STATE BY STATE GOP SCANDAL SCORECARD

The GOP is the party of sleaze:
STATE BY STATE GOP SCANDAL SCORECARD

How Dubya lost his swagger

How Dubya lost his swagger: "Only nine months into a second term, Bush's presidency stands at its lowest point. His reputation as a take-charge, in-charge leader was breached by Katrina, his moral authority punctured by Fitzgerald's findings.

Bush has told aides better days lie ahead and exhorted them to 'get back on offense,' in the words of a top adviser.

For a President who reads the Bible regularly, however, the Book of Job would seem a particularly appropriate text in these trying days. "

 
 

BitTorrent: The Great Disrupter

Fortune Mag has a great feature length article on the creator of BitTorrent:

"For two years after the dot-com crash, Bram Cohen could almost always be found at his small dining-room table, first in San Francisco’s Nob Hill and later in Oakland. His long brown hair would flop in front of his eyes, and he’d curl it back over his ears as he stared at the screen of his Dell laptop, writing line after line after line of code. Occasionally Cohen would take breaks—there was a club to visit some nights, a conference on coding to help organize, a trip to Amsterdam—but then he’d return to his wooden chair, his keyboard on his lap, his laptop propped up on some books, his back perfectly straight (thanks to posture classes he was taking), and he’d program some more. First he lived off savings from the handful of jobs he’d worked during the bubble. When that ran out, he lived off credit cards, following a rigid system for applying for and transferring debt to 0% introductory-rate cards. Friends would ask what he was doing. Why wouldn’t he just get a job? Cohen shooed them away. He was determined to solve a puzzle that was consuming him.

Since the birth of the Net, programmers had been stumped by how to transfer massive files—movies, TV shows, games, software, whatever—without incurring astronomical bills or risking frequent failure. Cohen knew he could find a solution; all it would take was time, good code, and brute intellect. He had all three. The money would take care of itself. “I didn’t have any clear plans when I first started,” he says. “I wasn’t worried, partially because what I was doing was really cool, and partially because I’m broken and can’t feel anxiety.”"

Dry Dipstick - Peak Oil Hubbert's Peak

Dry Dipstick - Peak Oil Hubbert's Peak a peak oil metadirectory....

Iraq in Sundays NYT Book Review

Yesterday's NYT Book Review featured recent books on the Iraq war. From New Yorker writer George Packer's The Assassin' Gate to James Traub's exploration of the evolution of conservative thought on the debacle: 'The Right War?' and 'A Matter of Principle': Everybody Is a Realist Now to the truthful reportage of an Arab-American, Anthony Shadid, who leaves the comfortable "Green Zone" to talk with Iraqis one on one: Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War, and finally a back page essay by Robert F. Worth with The Reporter's Arab Library to understand the historical backdrop.

Think Progress » Did Tenet Resign Because of Leak Scandal?

Did Tenet Resign Because of Leak Scandal?:

"Vice President Cheney’s claim in Tuesday’s New York Times that he learned of Valerie Plame’s status from former CIA Director George Tenet, draws our attention back to an odd confluence of events in the first week of June 2004.

Within the span of four days in June, Tenet met with President Bush to submit his resignation, the White House announced that President Bush had consulted an outside attorney to represent him in the Fitzgerald investigation, and it was reported that Vice President Cheney had been interviewed by Fitzgerald. In that order."

60 Minutes Last Night

60 Minutes last night had an excellent segment on the outing of Valerie Plame. It effectively showed the outrage of the intelligence community and the extent of the long term damage to our national security caused by this thoughtless act of political revenge.

Crooks and Liars has the video available as a Bit-Torrent download here.

Onegoodmove has it in Quicktime 7 here.

Rebekka waits for me patiently

 
 

SB Self Portrait on the Sante Fe Trail

 
 

McMansion along the Santa Fe Trail near Monument, Co

 
 

Santa Fe Trail

 
 

Baptist Road run

Rebekka near the beginning of our hour and a half run on the Santa Fe Trail this morning. We started our run at the Baptist Road parkplatz and ran north for 45 minutes before turning around. I made it to Palmer Lake by almost precisely 45 minutes before I turned around. I was alarmed at the rapid development and urban sprawl near the trail since the last time I ran this route some five years ago... 
 

DenverPost.com - Leaving a Legacy of our Lands

Will Shafroth, Executive Director, Colorado Conservation Trust, outlines his hopes for a future with open space set asides to preserve the very reasons we choose to live in the glorious state of Colorado: DenverPost.com - OPINION Excerpt:

"What's special to you about this beautiful state we live in? Is it the world-famous views of snow-capped mountain peaks; the rolling wheat fields on the Eastern Plains; the verdant ranchlands in the mountain valleys; the elk herds outside Estes Park?

And what kind of legacy do we want to leave our grandchildren and their grandchildren?"

Rapid Development

Amidst the despair that most of us experience every day due to the unchecked growth and urban sprawl that threatens the very reason we moved to Colorado comes a thread of hope. Fellow Incline Club member and reporter for the Colorado Springs Gazette, Dave Philipps has a hopeful article in Friday's "Out There" Section of the Gazette on a unique developer out in Buena Vista who means to turn the idea of urban sprawl and "covering every space of land" on its head. You see, this brother and sister dynamic duo want to roll back in time to how the old towns of the mountain backcountry were formed. Build for tight Community and proximity, while leaving the vast open space for recreation.

Number of people killed in Avalanches in CO in the last 15 years

That would be 90: Making it the most likely state for you to die in a snowslide. If you traverse the backcountry this winter, as I will, you might want to bone up on avalanche awareness.

The Official President Al Gore Blog

Check out Al Gore's government in exile: The Official President Al Gore Blog: "My Presidency is 'Scooter' free and never sent a single soldier to Iraq."

