Our troops shouldn't have to do this~Bring them home

U.S. Storm Troopers - Occupation Of Iraq - 101

Proud moment in US. military history caught on tape.

How are these action different than those of Nazi raids in occupied France?

Protesters heckle Gonzales at Harvard reunion

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Student protesters, including one wearing a black hood and an orange jumpsuit, heckled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at Harvard on Saturday, forcing him to leave the law school's 25th reunion through an emergency door, a witness said.

Raw Story April 28, 2007

Breaking News Alerts Gonzales was at the university to deliver a lunchtime speech, a visit that was unannounced to students. Word, however, spread quickly after his motorcade and security detail was spotted.
Students gathered around as Gonzales joined fellow classmates for a reunion picture. "When the photographer was getting everybody set up and having people say 'cheese,' the protesters yelled: 'say torture, instead,' 'resign' and 'I don't recall,'" said Nate Ela, a third-year student who witnessed the incident.
Harvard Law School spokesman Mike Armini said the impromptu protest was so small that some of those attending the photo shoot did not even notice it.
The determined protesters followed Gonzales into the law school's library, chanting "shame" and "resign" before the security detail took the beleaguered attorney general to his motorcade through an emergency basement exit, Ela said.

Blind Faith~Can't Find My Way Home

Blind Faith

An excellent artical by Christy Hardin Smith of firedoglake

How conflicts between the Bush Administration and the intelligence community marred the reporting on Iraq’s weapons.

The Stovepipe

by Seymour M. Hersh
October 27, 2003

Since midsummer, the Senate Intelligence Committee has been attempting to solve the biggest mystery of the Iraq war: the disparity between the Bush Administration’s prewar assessment of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and what has actually been discovered.




"The analysts at the C.I.A. were beaten down defending their assessments. And they blame George Tenet", the C.I.A. director "for not protecting them. I've never seen a government like this."

Bush advocates diplomacy while planning for war in Iran

Would President Bush go to war to stop Tehran from getting the bomb?


The Iran Plans

by Seymour M. Hersh

April 17, 2006

he Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack. Current and former American military and intelligence officials said that Air Force planning groups are drawing up lists of targets, and teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups. The officials say that President Bush is determined to deny the Iranian regime the opportunity to begin a pilot program, planned for this spring, to enrich uranium.

American and European intelligence agencies, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.), agree that Iran is intent on developing the capability to produce nuclear weapons. But there are widely differing estimates of how long that will take, and whether diplomacy, sanctions, or military action is the best way to prevent it. Iran insists that its research is for peaceful use only, in keeping with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and that it will not be delayed or deterred.

There is a growing conviction among members of the United States military, and in the international community, that President Bush’s ultimate goal in the nuclear confrontation with Iran is regime change. Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has challenged the reality of the Holocaust and said that Israel must be “wiped off the map.” Bush and others in the White House view him as a potential Adolf Hitler, a former senior intelligence official said. “That’s the name they’re using. They say, ‘Will Iran get a strategic weapon and threaten another world war?’ ”

A government consultant with close ties to the civilian leadership in the Pentagon said that Bush was “absolutely convinced that Iran is going to get the bomb” if it is not stopped. He said that the President believes that he must do “what no Democrat or Republican, if elected in the future, would have the courage to do,” and “that saving Iran is going to be his legacy.”

One former defense official, who still deals with sensitive issues for the Bush Administration, told me that the military planning was premised on a belief that “a sustained bombing campaign in Iran will humiliate the religious leadership and lead the public to rise up and overthrow the government.” He added, “I was shocked when I heard it, and asked myself, ‘What are they smoking?’ ”


Iran; Nuclear Weapons; Atomic Bomb; International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.); Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud; Clawson, Patrick; Bush, George W. (Pres.) (43rd) The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack. Current and former American military and intelligence officials said that Air Force planning groups are drawing up lists of targets, and teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups. The officials say that President Bush is determined to deny the Iranian regime the opportunity to begin a pilot program, planned for this spring, to enrich uranium.

