Comment Of The Day: Skippy-Saudi Edition

9/11 Link To Saudi Arabia Is Topic Of 28 Redacted Pages In Government Report; Congressmen Push For Release


matthewcarmody

• 10 hours ago

Just one family of oligarchs helping another family of oligarchs. And don't expect any honesty because national security to this treasonous bunch means keeping the American people in the dark about how the Bush family has been involved in treason since before old Prescott's conviction for trading with the enemy in 1942.

Bush knew what was coming and he did nothing to stop it but he sure did move with deliberate speed to get Saudis and bin Ladens out of the country without being available for questioning by the FBI. No more Bush family members in the White House whether it be a distant cousin or whatever.

Lest We Forget: Raygun And Iran

Second Thoughts on October Surprise | Consortiumnews:

New evidence has shaken the confidence of former Rep. Lee Hamilton in his two-decade-old judgment clearing Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign of going behind President Carter’s back to frustrate his efforts to free 52 U.S. hostages in Iran, the so-called October Surprise case, Robert Parry reports...

Oh and let's not forget Tricky Dick: Did Nixon Commit Treason in 1968? What The New LBJ Tapes Reveal.

Weak Support In Iceland Gov

Iceland proposal would grant Snowden citizenship:

Some Icelandic lawmakers have introduced a proposal in Parliament to grant citizenship to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, who admits to revealing key details of U.S. surveillance activities...

Darth Plays Pot And Kettle

Dick Cheney Calls Edward Snowden a 'Traitor' and Possibly a Chinese Spy | Video Cafe:

...Coming from the man who lied to the American people about WMD's. If old Deadeye Dick really thinks that this NSA leak is "one of the worst occasions [...] of somebody with access to classified information doing enormous damage to the national security interests of the United States," I've got a mirror he needs to go take a look in.

I've got plenty of questions about what Edward Snowden is doing in China as well, but this is the last guy on earth that I want to hear weigh in on it.

Speaking Lies To Power

Seeking to tamp fears, confusion, intelligence officials defend spy programs as safeguards - The Washington Post:

 Dogged by fear and confusion about sweeping spy programs, intelligence officials sought to convince House lawmakers in an unusual briefing Tuesday that the government’s years-long collection of phone records and Internet usage is necessary for protecting Americans — and does not trample on their privacy rights.

But the country’s main civil liberties organization wasn’t buying it, filing the most significant lawsuit against the sweeping phone record collection program so far. The American Civil Liberties Union and its New York chapter sued the federal government Tuesday in New York, asking a court to demand that the Obama administration end the program and purge the records it has collected....

Speaking of that...

More Than Four Died For Watergate

Before trotting out that already cliched Benghazi phrase, you might want to read and heed this article. Watergate was not just a breaking and entering mission; it was something much more nefarious. And btw, I'm one of three living Americans who voted for Nixon.

The Death Toll of Watergate | Consortiumnews:

Exclusive: Major gaps in the history of Watergate and Iran-Contra have let Republicans minimize those scandals by comparing them to the fabricated “scandal” over the Benghazi attacks. A fuller understanding of Watergate would reveal its links to Richard Nixon’s prolonging the Vietnam War, writes Robert Parry....

The Daily Flashback: Contra Edition

McCain: Benghazi Is Just Like Iran-Contra | Crooks and Liars:

...When is Iran-Contra like Benghazi? Never, unless you're John McCain and are relying on the average IQ of the average Fox viewer to connect the non-existent dots into something that neither event is.

Let's see if we can refresh memories just a bit. Iran-Contra would be when Ronald Reagan agreed to sell weapons to the guy holding US diplomats hostage and then tried to cover up the arms sales by funneling the proceeds to the Nicaraguan Sandinistas Contras...

Comment:

Trantorian • an hour ago

Karoli, the funds from the sale of weapons to Iran went to fund the Nicaraguan Contras, not the Sandinista government. 

Also, the Anti communist organization you cite as McCain being a member actually was supporting Salvadoran death squads, as the Sandinistas were in power in Nicaragua in the 80's and did not have death squads.

Injustice For Traitors

Long National Nightmare Over: Jailbird Scooter Libby’s Voting Rights Restored!