President of the United States of America
(Dec 8, 2000 - Dec 12, 2000)

Katrina No More!

Heard about this web site on CSpan Book TV. Check it out.

Katrina No More!

The Carpetbagger Report > Plame, Niger, and forged documents

This investigator is casting a wide net:

Plame, Niger, and forged documents … oh my

Schwarzenegger Street

Funny Flash movie about Arnold:

Schwarzenegger Street

A New Moment of Truth For a White House in Crisis

This is what you get when you vote for a President who can't admit when he makes mistakes: an inflexible, uncurious, dim bulb.

A New Moment of Truth For a White House in Crisis

Waxman Renews Request for Hearings on Leak Case

Write your congressman. We have to put the pressure on. I emailed Joel Hefley, my representative here in Colorado. He usually ignores me.

Waxman Renews Request for Hearings on Leak Case:

"Today Rep. Waxman asked for congressional hearings to examine (1) who should be held accountable for the leak of the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, (2) why the White House failed to meet its obligations to revoke the security clearances of I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby and Karl Rove, and (3) how the leak relates to the broader issue of whether the President and his top advisors used misleading intelligence to launch an unnecessary war in Iraq. "

***VIDEO of Fitzgerald PRESS CONFERENCE (and Bush's response)***

Democratic Underground has the
Video of Fitzgerald Press Conference

This is All-Out War

From the Booman Tribune ~ Boo!:

"It may turn out -- in the great war being waged by disaffected members of the intelligence community network against the Neocon cabal inside the Bush administration -- that Valerie Plame Wilson is as incidental as Monica Lewinsky was in the unending campaigns against Bill Clinton.

While the White House-spoonfed pundits nitpick over Joseph Wilson's veracity and Valerie Wilson's photo in Vanity Fair, the intelligence community is in a full-court press to undo the Bush administration's gross mishandling of intelligence information, officers, agents, and agencies."

ACLU - Pizza

 Listen to the sound of ordering pizza -- in the safe and secure future...

t r u t h o u t - The Nation | Scott Ritter and Seymour Hersh: Iraq Confidential

Iraq is a nation on fire, a conflagration of America's making that threatens to consume everything the nation stands for. How did we get there? How do we get out? Can we get out?

Stirling Newberry | Deconstructing the Indictment

Deconstructing the Indictment:

" This indictment leaves the field cluttered with amateur spies. The list of casualties is long. Judith Miller and Matt Cooper participated in a criminal attempt to obstruct justice, probably knowingly. Cooper lied to his readers, and Miller was prepared to lie should she write the story. Not only Libby, but other officials of the executive branch were involved in the effort to burn Plame and smear Wilson. Libby attempted to blame others for burning Plame, opening members of the press to the possibility of charges and investigation. Rove remains under investigation. Ari Fleischer lied in press briefings, and continued to protect Libby in public even after it became clear that his story was disintegrating.

And we still do not know why. Fitzgerald has answered key questions, he has established that the story told by right-wing spin sources is, and always was, a complete fabrication meant to deflect criminal charges away from the guilty. It establishes that Libby engaged in a two-year-long criminal campaign to conceal evidence of his actions, and blame others. It reveals that numerous other people in the executive branch, including Vice President Cheney, knew that he was lying to law enforcement officials and to the grand jury to protect himself."

DenverPost.com - Reggie Rivers

Reggie Rivers has this to say in today's Denver Post. I have to say that before I read this I didn't think that Air Force Academy Coach DeBerry had done anything wrong.

While discussing the Academy's 48-10 loss to Texas Christian University last weekend, he said: "It's very obvious that they had a lot more Afro-American players than we did and they ran a lot faster than we did. It just seems to me to be that way, that Afro-American players can run very, very well. That doesn't mean that Caucasian kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to me that they run extremely well."

I remember an in-depth article from Sports Illustrated some 30 years ago that scientifically analyzed the genetic traits that made West Africans (they were the bulk of the slaves transported to colonial America) the Olympic sprinters and star football players and that made East Africans to be predominantly long distance runners. It was genetic. Can't argue with that. What you can argue with is pigeonholing African-Americans into a narrow category where they are expected to be either entertainers or athletes. DeBerry's statement tends toward this.

Daily Kos: [UPDATED] Hersh: "We've got serious problems folks"

A diarist reports on a recent lecture by Seymour Hersh:

"Corporations throughout the Arab world are fueling sectarian violence . 'In the Sunni world, there is not a major construction company not funneling money to the insurgency,' Hersh said. To those companies, it is an honor to support the insurgency. On the other side, the Shia in southern Iraq are dominated by Iran. Political groups Dawa and SCIRI who are putting up candidates in elections fought on the side of Iran during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. 'Iran right now is the winner . . . the Sunnis are up in arms over the spread of the Shia.' Turkey's commitment to the Turkic population and their refusal to accept Kurdistan threatens to turn the Iraq war into a much larger regional conflagration."

Beetlemania

Whitebark Pine in danger.

Orange-needled pine, dead as far as the eye could see. “What the hell?” said my friend Steve Gipe, an ER doctor who is not easily excited. “It’s mountain pine beetle,” I said — and this in the last couple of years. The outbreak of this native parasite in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) and the Rockies including Canada, is escalating at a rate that is unprecedented. These beetles, combined with an introduced fungus, white pine blister rust, are radically changing the face of forests in the Rockies—and the implications are as big as the landscape.

DenverPost.com - Cindy Rodriguez

Denver Post columnist Cindy Rodriguez. A regular read for me. Today she had a lot to say about Billy O'Lielly:

O'Reilly spin leaves me dizzy

"Amazing. I never knew so many people disliked Bill O'Reilly until I wrote about him in Tuesday's paper.

I stopped counting because every few seconds a new e-mail was popping into my inbox, but it was more than 300, most of them agreeing with me that O'Reilly is a bully.

