betsy's blog

Countdown: Bushed! August 6, 2008 (7 Year Anniversary of The PDB . . .)

It was great of Keith O. last night to emphasize the anniversary of the infamous 08.06.01 PDB . . .

Watch particularly at 1:40. Though it's just about the, so far, publicly known facts (and not deeper truths, YET), at least lots of people across this country saw and heard this last night, so it's either entering their consciousness on some level if it hasn't already, or it's being refreshed . . .

Refusing to be silenced August 1, 2008

We will not be silenced . . .

http://socialistworker.org/2008/08/01/refusing-to-be-silenced

http://socialistworker.org/2008/08/01/refusing-to-be-silencedSpeech: Dave Zirin

Refusing to be silenced
August 1, 2008

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

On July 24, about 100 people gathered in Baltimore for a forum to stand up against a long-term spying operation conducted by the Maryland State Police against anti-death penalty and antiwar activists.

The surveillance and infiltration of the groups took place while Republican Robert Ehrlich was governor, according to 43 pages of state police reports recently released to the ACLU. The spying continued month after month despite the fact that the state's agents never recorded a single illegal act among the groups' protest activities. This week, the current governor, Martin O'Malley, appointed a panel to review the state police surveillance operation against the anti-death penalty and antiwar movements.

Dave Zirin, a sportswriter and activist, was one of the activists named in the spying reports. At the July 24 meeting, he talked about his reactions to the spy scandal and activists' plans for "going on offense."

Anthrax Mystery: Questions Raised over Whether Government Is Framing Dead

TODAY'S DEMOCRACY NOW!:

* Anthrax Mystery: Questions Raised over Whether Government Is Framing Dead
Army Scientist for 2001 Attacks *

The FBI's prime suspect in the October 2001 anthrax letters case died last
week in an apparent suicide. Bruce Ivins was an elite government scientist
at the biodefense research lab in Fort Detrick, Maryland. He was among the
nation's top experts on the military use of anthrax. But many of his
colleagues have expressed deep skepticism over the FBI's claims. We speak to
anthrax expert Dr. Meryl Nass and blogger Glenn Greenwald.

Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/8/4/anthrax

"Scumbag," Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry By Richard Volaar August 3, 2008

OpEdNews

Original Content at http://www.opednews.com/articles/-Scumbag---Means-Never-Hav-by-Richard-Volaar-080803-101.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 3, 2008

"Scumbag," Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry

By Richard Volaar

'Justifying' Torture: Two Big Lies By Coleen Rowley and Ray McGovern

'Justifying' Torture: Two Big Lies

By Coleen Rowley and Ray McGovern
July 19, 2008

One can assume that former Attorney General John Ashcroft didn’t mean it to be funny, but his testimony on Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee might strike one as hilarious, were it not for the issue at hand — torture.

Ashcroft is the Attorney General who approved torture before he disapproved it, but committee members spared him accusations of flip-flopping.

He explained that he initially blessed the infamous torture memoranda drafted by Justice Department lawyer John Yoo and others in mid-2002 because he (Ashcroft) believed it imperative to afford the President “the benefit of genuine doubt” regarding how to protect American lives in the “war on terror.”

But Ashcroft added that, despite this, when concerns about that earlier guidance for interrogations were brought to his attention, changing his mind “was not a hard decision for me.” A very flexible Attorney General.

Greens Nominate Cynthia McKinney By John Nichols

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20303.htm

Greens Nominate Cynthia McKinney

By John Nichols

17/07/08 "The Nation" -- - The Green Party has made a good deal of history this weekend.

The party has nominated a former member of Congress for the presidency, a coup for the party that itself has yet to elect a U.S. representative or senator.

The party has nominated a woman for president, no small matter in a year when Democrats have rejected an opportunity to crack the political glass ceiling.

The party has nominated an African-American for president, no small matter in a year when the Democrats have embraced Barack Obama.

