Right-Wing Conservative Republican Newspaper has Inside Scoop on Forged Docs Used to Start Iraq War and Bush Admin Efforts to Discredit Joe Wilson

The right-wing conservative Republican newspaper, The American Conservative, is covering how the Bush Administration was in all likelihood behind the forged Niger documents used to bolster support for the war by alleging that Saddam tried to buy Uranium from that African country.

That Vice President Cheney’s office and the Pentagon’s “Office of Special Plans” set up to circumvent the CIA and the State Department by bringing raw unvetted “intelligence” (i.e. propaganda dressed up as intelligence) directly to the policy makers in the White House to influence foreign policy in ways they could not if their “intelligence” were analyzed by career intelligence analysts and diplomats trained in discerning shit from shineola.

The article further points out that the Bush Administration targeted Ambassador Joe Wilson sliming his reputation and revealing his wife’s undercover CIA identity in order to punish him and supress their involvement in the forgeries and other lies used to start the Iraq War.

Hat’s off to a right-wing conservative Republican newspaper brave enough to say what most of the US Corporate Mainstream Media is too afraid to say. Thank you American Conservative for reporting the truth to the American People on this important issue!

US Mainstream Media Last Among Top 44 Nations in World in Openness – Yes, U.S. Ranks 44th in Worldwide Press Freedom Index

The US has dropped to 44th place in being a “free press” among world media. Last year we were 22nd. In 2002 we were 17th. We have dropped in being a free press every year of the Bush Administration. I’m not at all surprised! South Korea is 10 places ahead of the US Media. Yes, we’ve dropped behind South Korea in our “free press.” America, the home of the free press, and during a few short years of the Bush Administration we’ve plummeted to 44th place! And that takes into consideration newspapers which are far more “free” than TV News [sic] where most Americans get their information. Studies have found American’s woefully misinformed by televised news with viewers of Fox News Network ranking at the very bottom – the least informed Americans – scoring worst on surveys of issues facing the US.

For instance an overwhelming majority of Fox News viewers thought that we had found Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in Iraq (three separate Bush appointed weapons inspectors have said there was none) and an overwhelming majority of Fox News viewers thought that Saddam Hussein was behind the September 11 attacks. Bush himself had to finally admit that Saddam was not behind the attacks in September of 2003, but despite this Fox viewers weren’t informed and answered wrongly. They missed several other questions as well.

South Korea, positioned at 34th place in having a free press, is improving its image, partly because of open-source media OhmyNews. Any citizen in South Korea can be a reporter, thanks to its policy of posting submissions from people with all backgrounds. That’s what we bloggers in the US are trying to do. To raise America’s ratings in press freedom by reporting what the Corporate Media refuses to report. Help support a free press and read the sources in the upper left hand column of this page under the "Read these to be informed" heading. You will be amazed at what you are NOT being told by the Media Moguls. Help stamp out ignorance! READ! Don't believe Faux News Channel's Lies. READ and be informed!

Bush Admin has missed dozens of deadlines set by Congress after the Sept. 11 attacks for protecting airplanes, ships and railways from attacks

The Bush administration has missed dozens of deadlines set by Congress after the Sept. 11 attacks for protecting airplanes, ships and railways from attacks.

More than four years after the September 11 attacks, the Bush Administration is still woefully behind in protecting our nation from further attacks. By revealing the identity of an undercover CIA operative more than two years ago, the Bush administration severely damaged National Security as Republican Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald revealed Friday in his press conference announcing the indictment of Vice President Cheney’s Chief of Staff for Perjury, Lying to the FBI, and Obstructing Justice in covering up the CIA agent outing. Now we learn that the Bush Administration has further dropped the ball by failing to implement the plans to secure our nation from 9/11 type attacks.

President Bush has signed several of bills into law committing his administration to meeting the deadlines to boost National Security which he has repeatedly missed.

"The incompetence that we recently saw with FEMA's leadership appears to exist throughout the Homeland Security Department," said Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, who is Vice Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee. "Our nation is still vulnerable."

More than four years after September 11 the Bush Administration is not protecting us and is instead making us less safe by revealing CIA operatives identities for political payback.

CBS Had the Forged Niger Goods Before the 2004 Election, but Failed to Deliver the Information to the US Public – Corporate Media Saves Bush Again.

Back in September 2004 I reported here in this blog how CBS had failed to air an important story on the forged Niger documents. Now it comes out that CBS had delayed that story and is still delaying it because of secret deals made between CBS the White House and Republicans in Congress to keep the story under wraps.

Read journalist Josh Marshall’s post on why Mainstream Media sat on the story of the forged Niger documents used to push the Iraq War and used in Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address even after the CIA informed the White House that the story was false:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/006892.php

Much of the information Patrick Fitzgerald would have to rediscover at US Taxpayers expense was available to the Mainstream Media before the election but kept quiet until now due to secret deals with the White House and Congressional Republicans.

George W. Bush: The Legend of Zero. Now showing all across America.