The subject lines included "Great O'Reilly Article," "O'Reilly the bully," "Thank you Cindy," "O'Reilly is a jerk!" and "You go, girl."

Of course, after O'Reilly's staff posted my column on his website at midafternoon Tuesday, I started getting e-mails that read "Clueless!" and "You are wrong!"

After his taped show aired Tuesday night, during which he lambasted me, I got dozens more. With a straight face, he told the audience that he never interrupts guests. Then he said that I had labeled him a bigot, something I've never done.
"

AlterNet: Ladies and Gentlemen: The Real George W. Bush

Ninety percent of Americans believe the Bush administration is guilty of illegal or unethical behavior in the CIA leak case. Where does that leave our president?

TomDispatch

TomDispatch: Will the Bush Administration Implode?

TPMCafe || What It's Like

What It's Like when the world is collapsing on the White House...

Bear Scat on the Academy

From my Saturday morning run: I saw about eight more "droppings" this size in a 200 yard span after which I was definitely glancing over my shoulder...

D.C. Appellate Court throws out Bush suit against DOJ to block Fitzgerald indictments

Take this with a grain of salt. I have my doubts. But we'll soon know for sure if there is any truth to it. Appears on the surface to be "tinfoil" conspiracy.

D.C. Appellate Court throws out Bush suit against DOJ to block Fitzgerald indictments

Bush—Cheney CIA/Plame case indictments released this morning

Bush orders Fitzgerald fired and espionage indictments quashed

NPR : Richard Clarke Turns to Fiction: 'Scorpion's Gate'

NPR : Richard Clarke Turns to Fiction: 'Scorpion's Gate'

Listen to the broadcast. Former Director of Counter-terrorism under both Clinton and Bush-- Richard Clarke has it right.

The White House cabal - Los Angeles Times

The White House cabal

By Lawrence B. Wilkerson, LAWRENCE B. WILKERSON served as chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell from 2002 to 2005.

"IN PRESIDENT BUSH'S first term, some of the most important decisions about U.S. national security — including vital decisions about postwar Iraq — were made by a secretive, little-known cabal. It was made up of a very small group of people led by Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
"

t r u t h o u t - Only US Seeks to Justify Torture

Agence France-Presse:

Led by the Frightful Cheney only the US Seeks to Justify Torture. Here in my state Colorado Senator Allard was one of the nine senators voting in favor of torture. I sent him an email expressing my outrage. His reponse: "we can't tie the hands of our soldiers". Pathetic. Pathetic and criminal.

Cheney Halloween Frightfest

The New Yorker: Between Two Continents

I just got around to reading Uwem Akpan's story, “An Ex-Mas Feast”, in the New Yorker's "Debut Fiction" issue from last June. Powerful short story of the homeless, living in grinding poverty in Kenya.

Here, with the New Yorker's deputy fiction editor, Cressida Leyshon, Akpan discusses his writing and his career so far.

Amazing Stories 1926

 

U.S. Institute of Peace: Committed to the Prevention, Management, and Peaceful Resolution of International Conflict

U.S. Institute of Peace: Committed to the Prevention, Management, and Peaceful Resolution of International Conflict

The New Yorker

Quick links to the fabulous coverage of Iraq from The New Yorker

TomPaine.com - Syria: The Next Iraq

TomPaine.com - Syria: The Next Iraq

New York Daily News - News & Views - Bushies take aim at probe

The Bushie's strategy: the same old smear the messenger. Will it stick? I think not.

New York Daily News - News & Views - Bushies take aim at probe: "Asked in 1999 about Clinton's impeachment by the House, Bush responded, 'I would have voted for it. I thought the man lied.'

A senior Senate Democratic aide said, 'When it's about perjury and obstruction and it deals with sex, Republicans think it's worthy of impeachment. When it's about perjury and obstruction dealing with national security, they don't take it seriously.'
"

The White House cabal - Los Angeles Times

The White House cabal

By Lawrence B. Wilkerson, LAWRENCE B. WILKERSON served as chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell from 2002 to 2005.

"IN PRESIDENT BUSH'S first term, some of the most important decisions about U.S. national security — including vital decisions about postwar Iraq — were made by a secretive, little-known cabal. It was made up of a very small group of people led by Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
"

The Chronicle: 10/28/2005: The Man Who Would Murder Death

The Man Who Would Murder Death: A rogue researcher challenges scientists to reverse human aging

"If you wish to be a prophet, first you must dress the part. No more silk ties or tasseled loafers. Instead, throw on a wrinkled T-shirt, frayed jeans, and dirty sneakers. You should appear somewhat unkempt, as if combs and showers were only for the unenlightened. When you encounter critics, as all prophets do, dismiss them as idiots. Make sure to pepper your conversation with grandiose predictions and remind others of your genius often, lest they forget. Oh, and if possible, grow a very long beard.

By these measures, Aubrey de Grey is indeed a prophet. The 42-year-old English biogerontologist has made his name by claiming that some people alive right now could live for 1,000 years or longer. Maybe much longer. Growing old is not, in his view, an inevitable consequence of the human condition; rather, it is the result of accumulated damage at the cellular and molecular levels that medical advances will soon be able to prevent — or even reverse — allowing people to go on living pretty much indefinitely. We'll still have to worry about angry bears and falling pianos, but aging, the biggest killer of all, will cease to be a threat. Death, as we know it, will die."

Embarassed by the President Day 2005

National I love my country, and I'm still Embarassed by the President Day 2005. Protest the BS from the White House by wearing a brown ribbon.

"Why Wear Brown?

Buy it by the yard at DMY if you can't find it or if you don't want to look...Firstly, wear a brown ribbon, button, clothes, whatever, in protest of all the BS coming out of the White House and stinking up the nation. Tie a brown ribbon to your car antenna as an antidote to those snarky yellow ones. Secondly, wear brown to remind the world that these guys (and gals) are nothing but modern-day brownshirts. We'll call them the Bussholinis. Thirdly, because it's true patriotism and love for our Democracy to fight these anti-Democracy SOBs in the trenches, in the voting booths, in the media, and in your own communities at any opportunity."