...In fact, Republicans are soooo into restoring suffrage to convicted felons that they hardly ever disenfranchise people just for having names that aren’t even the same as those convicted felons! Oh ho ho, and they also hardly ever disenfranchise convicted felons who aren’t actually convicted felons anyway! Goddamn we miss Katherine Harris. That lady was a walking Good Timesparty all by herself! But at least other secretaries of state are keeping the dream alive!...

Comment Of The Day: Scooter Pooter Edition

Comment by thefrontpage

Scooter Libby is one of about 5,000 reasons why about 100 or 200 members of the Bush II administration should have been investigated, charged, tried, found guilty and sent to jail for about 10 years-- each--and that is not a joke. The Bush II administration was literally one of the most corrupt and criminal administrations in this country's history-- along with the Nixon, Reagan and Bush I administrations. Again--no joke. The Republican Party has been simply a center of criminality and corruption for most of the past 50 years-- including scores of civil rights, human rights, war, defense, gas and oil, and big business crimes that have gone uninvestigated, uncharged, untried and unconvicted. The Nixon, Reagan, Bush I and Bush II administrations are four of the worst, most criminal and most corrupt administrations in this country's history-- and skanky, criminal thug people like Scooter Libby are one of several thousand examples of this continuing corruption.

A Modest Proposal (For The FCC)

You make it sound like a *bad* thing, Glenn « The Confluence

...In my humble opinion, the right wing nutjobs like Glenn have been doing just that, inducing fear and panic in average people with their irrationality and lies.

I’d be happy if the FCC cited and fined him for lying all the time. Surely Glenn could get onboard with that, right? Why don’t we ask him? Is it OK to lie to people in order to get them to feel anxious, fearful and willing to do just about anything to protect themselves from non-existent threats?

Wingnut Round-up

Skeeter Season | his vorpal sword

And so forth. Benghazi is going to be the new Whitewater, the new Birther controversy, the new Monica Lewinsky: an excuse to keep the country paralyzed, while the GOPs try to run out the clock on governance. As they did for Clinton’s entire two terms and Obama’s entire first term. The “skeptics” with the invisible Friend who wrote the Magic Book — neither of which would stand up to a moment of the skepticism they projectile vomit about proportional fonts, spacing, artifacts, photoshopped photos, faked documents, climate science, modern biology, Hawaiian birth laws, etcetera...

NRA Wants To Revolt?

Josh Horwitz: LaPierre Reveals True Purpose Behind Assault Weapons

...During a hearing in which Republican Senators actively tried to portray assault weapons as merely "scary-looking" pieces of plastic with no real functional purpose, LaPierre's statement revealed that they are in fact weapons of choice for individuals ready to wage war on our government. This was certainly not the first time LaPierre had made such a declaration -- remember, this is the guy who told us "the guys with the guns make the rules" at a CPAC conference -- but his statement on Wednesday was nonetheless remarkable because it so clearly articulated the insurrectionist idea on a national stage, linking it directly to the need for unfettered access to assault weapons. Now, no doubt remains about the type of "firepower" citizens would need in order to fight LaPierre's "tyranny" ... The same type of firepower that Adam Lanza used to kill 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary...

Note: The comment thread at the post is loaded with violent threats from Second Amendment patriots, including calls for insurrection. A tyrannical government would be rounding them all up just about now. If these threats had been launched during the reign of Skippy Bush, Homeland Security would be storming the gates and Fox News would be calling for public hangings.

Lest We Forget: Leaking Edition

From jimbo123 @ White House Leak Inquiry Sought - The Daily Beast re: evil Democrats giving up government secrets:

jimbo123

35 Minutes Ago

yes of course, what in the world would make you think one is less than the other? 

Here's a list of a number of republican leaks and scandals throughout the Bush admim. Might interest you.

Philip Cooney – chief of staff, White House Council on Environmental Quality – a former oil industry lawyer with no scientific expertise, Cooney resigned after it was revealed he had watered down reports on global warming.

* George Deutsch – press aide, NASA – resigned amid allegations he prevented the agency’s top climate scientist from speaking publicly about global warming.

* Michael Elston – chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty – announced his resignation on June 15, 2007. Despite allegations that he’d threatened at least four of the eight fired US Attorneys, McNulty said Elston had served the Justice Department “with distinction for nearly eight years.”