A just completed survey of the American public show that 55 percent believes that the Libby case indicates wider problems "with ethical wrongdoing" in the White House. And by a 3 to 1 ratio, 46 percent to 15 percent, Americans say the level of honesty and ethics in the government has declined rather than risen under Bush. A majority -- 55 percent -- said the decision of Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald to bring charges against Libby was based on the facts of the case, while 30 percent said he was motivated by partisan politics. Now Fitzgerald is a lifelong Republican reporting to the Bush Administration’s own Justice Department and it was the CIA that demanded the investigation which led to Fitzgerald’s appointment (after Attorney General Ashcroft fumbled the investigation for five months and had to recuse himself because of his close ties to Rove and Bush). So exactly why these geniuses (who make up the 30 percent of inbred nose-picking hillbillies) get the idea that an investigation lead by a Republican reporting to the Bush Administration following a request of the CIA is somehow partisan against the Republican Party is only the kind of drivel that dribbles out of the drooping pie-holes of Fox News Channel viewers and others aboard the political short bus.

What about Miers’ Up or Down Vote, GOP?

Several people have recently pointed out yet another example of conservative Republican hypocrisy (as if we needed more). During an earlier fight over President Bush’s judicial nominations, conservative Republicans threatened the “nuclear option” of eliminating the filibuster. Their claim was that all of President Bush’s judicial nominations deserved “an up or down vote before the entire Senate.” Democrats they claimed were denying the nominees their opportunity to have the Senate decide on their qualifications. All of Bush’s nominees wound up getting an up or down vote before the Senate.

That was before conservative Republicans got the idea that Bush’s Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers might secretly be pro-choice. Conservatives vented their spleens on that nomination until at last Miers had to withdraw from consideration without an up or down vote. Earlier during John Roberts’ confirmation hearing conservative Republicans said that asking him his views on abortion was inappropriate. He’s against it. But during the Clinton Administration conservative Republicans on the Judicial Committee asked Ruth Bader Ginsberg her views on abortion. Conservative Republicans blocked most of Clinton’s judicial appointees from getting an up or down vote before the Senate. It appears that conservative Republicans believe that only candidates who are obviously dead set against abortion deserve an up or down vote. Anyone else doesn’t get consideration.

During Roberts’ confirmation hearing Democrats wanted to see White House documents (from his days in the Reagan administration) to understand his judicial philosophy. Conservative Republicans scoffed at this as a violation of “Attorney Client Privilege” even though President Reagan is dead. But those same Republicans demanded Miers’ White House documents (from a current administration) in spite of the same “Attorney Client Privilege” even though President Bush is very much alive.

During Roberts’ confirmation questions arose about his religion (he’s a Catholic and many conservative right-wing evangelicals don’t trust Catholics). The Bush Administration said that religion is irrelevant to a Supreme Court nominee. But when Miers’ nomination was in trouble President Bush assured conservatives that she was an evangelical protestant in order to increase her chances of approval in the Senate.

That is only one example of GOP hypocrisy. The Encyclopedia Britannica couldn’t hold the rest of the examples.

If Democrats decide to hold up the next Supreme Court nominee I hope they inform the American people of all the details above. They would have to somehow do this over the heads of the Corporate Media which rarely allows off message information (information not on Karl Rove’s daily talking points to the media) from getting to the public. Maybe once Rove is in prison for treason we’ll see the media thinking for themselves and the truth will come out.

We can only hope.

Joe

FBI Going Through Motions but Stalling Investigation of Forgeries that Led to Iraq War

At the heart of the Bush Administration revealing the identity of an undercover CIA operative in order to punish her husband for informing the American people that one of the reasons for starting the Iraq War (Saddam’s trying to buy Uranium from Niger) was not true and was based on forged documents, is the origin of those forged documents themselves. Who forged them and why. Journalist Josh Marshall writes about this in his blog, http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/. Note that the FBI reports to Attorney General Gonzalez who reports to President Bush and was for many years Bush’s own lawyer. How is the FBI’s investigation into those forgeries which has been on-going for two and a half years progressing? Josh answers that question:

Now, about that FBI investigation into the origins of the Niger forgeries, discussed by Doug Jehl in his piece in today's Times.

(Apologies to longtime readers of the site who will be familiar with much of what follows.)

Jehl reports that a "counterespionage official said Wednesday that the inquiry into the documents ... had yielded some intriguing but unproved theories."

That's not a lot for an investigation that began two and a half years ago.

And, remember, the existence of the supposed FBI investigation was the basis on which Sen. Roberts' Senate intel committee agreed not to examine anything about the origins of the documents or how they came into American hands.

So how serious has that investigation been? And what is known by the two senators -- Roberts and Rockefeller -- who've been regularly briefed on it?

Consider this: As is now all over the papers in the US and Italy, the 'security consultant' who tried to peddle the forgeries to a reporter for the Italian magazine Panorama in October 2002 is a man named Rocco Martino. FBI sources continue to tell reporters that they have not been able to question Martino because they have not been able to secure the permission of the Italian government to speak with him.

Given the gravity of the case, it seems difficult to believe that the United States would tolerate Italy's non-cooperation. But what about when Martino came to the United States?

Martino travelled to the United States twice last year. He travelled under his own name and stayed in New York City where he provided interviews to me and two other journalists. By the time Martino made his second visit to the United States his name and his central role in the case had been reported in several Italian and two major British papers. Yet no effort was made to contact him or question him when he was in the US for several days.

Surely US law enforcement wouldn't need the permission of the Italian government to speak to Martino when he was on US soil.