Film Noir

A good source for some good flicks to watch:

Film Noir:

"Film noir: a term coined by French critics to describe a type of film that is characterized by its dark, somber tone and cynical, pessimistic mood. Literally meaning 'dark (or 'black') film', the term is derived from roman noir, 'black novel', which was used by French critics of the 18th and 19th centuries to describe the British Gothic novel.

Specifically, film noir was coined to describe those Hollywood films of the 40s and 50s which portrayed the dark and gloomy underworld of crime and corruption, films whose heroes as well as villains are cynical, disillusioned, and other insecure loners, inextricably bound to the past and unsure or apathetic about the future."

-Ephraim Katz, The Film Encyclopedia

Contract on America 2.1

Contract on America 2.1: "The Democrats New Improved Revised Contract with America 2.1.

1. The It's the Economy, Stupid, Part 2 Act.
2. The Stop Shooting Ourselves in the Foot Act.
3. The 'Common Sense' Don't Invade Countries that had Nothing to do with 911 Act.
4. The We Don't Hire Buddies' Roommates (Kennedys Excepted) Act.
5. The Health Care Good-Oil Companies Bad Act.
6. The Clinton Aura Restoration Act.
7. The Stop Whining Already Act.
8. The Fiscal Responsibility, No, Really, Act.
9. The Promise to Remember We Are Not Republicans Act.
10. The Never Run Another Effete Intellectual from Massachusetts for President Ever Again Act."

NYT: Cheney is the source of it all

Cheney Told Aide of C.I.A. Officer

Heck of a Job? (Part II)

More cronies from your Commander in Chief:
Heck of a Job? (Part II)

Don't blame me, I voted for Kerry.

UPI - Walker's World: Bush at bay

The plot sickens:

Walker's World: Bush at bay:

"The CIA leak inquiry that threatens senior White House aides has now widened to include the forgery of documents on African uranium that started the investigation, according to NAT0 intelligence sources.

This suggests the inquiry by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald into the leaking of the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame has now widened to embrace part of the broader question about the way the Iraq war was justified by the Bush administration."

Brent Scowcroft "Breaks Ranks" with George W. Bush in Major New Yorker Article

Steven Clemons has excerpts of today's bombshell artice in the New Yorker in his The Washington Note

From a Time article written in 1998 see also Reasons NOT to invade Iraq, by George Bush Sr.

Juan Cole on Rupert Murdoch and Judy Miller

Juan Cole explores Plamegate and the implications of the corruption of our MSM.

"The wider context is that Rupert Murdoch, and Richard Mellon Scaife, and other far rightwing billionaires have deeply corrupted our information environment. They are in part responsible for what happened at the NYT.

Miller attempts to excuse her shoddy reporting on Iraq's imaginary weapons of mass destruction by saying that 'everyone' got that story wrong. But the State Department Intelligence and Research Division did not get it wrong. The Department of Energy analysts were correct that the aluminum tubes couldn't be used to construct centrifuges. Elbaradei of the International Atomic Energy Commission was not wrong. Imad Khadduri, former Iraqi nuclear scientist, was not wrong. 'Everybody' got it wrong only in the sense that 'everybody' had been brainwashed by Rupert Murdoch."

Back to Iraq 3.0: Curious numbers in Ninevah

The case for election fraud in Iraq:

Back to Iraq 3.0: Curious numbers in Ninevah

More Bad News for Bush

Found this on Atrios:

"The CIA field commander for the agency's Jawbreaker team at Tora Bora, Gary Berntsen, has finally got approval to publish his book, which will hit the streets on December 27, 2005.

The CIA has sat on the book for more than a year and tried to stop its publication. Although the book is not intended as a criticism of President Bush, it will land another body blow to the beleaguered Bush Presidency.

Bernsten's key point in the book is his testimonty that he and other U.S. commanders did know that bin Laden was among the hundreds of fleeing Qaeda and Taliban members.

According to NEWSWEEK, "Berntsen says he had definitive intelligence that bin Laden was holed up at Tora Bora--intelligence operatives had tracked him--and could have been caught. He was there."

Look for General Tommy Franks image as the great commander to be further tarnished."

Telegraph | News | Secret MoD poll: Iraqis support attacks on British troops

Secret MoD poll: Iraqis support attacks on British troops

Contrast this:


Earlier today, President Bush gave a short speech at
the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley,
California during the opening ceremony of the Air
Force One Pavillion, in which he claimed that "we're
draining the militants of future recruits by replacing
hatred and resentment with democracy and hope and
freedom across the broader Middle East."

With this:


These are the major findings from the secret MoD poll
as published in The Daily Telegraph:


• Forty-five per cent of Iraqis believe attacks
against British and American troops are justified -
rising to 65 per cent in the British-controlled Maysan
province;

• 82 per cent are "strongly opposed" to the presence
of coalition troops;

• less than one per cent of the population believes
coalition forces are responsible for any improvement
in security;

• 67 per cent of Iraqis feel less secure because of
the occupation;

• 43 per cent of Iraqis believe conditions for peace
and stability have worsened;

• 72 per cent do not have confidence in the
multi-national forces.


And there you have the difference between "wishful
thinking" and hard reality.

Dead Man's Lake, Air Force Academy

I ran on the Academy today, from this lake and up jeep roads and trails to the ridge in the distance, making a big loop. This is one of my favorite runs in Colorado Springs. 

