guantanamo Bay prison and elsewhere.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050721/pl_nm/arms_congress_dc
Patriot Act :
How Did Your US Representative Vote?
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll414.xml
Bush aides worked on damage control at time of CIA leak :
They helped prepare response to criticism from agent's husband over nuclear allegation
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/07/22/MNG0VDS25U1.DTL
The Guardian profile: Karl Rove :
For the first time in 32 years, he has been caught, and his survival now depends on the gratitude of his partner and protege in the White House.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1533772,00.html
Derrick Z. Jackson | Does US Care About Niger Now?
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0722-21.htm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050722/ap_on_go_su_co/roberts_florida
Jeb Bush Recounts Meeting With Roberts
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Jeb Bush blasted a Florida congressman Friday for suggesting that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts be disqualified because of a brief meeting the governor and Roberts had during the 2000 presidential recount.
http://www.msnbc.com/comics/daily.asp?sfile=nq050722&vts=72220051416
Non Sequitur cartoon
Women's Organizations Hold Rally to Oppose John Roberts
http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/072205WA.shtml
The Feminist Majority and the National Organization for Women (NOW) held a rally yesterday on Capitol Hill opposing the nomination of John Roberts to the US Supreme Court. "Everything we know about Judge Roberts'
record thus far indicates that he will be a solid vote against women's rights and Roe v. Wade," Smeal remarks.
The Oppression of Women Is a Social Disease
http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/072205WB.shtml
American feminist and a professor of law, Catharine A. MacKinnon, is the source of the American Supreme Court's 1986 acknowledgment of sexual harassment as sexual discrimination. Le Figaro interviews this great
American theoretician and militant.
Bush administration to keep control of internet's central computers :
The Bush administration has decided to retain control over the principal computers which control internet traffic in a move likely to prompt global opposition, it was claimed yesterday.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,1519551,00.html
Dozens of Chemicals Found in Most Americans' Bodies
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/072205R.shtml
In the largest study of chemical exposure ever conducted on human beings, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that most American children and adults were carrying in their bodies dozens of pesticides and toxic compounds used in consumer products, many of them linked to potential health threats.
Deal Struck for More Sunshine
WASHINGTON-Lawmakers agree to expand daylight saving time by four weeks, less than initially proposed. But work remains on an energy policy overhaul.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-daylight22jul22,0,5368537.story
{{{ HUH?!? They're recommending a bandaid for a scratch that isn't even bleeding as far as energy consumption is concerned?!?!? Puh-leeze!!! We need to simply stop using so much energy, period, starting with a reduction in fossil fuels....}}}
BIG-TIME TROUBLE, BUT WHY WORRY?
Molly Ivins, AlterNet
As most of the country focuses almost entirely on social issues and culture wars, our economic problems are threatening to bring the country down by its foundations.
http://www.alternet.org/story/23670/
{{{ In case you didn't know it, AlterNet now has blog space just below their stories where you can leave your own messages about the pieces published.......}}}
'Gang of 14' Pre-empts Roberts Process, Roe Ruling Key
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/072205J.shtml
The seven Democrats and seven Republicans in the "gang" represent enough votes to prevent Democrats from mustering the 41 votes they would need to sustain a filibuster.
{{{{{ And I want to know WHO gave these people the power to stop the filibuster. "Gang of 14" is reminiscent of the days when communist China had a rulership faction called "the gang of 4"....}}}}}
And some Friday Frolics.....!!! :-)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20050723/ca_pr_on_en/laughs_stupidity_awards
Canada wins dumbest government at World Stupidity Awards; Bush wins one award
Excerpts::::
MONTREAL (CP) - The Canadian government secured a surprise win Friday, beating out such luminaries as Iran, North Korea and the United States, for the dumbest government of the year at the World Stupidity Awards.
Dubbed the " Oscars of Idiocy," host Lewis Black of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart led a team of comics and celebrities who handed out awards recognizing achievement in ignorance and stupidity.
U.S. President George W. Bush may not have led the dumbest government, but he was honoured with the award for the Stupidest Statement of the Year after telling a news conference: "They never stop thinking of ways of harming America, and neither do we."
Accepting the award for Bush was Darth Vader.
