dubyaD40.com

Today's Topics


Thursday, July 31, 2008
As if they care! posted by Clyde 10:22 AM US judge: White House aides can be subpoenaed President Bush's top advisers are not immune from congressional subpoenas, a federal judge ruled Thursday in an unprecedented dispute between the two political branches. House Democrats called the ruling a ringing endorsement of the principle that nobody is above the law. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge John Bates said there's no legal basis for Bush's argument and that his former legal counsel, Harriet Miers, must appear before Congress. If she wants to refuse to testify, he said, she must do so in person. The committee also has sought to force testimony from White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten. "Harriet Miers is not immune from compelled congressional process; she is legally required to testify pursuant to a duly issued congressional subpoena," Bates wrote. He said that both Bolten and Miers must give Congress all non-privileged documents related to the firings. (Link) Permalink :: 9 comments :: Post a Comment

$peculators come through for Exxon posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:42 AM ExxonMobil profit, $11.7B, sets U.S. record ExxonMobil reported second-quarter earnings of $11.68 billion Thursday, the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation, but the results fell well short of Wall Street expectations and shares fell in premarket trading. The world's largest publicly traded oil company said its net income for the April-June period came to $2.22 a share, up from $10.26 billion, or $1.83 a share, a year ago. Revenue rose 40% to $138.1 billion from $98.4 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Excluding an aftertax charge of $290 million related to an Exxon Valdez court settlement, earnings amounted to $11.97 billion, or $2.27 per share. Analysts on average expected ExxonMobil to earn $2.52 a share on revenue of $144 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. The estimates typically exclude one-time items. This should be illegal Permalink :: 5 comments :: Post a Comment

Our Roaming Knome strikes again! posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:16 AM Kucinich Press Conference to Announce 'Oil for Iraq Liberation' Act Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) will hold a press conference on the Oil for Iraq Liberation Act tomorrow morning on the Cannon Terrace. The Oil for Iraq Liberation bill will prevent U.S. based oil companies from development of and investment in petroleum resources of Iraq. "Recently we have seen evidence of a concerted effort to pressure the Iraqi government into privatizing Iraqi oil fields against the will of its citizens. We have also heard that certain high level architects of the Iraq war stand to gain financially. This bill will ensure that the Iraqi oil money stays out of the hands of U.S. oil companies who would otherwise benefit from the US attack on and occupation of Iraq." The conference will be: Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. on the Cannon Terrace, intersection of Independence and New Jersey Avenue Yea Dennis! Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Strongly worded letter coming soon. posted by Dookie The Webmaster 10:14 AM House panel votes to cite Rove for contempt A House panel Wednesday voted to cite former top White House aide Karl Rove for contempt of Congress as its Senate counterpart publicly pursued possible punishments for an array of alleged past and present Bush administration misdeeds. Voting along party lines, the House Judiciary Committee said that Rove had broke the law by failing to appear at a July 10 hearing on allegations of White House influence over the Justice Department, including whether Rove encouraged prosecutions against Democrats. The committee decision is only a recommendation, and it was unclear whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., would allow a final vote. Rove has denied any involvement with Justice decisions, and the White House has said Congress has no authority to compel testimony from current and former advisers. The vote occurred as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on allegations of administration wrongdoing ranging from discriminating against liberals at Justice to ignoring subpoenas and lying to Congress. Will someone arrest this azzhole? Permalink :: 6 comments :: Post a Comment

The "Kissy-float" Part 2 posted by Dookie The Webmaster 7:31 AM A 'big rat' may greet Lieberman at GOP convention Joseph Lieberman might want to pack some rodenticide if he decides to stump for John McCain at the upcoming Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. Some of the same Connecticut Democrats who stalked the senator on the re-election trail two years ago with the famous "kiss" float - a papier mache likeness of President Bush kissing Lieberman after the 2005 State of the Union address - are hoping to make a similar splash at the GOP fete Sept. 1-4. If Lieberman's detractors get their way, their prop would be a 30-foot inflatable rat, the kind unions typically use when construction workers cross picket lines. "The 30-foot rat is a big rat. A 12-foot rat you can kind of put in the back of a pickup truck A 30-foot rat you have to put on the back of a flatbed," said Ed Anderson, a New Haven Democrat who helped start the Web site DumpJoe.com. Lieberman SUCKS! Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

A lone bright spot of the Senate Dems posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:41 AM Reid Dares Republicans to Stay Over Break The indictment of Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska on Tuesday lifted Democrats' hopes of winning a Senate seat in Alaska - a feat they have not accomplished in the Last Frontier since 1974. But the majority leader, Senator Harry Reid, said he was actually feeling good about Senate races across the country. And he said that if Republicans wanted to stay in Washington through August to debate energy policy instead of going home to campaign, well, that was just fine by him. With a bitter fight raging over how to address high gasoline prices, some Republicans have intimated that the Senate should not leave for the August recess at the end of this week unless it can pass some sort of energy legislation. In fact, the Democrats have not officially "recessed" for more than a year because they do not want to give President Bush the chance to make appointments to vacant jobs that require Senate confirmation. And Mr. Reid said he would be happy to have Republicans join the lone Democrat coming in to open the Senate during the break. "We don't need the Republicans' permission to adjourn," he said, scoffing at the question at a news conference on Tuesday. "We're going to be in pro form session. This is because of President Bush not being fair on nominations. So we're going to be here anyway." A+ Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Purple State: Now they're concerned posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:36 AM GOP chairman calls for a statewide voter fraud investigation Virginia Republican Party Chairman Jeff Frederick said Monday that incidents in Hampton and Richmond led the party to fear "coordinated and widespread" statewide voter registration fraud. Frederick called on Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and Attorney General Bob McDonnell to launch a statewide investigation, citing last week's arrest of three canvassers in Hampton as evidence that people who were not eligible to vote were being signed up by a national nonprofit organization, the Community Voters Project. Spokesmen for Kaine, a Democrat, and McDonnell, a Republican, said the matter was appropriately in the hands of the Hampton's commonwealth's attorney. Frederick said there had been 18 "incidents" of voter fraud in Richmond, although he provided specifics about just one case, in which a Richmond resident said she received a call from the city registrar asking if she had submitted a new voter registration card with a new address. What about OH, FL, CO, ...? Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Why do they hate our troops? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:28 AM Bill to aid paralyzed vets blocked in Senate A bill promising more money for programs that help paralyzed veterans is part of a bundle of legislation tied up in partisan bickering in the Senate. The Christopher Reeve and Dana Reeve Act, which includes money for research into spinal cord injuries, is one of about 36 bills combined by Senate Democrats into what they are calling the Advancing America's Priorities Act. The bills have been bundled in an attempt to bypass objections from Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who has used senatorial privileges and procedures to stop action on several bills, including the spinal cord injury bill. The Democratic plan failed Monday on a 50-42 vote, leaving them short of the 60 votes needed to cut off debate on the package. F*ckers! Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

2008 still looks great posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:25 AM Indictment of Stevens adds to bleak GOP prospects The indictment of Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens on charges that he lied about accepting gifts from an oil contractor only adds to his party's already bleak electoral prospects in November, and not simply because it could cost the GOP a Senate seat that should be safe. While Stevens has vowed to fight charges and, through a spokesman, to move "full steam ahead" with his re-election bid, he's received little support from Alaska's Republican governor and no comment yet from his own GOP leader in the Capitol. His indictment, though, could knock Republicans off message just as party leaders hoped to gain traction on one of the few issues in which voters solidly side with them: producing more domestic oil. Stevens is the single most prominent advocate of oil drilling in protected areas, and charges that he took more than a quarter-million dollars worth of unreported gifts from oil services contractor Veco Corp. and its executives will play right into Democratic efforts to paint Republicans as a party captive to Big Oil. Landslide Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

The law is the law posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:23 AM Obama says he'll order review of executive orders Barack Obama told House Democrats on Tuesday that as president he would order his attorney general to scour White House executive orders and expunge any that "trample on liberty," several lawmakers said. Presidents, as head of the executive branch of government, issue such orders to direct operations of executive branch agencies, like the Justice Department and the CIA. For example, President Bush used an executive order last year to breathe new life into the CIA's controversial terror interrogation program that allowed harsh questioning of suspects. GOBama! Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Commander in Chief Test posted by Dookie The Webmaster 2:45 PM Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

It's about friggin time! posted by Clyde 11:36 AM Sen. Stevens indicted: 7 false statements counts Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator and a figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, has been indicted on seven counts of falsely reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home. Stevens, 84, has been dogged by a federal investigation into whether he pushed for fishing legislation that also benefited his son, an Alaska lobbyist. From May 1999 to August 2007, prosecutors said Stevens concealed "his continuing receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of things of value from a private corporation." The indictment released Tuesday said the items included: home improvements to his vacation home in Alaska, including a new first floor, garage, wraparound deck, plumbing, electrical wiring; as well as car exchanges, a Viking gas grill, furniture and tools. Justice Department officials were holding a news conference later Tuesday to discuss the charges. (Link) Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Kaine? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:17 AM Kaine in 'Serious' Talks With Obama Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has told close associates that he has had "very serious" conversations with Sen. Barack Obama about joining the Democratic presidential ticket and has provided documents to the campaign as it combs through his background, according to several sources close to Kaine. Sens. Evan Bayh (Ind.) and Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) are also being seriously vetted by the campaign staff, according to sources with knowledge of the process. Obama has revealed little about which way he is leaning. And despite rising anticipation that a decision is imminent, campaign officials said an announcement is likely in mid-August, shortly before the Democratic National Convention. Obama's top aides, David Plouffe and David Axelrod, huddled yesterday in the Washington office of Eric Holder, who along with Caroline Kennedy is vetting potential running mates. Although rumors have circulated about former military leaders and other nontraditional contenders, including Republicans, Obama's pool of prospects is heavy on longtime senators with foreign policy experience. Kaine and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius are the only state leaders believed to be under serious consideration, sources close to Obama said. Not my first choice Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

All about the oil posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:06 AM Perle Linked to Kurdish Oil Plan Influential former Pentagon official Richard Perle has been exploring going into the oil business in Iraq and Kazakhstan, according to people with knowledge of the matter and documents outlining possible deals. Mr. Perle, one of a group of security experts who began pushing the case for toppling Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein about a decade ago, has been discussing a possible deal with officials of northern Iraq's Kurdistan regional government, including its Washington envoy, according to these people and the documents. It would involve a tract called K18, near the Kurdish city of Erbil, according to documents describing the plan. A consortium founded by Turkish company AK Group International is seeking rights to drill there, the documents say. Potential backers include two Turkish companies as well as Kazakhstan, according to individuals involved. AK's chief executive is Aydan Kodaloglu, who, like Mr. Perle, has been involved with the American Turkish Council, an advocacy group in Washington. She didn't respond to requests for comment. Phyllis Kaminsky, who identified herself as the U.S. contact for Ms. Kodaloglu, said she herself was aware of the drilling plan but referred questions about it to Mr. Perle. "Richard would know the most," Ms. Kaminsky said. "He is involved, I know that." Imagine that Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Monday, July 28, 2008
What a coincidence posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:18 PM Robert Novak says he has brain tumor Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak said today he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor but says that, "God willing," he plans to be back at work soon. Novak said he was diagnosed Sunday with a tumor and will soon begin treatment at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. .... Novak, 77, struck a pedestrian last Wednesday while driving his Chevrolet Corvette in Washington, D.C. The man he struck suffered minor injuries, according to the Associated Press. Novak was issued a $50 citation. Asked whether the accident might have been linked to the columnist's medical condition, Novak's reporter, Charlie Spiering, said today, "It's really too early to tell." Novak said he didn't realize what happened and continued driving until a bicyclist stopped him, the Associated Press reported. David Bono, the bicyclist, said the pedestrian was hit in a crosswalk and was splayed across Novak's windshield. Lawsuit Permalink :: 5 comments :: Post a Comment