THE BRAD BLOG: "Maher asks Huffington to explain the crime behind 'Plamegate'"

Brad Blog has the video:

"Maher asks Huffington to explain the crime behind 'Plamegate'"

t r u t h o u t - Eric Alterman | Corrupt, Incompetent and 'Off Center'

From the November 7th issue of the Nation:

t r u t h o u t - Eric Alterman | Corrupt, Incompetent and 'Off Center':

"Here is the liberals' problem in a nutshell: More than 30 percent of Americans happily answer to the appellation 'conservative,' while 18 percent call themselves 'liberal.' And yet when questioned by pollsters, a super-majority of more than 60 percent take positions liberal in everything but name. Indeed, on many if not most issues, Americans hold views well to the left of those espoused by almost any national Democratic politician."

Phil Brick, environmental politics professor, answers questions | Grist Magazine | InterActivist | 17 Oct 2005

How the West was Fun:

Phil Brick, environmental politics professor, answers questions | Grist Magazine

Ellen Meloy Memorial Fund

The author of several eloquent books about the four corners desert region died suddenly of a heart attack last year.

Ellen Meloy Memorial Fund for Desert Writers honors her life and work. This fund will provide an annual stipend to enable writers to go out into the desert to write, to give voice to that "deep map of place" that guided and inspired Ellen's work.

The American Conservative: Money for Nothing

When the cons start coming down on this corrupt administration one can say the wheels are truly off:

Money for Nothing:

"When the final page is written on America’s catastrophic imperial venture, one word will dominate the explanation of U.S. failure—corruption. Large-scale and pervasive corruption meant that available resources could not be used to stabilize and secure Iraq in the early days of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), when it was still possible to do so. Continuing corruption meant that the reconstruction of infrastructure never got underway, giving the Iraqi people little incentive to co-operate with the occupation. Ongoing corruption in arms procurement and defense spending means that Baghdad will never control a viable army while the Shi’ite and Kurdish militias will grow stronger and produce a divided Iraq in which constitutional guarantees will be irrelevant.

The American-dominated Coalition Provisional Authority could well prove to be the most corrupt administration in history, almost certainly surpassing the widespread fraud of the much-maligned UN Oil for Food Program. At least $20 billion that belonged to the Iraqi people has been wasted, together with hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars. Exactly how many billions of additional dollars were squandered, stolen, given away, or simply lost will never be known because the deliberate decision by the CPA not to meter oil exports means that no one will ever know how much revenue was generated during 2003 and 2004."

Anne Bremner

My little sister, in demand celebrity attorney Anne Bremner, has a web site. I'm very proud of her. Too bad she's a Republican. I still love her.

t r u t h o u t - GAO Report Finds Flaws in Electronic Voting

GAO Report Finds Flaws in Electronic Voting

Brad Blog has this.

And Representative and Statesman John Conyers blogged this.

WOW! Brent Scowcroft Lets it Rip (Like Larry Wilkerson) in Monday's New Yorker

Steve Clemon's Washington Note breaks this bombshell:

WOW! Brent Scowcroft Lets it Rip (Like Larry Wilkerson) in Monday's New Yorker

And the New Republic says Conservatives are mad about Iraq, not Miers

The ship is going down and the cons are jumping off.

James Moore: The Most Important Criminal Case in American History | The Huffington Post

Eloquently stated case for why Plamegate is The Most Important Criminal Case in American History

This makes Watergate look like a petty crime and don't even bring up Clinton's trials.

A Web of Truth

The saga continues. A Web of Truth: Whistle-Blower or Troublemaker, Bunny Greenhouse Isn't Backing Down

By Neely Tucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 19, 2005; Page C01

BBC NEWS | French Judge warns of Iraq 'black hole'

Judge warns of Iraq 'black hole':

"France's top anti-terrorist judge has warned that Iraq is a black hole which has helped to radicalise some young Muslims and drawn them into violence.

In an interview with the BBC, Jean-Louis Bruguiere says some Muslims are receiving training in Iraq before returning to Europe to carry out jihad."

Chickens Come Home to Roost on Cheney

Ray McGovern has this summary of the case against Cheney:

Chickens Come Home to Roost on Cheney

And this from the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity written in July of 2003 still holds true.

Think Progress » Fineman: If Fitzgerald Issues Conspiracy Charges, Cheney Will Likely Be Targeted

Cheney Will Likely Be Targeted

From onegoodmove: Must Read

This is HUGE, if true. Reportedly, Powell in a recent meeting with Senator McCain recounted that he showed the memorandum identifying Plame as Wilson's wife ONLY to Bush and Cheney on that famous Air Force One flight. And he testified extensively to the grand jury on that fact! This means that Cheney AT A MINIMUM is going down. We can keep our fingers crossed that Bush can be implicated. Hold on to your hats!

The Plame Affair

New York Daily News - Bush whacked Rove on CIA leak

When did Bush know? Inquiring minds want to know.... Obstruction of justice? Whatever happened to "I want to get to the bottom of this."?

Bush whacked Rove on CIA leak:

"An angry President Bush rebuked chief political guru Karl Rove two years ago for his role in the Valerie Plame affair, sources told the Daily News.

'He made his displeasure known to Karl,' a presidential counselor told The News. 'He made his life miserable about this.'"

Senator Schumer (D-NY) is asking in this formal letter to GWB.

And this from Reuters: Democrats question Bush-Rove meeting on CIA leak

On Huffington Post Rep. John Conyers has this.

A Year Later, Goss's CIA Is Still in Turmoil

So, let me see... The second-in-command resigns and behind closed doors tells senators that he has no faith in Goss's leadership. The agency is hemoraghing talent. What would be the response of this administration? Obfuscate and praise the Director because he's a "loyalist" of course!

Cons knew Bush was an idiot, but they thought that he would surround himself with smart people. Instead we get the Goss's, the Boltons, the Cheneys, and the Michael Browns. Now Harriet Miers.

