My Weblog

Bush Admin to Prosecute Reporters Under Espionage Laws

In Leak Cases, New Pressure on Journalists:

Attorney General Gonzales: "Obviously, our prosecutors are going to look to see all the laws that have been violated. And if the evidence is there, they're going to prosecute those violations."

Of course he's not using that same standard to seek out who in the Bush Administration leaked Valerie Plame's name or who leaked the NIE report on reasons to attack Iraq or illegal and warrantless spying on Americans or renditions of individuals to secret prisons overseas for torture...

No, he's saying that about reporters who share the story of illegal activities by this administration.

Arrogance...you goeth before the fall, dawg. This posse is just begging to fall.

Bush: What CAN'T he do?

If Bush can spy illegally, arrest citizens and throw away the key, sanction torture, lie, make his own laws and not be held accountable, then what can't he do? - Jim Hightower's Recent Column.

Ultimately, Congress is going to have to find the backbone it stored somewhere since 9/11 and assert its role in our government functioning of checks and balances between the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial. Otherwise there is nothing he can't do.

Bush Approves Dubai Firm Operating US Military Plants

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush has approved the takeover by a Dubai-owned company of American plants that make parts for jets and tanks after a review that seems to have satisfied lawmakers who helped block an earlier Dubai deal. Full story

"The committee specifically considered the fact that a U.S. subsidiary of Ross Catherall is a single source supplier of turbine engine blades for the Department of Defense," [Press Sec'y]McClellan said in a statement. He said the Dubai company had made a commitment that there would be no interruptions in supplies to the Pentagon.

Well don't we all feel better. And let's not dismiss P. Bush's determination to do a deal when he makes up his mind.

Odd, though that there's so much info about the role of Dubai's leaders in maintaining a close relationship with Osama, being the base for much of the planning for 9/11.

But it's ok. They promised us they wouldn't mess with the engines so critical to our soldiers' lives.

Co-belligerency

Co-belligerency is a recent movement of Christian Evangelicals and Catholics to unite in some sort of god-fearing attack on the unbelievers.

Personally, I'd think the Catholic Church would have enough, what, on their hands with the pedophilia, sexual predator problem with their priests. One would think you'd start with your own leaders' sins, and what greater sin is there than stealing the souls of innocent children with sexual abuse by a trusted religious leader, before you went out pointing fingers at those you designate as unbelievers but who don't prey on children...

That's just me.

As far as the Christian Evangelicals...are they THAT desperate for power that they'd go to bed with the Catholic Church? Sounds like it.

Iraqi Health Care Clinics: We paid for 150; we got 20

That's what's happened in Iraq with our efforts to build health care clinics. We, you and me and all us taxpayers, paid for 150; we got 20.

This according to a recent article in the NY Times.

A $243 million program led by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to build 150 health care clinics in Iraq has in some cases produced little more than empty shells of crumbling concrete and shattered bricks cemented together into uneven walls, two reports by a federal oversight office have found.

The reports say that none of the five clinics in Kirkuk and only 20 of the original 150 across the country will be completed without new financing.

Lax oversight by the Corps was responsible for the overall program according to the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Security concerns created a review process known as "windshield surveys" — hasty drive-bys.  (Yep...looks good to me. Wanna go look inside? Nope...keep driving.)

The Corps blames the contractors whose reports were a bit shy of full disclosure. For 18 months after the program started the contractors reported timely progress...They would have kept doing so except the Corps sent out an audit team to review their progress...Whooops.

It's weird how that happens. Reports tend to get accurate when they're reviewed.

Training Iraqi soldiers to protect the oil infrastructure was no different.

Begun in September 2003, the effort, called Task Force Shield, was so disorganized that the auditors were never able to determine basic facts like how many Iraqis were trained, how many weapons were purchased and where much of the equipment ended up, the report says.

Of 21,000 guards who were to be trained in protecting oil equipment, for example, probably only about 11,000 were, the report says. And of 9,792 automatic rifles purchased for those guards, auditors were able to track just 3,015.

Well let's not be negative. 20 clinics (of the 150 claimed and paid for) WERE built...and 3000 of the 9000 rifles can be accounted for. So that's something we can build on...Maybe the new press sec'y can spin this into a positive story.  Great News! We've found records of as many as 3000 weapons we've given away...!

It's weird. You just don't hear any more complaints that the press is being negative. I guess with the lack of positive reports from anyone...it made it a bit difficult.

Maybe we're not as different from each other...

Another use of co-belligerency...this time in a way that unites us in the pursuit of dignity for all.  I bet if we looked closer as citizens we'd see we all share many of the same values: we want our children safe and happy and looking forward to a brighter future, we want our environment, God's environment, treated with dignity, we want our elected leaders to represent OUR interests not corporate sponsors, we want them to honor the Constitution and the oath of office they took, we want our families and neighbors to live not in fear of each other but in celebration of our differences that are allowed to exist in harmony here in the US...we want to work with our oversease neighbors...we want to return as a nation to be the beacon of hope for the world as opposed to now being the sword of doom as this current administration has positioned us.

You're thinking that torture and abuse of detainees was limited, right?

You're wrong. Look at the 30,000 pages of documents on this topic  the ACLU was able to extract from the FBI, The Army, Department of Defense, Lt. General Sanchez, Navy, DIA and other under FOIA requests. 

It's no surprise the Pentagon seeks to be granted further  exemptions from FOIA.

EPA Looks to Exempt Rural Communities from Clean Air Act

From Michelle Chen at The New Standard:

Continuing a pattern of cutbacks to environmental-health protections, the federal government is poised to carve out certain communities and industries from national air-quality standards.

"If the goal was to protect two industries – mining and agriculture – from having to be regulated, then that’s what these proposals do very well," said Janice Nolen, director of policy with the American Lung Association. "But they do not do what they’re supposed to do, which is protect public health."

It's hard to dismiss what the director of policy for the American Lung Association has to say about air-quality standards. But this administration will find a way. Look for a smear campaign...

It's a great article, a disturbing article on how the EPA has chosen to side with corporate agricultural interests to void any application of the Clean Air Act, including funding for monitors in rural areas. Rural here means poor; Rural here means limited congressional representation.

Bush's 5 Point Plan to Invade Iran

Bush's 5  Point Plan to Invade Iran

"Operation Iranian Freedom"

It's a simple formula really -- prepping the world for "Operation Iranian Freedom"

1. Use provocative language identical to that used in the run-up to "Operation Iraqi Freedom"
2. Defend the Bush "Unilateral, Preemptive Doctrine" -- desensitizing the public to the concept.
3. Drop hints that military action is a strong possibility and create an 'environment of inevitability'
4. Step up Cycle of Provocation and avoid diplomacy
5. Keep reading...

Hey, it worked with Iraq!

Tip of the hat to the Daily Kos for this link.

Department of Homeland Security: They don't investigate their contractors

MSNBC reports on the story of a federal defense contractor who lined up limousines and prostitutes for members of congress. The contractor's president has a criminal record, a fairly extensive criminal record according to the Daily Kos. They were the only contractor to bid for the contract. Despite the lengthy criminal record of the principal involved with the contractor...The DHS just awarded them another year's worth of driving worth $21 million.

Homeland Security spokesman Larry Orluskie said the department does not routinely conduct background checks on its contractors.

Huh. So...you hire a firm to drive members of Congress around, give them $21 million to do that...and you don't do a background check?  Shoot, you can't get a job these days without a background check. And here's the DHS giving away millions on a sensitive job like shuttling members  of Congress around and they don't perform a background check?