Conservatism at its best posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:14 PM U.S. Deficit to Hit Record $490 Billion in 2009 The U.S. budget deficit will widen to a record of about $490 billion next year, an administration official said, leaving a deep budget hole for the next president. The projected deficit for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 is far higher than the $407 billion forecast by President George W. Bush in February. The official also confirmed a report in USA Today that the deficit this year will be less than the $410 billion estimated in February. The bigger shortfall for fiscal 2009 may reflect dwindling tax receipts because of the U.S. economic slowdown, the cost of payments distributed under the $168 billion economic stimulus package and the continuing cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "We've already seen a pretty sharp cooling in tax receipts and it's just going to continue into next fiscal year," Stephen Stanley, chief economist at RBS Capital Markets, said in a telephone interview. Reaganomics Oh, and... $150 million lost in failed Iraq projects Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

*Go fck yourself, Mr. Cheney! posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:12 PM Injured vets tell pull Dick Cheney invitation over security demands** Vice President Cheney's invitation to address wounded combat veterans next month has been yanked because the group felt his security demands were Draconian and unreasonable. The veep had planned to speak to the Disabled American Veterans at 8:30 a.m. at its August convention in Las Vegas. His staff insisted the sick vets be sequestered for two hours before Cheney's arrival and couldn't leave until he'd finished talking, officials confirmed. "Word got back to us ... that this would be a prerequisite," said the veterans executive director, David Gorman, who noted the meeting hall doesn't have any rest rooms. "We told them it just wasn't acceptable." ... Cheney's office acknowledged the security requests, but insisted he is sensitive to combat veterans' needs. Spokeswoman Megan Mitchell said the two-hour rule is "a recommendation, not a requirement," and "we always work to make sure the bathrooms are within the security perimeters." Supporting the troops? Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

McDesperate posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:18 AM New McCain Ad Bashes Obama for Not Visiting Troops Using Footage of Obama Visiting Troops Sen. Barack Obama's landing at Chicago's Midway airport this evening was greeted with the news that rival Sen. John McCain launched a new TV ad attacking Obama for that canceled visit to see wounded troops in Germany. Obama told me earlier today that the trip was canceled because of "a concern that maybe our visit was going to be perceived as political. And the last thing that I want to do is have injured soldiers and the staff at these wonderful institutions having to sort through whether this is political or not or get caught in the crossfire between campaigns." McCain's ad asserts that Obama "made time to go to the gym, but cancelled a visit with wounded troops. Seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras." The McCain campaign provides no evidence for the assertion that being told he couldn't bring media had anything to do with the trip's cancellation. Oddly, when discussing Obama's trip to the gym, the ad uses footage of Obama playing basketball with US troops in Kuwait over the weekend. Pathetic Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Sunday, July 27, 2008
Equality for all? posted by Clyde 4:22 AM Richest Americans See Their Income Share Grow In a new sign of increasing inequality in the U.S., the richest 1% of Americans in 2006 garnered the highest share of the nation's adjusted gross income for two decades, and possibly the highest since 1929, according to Internal Revenue Service data. Meanwhile, the average tax rate of the wealthiest 1% fell to its lowest level in at least 18 years. The group's share of the tax burden has risen, though not as quickly as its share of income. The figures are from the IRS's income-statistics division and were posted on the agency's Web site last week. The 2006 data are the most recent available. The figures about the relative income and tax rates of the wealthiest Americans come as the presumptive presidential candidates are in a debate about taxes. Congress and the next president will have to decide whether to extend several Bush-era tax cuts, including the 2003 reduction in tax rates on capital gains and dividends. Experts said those tax cuts in particular are playing a major role in falling tax rates for the very wealthy. (Link) Permalink :: 6 comments :: Post a Comment

New definition of "Run and Hide" posted by Clyde 4:08 AM For Targeted GOP Senate Candidates, St. Paul Is Not A Choice Destination Nine of 12 targeted Republicans running in the most competitive Senate races this fall are either skipping the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., or have not decided whether to attend. Among those who will not attend are Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, who is not close to presumptive presidential nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who is a McCain loyalist. Stevens and Collins will use the convention week to focus on their campaigns. Also sending regrets is former Rep. Bob Schaffer of Colorado, running for the seat being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Wayne Allard. Six others -- Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, John Sununu of New Hampshire, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and Gordon Smith of Oregon and challengers John Kennedy of Louisiana and Rep. Steve Pearce of New Mexico are still on the fence. Their spokesman offered responses ranging from "there are no plans yet" to "no decisions have been made." (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Saturday, July 26, 2008
What the hell, it's only money! posted by Clyde 3:43 AM Iraq War's Price Tag Nears Vietnam's The total cost of the Iraq war is approaching the Vietnam War's expense, a congressional report estimates, while spending for military operations after 9/11 has exceeded it. The new report by the Congressional Research Service estimates the U.S. has spent $648 billion on Iraq war operations, putting it in range with the $686 billion, in 2008 dollars, spent on the Vietnam War, the second most expensive war behind World War II. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. has doled out almost $860 billion for military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere around the world. All estimates, adjusted for inflation, are based on the costs of military operations and don't include expenses for veterans benefits, interest on war-related debts or assistance to war allies, according to the nonpartisan CRS. The report underscores how the price tag has been gradually rising for the war in Iraq, which began in March 2003. In late 2002, then-White House budget director Mitch Daniels estimated the Iraq war would cost $50 billion to $60 billion. A year later, L. Paul Bremer, then-chief of the U.S. occupation government in Iraq, said the war would cost $100 billion. (Link) Permalink :: 5 comments :: Post a Comment

Drilling our way into oblivion posted by Clyde 3:37 AM Riches in the Arctic: the new oil race The future of the Arctic will be less white wilderness, more black gold, a new report on oil reserves in the High North has signalled this week. The first-comprehensive assessment of oil and gas resources north of the Arctic Circle, carried out by American geologists, reveals that underneath the ice, the region may contain as much as a fifth of the world's undiscovered yet recoverable oil and natural gas reserves. This includes 90 billion barrels of oil, enough to supply the world for three years at current consumption rates, or to supply America for 12, and 1,670 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, which is equal to about a third of the world's known gas reserves. The significance of the report is that it puts firm figures for the first time on the hydrocarbon riches which the five countries surrounding the Arctic - the US, Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark (through its dependency, Greenland) - have been eyeing up for several years. It is the increasingly rapid melting of the Arctic sea ice, which last September hit a new record summer low, and of land-based ice on Greenland, which is opening up the possibility of the once frozen wasteland providing a natural resources and minerals bonanza, not to mention a major new transport route - last year the fabled North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific along the top of Canada was navigable for the first time. (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Friday, July 25, 2008
No! You cannot live in the fairy tale. Not yours! posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:29 PM GOP stalwart arrested in 2-day St. Paul prostitution sting Peter Hong, a longtime Republican operative in Minnesota, was arrested Wednesday afternoon on a charge of soliciting prostitution in St. Paul. Police spokesman Peter Panos said that the arrest came during the first day of a two-day sting operation during which "johns" and prostitutes responded to ads placed on the Internet and in print. Thirty-five people were arrested Wednesday and Thursday, Panos said today. He declined to say where the undercover operation was based. According to city and county records, Hong, 41, of Minneapolis, was arrested at about 3:40 p.m. on Wednesday and arrived at the Ramsey County jail just after 5 p.m. He was one of at least 19 men swept up during the first day of the sting, police records show. Poor Peter Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

McCain Flips Out Bill O'Reilly Remix posted by Dookie The Webmaster 8:10 AM McCain Flips Out Bill OReilly Remix - Watch more free videos Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Frog march this idiot posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:17 AM Rove Threatened GOP IT Guru If He Does Not 'Take the Fall' for Election Fraud in Ohio, Says Attorney Karl Rove has threatened a GOP high-tech guru and his wife, if he does not "'take the fall' for election fraud in Ohio," according to a letter sent this morning to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, by Ohio election attorney Cliff Arnebeck. The email, posted in full below, details threats against Mike Connell of the Republican firm New Media Communications, which describes itself on its website as "a powerhouse in the field of Republican website development and Internet services" and having "played a strategic role in helping the GOP expand its technological supremacy." Connell was described in a recent interview with the plaintiff's attorneys in Ohio as a "high IQ Forrest Gump" for his appearance "at the scene of every [GOP] crime" from Florida 2000 to Ohio 2004 to the RNC email system to the installation of the currently-used Congressional computer network firewall. He'll walk Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Thursday, July 24, 2008
Meanwhile, in BERLIN...... posted by Dookie The Webmaster 1:18 PM In Berlin, Obama urges fight against terror Before the largest crowd of his campaign, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Thursday summoned Europeans and Americans together to "defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it" as surely as they conquered communism a generation ago. "The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand," Obama said, speaking not far from where the Berlin Wall once divided the city. "The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand," he said. ..... Police spokesman Bernhard Schodrowski said the speech drew more than 200,000 people, more than double the estimated 75,000 he drew in Oregon this spring. He drew loud applause when he talked of a world without nuclear weapons and again when he called for steps to counter climate change. Change Large crowd! They're waving the American flag! Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Sad, sad, pathetic, little man posted by Dookie The Webmaster 1:13 PM McCain visits German restaurant _ in Ohio Republican presidential candidate John McCain had his own German experience Thursday - at a restaurant in Ohio. He asserted that he was happy to devote his time this week to touring the nation's heartland rather than Europe and the Middle East. "I'd love to give a speech in Germany. But I'd much prefer to do it as president of the United States rather than as a candidate for president," McCain told reporters after a meal of bratwurst with local business leaders at Schmidt's Sausage Haus und Restaurant in Columbus' German Village neighborhood. As Barack Obama delivered a high-profile speech in Berlin, McCain said he was focusing his attention this week on economic issues, including soaring food and fuel costs. He has been busy campaigning and raising funds in key battleground states like Ohio. In what was clearly not a coincidence, McCain spoke with reporters shortly before Obama began his speech at Berlin's Victory Column. At the same time, The Republican National Committee was running anti-Obama ads in Berlin, Pa., and other namesake villages in Wisconsin and New Hampshire. Attention whore Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