A Year Later, Goss's CIA Is Still in Turmoil:
Congress to Ask Why Spy Unit Continues to Lose Personnel

By Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 19, 2005; Page A01

"A year later, Goss is at loggerheads with the clandestine service he sought to embrace. At least a dozen senior officials -- several of whom were promoted under Goss -- have resigned, retired early or requested reassignment. The directorate's second-in-command walked out of Langley last month and then told senators in a closed-door hearing that he had lost confidence in Goss's leadership.

The turmoil has left some employees shaken and has prompted former colleagues in Congress to question how Goss intends to improve the agency's capabilities and restore morale. The White House is aware of the problems, administration officials said, and believes they are being handled by the director of national intelligence, who now oversees the agency."

NO QUARTER: A New Tidbit on the Plame Affair

A New Tidbit on the Plame Affair:

"Had lunch today with a person who has a direct tie to one of the folks facing indictment in the Plame affair. There are 22 files that Fitzgerald is looking at for potential indictment . These include Stephen Hadley, Karl Rove, Lewis Libby, Dick Cheney, and Mary Matalin (there are others of course). Hadley has told friends he expects to be indicted. No wonder folks are nervous at the White House."

Zod 2008 - General Zod - 2008 Presidential Candidate

Zod 2008 - General Zod - 2008 Presidential Candidate

Treason 
 

No Final Report Seen in Inquiry on C.I.A. Leak - New York Times

Funny how the Huffington Post spins this article as
"Rove Replacements Now Being Discussed At White House…" while Drudge says in a banner headline: "PROSECUTOR PLANS NO FINAL REPORT IN CIA LEAK CASE"
No Final Report Seen in Inquiry on C.I.A. Leak - New York Times

Fact is that "No Final Report" means indictments are imminent. Stand by....

Case Against Cheney

The Nation lays it out nicely: Case Against Cheney

Bush 41 Link to Kennedy Assassination - Google Video

An hour and a half long documentary I found on Google Video. I started watching it this evening and was mesmerized throughout the next hour and a half. Bush Link to Kennedy Assassination

t r u t h o u t - Cheney Resignation Rumors Fly

t r u t h o u t - Cheney Resignation Rumors Fly

Indictment Bingo

Play Indictment Bingo on Wonkette's blog.

Psychogeography: a beginner's guide

Robert MacFarlane reviews EDGE OF THE ORISON
In the traces of John Clare's "Journey out of Essex"
by Iain Sinclair in the Times Literary Supplement. Fascinating idea.

"Psychogeography: a beginner’s guide. Unfold a street map of London, place a glass, rim down, anywhere on the map, and draw round its edge. Pick up the map, go out into the city, and walk the circle, keeping as close as you can to the curve. Record the experience as you go, in whatever medium you favour: film, photograph, manuscript, tape. Catch the textual run-off of the streets: the graffiti, the branded litter, the snatches of conversation. Cut for sign. Log the data-stream. Be alert to the happenstance of metaphors, watch for visual rhymes, coincidences, analogies, family resemblances, the changing moods of the street. Complete the circle, and the record ends. Walking makes for content; footage for footage. "

The Raw Story | New York Daily News source believes senior White House official has flipped in leak case

Developing Story....

The Wal-Mart Thought Police

The 'everyday low prices' superchain refuses to carry books and music that dare criticize conservative values.

AlterNet: The Wal-Mart Thought Police

The Next Hurrah: Gephardt on Iraq: "I was wrong"

I echo Dick Gephardt.... I too am a "recovering neocon".... I am however capable of critical thinking and reevaluation of facts and therefore can change my thinking.... The Next Hurrah: Gephardt on Iraq: "I was wrong"

Bush makes yet another revisionist "mark on history": http://villagevoice.com/blogs/bushbeat/archive/001955.php 
 

Think Progress » BREAKING: Barber Cancels Ed Schultz’s Debut on Armed Forces Radio

Unbelievable. We have to endure Rush Limbaugh on AFN. This is our country too! This can't stand...

Think Progress » BREAKING: Barber Cancels Ed Schultz’s Debut on Armed Forces Radio: "Barber told Holm that the Ed Schultz show would not start on AFR today because her boss, Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita, was out of the country and couldn’t approve it. Barber also said she was going out of the country soon for a week-and-a-half. Holm asked Barber if the show would begin when DiRita and Barber returned. Barber said she couldn’t guarantee that.

Here’s the really interesting part. Barber told Holm she heard Ed announced that he would begin on AFR during his show Friday. Schultz’s show Friday began with audio outtakes of Barber sounding foolish as she rehearsed the troops “Q&A session” with Bush."

Think Progress » Corrupt Establishment

Keep checking here: Think Progress » Corrupt Establishment for the latest on the Plamegate scandal. Keep your fingers crossed. This could be REAL BIG.

Running to Stanley Reservoir

Today we ran/hiked the Stanley Canyon/Reservoir Trail from the Air Force Academy--a trail I have done many times over. Today was Rebekka's first time on this scenic way...

 

Higher on the Trail to Stanley Canyon Reservoir

 
 

Stanley Canyon Reservoir

Stanley Canyon

 
 

Rathaus, Gemuenden. Funny, but "Rathaus" translates to City Hall... 

Streets of Gemuenden, Germany. I lived here the last three years of five total years in the mid 80's. 

Oberlauken, Germany. I lived in this small town in the countryside north of Frankfurt in the 1980's. This recent picture shows little has changed. 

Guardian Unlimited | Bush told Blair of 'going beyond Iraq'

Wonder what our Dunce-in-Chief thought he'd find in Saudi Arabia? Or how he intended to "deal" with Pakistan who really does have WMD's? Good Lord, how could this man have been elected TWICE??

Bush told Blair of 'going beyond Iraq': "Mr Bush said he 'wanted to go beyond Iraq in dealing with WMD proliferation, mentioning in particular Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan,' according to a note of a telephone conversation between the two men on January 30 2003."

