How Bush failed the 9/11 commission

A truly damning report from Reuters about how badly Bush has stonewalled the 9/11 commission since its inception. Lots and lots of very troubling details here. Read More......

Wilson Names Three Possible CIA Leakers

The only suspect on the list that's new, to me at least, is Elliott Abrams. Though his name shouldn't come as a surprise. He has a long history in this town, and it ain't for being a pussycat (though I did ride an elevator with him once in Argentina in the late 1980s for, oh, about 30 seconds, and he was very nice).

"Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, has been pegged as a possible leaker of the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame to a syndicated columnist, according to a new book by former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, Plame's husband.

In 'The Politics of Truth,' to be published Friday, Wilson says Libby is 'quite possibly the person who exposed my wife's identity,' according to The Washington Post, which obtained an early copy....

'The other name that has most often been repeated to me in connection with the inquiry and disclosure into my background and Valerie's is that of Elliott Abrams, who gained infamy in the Iran-Contra scandal,' he writes. Abrams is currently a Mideast specialist on the National Security Council.

Another suspect named in Wilson's book: White House chief political adviser Karl Rove." - AP

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Wolfwotiz has no idea how many soldiers have died in Iraq

No wonder he thinks the war is going so well.

Asked how many American troops have died in Iraq, [Paul Wolfowitz] the Pentagon's No. 2 civilian estimated Thursday the total was about 500 -- more than 200 soldiers short. - AP

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Scalia: Judges have become too political

"Judges have become too much like politicians, with the unfortunate result that picking new ones has become needlessly partisan and time-consuming, Justice Antonin Scalia said Thursday.

As long as judges tinker with the Constitution to 'do what the people want,' instead of what the document actually commands, politicians who pick and confirm new federal judges will naturally want only those who agree with them politically, Scalia said. " - AP

Ok, a couple of problems here:

1. Scalia, who hand picked our current president, has some nerve accusing other judges of being too political.
2. This reeks of Scalia injecting himself into the "activist judges" campaign that the Republican party has been mounting in order to discredit and emasculate an independent judiciary in this country. And by doing so, he's even a bigger hypocrite doing it under the guise of complaining about judges becoming too political.
3. Duck hunting, anyone? Read More......

Wonkette, you sneaky girl, you

If you aren't familiar with Wonkette.com, you should be. She a foul-mouthed, funny-as-hell blogger who is to DC what Gawker is to NYC. Well, I was just looking at Wonkette's code on her site - get your minds out of the gutters, boys and girls - and I realized she has all of these hidden messages tucked into her html. I kid you not. Right click on any news photo on her site, click "properties," then check out the name of the photo. It's usually a funny message. For example, what does she say about this photo of Bush on her site? "Hold me Dick."
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Nightine yanked off 8 ABC stations night of tribute to war dead

Atrios reports that one broadcasting company found the broadcast "contrary to the public interest."

That's right. You thought showing pictures of the war dead returning to Dover was bad. Now even mentioning their names is verboten. Bush has the country so twisted, and free speech so stifled, that even honoring our dead is now a sign of treasonous intent. Apparently in Bush-land the best way to honor our troops is to wrap yourself in them when they're living, and disown them once they're dead.

Atrios includes contact info for the local stations. Read More......

With friends like these...

The National Review runs to Karen Hughes' defense:

"The most that can fairly be said is that by implication she was likening abortionists to terrorists, and supporters of abortion to supporters of terrorism. But the comparison is an extremely limited one: At most, she was saying that abortionists are like terrorists in that both groups violate the right to life and that supporters of abortion are like supporters of terrorism in that both fail to respect the right to life." - National Review Online

Oh, in that case...

Kos is calling Karen a "pathological liar." Read More......

No fcuking joke

The fundies are freaking over a request by the French Connection United Kingdom Company (FCUK) to register as a trademark the acronym FCUK.



There has to be a good joke to insert here...

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More details on upcoming Karen Hughes protests

Planned Parenthood | News Release
For Immediate Release

Thursday, April 29, 2004
Contact: Joel Lawson (202) 973-4880 or Erin Libit (202) 973-4883

Actions at Karen Hughes Book Signings
Planned Parenthood Supporters to Ask in Person: "Karen Hughes, Will You Apologize?"

Hughes Invokes 9/11 to Defend Bush Anti-Choice Policies

Washington, DC - Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) President Gloria Feldt announced today that local Planned Parenthood supporters will appear at upcoming Karen Hughes appearances, seeking an apology from Hughes for invoking 9/11 in her attempt to defend President George W. Bush's anti-choice policies.

"Karen Hughes, apologize," said Feldt today in announcing the actions. "9/11 has no place in this discussion, and Planned Parenthood supporters will ask for an apology in person."

Hughes is currently on tour promoting her book Ten Minutes From Normal. Planned Parenthood supporters will appear at Hughes' upcoming book promotions in Tampa, FL on May 3rd, and in Atlanta, GA on May 4th.

"[This] was an insensitive and divisive overreach," Feldt wrote in a letter to Hughes early Tuesday. "It is outrageous to suggest that those of us who challenge this administration's attacks on reproductive rights and access do not value life and human dignity. Indeed, it is because we value life and human dignity that we support a woman's right to choice," Feldt wrote to Hughes.

Hughes made her comments on Sunday, April 25, on CNN. Speaking in reaction to the more than one million women and men gathered in Washington, DC, for the March for Women's Lives, Hughes said:

"I think after September 11, the American people are valuing life more...and I think those are the kind of policies the American people can support, particularly at a time when we're facing an enemy, and really, the fundamental difference between us and the terror network we fight is that we value every life."

Hughes addressed the growing outrage over her comments with an e-mail statement published in the Washington Post on Wednesday. "That is a gross distortion and I would never make such a comparison," Hughes said. "Surely even the most strident of partisans, and reasonable people on both sides of the abortion issue, can agree that we have been reminded of the precious nature of human life and that we ought to work to reduce the number of abortions in America."

Feldt said Hughes' reaction was unacceptable. "She failed to address the real issue: invoking 9/11 in a debate over reproductive choice, which is outrageous, insensitive and divisive."

"The horror of 9/11 has been used inappropriately too many times, and this is clearly such an incident," Feldt said. "Karen Hughes should demonstrate individual responsibility and apologize."

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Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the nation's largest and most trusted voluntary family planning organization. We believe that everyone has the right to choose when or whether to have a child and that every child should be wanted and loved. Planned Parenthood affiliates operate nearly 850 health centers nationwide, providing medical services and sexuality education for millions of women, men, and teenagers each year. Read More......

Planned Parenthood to protest Karen Hughes' book tour, launches action page

Planned Parenthood just launched an Apologize, Karen Hughes! action Web page, asking advocates to:
- Sign a petition demanding Hughes apologize for comments comparing pro-choicers to Al Qaeda terrorists,
- send public letters to Hughes via the site; and
- Join PPFA in protesting Hughes at her upcoming book tour events.

Go get her! Read More......

Bush invoked 9/11 to defend pro-life positions too

Thanks to the National Review, of all places, for discovering that Bush also misappropriated 9/11 for political purposes in the abortion debate. This is from his National Sanctity of Human Life Day proclamation, January 18, 2002:

"Unborn children should be welcomed in life and protected in law. On September 11, we saw clearly that evil exists in this world, and that it does not value life. The terrible events of that fateful day have given us, as a Nation, a greater understanding about the value and wonder of life. Every innocent life taken that day was the most important person on earth to somebody; and every death extinguished a world. Now we are engaged in a fight against evil and tyranny to preserve and protect life. In so doing, we are standing again for those core principles upon which our Nation was founded."

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