About friggin time! posted by Clyde 10:37 AM Government uncovers oil price manipulation The government charged an oil trading firm Thursday with manipulating oil prices, the first indictment to come down since the regulators began a new investigation into wrongdoings in the energy markets. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission charged Optiver Holding, two of its subsidiaries, and three employees, with manipulation and attempted manipulation of crude oil, heating oil and gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In May the CFTC announced a wide ranging probe into oil price manipulation. The agency says that there are currently dozens of investigations ongoing. "Optiver traders amassed large trading positions, then conducted trades in such a way to bully and hammer the markets," CFTC Acting Chairman Walt Lukken said at a press conference. "These charges go to the heart of the CFTC's core mission of detecting and rooting out illegal manipulation of the markets." (Bastiges) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

While McYawn has to cancel his press conferences... posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:11 AM Obamamania hits Germany On the eve of Barack Obama's historic speech in Germany, Handelsblatt, the German equivalent of the Wall Street Journal, is reporting that American expats have a newfound pride after almost eight years of shame during the Bush presidency. The paper describes a 'euphoria' which has landed in Europe with Barack Obama The subtext of the article is that write-in ballots from expats living abroad will come in overwhelmingly in favor of Obama although they had come in for the Republicans in the past. If one remembers the recount fiasco in Florida in 2000, this will be absolutely crucial in swing states like Florida, Ohio and Virginia to name a few. What's more is none of this is being captured by the U.S. media in its sate by state polling. As six million Americans live abroad, 27 million in Europe alone, the potential to swing a tight election is enormous. This has major implications for U.S. foreign and domestic policy as well as for financial markets. GOBama! Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Zzzzzzzzz posted by Dookie The Webmaster 10:23 AM MCCAIN: A DUKAKIS-IN-A-TANK MOMENT? The New York Times' Maureen Dowd points out a visual contrast this week that's going to be remembered for some time. "The image of John McCain in a golf cart with Bush 41 in Kennebunkport - with Poppy charmingly admitting that they were 'a little jealous' of all the Obama odyssey coverage - was not a good advertisement for the future, especially contrasted with the shots of Gen. David Petraeus and Obama smiling at each other companionably in a helicopter surveying Iraq. (Asked by a Democratic lawmaker a while back why there weren't more Democrats in the military, General Petraeus smiled slyly and said 'there are more than you think.')" In a separate piece, the New York Times' Stanley also writes on the visual contrasts. "It wasn't a television blackout of John McCain; it was worse: split-screen contrasts that at times made it seem as if Barack Obama was on a state visit while back home his opponent chafed at the perks and privileges of an incumbent commander in chief." More: "While Mr. Obama was shown striding across military tarmacs and inspecting troops standing at attention, Mr. McCain on Monday was seen being driven around in a golf cart by former President George Bush in the resort town of Kennebunkport, Me. Later, the two men spoke to reporters side by side at a waterfront, and they looked more like fellow members of a Past Presidents' Club than a party elder passing the torch to his political heir." McBush Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

McGaffe another one posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:14 AM McCain Gets History Of The Surge Wrong, CBS Doesn't Air Footage During a CBS interview on Tuesday, John McCain made a stone cold error on a subject about which he claims expert knowledge: the "surge" strategy in Iraq. In an interview with anchor Katie Couric, the Arizona Republican said, inaccurately, that the surge strategy was responsible for the much-touted "Anbar Awakening," in which Sunni sheiks turned against Al Qaeda, helping in turn to reduce violence in the country. From the transcript: Katie Couric: Senator McCain, Senator Obama says, while the increased number of US troops contributed to increased security in Iraq, he also credits the Sunni awakening and the Shiite government going after militias. And says that there might have been improved security even without the surge. What's your response to that? McCain: I don't know how you respond to something that is as-- such a false depiction of what actually happened. Colonel MacFarland was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that's just a matter of history. In fact, as Spencer Ackerman and Ilan Goldenberg have reported, the record firmly establishes the opposite: instead of being caused by the surge, the key signs of the Anbar Awakening occurred not only before that strategy was implemented, but before it was ever conceived. Yet McCain's error was not seen by any CBS Evening News viewers. As MSNBC's Keith Olbermann noted (video below), "CBS curiously, to say the least, left it on the edit room floor. It aired Katie Couric's question, but in response, it aired part of McCain's answer to the other question instead." (Ironically, this edit came on the same day that McCain's campaign released a video mocking the media's "love affair" with Obama.) McFallen and can't get up Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Memo: You are always being recorded posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:08 AM Banned Camera Catches Bush Sounding off on Economic Crisis An ABC-TV outlet in Houston, and now the Houston Chronicle, have posted a video taken at a political fundraiser for Pete Olson, featuring George W. Bush last week -- capturing some embarrassing/revealing moments after, he noted, he had asked cameras to be turned off. The first moments form the July 18 event find him speaking almost incoherently in admitting, for once, that his friends in big business had screwed up: "There's no question about it. Wall Street got drunk ---that's one of the reasons I asked you to turn off the TV cameras -- it got drunk and now it's got a hangover. The question is how long will it sober up and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments." Then, making light of the foreclosure crisis, he said: "And then we got a housing issue... not in Houston, and evidently not in Dallas, because Laura's over there trying to buy a house. I like Crawford but unfortunately after eight years of sacrifice, I am apparently no longer the decision maker." Dumsh*t Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Enjoy the minority posted by Dookie The Webmaster 11:56 AM Young Republicans, blue about prospects ahead David All glanced around Top of the Hill bar and saw the future of the Republican Party. It looked dim. A who's who of young conservatives had gathered, but they were few, and they were frustrated. "When Reagan was president, I was 9 years old, doing cannonballs and watching 'Rambo,' " says All, 29, who prominently displays the requisite grip-and-grin photos of himself with President Bush in the office of his own L Street consulting firm. He recalled that first Republican presidential debate of the 2008 campaign, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California; it was a veritable Reagan love-fest, with each contender claiming to be more like the conservative icon than his opponents. They sounded like old fogies and intoned the icon's name at least a dozen times. "You don't hear Barack Obama going around saying, 'I'm John F. Kennedy.' He's saying, 'I'm Barack Obama,' " All says. "There's a reason for that. He's inspiring an entire generation, and it's a generation that's trying to change the world in 160 characters or less through text messages." Still, many of the party's newbies are preparing for the worst. Matt Lewis, 33, is hoping a trouncing in November will force the old guard aside and give his generation a shot. He was one of the committed young conservatives who came to Washington during the Bush administration, eager to push the politics of limited government and compassionate conservatism. He worked for the Leadership Institute, which teaches youngsters about the principles of classic conservatives such as Edmund Burke and Frederic Bastiat, as well as William F. Buckley Jr. and Barry Goldwater. He now blogs full time at the conservative Web site Townhall.com. McCain is your man! Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

The Sheeple (R-US) posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:21 AM GOP senators scramble for life boats Republican Senate leaders - terrified by the prospect of losing five or more seats in November - have freed their members to vote however they need to vote to get reelected, even if that means bucking the president or the party's leadership. On at least four votes over the past month - Medicare, housing, the GI Bill and the Farm Bill - Republican leaders haven't even bothered whipping members to toe the party line or back President Bush's veto threats. Instead, a GOP leadership aide says leaders have told vulnerable senators that it's all right to "get well" with voters by siding with Democrats on anything but energy and national security. It's unusual for rank-and-file members to get a green light to blow off their party leaders. But these are unusual times for Republicans. They are genuinely worried they could get their clocks cleaned in November. The prevailing attitude: It is better to lose some big votes now than big races in November. This helps explain why so many Senate Republicans are taking flight from President Bush and their own leaders - and doing it loudly and proudly. Too late, PUKES! Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

McFlip McFlop posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:14 AM McCain indicates U.S. troops could withdraw in 2 years Republican presidential candidate John McCain appeared to leave a door open on Monday to a large-scale drawdown of U.S. troops from Iraq in the next two years. McCain, who has wrapped up his party's White House nomination, has long argued against setting a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal. After a meeting with former President George H.W. Bush, McCain was asked whether it was conceivable for U.S. troops to be fully pulled out of Iraq in about two years. "I think they could be largely withdrawn," the Arizona senator replied, citing the success of the "surge" strategy of increasing U.S. troop levels in increasing security in the country. 100 years Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

What about the majority of Americans who support a pullout? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:12 AM White House irked by Iraq support for Obama plan The White House expressed unhappiness Monday about Iraqi leaders' public backing for Barack Obama's troop withdrawal timetable. And it said that Baghdad may be trying to use the U.S. presidential election as leverage in talks about the future of American's military presence and obligations in the war. ... "We don't think that talking about specific negotiating tactics or your negotiating position in the press is the best way to negotiate a deal," Perino said after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was quoted in a magazine article supporting the 16-month troop withdrawal timeline proposed by Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate. "However, we understand that they're a sovereign country and they'll be able to do that," Perino said. "We're just not going to do it on our end." Al-Maliki's spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, initially appeared to try to discredit the magazine report but on Monday he expressed hopes that U.S. combat forces could be out of Iraq by 2010, the timeframe proposed by Obama. Buoyed by a sharp reduction in violence, Iraqi leaders have become more assertive about the country's sovereignty, giving rise to demands for a specific plan for American forces to leave. GoBama! Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Monday, July 21, 2008
McSenior moment posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:02 PM McCain confuses Iraq & Afghanistan One little interview changed the storyline for this portion of the trip -- and boosted Obama's credibility on the subject at hand. Now, it's McCain on the defensive -- needing to explain why he differs from Obama, Maliki -- and maybe even the Bush administration, backers of a "time horizon" (no frames, there) for troop withdrawal. And it was McCain who owns the first big gaffe of the trip -- appearing to confuse Iraq and Afghanistan. Asked by ABC's Diane Sawyer Monday morning whether the "the situation in Afghanistan in precarious and urgent," McCain responded: "I think it's serious. . . . It's a serious situation, but there's a lot of things we need to do. We have a lot of work to do and I'm afraid it's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border," said McCain, R-Ariz., said on "Good Morning America." McBushism Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

