And rightfully so! The revelation that he OK'ed the leaks by Libby has made the AP wire. These are excerpts from my local paper:
Leak-hating president as leaker-in-chief?
By TOM RAUM Associated Press Writer
Apr 8, 9:14 AM EDT
After long denouncing leaks of all kinds, Bush is confronted with a statement - unchallenged by his aides - that he authorized a leak of classified material to undermine an Iraq war critic.
Just Thursday, Bush emphasized the importance of straight talk. "When the president says something, he better mean what he says," [NOTE: does not apply to Osama*] he told a North Carolina audience. "In order to be effective, in order to maintain credibility, words have got to mean something. You just can't say things in the job I'm in and not mean what you say."
In September 2003, Bush said he was distressed by the CIA leak case. "If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action," he said.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said at the time: "If anyone in this administration was involved in it (the CIA leak), they would no longer be in this administration."
New twist in CIA leak probe
By PETE YOST
Associated Press Writer
Apr 8, 10:41 AM EDT
Q. What did the president and vice president direct Libby to leak?
A. A portion of a classified prewar document in which U.S. intelligence agencies declared Iraq was "vigorously trying to procure" uranium. Libby's leaks were the beginning of an emerging White House strategy: Blame the CIA for providing the White House with a faulty premise for going to war.
Q. If what Bush did was legal, why does this matter?
A. The furor prompted by the latest disclosure that Bush and Cheney were directing a leak campaign against Wilson goes to the practice of declassifying secrets to gain political advantage. That kind of conduct has been deplored, most recently last year by a commission Bush appointed to examine U.S. intelligence failures on Iraq.
*
FLIP:
"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." - G.W. Bush, 9/13/01
"I want justice...There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive,'"- G.W. Bush, 9/17/01
FLOP:
So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you. G.W. Bush March 13, 2002 http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020313-8.html
And, again, I don't know where he is. I -- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him. G.W. Bush March 13, 2002 http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020313-8.html
Saturday, April 08, 2006
WHEN, SCOTTIE?
On July 18, 2003, Scott McClellan said this to the WH press reporters:
The information referred to is the newly unclassified portions of the Oct. 2002 National Intelligence Estimate. Not only did Libby learn of this new information 10 days before, BooMan makes it crystal clear that Judith Miller was told way back in Sept. 2002. (See also here)
Atrios notes what WILLIAM SCHNEIDER of CNN had to say about this sordid political manipulation of both our national intelligence and our national security:
MR. McCLELLAN: No, well, we always want to share facts with the American people. And this information was just, as of today, officially declassified, and it was an opportunity to share with them some information that showed the clear and compelling case that we had for confronting the threat that Saddam Hussein posed.
The information referred to is the newly unclassified portions of the Oct. 2002 National Intelligence Estimate. Not only did Libby learn of this new information 10 days before, BooMan makes it crystal clear that Judith Miller was told way back in Sept. 2002. (See also here)
Atrios notes what WILLIAM SCHNEIDER of CNN had to say about this sordid political manipulation of both our national intelligence and our national security:
I think is it very damaging for the president to be seen here to have come out after his political enemies by authorizing -- no crime -- by authorizing the leak of classified information from the National Intelligence Estimate. [snip] He was out to get his political enemy, to discredit Joe Wilson. And he did it by authorizing intelligence information to be leaked. I think most Americans would say that's a very dangerous and very foolish thing to do.
THE GROWTH CABAL RESPONDS
A challenge to critics of growth
Five years after a home is built in the Tucson area, it produces an average $2,870 more than what local governments spend to serve new growth. The recent guest column by Ken O'Day and other critics of growth continue to misrepresent this fact.
Last year, every elected official in Pima County and several Star editors and reporters were provided copies of a 100-page study that followed the money: what government collects from impact fees, building permit fees, water permit fees, etc., and where it is spent.
The bottom line: All government costs, including debt, to provide infrastructure and services to those people living in new homes is paid off entirely within five years. I challenge growth critics such as Ken O'Day to empirically prove their points. We have proved ours.
Ed Taczanowsky
President, Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, Tucson
Neato! Then would someone explain why we need the additional sales tax?
Five years after a home is built in the Tucson area, it produces an average $2,870 more than what local governments spend to serve new growth. The recent guest column by Ken O'Day and other critics of growth continue to misrepresent this fact.
Last year, every elected official in Pima County and several Star editors and reporters were provided copies of a 100-page study that followed the money: what government collects from impact fees, building permit fees, water permit fees, etc., and where it is spent.
The bottom line: All government costs, including debt, to provide infrastructure and services to those people living in new homes is paid off entirely within five years. I challenge growth critics such as Ken O'Day to empirically prove their points. We have proved ours.
Ed Taczanowsky
President, Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, Tucson
Neato! Then would someone explain why we need the additional sales tax?
