Fun With Fascism
"Super hero of corporations"
Dearest readers, Prissy will be posting pictures and article from the Columbus Eyes Wide Open: The Human Cost of War today or tomorrow. There is talk this exhibit is going to be shut down. Prissy will keep you posted.
Hot Links
My Way News Rove Won't Be Charged in CIA Leak Case
WASHINGTON (AP) - Presidential adviser Karl Rove won't be a criminal defendant in the CIA leak case, but he could still end up being grilled in court as a witness.
Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald could question Rove about whether the Bush administration compromised a CIA officer's identity to retaliate against a political critic.
Still, Rove and the White House could breathe a sigh of relief Tuesday after the prosecutor told Rove's lawyer he wouldn't seek a federal indictment against the political operative.
Keep in mind this is what Rove's lawyer is saying. Special prosecutor Fitzgerald has not commented yet.
Still, Fitz can decide to unseal any deal if he thinks for one minute Rove stops cooperating in an "ongoing investigation". Prissy doesn't think for a minute Fitz would hesitate to "jerk the rug out from under him" should he fail to satisfy what Fitz considers cooperation.
Did the Turdblossom sell out the Veep? You didn't think he would throw his beloved Dubya under the bus, did you? 
As Constant points out, the stories they spin are only consistent with these characters testimony-not the evidence!
Firedoglake explains
When I first heard that Rove got a letter saying that Fitzgerald did not intend to bring charges against him, I immediately thought , as emptywheel did, of a conversation we had between the Plame panelists last Thursday. Emptywheel took a poll of those who thought Rove had flipped and both Joe Wilson and Larry Johnson raised their hands. Christy acknowledged that it was awfully weird for someone to testify before a grand jury five times and NOT be cooperating in some fashion with the prosecution. Today emptywheel offers this account:
I was one of those who raised her hand halfway. My logic is this:
Dick Cheney is dragging down the White House. He is largely responsible for the mess in Iraq. He is trying to sabotage any attempts to negotiate honestly with Iran. And he is exposing everyone in the Administration to some serious legal jeopardy, in the event they ever lose control of courts. At some point, Dick Cheney'’s authoritarianism will doom Bush's legacy.
But you can'’t make him quit. His is a Constitutional office, he was elected along with Bush, so you can'’t make him resign like you can with your Treasury Secretary or your Environmental Secretary. What better way to get rid of him, then, than to expose him to legal proceedings? It gives you the ability (farcical, but no matter) to say that you have severed all ties with his policies and legacies.
We may not know exactly what Fitz has on this gang-but we know he must have a lot. They have left quite a trail of evidence in the media-just with their public statements! Pre-war and post-war statements, that is...
Prima fascia evidence is everything in a criminal investigation.
But there is more...California dreaming by the GOP in the LA Times
GOP Hopes to Close Door on Scandal
Behind the scenes, however, as Fitzgerald's investigation has shown, top White House strategists had worked feverishly to discredit Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, who had infuriated officials by accusing the White House of twisting intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq.
The accusation was worrisome for Bush aides, who knew that the Iraq war would be a central theme of the president's reelection campaign in 2004. So Plame's identity was leaked by anonymous senior officials as part of an effort to claim that Wilson's CIA-funded trip to the African nation of Niger to investigate whether Iraq had tried to purchase uranium ore there had been a junket arranged by his CIA officer wife.
As Fitzgerald's investigation has shown, not only was Rove involved in discussing Plame with reporters, but so was Libby, Cheney's chief of staff, who has been indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges in the case.
The indictment of such a high-level official was particularly damaging for a president who campaigned in 2000 on restoring "honor and dignity" to the Oval Office and who pledged a higher standard of conduct for his staff.
Rove still has his clearance. But do we ask mob informants to "turn in their card" when they are cooperating in an ongoing investigation?
Times Dispatch Streets Renamed After Fallen Soldiers
BUFFALO, N.Y.-Around the country, street names have been changed, trees planted and plaques hung in tribute to the soldiers lost during more than three years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"When we remember it's painful, but if people forgot it would be just as painful," Loretta Derenda said.
As of Tuesday, at least 2,498 members of the U.S. military had died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. Another 295 had died in or around Afghanistan since November 2001, according to the Department of Defense.
WaPoIn Baghdad, Bush Pledges Support to Iraqi Leader
Bush, making his first appearance here since serving Thanksgiving turkey to U.S. troops in 2003, greeted Maliki under the cupola of a marble-walled chamber in one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces, now serving as the U.S. Embassy. Afterward, the president told reporters that Iraq's leaders were "deeply concerned that the stability provided by the coalition forces will be removed and there'll be a vacuum. And they're concerned about what goes into the vacuum, and I can understand that concern."
"I assured them that we'll keep our commitment," Bush said during his flight home. "I also made it clear to them that in order for us to keep our commitment and be successful, they themselves have to do some hard things. They themselves have to set an agenda. They themselves have to get some things accomplished."