McLieberman strikes again posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:05 AM Lieberman: Obama choosing to lose Iraq war Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama is choosing to lose the Iraq war by planning to withdraw American combat troops, a high-profile supporter of Republican candidate Sen. John McCain said Sunday. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-independent from Connecticut, said McCain's support for bolstering U.S. forces in Iraq last year to subdue insurgents has made Obama's expected visit to Iraq this week possible. "John McCain had the guts to argue against public opinion, to put his whole campaign on the line, because, as he says, he'd rather lose an election than lose in a war that he thinks is this important to the United States," Lieberman said on "Fox News Sunday." "If Barack Obama's policy in Iraq had been implemented, he couldn't be in Iraq today," Lieberman said, adding that Obama "was prepared to accept retreat and defeat." .... The remarks by Lieberman -- who ran for vice president as a Democrat in 2000 -- drew a sharp response from Sen. Evan Bayh, an Obama supporter who appeared with Lieberman on the show. Obama's initial opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq "was right from the beginning," said Bayh, D-Indiana. Zell Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Sunday, July 20, 2008
From one criminal to another posted by Clyde 7:38 AM Felons Seeking Bush Pardon Near a Record Felons are asking President Bush for pardons and commutations at historic levels as he nears his final months in office, a time when many other presidents have granted a flurry of clemency requests. Among the petitioners is Michael Milken, the billionaire former junk bond king turned philanthropist, who is seeking a pardon for his 1990 conviction for securities fraud, the Justice Department said. Mr. Milken sought a pardon eight years ago from President Bill Clinton, and submitted a new petition in June. In addition, prominent federal inmates are asking Mr. Bush to commute their sentences. Among them are Randy Cunningham, the former Republican congressman from California; Edwin W. Edwards, a former Democratic governor of Louisiana; John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban; and Marion Jones, the former Olympic sprinter. The requests are adding to a backlog of nearly 2,300 pending petitions, most from "ordinary people who committed garden-variety crimes," said Margaret Colgate Love, a clemency lawyer. (Link) Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Oh, that's going to leave a mark! posted by Clyde 7:27 AM Iraq Leader Maliki Supports Obama's Withdrawal Plans Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki supports US presidential candidate Barack Obama's plan to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months. When asked in and interview with SPIEGEL when he thinks US troops should leave Iraq, Maliki responded "as soon as possible, as far as we are concerned." He then continued: "US presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes." Maliki was careful to back away from outright support for Obama. "Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they choose as their president is the Americans' business," he said. But then, apparently referring to Republican candidate John McCain's more open-ended Iraq policy, Maliki said: "Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of US troops in Iraq would cause problems." Iraq, Maliki went on to say, "would like to see the establishment of a long-term strategic treaty with the United States, which would govern the basic aspects of our economic and cultural relations." He also emphasized though that the security agreement between the two countries should only "remain in effect in the short term." The comments by the Iraqi leader come as Obama embarks on a trip to both Afghanistan and Iraq as well as to Europe. Obama was in Afghanistan on Saturday to, as he said prior to his trip, "see what the situation on the ground is … and thank our troops for the heroic work that they've been doing." The exact itinerary of the candidate's trip has not been made public out of security concerns, but it is widely expected that he will arrive in Iraq on Sunday to meet with Maliki. (Rut-Roh) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Saturday, July 19, 2008
It's Psychological posted by Clyde 3:26 AM US faces global funding crisis, warns Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch has warned that the United States could face a foreign "financing crisis" within months as the full consequences of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage debacle spread through the world. The country depends on Asian, Russian and Middle Eastern investors to fund much of its $700bn (£350bn) current account deficit, leaving it far more vulnerable to a collapse of confidence than Japan in the early 1990s after the Nikkei bubble burst. Britain and other Anglo-Saxon deficit states could face a similar retreat by foreign investors. "Japan was able to cut its interest rates to zero," said Alex Patelis, Merrill's head of international economics. "It would be very difficult for the US to do this. Foreigners will not be willing to supply the capital. Nobody knows where the limit lies." (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Only the Necessities posted by Clyde 3:19 AM Terrorism Funds May Let Brass Fly in Style Luxury Pods for Air Force Debated The Air Force's top leadership sought for three years to spend counterterrorism funds on "comfort capsules" to be installed on military planes that ferry senior officers and civilian leaders around the world, with at least four top generals involved in design details such as the color of the capsules' carpet and leather chairs, according to internal e-mails and budget documents. Production of the first capsule -- consisting of two sealed rooms that can fit into the fuselage of a large military aircraft -- has already begun. Air Force officials say the government needs the new capsules to ensure that leaders can talk, work and rest comfortably in the air. But the top brass's preoccupation with creating new luxury in wartime has alienated lower-ranking Air Force officers familiar with the effort, as well as congressional staff members and a nonprofit group that calls the program a waste of money. Air Force documents spell out how each of the capsules is to be "aesthetically pleasing and furnished to reflect the rank of the senior leaders using the capsule," with beds, a couch, a table, a 37-inch flat-screen monitor with stereo speakers, and a full-length mirror. (Fat-Cats) Permalink :: 5 comments :: Post a Comment

Friday, July 18, 2008
Protecting the oil companies posted by Dookie The Webmaster 9:11 AM House Republicans Block Democratic Effort on Oil Leases, Calling the Bill a Sham House Republicans on Thursday blocked a Democratic effort to pressure energy companies into drilling for oil on lands they already leased from the federal government, calling the legislation a sham. The White House expressed a similar view in issuing a veto threat against the bill. "By blocking some firms from competing for new leases, this legislation would further increase gasoline prices that already exceed $4 per gallon and result in unintended consequences due to litigation," the White House said. Democrats said they were calling the bluff of Republicans on their persistent demands for more domestic production. "Drill on the leases you have or let somebody else do it," said Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland and the majority leader. ..... "Let there be no mistake about it," said Representative Nick J. Rahall II, Democrat of West Virginia and chairman of the Natural Resources Committee. "As Democrats, we are pro-drilling. We are for drilling now. We are for drilling in areas that bring near-term relief to the American public." Democrats say oil companies are sitting on 68 million acres they could be exploring. But Republicans say many of those sites have proved to be dry holes or are the subject of lawsuits and disputes over federal permits. They said that energy companies need new stock and that technological improvements have made drilling less of an environmental threat. '08 Landslide Permalink :: 4 comments :: Post a Comment

9% ? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 7:06 AM Poll: Obama backers are more excited than McCain's John McCain is facing an excitement deficit. While overall interest in the presidential campaign has swelled since last fall, backers of Barack Obama are more fired up and express more loyalty to their candidate than McCain's do, a poll by The Associated Press and Yahoo News showed Friday. In addition, individual groups backing Obama - African-Americans, Democrats and liberals - are more enthusiastic than whites, Republicans and conservatives, who are more aligned with McCain, the GOP senator from Arizona. Obama faces hurdles of his own. The poll shows lagging fervor for the Democratic senator from Illinois by supporters of his vanquished rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton. And there are lots of dispirited and undecided independents, who are expected to be pivotal on Election Day, now less then four months off. The passion and interest shown by blocs of voters are important because they affect who will be motivated to vote. For now, the numbers favor Obama: 38 percent of his supporters say the election is exciting compared with 9 percent of McCain's. Sixty-five percent of Obama's backers say they are hopeful about the campaign, double McCain's, and the Democrat's supporters are three times likelier to express pride. Margin of error Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

He knows how to win a war? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:45 AM McCain missed Afghanistan hearings for 2 years ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports from Capitol Hill: The McCain campaign criticism of Sen. Barack Obama's hearing record on Capitol Hill led us to put the shoe on the other foot. It turns out that presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain has attended even fewer Afghanistan-related Senate hearings over the past two years than Obama's one. Which is a nice way of saying, McCain, R-Ariz., the top Republican on the Senate Armed Service Committee, has attended zero of his committee's six hearings on Afghanistan over the last two years. Meanwhile, Obama attended the full Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Afghanistan in March 2007, although he used the opportunity to ask Gen. James L. Jones, then the commander of NATO, about Pakistan. Jones also came before the Senate Armed Services Committee that week. But McCain was a no-show. The findings are surprising given the fact that the McCain campaign loudly criticized Obama this week for failing to schedule any hearings on Afghanistan in the last year and a half. Obama chairs the European Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which has oversight of military operations in Afghanistan. McSlacker Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Still no oversight posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:43 AM Mukasey Rejects Inquiry Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey rejected calls to appoint a special counsel to investigate Bush administration officials who approved the use of coercive interrogation techniques against terrorism suspects. In a letter sent yesterday to House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), Mukasey said opening a criminal investigation would be "unfair" and "seriously short-sighted." "I am aware of no basis for appointing a special counsel to investigate the policymakers who approved the CIA interrogation program or the national security lawyers who concluded that the program was lawful," he wrote to Conyers and nearly five dozen other Democrats. Critics of the administration's policy have likened the questioning tactics to torture and have called for senior policymakers to be held accountable. Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility, which probes ethics complaints against department lawyers, is conducting its own investigation of Justice memos that blessed controversial techniques including simulated drowning and sleep deprivation. Lawless Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Bush=Poop posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:27 AM Voters to decide: Bush memorial sewage plant? San Francisco voters will be asked to decide whether to name a city sewage plant in honor of President Bush, after a satiric measure qualified for the November ballot today. Backers of the measure, who for several months circulated a petition to place the measure on the ballot, turned in more than 12,000 signatures on July 7, said organizer Brian McConnell. The Department of Elections today informed those supporters, the self-proclaimed Presidential Memorial Commission, that they had enough valid signatures - a minimum of 7,168 registered San Francisco voters - to qualify for the November ballot, he said. ... The measure, if passed by a majority of voters, would rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W. Bush Sewage Plant. McConnell said the intent is to remember the Bush administration and what the group sees as the president's mistakes, including the war in Iraq. Some people aren't laughing, including the San Francisco Republican Party, which sees the measure as an embarrassment, even to this famously-liberal city. Chairman Howard Epstein has vowed to fight the measure with all means available to him. Vote early, often Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Thursday, July 17, 2008
*Is there anything Bush can't fck up? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 9:18 AM Deregulation Jolts Texas Electric Bills Texas had some of the cheapest power rates in the country when it zapped most of the state's electric regulations six years ago, convinced that rollicking competition would drive prices even lower. This summer, electricity there is some of the nation's priciest. Power costs are rising in the rest of the U.S., but everything is bigger in Texas: On a hot day in May, wholesale prices rose briefly to more than $4 a kilowatt hour -- about 40 times the national average. Prices in Texas have risen since the industry was freed from regulation, but these recent increases have been quite a shock for America's most audacious experiment in deregulating electric power. Five retail companies that sell electricity to homeowners and small-businesspeople have failed. That has left customers facing unexpectedly high bills when they are quietly and seamlessly switched to other, more-expensive retailers. Still, there is little momentum for big changes. Many Texas officials believe that their system -- lots of elbow room and few binding rules -- will work out best for consumers in the long run. "The system is working the way it is supposed to work," says state Rep. Phil King, the Republican from Weatherford who is chairman of the House Regulated Industries Committee.** .... Not long ago, Texas thought it had the answer. When then-Gov. George W. Bush signed the state's deregulation bill in 1999, he assured that "competition in the electric industry will benefit Texans by reducing monthly rates and offering consumers more choices." The law, which took effect in 2002, left few restrictions on what power generators could charge and what consumers could pay. Imagine that Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

