Senate Dems plan overhaul of military tribunals bill

Habeus Corpus must be restored, period.

Without it, even dissent against the war in Iraq could be very dangerous.

Senate Dems plan overhaul of military tribunals bill:

Gearing up for a major clash with the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress, several key Senate Democrats are planning to overhaul the newly minted legislation governing military tribunals of detainees.

Even before it was signed into the law last month, Democrats were criticizing the military commission bill as unconstitutional and a magnet or endless legal challenges.
D
efense lawyers working on behalf of military detainees at Guantanamo Bay quickly filed suits with the U.S. District Court challenging the constitutionality of the tribunal bill because it suspends the writ of habeas corpus, a court order that would allow detainees to have the legality of their detention reviewed in court to determine whether they should be released from custody.

Democrats' Win Hits Fox News Channel - The Post Chronicle

Good!

Entertainment: Democrats' Win Hits Fox News Channel - The Post Chronicle: "

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2006 (UPI) -- While U.S. Democrats were celebrating their victory last week, the Fox News network was languishing in its election coverage, a report claims.

As rival cable news networks CNN and MSNBC were announcing the Democrats were taking back the Senate and the House of Representatives, Fox News was behind in its attempt to match the larger network's scope, Daily Variety contended.

Fox has billed itself as the alternative to liberal news programming and now finds itself in a primarily liberal political world, Variety said.

Lawyers try to stop Gitmo med procedure - Yahoo! News

Another example of Bush's "compassionate conservatism."

Lawyers try to stop Gitmo med procedure - Yahoo! News:

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - An attorney for a Guantanamo Bay detainee has asked a judge to block a planned medical procedure on the prisoner's heart, saying that performing it at the U.S. base puts his life at risk.

Lawyers try to stop Gitmo med procedure - Yahoo! News

Another example of Bush's "compassionate conservatism."

Lawyers try to stop Gitmo med procedure - Yahoo! News:

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - An attorney for a Guantanamo Bay detainee has asked a judge to block a planned medical procedure on the prisoner's heart, saying that performing it at the U.S. base puts his life at risk.

If The Dems Don't Blow It.....

A good analysis by Gene Lyons:

NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source:

A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles.

Bush's Rough Justice (should apply to him as well)

One of America's biggest problems is a relative lack of historical reference.

Perhaps it is because of our youth as a nation or maybe it has to do with the shortness of our collective attenton span.

Certainly, news media plays a part in this shortcoming by not providing historical context for world events, especially those in which we are involved.

At any rate, it makes for a terribly uninformed electorate, a clear and present danger to any Democracy.

Bush's Rough Justice:

How convenient for Saddam Hussein to be convicted two days before the midterm election by a US-elected and -directed court, providing President Bush with his much needed November surprise. How irresponsible for the mass media to neglect to point out that the 'crimes against humanity' for which Hussein was convicted occurred fifteen months before Donald Rumsfeld, then the special envoy to Iraq, met with Hussein in Baghdad to develop an alliance between the Administration of Ronald Reagan and that of the murderous Iraqi dictator.

The record of that trip, an enormous stain on our nation's human rights record, is detailed in State Department memoranda readily available on the Internet. Rumsfeld journeyed to Baghdad as President Reagan's special envoy after the bloody crackdown in the town of Dujail. Ironically, Hussein's terror campaign was a response to an assassination attempt on his life by Shiite militants belonging to the party now in power in Baghdad, thanks to President Bush's invasion.

It's Over for Bush

This is a splendid article on the election and what it means.

However, we would say that of all the groups that makeup America's body politic, it was independent moderates who came out in droves and tipped the election for the Democrats, by voting for sanity and against crime and corruption among official Washington, not to mention State Houses across the nation.

We would also like to put further emphasis on a point made in the linked article: Bush and Cheney are toast, whether that fact has sunk in or not. This could well make them more dangerous than ever.

American vigilance must, if anything, be heightened during the next two years. Sighs of relief the world over are to be expected, but we must not allow ourselves to return to the usual American trance.