American and European intelligence agencies, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.), agree that Iran is intent on developing the capability to produce nuclear weapons. But there are widely differing estimates of how long that will take, and whether diplomacy, sanctions, or military action is the best way to prevent it. Iran insists that its research is for peaceful use only, in keeping with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and that it will not be delayed or deterred.

There is a growing conviction among members of the United States military, and in the international community, that President Bush’s ultimate goal in the nuclear confrontation with Iran is regime change. Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has challenged the reality of the Holocaust and said that Israel must be “wiped off the map.” Bush and others in the White House view him as a potential Adolf Hitler, a former senior intelligence official said. “That’s the name they’re using. They say, ‘Will Iran get a strategic weapon and threaten another world war?’ ”


Seymour Hersh

From Wikipedia

Iraq

Hersh has written a series of articles for The New Yorker magazine detailing military and security matters surrounding the US-led invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq. In a 2004 article, he alleged that Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld circumvented the normal intelligence analysis function of the CIA in their quest to make the case for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Another article, Lunch with the Chairman, led Richard Perle, a subject of the article, to call Hersh the "closest thing American journalism has to a terrorist."

A recent article, "The Redirection" (March 7, 2007), describes the recent shift in the Bush Administration's Iraq policy, the goal of which is to "contain" Iran. Hersh points out that, "a by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda."

In May 2004, Hersh published a series of articles which described the treatment of detainees by US military police at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, Iraq. The articles included allegations that private contractors contributed to prisoner mistreatment and that intelligence agencies such as the CIA ordered torture in order to break prisoners for interrogations. They also alleged that torture is a usual practice in other U.S. prisons as well, e.g. in Afghanistan and Guantanamo. In subsequent articles, Hersh claimed that the abuses were part of a secret interrogation program, known as "Copper Green". According to Hersh's sources, the program was expanded to Iraq with the direct approval of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, both in an attempt to deal with the growing insurgency there and as part of "Rumsfeld's long-standing desire to wrest control of America's clandestine and paramilitary operations from the C.I.A." Much of his material for these articles was based on the Army's own internal investigations.


Iran

In January 2005, Hersh alleged that the USA was conducting covert operations in Iran to identify targets for possible strikes. This was dismissed by both the US government and the Government of Iran. However, US government has not categorically denied that US troops have been on the ground in Iran. Hersh also claimed that Pakistan and USA have struck a "Khan-for-Iran" deal in which Washington will look the other way at Pakistan's nuclear transgressions and not demand handing over of its nuclear proliferator A Q Khan, in return for Islamabad's cooperation in neutralising Iran's nuclear plans. This was also denied by officials of the governments of the US and Pakistan.

In the April 17, 2006 issue of The New Yorker, Hersh reported on the Bush Administration's purported plans for an air strike within Iran. Of particular note in his article is that an American nuclear first strike (possibly using the B61-11 bunker-buster nuclear weapon) is under consideration to eliminate underground Iranian uranium enrichment facilities. In response, President Bush cited Hersh's reportage as "wild speculation."

Lebanon
In August of 2006, in an article in The New Yorker, Hersh claimed that the White House gave the green light for Israel to plan and execute an attack on the mounting threat of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Supposedly, communication between the Israeli government and the US administration about this came as early as two months in advance of the capture of two Israeli soldiers and the killing of eight others by Hezbollah prior to the Israel/Lebanon conflict in July of 2006. The US administration has denied these claims. These claims were later proven true when Israeli PM Ehud Olmert admitted to the Winograd Commission that the war was planned months prior. 1 On November 20th it is reported that Hersh purported in the New Yorker that a CIA analysis based on technical intelligence found no conclusive evidence of a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program.

HE'S BACK!~Bill Moyers Interviews Jon Stewert

Bill Moyers has returned to PBS and will host his show weekly on Friday at 9:00 PM. He left public broadcasting in 2004 when the Corporate Government installed their operatives as the chair and vice chair of CPB (corporatation for public broadcasting). Moyers being number one on their hit list quietly left public PBS and his show that was then called "NOW" became a half hour show with David Brancaccio .

