Bush seeks immunity for violating War Crimes Act

We must not allow them to get away with this!

Bush seeks immunity for violating War Crimes Act:
"BY ELIZABETH HOLTZMAN

Thirty-two years ago, President Gerald Ford created a political firestorm by pardoning former President Richard Nixon of all crimes he may have committed in Watergate -- and lost his election as a result. Now, President Bush, to avoid a similar public outcry, is quietly trying to pardon himself of any crimes connected with the torture and mistreatment of U.S. detainees.

The ''pardon'' is buried in Bush's proposed legislation to create a new kind of military tribunal for cases involving top al-Qaida operatives. The ''pardon'' provision has nothing to do with the tribunals. Instead, it guts the War Crimes Act of 1996, a federal law that makes it a crime, in some cases punishable by death, to mistreat detainees in violation of the Geneva Conventions and makes the new, weaker terms of the War Crimes Act retroactive to 9/11.

Press accounts of the provision have described it as providing immunity for CIA interrogators. But its terms cover the president and other top officials because the act applies to any U.S. national.

Bin Laden death not confirmed

We woke up to reports of Osama's death, in Pakistan, of typhoid Fever, probably last month. There is nothing, at present, to verify these reports.

If it is true; that bin Laden is dead from typhoid, the Bush administrtion has just been bombed. Rumsfeld dropping dead would not be nearly the blow this is.

Osama bin Laden was the Bushite Bogeyman; the man responsible for the worst attack on U.S. soil since the war of 1812, or so the story goes. They were as dependent on him as he was on them.

Can one go on without the other?

How much longer will people care about BuCheney's GWOT, with the almost mythical bin Laden gone? Unless, of course, another hit can be arranged, devised by another bogeyman.



Bin Laden death not confirmed:

Washington - US intelligence agencies 'can't confirm' a French newspaper report that al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden died in August in his hideout in Pakistan, a US official said on Saturday.
'
I can't confirm that account,' said the government official, who spoke to AFP on the condition that neither his name nor his affiliation would be revealed.

The French newspaper l'Est Republicain reported earlier on Saturday that Saudi intelligence had concluded that bin Laden might have succumbed to typhoid fever - at some point between August 23 and September 4 - while hiding in Pakistan.

French President Jacques Chirac said earlier that the newspaper report was 'in no way confirmed.'

Diebold Employee Admits to Hacking 2002 Georgia Senate Race

Get your absentee ballots now!

Rolling Stone ::

"Fresh disasters at the polls -- and new evidence from an industry insider -- prove that electronic voting machines can't be trusted

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.

Lindsay Graham is Censured By Military Court

He ought to be strung up for that god-awful deal with Bush on torture.

The Blotter:

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has been censured by an Army court on the same day he agreed to a deal with the White House outlining new provisions for military justice in cases involving suspected terrorists.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces yesterday held that Sen. Graham violated the Incompatibility Clause of the Constitution when, as a Reservist, he sat on the Air Force's intermediate appellate court while also a member of the Senate.

According to one military law expert, there is no penalty for Graham, but the court overturned the case on which Graham sat, entitling the defendant to a whole new appellate review of his court-martial.

Bush terror deal could leave room for tough tactics

Proving, once again, that any deal with Bush is a bad deal, for decency and humanity.

Bush terror deal could leave room for tough tactics:

WASHINGTON -- A Republican deal on terrorism trials and interrogations would give President Bush wide latitude to interpret standards for prisoner treatment, even though it doesn't include a provision he wanted on the Geneva Conventions.

The resulting legislation, if passed next week, would revive the CIA's terrorist interrogation program because it would reduce the risk that agency workers could be found guilty of war crimes. The deal also could open the door to techniques that test the bounds of international standards of prisoner treatment.

Daily Kos: Diebold consultant admits company altered software for '02 GA election (update II w/link)

Daily Kos: Diebold consultant admits company altered software for '02 GA election (update II w/link):

"It looks like the new Rolling Stone due out tomorrow will have a doozy of an article by RFK, Jr. whick will look into whether the 2006 election can be hacked. Based on a few blurbs that were 'sneak previewed' by Raw Story it looks like there is an even bigger story in that article - an admission by a Diebold consultant that machine software was altered in 5,000 machines in DeKalb and Fulton counties on the day of the election.
If anyone remembers the 2002 election in Georgia, that is the one where Max Cleland's five to six point lead was erased overnight to a seven point loss, leading to a miraculous win by Saxby Chambliss, which even describes his come from behind win as 'stunning and historical' in his Senate website.
And while many indicated that this was due at least in part to an infamous advertisement that compared Cleland (a war hero) to Osama Bin Laden, there was always a cloud hanging over this election as this was the first year "

Diebold consultant admits company altered software for '02 GA election (update II w/link)

PAPER BALLOTS!