* Kyle Dustin “Dusty” Foggo – appointed executive director of the CIA, the agency’s third-highest post, in October 2004 – resigned and was ultimately indicted on bribery charges related to the Duke Cunningham scandal.

* Alberto Gonzales – former Attorney General – resigned without explanation amidst investigations of the firings of U.S. Attorneys, the politicization of the Justice Department, warrantless surveillance, and the torture and mistreatment of detainees.

* Monica Goodling – former Justice Department liaison to the White House and senior counsel to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales – resigned on April 7, 2007 amidst the investigation of the firings of U.S. Attorneys.

* Michelle Larson Korsmo – deputy chief of staff, Department of Labor – Helped her husband (see John Korsmo, above) with his donor scam. Quietly left her Labor plum job in February 2004, about two weeks before news broke that she and her husband were the targets of a criminal probe.

* Howard “Cookie” Krongard – former State Department inspector general — accused of not properly investigating State Department contractor fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan; of retaliating against whistleblowers in his own office; and of not telling the truth about his knowledge of his brother’s ties with Blackwater, a State Department contractor. Faced with a possible perjury investigation, Howard Krongard resigned on December 7, 2007.

* Julie Macdonald – former deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks at the Interior Department – resigned in May 2007 after an “inspector general’s report found she had improperly leaked information to private organizations, bullied staff scientists and broken federal rules.” The Department of the Interior is investigating many of her decisions regarding endangered species; so far seven have been overturned.

* Paul McNulty – Deputy Attorney General for the Department of Justice – resigned, after questions about his involvement in the U.S. attorney firings and his testimony to Congress about the firings.

* Richard Perle – Chairman, Defense Policy Board – resigned from Pentagon advisory panel amid conflict-of-interest charges.

* Susan Ralston – assistant, White House – resigned amidst revelations that she had accepted thousands of dollars in gifts from Abramoff without compensating him, counter to White House ethics rules.

* Janet Rehnquist – inspector general, Department of Health and Human Services – resigned on June 1, 2003 in the face of an investigation into her alleged efforts to block a politically dangerous probe on behalf of the Bush family.

* James Roche – secretary, U.S. Air Force – resigned in the wake of the Boeing tanker lease scandal, after it was revealed he had rather crudely pushed for Boeing to win a $23 billion contract.

* Kyle Sampson -former chief of staff for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales – resigned amidst the investigation of the firings of U.S. Attorneys.

* Joseph Schmitz – Inspector General, Defense – Resigned amid charges he personally intervened to protect top political appointees.

* Bradley Schlozman – resigned from his third and final post with the Justice Department after accusations of actively politicizing the department. He’s currently under investigation by the Department’s inspector general.

* Thomas Scully – Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – shortly after Scully resigned in 2003, an investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general found that Scully had pressured the agency’s actuary to underestimate the full cost of the Medicare reform bill by approximately $100 billion until after Congress passed the bill into law. Scully was also hit with conflict of interest charges by the U.S. attorney’s office for billing CMS for expenses incurred during a job search while he still headed the agency. He settled those charges by paying $9,782. 

Oh, and don't forget Scooter and Dead Eye Dick destroyed an entire intelligence network and probably got people murdered via the Plame scandal.

No Headline Necessary

By: The Pragmatic Progressive Page

Murdoch Caught In Lie?

My bold in the following.
James Murdoch warned over phone hacking, e-mail shows - CNN.com

The e-mail from Colin Myler appears to undercut Murdoch's repeated testimony that he did not know details about phone-hacking by his employees.

Murdoch concedes in a letter to lawmakers, also published Tuesday, that he replied to the e-mail, but he does not admit having read it...

The mind begins to boggle at the thought of replying to emails without having read them. The mind does boggle at the boldnes of this lie. I can only wonder, and probably be boggled and amazed, at the spin Fox News will lay on this story. I just hope it doesn't knock the Earth off its axis.

