FBI operation deals new blow to Republican hopes - MSN Money

How much more of this will it take before Americans realize that we are living in Caligula's Rome?

Financial Times Business News: FBI operation deals new blow to Republican hopes - MSN Money:

Republican control of Congress was further endangered on Monday after the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the home of the daughter of a long-term Republican congressman facing a tough re-election fight.

The FBI operation took place at the home of Karen Weldon, the daughter of congressman Curt Weldon, a 10-term Pennsylvania Republican lawmaker who serves as vice-chairman of the House homeland security committee.

Can Poppy clean up Junior's messes, one more time?

Let's hope the old man can, once again, clean up Junior's messes.

Not sure there is any other hope.

US casualties surge in Iraq - Yahoo! News:

"BAGHDAD (AFP) - American military casualties in
Iraq are mounting dramatically amid reports that allies of US
President George W. Bush are pushing him for a new exit strategy.

US troops were meanwhile ordered by Iraq's prime minster to free a detained Shiite militant, in more evidence of the political wrangling undermining their mission to halt a wave of sectarian violence.

The US military said at least 10 soldiers were killed Tuesday -- including four in a single roadside bomb attack on their vehicle -- as the toll for the first half of the month hit 67, or almost four per day.

US spokesmen say the casualty surge is partly to be blamed on a spike in violence during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but the grim news will pile further pressure on the White House.

In another setback for US plans, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered the release of a leading member of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's political organisation who had been detained by American troops.

Can Pelosi and Bush get along? They will need each other's help if Dems win House, analysts say

Given the electorates anger, at the moment, how can Bush be so sure that the Goopers can retain control of the House?

Election theft? Denial? Obliviousness?

If he maintains control of the Senate and the House, through election chicanery, can he be sure of retaining control of the people?

Can Pelosi and Bush get along? / They will need each other's help if Dems win House, analysts say:

'If Democrats are in control of the House, the president will have to listen,'' Pelosi said. 'The only way to deal with him is as a co-equal branch of government.'' As speaker, Pelosi would probably be Bush's most visible opponent until Democrats settle on a presidential candidate in 2008. She would have a critical role in deciding how deeply the House should investigate the administration, though she has insisted that she has no appetite for impeachment. 'We don't have time for that,'' Pelosi responded last week in Portland, Ore., when a participant at a forum suggested that impeachment proceedings should be the first order of business for a Democratic House. 'We're about the future, and we're going forward.'' The White House dismissed the premise of a question regarding how Bush might work with a Speaker Pelosi. 'The president fully intends to maintain control of the House and the Senate and looks forward to working with (Republican) Speaker (Dennis) Hastert,'' White House spokesman Peter Watkins said.

FBI raids on Curt Welson

WTF?

Politically motivated? By whom, Republicans, who control everything, including the FBI?

KBCI 2 Boise, Idaho:

MEDIA, Pa. The F-B-I has raided the Pennsylvania homes of a congressman's daughter and a close friend.

It's looking into whether the congressman, Republican Curt Weldon, improperly helped his daughter and his friend win lobbying and consulting contracts.

In all, six locations were searched in the Philadelphia area and in Jacksonville, Florida.

Weldon is locked in a tight re-election bid. Earlier today, he described the investigation as politically motivated, and he questioned the timing of it.

Weldon denies any wrongdoing, and says he gave his daughter no special help.

An F.B.I spokeswoman says Weldon's home and his offices were not among the locations searched.

Raw obtains CENTCOM email to bloggers

Very strange, indeed!

We have not received such an email, of which we are aware, though such an email could have been junked by our filters

The Raw Story | Raw obtains CENTCOM email to bloggers:

An email sent by United States Central Command (CENTCOM) to bloggers about the 'global war on terror' (GWOT) has been obtained by RAW STORY.

CENTCOM announced earlier this year that a team of employees would be '[engaging] bloggers who are posting inaccurate or untrue information, as well as bloggers who are posting incomplete information.'

Guilty Until Confirmed Guilty

This disgraceful bill also allows anyone who protests Bush's goofy, horrid policies as an ilegal enemy combatant, yes, even, or especially,American citizens.

Guilty Until Confirmed Guilty - New York Times:

When President Bush rammed the bill on military commissions through Congress, the Republicans crowed about creating a process that would be tough on terrorists but preserve essential principles of justice. “America can be proud,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the bill’s architects.