Do not tolerate anythng less!

Daily Kos: Diebold consultant admits company altered software for '02 GA election (update II w/link):

"It looks like the new Rolling Stone due out tomorrow will have a doozy of an article by RFK, Jr. whick will look into whether the 2006 election can be hacked. Based on a few blurbs that were 'sneak previewed' by Raw Story it looks like there is an even bigger story in that article - an admission by a Diebold consultant that machine software was altered in 5,000 machines in DeKalb and Fulton counties on the day of the election.

If anyone remembers the 2002 election in Georgia, that is the one where Max Cleland's five to six point lead was erased overnight to a seven point loss, leading to a miraculous win by Saxby Chambliss, which even describes his come from behind win as 'stunning and historical' in his Senate website.

And while many indicated that this was due at least in part to an infamous advertisement that compared Cleland (a war hero) to Osama Bin Laden, there was always a cloud hanging over this election as this was the first year of the Diebold machines in Georgia, and it just not passing the 'smell test'.

Latest count of Abramoff allies' meetings in W/H.

Abramoff allies had over 100 Bush White House meetings, including meetings with Bush

Drip, Drip, Drip.......................

Religious insanity: Pandemic

If the last 6 years hasn't been enough to make the people of the world question the moral authority of religion, the next few will.

Indonesian executions lead to violence - Yahoo! News:

"PALU, Indonesia - Christian mobs torched cars, blockaded roads and looted Muslim-owned shops in violence touched off by Friday's executions of three Roman Catholics convicted of instigating attacks on Muslims.

Some 200 inmates escaped after mobs assaulted a jail in the town of Atambua, sending guards fleeing to the nearby jungle. By midday only 20 had been recaptured, deputy national police chief Lt. Gen. Adang Dorodjatun said, calling on the others to turn themselves in.
And on the island of Flores, the executed men's birthplace, machete-wielding mobs ran through the streets Friday, sending women and children running in panic, police and witnesses said.
Police and media reports said at least five people were hurt, including a prosecutor who was hospitalized with stab wounds.

Religious insanity: Pandemic

If the last 6 years hasn't been enough to make the people of the world question the moral authority of religion, the next few will.

Indonesian executions lead to violence - Yahoo! News:

"PALU, Indonesia - Christian mobs torched cars, blockaded roads and looted Muslim-owned shops in violence touched off by Friday's executions of three Roman Catholics convicted of instigating attacks on Muslims.

Some 200 inmates escaped after mobs assaulted a jail in the town of Atambua, sending guards fleeing to the nearby jungle. By midday only 20 had been recaptured, deputy national police chief Lt. Gen. Adang Dorodjatun said, calling on the others to turn themselves in.
And on the island of Flores, the executed men's birthplace, machete-wielding mobs ran through the streets Friday, sending women and children running in panic, police and witnesses said.
Police and media reports said at least five people were hurt, including a prosecutor who was hospitalized with stab wounds.

Pres. Clinton: Bush Wrong to Legitimize Whacking People Around

Bush is an effing war criminal and nothing Congress says can change that!

Pensito Review: Politics & Media » Pres. Clinton: Bush Wrong to Legitimize Whacking People Around:

The president says he’s just trying to get the rules clear about how far the CIA can go when they’re whacking these people around in these secret prisons,” Clinton said in NPR’s “Morning Edition” interview, recorded on Wednesday.

“If you go around passing laws that legitimize a violation of the Geneva Convention and institutionalize what happened at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo, we’re going to be in real trouble,” he said…

Even if there were circumstances where such treatment is necessary to prevent an imminent attacks, Clinton said: “You don’t make laws based on that. You don’t sit there and say in general torture’s fine if you’re a terrorist suspect.”The president says he’s just trying to get the rules clear about how far the CIA can go when they’re whacking these people around in these secret prisons,” Clinton said in NPR’s “Morning Edition” interview, recorded on Wednesday.

We've Sunk to Osama's Level

Now is the time for massive Civil Disobedience!

This must not stand.

We've Sunk to Osama's Level:

The torture of prisoners is not only illegal under American and international law it is, put simply, immoral and unjust. It is also un-American.

It is amazing that we are still hung up in a debate over President Bush's insistence that we bend and break our laws and the Geneva Conventions so that our agents can do everything short of murder to make a man talk.

The president's bill -- blocked in the Senate by three Republicans who know war and know the law and know what's right -- would allow Central Intelligence Agency operatives to subject prisoners to water-boarding, or near-death by drowning; to being forced to stand for 40 hours at a time; to sleep deprivation; to being tossed naked into a freezing cold cell for days at a time.