It's Over for Bush:

The year 2006 will long be remembered as the Great Retribution--or perhaps the Deliverance Election. George W. Bush's presidency is toast. Bush's potential to further harm the Republic has been greatly reduced. Most Americans stopped believing anything he said a good while back. This was their opportunity to tell him to his face. And they did, with such force and breadth that maybe even he and his cronies heard them.

Much credit goes to the voters and the Democratic Party. Not many off-year elections move history in a fundamental way, but this one did. Americans have elected an opposition that can now check the Administration's destructive policies and investigate its actions at home and abroad, while at the same time putting forth policies that begin to reverse the damage of the past six years. African-American and Latino voters were crucial to the Democratic victory, with a significantly higher percentage of Latinos than in the last midterms voting against the Bush agenda.

"'Christofascists' and the Extremist Right-Wing Republicans

I have a friend in New Zealand who says that there is one good thing that has come out of the Bush administration's wreckless, criminal behavior: Now, it is obvious to everyone what many in the world have known for years, that American foreign policy is driven by greedy corporatists and other sociopathic interests.

I see something else, as well: Because they were given almost unfettered access to the Bush administration and GOP members of Congress, the crusading-crackpots have become more visable to people who never paid them much attention until the past 5 years or so.

Oh yes, we have had the "moral majority," which was neither, and the Christian Coalition, which turned out, as in the case of Ralph Reed, to be more concerned with power at any cost, than with the authentic teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. But never before have so many ordinary, non-fanatical or secular Americans been exposed to the real Christian Right, which is neither, in such an unrelenting way.

Whole organizations and Netroot communities have sprung up over the last few years to counterbalance the toxic effect of these people on the body politic. I doubt seriously that they will be allowed to go to ground again and plot their next attempted take-over of our country as they have every other time they have been smacked down by American voters.

They have, again, been exposed for who they really are, and that process will and should continue.

The Progressive Daily Beacon: "'Christofascists' and the Extremist Right-Wing Republicans":

America's Christofascists and their soulmates in the far right-wing of the Republican Party have decided to morph into their own version of al-Qaeda. That is to say, they've begun practicing terrorism. Now, before going any further it is important to better define what constitutes a 'Christofascist.' When using the term 'Christofascist' or 'Christofascism' we do not mean the average Wednesday night bible study and Sunday morning services attending Christian. Christofascists are those who follow fear-mongering, gay-hating hypocrites like James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and the crank-snorting, anti-gay, gay Reverend Ted Haggard.

Christofascists persecute and crucify anybody that doesn't live their lives the way they believe people should and, too, they condemn all who refuse to acknowledge their way as the one true path. Yet, when their leaders, members, and political supporters -- the gay Reverend Haggard and child-stalking Republican Foley for example -- are found to be charlatans and liars; Christofascists convey upon them complete forgiveness because they are after all, imperfect.

(When someone says born again, it seems to mean that they think they have been saved from their sins by the cruel and horrible death of a man who lived two thousand years ago, which is patently ridiculous, but what is worse, is it also seems to mean that they can continue to behave like hateful jackasses and there will be no consequences. They should really think again!

Sectarian Strife in Iraq Imperils Entire Region, Analysts Warn

Junior's legacy: we will be paying for it in ways most still cannot fathom, and for generations to come.

Thanks to the world's most infamous frat-boy, the party is over for America. The good news is, so is any idea of American Empire

Sectarian Strife in Iraq Imperils Entire Region, Analysts Warn - washingtonpost.com:

BAGHDAD -- While American commanders have suggested that civil war is possible in Iraq, many leaders, experts and ordinary people in Baghdad and around the Middle East say it is already underway, and that the real worry ahead is that the conflict will destroy the flimsy Iraqi state and draw in surrounding countries.

Whether the U.S. military departs Iraq sooner or later, the United States will be hard-pressed to leave behind a country that does not threaten U.S. interests and regional peace, according to U.S. and Arab analysts and political observers.

Bush-Rove Post-Election Self-Delusion

After 6 years with the Bushites and other authoritarian bastards in power, it is difficult to tell whether they are truly delusional or just know something we don't.

That's the question that keeps me awake at night.

The Progressive Daily Beacon: "Bush-Rove Post-Election Self-Delusion":

Now that the Bush-described electoral thumpin' is over, Republicans and the easily misled media pundits have begun analyzing and reporting on the reasons behind the slaughter. Fortunately for Democrats - Karl Rove, George W. Bush, and their apologists are the people doing the analysis. And the reality is this: they are constitutionally incapable of honestly assessing either themselves, or their policies, or the many failed outcomes for which they are responsible. Now that the Bush-described electoral thumpin' is over, Republicans and the easily misled media pundits have begun analyzing and reporting on the reasons behind the slaughter. Fortunately for Democrats - Karl Rove, George W. Bush, and their apologists are the people doing the analysis. And the reality is this: they are constitutionally incapable of honestly assessing either themselves, or their policies, or the many failed outcomes for which they are responsible.

CIA Acknowledges 2 Interrogation Memos

Why do these people always deny what is so obviously true?

CIA Acknowledges 2 Interrogation Memos - washingtonpost.com:

After years of denials, the CIA has formally acknowledged the existence of two classified documents governing aggressive interrogation and detention policies for terrorism suspects, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

But CIA lawyers say the documents -- memos from President Bush and the Justice Department -- are still so sensitive that no portion can be released to the public.

Top Marine: No Plan For Post-Saddam Iraq

Oh yes, there was a plan, General.

Halliburton and other GOP campaign contributors got no-bid contracts for doing, essentially, nothing. That certainly seems like a plan to me; a plan for ripping off the American taxpayer, for generations to come, while keeping Iraq in chaos, where many, many sins can be covered up in all the confusion.

Top Marine: No Plan For Post-Saddam Iraq, CBS News Exclusive: General And Superiors Didn't Have Plan For Control Of Iraqi Cities - CBS News:

There is no one on the Joint Chiefs of Staff who has visited Iraq more often than Gen. Mike Hagee, whose term as Commandant of the United States Marine Corps ends Monday.

Hagee took over the Marine Corps just two months before the invasion of Iraq — and throughout his years as Commandant, he made a point of going there every two months to do a firsthand assessment of the battlefield.

Frist’s Post-Election Revelation: We Are ‘Not Winning’ In Iraq

As Americans, we should never give credence, again, to any politician who lies like a rug about factual issues before an election and then, immediately, says just the opposite after the election.

We, the people, have been much too tolerant of official lying and we must change that.

Think Progress » Frist’s Post-Election Revelation: We Are ‘Not Winning’ In Iraq:

What a difference an election makes. In July, Frist said the conservative national security message for 2006 was, “We’re for staying the course in Iraq and the war on terror.” And as recently as last month, Frist said the U.S. was making “tremendous progress” in Iraq.

I’m confident that we are making tremendous progress in hunting down and killing the murderers of Islamic fascism, in stabilizing the democratic governments of Afghanistan and Iraq and in winning the generational struggle that is the War on Terror.What a difference an election makes. In July, Frist said the conservative national security message for 2006 was, “We’re for staying the course in Iraq and the war on terror.” And as recently as last month, Frist said the U.S. was making “tremendous progress” in Iraq.

Junior's global nightmare continues..

When will all of our elected officials get it? There is no good left to do in Iraq for our military. It's all over but the funerals, and hopefully, complete accountability for the lying, fear-mongering scum buckets who got us into this mess and turned Iraq into the 5th hell-realm.

The sooner official America wakes up to that fact, the better for us all.

globeandmail.com: Scientists abducted in daylight raid on Baghdad institute:

BAGHDAD — Gunmen wearing Interior Ministry commando uniforms kidnapped about 25 scientists and other staff members from a Baghdad research institute directly under the Ministry of Higher Education, police said.

Gunmen arrived at the institute in downtown Karradah in a fleet of 20 vehicles at about 9:30 a.m., said police spokesman Major Mahir Hamad.

Maj. Hamad and another spokesman, Lieutenant Thayer Mahmoud, said the gunmen forced their captives into the vehicles at gunpoint and drove off to an unknown destination.

Shiite militias and other illegal groups frequently use stolen or forged uniforms and IDs while committing murders and kidnappings.

For Evangelicals, Supporting Israel Is ‘God’s Foreign Policy’

There have been many times, in my lifetime, when upholding the First Amendment right to free speech was quite unpleasant for many Americans, but we know it is necessary. The government should not interfere. The American people, however, are in no way obliged to listen or reserve criticism

Allowing the KKK to march and state their hateful beliefs is gut-wrenching for most of us. Our founders were wise. Sometimes the best thing a nation can do is allow the hate-mongers to have their say. In so doing, they show their ugly colors.

It has become difficult, as well, to uphold the other part of the first amendment, freedom of religion, as we get a clearer, as a nation, on the cultish, religiously insane belief systems of some on the Christian Right.

For Evangelicals, Supporting Israel Is ‘God’s Foreign Policy’ - New York Times:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 — As Israeli bombs fell on Lebanon for a second week last July, the Rev. John Hagee of San Antonio arrived in Washington with 3,500 evangelicals for the first annual conference of his newly founded organization, Christians United For Israel.

At a dinner addressed by the Israeli ambassador, a handful of Republican senators and the chairman of the Republican Party, Mr. Hagee read greetings from President Bush and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel and dispatched the crowd with a message for their representatives in Congress. Tell them “to let Israel do their job” of destroying the Lebanese militia, Hezbollah, Mr. Hagee said.

He called the conflict “a battle between good and evil” and said support for Israel was “God’s foreign policy."

Dem wins House seat in Conn., after a week-long recount.

...and the majoriy continues to grow.

Recount gives Courtney win in 2nd District - Boston.com:

HARTFORD, Conn. --A roller-coaster recount that uncovered vote-counting flaws in several Connecticut towns gave Democrat Joe Courtney a narrow victory over three-term Republican Rep. Rob Simmons on Tuesday.

Limbaughs callousness won't soon be forgotten or forgiven

That Limbaugh is a cruel and callous jackass comes as no real surprise.

That Americans continue to tune into this know-nothing gasbag is, indeed, frightening to the rest of us, because it says something quite damning about our culture.

That not one Republican offerd to condemn Limbaugh's over-the-top mocking of Michael J. Fox is not all that surprising, but it says volumns about the current incarnation of the GOP and their deaf, dumb and blind followers.

Dallas Morning News News for Dallas, Texas Opinion: Editorials:

One would think that Rush Limbaugh, who has struggled with his own personal demons, would have some understanding of this. But no, he was busy declaring that Mr. Fox's campaign commercials for Democratic candidates in Missouri and Maryland who favor stem cell research are a 'shameless' political exploitation of his illness.

Mr. Limbaugh has every right to take issue with Mr. Fox's political choice and to question whether Republican candidates are fairly depicted. But impugning Mr. Fox's motives and the integrity of his symptoms is extraordinarily callous, even in the brass-knuckles world of politics. And, sorry, but Mr. Limbaugh's apology didn't wipe the slate anywhere near clean for us.

Losses on ballot measures jolt religious - Yahoo! News

The so-called Christian Right have nobody to blame but themselves, for being so flagrantly obnoxious.

Losses on ballot measures jolt religious - Yahoo! News:

From the country's heartland, voters sent messages that altered America's culture wars and dismayed the religious right — defending abortion rights in South Dakota, endorsing stem cell research in Missouri, and, in a national first, rejecting a same-sex marriage ban in Arizona. From the country's heartland, voters sent messages that altered America's culture wars and dismayed the religious right — defending abortion rights in South Dakota, endorsing stem cell research in Missouri, and, in a national first, rejecting a same-sex marriage ban in Arizona.

War Crimes Probe: German prosecuters will investigate

It's official, and German prosecutors will examine the case.

War Crimes Probe Sought for Rumsfeld Chicago Tribune:

BERLIN -- Lawyers for inmates of Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo Bay asked German prosecutors Tuesday to open a war crimes investigation of outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other U.S. officials for their alleged roles in abuse at the detention centers.

Although the lawyers who filed the lawsuit acknowledged while there was little chance of seeing Rumsfeld in a German jail, the point was simply to increase the pressure on top brass they say are culpable. German federal prosecutors said they would examine the case.

Even access to power corrupts these days

Good advice, but we doubt it will be taken.

FINDING MY RELIGION / Former second-in-command of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives talks about why evangelicals should stay out of politics:

Former second-in-command of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives talks about why evangelicals should stay out of politics

9/11 Giuliani takes step toward '08 bid

This should be a real boon to the 9/11 truth movement!

It gives us all an opportunity to ask, which mistress will he be moving into the White House?

AP: Giuliani takes step toward '08 bid - Yahoo! News:

WASHINGTON - Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, a moderate Republican best known for his stewardship of the city after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has taken the first step in a 2008 presidential bid.

Lieberman Blackmails Dems

So, Lie-berman will switch if he feels uncomfortable among Democrats, eh?

My hunch is he is gong to feel more than discomfort if he doesn't stop behaving like a 5 yeard old.

Lieberman won't rule out GOP caucusing - The Boston Globe:

WASHINGTON -- Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut said yesterday that he will caucus with Senate Democrats in the new Congress, but he would not rule out switching to the Republican caucus if he starts to feel uncomfortable among Democrats.

Karl Rove: The Architect's Faulty Specs - Newsweek National News - MSNBC.com

More reporting on the delusional Mr. Rove.

Karl Rove: The Architect's Faulty Specs - Newsweek National News - MSNBC.com:

Nov. 20, 2006 issue - President Bush knew he was in for a rough night. As he settled down in front of the TV in the White House residence to watch the election results, the numbers were already grim. By 8 p.m., long before the polls closed out west, Bush realized it was over. 'It looks like this is going to be a rout,' he lamented to a handful of aides.

Bartlett: Medicare Doesn’t Need To Negotiate Lower Prices Because Drugs Are Already Cheap Enough

Dan Bartlett is as out of touch as the rest of the Bushites. Holy Joe will probably jump ship over this one, since he gets big bucks from Big Pharma

Asshats all!

Josh has the full skinny:

Think Progress » Bartlett: Medicare Doesn’t Need To Negotiate Lower Prices Because Drugs Are Already Cheap Enough:

Here are the facts about the Medicare prescription drug plan:

– Taxpayers “could save as much as $190 billion over the next 10 years” if Medicare negotiated prices with drug makers.

– Medicare pays substantially more for drugs that the Veterans Administration, which negotiates prices with drug makers.

– Since the program does not require any discount over list prices, “drug makers are being paid as much as 20 percent more for the same drugs that they had already been providing to recipients under the Medicaid program [for the indigent].”

Leahy to Fight to Rrestore Habeus Corpus

Thank you, Senator Leahy. Please get it done before Junior can dcalre martial law.

United Press International - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper:

A battle is shaping up between Democrats and the White House over the Military Commissions Act, signed into law last month by President George W. Bush.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is expected to take over as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and The (Calif.) Daily Journal reports that Leahy is drafting a bill to undo portions of the new law in an effort to restore habeas corpus rights for enemy combatants.

Waxworks visitor casts vote early

I can only hope that this damage to Bush wax works clone is not the fulfilling of the prophecy about the beast seeming to recover from a severe head-wound. Just kidding... I think.

In my habit of lookig on the bright side, tis good the assault was merely on a wax figure, no matter how expensive.

reviewjournal.com -- News - NORM: Waxworks visitor casts vote early:

President Bush's wax likeness is taking a thumpin' these days at Madame Tussaud's celebrity waxworks in Las Vegas.

Bush's head suffered about $25,000 in damages when a Madame Tussaud's visitor attacked it the day before last week's elections.

Rove Remains Steadfast in the Face of Criticism

Seems "Turd Blossom" is as delusional as everyone else in the executive. (Read article)

Rove Remains Steadfast in the Face of Criticism:

For a man still climbing out of the rubble, Karl Rove seemed in his usual unflappable mood. He roamed around his windowless West Wing office decorated with four Abraham Lincoln portraits, joking with his staff, stuffing copies of 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey' into his bag and signing the last...

His office is decoratated with Lincoln portraits?

That is about the sickest thing I have heard yet. His party has done nothing but race bait to win since Nixon's southern strategy. Rove's Republican party is the party of wedge issues and hate-mongering as a continuation of what the GOP as done since the 60s. It may have begun with stirring the bigotry of the south, but it has come to full bloom, since 2001, stirring hate against any and all minorities, as well as political opposition.

I really hope we have all learned a lesson from this sorry chapter in our history. Rove, apparently, has not.

Culture shock awaits Southern GOP members

Couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch of asshats.

So, some are considering more rabid partisanship (their word for abuse of the process in opposition), eh?

Well, we say bring it on, asshats. Go ahead, make a regional party of yourselves. Hell, make yourselves kings and princes of the old confederacy, throw a big pout and pull out, again.

I would be willing to bet that by the time everything comes out about the crimes you all helped cover up, the Union will say good riddance.

TimesDispatch.com Culture shock awaits Southern GOP members:

WASHINGTON - After 12 years in power, Southern Republicans in the House are making an uncomfortable adjustment to life in the minority.

Several long-serving Southerners will lose control of important committees and subcommittees. Even worse, all Republicans face the prospect of bringing home fewer federal dollars than in years past.

As they plot a course for the next two years, Republicans disagree about how best to approach their new role.

New Democrats...so who does Temmeh have on?

John McLame and Holy Joe! Two tired old polls if there ever were any.

Wish I had seen this article yesterday. I would have bothered with "Meet The Press" this morning.

Instead, I found myself watching old holy Joe making a big ass of himself again, not ruling out threatening the Dems with switching caucuses if he has to, although he won't start out with threats, or so he says, even while threatening to threaten.

See how that works? In Holy Joe's case, he will, no doubt, stand up on the senate floor and call Democrats amoral or immoral, or whatever, like he did Clinton.

So, Jomentum, when are you going to move the hell to Israel and threaten the Likudniks or someone? Maybe they will give you Sharon's old job, since the guy that has it no is no smarter than you and even a bigger jackass.

Eat The Press Meet The Non-Democrats The Huffington Post:

Tomorrow will be the first 'Meet The Press' since the Democrats swept both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections, and ThinkProgress and HuffPo's own Stephen Kaus point out something interesting: Special guests Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman were not part of the aforementioned Democratic sweeping of the House and Senate.

GOP night of the long knives

The Democrats had better impeach Bush quick, before the Republicans beat them to it. LOL

Will we ever be rid of Newt Gingrich? Does this man think he can be president with his fidelity challenged life-style.

Guess what Newtie...some of us do have attention spans longer than those of sand gnats, especially when it comes to rank Rethug hypocrisy.

Bush faces GOP ire over Rumsfeld timing - USATODAY.com:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is trying to soothe Republicans who say the party might have fared better on Election Day if President Bush had not waited until after the vote to oust Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

'You could argue that either way, of what political effect an earlier decision on Secretary Rumsfeld would have had. But it doesn't matter,' White House chief of staff Josh Bolten said Sunday.

'The president correctly decided that this decision does not belong in the political realm. And a decision as important as your secretary of defense should not be made based on some partisan political advantage. It would send a terrible signal to our troops, to our allies, even to our enemies,' Bolten said.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has suggested that if Bush replaced Rumsfeld two weeks before the election, voters would not have been as angry about the unpopular Iraq war. Republicans would have gained the boost they needed, according to Gingrich, to retain their majority in the Senate and hold onto 10 to 15 more House seats.

Victory proves to be poetic justice for Webb

Oh good lord, Mr. Webb is a freshman, junior senator fom VA.; not the second coming.

Please let us not get carried away with calling anyone savior or standard bearer or whatever, least of all, Mr. Webb, who may or may not be over his fear of women in uniform.

When someone comes in with that kind of baggage, it behooves us to wait and see.

Victory proves to be poetic justice for Webb - Financial Times - MSNBC.com:

There cannot be many Americans who are unaware that Jim Webb's novels include steamy sex scenes. During what was one of the most bitter Senate races in recent history, the campaign team of George Allen, the Republican senator running for re-election, attempted to tarnish Mr Webb's reputation by flooding the internet with salacious passages from his books.

The plan backfired. And now Mr Webb finds himself the unlikely standard-bearer of the Democratic party's narrow takeover of the Senate – only confirmed on Thursday when Mr Allen announced he would forgo his right to a recount in what was a wafer-thin margin of defeat.

Junior's Accountability Moment....

....is only just beginning.

Consortiumnews.com:

After securing a second term in November 2004, George W. Bush was asked by the Washington Post why no one in his administration had been held accountable for the problems facing U.S. troops in Iraq. Bush replied dismissively, 'We had an accountability moment, and that’s called the 2004 elections.'

Frustration Grows at Carousel as More Baggage Goes Astray - New York Times

You know what? Screw airline travel until it stops being used as a weapon of mass distraction every time a Bushtie scandal breaks or an election is coming up.

I's rather stay home and not have to buy new luggage, or drive.

Frustration Grows at Carousel as More Baggage Goes Astray - New York Times:

ATLANTA, Nov. 6 — Since Aug. 10, when a ban on most carry-on liquids sent the amount of checked luggage soaring, airlines have been misplacing many more bags, and the fumbling could well escalate during the busy holiday travel season.

The Transportation Department reported that 107,731 more fliers had their bags go missing in August than they did a year earlier, a 33 percent increase. It got worse in September, with 183,234 more passengers suffering mishandled bags than a year earlier, up 92 percent.

Pelosi backs Murtha for majority leader

Pelosi, as the incoming speaker, fires her first shot across the bow of the BuCheney swiftboat of fools.

Pelosi backs Murtha for majority leader - Yahoo! News:

WASHINGTON - Rep. Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), in line to become speaker of the House, stepped into a postelection power struggle among fellow Democrats on Sunday with a letter of support for Rep. Jack Murtha in the race to pick a majority leader.

Tony Blair's Nightmare has come

With any luck at all, Bush and Cheney will share it.

Give Rummy and Gonzales to the Germans.

Independent Online Edition > UK Politics:

Tony Blair, who narrowly defeated a recent parliamentary attempt to call an inquiry into the Iraq war, is facing a new threat from Washington, where victorious Democrats are expected to call British witnesses as they launch congressional investigations into the war.

'Now we are the majority party and we can hold hearings,' said a senior member of the staff of John Conyers, who in January will become chair of the House Judiciary Committee. 'We can hold any number of hearings.'

New Democratic Majority Throws Bush’s Judicial Nominations Into Uncertainty

Please, please, no more unitary executive bullshit!

New Democratic Majority Throws Bush’s Judicial Nominations Into Uncertainty - New York Times:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 — The impending Democratic takeover of the Senate, lawmakers and administration officials agree, will produce a vast change in an area that has produced some of the sharpest partisan battles in recent years: President Bush’s effort to shape the federal bench with conservative judicial nominees.

Feingold rules out run for president

Good decision, methinks.

We need you in the Senate, Russ, free to say what you feel needs to be said.

We always need to hear it.

Feingold rules out run for president - Yahoo! News:

"MILWAUKEE - U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (news, bio, voting record) has decided against seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, saying he wanted to focus on his work in the Senate.

Warrantless wiretaps unlikely to be OK'd - Yahoo! News

OK, who will spill the beans first?

Bush has been spying on his opposition, hasn't he?

Warrantless wiretaps unlikely to be OK'd - Yahoo! News:

WASHINGTON - Legislation aimed at President Bush's once-secret program for wiretapping U.S.-foreign phone calls and computer traffic of suspected terrorists without warrants shows all the signs of not moving ahead, notwithstanding President Bush's request this week that a lame-duck Congress give it to him.

Bush's presidential quagmire

Glad to see that someone else sees the mania and will actually write about it.

If there is one word that is descriptive of Bush it is inappropriate.

Bush's presidential quagmire Salon.com:

Nov. 9, 2006 WASHINGTON -- To update Tolstoy, George W. Bush's press conference in the wake of Tuesday's elections illustrated that every unhappy president is unhappy in his own way. Other presidents (Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower and even Franklin Roosevelt) have in Bush's enduring description taken a 'thumping' in the congressional elections midway through their second term. But no other modern president appeared before the cameras the next day in a mood that veered from contrition to manic giddiness -- and fired his defense secretary to boot.

Howard Dean, vindicated

D.C. Dems and DLCers will be making a huge mistake if they do not, now, recognize what many of us already know; Howard Dean represents the future of the Democratic Party more than any other single Democratic party official, including the Clintons.

Slick just doesn't get it any more. Neither does Bubba good-old boy.

What does Howard have that many of the Dems don't? Authenticity, that's what.

Howard is Howard. We don't have to spend a lot of time wondering who the guy really is and, no, Howard doesn't do spin all that well. Thanks be to God!

If there is one single thing America needs now it is authenticity. Unfortunately, for professional spinners, authenticity cannot be faked, by its very definition, but it is the only thing that will save this country from itself.

Howard Dean, vindicated Salon.com:

Nov. 10, 2006 Only weeks after the Democratic National Committee chose Howard Dean as its chairman last year, the nasty whispers began to circulate around Washington and among longtime party donors and activists in cities from New York to Los Angeles. 'He's going to be a disaster,' they muttered. 'He can't raise any money. He doesn't know what he's doing. And what does he mean by this crazy 50-state strategy?'

Those early days must have been painful for the former Vermont governor -- still smarting back then from his presidential primary defeat and that endlessly looped 'scream' video -- and he endured a barrage of snarks and snipes from the Democratic congressional leadership as well. Unfortunately for Dean, he doesn't play the Washington press corps nearly as well as do rivals like Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., who ran the House Democrats' campaign committee, or Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who performed the same role in the Senate.

But this week, he is enjoying vindication far earlier than he ever expected.

W.House brands Iran, Hezbollah as terror "nexus" | Politics News | Reuters.com

Just in case anyone was delirious enough to believe that anything has changed wth the White House....read on.

W.House brands Iran, Hezbollah as terror "nexus" Politics News Reuters.com:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House branded Iran and Hezbollah on Saturday as a 'global nexus of terrorism' and applauded an Argentine court for seeking the arrest of former Iranian officials in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center.

In the Bush administration's latest rhetorical assault on Iran, White House spokesman Tony Snow issued a statement saying the Islamic republic was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians as the world's 'leading state sponsor of terrorism.' It gave no specifics.

The statement also said Tehran's financial and military support for Hezbollah had allowed the Lebanese Shi'ite militant organization to 'perpetuate violence throughout the world.'

'Hezbollah and Iran remain a dangerous, global nexus of terrorism,' Snow said in the statement.

2006: The Year of the ‘Macaca’

The exit polls do prove to be revelatory.

I hope that Mr. Rich is right...that we are no longer a nation of smoldering racism and intolerance.

Is it possible that Americans have roundly rejected the politics of hate and fear, the politics of division and distraction?

I will reserve judgement, as long as Limbaugh's ratings aren't in the basement and Faux News is still on every public TV in the red-states.

However, Faux News' ratings plummet, over the last, year gives me hope.

2006: The Year of the ‘Macaca’ - New York Times:

OF course, the “thumpin’ ” was all about Iraq. But let us not forget Katrina. It was the collision of the twin White House calamities in August 2005 that foretold the collapse of the presidency of George W. Bush.

Back then, the full measure of the man finally snapped into focus for most Americans, sending his poll numbers into the 30s for the first time. The country saw that the president who had spurned a grieving wartime mother camping out in the sweltering heat of Crawford was the same guy who had been unable to recognize the depth of the suffering in New Orleans’s fetid Superdome. This brand of leadership was not the “compassionate conservatism” that had been sold in all those photo ops with African-American schoolchildren. This was callous conservatism, if not just plain mean.