Dubya and Dick Beg the Question: Ready For Guard Duty America?

Prissy is recovering from the flu, or there would have been more postings this week. The CIA Leak grand jury expires in 10 days.

Hot Links

Amnesty International Amnesty International calls for bloggers to stand up for freedom

“Freedom of expression online is a right, not a privilege – but it’s a right that needs defending. We’re asking bloggers worldwide to show their solidarity with web users in countries where they can face jail just for criticising the government.

“The Internet Governance Forum needs to know that the online community is bothered about free expression online and willing to stand up for it.”

Amnesty International is calling on governments and companies to ensure that human rights – particularly the rights to freedom of expression, association and the right to privacy – are respected and protected.

Daily Reckoning Greenspan Is Still Crazy...

Yesterday, we saw some additional dollar selling, and it wasn't from any data. The dollar was sold after some comments by Big Al Greenspan. That's right, the former Fed Chairman is still crazy after all these years. No wait! What I mean to say is that he can still move the markets. Let's go to the tape and listen in on what he had to say.

“Central Banks around the world, and private investors are beginning to shift holdings from the dollar to the euro.” Greenspan went on to say that “the move is due to a desire to diversify after a concentration of global investment in U.S. assets.” But, here's the one line that just cracked me up! “The trade and budget deficits aren't a problem.”

Hmmmm. First of all, it sure sounded to me, and I guess the markets too, that Big Al was playing out a fantasy of directing the dollar. That's the job of the Treasury Dept, not the Fed. But even though Big Al isn't either now, he sure directed the dollar yesterday, eh? You know...Big Al just cracks me up. Here he is, the creator of all this mess, and now he decides to throw gas on the fire with talk about Central Banks diversifying out of dollars and into euros.

Good video hat tip to GEF Article 2 Section 4 of the Constitution www.downstreetmemo.org

Haaretz AG: Katsav should resign before indictment hearing

"[In] a situation in which there is a criminal investigation of the president on allegations that include serious criminal violations," said Mazuz, it would be appropriate for the president to remove himself temporarily from office, by petitioning the Knesset to determine that he is temporarily incapacitated.

"It is obvious that the more serious the allegations are, and the more the legal proceedings advance - the conclusion of the investigation or the decision in principle to file an indictment - the more the president is obligated to remove himself temporarily from office," said Mazuz.

Justice Ministry officials have said in the past that Katsav should resign in order to "spare the public the embarrassment."

Over the last few days, however, discussions in the Attorney General's Office had focused on whether the High Court of Justice has the legal authority to instruct the president to resign. Under the Basic Law, a sitting president is immune from prosecution.

Allow Prissy to remind you the police thought there was enough evidence to charge him-and police everywhere, are known to be a little funny about getting behind rape cases unless there is overwhelming evidence...see below.

Breit Bart News Prosecutor Yet to Interview Rape Accuser

"She said, 'I've never taken Ecstasy,'" Nifong said. "That was the extent of the conversation because that's all I had to know."

Nifong said he met with the accuser and an investigator on April 11, but didn't discuss details of the case because the woman was "too traumatized." Nifong said the woman didn't make eye contact with him and often seemed on the verge of crying. Their discussion centered around how the case would develop, he said.

"She probably did not speak 15 words during the meeting," Nifong said.

Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md., was charged in May with rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. A month earlier, a grand jury indicted players Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., and Collin Finnerty, 20, of Garden City, N.Y., on the same charges. The accuser, a student at nearby North Carolina Central University, told police she was raped in a bathroom by three men at the off-campus party.

Forensic evidence trumps statements every time...which sounds like what the police are going with. And yes, victims can certainly be too traumatized to speak out against the alleged perpetrators. The fear tends to last quite a while, post-traumatic stress disorder is common in this type of assault.

Defense attorneys know this, but of course have a duty to defend the frat boys involved. Prissy didn't see too many frat boys in juvi hall...

THE DIRTY 30 OF ELECTION FRAUD

CNN Laura Bush: My husband never misled about Iraq

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In her first public comments about Bob Woodward's explosive book "State of Denial," first lady Laura Bush sharply denied claims in the book that her husband has misled the public about the level of violence in Iraq.

"Absolutely I think that is wrong," Bush said in an exclusive interview with CNN Wednesday. "Of course, the president has been frank from the very very first speech he gave to the country after the September 11 attacks, talking about this is a long war, this is a very difficult war.

"It's a different war than our country has ever faced. The enemy can make a big show on television like they did for the bloody last month we had in Iraq by blowing themselves up a lot of times along with other people. But our success is not so easy to see. But the fact is that we are succeeding."

The first lady also bristled when asked about Woodward's suggestion that she privately supported an effort by then-White House Chief of Staff Andy Card to push out Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Dearest Readers, anything said by the first lady is under duress. Dubya is no prize amongst husbands, for sure. She is way too good for the likes of him.

Kansas City Bush labors to save GOP in last campaign

This time around, Bush has taken his biggest weakness - the troubles in Iraq - and tried to turn it against his opponents.

"If you want to be a Democrat these days, you can be for almost anything, but victory in Iraq is not an option," Bush said recently while campaigning for Republican Rep. Don Sherwood in Pennsylvania, who admitted to having an extramarital affair.

Washington Times DNC wooing black voters

"They use a database that they have been building for years, to the point where today my friends who are Republican pollsters, they can go to a block somewhere in some town and tell you exactly where the three Republican voters live on that block, right off the bat," Mr. Lester said.

Terry McAuliffe recognized this problem in 2001 when he became DNC chairman. He copied the Republican model, investing heavily in building a similar database using credit-card information, vehicle registrations and other data to identify likely Democratic voters.

This database, which cost the party tens of millions of dollars to assemble, has given the Democrats a tool to challenge Republican turnout nearly vote for vote, Mr. Lester said.

"The DNC probably has the most effective technical operation they have had in years, but as always they are still playing catch-up," he said.

Good for you DNC, now be sure to count the votes!

Canadian Broadcasting Co U.S. networks reject ads for Dixie Chicks doc

Two American television networks — NBC and CW — have rejected advertising for the documentary Shut Up & Sing, a movie about the Dixie Chicks' controversial statement against the U.S. president and the invasion of Iraq, according to the company that is distributing the film.

The networks said it was "disparaging to president Bush."

India Times Email threat to PM, Prez; 3 held

The police are taking its contents of the email seriously considering that Singh is scheduled to be in Kerala on November 1 and Kalam in December.

The email, sent to the office of the DGP, the home department and 20 senior police officers, reportedly warns of consequences if Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru and Islamic leader Abdul Nasser Madani are harmed in any way.

The police suspect it to be the handiwork of banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and activists of National Development Fund, who have expressed sympathy for Afzal and Madani.

ABC News GAO Chief Warns Economic Disaster Looms

David M. Walker sure talks like he's running for office. "This is about the future of our country, our kids and grandkids," the comptroller general of the United States warns a packed hall at Austin's historic Driskill Hotel. "We the people have to rise up to make sure things get changed."

But Walker doesn't want, or need, your vote this November. He already has a job as head of the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress that audits and evaluates the performance of the federal government.

Basically, that makes Walker the nation's accountant-in-chief. And the accountant-in-chief's professional opinion is that the American public needs to tell Washington it's time to steer the nation off the path to financial ruin.

Forbes Housing Makes U.S. Economy Look Bad

"The big story is that the market is barely budging, aside from some movement in cyclical areas," said Alec Young, an equity strategist at Standard & Poor’s. "And I think that's a function of the fact that growth was weaker than expected, but people are more confident in a soft landing.

Soft landing? Hmm, Dearest Readers, make sure your pantry is well stocked. There is no reason to trust this economy. The crash is coming...