Big Box Mart

JibJab's latest

Miers Hit on Letters and the Law

Harriet is looking like she is going to go the way of Dan Quayle... She'll be made a laughing stock from which she'll never recover. Sad, she seems like a nice lady ruthlessly thrust into the limelight:

Miers Hit on Letters and the Law: "'The tipping point in Washington is when you go from being a subject of caricature to the subject of laughter,' said Bruce Fein, a Miers critic who served in the Reagan administration's Justice Department and who often speaks on constitutional law. 'She's in danger of becoming the subject of laughter.'

Blogs are posting satirical Miers correspondence featuring made-up grammatical errors. Via e-mail, authentic Miers quotations have raced around the country, prefaced by derisive comments about her qualifications.

One example, from a May 1996 letter asking George and Laura Bush to appear at a ceremony honoring her, displayed both an obsequious tone and a tortuous prose style. 'I am respectful of both of your great many time commitments and I realize you receive many, many requests,' she wrote. 'Of course, I would be very pleased if either of you is able to participate. However, I will be pleased with your judgment about whether participating in this event fits your schedule whatever your decision. . . . I feel honored even to be able to extend this invitation to such extraordinary people.'"

Bush in Freefall

Bush in Freefall

Conservative Crackup - Newsweek

Howard Fineman makes the case that the "neocons" are jumping ship:

Conservative Crackup:
How the neocons have developed a political exit strategy.:

"Oct. 12, 2005 - President George W. Bush may have no military exit strategy for Iraq, but the “neocons” who convinced him to go to war there have developed one of their own—a political one: Blame the Administration."

t r u t h o u t - William Rivers Pitt | Punxsutawney Karl

t r u t h o u t - William Rivers Pitt | Punxsutawney Karl: " 'For the first time,' reports the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 'more people say George W. Bush's presidency will be judged as unsuccessful than say it will be seen as a success, a poll finds. People were inclined to say Bush's policies have made things worse on a wide range of issues such as the federal budget deficit, the gap between rich and poor, health care, the economy, relations with US allies, the tax system and education. Republicans give the president mixed reviews in many of these areas. Almost half of Republicans said Bush's policies have made the deficit worse and just 12 percent say he has improved that situation.'

That last bit about Republicans giving Bush mixed reviews is especially unnerving for the folks at 1600 Pennsylvania, and is buttressed by a poll conducted by, of all things, the FOX News Channel. 'As has been the case for much of his presidency,' reports FOX, 'Bush's approval rating shows a huge partisan gap; however, this is the first time of his presidency that approval among Republicans has dropped below 80 percent.'

When GOP partisans start walking away from this administration, as they seem to be for the first time, you can almost hear the Fat Lady working her way through the do-re-mi's."

MoJo Blog: Park Service managers now must be screened for Bush loyalty

MoJo Blog: Park Service managers now must be screened for Bush loyalty: "The National Park Service is made up of civil service employees, and though they will continue to be called civil service employees, things have changed. Today, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility issued a directive which requires all mid-level and above managers to be approved by a Bush administration political appointee.

Managers must be screened by Park Service headquarters and by the Assistant Secretary for Fish, and Wildlife, and Parks. They must be willing to lead their employees in Bush's Management Agenda, which includes outsourcing to replace civil servants, the use of faith-based initiatives, and rollbacks of civil service rights.

They must also be able to lead employees in Interior Secretary Gale Norton's 4 C's: 'communication, consultation, cooperation, all in the name of conservation.' Presumably, they will provide milk and cookies at 3 p.m. every afternoon."

Nazi Propaganda (1933-1945) - Joseph Goebbels

Need I say more? Requisite background material to understand the Faux News phenomenon and the Brush Lintball, James Dobson, Bill O'Lieley, Sean Hannity, Repuglican campaign to malign views that don't align with their right wing propaganda machine....

Nazi Propaganda (1933-1945) - Joseph Goebbels

Stephanie Miller

I use IPodder to automatically download the podcast of the Stephanie Miller Show and I listen to it every night. I love her "Right Wing World" segment. You have to listen to her. She is so funny!! I love it....

Stephanie Miller

Hit and Run

Don't blame me... I voted for Kerry.... We're headed over the cliff thanks to our Dunce-in-Chief...Guns and butter and tax cuts, oh my!

Hit and Run:

"First Five Years, Percentage Changes in Real Discretionary Spending

LBJ: 25.2%
Nixon: -16.5%
Reagan: 11.9%
Clinton: -8.2%
Bush: 35.2%"

A Polling Free-Fall Among Blacks

A Polling Free-Fall Among Blacks: "In what may turn out to be one of the biggest free-falls in the history of presidential polling, President Bush's job-approval rating among African Americans has dropped to 2 percent, according to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll."

onegoodmove: Hey LaLa

Pretty funny. Fletch has put together a Parody Music Video of Janet Parshall and Randi Rhodes on C-Span. Boy does Janet Parshall look like a goof...
onegoodmove: Hey LaLa

What God Really Told Bush / Apparently, it wasn't just "invade Iraq and Afghanistan in my name." A special report

: "Scene: White House private residence, night, not long ago. President Bush present in his most favoritest guns 'n' bunnies PJs. Laura asleep, knocked out by a combination of too much Good Housekeeping and excessive hair-spray fumes. Suddenly, a burst of black smoke. A deep, resonant voice speaks:

'Psst! George! God here, taking a break from supervising the well-being of eight billion troubled souls along with infinite galaxies of unimaginable vastness to speak with you directly one more time because, well, you're special, aren't you, George? Yes you are! Yes you are! OK, stop giggling. I have more commands. Get off the damn hobbyhorse, George, and get a pen and a notepad. No, not a crayon. I don't care if blue is your favori-- George! Get a pen! OK? Good. Here we go"

What God Really Told Bush

Poll: Americans Want Bush Impeached

Finally we get a poll:

Poll: Americans Want Bush Impeached

The Raw Story | Vice President's role in outing of CIA agent under examination, sources close to prosecutor say

Vice President's role in outing of CIA agent

Katrina prompts new energy proposals -- some green, most not

Katrina prompts new energy proposals -- some green, most not | Grist Magazine | Muckraker :

"Déjà Ew

Plenty of other energy-related proposals look to have better prospects, but they're largely of the 'pillage and plunder' variety, according to Becker. 'We're basically seeing all the bad stuff industry advocates couldn't squeeze onto the energy bill reemerge in these post-Katrina proposals,' he said.