Conservative columnist Ann Coulter won the award as Stupidest Man of the Year. She beat out Bush, U.S. Senator John Kerry, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Players Association director Bob Goodenow, and former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma.
Other winners included:
Fox News for Media Outlet Which Has Best Furthered Ignorance;
The World Stupidity Awards were decided by worldwide Internet voters.
The third annual awards were overseen by the Academy Recognizing Stupidity Everywhere (ARSE), which are "basically a bunch of morons," said Spence.
Patriot Act :
How Did Your US Representative Vote?
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll414.xml
nonny,
of course mine did.
The McLaughlin Group on PBS. Worth watching if you can find it.
Posted by: on.to.victory4Dems at July 22, 2005 09:02 PM
Hopefully, they will air it again. It does sound like it was VERY good.
Darn, there is so much going on all over the place seems when you are following one thing, you miss another.
I am so hopeful. I was amazed and a little shocked that those retired CIA officers were so forthright and articulate in their testimonies. I, too, get a feeling of deep murky waters, like
they know something is rotten in Denmark, and they are fed up. Like they said at the hearing, there IS no precedent for this act. Never before has a person with such high stature and in a very top position of power ever done something like this (at least that's what they say). You know they are credible if they are stepping forward. I especially enjoyed hearing about a little of the inside mechanics of the CIA, and you can tell, they are ticked off - someone could face serious consequences and even be killed because of that leak. It was a scummy thing to do. I won't even say bad, wrong, ruthless.......it wreaks of low life scumminess. Gee, think that's any indication of what lies beneath the surface with this administration? Wonder what else they have lied about and covered up? The White House is kind of like a kid who has been in a pig pen, goes into the house and without washing up, puts a fancy dress on over the dirt.
ALL THEY HAVE LEFT NOW IS THE FACADE. All that needs to be done is to look under the dress. It's dirty under there and smells like a pig pen.
Posted by: faith1 at July 22, 2005 11:48 PM
Hi Faith,
Tutter is away from her computer for a couple of days. She posted here yesterday and said she would try to check in here Sunday night.
She'll be back soon. :)
I can't keep up with you guys! Thanks for watching all the good tv programs for me!
Information screeners!
I just heard from my 20 year old French adopted son Marc - he's travelling from NYC to Clieveland to Chicago to St. Louis to Denver to Salt Lake City to Boise to Portland to Seattle - by Greyhound.
"The World Is Crazy"
"The American Dream is Just a Dream"
So far he has seen people take short-term tickets & then stay on longer trying to get a free ride, til there are more riders than seats.
He has seen a large Amish clan, where the men and boys sat on one side of the bus and the women and girls on the other.
He was kept awake by a large Chineses family with lots of kids & food & they were listening to "kung fu" type movies on DVD.
He collected "newspapers for truckers" at the "place where truck drivers get their supplies."
He met "two cool guys who were going to a rock concert," one from Australia, one from Taiwan.
He was approached by a drug dealer whose English he couldn't really understand, when he was photographing a bus depot.
He went through the country "where there is only a tree and a river and maybe a MacDonalds."
He said that people in Chicago dressed more conservatively than in NYC but were friendlier, as the MacDonalds clerks said "Have a nice day" rather than "next, next, next."
He is staying tonight in a hostel "where I am the only white guy" and "some guys look like gangsters but they are very nice and funny."
He also told me that one of the best things about America is that even though universities are expensive, if you work hard and have good scores, you might get a scholarshp.
I'm looking forward to more calls, as his laptop got smashed & it turns out phoning is less expensive than rental internet time.
This is international diplomacy and fact-finding at its best!!
Kit, our British "son," wrote to say that he travelled to Amsterdam, Paris & South of France with a guy from Seattle & then started to feel "wobbly" and had to return home, as Italy and Greece were too hot (and heat causes him problems such as headaches and dizziness because of a former soccer injury).
It will be a pleasure to visit them & blog from their countries.
Marc also told me that we can't let fear of terrorism stop us from travelling and living our lives, and that it's more dangerous for those who are his age & in Iraq. He wondered if people volunteer because they need money or have been promised citizenship, jobs or training. He also wondered why so many people say they can't afford to travel "but they buy the big house and the big truck." We talked about priorities.