Mainichi Japan South Korea monitoring movements at North's suspected nuclear site

A retired U.S. diplomat, however, said a nuclear-capable North was likely to increase its demands for dismantling its nuclear weapons program, including a demand for a full withdrawal of U.S. troops in the South.

"If we go back to the negotiating table, the price of dismantling their program is going to be astronomical," Kenneth Quinones, a former U.S. State Department Korea specialist, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Quinones served as a North Korea desk officer at the State Department and spent time in the country during the mid-1990s amid a period of U.S. engagement with Pyongyang. He said it was unlikely the U.S. would agree to a full troop pull out from the South.

The U.S. keeps 29,500 troops in the South, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with a cease-fire and not a peace treaty. Washington plans to reduce the number of soldiers to 25,000 by 2008.

CBC Taliban turns down Karzai's offer to talk: report

"They should first free themselves from foreign slavery and come to their own land and live in peace," Karzai said. "For the sake of peace in Afghanistan, we are ready to negotiate with them."

Karzai has also written to influential ethnic Pashtun politicians in Pakistan asking for their support to stem the growing Taliban insurgency.

The Afghan president says he believes the Taliban leader is hiding in Pakistan, but that country says Omar is still in Afghanistan.

The purported statement from the Taliban, sent by e-mail Saturday to the Associated Press by militant spokesman Muhammad Hanif, dismissed Karzai's latest offer of talks and called his administration a "puppet government."

Iran Mania AP Interview: Chalabi prods US on Iran

The coalition has accused Iran of arming insurgents and Shiite militias, but Chalabi, like other officials, believes that the United States should take advantage of Iran's established links with Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish politicians and groups of all kinds in Iraq in an effort to promote its national interests.

Many Shiite groups now influential in Iraq's government, such as the Dawa Party and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI, were based in Iran or operated from there during Saddam's rule.

Chalabi said Iran would favor close ties with a stable Shiite-controlled government in Iraq, if it believed the United States was not planning to use the country as a base to contain Iran or attack its nuclear program.

"We need better diplomacy and negotiation right now, not only between US and Iraqi forces and Iraq's Sunnis and Shias, but also with neighbors such as Iran and Turkey," Chalabi said.

We need his advice, as much as we need Henry Kissinger's...what is it with our government buying the advice of wanted men? Criminals advising criminals, and they aren't even smart ones...

Ireland Online I'm not America's man, says Iraqi PM

Maliki’s office issued a statement after the talks saying the two leaders had agreed to the joint goals of hastening the training of the Iraqi army and “handing over security responsibility to the Iraqi government”.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said President George Bush reaffirmed his support for Maliki, telling him that he was not “America’s man in Iraq” but a sovereign leader whom the US is assisting.

“What you’ve got in Maliki is a guy who is making decisions,” Snow said.

“He’s making tough decisions, and he’s showing toughness and he’s also showing political skill in dealing with varying factions within his own country. And both leaders understand the political pressures going on,” Snow said.

CBC, thank Goodness the Canadians still report real news. Protesters urge end to Afghan mission

Turnout was mixed, depending on weather conditions. In driving snow in Edmonton, fewer than 100 people marched, while several hundred braved the rain in Montreal.

The crowds included a few people with military experience.

Francisco Juarez, a demonstrator in Toronto, was fined by the Canadian army reserves and released earlier this year after he refused to train for the Afghan campaign.

"Today I'm here at the protest because I feel that in whatever way I can, I need to assist in engaging Canadians in a broader debate: the issues of why we're in Afghanistan and what the priorities are in Afghanistan for our Canadian Forces."

BBC Pope urges action on sexual abuse

Trust in the clergy had been damaged, Pope Benedict said, and rebuilding confidence was an urgent task.

In March, a report from the Archdiocese of Dublin said that more than 100 Catholic priests in Dublin were suspected of having abused children in the last 66 years. But there have been other scandals in various parts of the world.

In the US, a Boston-based scandal in 2002 led to the prosecutions of a number of priests, large payouts to dozens of victims and allegations of a cover-up by senior clergy.

This is decades overdue, perhaps pedophilia will once and for all be exposed to the light. That will make a difference in the lives of today's children and we will all benefit.

Quotes of the Day

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.--George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

A child born to a Black mother in a state like Mississippi... has exactly the same rights as a white baby born to the wealthiest person in the United States. It's not true, but I challenge anyone to say it is not a goal worth working for.-- Justice Thurgood Marshall

Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men's minds.--Thurgood Marshall

As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there's a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness.--William O. Douglas

When a legislature undertakes to proscribe the exercise of a citizen's constitutional rights it acts lawlessly and the citizen can take matters into his own hands and proceed on the basis that such a law is no law at all. --William O. Douglas

Since when have we Americans been expected to bow submissively to authority and speak with awe and reverence to those who represent us? --William O. Douglas

The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Party

Whether asking Dubya or any other GOPer about the war, the economy in Ohio or FoleyGate in Washington, they refuse to give a straight answer.

Hot Links

Mercury News Bush: `The ultimate accountability rests with me'

Bush insisted that "absolutely, we're winning" in Iraq, and said, "I will send more troops to Iraq if (Army Gen. George) Casey says, `I need more troops in Iraq to achieve victory.'

But what are we winning, Dubya? The people of Iraq are still without clean drinking water, food shortages and sporadic electricity.

UTube video, showing how Toby Keiths song glorifies an illegal occupation and harms our soldiers Red white & Blue

WaPo In the Libby Case, A Grilling to Remember

"I'd need to see that again," Loftus said when Fitzgerald cited a line in her book that overstated her research by saying that "most jurors" consider memory to be equivalent to playing a videotape. Her research, however, found that to be true for traumatic events, and even then, only 46 percent of potential jurors thought memory could be similar to a videotape.

There were several moments when Loftus was completely caught off guard by Fitzgerald, creating some very awkward silences in the courtroom.

One of those moments came when Loftus insisted that she had never met Fitzgerald. He then reminded her that he had cross-examined her before, when she was an expert defense witness and he was a prosecutor in the U.S. attorney's office in New York.

Libby's defense team declined to comment.

Oh Fitz, Prissy loves it when you talk like that-it brings out the criminal justice major in her.

Arm Chair Subversive-more perversion in the GOP Republican Hypocrisy Revealed

* Republican County Board Candidate Brent Schepp was charged with molesting a 14-year old girl and killed himself three days later.

* Republican Congressman Mark Foley abruptly resigned from Congress after "sexually explicit" emails surfaced showing him flirting with a 16-year old boy.

* Republican executive Randall Casseday of the conservative Washington Times newspaper was arrested for soliciting sex from a 13-year old girl on the internet.

* Republican chairman of the Oregon Christian Coalition Lou Beres confessed to molesting a 13-year old girl.

Seattle Times Abuse cases put focus on Jesuits

For one victim, compensation came in the form of checks hand-delivered from the highest-ranking Jesuit in the Pacific Northwest.

John McKinley, of Olympia, had contacted church officials about two years ago, saying he had been abused as a boy by a since-deceased Jesuit priest. Over the next months, he talked with the Very Rev. John Whitney.

Whitney gave him an unsolicited check for about $100,000. About a year later, they signed a settlement for another $100,000.

At first, McKinley, 69, saw it as a gesture from a "nice guy" he'd come to regard as a friend. But McKinley wonders now if the checks were "gag money" and fair compensation for the abuse he says he suffered at the hands of the Rev. Michael Toulouse, a priest who had worked in Spokane and at Seattle University, and a nun.

The Age Defiant Sheik fires broadside at Bush

Under pressure to step down following his comments suggesting immodestly dressed women invite sexual assault, Australia's leading Muslim cleric did nothing to ease simmering tensions on Friday.