Sleep deprivation was a favorite of the Soviet KGB. They knew that after three or four days their victim would be hallucinating, shivering and shaking, weakened to the point where he would admit anything just for the hope of half an hour of sleep. The torture of prisoners is not only illegal under

American and international law it is, put simply, immoral and unjust. It is also un-American.
It is amazing that we are still hung up in a debate over President Bush's insistence that we bend and break our laws and the Geneva Conventions so that our agents can do everything short of murder to make a man talk.

The president's bill -- blocked in the Senate by three Republicans who know war and know the law and know what's right -- would allow Central Intelligence Agency operatives to subject prisoners to water-boarding, or near-death by drowning; to being forced to stand for 40 hours at a time; to sleep deprivation; to being tossed naked into a freezing cold cell for days at a time.

Sleep deprivation was a favorite of the Soviet KGB. They knew that after three or four

Dean: Thoughts on the "Bringing Terrorists to Justice Act of 2006"

The Democrats must fillibuster this piece of trash!

FindLaw's Writ - Dean: Thoughts on the "Bringing Terrorists to Justice Act of 2006":

These, however, are only a few of the provisions in the legislation that are contrary to Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. In addition, and most tellingly, Bush seeks to retroactively amend the federal criminal provisions that the United States adopted to enforce the Geneva Conventions.
The Bush Administration's proposed legislation removes a thirty-nine word definition in the Federal Criminal Code defining 'war crimes' as including 'any conduct … which constitutes a violation of common Article 3,' and replacing that definition with a seven hundred and eighty-six word laundry list of what the Administration wants to define as war crimes.

Since 1949, when this accord was signed, Common Article 3 has prohibited '(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; (b) taking of hostages; (c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment; and (d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.' These, however, are only a few of the provisions in the legislation that are contrary to Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. In addition, and most tellingly, Bush seeks to retroactively amend the federal criminal provisions that the United States adopted to enforce the Geneva Conventions.

Bush prepared to screw his own party so he can torture people.

This was a huge waste of time!

This deal does nothing to uphold Geneva, and the whole world will soon know it.

Why do Bush and Cheney hate America?

A Bad Bargain - New York Times:

Here is a way to measure how seriously President Bush was willing to compromise on the military tribunals bill: Less than an hour after an agreement was announced yesterday with three leading Republican senators, the White House was already laying a path to wiggle out of its one real concession.

About the only thing that Senators John Warner, John McCain and Lindsey Graham had to show for their defiance was Mr. Bush’s agreement to drop his insistence on allowing prosecutors of suspected terrorists to introduce classified evidence kept secret from the defendant. The White House agreed to abide by the rules of courts-martial, which bar secret evidence. (Although the administration’s supporters continually claim this means giving classified information to terrorists, the rules actually provide for reviewing, editing and summarizing classified material. Evidence that cannot be safely declassified cannot be introduced.)Here is a way to measure how seriously President Bush was willing to compromise on the military tribunals bill: Less than an hour after an agreement was announced yesterday with three leading Republican senators, the White House was already laying a path to wiggle out of its one real concession.

About the only thing that Senators John Warner, John McCain and Lindsey Graham had to show for their defiance was Mr. Bush’s agreement to drop his insistence on allowing prosecutors of suspected terrorists to introduce classified evidence kept secret from the defendant. The White House agreed to abide by the rules of courts-martial, which bar secret evidence.

Dana Milbank - This Just In: The Iraq Study Group Has Nothing to Report - washingtonpost.com

Idiots All!

Dana Milbank - This Just In: The Iraq Study Group Has Nothing to Report - washingtonpost.com:

If President Bush and the Iraqi government are hoping for some solutions from the congressionally commissioned Iraq Study Group, they might want to start thinking about a Plan B.

Former secretary of state James Baker and former congressman Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.), the study group's co-chairmen, called a briefing yesterday to give a 'progress report' on their activities. A dozen television cameras and scores of reporters filled the hall -- only to discover that Baker and Hamilton had revived Jerry Seinfeld's 'show about nothing' format.

Watching Bush has become psychically painful

I'm not kidding!

NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source:

Generally speaking, the more people tell you how tough they are, the harder they’re working to convince themselves. George W. Bush is no exception. The president’s authoritarian impulses, on display during an amazingly petulant Rose Garden press conference, so clearly derive from his own fundamental weakness of mind and character that it’s become increasingly embarrassing to watch him perform. The more strenuously he struggles to hide his inner punk, the more clearly it emerges. Consider his childish response to NBC News’ David Gregory’s question about the administration’s pre-election efforts to legalize torture. Bush’s testy attitude toward the tall newsman he calls “Stretch” goes back a long way. After Gregory, covering a joint news conference in Paris in 2002, asked President Jacques Chirac a question in French, Bush sneered, “The guy memorizes four words and he plays like he’s intercontinental.” Last week he mockingly told Gregory, “You’re looking beautiful, Dave.”