Friday, April 07, 2006
FATS GET CAUGHT AGAIN
Fats was whining about a Maryland school that he claimed was encouraging its students to skip class and attend a pro-immigrant rally this Monday. A caller straightened him out: the school will be on spring break, so no student will be skipping class and the school isn't directly encouraging the students to take part in the rally. In Maryland, students are encouraged to take part in 60 hours of the activities of approved community organizations. One of the approved organizations is supporting the rally.
Fats then went on to explain that although he's never been to a rally, he knows all about them because the media covers them in such great depth.
Fats then went on to explain that although he's never been to a rally, he knows all about them because the media covers them in such great depth.
INVINCIBLE IGNORANCE
Because of the recent Libby revelation, BushBots on AOL have been trotting out old canards about the case. SimianBrute1 repeated the falsehood that Plame was not covert so I e-mailed him my One More Time post. This is his reply:
I've found that former service members, especially lifers, are convinced that they know more than almost anyone else.
You've watched too many reruns of ALIAS! She's an old dust crotch and she was noting more than a desk jockey. If you were ever in the service you'd know that "secret" means nothing.
I've found that former service members, especially lifers, are convinced that they know more than almost anyone else.
SHOW HARRY SOME LOVE
Commenter Syd Barrett at Atrios provides a simple way to show Harry Taylor he is not alone:
Thank You Harry Taylor
Thank You Harry Taylor
MORE GOOD NEWS
From the AP as reported by my local paper:
Bush, GOP approval ratings hit new lows
By RON FOURNIER
AP Political Writer
Apr 7, 5:20 AM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's approval ratings hit a series of new lows in an AP-Ipsos poll that also shows Republicans surrendering their advantage on national security - grim election-year news for a party struggling to stay in power.
In the past two congressional elections, Republicans gained seats on the strength of Bush's popularity and a perception among voters that the GOP was stronger on national security than Democrats.
Those advantages are gone, according to a survey of 1,003 adults conducted this week for The Associated Press by Ipsos, an international polling firm.
On an issue the GOP has dominated for decades, Republicans are now locked in a tie with Democrats - 41 percent each - on the question of which party people trust to protect the country. Democrats made their biggest national security gains among young men, according to the AP-Ipsos poll, which had a 3 percentage point margin of error.
An added bonus:
Bush's approval rating is down 12 points among Republicans since a year ago. Six-in-10 Republicans said they disapproved of the GOP-led Congress.
Bush, GOP approval ratings hit new lows
By RON FOURNIER
AP Political Writer
Apr 7, 5:20 AM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's approval ratings hit a series of new lows in an AP-Ipsos poll that also shows Republicans surrendering their advantage on national security - grim election-year news for a party struggling to stay in power.
In the past two congressional elections, Republicans gained seats on the strength of Bush's popularity and a perception among voters that the GOP was stronger on national security than Democrats.
Those advantages are gone, according to a survey of 1,003 adults conducted this week for The Associated Press by Ipsos, an international polling firm.
On an issue the GOP has dominated for decades, Republicans are now locked in a tie with Democrats - 41 percent each - on the question of which party people trust to protect the country. Democrats made their biggest national security gains among young men, according to the AP-Ipsos poll, which had a 3 percentage point margin of error.
An added bonus:
Bush's approval rating is down 12 points among Republicans since a year ago. Six-in-10 Republicans said they disapproved of the GOP-led Congress.
RADIO TIDBITS
Slots had Hinderaker (aka "AssRocket") from PowerLine on to defend Fredo from the newest revelation that he leaked classified information for political gain. They both relied on the Nixon defense: When the president leaks, it's not a leak. AssRocket also slimed Joe Wilson, claiming he had lied about the Administration, and that more than justified the leaks.
Here's what Slots said on The Situation Room:
BILL BENNETT, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: They can declassify it. The president can declassify it. The vice president can declassify it. They declassified it. Ten day...
BLITZER: But -- but let me - let ...
BENNETT: Ten days later, it was public.
BLITZER: But, normally, before they do that, there's a committee that reviews classified information. It's highly unusual for the president and vice president simply to, on their own say, you know what, let's declassify this and leak it.
BENNETT: We don't know that the committee didn't get together. But the president is the chief executive officer, elected by the people. This was an authorized release of intelligence. There seems to be a lot more excitement in the press about an authorized release of intelligence than about the unauthorized release of intelligence or release of confidential documents by the press. This, to me, is not stunning. And I don't think it's interesting.
BENNETT: The president is not a clerk. The president is not a GS-13. The president is the president of the United States. The people who classify information are part of the executive branch. They work for the president. He has the authority to declassify. And he did. Again, I mean, I -- I'm not surprised at Governor Dean. I'm not surprised at the Democrats. But I don't know why there isn't more distress about the unauthorized disclosure of information. He's the authority of the executive branch. He can disclose whatever he wants to disclose.
Here's what Slots said on The Situation Room:
BILL BENNETT, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: They can declassify it. The president can declassify it. The vice president can declassify it. They declassified it. Ten day...