We don't need lobbyists posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:11 AM Obama raised $52 mln in June Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised $52 million in June, his campaign said on Thursday, a jump from last month and more than double the $22 million raised by his Republican rival John McCain. In an e-mail to supporters, campaign manager David Plouffe said the Obama campaign raised the funds with an average donation of $68. The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee have a combined total of $72 million in the bank, Plouffe said. "But more impressive than the number is how you did it," Plouffe wrote. "Hundreds of thousands of ordinary people contributed to building our campaign for change. Many were first-time donors, giving only what they could afford -- and the average donation was just $68." The June figure was just shy of the Illinois senator' best fundraising month in February when he took in $55 million. His fundraising slowed to $21.9 million in May, down from just over $30 million in April. Just ordinary people Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Wednesday, July 16, 2008
What are they hiding? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 10:43 AM Bush claims executive privilege on CIA leak President Bush has asserted executive privilege to protect information that a House panel has subpoenaed on the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity, the White House said Wednesday. A House committee chairman, meanwhile, held off on a contempt citation of Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who sought the privilege claim, as a courtesy to lawmakers not present. Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, rejected Mukasey's suggestion that Vice President Dick Cheney's FBI interview on the subject should be protected by the privilege claim. "We'll act in the reasonable and appropriate period of time," Waxman, D-Calif., told the panel. But he made clear that he thinks Mukasey has earned a contempt citation and that he'd schedule a vote on the matter soon. "This unfounded assertion of executive privilege does not protect a principle; it protects a person," Waxman said. "If the vice president did nothing wrong, what is there to hide?" ... "I am greatly concerned about the chilling effect that compliance with the committee's subpoena would have on future White House deliberations and White House cooperation with future Justice Department investigations," Mukasey wrote to Bush. "I believe it is legally permissible for you to assert executive privilege with respect to the subpoenaed documents, and I respectfully request that you do so." CYA Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Another poll posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:19 AM Reuters/Zogby poll: Obama 47%, McCain 40% Democrat Barack Obama has a 7-point lead on Republican John McCain in the U.S. presidential race, and holds a small edge on the crucial question of who would best manage the economy, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday. More than a month after kicking off the general election campaign, Obama leads McCain by 47 percent to 40 percent. That is slightly better than his 5-point cushion in mid-June, shortly after he clinched the Democratic nomination fight against New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. But Obama's 22-point advantage in June among independents, a critical voting bloc that could swing either way in the November election, shrunk to 3 points during a month in which the candidates battled on the economy and Obama was accused of shifting to the center on several issues. Obama had a 44 percent to 40 percent edge nationally over McCain on who would be best at managing the economy, virtually unchanged from last month. Among independents, the two were tied on the economy. "There has been a real tightening up among independents, and that has to be worrisome for Obama," pollster John Zogby said. "It doesn't seem like Obama is coming across on the economy." Can't wait for the debates Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

McWealthy posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:14 AM McCain raises $62.5 million through public finance loophole Here's a story you can say you read first at The Jed Report: according to FEC reports filed on July 15, through June 30, John McCain had raised at $62.5 million in private funds that can be used for his general election campaign -- even though he's already committed to accepting public funding for the general. Moreover, based on my own analysis, of that $62.5 million, three-quarters -- $46.3 million -- comes from a total of 1,803 wealthy individuals who made five figure contributions averaging $25,664 each. So not only is John McCain blatantly violating his public financing pledge, but he's doing it in grand style, raising money in increments of up to $70,000 per donor -- more than thirty times the amount a donor can give to Barack Obama's general election campaign. Lobbyists Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Consumers never gloomier in 27 years: ABC poll says posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:04 AM Pessimism about the U.S. economy hit a record high in June with 78% of Americans saying the economy is getting worse, the according to the ABC News survey released Tuesday. Only 2% said the economy was getting better, ABC said. ABC first began asking the "better or worse" question in its monthly surveys in march 1981. In May, 77% said the economy was worsening, while 4% said it was getting better. The poll was taken between June 29 and July 13. But Bush says it's "sound" Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Keep it up Dennis! posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:06 PM Undeterred, Kucinich to introduce another impeachment article Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) will formally introduce another article of impeachment against President Bush Tuesday as House leaders indicate they're willing to convene a hearing to consider the Ohio Democrat's arguments. Kucinich will move for a vote on a privileged resolution Tuesday, which likely will result in the impeachment article being referred to the Judiciary Committee. The lawmaker warned he would keep coming back with the resolution if the House voted to dismiss it. Grow some balls Judiciary Committee! Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

From a P.O.W....... posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:01 PM McCain says he 'knows how to win wars' Republican John McCain said today that he knows "how to win wars" and the strategy of increasing troop levels in Iraq should also be applied to Afghanistan. "Sen. Obama will tell you we can't win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq. In fact, he has it exactly backwards," McCain told a town hall meeting. "It is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan." "I know how to win wars. And if I'm elected President, I will turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory," he said. Moments earlier, his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama said in a speech in Washington the U.S. must end the war in Iraq and that Afghanistan, by contrast, is "a war that we have to win." We won Vietnam? Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Poll: Jitterbug owners prefer McCain; iPhone users overwhelmingly favor Obama. posted by Dookie The Webmaster 9:09 AM A non-scientific poll conducted from July 1-11 found that Jitterbug wireless phone owners favor McCain over Obama 62 percent to 31 percent. When the poll asked iPhone owners who they were most likely to support, Obama held a sizable lead of 87 percent to 6 percent for McCain. Jitterbug, known for its large buttons, bright display, and a powerful loud speaker has been a popular item among senior citizens looking for wireless cell phones. "I love it," says Eleanor Wright, 67, of Overland Park, Kans. "My husband and I only use it during emergencies. We don't have internet access or e-mail so we chose this phone. I especially like the buttons on the phone. They're large enough for me to see and press when I make a call." This week marked the launch of Apple's new iPhone 3G. Like its predecessor, the upgraded phone still has the popular touch screen but adds a faster network with a variety of more downloads. David Peters, 26, of Olathe, Kans., said of iPhone users, "They're more 'in-the-now.' We have e-mail, internet, text messaging, and music all in the palm of our hand. I would prefer a president who could keep up with current events at any time as long as his phone has a signal." The breakdown of the phone owners may be a factor. For example, the poll found 78 percent of Jitterbug owners are married, compared with 10 percent of non-married people. Some 63 percent surveyed were retired while 22 percent were currently employed or self-employed. Retired people tend to favor McCain. As for iPhone users, Obama scored large numbers with people under the age of 65. The poll found 89 percent under the age of 65 favored Obama, compared with just 4 percent for McCain. The poll found that among people who don't have cell phones, Obama leads McCain 52 percent to 32 percent. *Humor in response to: "In poll of pet owners, McCain tops Obama" Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Bush Gave Taliban $43 Million Four Months before 9/11 posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:11 AM As Barack Obama begins the effort of turning America's attention toward the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan--and as American soldiers die at the hands of Taliban militants in numbers never before seen--it's worth drawing everyone's attention to a piece in The Nation that VetVoice's Chris LeJeune dug up this afternoon. It was originally published May 15, 2001--less four months before 9/11. Enslave your girls and women, harbor anti-US terrorists, destroy every vestige of civilization in your homeland, and the Bush Administration will embrace you. All that matters is that you line up as an ally in the drug war, the only international cause that this nation still takes seriously. That's the message sent with the recent gift of $43 million to the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan, the most virulent anti-American violators of human rights in the world today. The gift, announced last Thursday by Secretary of State Colin Powell, in addition to other recent aid, makes the United States the main sponsor of the Taliban and rewards that "rogue regime" for declaring that opium growing is against the will of God. So, too, by the Taliban's estimation, are most human activities, but it's the ban on drugs that catches this administration's attention. Never mind that Osama bin Laden still operates the leading anti-American terror operation from his base in Afghanistan, from which, among other crimes, he launched two bloody attacks on American embassies in Africa in 1998. Sadly, the Bush Administration is cozying up to the Taliban regime at a time when the United Nations, at US insistence, imposes sanctions on Afghanistan because the Kabul government will not turn over Bin Laden. DailyKos Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Good posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:10 AM Ventura: I'm not running for Senate Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has decided not to run for U.S. Senate in that state, he told CNN's "Larry King Live" Monday night. Ventura, a former professional wrestler, had said last week he was weighing whether to run. The deadline to file for the race is Tuesday. Ventura said he was "close" to running against incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, but he decided against it because he didn't want to submit his relatives to the kind of media scrutiny they endured when he was governor. As an independent, Ventura won a single term as Minnesota governor in 1998. He beat Coleman and Hubert Humphrey III, a scion of a Minnesota Democratic dynasty. Go Franken! Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Monday, July 14, 2008
Day Late and a Dollar Short posted by Clyde 11:20 AM Fed adopts plan to curb shady mortgage practices The Federal Reserve has adopted rules to give home buyers more protection from the types of shady lending practices that have contributed to the housing crisis and propelled foreclosures to record highs. Chairman Ben Bernanke and his central bank colleagues approved a plan Monday that would crack down on dubious lending practices that have hurt many of the riskiest "subprime" borrowers -- people with tarnished credit histories or low incomes. (Snip) Much will hinge on effective enforcement. The plan would apply to new loans made by thousands of lenders, including banks and brokers. It would not cover current loans. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

6 more months posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:05 AM Iran discovers billion-barrel oil field IRAN says it has discovered a new oil field containing more than one billion barrels of crude. Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said the oil field held 1.1 billion barrels of sweet crude oil, of which 233 million coudl be recovered, the Shana news agency reported. The field was in the area of Andimeshk town in Khuzestan province of southwest Iran that borders Iraq, Mr Nozari said. Iran is the No.2 producer in OPEC and No.4 worldwide, although its ability to reach oil production targets has been hampered by a lack of international investment. $4 In related news: President George W Bush backs Israeli plan for strike on Iran President George W Bush has told the Israeli government that he may be prepared to approve a future military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations with Tehran break down, according to a senior Pentagon official. Despite the opposition of his own generals and widespread scepticism that America is ready to risk the military, political and economic consequences of an airborne strike on Iran, the president has given an "amber light" to an Israeli plan to attack Iran's main nuclear sites with long-range bombing sorties, the official told The Sunday Times. "Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate attack and tell us when you're ready," the official said. But the Israelis have also been told that they can expect no help from American forces and will not be able to use US military bases in Iraq for logistical support. Nor is it certain that Bush's amber light would ever turn to green without irrefutable evidence of lethal Iranian hostility. Tehran's test launches of medium-range ballistic missiles last week were seen in Washington as provocative and poorly judged, but both the Pentagon and the CIA concluded that they did not represent an immediate threat of attack against Israeli or US targets. What peace plan? Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