Bill Moyers chats with Jon Stewart

The NEW YORK TIMES declared that when Jon Stewart took over as anchor of Comedy Central's THE DAILY SHOW, he "breathed new life into a show that hadn't even seemed to need it." In 2003, Stewart said of his role hosting the show, "Liberal and conservative have lost their meaning in America. I represent the distracted center." As declared on the show's site, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART is the most important television show ever, with the most important guests, hosts, and news - current event news, pop culture news, sports news, entertainment news - of all time."

Growing list of Ex CIA disagree on War

Why didn't Tenet say something when Duhbya gave him that little gift for his co-operation on the 911 investigation and supporting the "Weapons of mass destruction" lies that were told?

George Tenet

Ray McGovern

Paul R. Pillar

Michael Scheuer

DAVID MacMICHAEL

David Ray Griffin

Robert Steele

Melvin Goodman

Robert Baer

Will General Petraeus be thrown under the bus?

General Patraeus last night on the Charlie Rose Show said that "it is time to take the mirrows off of the bus". Well, he's the one in the drivers seat, and he seems to be saying that whatever is behind him doesn't matter and it's peddle to the metal into the surge. It has been said that he is a brilliant general, but this seems like a pretty cavalier statement to me.

VIDEO

Why "We The People" are glad that Bill Moyers is back on PBS

In December 2003 George W Bush appointed Gay Hart Gaines as the head of Corporate Public Broadcasting, which controls government funding for PBS. She was a Bush Ranger in 2004 (re: contributed $100,000 to canpaign). Mainstream media wasn't enough for Bush & Co. they had to control PBS too, and Bill Moyers was at the top of their hit list.

For reasons unbeknownst to me Bill Moyers is back, and from what is being said he will be on every week with Bill Moyers Journal. It is easy to see why he has chosen Media Wars as his subject. Not many people knew about this program, but it's a normal day. It was only advertised on PBS and the internet.

Here is some history from when Bill Moyers NOW left PBS


Bill Moyers Leaves PBS in the Middle of a Rebalancing Act

By Joy Press
The Village Voice

24-30 November 2004 Issue

A few weeks ago, Bill Moyers, the venerable face of progressive current-affairs analysis on television, warned that the next four years were set to be a golden age for Watergate-style sleuth reporters. "I just think every time you wed the state and business together like this, you get corruption flowing like the Mississippi River," he announced on his PBS series, Now. Ironically, Moyers himself isn't sticking around to partake in the coming "bonanza for investigative journalism" he predicts. Although he's one of the few living media commentators whose folksy manner and heady background (he served as both a Baptist minister and a press secretary to President Lyndon Johnson) could conceivably bridge the gap between red state and blue state, secular and religious, Moyers is planning to retire from Now on December 17.

----------------------------------------------------

Now has been a focus for right-wing ire from the start. Moyers infuriated the right after the 2002 congressional elections with his take on the Republican mandate: "If you liked the Supreme Court that put George W. Bush in the White House, you will swoon over what's coming. And if you like God in government, get ready for the Rapture." Using the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a body that provides funding to certain PBS shows, the right seems to be enforcing "balance" by financially supporting a raft of new public-affairs programming. Along with Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered and The Journal Editorial Report, there's a series co-hosted by "family values"-defending culture critic Michael Medved in the works for late 2005.

The CPB was originally created to buffer PBS from political pressure, but some of the recent appointees appear blatantly partisan, such as Gay Hart Gaines, who chaired Newt Gingrich's political action committee, and Cheryl Halpern, clearly introduced to be some kind of watchdog. During the November 2003 Senate Commerce Committee's confirmation hearings for Halpern, Senator Trent Lott blasted Moyers's post-election commentary as "the most blatantly partisan, irresponsible thing I've ever heard in my life, and yet [the CPB] has not seemed to be willing to deal with Bill Moyers and that type of programming." Halpern responded: "The fact of the matter is, I agree." For his part, Moyers didn't hide his feelings about the new blood at the CPB, dubbing the new appointees "ideological warriors" and telling writer Ken Auletta, "This is the first time in my thirty-two years in public broadcasting that C.P.B. has ordered up programs for ideological instead of journalistic reasons."