The visit, shrouded in such secrecy that much of Bush's Cabinet and senior White House staff did not know about it, came as there are mounting U.S. and Iraqi military operations aimed at further disrupting Iraq's insurgency, and defiant promises from insurgents of more violence after the killing last week of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of the group al-Qaeda in Iraq.
So what number prime minister is this? Prissy lost count. We had elections and leaders who would "move Vietnam forward" too...but it never happened until we left their country.
This is a dangerous man...seen Outfoxed ? Forbes Murdoch's 'Times' Newspaper To Launch Internet TV 06/06/06
The announcement comes on an important day for The Times--and no, it's not because of the peculiar date, if you happen to be of a superstitious inclination. The newspaper is today also launching its U.S. edition, a $1 paper available across the regions of New York and New Jersey . The 64-page edition is reportedly being printed and distributed by The New York Post, also owned by New Corp.
Observers in the media sector have noted that the U.S. seems to have become more attractive to British media outlets as newspapers in the Land of Liberty struggle with falling circulation and revenue. The BBC, for instance, recently announced that it would be launching a 24-hour news channel in the U.S this July.
Attributed to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels) that goes: "“He who controls the medium controls the message. He who controls the message controls the masses.
Reporters protest union busting! The Prissy Patriot supports them in their quest.
Toldeo Guild. The Toledo Blade was the first msm to break the "Coingate" story. Of course Prissy Patriot readers knew months ahead of Blade readers...
HUNDREDS RALLY TO STOP BLADE UNION BUSTING
Toledo Council of Newspaper Unions President Ron Garcia addresses hundreds of Toledo area supporters on April 10, telling them of The Blade's efforts to break the unions that have represented workers at the paper for decades.
The enthusiastic (and peaceful) crowd heard speaker after speaker talk about The Blade's hired-gun law firm, King & Ballow, and their anti-worker antics. The crowd spontaneously chanted "Send them home to Tennessee!" and sang along with a version of "Louie Louie" that urged the Block family to send the law firm packing and start bargaining in good faith.
The crowd was filled with representatives from many unions - United Auto Workers, Teamsters, Electricians, Building Trades, Toledo Federation of Teachers among them - and each union leader that spoke joined US Rep. Marcy Kaptur in signing an "Open Letter to The Blocks" that urged the family to work with their employees to identify and find a way out of their current crisis. The open letter, displayed here, was taped to the side of The Blade building directly below the office from which longtime former Publisher (and former Guild member) Paul Block, Jr., ran the paper successfully for decades.
According to letters sent to city workers, current Blade management told Toledo Police that they could "expect violence" at the rally. In response, Toledo Police dispatched scores of officers in riot helmets to secure the rally site, and even placed sharpshooters on nearby rooftops.
Several speakers mentioned the police response, and also mentioned that these same officers, along with their brethren in the city fire department, have been working without contracts for more than 100 days. Needless to say, at the Council of Newspaper Unions rally, there was no violence, no hint of trouble, and the only fight that happened was hundreds of workers fighting to keep their jobs at the newspaper.
Counterpunch War Criminal Nation
The only reason Americans can look themselves in the mirror is that they are clueless and have little idea of what is being done in their name. One-third of the US population actually believes that Iraq was behind 9/11 and that Bush found the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Apparently, a large percentage of the US population believes that Iran has nuclear weapons and that America is in danger of being attacked by Iran. No democracy can work when people take their responsibility as citizen so lightly as to be totally ignorant.
Formerly conservative, now proto-nazi, publications such as National Review and the Wall Street Journal editorial page, keep pounding the war drums, as does right-wing talk radio and neocon propaganda organs such as the Weekly Standard and Fox "News." The few facts that emerge in the interstices of the war propaganda are quickly spun away.
Slaughter of civilians? Just a few bad apples. We will fix that with seminars for the troops on military ethics and core values.
Troop withdrawals? As soon as the undefined mission is completed.
Along with present day American hero, Dr. Roberts is a Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, a former advisor to President Ronald Reagan and former Ass't Editor of Wall Street Journal.
CA war protest 2004
CNS News Kerry: 'I Was Wrong' On Iraq (Which is why Prissy does not want you to be president)
He said opposing the war is "a right and an obligation" because it was "founded on a lie [and] can never be true to America''s character."
Kerry also lashed out at war supporters who accuse anti-war activists of not supporting the troops. "The best way to support the troops is to oppose a course that destroys their lives," he said.
Kerry renewed his call for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq, saying that he supports setting a timetable for the removal in Iraq that is not "cut and run." Without saying when he would like troops removed from the war zone, Kerry said he believes "we need a hard and fast deadline."
And...A spokesman for the Republican National Committee was not immediately available for reaction to Kerry''s comments.
Prissy thinks Kerry's spokesman should run for something.
Think Progress NSA Blocking Whistleblower From Telling Committee About Shocking, Illegal Activities
CongressDaily also reports that House Government Reform National Security Subcommittee, through its Chairman Christopher Shays (R-CT) and ranking member Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), is seeking to interview Tice, but the NSA is resisting.