After emerging from prayers at Sydney's Lakemba Mosque surrounded by dozens of followers, Sheik Alhilali was asked by a media pack whether he would quit.

"After we clean the world of the White House first," the sheik said before being ushered into a waiting car.

His supporters cheered and applauded loudly at the salvo aimed squarely at US President George W Bush and indirectly at Prime Minister John Howard.

Sounds like none of them have anything positive to add.

Kurdish Media Doubts Grow Over Iraq’s Prime Minister

So, rather than directly confront the Shi'ite militias, the prime minister tends to deflect the blame for the sectarian violence toward Sunni terrorist organizations. He did it again Wednesday, saying: "The root of the bloody cycle that we are undergoing is the presence of terror organizations that have arrived in the country."

Nor was the prime minister in any mood to placate his critics. In addition to criticizing the U.S. military, al-Maliki on Wednesday also publicly slapped down U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. He dismissed suggestions — made a day earlier by Khalilzad — that Iraqi political parties had agreed to timetables for dealing with the violence. "No one has the right to impose a timetable" on the Iraqi government, he said.

He suggested Khalilzad's statement was motivated by political considerations that had more to do with the American midterm elections due next month than any real deal. " We are not much concerned with it, " he said. The defiance plays well with al-Maliki's political allies: al-Sadr and other Shi'ite Islamists. But it leaves other groups, including Sunnis, Kurds and secular Iraqis — and not a few observers in Washington — wondering whether the prime minister can stop his country from descending into a total sectarian war.

Psychology Today What Dictators Collect

Possible motives for collecting abound: compulsion, competition, exhibitionism, desire for immortality and the need for experts' approval. Peter York, a British journalist who studied dictators' decor for his book Dictator Style, recognizes all of the above in his subjects. It's basically a dictator's job, he says, to take everything over-the-top.

Stephen Anderson, professor of neurology at the University of Iowa, has come closest to finding a biological basis for the yen to collect. In 2004 he showed that damage to an area of the prefrontal cortex can lead to hoarding—the pathological cousin of collecting. Anderson doubts that's the case with the dictators. "Most people who have injuries to this part of the brain are not going to be successful," he says, "even in a bad-guy way." Still, he wouldn't be surprised if the bad guys' neural wiring were somehow amiss.

York has one more theory to add: the need for compensation. "Some of these people," he says, "were really very short."

LA Times Home prices take steepest dive in 35 years

The nationwide median price of new homes sold in September fell about 9.7% from the same month last year to $217,100, according to the Commerce Department. It was the biggest annual decline in 35 years, according to economist Steven Wood.

"Home price momentum has slowed significantly as homebuilders are using big discounts to motivate new home buyers," Wood said in a research note for Insight Economics.

Home builders have scrambled to reduce a large inventory of unsold properties by putting the brakes on new construction and dangling a growing list of incentives — from price discounts to deals on mortgage — to stimulate sales. But those efforts have so far had limited success.

TPM Muckraker, hat tip to GEF Roll Call Provides Scandal Scorecard

With so many congressional scandals out there, who can keep track? Thanks to the good people at Roll Call newspaper, you can! They've created a handy-dandy chart listing 17 of 18 known federal investigations into members of the 109th Congress. (They forgot Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL), who's received subpoenas for information. Some of her former staffers have also been interviewed by the FBI.)

Is your member of Congress on the list? List of Members of 109th Congress Being Looked at by Dept. of Justice

C-Net NewsReporters Without Borders plans censorship cyberdemonstration

Paris-based human rights group Reporters Without Borders is organizing a 24-hour online demonstration to protest Internet censorship. The group is urging people to connect to its Web site between 11 a.m. Central European Time on Tuesday Nov. 7 and the same time the following day. Each click will help to change the "Internet Black Holes" map the group is compiling. At that time Reporters Without Borders will publish the list of 13 countries whose governments censor and block online content that criticizes them. The list will undoubtedly include China, where journalists and dissidents have been jailed for their online writings. The group also will launch its blog platform, rsfblog, at that time and an Arabic-language version of its press freedom Web site.

BBC French police put on high alert

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has ordered police to be on maximum alert in areas where outbreaks of violence could occur.

Several buses have been torched in the run-up to the anniversary of last year's widespread rioting in suburban areas.

Mr Sarkozy said that all "sensitive" bus routes would be protected.

"We will do everything possible to ensure that public services are not disrupted anywhere," he said.

Common Dreams Bush's Family Profits from 'No Child' Act

Most of Ignite's business has been obtained through sole-source contracts without competitive bidding. Neil Bush has been directly involved in marketing the product.

In addition to federal or state funds, foundations and corporations have helped buy Ignite products. The Washington Times Foundation, backed by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, head of the South Korea-based Unification Church, has peppered classrooms throughout Virginia with Ignite's COWs under a $1-million grant.

Oil companies and Middle East interests with long political ties to the Bush family have made similar bequests. Aramco Services Co., an arm of the Saudi-owned oil company, has donated COWs to schools, as have Apache Corp., BP and Shell Oil Co.

Neil Bush said he is a businessman who does not attempt to exert political influence, and he called The Times' inquiries about his venture — made just before the election — "entirely political."

Christian Science Monitor For now, modest sanctions eyed for Iran A UN resolution isn't expected to proceed as decisively as North Korea's.

The early signs of disagreement on Iran suggest long and difficult negotiations ahead on any resolution. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this week said she hopes for a strong message from the Council to Tehran on its nuclear program, but acknowledged it could still take "weeks."

Still, some diplomats say it is better to go for modest sanctions at first to "get the Iranians' attention" than to go for tough measures from the outset that risk dooming any cooperation from Iran - or a veto in the Security Council.

"We want to send a clear political signal," though one that does not push Iran to follow the example of North Korea, which left the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and kicked out inspectors as international pressures grew, says a European diplomat in Washington with full knowledge of the proposed resolution. "That is the opposite of what we want. We want the Iranians to return to the negotiating table.

Appeal for Redress An Appeal for Redress from the War in Iraq

Many active duty, reserve, and guard service members are concerned about the war in Iraq and support the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to their Congressional Representative and US Senators to urge an end to the U.S. military occupation. The Appeal messages will be delivered to members of Congress at the time of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January 2007. The wording of the Appeal for Redress is short and simple. It is patriotic and respectful in tone.

As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq . Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home.

Forbes Is Sex Necessary?

Reduced depression: Such was the implication of a 2002 study of 293 women. American psychologist Gordon Gallup reported that sexually active participants whose male partners did not use condoms were less subject to depression than those whose partners did. One theory of causality: Prostoglandin, a hormone found only in semen, may be absorbed in the female genital tract, thus modulating female hormones.

- Pain-relief: Immediately before orgasm, levels of the hormone oxytocin surge to five times their normal level. This in turn releases endorphins, which alleviate the pain of everything from headache to arthritis to even migraine. In women, sex also prompts production of estrogen, which can reduce the pain of PMS.

- Less-frequent colds and flu: Wilkes University in Pennsylvania says individuals who have sex once or twice a week show 30% higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A, which is known to boost the immune system. You see, Dr. Ruth told you that it was good for you!

And... Better teeth: Seminal plasma contains zinc, calcium and other minerals shown to retard tooth decay. Since this is a family Web site, we will omit discussion of the mineral delivery system. Suffice it to say that it could be a far richer, more complex and more satisfying experience than squeezing a tube of Crest--even Tartar Control Crest. Researchers have noted, parenthetically, that sexual etiquette usually demands the brushing of one's teeth before and/or after intimacy, which, by itself, would help promote better oral hygiene.

Health benefits galore, Dearest Readers.