Gregory’s challenging questions seemingly set Bush’s teeth on edge.

The Bushes and the Truth About Iran

A history that should be known by every American before Bush can launch yet another nightmare, far worse than the last, in Iran.

Consortiumnews.com:

Having gone through the diplomatic motions with Iran, George W. Bush is shifting toward a military option that carries severe risks for American soldiers in Iraq as well as for long-term U.S. interests around the world. Yet, despite this looming crisis, the Bush Family continues to withhold key historical facts about U.S.-Iranian relations.The Bushes & the Truth About Iran

Fish, barrel, drain the barrel

Intelligence officials, psychologists, just about everyone who knows anything at all about torture say it is ineffective at getting to the truth. But it is higly effective at getting someone to say what you want him to say, so that you can then tell the American Congress and the people all about it, and get us into a freakin' quagmire in Iraq.

That is why the Bushites want to torture with impunity, so they can lie with impunity.

WorkingForChange-Fish, barrel, drain the barrel:

Bush and Cheney want the right to torture because they think it will help them lie with impunity.

MR. PRESIDENT. YOU NEED CLARITY? HERE'S YOUR CLARITY... Meet Maher Arar.

Bush seems to be having trouble understanding the concept of personal dignity or what an assault on that dignity might be.

We should not have people in the White House who need clarification on this topic.

MR. PRESIDENT. YOU NEED CLARITY? HERE'S YOUR CLARITY... Meet Maher Arar.:

If President Bush needs clarity to interpret the Geneva Conventions anti-torture provisions - and he really means it - the next visitor to the Oval Office should be Maher Arar, a Canadian computer consultant who was labeled - wrongly - as a dangerous radical and 'an Islamic extremist individual.'

If Congress needs to hear what being held without due justice under CIA cover as it is now, the next person they need to interview is Maher Arar, who was taken by U.S. authorities and secretly rendered to Syria, where he was '...beaten, forced to confess to having trained in Afghanistan -- where he never has been -- and then kept in a coffin-size dungeon for 10 months,' said a report focusing on Canadian intelligence

If John McCain, Lindsay Graham, John Warner and Colin Powell need to confirm what they've believed all along about how wrong-headed and criminal the Bush Administration's desire to continue their definition of legal interrogation, the next persons they need to break bread with is Maher Arar and his wife - a university economist - who were placed on al-Qaeda 'watchlist,' without any justification.

Take the Pledge; take it seriously

Principles are of no earthly good, if, when under pressure and during the worst of times, we forsake them.

Gerald Plessner:

September 20, 2006 - Too many Americans take more seriously their obligation of 'allegiance to the flag' rather than their commitment to 'liberty and justice for all.'

The American flag is a wonderful and engaging symbol. Every child learns the lessons of our colonial past and the miracle of our nation's success through our flag.

As it has evolved over 225 years, our flag has held fast to thirteen stripes paying tribute to our founding colonies. And as America has grown, the flag's accumulation of additional stars has been a symbol of our nation's growth, providing a better life for all its peoples and the inclusion of those who come to America.

The symbolism of the flag's stars make it easy for our children to understand and our adults to admire. But as beautiful as it is, our flag is still but a symbol of a greater truth, American's obligation to guarantee 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' to all.September 20, 2006 - Too many Americans take more seriously their obligation of 'allegiance to the flag' rather than their commitment to 'liberty and justice for all.'

Bush says he'd send troops into Pakistan - Yahoo! News

Bush is an idiot, chapter 1,323.........

Last week he said that he wouldn't send troops into a soverign nation, like Pakistan. That was a hoot, since that is exactly what he did with Iraq.

Now he says he will send troops into Pakistan, if he knew Osama was there.

I guess he was for invading soverign nations before he was against it, and now he is for it again.

Bush says he'd send troops into Pakistan - Yahoo! News:

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Wednesday he would order military action inside Pakistan if intelligence indicated that Osama bin Laden or other top terror leaders were hiding there. 'Absolutely,' Bush said in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

With bin Laden still at large five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and believed to be hiding somewhere along the mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Bush disputed any suggestion that Pakistan has not done enough to hunt down terrorist leaders.
Bush meets Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf at the White House on Friday and again next week.
'I view President Musharraf as somebody who would like to bring al-Qaida to justice,' Bush said. 'There's no question there is a kind of a hostile territory in the remote regions of Pakistan that makes it easier for somebody to hide.'