BLITZER: But -- but let me - let ...
BENNETT: Ten days later, it was public.
BLITZER: But, normally, before they do that, there's a committee that reviews classified information. It's highly unusual for the president and vice president simply to, on their own say, you know what, let's declassify this and leak it.
BENNETT: We don't know that the committee didn't get together. But the president is the chief executive officer, elected by the people. This was an authorized release of intelligence. There seems to be a lot more excitement in the press about an authorized release of intelligence than about the unauthorized release of intelligence or release of confidential documents by the press. This, to me, is not stunning. And I don't think it's interesting.
BENNETT: The president is not a clerk. The president is not a GS-13. The president is the president of the United States. The people who classify information are part of the executive branch. They work for the president. He has the authority to declassify. And he did. Again, I mean, I -- I'm not surprised at Governor Dean. I'm not surprised at the Democrats. But I don't know why there isn't more distress about the unauthorized disclosure of information. He's the authority of the executive branch. He can disclose whatever he wants to disclose.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
GOP SCUMBAGS
(Via Atrios)
The spirit and ethics is alive and well among DeLay supporters. They showed up at a Nick Lampson press conference in order to "give Lampson a parting shot that wrecks his press conference." Juanita has clips and pics and provides this chilling detail:
And don't think this will be a one-time event:
The spirit and ethics is alive and well among DeLay supporters. They showed up at a Nick Lampson press conference in order to "give Lampson a parting shot that wrecks his press conference." Juanita has clips and pics and provides this chilling detail:
One elderly Democratic woman was slightly injured when she was assaulted by a DeLay protester. The male DeLay supporter first hit her in the face with a sign and then grabbed her hat and tried to pull it down over her eyes.
And don't think this will be a one-time event:
DeLay campaign manager Chris Homan acknowledged organizing the protesters.
“Nick is Nancy Pelosi’s liberal lapdog from Beaumont, and he should get used to being confronted…for the next seven months,” Homan said.
HARRY TAYLOR
Harry was the man who told King Fredo what he thought of his claims about the "unitary executive." As night follows day, Harry gets attacked by Hugh Hewitt and John Gibson and I expect there will be more attacks tomorrow. Here's what Harry said to Fredo:
Q You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you'd like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf. You are --
THE PRESIDENT: I'm not your favorite guy. Go ahead. (Laughter and applause.) Go on, what's your question?
Q Okay, I don't have a question. What I wanted to say to you is that I -- in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate, and --
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: No, wait a sec -- let him speak.
Q And I would hope -- I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration, and I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself inside yourself. And I also want to say I really appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to speak what I'm saying to you right now. That is part of what this country is about.
THE PRESIDENT: It is, yes. (Applause.)
Q And I know that this doesn't come welcome to most of the people in this room, but I do appreciate that.
THE PRESIDENT: Appreciate --
Q I don't have a question, but I just wanted to make that comment to you.
Q You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you'd like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf. You are --
THE PRESIDENT: I'm not your favorite guy. Go ahead. (Laughter and applause.) Go on, what's your question?
Q Okay, I don't have a question. What I wanted to say to you is that I -- in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate, and --
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: No, wait a sec -- let him speak.
Q And I would hope -- I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration, and I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself inside yourself. And I also want to say I really appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to speak what I'm saying to you right now. That is part of what this country is about.
THE PRESIDENT: It is, yes. (Applause.)
Q And I know that this doesn't come welcome to most of the people in this room, but I do appreciate that.
THE PRESIDENT: Appreciate --
Q I don't have a question, but I just wanted to make that comment to you.
MYOPIC GREED IN TUCSON
I have written before about the new regional transportation plan that will increase the local sales tax to pay for growth and today I came across a defense of the plan from a member of the local realtors association. Here it is in full, with my comments:
Ken O'Day's March 15 guest column "Wrong way on roads: Voters should reject Transportation Plan" was all wrong.
The Regional Transportation Plan is the best we've seen in years.
This is like saying one has a better bandaid when surgery is needed.
Yes, traffic woes have grown because we're a desirable place to live.
They've grown because developers think urban sprawl is wonderful.
And if you don't believe growth pays for itself, just look at all the fees included in the price of a new home — they are staggering.
No one believes growth pays for itself. If the new fees were adequate, then why are we being asked to increase the sales tax?
Don't think a sales tax is fair? Why should only people who drive cars pay for sidewalks, transit and bike paths? Everyone will contribute to improved transportation for all.
A sales tax is regressive because it has larger effects on the less affluent. Why should I pay for someone else's choice to live outside the city? Let those who benefit the most from improved transportation (realtors, car dealers and developers) pay for it.
If you have a better plan, let's hear it.
Just to get the conversation started, let's make the realtors, car dealers and developers contribute 20% of their income to pay for growth.