Katrina exposed the extreme vulnerability of U.S. oil infrastructure, but instead of pushing for a more diversified energy system that would make good use of renewables and enhance long-term energy security, many Republicans want to perpetuate the fossil fuel-based status quo.

On Tuesday, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) announced that he and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, have a whole new energy bill in mind -- 'We are working on one as we speak,' he said at a press conference -- that would not only open up protected areas, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, to oil and gas drilling, but also fast-track the environmental review process required to obtain permits for building new oil refineries.
"

How to Withstand the Coming Bush Economic Crisis

How to Withstand the Coming Bush Economic Crisis: "It’s dawning on wall street that George W. Bush may be the first president since Lyndon B. Johnson who believes that we can have a guns-and-butter federal spending policy without creating a serious inflation spiral, if not outright government bankruptcy. At least LBJ, to his credit, believed that there were limits to profligacy and that taxes had to be raised. Not President Bush. He’s making Johnson look like a fiscal conservative, what with his insistence on waging a war in Iraq that’s costing $177 million a day and rebuilding New Orleans by taking on a monstrous load of federal debt.

For the longest time, because Bush is a Republican, we on Wall Street simply didn’t believe that he could be a reckless spender. We knew only two paradigms: You either spent less and cut taxes or you spent more and raised taxes. Both courses at least presumed some sacrifice at some time. Not Bush’s plan. He’s gone on both the biggest spending binge and the lowest taxation course in U.S. history, which, alas, will produce gigantic liabilities down the road. "

The Raw Story | Cheney's Halliburton stock options rose 3,281% last year, senator finds

The Raw Story | Cheney's Halliburton stock options rose 3,281% last year, senator finds

News Orgs Working On Story Tying Cheney Into Plamegate… Developing… | The Huffington Post

News Orgs Working On Story Tying Cheney Into Plamegate… Developing… | The Huffington Post

The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are working on stories that point to Vice President Dick Cheney as the target of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into the leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame's name.

Who Isn't against Torture?

Well that would be our president:

t r u t h o u t - Bob Herbert | Who Isn't against Torture?: " Senator John McCain, one of the strongest supporters of the war in Iraq, has sponsored a legislative amendment that would prohibit the 'cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment' of prisoners in the custody of the US military. Last week the Senate approved the amendment by the overwhelming vote of 90 to 9.

This was not a matter of Democrats vs. Republicans, or left against right. Joining Senator McCain in his push for clear and unequivocal language banning the abusive treatment of prisoners were Senator John Warner of Virginia, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a former military lawyer who is also a Republican and an influential member of the committee. Both are hawks on the war.

Also lining up in support were more than two dozen retired senior military officers, including two former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell and John Shalikashvili.

So who would you expect to remain out of step with this important march toward sanity, the rule of law and the continuation of a longstanding American commitment to humane values?

Did you say President Bush? Well, that would be correct."

Woody Harrelson and Laura Louie's VoiceYourself

Woody Harrelson Speaks

Juan Cole argues with Bush

Another installment of the ever-popular "Arguing with Bush" series:
Arguing with Bush and GWOT

Think Progress » ElBaradei, Smeared By Administration, Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Think Progress is a great site to constantly check for ground truth. ElBaradei, Smeared By Administration, Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Excerpts: "Today, the Nobel Committee issued a strong rebuke to the Bush administration by awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei...

John Bolton, recess-appointed-ambassador to the UN, led the charge against ElBaradei and went “out of his way to bad-mouth” him during those months.

Why did the administration want him out so badly? It disagreed with ElBaradei about Iraq’s nonexistent WMD program. ElBaradei, if you’ll recall, turned out to be right. "

Drove home from DIA last night in wet snow that wasn't sticking yet. This is what greeted me this morning from my bedroom window.  

Near Millenium Park and the incredibly gaudy fountain, with some of the Chicago skyline. 

Yesterday I ran the Chicago Marathon in 3hrs 5min. Rebekka ran this, her second marathon, in 4:13. We were accompanied by approximately 45,000 fellow runners. 

Harriet Miers's Blog!!!

Harriet Miers has a Blog.

t r u t h o u t - Frank Rich | The Faith-Based President Defrocked

t r u t h o u t - Frank Rich | The Faith-Based President Defrocked

" Beware of leaders who drink their own Kool-Aid. The most distressing aspect of Mr. Bush's press conference last week was less his lies and half-truths than the abundant evidence that he is as out of touch as Custer was on the way to Little Bighorn. The president seemed genuinely shocked that anyone could doubt his claim that his friend is the best-qualified candidate for the highest court. Mr. Bush also seemed unaware that it was Republicans who were leading the attack on Ms. Miers. 'The decision as to whether or not there will be a fight is up to the Democrats,' he said, confusing his antagonists this time much as he has Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden."

Days of Future Past

ols-master

The old Chicago Water Building, Oct 7th. 

Thursday night we enjoyed the J.W. Williams Band at B.L.U.E.S. near Lincoln Park, Chicago. 

Rebekka at the Chicago Convention Center where we picked up our "Race Packets" for tomorrow's Chicago Marathon.