Posted by: faith1 at July 22, 2005 11:48 PM
Hi Faith,
Tutter is away from her computer for a couple of days. She posted here yesterday and said she would try to check in here Sunday night.
She'll be back soon. :)
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at July 23, 2005 12:08 AM
oh thank e
tell her i'm looking for her if you see her, we seem to be asleep when the other is awake...
and on and on... i have to get up real early to find her
ps truth, your posts are all so very good, thanks, i read as many of them as i can.
Thanks, Faith,
I am sure you can catch her in a few days.
The McLaughlin Group on PBS. Worth watching if you can find it.
Posted by: on.to.victory4Dems at July 22, 2005 09:02 PM
Hopefully, they will air it again. It does sound like it was VERY good.
Darn, there is so much going on all over the place seems when you are following one thing, you miss another.
TRUTH
i still have an hour to wait
hop a plane real quick and you can watch
The McLaughlin Group on PBS with me, great sunset right now :)
jim on now
Faith,
Enjoy! :)
Truth,
speaking of facades...
did you see today that boyGeorge was on his SS stump tour again today at tax payers expense, with mamaBabs on stage with him?
Yeah right...I can envision it now:
Barbara Bu$h, telling a room full of seniors how she's just like them, how important her SS check is to her, so she can afford her rent every month....!! HA!
Even my Republican sis-in-law smirked at that one!
Those Bu$hie$...they would be a joke if they weren't pushing US all off a proverbial cliff...
OTV,
That IS funny! Get Momma Babs on stage with you, it adds to the downhome charm!
What in the world will they think of next?
That's funny.
Do you ever feel like you're watching a puppet show?
Punch 'n Judy. If it was just benign bumbling it would be hysterical. A comedian couldn't come up with a routine as funny as this administration's.
B.T.W.,
Every time George is in trouble, they plant a sidekick in the show. Laura, Rove, McCain (they used him before the '04 election). Now Mommy.
That is mean. Most of the elderly rural folks probably don't even know that Babs is one of the last people to ever need Social Security.
yep, there she is. I guess he realized his fake crowds were getting thinner, so he's dragging along old mom now, hoping the seniors will come out to see her.
Yahoo has a story with photo:
Bush, Mom Pitch Social Security Overhaul
By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 22, 5:49 PM ET
ATLANTA - Former first lady Barbara Bush teamed up with her son the president on Friday in trying to drum up support among older Americans for his Social Security and Medicare plans.
http://tinyurl.com/9xrvp
Truth Shall Prevail, On to Victory
The funny thing is when the Bushies try to come up with rock musicians or actors who support them - slim pickings & no one cool.
By the way - my Florida friends just got to Nova Scotia, where they're "refugees" waiting to become citizens! Their family (heavy Bush supporters) still have no idea. They think they are just surfing somewhere. They are staying in some kind of half-way house where there are also 2 Iranian families, & a bunch of cats. One family just passed their "interview" today. The rest are waiting to be interviewed by Immigration. They also have some good job prospects. My friends were quite conservative - until they investigated the state of the environment - the oceans & the air quality - until they learned mercury toxicity is forever. Then they started to learn that things were equally messed up in other domains besides the environment.
Here you can see Barbara Bush with her dog & you can read about her anecdote about a man who gets a tablecloth stuck in his zipper.
http://www.moorereport.com/mrbbush.html
"In times of change, learners inherit the earth,"
wrote Eric Hoffer, "while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."
DiAnne
could'nt bush get his dad to come, you heard the last comment at the hearing today...
he and his mother are living in a world that no longer exists, they just don't know it yet.
t shirt of Jenna hailing Satan
http://www.cafepress.com/satannnnn.16748356
best in lime green
Posted by: not my president's mother at July 23, 2005 01:06 AM
hee hee
is this your new handle president?
very funny!
not my president's big headache comin on
Bush Family Values Photo Album
http://www.hereinreality.com/familyvalues.html
ok... i'm off news time soon,
thanks to all who made my day
especially Larry Johnson.
What a wonderful American.
At least some folks might hear
him on the radio tomorrow.
Don't give up, never give up!
Mr. Johnson said he expected more out of republicans. I say this is exactly what I expect from republicans. Lies, loss of jobs to other countries, war for oil, robin hood in reverse, company suck, yes, this is exactly what I expect from republicans.