All we hear is no, no, no. It's time for those of us who believe in our community and its future to vote yes for the right way to begin solving some of our needs.
Ken O'Day's March 15 guest column "Wrong way on roads: Voters should reject Transportation Plan" was all wrong.
The Regional Transportation Plan is the best we've seen in years.
This is like saying one has a better bandaid when surgery is needed.
Yes, traffic woes have grown because we're a desirable place to live.
They've grown because developers think urban sprawl is wonderful.
And if you don't believe growth pays for itself, just look at all the fees included in the price of a new home — they are staggering.
No one believes growth pays for itself. If the new fees were adequate, then why are we being asked to increase the sales tax?
Don't think a sales tax is fair? Why should only people who drive cars pay for sidewalks, transit and bike paths? Everyone will contribute to improved transportation for all.
A sales tax is regressive because it has larger effects on the less affluent. Why should I pay for someone else's choice to live outside the city? Let those who benefit the most from improved transportation (realtors, car dealers and developers) pay for it.
If you have a better plan, let's hear it.
Just to get the conversation started, let's make the realtors, car dealers and developers contribute 20% of their income to pay for growth.
All we hear is no, no, no. It's time for those of us who believe in our community and its future to vote yes for the right way to begin solving some of our needs.
I believe in the community but I don't believe I should subsidize the growth cabal.
Patty Richardson
Senior vice president, Tucson Association of Realtors
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
ANOTHER DELAY LIE
Yesterday on the Tony Snow radio show, DeLay claimed that the House Ethics Committee wasn't functioning because the Democrats didn't want to investigate Rep. Jim McDermott (D- Wash). Today we find out the truth from a USA Today article:
This is what the fuss was about:
Following are excerpts from a telephone conference call that Speaker Newt Gingrich had with other Republican leaders in the House and his lawyer Ed Bethune. A tape of the call was given to The New York Times by a Congressman who insisted on anonymity and who is hostile to Mr. Gingrich. The Congressman said the tape was given to him on Tuesday by a couple from northern Florida. They told the Congressman that the call was picked up and recorded from a police scanner on Dec. 21 about 9:45 A.M. The recording does not begin with the start of the telephone call, in which the men are discussing an agreement Mr. Gingrich had made in which he promised not to orchestrate a Republican counterattack against ethics charges that were about to be filed against him.
BILL PAXON So when the committee issues that report, before we have an immediate response. Because they will certainly have a war room set up on the other side, and if we have several hours or a day go by when our members are out there without response, it will be a disaster, that's right.
ARMEY And Bill, I think Bill's right on that. I think the statement as I recall hearing it is acceptable, and it probably could go a couple of hours.
PAXON When will we see your statement, Newt?
GINGRICH My guess is, and I think they are running about 15 minutes late, my guess is we will have our statement out before noon. And if there was a way, I'm not an expert, but if there was a way to have by two or three to have some kind of statement also on the wire.
ARMEY Oh, yeah.
GINGRICH At that point we're in by the evening news, catch the morning papers.
BETHUNE Let me explain a technicality here which will help you all understand the time frame. Of course the subcommittee is bound to confidentiality by the rules of the committee until such time as an answer is filed. ... That, the confidentiality rule is still in place until Newt files his answer. ... And it would also be a time when we are authorized to have the conversation that we are having now, a little prematurely. But I don't think it would be troubling to anyone that we are a little ahead of the gun.
Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., the panel's senior Democrat, issued a statement noting that the lengthy meeting yielded only one agreement: to continue an investigation begun in 2004 of Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., who has admitted leaking to reporters a tape-recorded cellphone conversation involving a Republican colleague in 1996.
This is what the fuss was about:
Following are excerpts from a telephone conference call that Speaker Newt Gingrich had with other Republican leaders in the House and his lawyer Ed Bethune. A tape of the call was given to The New York Times by a Congressman who insisted on anonymity and who is hostile to Mr. Gingrich. The Congressman said the tape was given to him on Tuesday by a couple from northern Florida. They told the Congressman that the call was picked up and recorded from a police scanner on Dec. 21 about 9:45 A.M. The recording does not begin with the start of the telephone call, in which the men are discussing an agreement Mr. Gingrich had made in which he promised not to orchestrate a Republican counterattack against ethics charges that were about to be filed against him.
BILL PAXON So when the committee issues that report, before we have an immediate response. Because they will certainly have a war room set up on the other side, and if we have several hours or a day go by when our members are out there without response, it will be a disaster, that's right.
ARMEY And Bill, I think Bill's right on that. I think the statement as I recall hearing it is acceptable, and it probably could go a couple of hours.
PAXON When will we see your statement, Newt?
GINGRICH My guess is, and I think they are running about 15 minutes late, my guess is we will have our statement out before noon. And if there was a way, I'm not an expert, but if there was a way to have by two or three to have some kind of statement also on the wire.
ARMEY Oh, yeah.
GINGRICH At that point we're in by the evening news, catch the morning papers.