And the former member of Congress, the woman and the person of color that the Green Party has nominated is a smart, articulate and outspoken public figure who – despite the fact that she has taken her hits from a media and a political class that never could get comfortable with the idea that a young black women was walking the corridors of power and making no apologies – is more than capable of standing her ground in a presidential race that so far has been longer on style than ideas.

‘The United States is not a republic anymore’, says Gore Vidal By Afshin Rattansi

Thanks to Jack Labar for sending me this. -- Betsy

www.tehrantimes.com

News date: Monday, June 30, 2008

‘The United States is not a republic anymore’, says Gore Vidal
By Afshin Rattansi

TEHRAN (Press TV) -- An interview with legendary American essayist, author, social and political critic.

Press TV: We hear that Michael Mukasey is going to become the latest of the President’s Attorney-Generals to be subpoenaed, this time over his conversations with Bush and Cheney -- does this show that Congress is serious about calling the executive to account?

A Government of People, After All By David Michael Green (The Regressive Antidote)

From an email today from the Regressive Antidote . . . Great last line: "It’s just the people who were missing." --Betsy

"Greetings, Good People -

I hope this message finds you well, happy and productive!

Hey, the Iraq war was a total debacle, right? Right! So, we need to reform our political system to insure that that never happens again, right? Right! So, who do you think might be a good choice to lead a bipartisan commission looking into this question and recommending new war powers legislation? How about James Baker, the guy who trashed the Constitution in order to install Bush Junior on the throne in the first place? Or, how about Warren Christopher, the guy who stood by and watched it all happen? Hey, I know, how about both of them together? Great idea! Read all about their cool plans for making a bad situation worse in:

A Government of People, After All

(http://www.regressiveantidote.net/)

Check it out. And while you're there, be sure to also have a look at these regular features: The Regressive Watch and Quote For The Week.

Till next time, be well!

Cheers -
dmg"

Israel Planning a September/October Surprise? By Ray McGovern

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20300.htm

Israel Planning a September/October Surprise?

By Ray McGovern

17/07/08 "ICH" -- -You say you expected more rhetoric than reality from Senators Obama and McCain yesterday in their speeches on Iraq and Afghanistan? Well, that’s certainly what you got.

What I find nonetheless amazing is how they, and the pundits, have taken such little notice of the dramatic change in the political landscape occasioned by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s bombshell on July 7 — his insistence on a “timetable” for withdrawal of US troops before any accord is reached on their staying past the turn of the year.

Responding to a question at his press conference yesterday, President George W. Bush showed that he was vaguely aware that the timetable is, as Robert Dreyfuss says (in Truthout, July 7), a “big deal.” Bush even alluded haltingly to the possibility of extending the UN mandate still further.

Making Americans Unsafe By Paul Craig Roberts

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20302.htm

Making Americans Unsafe

By Paul Craig Roberts

17/07/08 "ICH" -- - The Bush Regime’s “terrorist” protection schemes have reached the height of total incompetence and utter absurdity. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, a private organization that defends the US Constitution that inattentive Americans neglect, there are now one million names on the “terrorist” watch list.

One of them is that of former Assistant US Attorney General Jim Robinson, whose top security clearances are current. Every time Mr.Robinson flies away on business, he is delayed by a totally incompetent “terrorist” protection racket that cannot tell a person named Jim Robinson, who served in the highest echelons of the US government, from a Muslim terrorist.

What confidence can we have in a regime that is incapable of differentiating an Assistant US Attorney General from a terrorist?

This from the desk of Florida Congressman Robert Wexler (Re: impeachment)

From an email to me this afternoon from www.votetoimpeach.org:

Breaking News. This from the desk of Florida Congressman Robert Wexler, one of the co-sponsors of the 35 articles of impeachment introduced by Rep. Dennis Kucinich:

“Capitol Hill is buzzing today with major developments regarding our campaign for impeachment hearings for President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Just today, in what could be described as a perfect impeachment storm:

"After stating unequivocally that impeachment "is off the table," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated to CBS News today that the House Judiciary Committee should address the issues that Rep. Kucinich's has raised in his impeachment resolution.... This issue now reaches far beyond the substance of the Judiciary Committee's original inquiry regarding the firing of US Attorneys for political purposes. The crisis at hand relates to our most fundamental laws and of our Constitution. It is, in many ways, more serious than the Constitutional crisis surrounding Watergate."