U Tube Video Bush Reserves The Right To Repeat Katrina Failures with Bob Schiffer

Quotes of the Day

To knock a thing down, especially if it is cocked at an arrogant angle, is a deep delight of the blood.-- George Santayana

Fortune does not change men, it unmasks them.-- Suzanne Necker

The Iraq conflict, while not a cause of extremism, has become a cause for extremists.--Porter Goss,American politician, who was the last Director of Central Intelligence

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.--Booker T. Washington

Grand Jury Countdown Coming for PlameGate

Dearest Readers, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is wrapping up some things with the grand jury that will expire within the next 15 days.

Prissy will be very surprised if he waits until the very last day for these indictments. Look for the other shoe to drop very soon.

Fitz said this one year ago today (sorry, Prissy misread this before thinking it was what he had written today):

I am somewhat engrossed in my duties with the Grand Jury, but I hope to give regular updates and insight into the process and who I will be recommending for indictment.

That was about Scooter Libby, time is up for the rest. Will Fitz wait until the end? Hard to say! But the end is near.

Scooter should tell Fitz everything before Ambramoff beats him to it

Happy days may come again, Dearest Readers...

Hot Links

News Medical, for Prissy's Dearest beer drinking readers Moderate drinking reduces men's heart attack risk

Even as studies have consistently found an association between moderate alcohol consumption and reduced heart attack risk in men, an important question has persisted: What if the men who drank in moderation were the same individuals who maintained good eating habits, didn't smoke, exercised and watched their weight - How would you know that their reduced risk of myocardial infarction wasn't the result of one or more of these other healthy habits?

A new study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) helps answer this question. Reported in the October 23, 2006 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, the findings show for the first time that among men with healthy lifestyles, those who consumed moderate amounts of alcohol - defined as between one-half and two drinks daily - had a 40 to 60 percent reduced risk of heart attack compared with healthy men who didn't drink at all.

Crew Citizens for Ethics BREAKING: Hastert is testifying at Ethics Committee today

House Speaker Dennis Hastert on Tuesday sat down with ethics investigators trying to pin down when he and his staff learned about ex-Rep. Mark Foley's come-ons to former male pages and what they did to stop it.

The timeline that Hastert and his staff have given conflicts with the accounts of others. Hastert, R-Ill., has said that he didn't find out about Foley until late

September, when Foley's approaches to the former pages became public. Hastert's appearance followed that of Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York, the House GOP campaign chairman, who said he warned the speaker about Foley last spring.

Prissy is here to tell them, they best not cover for pedophile activity. Glad to see the pages coming forward too. Let's get this exposed so we can prevent it from occurring again without being managed. Pages should receive "training against problems with pedophiles" included in their orientation to the Hill.

CBC Canada Calgary could face water shortage: report

Calgary could face a water shortage in 10 to 15 years, says a new report by the Geological Survey of Canada.

The report, prepared by the federal government's geo-science research agency, says a warmer climate and a booming population mean Calgary could be headed for a water crisis.

U.S. says Iraq agrees timeline to peace

"The American people know that this is very important but the recent sectarian bloodshed in Iraq causes many to question whether the United States can succeed," Khalilzad said.

"Despite the difficult challenges we face, success in Iraq is possible ... on a realistic timetable."

Iraqi officials, marking holidays for the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, had no comment. Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's unity government issued a statement on Monday saying its forces would crack down on illegal armed groups.

Times Hastert says Republicans will keep House

The Illinois Republican, after speaking to about 500 Northeast Tennessee Republicans on behalf of 1st Congressional District GOP nominee David Davis, said the war and Foley scandal are overshadowing Republicans' good job performance with the economy.

"But, yeah, I think we can hold on to the majority," said Hastert, who indicated he would like to run for House speaker again. "Sometimes I look at the things we try to do. We try to pass real legislation, and we have good ideas about what to do about immigration, what to do about energy, what to do about taxes. And our friends on the other side of the aisle want us to swirl around in all this (Foley) controversy. I think American voters understand right and wrong and the people who are really working to get things done in this country, and I think they'll return a Republican Congress. ... The real issue is about this economy - how we've lowered taxes, how we've given more money to people to decide how they will spend it instead of some bureaucrat in Washington. That's the story we need to get out. ... Our message is better."

Are you sputtering at the ole boys audacity?

IHT Laptops at U.S. border: No privacy rights

Last week, an informal survey by the association, which has about 2,500 members worldwide, indicated that almost 90 percent of its members were not aware that U.S. customs officials have the authority to scrutinize the contents of travelers' laptops and even confiscate them for a period of time, without giving a reason. Appeals are under way in some confiscation cases, but the law is clear.

"They don't need probable cause to perform these searches under the current law," said Tim Kane, a Washington lawyer who is researching the matter for corporate clients. "They can do it without suspicion or without really revealing their motivations."

Laptops may be scrutinized and subject to a "forensic analysis" under the so-called border search exemption, which allows searches of people entering the United States and their possessions "without probable cause, reasonable suspicion or a warrant," a U.S. court ruled in July.

Time What's Missing From the New Timeline for Iraq

So today's announcement provides the U.S. with an opportunity, if it is willing to seize it: now that the Iraqis have agreed to a "timeline," they should be faced with consequences if they fail to meet it. And that means saying that the U.S. will leave Iraq at the end of 18 months.

So why didn't Casey and Khalilzad do so? Their refusal to utter the "w" word reflects the broader lack of candor that still characterizes our debate about what to do in Iraq. The White House now says it intends to stop using the phrase "staying the course," and Democratic leaders talk about the need for a "new strategy," but neither is willing to publicly commit to a definitive plan — also known by the more politically perjorative phrase "timetable" — for getting U.S. troops out. In the Washington Post today, Richard Holbrooke argues for Bush to "disengage" from Iraq and seek a political compromise there, but rules out "a fixed timetable for U.S. withdrawal, since it would give away any remaining American flexibility and leverage."

But would it? Might the reverse be just as true? Wouldn't the establishment of a definitive departure date give the Iraqi leadership more incentive, not less, to get their house in order? Declaring that the bulk of U.S. troops will depart within 18 months may allow insurgents to crow that the U.S. is cutting and running, but after $1 trillion and 3,000 dead, we're in 11th-hour, face-saving, loss-cutting mode now. It's possible that 18 months isn't enough time for the Iraqis to meet the goals set out by Khalilzad today. The truth is that no one knows how long it will take for Iraq to make peace with itself. But it's time for the U.S. to make it clear that we don't intend to stay to find out.

There is speculation that soldiers were hurt and possibly more killed than was announced. Sure hope not. This google video shows the explosions caused when the ammo dump caught on fire or was attacked in Iraq US Army AMMO DUMP FIRE with secondarys

USA Today Cheney says Hillary Clinton could win, hopes she doesn't

Probably the only thing in politics Prissy and the ole boy would agree upon.

Mercury News Pat Tillman's Brother Calls War Illegal

The article in Truthdig, a Web magazine that looks at current affairs from a progressive viewpoint, is accompanied by a photo of the smiling brothers, arms around each other, standing in front of a Chinook helicopter in Saudi Arabia before their 2003 tour of duty in Iraq.

``Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes,'' wrote Kevin Tillman. ``Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.''

His essay did not spare the American public, which he suggests too often relies on superficial gestures to support the troops instead of holding politicians accountable.

Boston Herald Priest who admitted molesting altar boys released from prison

WORCESTER - A retired Roman Catholic priest from Bellingham who was convicted of molesting altar boys has been freed from prison but will not find out until later this year whether he has to undergo further sex offender treatment.

The Rev. Paul M. Desilets, 82, left the state prison in Shirley on Monday after serving a year and five months behind bars. He was sentenced in May 2005 after pleading guilty to 32 counts of assault and battery committed from 1978 to 1984 at Our Lady of the Assumption parish, where he was associate pastor.