BETHUNE Let me explain a technicality here which will help you all understand the time frame. Of course the subcommittee is bound to confidentiality by the rules of the committee until such time as an answer is filed. ... That, the confidentiality rule is still in place until Newt files his answer. ... And it would also be a time when we are authorized to have the conversation that we are having now, a little prematurely. But I don't think it would be troubling to anyone that we are a little ahead of the gun.
ODDS 'N ENDS
I put some links in a temp folder, confident that I will come back and follow up. I've noticed that the folder has a lot of links that I haven't been to so it's time to note a couple of them here.
Greg Sargent of TAPPED, the blog of the American Prospect, found another example of Fredo's press bashing: Fredo indirectly attacked the LA Times for revealing some details about a "new" anti-IED device but (1) the device had been fully tested 10 monthes earlier and STILL wasn't sent to Iraq and (2) the Times got the OK from the DOD to publish the article.
We know some wingnuts continue to claim that Clinton sold our nuclear bomb design secrets to China in return for campaign contributions. The truth is found in the 1999 Cox Report and although it does not absolve Clinton, it does spread the blame around:
Greg Sargent of TAPPED, the blog of the American Prospect, found another example of Fredo's press bashing: Fredo indirectly attacked the LA Times for revealing some details about a "new" anti-IED device but (1) the device had been fully tested 10 monthes earlier and STILL wasn't sent to Iraq and (2) the Times got the OK from the DOD to publish the article.
We know some wingnuts continue to claim that Clinton sold our nuclear bomb design secrets to China in return for campaign contributions. The truth is found in the 1999 Cox Report and although it does not absolve Clinton, it does spread the blame around:
PRC penetration of our national weapons laboratories spans at least the past several decades and almost certainly continues today.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
RADIO TIDBITS
I listened a bit to Slots and Fats and from what I heard, they weren't actively supporting DeLay but Shammity certainly is in full-court defense mode. He's repeated the standard wingnut attacks (see here, here and here) on Ronnie Earle and predicted that DeLay will be acquitted on the Texas charges. ( WJones33 on AOL found this song about St. Tommie. ) Shammity followed that up with the deflection strategy by naming the wrongdoings, real or imagined, of McKinney, Reid, Pelosi, Kennedy and other Democrats.
MORE DELAY GOODNESS
Atrios found this write-up in the Christian Science Monitor from 5/12/2005:
Sponsors of Thursday night's tribute say DeLay is the most effective GOP legislator in Congress, and they can't afford to lose him. "The reason why conservatives are sticking with DeLay is that he has always been for them on issues," says Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, a sponsor.
Other sponsors include David Keene of the American Conservative Union (ACU), Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Ed Feulner of the Heritage Foundation, Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation, Gary Bauer of American Values, and Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., of the American Spectator - key contacts for conservatives aspiring to higher office.
John at AmericaBlog found this gem in the 2/22/06 Houston Chronicle:
U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay received an enterprise award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today as well as getting an endorsement from the national group.
DeLay, R-Sugar Land, was presented with the "Spirit of Enterprise" award from the chamber group during a Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Peter Havel, regional executive director for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Dallas, presented the award to DeLay for his "outstanding leadership" and "for voting with the business community on a consistent basis."
Havel said the chamber group relies on legislators such as DeLay who believe in free enterprise, fewer taxes and job creation.
Havel also announced the national chamber group's endorsement of DeLay as he seeks re-election for Congress. "We want to let you know we're behind you," Havel told DeLay.
Sponsors of Thursday night's tribute say DeLay is the most effective GOP legislator in Congress, and they can't afford to lose him. "The reason why conservatives are sticking with DeLay is that he has always been for them on issues," says Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, a sponsor.
Other sponsors include David Keene of the American Conservative Union (ACU), Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Ed Feulner of the Heritage Foundation, Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation, Gary Bauer of American Values, and Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., of the American Spectator - key contacts for conservatives aspiring to higher office.
John at AmericaBlog found this gem in the 2/22/06 Houston Chronicle:
U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay received an enterprise award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today as well as getting an endorsement from the national group.
DeLay, R-Sugar Land, was presented with the "Spirit of Enterprise" award from the chamber group during a Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Peter Havel, regional executive director for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Dallas, presented the award to DeLay for his "outstanding leadership" and "for voting with the business community on a consistent basis."
Havel said the chamber group relies on legislators such as DeLay who believe in free enterprise, fewer taxes and job creation.
Havel also announced the national chamber group's endorsement of DeLay as he seeks re-election for Congress. "We want to let you know we're behind you," Havel told DeLay.
Monday, April 03, 2006
RADIO TIDBITS
Fats took a lengthy call from Deborah Burlingame, the sister of the pilot of Flight 77, about the upcoming movie about Flight 93. She's a typical wingnut and even had an op-ed published in the WSJ about the supposed disgrace the WTC memorial would be. To get a feel for how out of touch she is, here's what she had to say about Rice's testimony before the 9-11 Commission:
Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles was the pilot of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, praised Rice as honest and open, even to partisan questions.