White House to revise terror proposal

What they want is retro-active protection from war crimes.

We say, NO WAY!

White House to revise terror proposal:

WASHINGTON -- The White House told lawmakers it would send Congress a revised proposal late Monday for dealing with terrorism suspects as the number of GOP senators publicly opposing President Bush's initial plan continued to grow.

A Republican-led Senate committee last week defied Bush and approved terror-detainee legislation that Bush vowed to block. Sen. John Warner, normally a Bush supporter, pushed the measure through his Senate Armed Services Committee by a 15-9 vote.
A spokesman for Warner said the Virginia senator expected to receive another draft of the legislation.

No details were immediately available.

Wave of Party Switchers Hits Republicans -- In These Times

Another trend that will make it a little harder for the GOP to steal the midterms.

Wave of Party Switchers Hits Republicans -- In These Times:

A trend of local, below-the-radar party-switches is undercutting Republicans as they face the sternest challenge in a decade to one-party control of Congress and several state legislatures. Such party-switching by elected officials often indicates that the label they are shedding has lost appeal and foreshadows poor performance at the polls.

Some recent switchers are exiting GOP ranks with a bang. Distorted priorities, the federal deficit and the Iraq war are common themes in their announcements. And in a direct swipe at the far-right ideology that has become a governing credo in the Bush years, they cite intolerance in the party as the chief reason for leaving.A trend of local, below-the-radar party-switches is undercutting Republicans as they face the sternest challenge in a decade to one-party control of Congress and several state legislatures. Such party-switching by elected officials often indicates that the label they are shedding has lost appeal and foreshadows poor performance at the polls.

Some recent switchers are exiting GOP ranks with a bang. Distorted priorities, the federal deficit and the Iraq war are common themes in their announcements. And in a direct swipe at the far-right ideology that has become a governing credo in the Bush years, they cite intolerance in the party as the chief reason for leaving.

Far Right Sees Gains in German Vote - New York Times

Sweet Jeebus, it's happening everywhere!

In Kiwiland, the religiously insane, working for their version of Wingnuttia, have put private eyes on Helen Clark and are spearding lies about her husband.

We are all soon to be in hell.

Far Right Sees Gains in German Vote - New York Times:

FRANKFURT, Sept. 17 - A far-right party made further inroads in Germany's economically fragile east today, winning seats in a state election in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, a lonely land of farms and fishing villages that is the home constituency of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The National Democratic Party, which openly espouses xenophobic and neo-Nazi views, was projected to win slightly more than 7 percent of the vote, according to exit polls. That was less than analysts here had feared, but enough to clear the threshold of 5 percent for seats in the Parliament.

Extreme right parties will now be represented in three of Germany's six eastern states, a trend that worries officials and underlines the divide between the country's eastern and western halves. Far-right parties have negligible support in western Germany, which is more prosperous.

Judges Tell Congress: Don't Suspend Habeas Corpus

If Habeus Corpus is gone, so is the Constitution and the nation.

Daily Kos: Judges Tell Congress: Don't Suspend Habeas Corpus:

It would eliminate the right of any alien who is in US custody outside the US, or who 'has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant', to file for habeas corpus.

*It would eliminate the right of any such alien to take any legal action against 'the United States or its agents' concerning the conditions of his or her detention, other than to appeal the results of Civilian Status Review Commissions or military tribunals.

* Both of these provisions apply to all cases pending when the bill becomes law, which means that any of the cases currently wending their way through the legal system that haven't been resolved by that time become moot.
.....
This is a terrible, terrible bill. What bothers me most is the denial of habeas rights. Denying the right to file for habeas corpus to all people detained outside the US, or who have been found to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant, means that virtually all detainees would have no legal recourse if they felt they had been unjustly imprisoned, or if their legal rights had been violated.

Allen Just "Made Up" the Word Macaca

Allen does not need to be anywhere near the halls of power.

Having a noose, a confederate flag and a picture of Confederate troops in his office and home, speaks volumns more than calling a dark-skined person by the word "macaca," hideous though that was.

This guys is a true, dyed-in-the-wool rascist, with all the usual trappings.

Remember, not many of the guys wear bedsheets anymore. Kinda makes 'em stand out in a crowd.

Crooks and Liars � Allen Just �Made Up� the Word Macaca:

Timmeh really had Senator Allen squirming this morning over his racist tendencies. Not only did Allen call a dark-skinned Webb campaigner 'macaca' , even though he just 'made up' the word and didn't know it's considered a racist slur, and opposed a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1984, but Russert calls him out on an AP article citing how he 'used to keep a confederate flag in his living room, a noose in his law office and a picture of confederate troops in his governors office.' Politics and 'confederate pride' aside, how do you explain keeping a noose in your office?