Tice said his information is different from the terrorist surveillance program that President Bush acknowledged in December and from news accounts last month that the NSA has been secretly collecting phone call records of millions of Americans. Because he worked on special access programs, however, it has not been clear on Capitol Hill which committees have jurisdiction to debrief him. Shays and Kucinich gave the NSA until Friday to explain any legal reason why they cannot interview him.
But that deadline passed without a response, and a subcommittee aide today called the missed deadline troubling.
Shays and Kucinich had originally asked the NSA to give them a reason by May 26, but the agency asked for an extension until June 9. NSA spokesman Don Weber said today that the agency “is performing due diligence in developing a response to the committee’s request,” but added that Tice has not notified the agency of the alleged illegal activity. Tice said he does not believe he needs to notify the agency of his allegations.
Congress deserves to hear from Tice, who has a history for blowing the whistle on serious misconduct. He was one of the sources that revealed the administration’s warrantless domestic spying program to the New York Times.
Russell Tice, "May the force be with you" as you carry out your mission in the interest of the American people.
CNN -Why Ann Coulter should come out, these are the kind of haters she caters to -maybe they would listen to her tell them why it's wrong... 4 arraigned on hate crime charges in assault on singer
Len Evans, Aviance's publicist, said the singer could hear passers-by yelling at the attackers to stop.
Aviance suffered a broken jaw, bruised knee and other injuries, the complaint said.
When it was over, a stranger walked him to the hospital. Aviance was discharged Monday from Manhattan's Beth Israel Medical Center, his leg in a brace and his jaw wired shut.
Aviance, who performs in drag, appeared on the Billboard dance music charts in 2002 and 2004 with his songs "Give It Up" and "Alive."
Uncle Sam wants liberty and justice for all, even you Annie
ANSA Italy Iraq pull-out starts
Addressing Italy's military pull-out from Iraq, D'Alema said that "the Prodi government will manage it in an orderly way, in consultation with the Iraqi government and the coalition partners. "We will guarantee that the modalities of the withdrawal do not exacerbate the problems facing the Iraqi government nor the security of the Multinational Force partners" .
D'Alema, who visited Baghdad last week, also repeated that Italy would not be turning its back on Iraq and would boost its role in the country's gradual reconstruction and democratic development .
"We will withdraw our troops but not our support for the new democratically elected Iraqi government... We share a common interest in the future stability of a democratic and united Iraq. We will continue to contribute to it, although with different means," he said .
Editor and Pulisher blame the source, instead of the editor AP's Yost: Rove Got Away With 'Misleading' the Media
For nearly three years, the White House has refused to discuss the Plame investigation, citing the fact that it is still under way.
"The ability of this White House to stiff the press is probably better than any previous administration," said presidential scholar Stephen Hess, a former speechwriter for President Eisenhower and an adviser to Presidents Ford and Carter. "Clearly if there are no leaks, there's no damage."
Hess said Tuesday the Plame case is an example of the news media being complicit in the White House's conduct.
Oh the media was complicit alright, and there was a leak and it caused major damage. Just how much damage is known only to Fitz and staff presently-and of course, the perpetrators.
Comments from ABC The Note:
A New York Times editorial dismisses the trip as a "presidential publicity stunt."The Wall Street Journal ed board wishes the President had stayed longer.
The New York Daily News' Thomas DeFrank writes that after yesterday, Bush has the "Big Mo" back.
On ABC's "Good Morning America," New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman did not express optimism about Iraq following POTUS' visit. "The good news is that the President went to Iraq. The bad news is that he only felt safe to stay for 5 or 6 hours." He added, "We can kill people like Zarqawi, but we can't kill Zarqawism."
Reuters UN experts urge Guantanamo closure
In a statement released in Geneva, the group said the three deaths were "to a certain extent foreseeable in light of the harsh and prolonged conditions of their detention and reinforces the need for the urgent closure of the detention center."
The two Saudis and one Yemeni who hung themselves with clothes and bedsheets were the first prisoners to die at Guantanamo since the United States began holding terrorism suspects at the base in 2002.
Facing indefinite detention, with none of the rights afforded formal prisoners of war or criminal suspects in the U.S. justice system, dozens of the detainees have undertaken hunger strikes and attempted suicide.
CA war protest 2004
Quotes of the Day
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State. The Craven--Joseph Goebbels,German Minister of Propaganda, 1933-1945
If the day should ever come when we [the Nazis] must go, if some day we are compelled to leave the scene of history, we will slam the door so hard that the universe will shake and mankind will stand back in stupefaction..--Joseph Goebbels quote
A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.-- Joseph Stalin
Fascism should rightly be called corporatism as it is a merger of state and corporate power--Benito Mussolini
"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.
If ever time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin. -- Samuel Adams
If the Republicans stop telling lies about us, we will stop telling the truth about them.--Adlai Stevenson