President Bush Backs Israeli Plan for Strike on Iran By Uzi Mahnaimi in Washington July 13, 2008

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20274.htm

President Bush Backs Israeli Plan for Strike on Iran

As Tehran tests new missiles, America believes only a show of force can deter President Ahmadinejad

By Uzi Mahnaimi in Washington

13/07/08 "The Times" -- -President George W Bush has told the Israeli government that he may be prepared to approve a future military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations with Tehran break down, according to a senior Pentagon official.

Despite the opposition of his own generals and widespread scepticism that America is ready to risk the military, political and economic consequences of an airborne strike on Iran, the president has given an “amber light” to an Israeli plan to attack Iran’s main nuclear sites with long-range bombing sorties, the official told The Sunday Times.

“Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate attack and tell us when you’re ready,” the official said. But the Israelis have also been told that they can expect no help from American forces and will not be able to use US military bases in Iraq for logistical support.

The Real-Life ‘24’ of Summer 2008 By FRANK RICH July 13, 2008

Frank Rich is getting closer to the truth . . . I look forward to the day when he discovers and writes about the "war on terror" being a lie, a fraud, a hoax . . . and then REALLY connects the dots . . . And, Frank, the (9/11) crime is WORSE than the cover-up. --Betsy

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/opinion/13rich.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=print

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

July 13, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
The Real-Life ‘24’ of Summer 2008
By FRANK RICH

WE know what a criminal White House looks like from “The Final Days,” Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s classic account of Richard Nixon’s unraveling. The cauldron of lies, paranoia and illegal surveillance boiled over, until it was finally every man for himself as desperate courtiers scrambled to save their reputations and, in a few patriotic instances, their country.

Kucinich Pushes on Impeachment By Jason Leopold July 12, 2008

http://www.consortiumnews.com/Print/2008/071208a.html

Kucinich Pushes on Impeachment

By Jason Leopold
July 12, 2008

Congress has plenty of evidence that George W. Bush deserves impeachment for misleading the nation into war in Iraq, authorizing torture and other grave crimes, and violating the Constitution – and it is now time to act, says Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

“How many more hearings do we need to have to prove this administration has violated the Constitution, taken the law into its own hands, and condoned torture?” asked Kucinich, D-Ohio, author of some three dozen articles of impeachment.

“These articles of impeachment are about accountability,” Kucinich said in an interview. “I think our country is at risk. We’re setting a terrible precedent for future administrations if we choose to turn a blind eye to the crimes committed by this administration.

“We need to send a message to the next President that if he conducts himself in a similar capacity it would be met with a response from the Congress that you are going to be held to account. … There is a point at which you reduce Congress to a debating society.”

Israel hints at pre-emptive attack on Iran By Rupert Cornwell in Washington Friday, 11 July 2008

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-hints-at-preemptive-attack-on-iran-865068.html

Independent.co.uk

Israel hints at pre-emptive attack on Iran
By Rupert Cornwell in Washington
Friday, 11 July 2008

The sabre-rattling over Iran's nuclear progamme has grown louder as a defiant Tehran claimed to have conducted missile tests for a second day running, the US warned that it would defend its interests and its allies in the region, and Israel hinted it was ready to stage a preventive attack to destroy Iranian nuclear installations.

With the latest tests – and the wide front-page coverage given to them by the national media – Tehran is signalling it will not be cowed by international pressure to end a programme which the West suspects is aimed at producing nuclear weapons, and that any attack by the US or Israel will be answered in kind.

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