Elisabetta Burba is the Italian journalist, who works for the Berlusconi-owned magazine Panorama, to whom Martino tried to sell the forgeries. She was interviewed by the FBI not long after Sen. Roberts agreed to co-sign Sen. Rockefeller's request for an FBI investigation in the spring of 2003. But she describes the interviews and follow-ups as cursory at best.

There are various other reasons to doubt that the Justice Department has made a serious effort to solve the mystery of the Niger forgeries. But the apparent lack of interest in even speaking to the man at the center of the scheme is a decent place to start.

As Chairman of the senate intel committee, Sen. Roberts is in a position to receive detailed briefings on the status of the investigation. And his spokespersons say he's received them. So what does he know? More reporting needed.

-- Josh Marshall

So, the FBI has repeatedly failed (for two and a half years) to interview the chief suspect in the forgery that led to the Iraq War claiming that it couldn’t interview him even when it could have. Even when he was here in the US right under their noses. They also only performed a “cursory at best” interview of another key suspect who works for the media company owned by Bush’s friend, the Prime Minister of Italy, who is meeting with Bush this very day!

Now I greatly respect the men and women in law enforcement especially those serving in the FBI, but clearly they are being ham-strung by the Bush Administration preventing them from doing their duty to uncover who forged documents that were used by the Bush Administration to bolster support for the war.

When will we, the American People, be told the truth about what our Government is doing in our name?

Joe

Why Did Harriet Miers Withdraw from Supreme Court Consideration?

Harriet Miers has withdrawn her name from consideration for Supreme Court Justice. Why? Because conservative Republicans were insisting she do so. Why is that? Perhaps because a Texas State Lottery official who was previously prevented from revealing that Miers allowed a lobbyist to keep a contract with the state of Texas in exchange for keeping secret the fact he helped George W. Bush get into the National Guard during the Viet Nam War ahead of hundreds of other men on the waiting list. The official named Littwin signed an agreement that gave him $70,000 to keep quiet on this fact. He would lose the money if he revealed the information. But the Senate Confirmation Hearings would have allowed him to reveal the information without jeopardizing his money. Democrats on the committee subpoenaed Littwin to testify. Now that Harriet Miers is no longer in the running that testimony will not occur and Bush’s secret will remain a secret. No wonder Republicans were so set on having Miers drop out of the running. During the 2004 Presidential Election they spread lies about John Kerry’s military record (lies which have been since proved to be lies) and did everything to keep the truth of Bush’s military record from the public.

ABC News has Video Footage of Vote Fraud in the Iraq Constitution Election – They are Hiding it, Though! Suppressing Truth from the Public!

http://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/transcripts/transcript051021.html

Martha Raddatz (of ABC News) reports, "There are some [Iraq election] irregularities and I can tell you right now I witnessed them." ABC News has video footage of election fraud in the recent vote over the new constitution. The Sunnis have reported vote fraud; the US News [sic] media outlets have not reported this. Here is proof that the Mainstream Corporate Media has actual video tape footage of election fraud that they have not shown nor will they show to the US and the world. Nothing to see here. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. I am the great and powerful Oz!

Joe

CIA Says Valerie Plame Leak Damaged US National Security During a Time of War

That makes it treason!

The Top Nine Plamegate Lies About Bush Admin Outing Undercover CIA Agent

By Josh Kalven, Media Matters for America
Posted on October 25, 2005, Printed on October 25, 2005

http://www.alternet.org/story/27281/

As the possibility of high-level indictments increases, the misinformation battle intensifies; get the truth behind the major falsehoods.

As U.S. attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald's two-year investigation into the CIA leak case reportedly draws to a close, the long-standing debate over the origins of the scandal, the merits of the federal investigation, and the legal authority of the prosecutor has intensified greatly. At issue is the disclosure to the press of the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame, which first appeared in syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak's July 14, 2003, column. Bush administration officials allegedly leaked her identity in order to discredit her husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, a vocal critic of the White House's decision to go to war with Iraq.

In this rhetorical environment characterized by limited information and boundless speculation, those defending the officials at the center of Fitzgerald's probe have advanced numerous falsehoods and distortions. As Media Matters for America documents below, the media have not only failed to challenge many of these claims, but also repeated them.

Falsehood: It is legally significant whether the leakers disclosed Plame's name in their conversations with reporters

Shortly after Newsweek published an email by Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper to Time Washington bureau chief Mike Duffy saying that, according to White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, "Wilson's wife" worked at the CIA, Rove's lawyer responded by noting that his client had not stated her actual name. Several news outlets went on to report Rove's response as if his reported omission of Plame's name was relevant to whether he violated the law. Simultaneously, commentators such as former presidential adviser David Gergen and Washington Times chief political correspondent Donald Lambro, as well as the Republican National Committee (RNC), began to advance the argument that because Rove didn't specifically name her, he did not reveal her identity.

But whether leakers identified Plame as "Valerie Plame," "Valerie Wilson," or "Wilson's wife" is irrelevant, both as a practical matter and likely as a legal matter. Practically speaking, a quick Google search of Joseph Wilson at the time would have produced Plame's actual name. As such, administration defenders have declared that whether her name was mentioned to reporters likely has no bearing on whether there was a violation of the law. Despite having previously implied that there is a meaningful distinction between disclosing her name and her identity before, Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, later conceded that drawing such a line was "too legalistic." Similarly, Victoria Toensing, the Republican lawyer who helped draft the potentially applicable 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act (IIPA), agreed that the use of her name is "not an important part of whether this is a crime or not."