“I think she should be very, very proud,” said Burlingame, whose lapel held a picture of her brother sitting in a cockpit. LINK (You can find out more about Debbie here)
Now, let's recall a small part of Rice's testimony on 4/8/2004:
MR. KEAN: I've got a question now I'd like to ask you. It was given me by a number of members of the families. Did you ever see or hear from the FBI, from the CIA, from any other intelligence agency any memos or discussions or anything else between the time you got into office and 9/11 that talked about using planes as bombs?
MS. RICE: Let me address this question because it has been on the table. I think that concern about what I might have known or we might have known was provoked by some statements that I made in a press conference.
I was in a press conference to try and describe the August 6th memo, which I've talked about here in my opening remarks and which I talked about with you in the private session. And I said at one point that this was a historical memo, that it was not based on new threat information, and I said no one could have imagined them taking a plane, slamming it into the Pentagon -- I'm paraphrasing now -- into the World Trade Center, using planes as a missile.
This is what Rice had to say at a press conference on 5/16/2002:
Q Why shouldn't this be seen as an intelligence failure, that you were unable to predict something happening here?
DR. RICE: Steve, I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center, take another one and slam it into the Pentagon; that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile.
In the same press conference, Rice went over the "official" history leading up to 9-11:
RICE: The period in mid-July was a point of another major threat spike, and it all related to the G-8 summit that was coming up. And in fact, there was specific threat information about the President. There was a lot of work done with liaison services abroad; in fact, the CIA went on what I think you would call a full-court press to try and deal with these potential attacks, and indeed, managed through these intelligence activities and liaison activities to disrupt attacks in Paris, Turkey and Rome.
This is where Rice lies about the past. The threat at the G-8 summit was exactly the use of planes as missiles. Either Debbie was uniformed or she is just another BushBot. The preponderance of the evidence points to BushBot.
Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles was the pilot of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, praised Rice as honest and open, even to partisan questions.
“I think she should be very, very proud,” said Burlingame, whose lapel held a picture of her brother sitting in a cockpit. LINK (You can find out more about Debbie here)
Now, let's recall a small part of Rice's testimony on 4/8/2004:
MR. KEAN: I've got a question now I'd like to ask you. It was given me by a number of members of the families. Did you ever see or hear from the FBI, from the CIA, from any other intelligence agency any memos or discussions or anything else between the time you got into office and 9/11 that talked about using planes as bombs?
MS. RICE: Let me address this question because it has been on the table. I think that concern about what I might have known or we might have known was provoked by some statements that I made in a press conference.
I was in a press conference to try and describe the August 6th memo, which I've talked about here in my opening remarks and which I talked about with you in the private session. And I said at one point that this was a historical memo, that it was not based on new threat information, and I said no one could have imagined them taking a plane, slamming it into the Pentagon -- I'm paraphrasing now -- into the World Trade Center, using planes as a missile.
This is what Rice had to say at a press conference on 5/16/2002:
Q Why shouldn't this be seen as an intelligence failure, that you were unable to predict something happening here?
DR. RICE: Steve, I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center, take another one and slam it into the Pentagon; that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile.
In the same press conference, Rice went over the "official" history leading up to 9-11:
RICE: The period in mid-July was a point of another major threat spike, and it all related to the G-8 summit that was coming up. And in fact, there was specific threat information about the President. There was a lot of work done with liaison services abroad; in fact, the CIA went on what I think you would call a full-court press to try and deal with these potential attacks, and indeed, managed through these intelligence activities and liaison activities to disrupt attacks in Paris, Turkey and Rome.
This is where Rice lies about the past. The threat at the G-8 summit was exactly the use of planes as missiles. Either Debbie was uniformed or she is just another BushBot. The preponderance of the evidence points to BushBot.
THE WINGNUT DOCUMENTS
The release of captured Iraqi documents has nutters all atwitter but they all seem to overlook these statements:
Beth Marple, Negroponte's deputy press secretary, said amateur translators won't find any major surprises, such as proof Hussein hid stockpiles of chemical weapons. LINK
"Our view is there's nothing in here that changes what we know today," said a senior intelligence official, who would discuss the program only on condition of anonymity because the director of national intelligence,John D. Negroponte, directed his staff to avoid public debates over the documents. "There is no smoking gun on W.M.D., Al Qaeda, those kinds of issues." LINK
Beth Marple, Negroponte's deputy press secretary, said amateur translators won't find any major surprises, such as proof Hussein hid stockpiles of chemical weapons. LINK
"Our view is there's nothing in here that changes what we know today," said a senior intelligence official, who would discuss the program only on condition of anonymity because the director of national intelligence,John D. Negroponte, directed his staff to avoid public debates over the documents. "There is no smoking gun on W.M.D., Al Qaeda, those kinds of issues." LINK
Sunday, April 02, 2006
RIGHT WING HATRED
Just in case you've forgotten, The Poorman came up with this fine collection of statements from the hateful Right:
We’re going to keep building the party until we’re hunting Democrats with dogs.
Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX)
Mother Jones, 8/1995
I tell people don’t kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two on every campus - living fossils - so we will never forget what these people stood for.
Rush Limbaugh
Denver Post, 12/29/1995
Environmentalists are a socialist group of individuals that are the tool of the Democrat Party. I’m proud to say that they are my enemy. They are not Americans, never have been Americans, never will be Americans.
Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
Alaska Public Radio, 8/19/1996
Get rid of the guy. Impeach him, censure him, assassinate him.
Rep. James Hansen (R-UT) 11/1/1998
Chelsea is a Clinton. She bears the taint; and though not prosecutable in law, in custom and nature the taint cannot be ignored. All the great despotisms of the past - I’m not arguing for despotism as a principle, but they sure knew how to deal with potential trouble - recognized that the families of objectionable citizens were a continuing threat. In Stalin’s penal code it was a crime to be the wife or child of an ‘enemy of the people.’ The Nazis used the same principle, which they called Sippenhaft, ‘clan liability.’ In Imperial China, enemies of the state were punished ‘to the ninth degree’: that is, everyone in the offender’s own generation would be killed and everyone related via four generations up, to the great-great-grandparents, and four generations down, to the great-great-grandchildren, would also be killed.
John Derbyshire
National Review, 2/15/2001
The middle part of the country–the great red zone that voted for Bush–is clearly ready for war. The decadent left in its enclaves on the coasts is not dead–and may well mount a fifth column.
Andrew Sullivan
London Sunday Times, 9/16/01
Why are we sending aircraft carriers halfway around the world to look for enemies, when our nation’s worst enemies–communists proclaiming an anti-American jihad–will be right there in front of the Washington Monument on Saturday?
Robert Stacy McCain
Washington Times, 9/27/01
Talk about ironic: the same people urging us not to blame the victim in rape cases are now saying that Uncle Sam wore a short skirt and asked for it.
Jonathan Alter
Newsweek, 10/1/2001
We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed, too. Otherwise, they will turn out to be outright traitors.
Ann Coulter 2/26/2002
My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times building.
Ann Coulter
New York Observer, 8/26/2002
John Kerry has it tough. As I’ve mentioned before, he’s been trying to send a positive message on the war when many people in his own party are actively rooting for the other side.
Glenn Reynolds 4/15/2004
I have known some of the liberal world quite well and for a long time, and there are quite obviously people close to the leadership of today’s Democratic Party who do not at all hope that the battle goes well in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Christopher Hitchens9/27/2004
Bush hatred has become a defining characteristic for many liberals—so much so that they appear to identify with it more surely and swiftly than they do their American citizenship. At times, some extremist liberals seem to be rooting against their fellow Americans and in favor of those who would kill us.
Tara Ross2/1/2005
One can only admire Hendrickson’s candor in admitting what is usually hotly denied: that even many leading realists, along with many liberal internationalists, are rooting for an American defeat.
Norman Podhoretz2/2005
Let me put this in fairly simple terms: Al Jazeera now broadcasts to the region the words of Senator Durbin, certainly putting America’s men and women in uniform in greater danger. No more needs to be said about the motives of liberals.
Karl Rove6/22/2005
Everybody got it? Dissent, fine; undermining, you’re a traitor. Got it? So, all those clowns over at the liberal radio network, we could incarcerate them immediately. Will you have that done, please? Send over the FBI and just put them in chains, because they, you know, they’re undermining everything and they don’t care, couldn’t care less.
Bill O’Reilly6/20/2005
While our men and women in uniform put their lives on the line each day to defend our safety and to protect our freedoms, I am sure the least they expect is the backing and the support of their leaders at home. To the contrary, what we’ve seen from Democrat leaders is a growing pattern of jumping at any chance to point the finger at our own troops, bending over backwards to promote the interests of terror-camp detainees while dragging our military’s honored reputation through the mud.
Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH)6/23/2005
[It] is just inconceivable and truly incorrigible that in the midst of the war, that the Democratic leaders would be conducting guerrilla warfare on American troops. … [The Pelosi/Waxman proposal for an independent commission to investigate conditions at Guantanamo Bay is] simply another example of some Democrat leaders trusting the words of terrorists over the proven decency of U.S. troops.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)6/23/2005
The Democratic leadership priority is to actively engage in the politics of division and distraction that can undermine our national security in favor of a left-wing agenda.
Ron Bonjean6/23/2005
Wouldn’t it be great if anybody who speaks out against this country, to kick them out of the country? Anybody that threatens this country, kick ‘em out. We’d get rid of Michael Moore, we’d get rid of half the Democratic Party if we would just import that law. That would be fabulous. The Supreme Court ought to look into this. Absolutely brilliant idea out there.