Most shrinks agree, treatment is valid-but there is no cure. The best one can hope for is to convince them why they must stay away from children.

Cheney visitor logs subject to FOIA

A judge declares the vice president's visitor information is a public record and directs the Secret Service to review the records immediately.

China View Russian prime minister to visit China

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov will pay an official visit to China at the invitation of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao announced Tuesday.

Liu said at a press conference that the visit will run from Nov. 9 to 10. Fradkov and Wen Jiabao will both attend the 11th regular meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries, and activities celebrating the closing ceremony of the Year of Russia in China.

What will happen when the puppetmaster is gone?

NYT Bush Seeks to Reverse G.O.P.'s Declining Fortunes

Someone notify him that poor leadership the reason for the decline.

Quotes of the Day

All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine.--Socrates

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.--Plato

When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.--Plato

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.--Plato

Bush Family War Profiteering...It's a Family Tradition

This year Fitz will have more justice packages to put under the tree

Begin the countdown to the expiration of the CIA leak case grand jury on November 6 and the November 7 election.

Fitzmas left us wanting last year, with one tiny Scooter Libby indictment, but look for the special prosecutor to have more justice under the tree this year for you and me...Prissy would like it wrapped with a big red bow please, Fitz!

Dubya and Rove must be sweating profusely these days. The only way they can win the upcoming election is if they cheat. The public knows this, so Prissy is really hoping they aren't going to carry through with such a plan. They are marking themselves as investigation targets, and maybe worse, should they try it.

They have spent years perfecting their methods, however, other people have caught onto their dirty tricks. Lot's of other people. People who are much smarter than these traitors ever dreamed of being.

Prissy couldn't help but snicker when Poppy Bush (41) went on TV to say it bothered him when people called his son "dumb." Well, if he learned all that in college, his Alma maters should be challenged.

For Dubya, scamming his own country is as easy as breathing, you could even say it's in his blood- see below. Prescott Bush- nazi connection

Prescott Bush is from Ohio, Prissy is sorry to say.

Hot Links

Le Monde US: world empire of chaos

In Iraq, the second front in the global war against terror, the US occupation has entered its fourth year with no end in sight. This summer’s escalation of violence has destroyed the optimism that followed the death of the local al-Qaida leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and disproved the claim of the US vice-president Dick Cheney that the resistance was in its “last throes”. >

The head of Marine Corps Intelligence in Iraq concluded in a recent secret report that “the prospects for securing Iraq’s western Anbar province are dim and that there is almost nothing the US military can do to improve the political and social situation”. The number of Americans who have been killed in Iraq has surpassed the number who died in the 9/11 attacks (6).

The severity and complexity of the violence are polarising Iraq’s Sunni and Shia, exacerbating tyranny and escalating anti-US feeling as never before. The Baghdad morgue registered over 1,500 deaths in June and 1,855 during July. In August, despite the deployment of 8,000 US and 3,000 Iraqi soldiers in the capital, the morgue reported 1,526 fatalities, an embarrassing contradiction of the US military’s claim of a 52% drop from July’s figures. Now the Ministry of Heath has taken over body count statistics and morgue officials who divulged the figures have been “retired” (7).

Washington’s three-year war has resulted in two unattractive alternatives. If, as expected, the situation deteriorates further, Iraq “will go under” according to the parliamentary speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani. If by some miracle it survives the current deterioration, the quagmire will render Operation Iraqi Freedom an unwinnable war. In either case, the multiplication of organised insurgencies, resistance groups, death squads, criminal gangs and splintering paramilitary groups is complicating counterinsurgency and reconstruction efforts, the interdependent pillars of any success in Iraq.

Crooks and Liars Bill Maher Smacks Around Some NeoCons

The News, Austraila Bush calls summit amid Pentagon exit reports

US President George W.Bush met top military commanders yesterday to consider possible changes to the administration's Iraq strategy, amid reports the Pentagon is drawing up an exit plan and has held secret talks with the insurgents.

The Pentagon is developing a plan that would set target dates for handing control to the Iraqis. US troops would pull back to their bases, leaving military advisers "embedded" with Iraqi security forces.

Sources suggest troops would be concentrated in the most violent areas of Iraq, such as Baghdad. They could be reinforced with soldiers from pacified regions.

US officials also held talks in Amman, Jordan, last week with insurgent leaders, including the Islamic Army in Iraq, one of the main Sunni militias.

BBC Rice: 'N Korea escalating crisis'

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has accused North Korea of wanting to escalate international tensions over its nuclear weapons programme.

She said she doubted claims that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had agreed not to carry out a second nuclear test, or that he regretted the first.

Her comments follow media reports that Mr Kim made the pledge to Chinese envoy Tang Jiaxuan when he visited Pyongyang.

Ms Rice is in Moscow for talks expected to focus on the North Korea crisis.

The Coalition casualty count is now 2792.

Salon The implosion of Ken Blackwell

At the moment someone -- and we're not saying it was someone in the Blackwell campaign, though it apparently was a Blackwell fan -- is mounting a challenge to Democratic candidate's Ted Strickland's voter registration, charging that Strickland doesn't live where he says he does. And if that's true, then Strickland could potentially be disqualified as an Ohio voter, meaning, under state law, that he would be ineligible to run for governor.

The person who would ultimately be responsible for deciding whether Strickland is eligible to vote, not to mention run?

That would be Ken Blackwell, Ohio secretary of state ... and Republican candidate for governor.

Think Progress Bush: ‘We’ve Never Been Stay The Course’ Don't watch if he angers you!

During an interview today on ABC’s This Week, President Bush tried to distance himself from what has been his core strategy in Iraq for the last three years. George Stephanopoulos asked about James Baker’s plan to develop a strategy for Iraq that is “between ’stay the course’ and ‘cut and run.’”

Bush responded, ‘We’ve never been stay the course, George!’

From Prissy's friend GEF. Help for voters

1. For those voting Absentee Ballot... DON'T FORGET TO MAKE A COPY OF YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT FOR YOUR RECORDS BEFORE YOU MAIL YOUR ORIGINAL IN... IF YOU'RE REALLY SMART YOU CAN HAVE YOUR COPY OF THE ABSENTEE BALLOT NOTARIZED!!

2. Insider Information on Diebold Voting Machines and Voter Fraud! Amazingly, Diebold makes other products such as ATM machines that do dispense paper receipts. They also make cash registers that print receipts to it's customers. People do ask: Why can I get a receipt for my Slurpee but I can't get a receipt for my Vote ?! This proves that Diebold and other e-Voting companies have an agenda.

3. Empowered at the Polls. Voters and especially minority voters are encouraged to bring Handheld Portable Video Cameras or Voice Recorders to film any disenfranchisement or harrasment outside their polling places. Record any problems runarounds to vote or not being allowed to vote. Record Harrasment or discouragement to vote at the polls. If you're internet savvy you can upload your video or audio to google video or youtube. Don't take the law into your own hands. If you feel you've been wronged, contact an attorney!

4. Watch the News for Exit Polling. Exit polling is a method for gauging voter mindset. Keep a lookout for poll issues. quote: An exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. Unlike an opinion poll, which asks who the voter plans to vote for or some similar formulation, an exit poll asks who the voter actually voted for. Pollsters - usually private companies working for newspapers or broadcasters - conduct exit polls to gain an early indication as to how an election has turned out, as in many elections the actual result may take hours or even days to count. -endquote

The current Poll information is pointing towards 74% of Citizens feel that the GOP is out of touch with issues. This gives one a good indication of voting attitudes. As was the case in the 2004 Election, the Actual votes did not match the exit polling. This is a good indication of Voter fraud and there are lawsuits still pending to attest to those allegations.