That symbolizes nothing other than oppression and hatred towards African-Americans. This Nation article points out, Allens racism goes far beyond 'macaca' and S.R. Sidarth.

For This Red Meat Crowd, Obama�s �08 Choice Is Clear - New York Times

We are not convinced, about Obama.

Besides, if we don't get Democrats elected this November, 2008 will be irrelevant.

We, at the Lantern, hope we have seen our last charismatic, shooting star president in the White House. We need someone who knows what they are doing in foreign policy and who is really good at cleaning up huge messes.

For This Red Meat Crowd, Obama�s �08 Choice Is Clear - New York Times:

Sept. 17 - Senator Barack Obama insists, as always, that he is not running for president. But there are compelling clues that he is not exactly not running, either.

The most obvious was his keynote appearance here on Sunday at Senator Tom Harkin's legendary steak fry, a popular Democratic ritual in Iowa, and a prominent staging ground in this first presidential caucus state. The crowd rushed Mr. Obama when he arrived, then mobbed him for hours as other politicians wandered the fairgrounds introducing themselves and shaking hands.

But beyond his first trip to Iowa, a visit that was guaranteed to set off new speculation about his presidential ambitions, Mr. Obama is in the midst of an unconventional publicity tour of sorts. Fresh off a closely watched journey through Africa, including a stop at the home of his Kenyan-born father, Mr. Obama is about to publish a second book that supporters believe will outpace his best-seller from 1995.

Bush vs. The National Security Professionals

Georgie, doesn't have the intelligence of a horse-fly, but he is waging war on N.S. profesionals.

Oh, that's good.

That's just real good.

Bush vs. The National Security Professionals TPMCafe:

Larry Johnson and many readers participating in the TPM Book Club have commented on my new book, 'How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime' about their surprise or lack of it at the emergence of Bush's thoroughgoing radicalism. One aspect of his radicalism that I describe at length is his war on the national security professionals. This is a largely unnoticed but critical part of his regime. His efforts to suppress internal debate, discussion and objective analysis are essential to his creation of executive power and an imperial presidency. Bush's war on the professionals is an ongoing battle within the government. Certainly, they were among the most startled of all by Bush's radicalism. Many of them expected that this Bush would be like his father. Needless to say, their expectations have been dashed.

Bush Lacks Credibility on Torture Guidelines

Bush is the guy who amused himself, in his childhood, blowing up frogs.

No, he has no credibility on torture.

But, then, no one does, who advocates it.

Pensito Review: Politics & Media � Bush Lacks Credibility on Torture Guidelines:

None of Bush's threats and arguments whose theme is, 'What are you? Stupid?' about a fair playing field for our torturers will have any credibility until he addresses the flagrant anti-American game playing among his own staff. We're waiting.

What really happened to us on 9/11, and after.

All I can say is a hearty," Amen!"

Rolling Stone ::

We did just about everything except honestly ask ourselves what the hell really happened, and why.
That process of self-examination was flawed from the start. We were screwed the moment Fareed Zakaria wrote his infamous 'The Politics of Rage: Why Do They Hate Us?' essay for Newsweek a few weeks after the attacks. The question -- why do they hate us? -- was maybe the right question, but that was only if everyone could have agreed on what it meant. For what do we mean by they, and what do we mean by us? I for one am not entirely sure we're clear on these points, even now.

That we couldn't agree on who they were should be obvious by now. To the Bush administration the answers to the they/us questions were, respectively, 'foreigners' and 'America.' From the outset the Bush crew showed that they were both unwilling and unable to budge from the post-WWII political paradigm they'd all grown up under, and viewed the 9/11 events purely as an attack on the American nation-state by a belligerent foreign power. Their solution to the terrorism problem revolved entirely around a strategy for dealing with those foreign nation-states that were the 'sponsors' of terrorism -- Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea. It was characteristic of the fourth-rate minds in this White House that they not only immediately got lost in the wrong political paradigm in response to the bombing, but picked the wrong country, Iraq, to punish for the crime. If we give them another ten years at it they'll probably end up introducing market reform to Antarctica as a backup plan.

U.S. war prisons legal vacuum for 14,000

This is unnecessary, shameful and an outrage against the entire civilized world.

We, at the Lantern, condemn these actions in the strongest terms and demand that the people who ordred this kind of activity be held accountable to the fullest extent of existing law, both constitutional and international.