More right-wing hate posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:00 AM 'New Yorker' cover angers Obama campaign On the cover of the upcoming New Yorker: Satirical portrayal of Obama through the eyes of his opposition, or McCain recruitment poster? Senator Obama shrugged and said he had "no response" when asked about the cover on Sunday by CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic. The Obama campaign, on introspection, was more decisive on the issue; it might have appreciated the humor, if not for the delivery. The cover art, depicting Senator Obama in a turban, while wife Michelle, packing an assault rifle, shares a "fist bump" with him, is described by the New Yorker as artist's Barry Blitt's lampooning of "scare tactics and misinformation in the Presidential election to derail Barack Obama's campaign." "The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Senator Obama's right-wing critics have tried to create," countered Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton. "But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree." ... "We completely agree with the Obama campaign," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds added. "It's tasteless and offensive." Will this sh*t ever stop? Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

"Stimulus" Checks indeed! posted by Wally 2:07 AM It's common knowledge that Dubya is a huge friend to the oil industry. Anyone paying even casual attention knows he's close pals with the pharmaceutical, insurance, and defense industries too. But who knew he was (ahem) in bed with the porn industry? Adult entertainment Web sites began seeing a spike in business shortly after the first wave of checks went out in mid-May, according to Adult Internet Market Research Co., a New York firm that tracks the adult online world. The online spike is unusual since the warmer months - beginning in May - tend to be slow for the adult online entertainment industry, said Kirk Mishkin, director of the market research firm. The market research firm was alerted to the increase by one of its for-pay Web sites. "Thirty-two percent of respondents referenced the recent stimulus package as part of their decision to either become a new member or renew an existing membership," said Jillian Fox, a spokeswoman for LSGModels, the company that tipped off the research firm. Barbara must be so proud of her little boy. I'm sure the makers of Viagra, Cialis, and other boner-pills are excited about it too. Stimulate this Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Sunday, July 13, 2008
How in the hell did they find it? posted by Clyde 4:42 AM Cheney's heart OK, doctors say Doctors reported Saturday that Vice President Dick Cheney's heartbeat was normal for a 67-year-old man with a history of heart problems. "All is fine," Cheney press secretary Megan Mitchell said after Cheney's annual checkup, which took less than two hours at George Washington University Hospital. Cheney has had four heart attacks, quadruple bypass surgery and two artery-clearing angioplasties. In addition to the physical exam, he had an electrocardiogram, a test that detects and records the electrical activity of the heart, and imaging of the stents placed in the arteries behind his knees in 2005, Mitchell said. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Sorry George, No Deal posted by Clyde 4:39 AM Who Says Less Troops? Barack Obama is taking heat for hinting that he might refine his 16-month timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. But a forthcoming Pentagon-sponsored report will recommend an even steeper drawdown in less time, NEWSWEEK has learned. If adopted, the 300-page report by a defense analysis group at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., could transform the debate about Iraq in the presidential election. Expected to be completed in about a month, it will recommend that U.S. forces be reduced to as few as 50,000 by the spring of 2009, down from about 150,000 now. The strategy is based on a major handoff to the increasingly successful Iraqi Army, with platoon-size U.S. detachments backing the Iraqis from small outposts, with air support. The large U.S. forward operating bases that house the bulk of U.S. troops would be mostly abandoned, and the role of Special Forces would increase. The report's conclusions have been discussed inside Secretary Robert Gates's Defense Policy Board, a body of outside experts. And they've found favor with some former members of the Iraq Study Group, such as former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta. "That's basically the approach we thought made sense--embedding some of our forces at smaller outposts, transferring major combat to the Iraqis," says Panetta. Like the Study Group, this report also calls for a regional diplomatic effort complementing negotiations with the Iraqi tribes, which echoes the previous recommendations of such analysts as John Arquilla, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School. "Even with a small leavening of American troops the Iraqis perform quite well," he says. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Saturday, July 12, 2008
Tony Snow. Dead posted by Dookie The Webmaster 9:35 AM Breaking News: Tony Snow dies; ex-Bush press secretary was 53 After a long, candid and public battle with colon cancer, former White House press secretary and television-radio host Tony Snow died early this morning. Snow died about 2 a.m. Eastern in Georgetown University Hospital. Snow was 53 and is survived by his wife Jill Ellen Walker and their three children. Kendall, Robbie, and Kristi. Snow previously served as chief speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush and as a frequent host on the Fox News Channel on 'Fox News Sunday,' 'Weekend Live' and 'The O'Reilly Factor.' He also guest-hosted for Rush Limbaugh and had his own radio talk-show. Cancer sux. Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

How's this for whining posted by Clyde 2:38 AM Food Prices Eat Up School Lunch Students at about three-quarters of American schools can expect to find higher prices in their cafeterias when they return this fall, according to a recent survey by the School Nutrition Association. The reason? Skyrocketing costs for nearly every basic food item schools rely on for meals - including a 17% increase in the price of milk and bread since last year. "You can only stretch the food dollar so far," the association's president-elect, Katie Wilson, told members of the House Education and Labor Committee Wednesday. "We simply don't have the funds to continue on with this." U.S. schools served about 5 billion lunches last year with an average price tag of $2.58 per meal. That cost will likely jump $0.30 - or 12% - per meal in the coming year, SNA estimates, or about $1.5 billion nationwide. Most schools already lose money on free or reduced-price lunch and breakfast programs; nearly 18 million students qualify for these meals, which are subsidized by the federal government, but at a rate far below the actual cost of providing the food. To make ends meet, nearly 70% of schools told SNA that they would have to dip into "rainy day" funds, financial reserves that usually go to capital improvements. Some 62% said they are also considering cutting staff. Inflationary prices will also likely affect the foods students find on their lunch trays come September. Because they are subsidized, schools must meet federal nutrition guidelines for what they can offer in cafeterias, such as fresh fruits and vegetables. But in recent years, many schools have worked hard to also include more low-calorie as well as organic and locally grown fare. Those options may disappear as schools struggle to lower their food bills. A serving of whole-grain bread, for instance, can cost as much as six cents more than a slice of white bread. (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

He is a strict constitutionist right? posted by Clyde 2:32 AM A Hint of New Life to a McCain Birth Issue In the most detailed examination yet of Senator John McCain's eligibility to be president, a law professor at the University of Arizona has concluded that neither Mr. McCain's birth in 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone nor the fact that his parents were American citizens is enough to satisfy the constitutional requirement that the president must be a "natural-born citizen." The analysis, by Prof. Gabriel J. Chin, focused on a 1937 law that has been largely overlooked in the debate over Mr. McCain's eligibility to be president. The law conferred citizenship on children of American parents born in the Canal Zone after 1904, and it made John McCain a citizen just before his first birthday. But the law came too late, Professor Chin argued, to make Mr. McCain a natural-born citizen. "It's preposterous that a technicality like this can make a difference in an advanced democracy," Professor Chin said. "But this is the constitutional text that we have." Several legal experts said that Professor Chin's analysis was careful and plausible. But they added that nothing was very likely to follow from it. (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Friday, July 11, 2008
McValues posted by Dookie The Webmaster 8:30 AM McCain was still married to his wife when he got married to his mistress Why does the Los Angeles Times hate America?. They're mean. John McCain was tortured in Vietnam. So stop talking about his credibility. You can only ask Barack Obama questions about his credibility, and his patriotism, about whether his preacher loves America and whether Obama has a personal problem with the American flag. But don't ask John McCain anything because John McCain is a hero. Even though now we find out that our hero was still living with his wife when he started dating his mistress. It gets even better: McCain was still legally married to his first wife when he got a marriage license for his second wife. I guess adultery and bigamy aren't such a big deal anymore with "family values" leaders like Ohio's Phil Burress who are now supporting McCain. And in any case, they were youthful indiscretions - McCain was only in his 40s at the time. In political reinvention terms, that's practically puberty. An examination of court documents tells a different story. McCain did not sue his wife for divorce until Feb. 19, 1980, and he wrote in his court petition that he and his wife had "cohabited" until Jan. 7 of that year -- or for the first nine months of his relationship with Hensley. Although McCain suggested in his autobiography that months passed between his divorce and remarriage, the divorce was granted April 2, 1980, and he wed Hensley in a private ceremony five weeks later. McCain obtained an Arizona marriage license on March 6, 1980, while still legally married to his first wife. In all seriousness, putting the snark aside. Imagine if Barack Obama had two marriages at the same time. Imagine had Barack Obama lied about living with his first wife while having a mistress on the side. Imagine that all this happened while Obama had promised to speak out vocally about how gay people are a threat to marriage. We'd never hear the end of it from the Republicans and the media. AmericaBlog Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

McNobody likes me! posted by Dookie The Webmaster 7:29 AM Right-Of-Center Bloggers Select Their Least Favorite Elected Republicans Right Wing News emailed more than 240 right-of-center bloggers and asked them about their least favorite elected Republicans. The bloggers were instructed to send in an unranked list 1-10 living, elected Republicans in Congress, President, or governors. Here is what they came up with, the least favorite elected Republicans of right-of-center bloggers. 42 blogs responded: 14) Ron Paul (5) 14) Mel Martinez (5) 13) Michael Bloomberg (7) 11) Susan Collins (8) 11) Charlie Crist (8) 9) George Voinovich (9) 9) John Warner (9) 7) Lindsey Graham (16) 7) Larry Craig (16) 6) Ted Stevens (17) 5) John McCain (18) 4) Arnold Schwarzenegger (19) 3) Olympia Snowe (20) 1) Arlen Specter (23) 1) Chuck Hagel (23) The Week That Should Have Ended McCain's Presidential Hopes Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Just like the Nazi's did... posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:11 AM Rove refuses subpoena, leaves country Former White House adviser Karl Rove has ignored a subpoena from congressional Democrats to testify about allegations of political pressure at the Justice Department and his alleged role in the prosecution of a former governor of Alabama. A House subcommittee voted 7-1 Thursday to reject Rove's claim that executive privilege freed him from an obligation to testify, leaving open the possibility the Republican political guru will be held in contempt. During the hearing, Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) revealed that Rove was out of the country. According to the liberal blog ThinkProgress, Rove's lawyer's confirmed that Rove was out of the country on a trip scheduled long before the subpoena was sent. Karl Rove failed to appear before the House Judiciary subcommittee. His lawyer revealed that he was out of the country. Interpol his ass Update: Conyers gives Rove 5 days to comply before pursuing 'all available options' Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Thursday, July 10, 2008
Obama - 50% black. McAARP - 100% old posted by Dookie The Webmaster 9:35 AM Poll: McCain's age more of an issue than Obama's race John McCain may be hindered more by his age than Barack Obama will be by his race as the two men vie for the White House, a new USA Today/Gallup poll suggests. According to the new poll, 23 percent of Americans say McCain's age - he'll turn 72 next month - is likely to make him a less effective president were he to win the White House. That compares to only 8 percent who said Obama's race would make him a less effective president. Overall, more than 8 in 10 Americans said Obama's race would make no difference in his effectiveness in the White House while 65 percent said the same about McCain's age. Meanwhile, 9 percent of Americans said Obama's race would likely make him a more effective president, while 11 percent said McCain is made more effective by his age. I've fallen..... Permalink :: 6 comments :: Post a Comment