Telegraph We were 'arrogant and stupid' over Iraq, says US diplomat

Alberto Fernandez, director of public diplomacy at the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, told the Al-Jazeera news channel: "We tried to do our best, but I believe that there is a great room for strong criticism, because - undoubtedly - there was arrogance and stupidity in US (dealing) with Iraq.

"We should practise some humbleness in the question of Iraq. Undoubtedly - and as the United States did acknowledge - there have been many mistakes in the foreign policy in Iraq."

Mr Fernandez added that the US was ready to talk with all factions in Iraq - except for al-Qa'eda - to try to end sectarian bloodshed.

His remarks came in response to a statement read on al-Jazeera allegedly from a representative of the Ba'ath party - the party of Saddam Hussein - offering to negotiate a US withdrawal from Iraq based on "recognition of the resistance ... as the sole representative of the Iraqi people".

Time Exclusive: Feds Probe a Top Democrat's Relationship with AIPAC

The sources tell TIME that the investigation by Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has simmered out of sight since about the middle of last year, is examining whether Harman and AIPAC arranged for wealthy supporters to lobby House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Harman's behalf. Harman said Thursday in a voicemail message that any investigation of — or allegation of improper conduct by — her would be "irresponsible, laughable and scurrilous." On Friday, Washington GOP super lawyer Ted Olson left voicemail messages underscoring that Harman has no knowledge of any investigation. "Congresswoman Harman has asked me to follow up on calls you've had," Olson said. "She is not aware of any such investigation, does not believe that it is occurring, and wanted to make sure that you and your editors knew that as far as she knows, that's not true... . No one from the Justice Department has contacted her." It is not, however, a given that Harman would know that she is under investigation. In a follow-up phone call from California, Olson said Harman hired him this morning because she takes seriously the possibility of a media report about an investigation of her, even though she does not believe it herself.

A spokesman for AIPAC, a powerful Washington-based organization with more than 100,000 members across the U.S., denied any wrongdoing by the group and stressed that it is not taking sides in regards to the committee assignment. Spokespersons for Justice and the FBI declined to comment.

Mercury News More human remains found at ground zero

City officials said that about 15 more pieces of remains had been recovered, bringing the total to nearly 100 this week.

Upset relatives of some Sept. 11 victims called for a federally led new search for remains in and around ground zero after construction workers discovered bones in one manhole excavated as part of work on a transit hub, officials said.

The 80 bones and fragments found earlier this week ranged from a little less than an inch to 12 inches long, said Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the city medical examiner's office. The bones possibly include ribs, arms, legs and vertebra, she said.

The active search for the dead ended at the site in 2002 after a massive cleanup of 1.5 million tons of debris. About 20,000 pieces of human remains were found, but the DNA in thousands of those pieces was too damaged by heat, humidity and time to yield matches in the many tests forensic scientists have tried over the years.

Truthdig After Pat’s Birthday By Kevin Tillman

Editor’s note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful, must-read document.

WaPo How Foley Skirted Rules To Pursue Relationships Former Pages Describe Lawmaker's Advances

The messages were innocent at first. But after the young man moved home, he recalled, Foley started asking about "my roommates, if I ever saw them naked." Within months, the congressman was dangling a job offer, "because I was a hot boy," he said. Two years later, when he contacted Foley for advice on D.C. hotels, the congressman wrote back: "You could always stay at my place. I'm always here, I'm always lonely, and I'm always up for oral sex."

The experience of the young man, now 22, who agreed to recount his interactions with Foley on the condition of anonymity, was characteristic of the way the six-term House member pursued the online relationships that, once revealed, forced him to resign from Congress late last month. No one interviewed for this article could cite any instance in which Foley had sex with a former page. Foley's lawyer, David Roth, declined to comment for this story.

And...

Based on the interviews with pages, who spanned most of Foley's dozen years in the House -- and interviews with parents and former program employees -- the congressman's behavior went unchecked because he operated within accepted norms of the program's culture.

CNN Money Skilling's long shot Despite a last-ditch effort to overturn his conviction, former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling could face 20 to 30 years in prison at his sentencing next week.

More than 4,000 Enron employees lost their jobs when the company declared bankruptcy in December 2001. Many of those workers also lost their life savings and investors lost billions of dollars. Under the law, these victims are allowed to voice their grievances during sentencing, although its unlikely that the judge will make any changes to sentencing based on their statements.

Zamansky said Skilling is likely to receive 25 years in prison - identical to former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers's sentence for orchestrating an $11 billion accounting fraud.

And like Ebbers, Zamansky expects Skilling will likely remain out on $5 million bail pending appeal. Attorneys for Skilling already filed a motion to allow Skilling to remain free until an appeals court renders its verdict.

"If someone isn't involved in a violent crime and there's no real concern about risk of flight, a judge may grant a stay," Zamansky said. "But whether he goes in now or three months from now, he's facing a life sentence."

Robbing the ruthless manner these guys used and looking at a life sentence for it, doesn't make them a flight risk?

Threats Watch.org Rice: No Sign of Kim Jong-Il's 'Regret'

While Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice applauded China’s newly active role in reining in the Kim Jong Il regime, primarily economically by freezing the North’s bank accounts, she expressed doubts about reports of North Korea stepping back from the brink of crisis. While reports circulated and were widely repeated Friday that Kim had apologized to Tang Jiaxuan, China’s former foreign minister, and promised not to carry out further tests, the Secretary of State said that Tang told her of no such development in their meetings.

“Tang did not tell me that Kim Jong-Il either apologized for the test or said that he would not ever test again,” Ms. Rice said. She continued, “The Chinese did not, in a fairly thorough briefing to me, say anything about an apology. The North Koreans, I think, would like to see an escalation of the tension.”

Condi, please continue reading and fire your briefer, they don't tell you anything. NY Sun Report: N. Korea 'Sorry' for Nuke Test, Says No More Tests Planned

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea showed signs Friday it could be backing away from its nuclear showdown with the world, even as it staged a show of domestic support in Pyongyang, where tens of thousands gathered to laud the country's first atomic test.

Coming under united international pressure, Kim Jong Il reportedly apologized for the Oct. 9 nuclear detonation and said he wouldn't test any more bombs.

Reuters Bush faces political nightmare if Democrats win

"In some ways it would be a nightmare for Bush, but in other ways it could be an opportunity," said Norman Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

Ornstein said Bush, who denounces Democrats as soft on terrorism, could move toward the political center and reach out to Democrats in his final two years in office to overhaul U.S. immigration laws and the Social Security retirement program, two goals he has failed to accomplish.

But Ornstein said that was unlikely. "I've talked to a lot of people who know him well and are really close to him. I have yet to find one who thinks he will change his modus operandi dramatically," he said.

Democrats deny Republican claims they would try to impeach Bush and remove him from office.

Norm seems like a very nice man who never makes waves, which is one reason Prissy doesn't listen to Al Franken. Birds of a feather.

As for dems not attempting to remove Dubya with impeachment? Dubya and Rover really need to stop wiretapping everyone and using it to make those dems heel on command.

More fodder for Bushie nightmares, from Salon magazine.

Federal judge: White House must release or explain Cheney logs A federal judge in Washington has just told the Bush admnistration that it has until the end of next week either to release two years' worth of logs showing who visited Dick Cheney's home and office or to identify the records and explain why they're being withheld. With midterm elections less than three weeks away, anyone want to hazard a guess as to which choice the White House will make?-- Tim Grieve

Update on Sgt. Ricky Clousing by David Swanson (Hello David;-) Ricky Clousing Stands Up for All of Us

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - A Fort Bragg paratrooper who says he left his military base because he disagreed with the U.S. mission in Iraq was sentenced to three months of confinement after pleading guilty Thursday to going absent without leave.