Unfortunately, Mr. Graham was wrong. One of the many problems with the new law is that it will only make it harder than it already is to separate the real terrorists from the far larger group of inmates at Guantánamo Bay who were bit players in the Taliban or innocent bystanders. Mr. Graham and other supporters of this dreadful legislation seem to have forgotten that American justice does not merely deliver swift punishment to the guilty. It also protects the innocent.When President Bush rammed the bill on military commissions through Congress, the Republicans crowed about creating a process that would be tough on terrorists but preserve essential principles of justice. “America can be proud,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the bill’s architects.

One proud Poppy ... but

I can't help but wonder if GHWB does not understand that his son has no respect for him, intentionally gives him the back of his presidential hand every chance he gets, or maybe, that is just too painful for a father to accept.

New York Daily News - Home - One proud Poppy ... but:

Indeed, one of the worst-kept secrets in Bush World is the dismay, in some cases disdain, harbored by many senior aides of the former President toward the administration of his son - 41 and 43, as many call them, political shorthand that refers to their numerical places in American presidential history.

For five years, the 41s have bit their collective tongues as, they complain, the 43s ignored their counsel. But as the war in Iraq has worsened and public support for the current administration has tanked, loyalists of the elder Bush have found it impossible to suppress their disillusionment - particularly their belief that many of 43's policies are a stick in the eye of his father.

In Final Weeks, G.O.P. Focuses on Best Bets

Of course we cannot discount one of thise miraculous midnight vote flips that Ohio is famous for.

In Final Weeks, G.O.P. Focuses on Best Bets - New York Times:

"WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 — Senior Republican leaders have concluded that Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio, a pivotal state in this year’s fierce midterm election battles, is likely to be heading for defeat and are moving to reduce financial support for his race and divert party money to other embattled Republican senators, party officials said.

Easy marks for a White House con

I wonder if this willeven be reported on Fox News.

Easy marks for a White House con:

'Never give a sucker an even break,' W.C. Fields, the comical con man of so many old films, was famous for saying. He'd be right at home in the Bush White House.

For we now have it on fairly good authority that the Bush team, led by Karl Rove, exploited the gullibility of Christian evangelicals to further Republican political ambitions while privately scorning them as 'nuts' or 'ridiculous' or 'boorish' or worse. They mocked and laughed at their Christian shock troops, which is shabbily cynical but understandable.

Americans Question Bush on 9/11 Intelligence: Angus Reid Global Monitor

So, What elese is new?

Only the supid wouldn't question it.

Americans Question Bush on 9/11 Intelligence: Angus Reid Global Monitor:

Many adults in the United States believe the current federal government has not been completely forthcoming on the issue of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to a poll by the New York Times and CBS News. 53 per cent of respondents think the Bush administration is hiding something, and 28 per cent believe it is lying.

The Fighting Dems and the Coming Triumph of the JFK Democrats

The Blog Brent Budowsky: The Fighting Dems and the Coming Triumph of the JFK Democrats The Huffington Post:

As America stands poised on the brink of major change and reform in Washington, no group is more worthy of support, more symbolic of the new leadership of the Democratic Party, and more inspiring than the men and women who have served our country, and are running for office as Democrats in this defining election.

It is inspiring.

It is outstanding

It's about time!

Atheist groups are on the rise:

Never thought we would see this: I guess it takes a bunch of religious whackos to get Athiests to organize.

Atheist groups are on the rise: South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

When Richard Golden put the word out that he was starting a group for atheists in Walnut Creek, Calif., about a dozen people showed up. Two years later, 80 are dues-paying members and several more drop in on twice-monthly meetings to chew on everything from particle physics to court cases.

Horrified by escalating religious violence and alarmed by the Bush administration's 'faith-based initiatives,' which make government money available to religious organizations, atheists are coming out of the closet -- and organizing.

Frank Rich: The Gay Old Party Comes Out

Those explosions you are hearing are not IEDs. Just fundy heads exploding from Georgia to Idaho.

Welcome to Pottersville: Frank Rich: The Gay Old Party Comes Out:

Paging Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council: Here’s a gay Republican story you probably did not hear last week. On Tuesday a card-carrying homosexual, Mark Dybul, was sworn into office at the State Department with his partner holding the Bible. Dr. Dybul, the administration’s new global AIDS coordinator, was flanked by Laura Bush and Condi Rice. In her official remarks, the secretary of state referred to the mother of Dr. Dybul’s partner as his “mother-in-law.”Paging Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council: Here’s a gay Republican story you probably did not hear last week. On

Tuesday a card-carrying homosexual, Mark Dybul, was sworn into office at the State Department with his partner holding the Bible. Dr. Dybul, the administration’s new global AIDS coordinator, was flanked by Laura Bush and Condi Rice. In her official remarks, the secretary of state referred to the mother of Dr. Dybul’s partner as his “mother-in-law.”Paging Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council: Here’s a gay Republican story you probably did not hear last week. On Tuesday a card-carrying homosexual, Mark Dybul, was sworn into office at the State Department with his partner holding the Bible. Dr. Dybul, the administration’s new global AIDS coordinator, was flanked by Laura Bush and Condi Rice. In her official remarks, the secretary of state referred to the mother of Dr. Dybul’s partner as his “mother-in-law.”

The cost of Iraq war is out of control | ScrippsNews

The whole damn government is out of control!

The cost of Iraq war is out of control ScrippsNews:

When it comes to casualties in the war in Iraq, no one can put a price on human life. But the cost in taxpayer dollars of U.S. military operations there continues to rise to gargantuan proportions.
According to the Congressional Research Service, Congress already has appropriated $437 billion for war, not including $70 billion approved by the Senate as part of next year's record-breaking Pentagon budget. That's half a trillion dollars _ about three-quarters of it for Iraq, 20 percent for Afghanistan and 5 percent for increased security against terrorism at other foreign bases.

The fighting in Afghanistan, home of the Taliban and training ground of the 9/11 terrorists, is one thing. But an increasing number of Americans see Iraq as a war we can no longer afford. Either way, the fiscal burden will be felt for generations because the cost is being applied daily to the nation's budget deficit.

At this point, things are looking very bad for th GOP

But, it can all turn on a dime. Keep up the hard work.

The Cook Political Report National Overview:

Category 5 Hurricane Heads for House GOP Category 5 Hurricane Heads for House GOP

A Revolt of the Generals?

Not unless they are readyto retire or be fired.

TIME.com: A Revolt of the Generals? -- Page 1:

A top British commander speaks candidly about the grim outlook in Iraq. But will his more reticent American peers follow his lead?

Democratic Faces That Could Launch Thousands of Votes

Maybe they just look good in comparison to the Rethugs, but then, my dog looks good compared to, say, Hastert.

The lady is right. We need brains and lots of them, to get us out of the horrible mess Junior and the Rethugs have made.

Democratic Faces That Could Launch Thousands of Votes - washingtonpost.com:

AUBURN, N.Y. -- Maybe Democratic candidate Michael Arcuri is running strong in this Republican House district because he pledges to expand health coverage, balance the budget and raise the minimum wage.

Or maybe it's his piercing Italian eyes and runner's physique.

'He is pretty good-looking,' observed Paula Ferrin with admiration, as the 47-year-old district attorney worked the crowd at a local senior center.

'What we want is brains, honey,' scolded her friend Rose Oliver.

'True,' Ferrin answered, 'but handsome doesn't hurt.'"

Dems have clear shot at DeLay's seat

Provided there is no hacking, of course.

Dems have clear shot at DeLay's seat - Yahoo! News:

PEARLAND, Texas - Voting Republican in this conservative district was never difficult when Tom DeLay's name was on the ballot. With DeLay out of the race and the GOP unable by law to substitute a name on the ballot, voters must write in the Republican candidate, Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. That could prove to be such a chore that Democrats might walk away with a seat that has long been in the GOP's hands.

Bush keeps revising war justification - Yahoo! News

Will we ever know why we are in this nightmare?

Bush keeps revising war justification - Yahoo! News:

"WASHINGTON - President Bush keeps revising his explanation for why the U.S. is in Iraq, moving from narrow military objectives at first to history-of-civilization stakes now.

Initially, the rationale was specific: to stop Saddam Hussein from using what Bush claimed were the Iraqi leader's weapons of mass destruction or from selling them to al-Qaida or other terrorist groups.
But 3 1/2 years later, with no weapons found, still no end in sight and the war a liability for nearly all Republicans on the ballot Nov. 7, the justification has become far broader and now includes the expansive 'struggle between good and evil.'

Republicans seized on North Korea's reported nuclear test last week as further evidence that the need for strong U.S. leadership extends beyond Iraq.