But they're our "ally" posted by Dookie The Webmaster 7:24 AM U.S.: More foreign militants in Pakistan U.S. military and intelligence officials say more foreign fighters have been traveling to Pakistan's tribal areas in recent months to join militants there. The flow may reflect a change that is making Pakistan, not Iraq, the preferred destination for some Sunni extremists from the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, these officials say. The U.S. officials say the influx, which could be in the dozens but also could be higher, shows a further strengthening of al-Qaida forces in the region. According to the U.S. officials, many of the fighters are Uzbeks, North Africans and Arabs from Persian Gulf states. They say some jihadist Web sites have been encouraging foreign extremists to go to Pakistan and Afghanistan, which is considered a "winning fight," compared with the insurgency in Iraq, which has suffered sharp setbacks in recent months. The number of foreign fighters entering Iraq has dropped to fewer than 40 a month from as many as 110 a month a year ago, a military spokesman in Baghdad said Wednesday. bin Laden's home Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Only one Senator missed the Medicare vote... posted by Dookie The Webmaster 7:19 AM and it wasn't Ted Kennedy: Only one Senator missed the Medicare Vote There were 99 Senators on the floor of the Senate to cast their ballots for the Medicare vote. Barack Obama was there. And even Ted Kennedy was there. Kennedy was not scheduled back until September. Kennedy had brain surgery not too long ago. Yet he was able to suck it up and get his ass on the floor to cast an important vote for cloture. The Caucus said this: Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts walked triumphantly into the Senate on Wednesday for the first time since learning that he had brain cancer, hoping to provide Democrats with the crucial, single vote that they need to reverse a cut in Medicare reimbursements to doctors. ... Holding both hands open, like a preacher receiving a blessing, Mr. Kennedy, 76, shouted a loud "Aye!" He then quickly flashed two-thumbs up, before turning to receive more hugs and kisses. Who would miss not only this important vote, but also the FISA votes today? Well, John W S McCain. fbihop at DailyKos Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Thank you Sen. Kennedy posted by Dookie The Webmaster 7:17 AM Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Time to hang up posted by Dookie The Webmaster 2:16 PM Senate OKs spy plan that ends suits against phone companies The Senate gave final congressional approval to legislation that overhauls U.S. electronic spying and ends lawsuits against telephone companies that aided government wiretapping of suspected terrorists. Democratic Senator Barack Obama of Illinois interrupted his presidential campaign to return to Washington and vote for the measure, which was passed 69-28. His Republican opponent, Senator John McCain of Arizona, campaigned today in Pennsylvania and didn't vote. ..... Senator Russell Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat who co- sponsored the amendment, said the overhaul bill sanctions illegal actions by Bush. "It could not be clearer that this program broke the law, and this president broke the law," Feingold said. He said the measure makes "some improvements" in the program, "but those changes are not nearly enough to justify supporting the bill." Uncle Sam is listening Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Save gas, fart in a jar posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:05 PM Cow farts collected in plastic tank for global warming study Experts said the slow digestive system of cows makes them a key producer of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that gets far less public attention than carbon dioxide. In a bid to understand the impact of the wind produced by cows on global warming, scientists collected gas from their stomachs in plastic tanks attached to their backs. The Argentine researchers discovered methane from cows accounts for more than 30 per cent of the country's total greenhouse emissions. As one of the world's biggest beef producers, Argentina has more than 55 million cows grazing in its famed Pampas grasslands. Like Bush's energy policy Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

McBomb Iran strikes again posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:00 PM McCain: Maybe Cigarettes Will Kill the Iranians Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., made an off the cuff joke Tuesday about cigarettes killing Iranians. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee was asked about the number of exports going to Iran, specifically the increase in cigarette exports. McCain looked surprised at that fact and in a line somewhat reminiscent of his "bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran" comment last year said, "Maybe that's a way of killing them." Then he followed it up quickly noting that it was a joke. ... The senator's humor has gotten him into some trouble before. Last April he jokingly sang "bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" to the tune of The Beach Boys classic "Barbara Ann" song. That "bomb Iran" moment became a sensation on YouTube and Democrats used the video to knock McCain's temperament. This from a guy with cancer Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

A Man With Integrity posted by Clyde 10:14 AM He quit rather than lower flag L.F. Eason III gave up the only job he'd ever had rather than lower a flag to honor former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms. Eason, a 29-year veteran of the state Department of Agriculture, instructed his staff at a small Raleigh lab not to fly the U.S. or North Carolina flags at half-staff Monday, as called for in a directive to all state agencies by Gov. Mike Easley. When a superior ordered the lab to follow the directive, Eason decided to retire rather than pay tribute to Helms. After several hours' delay, one of Eason's employees hung the flags at half-staff. The brouhaha began late Sunday night, when Eason e-mailed eight of his employees in the state standards lab, which calibrates measuring equipment used on things as widely varied as gasoline and hamburgers. (Patriot) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

It's sad our strongest leader is a roaming gnome posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:13 AM Kucinich to bring single article of impeachment for misleading US into war Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is sticking to his drive to impeach President Bush. Few in the House of Representatives have any intention of doing anything with the last 35 articles of impeachment Kucinich set before them last month, so the former presidential candidate appears to be lightening the load. Kucinich sent a letter to colleagues Tuesday asking them to support a single article of impeachment, to be introduced Thursday, which accuses President Bush of leading the country to war based on lies. "There can be no greater offense of a Commander in Chief than to misrepresent a cause of war and to send our brave men and women into harm's way based on those misrepresentations," Kucinich wrote in the "Dear Colleague" letter. "There has been a breach of faith between the Commander in Chief and the troops. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 or with Al Qaeda's role in 9/11. Iraq had neither the intention nor the capability of attacking the United States," he continued. "Iraq did not have weapons of Mass of Destruction. Yet George W. Bush took our troops to war under all of these false assumptions. Given the profound and irreversible consequences to our troops, if his decision was the result of a mistake, he must be impeached. Since his decision was based on lies, impeachment as a remedy falls short, but represents at least some effort on our part to demonstrate our concern about the sacrifices our troops have made." Last month, Kucinich presented 35 articles of impeachment. Those have since been referred to the Judiciary Committee, where they are expected to die. Kucinich threatened to double the number of impeachment articles if the Judiciary Committee did not act... Go Dennis! Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Not under this president posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:45 PM Ex-Officials Offer Plan to Revamp War Powers Act Two former secretaries of state have declared the War Powers Resolution of 1973 obsolete and proposed a new system of closer consultation between the White House and Congress before American forces go into battle. Their proposal would require the president to consult lawmakers before initiating combat lasting longer than a week except in rare cases requiring emergency action. Congress, for its part, would have 30 days to approve or disapprove of the military action. The plan would create a new committee of Congressional leaders and relevant committee chairmen, with a full-time staff with access to military and intelligence material. The president would be required to consult with the group in advance of any extended strike. Secretaries of State Warren Christopher and James A. Baker III oversaw a year-long study of the longstanding tension over war powers between the executive and legislative branches. In a report to be released on Tuesday, they concluded that the 1973 law, which was passed in the waning days of the Vietnam War and which aimed to limit the president’s ability to commit American forces to war unilaterally, never served its intended function and must be replaced. Fail Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Impeachment "off the table" is equal to: posted by Dookie The Webmaster 11:51 AM Congressional Approval Falls to Single Digits for First Time Ever The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category. Last month, 11% of voters gave the legislature good or excellent ratings. Congress has not received higher than a 15% approval rating since the beginning of 2008. The percentage of Democrats who give Congress positive ratings fell from 17% last month to 13% this month. The number of Democrats who give Congress a poor rating remained unchanged. Among Republicans, 8% give Congress good or excellent ratings, up just a point from last month. Sixty-five percent (65%) of GOP voters say Congress is doing a poor job, down a single point from last month. Fire Nancy & Harry! Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Iraq insists on a "surrender date" posted by Dookie The Webmaster 10:13 AM Iraq insists on U.S. withdrawal timetable: official Iraq will not accept any security agreement with the United States unless it includes dates for the withdrawal of foreign forces, the government's national security adviser said on Tuesday. The comments by Mowaffaq al-Rubaie underscore the U.S.-backed government's hardening stance toward a deal with Washington that will provide a legal basis for U.S. troops to operate when a U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year. On Monday, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki appeared to catch Washington off-guard by suggesting for the first time that a timetable be set for the departure of U.S. forces under the deal being negotiated, which he called a memorandum of understanding. Rubaie said Iraq was waiting "impatiently for the day when the last foreign soldier leaves Iraq". Poor Bushie Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

"As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down." ? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:04 AM Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki demands US withdrawal timetable Iraq said for the first time yesterday that it wanted to set a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from its territory. President Bush has long resisted a schedule for pulling his 145,000 soldiers out, arguing that it would play into the hands of insurgents. Nouri al-Maliki, the Shia Prime Minister, who boasted last week that he had crushed terrorism in the country, suggested that it was time to start setting time-lines. "The current trend is to reach an agreement on a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or to put a timetable on their withdrawal," Mr al-Maliki said during a visit to the United Arab Emirates. He rejected efforts by Mr Bush to hurry through an agreement on vital issues such as the immunity of US troops in Iraq and use of the country's airspace. Mr Bush had hoped to sign a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) by the end of July to establish the basis for a long-term presence of US troops in the country. Let's go! But wait... Pentagon rebuffs Iraqis on withdrawal timetable In a rebuff to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the Pentagon said Monday that any timetable for a US withdrawal from Iraq would depend on conditions on the ground there. Maliki told Arab ambassadors on Monday he was pressing for such a timetable in negotiations with Washington on an agreement on the status of US forces in Iraq beyond 2008. Asked about the prime minister's comments, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters: "With respect to timetables I would say the same thing I would say as respects to the security situation -- it is dependent on conditions on the ground." Whitman said the United States had made clear "that we have no long term desires to have forces permanently stationed in Iraq." 100 years Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Monday, July 7, 2008
Obama vs. McBucketList posted by Dookie The Webmaster 7:02 AM Old guy vs change: McCain, Obama images take shape Now more than ever, it's the old guy against the agent of change. Ask people to blurt out their first words about the two presidential candidates and one in five say "change" or "outsider" for Barack Obama and "old" for John McCain, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Monday. Those are not only the top responses for each man but the ones used most often since January, when fewer than one in 10 volunteered those descriptions. Four months from Election Day, the survey underscores that people see quality and question marks in both contenders as they struggle to control their images. Lack of experience is the next most frequently offered view of Obama, 46, the Democrat who came to the Senate from Illinois less than four years ago; for McCain, 71, the Republican senator from Arizona and Vietnam prisoner of war, it's his military service. "My husband and I are about the same age as McCain, and I don't think we'd be in a position to take this country in the direction it needs to go," said Rosemary Bates, 65, of Barre, Vt., an Obama supporter. "We've grown up in a different era. Something is not working and it needs to be changed." Obama is seen as warmer and more empathetic, McCain stronger and tougher. When people are asked whether specific words and phrases apply to each man, the Democrat does 12 percentage points better for caring about "people like you" and is 11 points more likable. McCain has a 24-point edge as a military leader and is 9 points more decisive. Get off his lawn! Permalink :: 4 comments :: Post a Comment