Rush Limbaugh8/11/2005
We’re going to keep building the party until we’re hunting Democrats with dogs.
Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX)
Mother Jones, 8/1995
I tell people don’t kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two on every campus - living fossils - so we will never forget what these people stood for.
Rush Limbaugh
Denver Post, 12/29/1995
Environmentalists are a socialist group of individuals that are the tool of the Democrat Party. I’m proud to say that they are my enemy. They are not Americans, never have been Americans, never will be Americans.
Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
Alaska Public Radio, 8/19/1996
Get rid of the guy. Impeach him, censure him, assassinate him.
Rep. James Hansen (R-UT) 11/1/1998
Chelsea is a Clinton. She bears the taint; and though not prosecutable in law, in custom and nature the taint cannot be ignored. All the great despotisms of the past - I’m not arguing for despotism as a principle, but they sure knew how to deal with potential trouble - recognized that the families of objectionable citizens were a continuing threat. In Stalin’s penal code it was a crime to be the wife or child of an ‘enemy of the people.’ The Nazis used the same principle, which they called Sippenhaft, ‘clan liability.’ In Imperial China, enemies of the state were punished ‘to the ninth degree’: that is, everyone in the offender’s own generation would be killed and everyone related via four generations up, to the great-great-grandparents, and four generations down, to the great-great-grandchildren, would also be killed.
John Derbyshire
National Review, 2/15/2001
The middle part of the country–the great red zone that voted for Bush–is clearly ready for war. The decadent left in its enclaves on the coasts is not dead–and may well mount a fifth column.
Andrew Sullivan
London Sunday Times, 9/16/01
Why are we sending aircraft carriers halfway around the world to look for enemies, when our nation’s worst enemies–communists proclaiming an anti-American jihad–will be right there in front of the Washington Monument on Saturday?
Robert Stacy McCain
Washington Times, 9/27/01
Talk about ironic: the same people urging us not to blame the victim in rape cases are now saying that Uncle Sam wore a short skirt and asked for it.
Jonathan Alter
Newsweek, 10/1/2001
We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed, too. Otherwise, they will turn out to be outright traitors.
Ann Coulter 2/26/2002
My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times building.
Ann Coulter
New York Observer, 8/26/2002
John Kerry has it tough. As I’ve mentioned before, he’s been trying to send a positive message on the war when many people in his own party are actively rooting for the other side.
Glenn Reynolds 4/15/2004
I have known some of the liberal world quite well and for a long time, and there are quite obviously people close to the leadership of today’s Democratic Party who do not at all hope that the battle goes well in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Christopher Hitchens9/27/2004
Bush hatred has become a defining characteristic for many liberals—so much so that they appear to identify with it more surely and swiftly than they do their American citizenship. At times, some extremist liberals seem to be rooting against their fellow Americans and in favor of those who would kill us.
Tara Ross2/1/2005
One can only admire Hendrickson’s candor in admitting what is usually hotly denied: that even many leading realists, along with many liberal internationalists, are rooting for an American defeat.
Norman Podhoretz2/2005
Let me put this in fairly simple terms: Al Jazeera now broadcasts to the region the words of Senator Durbin, certainly putting America’s men and women in uniform in greater danger. No more needs to be said about the motives of liberals.
Karl Rove6/22/2005
Everybody got it? Dissent, fine; undermining, you’re a traitor. Got it? So, all those clowns over at the liberal radio network, we could incarcerate them immediately. Will you have that done, please? Send over the FBI and just put them in chains, because they, you know, they’re undermining everything and they don’t care, couldn’t care less.
Bill O’Reilly6/20/2005
While our men and women in uniform put their lives on the line each day to defend our safety and to protect our freedoms, I am sure the least they expect is the backing and the support of their leaders at home. To the contrary, what we’ve seen from Democrat leaders is a growing pattern of jumping at any chance to point the finger at our own troops, bending over backwards to promote the interests of terror-camp detainees while dragging our military’s honored reputation through the mud.
Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH)6/23/2005
[It] is just inconceivable and truly incorrigible that in the midst of the war, that the Democratic leaders would be conducting guerrilla warfare on American troops. … [The Pelosi/Waxman proposal for an independent commission to investigate conditions at Guantanamo Bay is] simply another example of some Democrat leaders trusting the words of terrorists over the proven decency of U.S. troops.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)6/23/2005
The Democratic leadership priority is to actively engage in the politics of division and distraction that can undermine our national security in favor of a left-wing agenda.
Ron Bonjean6/23/2005
Wouldn’t it be great if anybody who speaks out against this country, to kick them out of the country? Anybody that threatens this country, kick ‘em out. We’d get rid of Michael Moore, we’d get rid of half the Democratic Party if we would just import that law. That would be fabulous. The Supreme Court ought to look into this. Absolutely brilliant idea out there.
Rush Limbaugh8/11/2005
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