-----------------------------------------------------

CPB Board of Directors
Cheryl Halpern
Chair

From Wikipedia

Cheryl Feldman Halpern is the chair of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). She was appointed in 2005. An active Republican, she was chair of the Republican Jewish Coalition for eight years. In this capacity, she has been a critic of National Public Radio, accusing the public network of anti-Israeli bias. She has extensive experience with overseeing pro-American media campaigns abroad. In 1990, she was confirmed as a member of the Board for International Broadcasting and as a director of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). From 1995 through 2002, she served as a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees non-military overseas broadcasts by the US Government such as Radio Martí, the Voice of America, and Radio Free Iraq.

Mrs. Halpern has been nominated to the boards of national or international public broadcasting organizations by Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Gay Hart Gaines
Vice Chair

Gay Hart Gaines
From SourceWatch
Gay Hart Gaines is the vice chair for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. She was appointed to the board by George W. Bush in December 2003 for a term ending in 2010. She was elected as vice chair in September 2005 along with CPB chair Cheryl Halpern.

She is a long-time Republican Party fundraiser. The Nation's David Corn writes that Gaines and her husband Stanley Gaines "have contributed at least half a million dollars to GOP causes since 1998."[1] In 2004, she was a Bush Pioneer, bundling over $100,000 for Bush's reelection campaign.[2] Other Republican Party involvement includes being a charter member of GOPAC, which she chaired from 1993-1997.

Gaines came to the CPB with no previous experience in broadcasting. Common Causes' Cynthia Wexler pointed out that Gaines was "ardent fundraiser for Newt Gingrich in the days when Gingrich was really all about zeroing out the funds for Public Broadcasting."[3] According to her CPB biography, she is "an interior designer by training."

Gaines is affiliated with several right-wing organizations. Her CPB biography states that she is a current member of the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation. She has also served as a board member of the Hudson Institute and was a chairman of the National Review Institute from 1991-1993.[4]

European Union parliament calls for Wolfowitz to resign

EU parliament calls for Wolfowitz to resign


25 Apr 2007 19:12:23 GMT
Source: Reuters

By Jeff Mason

STRASBOURG, France, April 25 (Reuters) - The European Parliament on Wednesday called for the resignation of World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, adding to mounting pressure on the head of the lending organisation to step down.

Wolfowitz, a former member of the Bush administration, has already faced calls to give up his post after revelations that he approved a promotion and pay raise for his bank-employee girlfriend before she was assigned to work at the U.S. State Department.

Lawmakers asked EU leaders to press the White House over the subject at a EU-U.S. summit in Washington on Monday.

They voted 333-251 with 31 abstentions to include a paragraph in a resolution on transatlantic relations calling on Germany, holder of the 27-nation bloc's rotating presidency, and the United States to ask Wolfowitz to stand down.

They should "signal to the president of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, that his withdrawal from the post would be a welcome step towards preventing the bank's anti-corruption policy from being undermined", the paragraph said.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are attending the summit with President George W. Bush.

The full resolution was passed by parliament, the only institution in the EU that is directly elected by its citizens.

"By digging in his heels and refusing to resign as President of the World Bank, Wolfowitz is dragging the whole organisation into disrepute and further undermining the credibility of its anti-corruption policy," said Caroline Lucas, a British member of the Greens.

"If he won't jump himself, he must be pushed."

The call by the EU assembly comes as a special World Bank committee examines whether Wolfowitz abused his position or committed ethical lapses as it looks at the promotion of his girlfriend, Shaha Riza.

Wolfowitz, a former U.S. deputy defence secretary who helped plan the U.S. invasion of Iraq, has apologised for his handling of Riza's promotion and pledged to change his management style.

European countries, including Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, Norway and France -- all large aid givers for anti-poverty projects in the developing world -- have expressed concern that Wolfowitz's leadership is untenable and is damaging the credibility of the poverty-fighting institution.

George W.Bush on Charlie Rose Show says "No plan B" for Iraq

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

A conversation with President George W. Bush about Iraq and other challenges and opportunities for the country in the remainder of his presidency

Full 56 minute video

.

AG serves Bush, not the United States

Mission Statement

To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

well...In spite of the fact that the Democratic Congress, with many Republican congressmen joining them have called for Gonzo's resignation, and "We The People" are calling for the impeachment of Duhbya ahd Chainey, Alberto is staying on like an univited guest a cold night. This unnacountable excuse for an attorney has done the same old "I can't remember trick' that the people in his department used in the Henry Waxman investigation of the outing of 8 attorneys. Gonzo is the head of the DOJ with 100+ people working under him. I would call this a position of some responsability, yet under questioning in congress he forgot the facts on over 70 occasions. We have the worst president in the history of our country, and now have the worst attorney general to match. But even worse than that is the fact that the vice president runs the whole show.
These crooks will never give an inch and must be removed from office. If it takes crowbars a pest control, then lets go that way. Our constitution, our freedom, our treasury, our diplomacy, our environmental concerns, and many things that we don't yet know about are at stake.

With fresh support from Bush, Gonzales says he's not quitting


Attorney general's critics concede he'll probably survive political storm
Associated Press
Originally published April 24, 2007

WASHINGTON // Bolstered by a fresh show of support from President Bush, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales sought yesterday to move beyond calls for his resignation and lingering questions about his credibility after the firings of federal prosecutors.

Critics reluctantly conceded that Gonzales was likely to weather the political storm. But many scoffed at Bush's claim of having more confidence in his attorney general after Gonzales' Senate testimony last week that was filled with memory lapses.

Gonzales, speaking at a news conference about identity theft, said he was staying at the Justice Department. But he declined to say for how long.

"As long as I think that I can be effective and the president believes that I should continue to be at the head of the Department of Justice, I'll continue serving as the attorney general," Gonzales said.

He added: "Obviously, we'll be working with Congress to reassure them that we've identified that mistakes have been made here and we're taking steps to address them. But I can't just be focused on the U.S. attorneys situation."

His comments came a few hours after Bush described Gonzales as "an honest, honorable man in whom I have confidence."

With fresh support from Bush, Gonzales says he's not quitting

With fresh support from Bush, Gonzales says he's not quitting

Attorney general's critics concede he'll probably survive political storm
Associated Press
Originally published April 24, 2007

WASHINGTON // Bolstered by a fresh show of support from President Bush, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales sought yesterday to move beyond calls for his resignation and lingering questions about his credibility after the firings of federal prosecutors.

Critics reluctantly conceded that Gonzales was likely to weather the political storm. But many scoffed at Bush's claim of having more confidence in his attorney general after Gonzales' Senate testimony last week that was filled with memory lapses.

Gonzales, speaking at a news conference about identity theft, said he was staying at the Justice Department. But he declined to say for how long.

"As long as I think that I can be effective and the president believes that I should continue to be at the head of the Department of Justice, I'll continue serving as the attorney general," Gonzales said.

He added: "Obviously, we'll be working with Congress to reassure them that we've identified that mistakes have been made here and we're taking steps to address them. But I can't just be focused on the U.S. attorneys situation."

His comments came a few hours after Bush described Gonzales as "an honest, honorable man in whom I have confidence."

Rove is in violation of the Hatch Act

Hatch Act for Federal Employees



The Hatch Act restricts the political activity of executive branch employees of the federal government, District of Columbia government and some state and local employees who work in connection with federally funded programs.

DOJ~Office of Special Counsel to investigate Rove

Inquiry of Rove brings unit out of obscurity

By Tom Hamburger

Los Angeles Times


WASHINGTON — The obscure federal investigative unit known as the Office of Special Counsel generally confines itself to monitoring the activities of relatively low-level government employees, stepping in with reprimands and other routine administrative actions for such offenses as discriminating against military personnel or engaging in prohibited political activities.

But the unit is preparing to jump into one of the most sensitive and potentially explosive issues in Washington, launching a broad investigation into key elements of the White House political operations that for more than seven years have been headed by chief strategist Karl Rove.