The republican 100 years posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:44 AM Iraq says may agree timetable for U.S. withdrawal Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki raised the prospect on Monday of setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops as part of negotiations over a new security agreement with Washington. It was the first time the U.S.-backed Shi'ite-led government has floated the idea of a timetable for the removal of American forces from Iraq. The Bush administration has always opposed such a move, saying it would benefit militant groups. In a statement, Maliki's office said the prime minister made the comments about the security pact -- which will replace a U.N. mandate for the presence of U.S. troops that expires on December 31 -- to Arab ambassadors in the United Arab Emirates. "In all cases, the basis for any agreement will be respect for the full sovereignty of Iraq," the statement quoted Maliki as saying. Waiting for Bush to leave... Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

I can't drive 55 posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:08 AM Senator Warner Proposes 55-mph Speed Limit An influential Republican senator suggested Thursday that Congress might want to consider reimposing a national speed limit to save gasoline and possibly ease fuel prices. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to look into what speed limit would provide optimum gasoline efficiency given current technology. He said he wants to know if the administration might support efforts in Congress to require a lower speed limit. Congress in 1974 set a national 55 mph speed limit because of energy shortages caused by the Arab oil embargo. The speed limit was repealed in 1995 when crude oil dipped to $17 a barrel and gasoline cost $1.10 a gallon. Ummm....no! Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Sunday, July 6, 2008
Only the news they want you to see posted by Clyde 8:11 AM U.S. Journalist Photographs Grisly Aftermath of Attack in Iraq, Gets Booted by Military U.S. journalist Zoriah Miller says he was censored by the U.S. military in the Iraqi city of Fallujah after photographing Marines who died in a suicide bombing. On Jun. 26, a suicide bomber attacked a city council meeting in Fallujah, 69 kms west of Baghdad, between local tribal sheikhs and military officials. Three Marines, Cpl. Marcus Preudhomme, Capt. Philip Dykeman, and Lt. Col. Max Galeai, assigned to 2d Battalion, 3rd Marine Division based in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, died in the attack. The explosion also killed two interpreters and 20 Iraqis, including the mayor of the nearby town of Karmah, two prominent sheikhs and their sons, and another sheikh and his brother. All were members of the local "awakening council," one of the U.S.-backed militias that have taken up arms against al Qaeda in Iraq, according to U.S. and Iraqi authorities. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Wouldn't want to piss off the commies posted by Clyde 8:06 AM Bush: 'Affront' to Chinese to skip Olympics start President Bush said Sunday he does not feel the need to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics to state his opposition to China's human rights record. Skipping the event would be an "affront" to the Chinese people, he said. Bush spoke at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who announced that he also plans to attend the ceremonies. Other world leaders have decided not to go as a rebuke to China's violent crackdown on anti-government protests in Tibet. The U.S. and Japanese leaders met on the eve of this year's Group of Eight meeting of industrialized nations. At the summit, presidents and prime ministers hope for a deal that would set targets for reducing the pollution that causes global warming. But few analysts expect major headway or concessions from Bush. He insists on holding China and India, fast-growing economies and among the world's biggest polluters, to the same emission-reduction standards as older, developed economies. Bush said that he hopes to get China and India to agree to a long-term goal to cut emissions. But he scaled back expectation about what the summit could achieve or what could result from meetings on the sidelines with leaders of large gas-emitting nations. (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Friday, July 4, 2008
Happy Independence Day posted by Wally 3:11 AM Have a safe and fun 4th of July Don't forget what this day is all about. Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Federal Judge Defends Constitution Against Bush posted by Wally 3:10 AM In a perfect prelude to Independence Day, a federal judge told Dubya that no matter how much of a temper tantrum he throws, and no matter how long he threatens to hold his breath, he is still not King, he is still governed by the rule of law, and is still obligated to uphold his twice sworn oath to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States. Judge Rejects Bush's View on Wiretaps A federal judge in California said Wednesday that the wiretapping law established by Congress was the "exclusive" means for the president to eavesdrop on Americans, and he rejected the government's claim that the president's constitutional authority as commander in chief trumped that law. "Congress appears clearly to have intended to - and did - establish the exclusive means for foreign intelligence activities to be conducted," the judge wrote. "Whatever power the executive may otherwise have had in this regard, FISA limits the power of the executive branch to conduct such activities and it limits the executive branch's authority to assert the state secrets privilege in response to challenges to the legality of its foreign intelligence surveillance activities." Judge Walker's voice carries extra weight because all the lawsuits involving telephone companies that took part in the N.S.A. program have been consolidated and are being heard in his court. I'm sure Judge Walker is now on the list of people to spy on. Not that the king george gives a rat's ass about what a silly little "activist" judge says anyway. He's too busy presidentin' to care about trivialities like "laws" and "Constitutional rights". Laws are for losers and peasants Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Thursday, July 3, 2008
Appeaser! posted by Clyde 2:49 AM McCain Backer's Firm Pleaded Guilty To Funding Terrorist Group In Colombia The co-host of a recent top-dollar fundraiser for Sen. John McCain oversaw the payment of roughly $1.7 million to a Colombian paramilitary group that is today designated a terrorist organization by the United States. Carl H. Lindner Jr., the billionaire Cincinnati businessman, was CEO of Chiquita Brands International from 1984 to 2001, and remained on the company's board of directors until May 2002. Beginning under his tenure, Chiquita executives paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (known by the Spanish acronym AUC), which is described by George Washington University's National Security Archive as an "illegal right-wing anti-guerrilla group tied to many of the country's most notorious civilian massacres." Following a Justice Department indictment last year, Chiquita admitted to illegally funding the paramilitaries and agreed to pay a $25 million fine. Chiquita's payments to the AUC began in 1997 and lasted seven years; roughly half of the funds came after the group was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department in 2001. (Link) Permalink :: 4 comments :: Post a Comment

Keeping your friends close posted by Clyde 2:44 AM U.S. spies on Iraqi army, sources say Caught off guard by recent Iraqi military operations, the United States is using spy satellites that ordinarily are trained on adversaries to monitor the movements of the American-backed Iraqi army, current and former U.S. officials say. The stepped-up surveillance reflects breakdowns in trust and coordination between the two forces. Officials said it was part of an expanded intelligence effort launched after American commanders were surprised by the timing of the Iraqi army's violent push into Basra three months ago. The use of the satellites puts the United States in the unusual position of employing some of its most sophisticated espionage technology to track an allied army that American forces helped create, continue to advise, and often fight alongside. The satellites are "imaging military installations that the Iraqi army occupies," said a former U.S. military official, who said slides from the images had been used in recent closed briefings at U.S. facilities in the Middle East. "They're imaging training areas that the Iraqi army utilizes. They're imaging roads that Iraqi armored vehicles and large convoys transit." (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Temper Temper! posted by Clyde 1:10 PM McCain denies roughing up Sandinista John McCain denied a Republican colleague's claim that he roughed up an associate of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on a diplomatic mission in 1987, saying the allegation was "simply not true." Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., told a Mississippi newspaper that he saw McCain, during a trip to Nicaragua led by former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., grab an Ortega associate by his shirt collar and lift him out of his chair. The Republican presidential contender, who is known for his hot temper, was questioned about the alleged incident at a news conference Wednesday here. He noted that at the time, he had been asked to co-chair a Central American working group in the Senate with Democrat Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and had made several trips to the region in that role." I had many, many meetings with the Sandinistas," McCain said. "I must say, I did not admire the Sandinistas much. But there was never anything of that nature. It just didn't happen." (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Here comes the smear! posted by Clyde 1:07 PM Schmidt takes control of day-to-day operation Steve Schmidt is taking over the day-to-day operation of John McCain's campaign, according to multiple campaign sources. At a staff meeting in the campaign's Arlington, Va., headquarters this morning, campaign manager Rick Davis made the announcement about Schmidt's new role. Schmidt, a bald and barrel-chested operative known for his aggressive brand of political combat, responded by exhorting campaign aides with a speech that one staffer likened to a locker room pep talk out of the football movie "Rudy." After the meeting, on a regularly scheduled conference call with McCain's 11 regional campaign managers, senior staff briefed the field aides about the move, explaining Davis would focus more on long-range tasks while Schmidt was taking an enhanced daily role, said a person on the call. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Rut Roh! posted by Clyde 3:18 AM Records sought at McCain advisor's bank This can't be good for the campaign of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain. The IRS is trying to serve a summons on Swiss bank UBS AG seeking information on U.S. taxpayers who may have used the bank to gin up records to avoid billions in taxes on offshore investments. Top McCain economic advisor Phil Gramm is vice chairman of UBS' U.S. division which already has drawn unflattering scrutiny for writing off big losses in subprime mortgage-backed securities. Gramm, the former Texas senator and presidential candidate, was registered to lobby Congress last year on mortgage securities issues on behalf of UBS. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Frivolous Lawsuit? posted by Clyde 3:14 AM Iraq sues companies over oil-for-food kickbacks The Iraqi government sued dozens of companies, including oil giant Chevron Corp., for more than $10 billion on Monday, saying they paid kickbacks to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's government under the U.N. oil-for-food program. The civil lawsuit, filed in U.S. federal court in Manhattan, seeks to recover damages from companies investigated by a U.N.-commissioned inquiry, claiming they cheated the Iraqi people out of benefits of the $67 billion U.N. program. The U.N. oil-for-food program, which ran from 1996 to 2003, was created to help Iraqis cope with U.N. sanctions after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. The program allowed Baghdad to sell oil in order to buy humanitarian goods. The lawsuit says billions of dollars were lost, "all of which were directly translatable into food, medicine and other humanitarian goods that were supposed to reach the Iraqi people." (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Tuesday, July 1, 2008
What a tool! posted by Clyde 3:14 AM White House backs Lieberman's warning of attack The White House on Monday said it agreed with Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) warning that terrorists could test the new president with an attack next year. Lieberman, who has ruffled Democratic feathers with his outspoken support of Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), said on "Face the Nation" that "our enemies will test the new president early." Asked about that statement, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Lieberman could be right. "I think Sen. Lieberman, unfortunately, could be right," Perino stated, noting that there continue to be extremists determined to attack the U.S (Link) Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Now that's funny posted by Clyde 3:09 AM GOP reps. advised to avoid party brand A new playbook for House Republicans urges them to run essentially as independents, showing empathy for voters, emphasizing local issues and ignoring many traditional party campaign practices. The advice for House candidates is part of an effort to minimize Republican losses in a year when voters are exasperated by the economy, the Iraq war and President Bush: "Encourage Republican candidates to establish themselves in a personal manner, emphasizing local issues whenever possible." "Candidates have to have a positive alternative vis-a-vis their Democratic opponents." (Link) Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment