Senator Reid asks Senator Frist to move ahead on cell phone privacy legislation

Click to see the full letter. Read More......

33 (yes, that's another new low)

CBS poll via Atrios. Even GOPers are starting to hate him. Read More......

CIA agent Valerie Plame was working on tracking nuclear weapons in Iran ran when Karl Rove outed her

As Joe would say, this is huge. According to US intelligence officials, White House employee, and top Bush aide, Karl Rove destroyed Valerie Plame's career in the CIA at a time when Plame was working on tracking whether and when Iran would get nukes.

So not only was CIA agent Valerie Plame still working undercover, she was in fact working on stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons. And senior Bush adviser Karl Rove is the person who ended her career by leaking her identity to conservative writer Bob Novak.

What the hell is Karl Rove, a known traitor, still doing working in George Bush's White House with a top-level security clearance?

Karl Rove personally set back this nation's efforts to stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. We are at war. And we are about to get involved in our third war, specifically because we don't have enough information about Iran's nulcear program, and part of the reason we don't is Karl Rove.

What Karl Rove did is an offense worth of treason. And what is George Bush's response to the fact that one of his top aides intentionally and maliciously hurt our ability to stop Iran from getting nukes?? Nothing. Rove is still working out of the White House, with George Bush's blessing.

There comes a time when a president's stubborness and incompetence becomes downright dangerous. George Bush should no longer be president of this country. We are at war. Are there no Republicans out there, in Congress or elsewhere, who can put their own partisanship aside for even a moment and recognize that George Bush's failings are now endangering all of our lives?

Karl Rove should be shown the door immediately. What is this man even doing with a security clearance? Read More......

Open thread

News? Read More......

Reid eviscerates Bush

Definitely worth reading. So brutally honest it'll definitely have the GOPers bellyaching and whining and carping about Reid again. They hate it when anyone tells the truth about Bush. So go Harry:

Today, our country marks an unfortunate anniversary-the three year anniversary of President Bush donning a flight suit to declare "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq.

President Bush's dramatic landing on the aircraft carrier the Abraham Lincoln will be marked historically as a public relations stunt gone horribly wrong.

Since President Bush rendered his judgment of "mission accomplished," more than 2,200 Americans have lost their lives, about 20,000 have been wounded, many hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars have been expended, and now, Iraq is engaged in a civil war-the degree of which is unknown.

The image of President Bush standing in front of the "Mission Accomplished" banner has been etched into the minds of the American people as a metaphor for the Bush White House's misleading and dangerous incompetence. It shows a self-described "war President" not ready for the war, or the difficult problems of securing the peace-problems the president and his Secretary of Defense simply ignored or did not understand following the invasion of Iraq.

On this day three years ago, President Bush announced that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."

Three years later, with fighting and violence continuing across Iraq, we know that declaration was woefully premature. In fact, the President and his team's mismanagement and poor planning have now stretched the Iraq War to a length and monetary cost that nearly match those of World War II.

Read More......

Did Mary Cheney cause September 11?

That's the topic of discussion on this week's Monday Morning Blogger, hosted by me. Click through to check out the three minute video rant.

(If you're having problems seeing the video on that page, here are links to :

- Quicktime version
- Windows media version Read More......

Secret Service will release visitor logs of Abramoff trips to White House

You remember, all those trips he didn't make. Read More......

Colbert gets some coverage, finally

From Froomkin:

Colbert was merciless, reserving his most potent zingers for the people in spitting distance: The president who took the nation to war on false pretenses and the press corps that let him do it.

The boozy bonhomie of the annual event is intended to serve as a balm for the often tense relationship between the White House and the reporters who cover it.

Bush largely delivered on his side of the bargain. Colbert delivered something else entirely.

Read More......

Afternoon Open Thread

What's the buzz? Obviously not Colbert's performance the other night... Read More......

FBI and local cops broke the law by getting your cell phone records without a warrant

What a growing surprise that isn't a surprise at all.

Remember my stories about how people could buy your cell phone records, a list of all your calls made and received, online for about a hundred bucks? Well, we're now finding out that the FBI and local police forces used these services to illegally get a hold of your cell phone records. You see, normally they'd have to go to court and get a a search warrant or a subpoena. But not here. The can just circumvent the judge and get an illegal copy of your records.

And this is supposed to make us feel bad for the FBI and the cops, as if "gosh, if we get rid of these online brokers the FBI and the cops may no longer be able to invade our privacy illegally."

Yes, what a pity that would be if the cops and the FBI were actually forced to follow procedures and respect the constitutional rights of American citizens.

Privacy, folks. It's the issue of the year. Will any Democrats realize that fact? Read More......

George Allen's race problem

Some of his best friends aren't black. Read More......

Most think Mission will never be accomplished

Again, the American people are way ahead of their leaders:

The CNN poll, conducted April 21-23 by Opinion Research Corporation, found that only 9 percent thought the U.S. mission in Iraq had been accomplished, while another 40 percent believed it would be complete someday.

Another 44 percent said the United States would never accomplish its goals in Iraq, where American troops are still battling insurgents three years after the invasion that toppled former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Besides the Bush family, the Cheneys, Rummy and Condi, just who are the 9% that think the mission's been accomplished?

Think Progress looks at the numbers then and now. Read More......

Bush wants his "Mojo" back

No policy changes, just more spin:

But he said that does not mean the president's policies are going to get an overhaul. "I don't think we need to change, but we do need to refresh and re-energize," Bolten said.

And it probably means he's going to attack Iran. Read More......

Monday Morning Open Thread

Let's get it started. Read More......

Oil prices jump in Asian trading today

So when will the GOP offer a serious plan instead of more attempts to bribe the electorate? I wish this ridiculous talk of ethanol would get called out as well because it makes no sense to anyone except the corporate farmers who are going to cash in as well as the politicians looking for campaign money from those corporations. Any energy source that requires more energy to produce then it actually delivers is not much of an option.

Meanwhile, oil up to $72.36 in Singapore trading, a jump of $0.48 per barrel. Read More......

Sudan peace deal closer, but not quite there

All parties have agreed to the peace deal except for the rebels who are pressing for more time. What is especially significant here and what should be recognized as an extremely positive move is that the African Union has been the key player during these negotiations. For too many years, the AU stood by and did nothing while Africa drifted into chaos and genocide. It would be nice to see the AU take a stand against thugs like Mugabe but like they say, Rome wasn't built in a day. With oil money in play, pulling together a serious consensus in the UN is going to be difficult so the AU's role here is critical. Read More......

"Mission Accomplished," George Bush, May 1, 2003

(Courtesy of the Memory Hole.) Read More......