Nonetheless, numerous media figures recently revived this claim in the wake of New York Times reporter Judith Miller's revelation that the source who told her that Plame worked at the CIA, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, also never disclosed her actual name.

Falsehood: Wilson said that Cheney sent him to Niger

An RNC talking points memo made public on July 12 accused Wilson of falsely claiming "that it was Vice President Cheney who sent him to Niger." The allegation that Wilson had lied about the genesis of his trip was soon repeated by RNC chairman Ken Mehlman, who argued that this fact justified the purported leaking of Plame's identity to the press and that the White House had simply been attempting to set the record straight.

New York Times columnist David Brooks made this argument at least twice (here and here). And a string of journalists and commentators -- including CNN's Dana Bash, the Washington Post's Mike Allen, Newsweek's Jon Meacham, and U.S. News and World Report's Michael Barone -- parroted the allegation during news reports and media appearances in the following weeks. NBC chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell recently repeated the claim as a guest on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews.

But Wilson never said that Cheney sent him to Niger. To support this accusation, the RNC had misrepresented his July 6, 2003, op-ed in the New York Times and distorted a remark he made in an August 3, 2003, interview on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer. Contrary to their allegation, Wilson clearly stated in the op-ed that "agency officials" had requested he travel to Niger. Further, in the CNN appearance, he stated it was "absolutely true" that Cheney was unaware he went on the trip.

Falsehood: Plame suggested Wilson for the trip to Niger

In their ongoing attempts to justify the alleged leaks, Mehlman and other supporters claimed that the White House had a legitimate interest in setting the record straight by disclosing that Plame, not Cheney, was actually responsible for Wilson being sent to Niger. In a January 2005 Washington Post op-ed, attorneys Victoria Toensing -- a friend of Novak -- and Bruce W. Sanford framed the leak in such a light and suggested that Novak outed Plame because he wanted to "expose wrongdoing" -- i.e., the alleged nepotism that led to Wilson's assignment. Numerous reporters subsequently repeated that Plame suggested Wilson for the trip, including the Washington Post's Jim VandeHei, MSNBC host Chris Matthews, and, most recently, MSNBC correspondent David Shuster.

But what these reporters stated as fact is actually in dispute. Unnamed intelligence officials have been quoted in the media claiming that the CIA -- not Plame -- selected Wilson for the mission. Also, CIA officials have disputed the accuracy of a State Department intelligence memo that reportedly indicates that Plame "suggested" Wilson's name for the trip. Novak himself claimed that the Senate Intelligence Committee, in its 2004 "Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq," concluded that Plame suggested the trip. In fact, the committee did not officially conclude that she had been responsible for Wilson's assignment.

Falsehood: Wilson was not qualified to investigate the Niger claims

In conjunction with the claim that nepotism led to the selection of Wilson for the trip to Niger, several conservative media figures have attempted to cast the former ambassador as unqualified to investigate the claims that Iraq attempted to purchase uranium yellowcake form the African country. Toensing has repeatedly claimed that he lacked "any experience in WMD" and "any kind of senior experience in that country." National Review Washington editor Kate O'Beirne has described Wilson as "no expert in weapons of mass destruction." But Wilson possessed extensive diplomatic experience, had specialized in Africa during most of his career, and had taken a similar trip to Niger in 1999 to investigate possible purchases by Iran.

Falsehood: Plame's CIA employment was widely known

In an apparent effort to undermine the possibility that the alleged White House leakers committed a crime, both the Washington Times editorial page and right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh have argued that Plame's identity was known by many in Washington, D.C., at the time Novak published his column outing her as "an agency operative." As support for this argument, the Times claimed that "numerous neighbors were aware that she worked for the agency."

In fact, none of the neighbors cited in the Washington Times' own news reports or in other reports said that they knew before reading the Novak column that Plame worked at the CIA. Her acquaintances told reporters that they believed she worked as a private "consultant."

Falsehood: Fitzgerald must prove that Plame's covert status was leaked

Recent reports from a number of news outlets have attributed legal significance to whether Rove and Libby leaked Plame's covert status to the press. But as with the issue of whether Plame's actual name was leaked, whether the officials communicated her status as a covert operative is likely not relevant to the question of whether their actions violated federal law. According to news reports, a 2003 State Department memo -- which was likely read by top administration officials during a trip to Africa -- designated as "S" for "secret" a section mentioning Plame, even though it did not mention her covert status. Therefore, the information allegedly disclosed by Rove and Libby -- that she worked at the CIA -- was apparently classified.

Falsehood: Fitzgerald's investigation was originally limited to possible violation of 1982 law

Conservative commentators have reacted to reports that Fitzgerald is looking at a variety of legal approaches to the CIA leak investigation by characterizing him as a "runaway prosecutor" or a Captain Ahab "chasing a white whale." The argument put forth by Toensing, as well as columnists Richard Cohen and George F. Will is that, in pursuing such charges, the special prosecutor is overstepping his mandate. The claim underlying this argument is that the Department of Justice (DOJ) originally granted him authority to investigate whether the alleged leakers had violated the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act (IIPA).