U.S. war prisons legal vacuum for 14,000 - Yahoo! News:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - In the few short years since the first shackled Afghan shuffled off to Guantanamo, the U.S. military has created a global network of overseas prisons, its islands of high security keeping 14,000 detainees beyond the reach of established law.

Disclosures of torture and long-term arbitrary detentions have won rebuke from leading voices including the U.N. secretary-general and the U.S. Supreme Court. But the bitterest words come from inside the system, the size of several major U.S. penitentiaries.

'It was hard to believe I'd get out,' Baghdad shopkeeper Amjad Qassim al-Aliyawi told The Associated Press after his release, without charge, last month. 'I lived with the Americans for one year and eight months as if I was living in hell.'

Captured on battlefields, pulled from beds at midnight, grabbed off streets as suspected insurgents, tens of thousands now have passed through U.S. detention, the vast majority in Iraq.

Brit Attorney general warns US on torture bill

"Risk intentional condemnation?"

It should guarantee condemnation, at the very least!

Anyone who signs on to this "freedom To Torture Bill" or compromises in any way, thus making torture lawful in the United States, should be tried for war crimes at the Hague, as such a compromise would prove that the U.S. is no longer capable of holding its own leaders accountable.

Guardian Unlimited Politics Special Reports Attorney general warns US on torture bill:

The attorney general warned the US at the weekend that its bill to try to limit its obligations under the Geneva convention while interrogating and trying detainees risked international condemnation.

Lord Goldsmith waded into the row after a Senate committee rejected the bill and backed alternative legislation proposed by Republican senator John McCain and supported by George Bush's former secretary of state, Colin Powell.

The attorney general's comments, in a lecture to lawyers in Chicago, signal an attempt by Britain to bring the US back in line with international law. The bill follows a US supreme court ruling that the Geneva convention's prohibitions on torture apply to al-Qaida members, which the Bush administration had denied.

Public distrust has become hallmark of administration

Cheney is a the old woman in her bathrobe, peeking out from behind her curtains.

ContraCostaTimes.com 09/17/2006 Public distrust has become hallmark of administration:

THE NATION'S foremost 9/11 conspiracy theorist was on 'Meet the Press' last week. And we all thought conspiracy theorists got no face time in mainstream media.
Well, it helps when you are vice president of the United States.

That would be Dick Cheney. Next possibly to Fox News, he's the chief agent behind the belief held by so many, including many in our fighting forces, that we attacked Iraq because it had something to do with 9/11.

Months after President Bush said that it wasn't so, a Senate Intelligence Committee report said it again this month. Saddam Hussein not only detested al-Qaida but apparently tried to capture Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Pressed about this by NBC's Tim Russert, Cheney said he hadn't read the report. That's amazing. Then again, it's not.
When I mentioned 9/11 conspiracy theorists, you thought first about people who believe that the U.S. government was behind 9/11 or did nothing to prevent it.

These individuals are dismissed as kooks and crazies. But those who send young men and women off to war based on politically calculated leaps of reasoning get treated with deference and motorcades.

Do N=ot Compromise with the Torturer-in-Cheif

Not in my name, not in the name of our country.

This issue isn't about who the terrorists are. Whether or not they are barbarians is beside the point.

This is about who we are.

Senators Seek Compromise on Terror Cases - New York Times:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 - The Bush administration and three prominent Republican senators opposing its effort to codify broad standards for terror-detainee treatment gave signs of seeking compromise today, as both sides face intense political pressures over their positions.

Tom Kean sshows his lack of integrity.....

and that of the commission report as well.

It is time for a truly Independent Commission, even if we have to go outside the country for it's members.

Jersey hustler Salon:

Until very recently, Tom Kean Sr. was one of the most admired figures in American public life, having garnered praise for bipartisan fairness and dedication as co-chairman of the 9/11 Commission. As governor of New Jersey and later as president of Drew University, he enjoyed friendships and support across party lines, building his reputation as a gentleman and statesman who cared more for policy than politics. He seemed to have achieved great popularity for the best of reasons.

But now, in the aftermath of 'The Path to 9/11' -- the heavily fictionalized and politically distorted docudrama that he served as a paid advisor for and publicly defended -- it is becoming sadly obvious that his integrity was overrated. For money and a moment of Hollywood glitz, he sold out what should have been the crowning achievement of a career in public service.

American Taliban's Madrassas: Kids worshipping a picture of Bush

Holy Crap: This is cultism by anyone's definition.

ABC News: Film Shows Youths Training to Fight for Jesus:

Sept. 17, 2006 - An in-your-face documentary out this weekend is raising eyebrows, raising hackles and raising questions about evangelizing to young people.

Speaking in tongues, weeping for salvation, praying for an end to abortion and worshipping a picture of President Bush; these are some of the activities at Pastor Becky Fischer's Bible camp in North Dakota, 'Kids on Fire,' subject of the provocative new documentary, 'Jesus Camp.'

'I want to see them as radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are in Palestine, Pakistan and all those different places,' Fisher said. 'Because, excuse me, we have the truth.'

'A lot of people die for God,' one camper said, 'and they're not afraid.'

'We're kinda being trained to be warriors,' said another, 'only in a funner way.'

The film has caused a split among evangelicals. Some say it's designed to demonize. Others have embraced it, including Fischer, who's helping promote the film.

The Raw Story | Bush's second choice for Vice President to assail GOP over Schiavo, gay rights

Seems as though most opf the really heavy duty criticism of th e Bushites is coming from Republicans. Lately John Dean's new book and now this one from Danforth.

The Raw Story Bush's second choice for Vice President to assail GOP over Schiavo, gay rights:

The former Missouri senator shortlisted to be then-Governor Bush's running mate in the 2000 presidential election -- said to have been second choice only to Vice President Cheney -- will come out vehemently against administration and Congressional Republican policy in a book to be published next week., according to an advance copy obtained by RAW STORY.

John Danforth, who retired in 1995 after four terms in the Senate, briefly served as Bush's ambassador to the United Nations but resigned after Condoleezza Rice was tapped to be Secretary of State. According to CNN, he was second on the list of Bush's potential vice presidential choices in 2000.
In Faith and Politics, to be released Tuesday, Danforth blasts the alignment of the Republican Party with the Christian right, lays out his most aggressive pro-gay stance to date and attacks the handling of the Terri Schiavo case.

The Blog | Cenk Uygur: Top Ten Worst People in the Bush Administration | The Huffington Post

Thre are more dishonarable mentions at Huffington.

The Blog Cenk Uygur: Top Ten Worst People in the Bush Administration The Huffington Post:

Top Ten Worst People in the Bush Administration

1. George W. Bush, President
2. Dick Cheney, Vice President
3. Karl Rove, Chief Political Adviser to the President
4. Don Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
5. Paul Wolfowitz, Former Deputy Secretary of Defense
6. David Addington, Chief of Staff to the Vice President
7. Douglas Feith, Former Under Secretary of Defense and Head of the Office of Special Plans
8. John Bolton, UN Ambassador
9. I. Lewis Libby, Former Chief of Staff to the Vice President
10. Alberto Gonzalez, Attorney General

You know this list is hideous when John Ashcroft can't crack the Top Ten. John Bolton would finish in the top two of almost any other 'worst person' list. But this is a murderer's row of incompetents, fool, knaves, and - in the immortal words of the president - evil-doers.

Ties to GOP Trumped Know-How Among Staff Sent to Rebuild Iraq - washingtonpost.com

I think my head is going to explode!

This a must read article (WARNING: make sure you have taken your blood-pressure meds.)

It becomes more apparent every day that Iraq is a boondoggle; a money pit for the taxpayers and a gold mine for war-profiteers and Bush loyalists (is there a difference?).

IMPEACH THESE JACKASSES, NOW!

Ties to GOP Trumped Know-How Among Staff Sent to Rebuild Iraq - washingtonpost.com:

After the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in April 2003, the opportunity to participate in the U.S.-led effort to reconstruct Iraq attracted all manner of Americans -- restless professionals, Arabic-speaking academics, development specialists and war-zone adventurers. But before they could go to Baghdad, they had to get past Jim O'Beirne's office in the Pentagon.

FRANK RICH: The Longer the War, the Larger the Lies

This is a "must read,' as Frank nails Bush.

Free Democracy: FRANK RICH: The Longer the War, the Larger the Lies:

RARELY has a television network presented a more perfectly matched double feature. President Bush's 9/11 address on Monday night interrupted ABC's ''Path to 9/11' so seamlessly that a single network disclaimer served them both: 'For dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue, as well as time compression.'

No kidding: 'The Path to 9/11' was false from the opening scene, when it put Mohamed Atta both in the wrong airport (Boston instead of Portland, Me.) and on the wrong airline (American instead of USAirways). It took Mr. Bush but a few paragraphs to warm up to his first fictionalization for dramatic purposes: his renewed pledge that 'we would not distinguish between the terrorists and those who harbor or support them.' Only days earlier the White House sat idly by while our ally Pakistan surrendered to Islamic militants in its northwest frontier, signing a 'truce' and releasing Al Qaeda prisoners. Not only will Pakistan continue to harbor terrorists, Osama bin Laden probably among them, but it will do so without a peep from Mr. Bush.