9/11 Conspiracy Windfall

If .1 of 1% of what is alleged here can be proved in court, then hangings will happen. GORDON DUFF: GOV. JESSE VENTURA PROVES 9/11 COVER-UP, WILL AMERICA’S GOVERNMENT FALL? : Veterans Today:

The Daily Flashback: Libby Wilson Edition

LIBBY AND LIBERATION - OregonLive.com: "For anyone who missed the news from 2003 to 2006 -- and trust me, you were probably better off -- Wilson, a high-ranking career diplomat, was sent to the African country of Niger to check out reports that Saddam Hussein had tried to acquire uranium there for his nuclear program. After the invasion, when it became clear that Saddam didn't, um, have a nuclear program, Wilson wrote an op-ed for The New York Times arguing that there was no way Saddam could have gotten uranium from Niger.

And then the roof fell in.

Conservative columnists, The Wall Street Journal editorial page and Fox News joined in a full-throated baying denunciation, including the revelation that Wilson's wife was an undercover CIA agent, and charging that she had arranged to have him sent to Niger as a personal boondoggle. By the time it was all over, Wilson and Plame had been vilified (and lionized), the White House declared that anyone leaking a CIA agent's identity would certainly be fired, major national reporters had been subpoenaed and a New York Times reporter had been jailed for refusing to testify -- and Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, had been convicted of four counts of obstruction of justice and lying to investigators.

Deeply moved by it all, President Bush commuted Libby's sentence..."

...and a traitor walked free with a presidential pardon.

Scalia Flips-Off World

Quoted from http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/04/24/60-minutes-scalia-on-bush-v-gore-2000-get-over-it/:

 

Crooks and Liars » 60 Minutes: Scalia On Bush v. Gore 2000: “Get Over It”

During an interview set to air on this Sunday’s 60 Minutes, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said that people need to get over the court’s 5-4 decision to select George Bush over Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election:

 

Scalia repeated his earlier statement that people should “get over” the court’s ruling in 2000 that halted Florida’ s vote recount, giving the presidential election to Republican Bush over Democrat Al Gore.

 

“I say nonsense,” Scalia said, when asked about critics who say the 5-4 ruling was based on politics and not justice. “Get over it. It’s so old by now.” Read on…

 

This is an insult to America and the planet. The death and destruction that George Bush and his regime have unleashed since his selection will take decades, perhaps generations to repair and Scalia has the nerve to say something like this? Our Constitution is being shredded, our military is broken and bogged down in two failing military conflicts that have left hundreds of thousands dead, our economy is in the tank with more Americans on food stamps and lacking health insurance than at any time in modern history, and we’re supposed to get over it? No, Justice Scalia, we will not get over it — at least not any time soon.

Another Take On The Libby Pardon

Norman Pearlstine: The Commutation is an Outrage - Politics on The Huffington Post: "...Beyond that, while some think commuting the sentence more onerous than a pardon would have been, I believe it gives Libby important cover in the civil suit that Valerie Plame has filed against him and other White House officials involved in disclosing her identity and her role at the CIA. Since Libby wasn't pardoned, his appeal of the conviction is likely to continue and until it is concluded, he can plead the Fifth Amendment and not testify in the Plame's civil trial against him.

In sum, the commutation of Libby's sentence is a cover-up, pure and simple. The trial judge's sentence may have exceeded federal guidelines by a few months. But Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence totally ignores those guidelines. If Libby deserves a pardon, shouldn't we revisit other sentences that exceed federal guidelines?"

Scooter Guilty

Jury finds Libby guilty in CIA leak case | Top News | Reuters.co.uk: "Jury finds Libby guilty in CIA leak case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, a former senior aide to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, was found guilty on Tuesday of four of five counts of obstructing justice, lying and perjury during an investigation tied to the Iraq war..."

Trial A Who's Who Of Skulldudgery

Trial exposes White House crisis machine - Yahoo! News

"WASHINGTON - David Addington, chief legal adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, says he was taken aback when the White House started making public pronouncements about the CIA leak investigation.

In the fall of 2003, President Bush's press secretary was categorically denying that either Karl Rove or I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was involved in exposing the identity of Valerie Plame, a CIA employee married to a critic of the war in Iraq.

"Why are you making these statements?" Addington asked White House communications director Dan Bartlett.

"Your boss is the one who wanted" them, Bartlett replied, referring to Cheney.

With that, "I shut up," Addington recalled recently for jurors in Libby's CIA leak trial, which begins its fourth week on Monday with Libby's lawyers calling their first witnesses..."