But the DOJ's delegation of Fitzgerald as special prosecutor gave him broad authority to investigate the leaks; it made no mention of the IIPA, nor did it name any other specific statute. The DOJ official who appointed Fitzgerald as special prosecutor, then-deputy attorney general James Comey, stated in a December 30, 2003, press conference that "Mr. Fitzgerald alone will decide ... what prosecutive [sic] decisions to make" and that "he can pursue it [the leak investigation] wherever he wants to pursue it." In a February 6, 2004, letter to Fitzgerald, Comey further clarified that his delegation included the "authority to investigate and prosecute violations of any federal crime laws related to the underlying alleged unauthorized disclosure, as well as federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, your investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses."

Despite the lack of evidence that the DOJ limited the scope of Fitzgerald's investigation in any way, two recent New York Times articles (here and here) reported that he was appointed to investigate "whether government officials had violated a 1982 law that makes it a crime in some circumstances to disclose the identity of an undercover agent."

Similar to this baseless claim is Weekly Standard editor William Kristol's recent assertion that the CIA referred the case to the DOJ specifically as a possible violation of the IIPA. But the initial news reports on the referral indicate that the CIA more generally requested that the DOJ "investigate allegations that the White House broke federal laws by revealing the identity of one of its undercover employees." Moreover, a "former government official" quoted in Newsweek stated that the CIA's referral never even mentioned the IIPA.

Falsehood: Leak investigation is the result of partisan motivations

Conservative commentators have made what appear to be preemptive accusations that Fitzgerald is a partisan. Numerous Fox News personalities -- including Chris Wallace, Sean Hannity, Stuart Varney, and Bill O'Reilly -- have stated that his probe represents the "criminalization of politics." William Kristol penned a Weekly Standard editorial on the topic titled "Criminalizing Conservatives." On the October 19 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, nationally syndicated radio host Mike Gallagher claimed that this investigation -- like the recent indictment of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) on money laundering charges -- "is driven by partisan politics."

But Fitzgerald is no Democratic partisan. In September 2001, President Bush appointed Fitzgerald to his current post as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois upon the recommendation of then-Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL). When then-deputy attorney general James Comey selected Fitzgerald as special prosecutor in December 2003, he cited his "sterling reputation for integrity and impartiality" and described him as "an absolutely apolitical career prosecutor." And in a recent interview on NBC's Today, President Bush described the prosecutor's investigation as "dignified." Moreover, in his capacity as U.S. attorney, Fitzgerald is also currently conducting an "intense" investigation of the Democratic mayor of Chicago, Richard M. Daley, and his administration.

Despite Fitzgerald's background, Limbaugh suggested on the October 20 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show that if the outcome of the CIA leak investigation is "over the top," he and other conservatives may target the prosecutor:

LIMBAUGH: [W]e're going to be watching ... very carefully here to see what Fitzgerald does, the special prosecutor here. If he conducts himself in a way that we find over the top, we'll say so. You can count on it. Now, you liberals, you viciously attacked [former independent counsel] Ken Starr. You went out there and tried to portray him as a sexual pervert, a voyeur. You did everything you could to destroy Ken Starr's reputation and his life, and now you demand that we accept whatever comes down the pike that we must be consistent. Well, it depends on what it is. If it stinks, I will say so. Pure and simple.

Falsehood: Leaks go on all the time in Washington

In defense of the Bush administration officials alleged to have disclosed Plame's CIA identity, numerous media figures have attempted to downplay the alleged leak as par for the course in Washington. Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen claimed that such leaking is "what Washington does day in and day out" and that it "is rarely considered a crime." On the October 20 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, Republican strategist Ed Rollins stated, "We know for sure that a couple of very high-ranking White House guys talked to some reporters and basically tried to go out and diminish someone who was criticizing them. I mean, that goes on every single day in the White House."

But Cohen and Rollins glossed over the fact that this leak allegedly involved the identity of a CIA operative -- potentially a crime -- although Cohen subsequently issued a "clarification" in which, responding to readers, he wrote that he does consider "the outing of a covert employee a serious matter." Former President George H.W. Bush expressed his view of such actions during an April 26, 1999, speech at the dedication of the CIA's George Bush Center for Intelligence. He stated: "I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors."

Josh Kalven is a member of the Research Department at Media Matters for America.

[Joe's note: It is believed that at least one CIA agent died as a result of disclosing Valerie Plame Wilosn’s identity as an undercover CIA operative. The CIA cannot officially disclose that one of their undercover agents was killed because of National Security, but sources close to the agency have confirmed that this is so. Also it is not known if any sources in nations hostile to the US who had previously communicated with Mrs. Wilson were killed once her CIA status was compromised. What is known is that the entire CIA front company that Mrs. Wilson worked for had to be shut down and all the agents who worked for it had to be taken out of the field because their cover was blown at the same time hers was. What is also known and has been reported by Intelligence Officers is that it is now nearly impossible for US agents to get sources in hostile nations to give us any more information because they fear that the Bush Administration or future administrations will reveal the identity of the agent they speak to thereby endangering their lives. The Bush Administration’s punishment of a whistleblower has resulted in the loss of much of our nation’s intelligence gathering apparatus and will likely result in our being unable to learn of future September 11 style attacks in advance. Our nation will be suffering for their petty schoolyard prank for generations. Thanks a lot George and Dick!]

GOP Senate Leader Bill Frist Lied to America about Stocks and Insider Trading!