Sgt. Ricky Clousing, 24, of Sumner, Wash., also will receive a reduction in rank and will forfeit two-thirds of his pay during the time of his confinement before getting a bad conduct discharge. His plea allowed him to avoid a more severe sentence for desertion.

Uncle Sam, that was better than Prissy's fears of what the Army would decide to do. However, it is absurd to lock him up for refusing to follow an illegal order.

Toledo Blade Wife of Noe dangled tape of '04 roast; 2 top Democrats spoke with her, attorney

COLUMBUS - In the months leading to her husband's trial on felony charges that he stole from the rare-coin funds he managed for the state of Ohio, Bernadette Noe held out a tantalizing prospect for Democrats.

It was the videotape of Tom Noe's 50th birthday party roast - a tape that could launch 30-second TV attack ads against GOP candidates like so many shells from a cannon.

The event, held Aug. 24, 2004, at the Holland Gardens dining hall as a fund-raiser for the Lucas County Republican Party, starred U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, Gov. Bob Taft, Auditor Betty Montgomery, and Attorney General Jim Petro - all reminiscing about Tom Noe with a blend of humor and seriousness less than a year before scandal erupted.

Cleveland Plain Dealer Blackwell's legacy looming over race for secretary of state

Brunner, a Columbus Democrat, has campaigned relentlessly against the policies of current Secretary Ken Blackwell, who is running for governor, including questioning his officiating of the controversial 2004 presidential vote tally in Ohio.

"What we have not had in the secretary of state's office is a secretary of state who will really act as the chief elections officer," said Brunner, a former county judge. "Things have sort of evolved to where we kind of have this patchwork of elections procedures in the state."

Hartmann, a Cincinnati Republican, is a quieter campaigner who until recently wondered if he would ever get his opponent's attention - though he figures Brunner will regret focusing so much on Blackwell and not him.

"Everywhere we go, she wants to mention Ken Blackwell's name," said Hartmann, the Hamilton County clerk of courts. "That's her whole campaign strategy, talk about how the '04 election was stolen. But I don't think it's going to work for her."

Keep talking Jennifer, Ken will be the one explaining to do in the end. Bushies will throw him under the buss first, when the election mess goes mainstream and Ohioans realize they lost the right for their vote to count.

Quotes of the Day

Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple.-- Barry Switzer

Anger at lies lasts forever. Anger at truth can't last.--Greg Evans, Luann (comic), September 27, 2003

History is moving, and it will tend toward hope, or tend toward tragedy.--George W. Bush (1946 - )

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. --Bible, 1 Timothy 6:10

JFK Speech on Secret Societies and Freedom of the Press

JFK Speech on Secret Societies and Freedom of the Press

As fresh today, as when JFK made this speech! No wonder Bush 41 was always jealous of him...

Hot Links

WaPo, slow on the draw as usual... Major Change Expected In Strategy for Iraq War

The growing doubts among GOP lawmakers about the administration's Iraq strategy, coupled with the prospect of Democratic wins in next month's midterm elections, will soon force the Bush administration to abandon its open-ended commitment to the war, according to lawmakers in both parties, foreign policy experts and others involved in policymaking.

Senior figures in both parties are coming to the conclusion that the Bush administration will be unable to achieve its goal of a stable, democratic Iraq within a politically feasible time frame. Agitation is growing in Congress for alternatives to the administration's strategy of keeping Iraq in one piece and getting its security forces up and running while 140,000 U.S. troops try to keep a lid on rapidly spreading sectarian violence.

Wa Po GOP Aims to Scare Up Big Voter Turnout With House Losses Likely, Tactics Focus on Warnings About Democrats

Won't work and Prissy will tell them why. Half the republicans will cross over to the dems. About 30% will stay home and pout, refusing to vote at all. The 20% left will not carry them to another neorepublican victory.

Should they attempt to steal another election, it won't be pretty. The cops, also middle class, also hurt by Dubya's policies will choose to uphold the law and not the illegal smothering of dissent.

Most police in the last twenty years have been taught community policing, aka public service. Most of them don't consider dissenters (now the majority) to be trouble. We all want our country back.

Zaman Turkey Kurdish Side Claims to Fight against PKK

Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hosyar Zebari has announced that an official from the Kurdish Local Administration is participating in the joint Turkey-USA-Iraq bid to curb Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorism.

In a statement in the Kurdish Nwe newspaper, Zebari said: “Of course the representative of the Kurdish administration is also attending the meetings. And that is Interior Minister Kerim Senkali.”

While the Turkish foreign ministry has denied such claims, the Iraqi embassy in Ankara said it had assigned Senkali and Shirvan al-Vaili as Iraqi delegates to fight terrorism.

BBC One-third support 'some torture'

Although 59% were opposed to torture, 29% thought it acceptable to use some degree of torture to combat terrorism.

While most polled in the US are against torture, opposition there is less robust than in Europe and elsewhere.

Reuters UK Britain and Germany warn Putin on energy access

LAHTI, Finland (Reuters) - Britain and Germany warned President Vladimir Putin before talks on Friday he must give European firms a fair chance to exploit Russia's huge energy resources or risk seeing foreign investors take flight.

Putin is the guest at a European Union dinner where the bloc's 25 leaders will push him for better energy ties but also raise the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya and the Kremlin's heavy-handed treatment of former Soviet Georgia.

The Europeans are dismayed by Kremlin moves questioning contracts signed in the 1990s by firms including Royal Dutch Shell and Total, and by a decision to shut foreign capital out of development of the Shtokman gas field.

Mr. Putin, considered nearly a progressive, considering his former KGB background, seems to be withdrawing a bit with "problems at home." Let's hope he reconsiders, as next thing you know Dick Cheney will be whipping up anti-Russian sentiment. Prissy thinks already got plenty of hatred going around, like an infectious virus...

More on Team Fitz' big Chicago case. Chicago Tribune Rezko pleads not guilty

Federal prosecutors charge that Rezko leveraged his influence with state leaders to extort illegal payments and a campaign contribution from investment firms seeking to do business with Illinois. He is separately accused of setting up a phony transaction involving the sale of his pizza restaurants.

Despite the official escort--agents met Rezko's plane as it landed Thursday at O'Hare International Airport--Rezko walked into court seemingly unconcerned, waving to family members and shaking his lawyer's hand.

His attorney, Joseph J. Duffy, said Rezko's travel back to Chicago had begun in his native Syria after he concluded a business trip to the Middle East.

Funny political ad. Prissy has done some press stuff for Bob. Doesn't he look dapper? Set to the rousing Anvil Chorus, Pat Tiberi (Tee-bear-ee) shows his loyalty to G.W. Bush in Bob Shamansky's latest T.V.

Stepping on the flag again

Seattle PI Families angry after bones found at WTC

Five years after 2,749 people died in the World Trade Center attack, families of about 1,150 victims still have not received word that their loved ones' remains were found amid the rubble.

The remains of Charles Wolf's wife, Katherine, 40, were never recovered. He said his wife, an employee of insurer Marsh & McLennan, was on the 97th floor of the north tower when the building collapsed.

"I am totally shocked that this was found in the pit," said Wolf, 52, who was notified of the discovery by television stations.

"The fact that they were found in ground zero says there was some major, major shortfall in the recovery effort," Wolf said. "Where else are we going to find them next?"

Harpers The Next War By Daniel Ellsberg

Years later, though, the thought hit me: What if I had told Congress and the public, later in the fall of 1964, the whole truth about what was coming, with all the documents I had acquired in my job by September, October, or November? Not just, as Morse had suggested, the contents of a few files on the events surrounding the Tonkin Gulf incident—all that I had in early August—but the drawerfuls of critical working papers, memos, estimates, and detailed escalation options revealing the evolving plans of the Johnson Administration for a wider war, expected to commence soon after the election. In short, what if I had put out before the end of the year, whether before or after the November election, all of the classified papers from that period that I did eventually disclose in 1971?

Had I done so, the public and Congress would have learned that Johnson’s campaign theme, “we seek no wider war,” was a hoax. They would have learned, in fact, that the Johnson Administration had been heading in secret toward essentially the same policy of expanded war that his presidential rival, Senator Barry Goldwater, openly advocated—a policy that the voters overwhelmingly repudiated at the polls.

I would have been indicted then, as I was seven years later, and probably imprisoned. But America would have been at peace during those years. It was only with that reflection, perhaps a decade after the carnage finally ended, that I recognized Morse had been right about my personal share of responsibility for the whole war.

Not just mine alone. Any one of a hundred officials—some of whom foresaw the whole catastrophe—could have told the hidden truth to Congress, with documents. Instead, our silence made us all accomplices in the ensuing slaughter.

We need more patriots! Know something? Contact below: National Security Whistleblowers Coalition NSWBC,P.O. Box 20210, Alexandria, VA 22320

Media Matters The Rules of the Game (center of page)

For his part, Boehner hosted weekly meetings with top Washington business lobbyists and conservatives for a few years right after the GOP won control of Congress in 1994. Boehner, who like DeLay boasted very strong ties to the tobacco lobby in Washington, once earned notoriety by handing out checks from the industry on the House floor.

Ultimately, in the struggle to succeed DeLay in early 2006, Boehner won out largely because the ties between Blunt's world and DeLay's seemed more obvious. But Boehner, who briefly talked tough about lobbying reforms in early 2006, soon backed away from almost all stringent measures to reform the pay-to-play system, as did many of his colleagues in the House. One perk that Boehner was particularly concerned to preserve was the ability of members to take privately funded junkets, not unlike the kind that Abramoff was so good at organizing. According to an independent survey done by the Campaign for a Cleaner Congress, Boehner had taken 180 trips since 1999 outside his district -- including quite a few to such golfing destinations as St. Andrews in Scotland and Pebble Beach in California -- ranking him among the ten most prolific travelers in the House.

Boehner's views about the importance of preserving private travel ultimately prevailed. At the start of 2006, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert publicly proclaimed that he favored putting "an end" to private travel because of abuses. But the very weak lobbying reform bill that passed the House -- but never was enacted -- included a much-watered-down provision that only suspended such trips and only until June 15, 2006, a token gesture at best.

Ironically, just as they were caving on the idea of banning private travel, studies showed such trips proliferating. PoliticalMoneyLine in early 2005 revealed that some 600 members of Congress since the year 2000 have gone on 5,410 trips that were privately funded at a cost of $16 million.

Boehner is in a lot of trouble...

Reuters Pentagon to resume forced anthrax vaccine program

But William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said the Pentagon has no plans to vaccinate troops serving elsewhere, including those in the United States -- site of the only major anthrax attack against Americans, which killed five people in 2001.

"There are terrorists operating in and around Iraq and in that part of the world," Winkenwerder said. "That's a higher threat area."

And..."The forthcoming mandatory program is just as senseless as before and the FDA's new determination remains legally and scientifically flawed," said Mark Zaid, one of the attorneys.

Winkenwerder, who has not taken the anthrax vaccine, said the FDA's final order settles legal questions and the Pentagon is prepared for a court challenge.

Winkenwerder, you go first. Then we'll let the kids get theirs. Unless, of course, it makes you sick or kills you. But you have lived a full life, unlike the young ones he wishes to experiment upon.

The Day, CT. Is the Pope listening? Group Calling For Pardons For State's Accused Witches

Not many know of Connecticut's witch trials because they were eclipsed, both at the time and today, by Salem's sensational trials in 1692, said Walter Woodward, Connecticut's official state historian.

The Massachusetts Colony hanged 19 accused witches before the hysteria was spent, though five others accused of witchcraft died as well, either during interrogations or in prison.

Many of the accused witches here and in Massachusetts were women, in part because they dealt in the healing arts or as midwives.

Avery's ancestor was Mary Sanford, a 39-year-old mother of five who was accused of witchcraft by neighbors because she drank sherry at night in the woods behind her home. She was tried in Hartford, found guilty and hanged.

DW World, Germany N. Korea plans no further tests: Yonhap

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told a visiting Chinese envoy that Pyongyang plans to conduct no further nuclear tests. Kim made the statement in Pyongyang on Thursday during talks with Chinese State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan, the agency quoted an unidentified 'informed diplomatic source' as saying in Beijing. Japan's Foreign Ministry said it could not confirm or deny the report, which came as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Beijing to rally support for UN sanctions against North Korea in response to its nuclear test on October 9.

Wonkette, hat tip to Fitz Rape, Murder, It's Just a Shot Away

A couple of mysterious 911 calls to Las Vegas police — all apparently made from the bathroom of a Starbucks on Paradise Road by a terrified drunk gal — have suddenly derailed Congressman Jim Gibbons and his campaign to be Nevada’s next governor.

The story is changing so quick we can’t even get a timeline in order, so let’s just randomly toss together some of the filthier details, after the jump. * Casino waitress (or interior designer?) invited to join drinking party with Gibbons and some other gals at McCormick & Schmick’s, one of those upscale-chain seafood & steak joints at Paradise and Flamingo. * Something happens, she makes three 911 calls over 45 minutes, claiming assault and the threat of rape. Also, she’s drunk.

Are all republicans weird about sex? At least Bill Clinton didn't beat up the women he chased, no indeed, he was willing to love them all...

The Australian News Baghdad operation backfires on US

The operation "has not met our overall expectations of sustaining a reduction in the levels of violence", Major General Caldwell said.

"We are working very closely with the Government of Iraq to determine how best to refocus our efforts."

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mark Ballesteros called Major General Caldwell's assessment "accurate and candid".

His comments are a rare public admission that an American strategy in Iraq hasn't worked, and it came as Republicans and Democrats in Washington press the Bush administration to devise a new approach.

General, how many times must we tell you that the United States cannot and will not "win" an unjust, illegal, immoral war? Pack them up and get outta there! Prissy wonders if he paid any attention in Officer Candidate School or did these generals sleep through it, like their commander in chief?

Esnipes Scooter's in big trouble

The latest court documents from the Scooter Libby case. Thanks, Fitz. Prissy and her Dearest Readers appreciate the time you take to keep us informed.

Dearest Readers, Prissy will post excerpts from them later this evening. She is sure they'll be very interesting...

USAToday Maltese diocese to investigate case of priest who said he was naked with Foley

On Wednesday, he told the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune by telephone that he massaged the boy in the nude and was naked in the same room on overnight trips with him. On Thursday, he told The Associated Press that he was naked in a sauna with Foley and had gone skinny-dipping with him.

Also Thursday, he told WPTV of West Palm Beach, Fla., that he touched Foley "once, maybe."

In all of the interviews, he denied having sexual intercourse with Foley.

"It's not something you call, I mean, rape or penetration or anything like that, you know," he told the TV station in a telephone interview. "It was just fondling."

Only? People need to know most pedophiles are not aggressive about it, they don't have to be to coerce children. Back in the days of old, the adult- congressman or priest- would have been given credible standing over a youth.

Isn't that right, Mr. Foley? Why, he had counted on it for years...

Quotes of the Day

"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." --John Quincy Adams

"So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we'll be called a democracy." --Roger Baldwin

"...Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth." --Abraham Lincoln

"It is honourable to be accused by those who deserve to be accused." --Latin Proverb