More on this article

~RUMMY LIED & WARGATES LIED~

In yesterdays post about Robert Gates the question came up of what I think about Robert Gate's quoted statement from Jan. 11, 2007. RE: "I don’t think anybody has a definite idea about how long the surge would last. I think for most of us, in our minds, we’re thinking of it as a matter of months, not 18 months or two years."

Well...It is obvious that it was a lie. Yet this dude has more credentials than you can shake a stick at.

Dr. Robert M. Gates was sworn in on December 18, 2006, as the 22nd Secretary of Defense. Before entering his present post, Secretary Gates was the President of Texas A&M University, the nation’s seventh largest university. Prior to assuming the presidency of Texas A&M on August 1, 2002, he served as Interim Dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M from 1999 to 2001

Secretary Gates has been awarded the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, has twice received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and has three times received CIA’s highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal.

He is the author of the memoir, From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insiders Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, published in 1996.

Until becoming Secretary of Defense, Dr. Gates served as Chairman of the Independent Trustees of The Fidelity Funds, the nation's largest mutual fund company, and on the board of directors of NACCO Industries, Inc., Brinker International, Inc. and Parker Drilling Company, Inc.

Dr. Gates has also served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Council on Education, the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, and the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America. He has also been President of the National Eagle Scout Association.

All this, yet he made that ridiculous statement, because the truth doesn't go along with political policy. But he now makes this statement.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Iraqi officials Friday the U.S. commitment to Baghdad is long-term but said U.S. troops would not stay indefinitely.

"The United States sees Iraq as an important regional ally and a vital partner in the global war on terrorism,"

This is more Neoconservative doublespeak. I thought Rumsfeld was bad! Hell...he was just doing his job, which is mainly deception.

Gates: U.S. commitment to Iraq 'long-term'

Published: April 20, 2007 at 4:41 PM
American Forces Press Service.

BAGHDAD April 20 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Iraqi officials Friday the U.S. commitment to Baghdad is long-term but said U.S. troops would not stay indefinitely.
"The United States sees Iraq as an important regional ally and a vital partner in the global war on terrorism," Gates said on the second day of his visit to Iraq. He was joined U.S. Marines Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and senior U.S. military and Iraqi government officials at the news conference inside Baghdad's heavily fortified "green zone."

His predecessor Donald Rumsfeld (Rummy), was replaced because he lied. He lied about weapons of mass destruction along with all of the other Neocons. Here's a video of Rummy lieing to ex CIA George McGovern.

This from the CRS

The Congressional Research Service is the public policy research arm of the United States Congress. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS works exclusively and directly for Members of Congress, their Committees and staff on a confidential, nonpartisan basis.

CRS Report for Congress

Received through the CRS WebOrder Code RS21048

Updated April 17, 2006

U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF):Background and Issues for CongressAndrew Feickert Specialist in National DefenseForeign Affairs, Defense, and Trade DivisionSummarySpecial Operations Forces (SOF) playasignificant rolein U.S. militaryoperationsand the Administration has given U.S. SOF forces greater responsibility for planningand conductingworldwide counterterrorism operations. The 2006 Quadrennial DefenseReview (QDR) has called for a 15% increase in special operations forces beginning inFY2007. Proposals to elevate the command of the Joint Special Operations Command(JSOC) and the realignment of civil affairs, psychological operations (psyops) andcombat search and rescue (CSAR) functions out from under the control of the U.S.Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), has raised concerns that SOF is perhapsbecoming too focused on immediate versus long-term results. This report will beupdated as events warrant