It is coming out that Senate Leader Republican Bill Frist lied to the American People including his own constituents when he told us that his stocks were in “totally blind” trusts and he had no knowledge of what stocks he owned. It turns out that he was kept informed of his stocks and their value and frequently issued buy and sell orders which violates the whole idea of a “blind trust” instituted so that an elected official can be impartial when making laws that affect his stock portfolio. Letters showing that Frist was kept informed on his stocks’ performance have now come to light. Frist told the American people that he didn’t know what stocks he owned, but the letters show that he was lying.

“Since 2001, the trustees have written to Frist and the Senate 15 times detailing the sale of assets from or the contribution of assets to trusts of Frist and his family. The letters included notice of the addition of HCA shares worth $500,000 to $1 million in 2001 and HCA stock worth $750,000 to $1.5 million in 2002. The trust agreements require the trustees to inform Frist and the Senate whenever assets are added or sold.”

What we have here is *NOT* a blind trust as Frist told America but fully managed portfolio with complete knowledge of its owner. FRIST LIED!

Now we have evidence that Frist participated in insider trading when he sold all his stock in his family’s company, HCA, just before the stock price dropped netting him a handsome profit.

“Last week, Frist told reporters that he is ‘absolutely confident in the outcome’ of the inquiries by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission because he "acted properly at every point." He declined to address specifics about the investigations but said he is providing information as quickly and fully as possible.”

Naturally, both the Justice Department and the SEC are currently under Republican control so he is likely right that they will not prosecute him and will whitewash the whole issue. Back when Bush Sr. was President, Bush Jr. was on the board of Harkin Oil. He was told that the stock price was about to drop due to low earnings and that the public didn’t know so he was *NOT* to sell his stock. He sold millions of dollars worth of the stock anyway. Another incidence of insider trading. Because the SEC and Justice Dept. during his father’s administration was also under Republican control they whitewashed Bush Jr.’s insider trading crime and he didn’t end up in prison unlike Martha Stewart who lacked his political ties to bail her out.

Frist has the political connections to keep him out of jail, too.

Nice to know that our nation is led by crooks who can bend the rules to keep out of a prison cell.

I want my country back!

Joe

Conservatives Say Republican Politicians Can Violate Law and That’s OK. No One Else Can, Though!

Arch Conservative Pundit Hack William Kristol and other Conservative Paid Political Liars are telling the American people that outing a covert CIA operative is not a crime (of course it is) and that obstruction of justice is not a crime (of course it is too) if you happen to be a Conservative Republican. Also money laundering, campaign fraud and conspiracy is not a crime if you happen to be a Republican Politician according to Kristol so Tom DeLay should be let off the hook, too! That’s what the GOP’s defense has come to. They can break the law because they are Republican Politicians. Clinton is impeached for a BJ and these Crooks can break every law in the book even lie the nation into a war that has resulted in our being hated by the Iraqis and most of the world. That’s okay. Clinton was a Democrat and so he and anyone who is not a politically well connected Republican must follow the law. The GOP Politicos can blithely ignore the law, though. They are immune from prosecution acording to Kristol et al.

When the entire Bush Administration including Bush himself end up in prison can we lock Kristol, Novak and the rest of the Bush apologists who lied to us for years as well? If not, can we the people of this country file a class action lawsuit against the lying scum of the Corporate Media? I think I suffered about a million dollars worth of damages and mental anguish from these clowns. So did the rest of the nearly 300 million Americans so we should collect $300,000,000,000,000 from the Corporate Media, bankrupt them (they deserve it for the deplorable job they’ve done deliberately misreporting the news) and we’ll start our own Mainstream Media based on reporting the truth for a change. Kristol and his fellow liars can either end up in jail or the poor house. Either one would be a fitting end for them. Shall we do it?

British Government Survey Find up to 65% of Iraqis Approve of Insurgents’ Suicide Attacks Against Troops and Fewer than 1% Think We Are Helping Iraq

As many as 65 percent of Iraqis approve of the insurgency's suicide attacks and less than 1 per cent approve of US and British presence according to a devastating British military survey.

82 percent are "strongly opposed" to the presence of coalition troops.

67 percent of Iraqis feel less secure because of the occupation.

72 percent do not have confidence in the multi-national forces.

The survey was taken in August, but the results have been kept secret until now. The nationwide survey also suggests that the coalition has lost the battle to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, which Tony Blair and George W Bush believed was fundamental to creating a safe and secure country.

Bush Administration officials keep telling us that there is little support for the insurgents and that Iraqis prefer our occupation of Iraq. US Corporate News [sic] Outlets repeat those claims without checking the truth of them. This report shows that both the Bush Administration and the US Mainstream Media are lying to the American People about Iraq.

NON-PARTISAN GAO REPORT CONFIRMS CONCERNS ABOUT SECURITY OF ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES! REPUBLICAN LEADERS LIED ABOUT SECURITY OF OUR VOTES!

During the 2004 Presidential Election there were thousands of reports of voting irregularities. In addition the exit polls showed a significant discrepancy between “official counts” and the responses of the voters casting those votes in swing states: the exit polls. The discrepancies were enough to win the election for Kerry and lose it for Bush. All across the country but especially in swing states electronic vote counting machines most manufactured by Republican led companies (such as Diebold whose CEO, Walden O'Dell, promised Republicans to deliver all of Ohio’s electoral college votes to George W. Bush) were found to be unsecured and reported suspicious results. The Republican Leadership in Congress refused to investigate this and when the Democrats attempted to do so the Republicans denied them hearing rooms to conduct the hearings. Well guess what? The Non-partisan GAO has completed a report that confirms concerns about the security of electronic voting machines including Diebold’s. Hundreds of reports had previously come forward showing how easy it is to change vote counts on these machines. Elections officials in Ohio have already been indicted for vote fraud involved in the 2004 election. All favoring George W. Bush. Many studies on the exit poll data show that the “official count” has only a 0.0001% chance of being true and accurate.

In third world countries we use such discrepancies between exit polls and the “official counts” to verify that vote fraud occurred. It was such discrepancies that caused the world to demand a second election in the Ukraine. The Bush Administration used the exit poll vs. “official count” discrepancies as proof that the Ukraine election had been stolen. But here in the US the Republicans claimed the exit polls were wrong and that the electronic voting machines problems were not important enough for them or the Democrats to investigate. Well guess what. They are! The Non-partisan GAO has completed a report that confirms concerns about the security of electronic voting machines. The lapdog Corporate News [sic] Media will not bother informing the American People that Democracy was likely stolen in the US, so we bloggers have to do it ourselves. The complete report is available here.

A joint bi-partisan press release touting the findings of the report has just been issued by three Republican and three Democratic Congressmen including Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) and Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Judiciary Committee Chair F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI), and Science Committee Chair Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and Ranking Member Bart Gordon (D-TN). Real Americans who believe that the American People deserve a Democracy not a Thiefocracy. Both Republicans and Democrats. Hats off to Davis, Sensenbrenner and Boehlert: Republican members of Congress who realize that we need accurate vote counts. The other Republican members of Congress who do not get behind and support this believe that accurate vote counts are not important. Lets remember that when they run for re-election in 2006!

Spread the word that the Corporate Media Shills will not: OUR VOTES ARE NOT BEING COUNTED FAIRLY. ELECTIONS ARE BEING STOLEN. THE US HAS DESCENDED TO THE LEVEL OF BANANA REPUBLICS. WE, THE PEOPLE, NEED TO TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK FROM THE THIEVES IN POWER. SPREAD THE WORD!

Joe

DeLay’s Lawyers Lie in their Faces and Corporate News Media Rolls Over and Shows them their Underbellies

DeLay's Lawyers are LYING and the Corporate Mainstream Media (lapdog press) doesn't challenge them. This has been happening for almost 6 years now. Bush administration officials and Congressional Republican Leadership lies openly to the press, and the lapdog Corporate Media Whores masquerading as a free press dutifully spread the lies to the public without any effort to correct them.

When will we the American People have our nation back again from these criminals and their shills the Corporate Media?

Bush Team Using Twinkie Defense for Outing CIA Agent

Bush Administration apologists are busy on TV News [sic] and talk radio saying that Karl Rove and Scooter Libby may not have actually said Valerie Plame Wilson’s name (just that she was Ambassador Joe Wilson’s wife) or actually mentioned that she was an undercover CIA operative (just that she worked for the CIA). But even if both were true what they did is still illegal and treasonous. They law says that identifying an undercover CIA operative (since Joe Wilson only has one wife that’s identifying her) is a crime. If someone is an undercover CIA operative and you identify them as working for the CIA, you have broken the law. This “I didn’t actually say her name or that the information was classified information” defense is bullshit! It only convinces gullible viewers and radio listeners, but won’t stand up in a court of law. That is why there is talk that Cheney (who is believed to be involved as well) may resign as VP rather than be impeached and Rove is hinting that he may resign, too. Libby will follow if Cheney falls. There have been too many members of the Bush Administration and the Republican leadership in Congress indicted for committing crimes in recent months. They don’t need more attention from the public on the criminal activity of the GOP. The Corporate Mainstream Media is peddling the Twinkie defense for the Bush team, but the rats are fleeing the sinking ship because they know the argument won’t stand up in court.

Cheney's Halliburton stock options rose 3,281% last year, senator finds

An analysis released by Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey found that Vice President Dick Cheney's Halliburton stock options have risen 3,281 percent in the last year -- worth $241,498 a year ago -- are now valued at more than $8 million.

Cheney told "Meet the Press" in 2003 that he didn't have any financial ties to the firm.

“Since I left Halliburton to become George Bush's vice president, I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest," the Vice President said. "I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years.”

Cheney continues to receive a deferred salary from the company. According to financial disclosure forms, he was paid $205,298 in 2001; $162,392 in 2002; $178,437 in 2003; and $194,852 in 2004.

Original story here.

As an update to this story Cheney’s stock options are now worth more than $9.2 Million.

Cheney considers more than $9.2 Million in stock options and $740,979 in salary not having “any financial ties” to Halliburton which has received countless sweetheart no-bid deals from the Government despite countless occurrences of cheating the US taxpayers and poisoning US troops they are responsible for feeding.

Cheney said, "And since I left Halliburton to become George Bush's vice president, I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years."

$9.2 Million in stock options and $740,979 in salary paid while he was Vice President of the US. Liar! Why isn’t the Corporate Mainstream Media alerting the taxpayers of this? Good question.

Iraq war Now Costing US Taxpayers $6 Billion a Month

Bush administration is spending about $7 billion a month to wage the war on terror, and costs could total $570 billion by the end of 2010, assuming troops are gradually brought home, a congressional report estimates. The Iraq War alone is now costing $6 billion a month. That’s right 6 Billion with a B of our Hard Earned Tax Dollars. Much of that goes to fund companies like Halliburton which continues to pay Vice President Cheney hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in dividends (and he holds more than $8 million in Halliburton stock options). Six Billion a month translates to $200,000,000.00 every single day including weekends. Two hundred million of your and my hard earned tax dollars every day goes to pay for Iraq including Halliburton which has repeatedly been shown to be overcharging US taxpayers and serving contaminated food and water to our troops. Repeatedly. A company that did business with Iraq and Iran when it was illegal to do so. A company which bribed leaders of foreign countries in defiance of US law. Both while Cheney was CEO of the company. Read more about the ever-increasing cost of the Iraq War for us the taxpayers here.

Bush Violating Constitution?

George W. Bush has pledged that he will VETO the Defense Bill that contains the amendment banning torture of prisoners and detainees: an amendment that allows us to be in accordance with the Geneva Convention. Vetoing this bill will mean that the US Military will run out of funds for Iraq and Afghanistan in about a month. It will also be the first time Bush has vetoed any bill coming from Congress including bridges to nowhere in Alaska and half million dollar bus stops in Alaska and other pork. It will also be used as an excuse for our nation’s enemies when they have Americans held captive to torture them using Bush’s refusal to abide by a Treaty that the US ratified and which by virtue of Article VI of the US Constitution makes the Geneva Convention equal in stature with the US Constitution and therefore the Supreme Law of the Land. When Bush became President (both times) he swore on the Bible that he would uphold and defend the Constitution which in turn requires that he uphold and defend ratified treaties including the Geneva Convention. By failing to uphold Geneva (as required by Article VI) he is failing to fulfill his duties as President: a potentially impeachable offense.

God Told Me To Do It Says Bush Of Iraq War

"God would tell me, 'George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan.' And I did, and then God would tell me, 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq ...' And I did. And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, 'Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East.' And by God I'm gonna do it."
-- President George W. Bush hearing voices

So that's it. I wondered who Bush was going to blame the Iraq war on. It's God's fault. What a convenient scapegoat Bush has. Odds are God won't come on the news to refute the claim. And even if He did the Corporate Media would not feel that it would be "fair and balanced" to air such a dissenting viewpoint. No sir. Bush has finally found his perfect patsy in the Almighty! Gotta hand it to him and Heir Rove they know how to pass the buck!

I’m being sarcastic of course. But seriously there is a term for people who hear voices: schizophrenic. Now I pray to God every day. Several times a day. And sometimes I may feel that He is providing guidance to me subconsciously. But a sane president would not say that God told him to invade another country and start a war! That’s what psychotic killers say. Many insane people in prison claim that God “told” them to do the things that wound them up behind bars. Our president states openly that God talks to him and tells him what our foreign policy should be. Again if he simply said that he prayed about it and felt God’s guidance in his mind that would be one thing. But repeatedly Bush has claimed that God physically audibly speaks to him. Doesn’t that concern anyone else?

Nine US Senators Prefer Torture

Ninety of the 100 members of the Senate voted in favor of Republican Senator John McCain’s amendment banning Americans from torturing people. Nine Senators voted to continue torturing people.

The Pro-Torture members of the Senate are:

Wayne Allard (R-CO)
Christopher Bond (R-MO)
Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
James Inhofe (R-OK)
Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Ted Stevens (R-AK)

Note that ALL 9 Pro-Torture Senators are Republicans from Red States. As reported here and elsewhere the Red States have the Highest Crime Rates including the Highest Murder Rates in the country, the Highest Divorce Rates, the Highest Illegitimate Birth Rates, the Highest Welfare Rates, they take in more money per capita from the Federal Government than the Blue States (and they take in more money than they pay to the Federal Government in taxes), they have the Lowest Literacy Rates, the Lowest Education Scores, etc. In short these 9 men come from states that drag the rest of our nation down into the gutter where they themselves dwell, and now they want to torture others so that our American Service Members will be Tortured when or if they are taken captive in future military engagements. American Military experts are unanimous in the opinion that it is IMPERATIVE that the US does not engage in torture of our prisoners because it will only lead to the INEVITABLE torture of our own military members in the future. These 9 Republican Senators do not care that they are attempting to cause the future torture of Americans using previous torture by Americans as an excuse. History will remember their vote as a vote attempting to hurt America: these 9 Pro-Torture Senators! Thank God that there are 90 Senators including all of the Democratic Party Senators who understand this and are concerned with the future of our nation and our military personnel. Real Conservative (NOT Neo-Conservatives, i.e. Neo-Clowns) respect the reputation of the US and the treatment of our men and women in uniform just as the Democrats do.

The White House has indicated that President Bush is planning on Vetoing this bill. Note that Bush has not in 5 years vetoed any bill coming out of Congress to his desk, but he is planning on vetoing a bill to stop torture in order to uphold the dignity of the US and to protect our service members from harm. He has been urged to do so under the advise and string pulling of his Neo-Clown advisers, naturally. He doesn't know any better. What is the 9 Pro-Torture Senators' excuse?