Issues for CongressIs QDR-Mandated SOF Growth Achieveable? Congress may decide toexamine the feasability of the QDR-mandated 15% increase in SOF forces, perhapsfocusing on the proposed growth of Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs, andpsychological warfare and civil affairs personnel. Volunteers for Army Special Forcesand Navy SEALs, in particular, are subjected to rigorous assessment and selectionregimens that traditionally yield only a handful of men selected to serve in these units -around a 20% pass rate in the case of SEAL Basic Underwater Demolition (BUD)Training.16In order to meet a growing requirement, USSOCOM has “overhauled” itsaccession schools, increasing the number of training cadre and number of classes toincrease candidate throughput while allegedly “maintaining the same high standards.”17USSOCOM’s goal for producing 750 enlisted Green Beret graduates per year starting inFY2006 was exceeded a year early as in FY2005, 790 new enlisted Green Beretssuccessfully completed assessment and qualification training. USSOCOM notes that forthe first few years of this initiative, additional SOF soldiers will be used to fill existingvacancies in Army Special Forces units but that USSOCOM is “now postured foradditional future growth.”18While USSOCOM may be graduating additional operators from its qualificationcourses, working against this increase is the continued attrition of SOF personnel due toretirement as well as those who voluntarily separate from the service. While retention isa significant focus for USSOCOM, little is known about how many SOF personnel of allranks are leaving the service and a significant increase in these numbers could precludeany meaningful growth for USSOCOM forces.JSOC’s Increasing Role and Loss of Civil Affairs, Psyops, and CombatSearch and Rescue Capabilities. Congress might act to review the implications ofJSOC’s increasing role in special operations as well as the loss of civil affairs, psyops,and combat search and rescue capabilities. While proponents suggest that these and otherchanges will better enableUSSOCOM to focus on intelligencegatheringand directactionmissions against individual terrorists and terror cells, others are concerned that bymarginalizing the role of civil affairs, psyops, and training foreign militaries, thatUSSOCOM maynot beoptimallysuited for fightingboth the“longwar”on terror aswellas the insurgency in Iraq. Some USSOCOM officials suggest that while direct actionmissions may “show effect immediately” that they can be detrimental in an insurgency,whereas civil affairs, psyops and special forces participating in foreign internal defense,information operations, and civil-militaryoperations historicallytend to bemoreeffectivein long-running counterinsurgency campaigns.

Is Robert Gates defending the American People or Duhbya

Is Cheney Right About the Democrats?

by Ray McGovern
April 17, 2007

The rhetoric over recent days and this morning makes it clear that Vice President Dick Cheney is still in charge of Iraq policy. He seems supremely confident that the Democrats can be intimidated into giving the White House the only thing it really wants – enough money to stave off defeat until President George W. Bush and Cheney are safely out of office. That, of course, is also what lies behind the "temporary surge" in troop strength.

Was Defense Secretary Robert Gates being naive or disingenuous on Jan. 11, when he appeared before the Senate Armed Forces Committee and addressed the "surge?"

"I don't think anybody has a definite idea about how long the surge would last. I think for most of us, in our minds, we're thinking of it as a matter of months, not 18 months or two years."

I know Gates; he is not naive. And whatever the relative merits of positions on a policy issue, neither he nor anyone else in the small coterie of presidential advisers is likely to stand up to Cheney. The $64 question is whether the Democrats will. To me, that appears a long shot.

Al Gore's main concern is the environment

Key to "An Inconvenient Truth


"I’m guessing it’s the first time that a feature film or documentary has ever been made with Keynote as its basis," says Lesley Chilcott, coproducer of the Sundance Film Festival hit "An Inconvenient Truth."

Directed by Davis Guggenheim, the film eloquently weaves scientific facts with practical solutions and spikes of humor from the likes of Matt Groening’s animated series "Futurama" as it documents former Vice President Al Gore’s lifelong effort to reverse the effects of global climate change.

A longtime and respected advocate for the environment, Gore has given some 1,000 talks on climate change since 1989 at first using slides in a carousel with easels and charts. He switched to Keynote on his PowerBook, Chilcott says, after Gore’s wife Tipper said, "Well, Mr. Information Superhighway, why don’t you put your slides on your computer?"

"An Inconvenient Truth" captures Gore’s "traveling global warming show" and punctuates it with filmlets of his personal journey to show why, out of the world’s menu of issues, Gore has remained so passionate about the environment.

A Genome of Slides
"When we were trying to figure out how to best film Al’s presentation," Chilcott recalls, "we looked at a variety of options when designing multiple screens for him." Once we started investigating Keynote and its capabilities, we realized that it was best to actually film the presentation using Keynote on multiple screens.

"It’s just a phenomenal program," Chilcott adds. "Al keeps what he calls a genome of all his master slides whether they are charts or graphs or images or QuickTime clips in Keynote, so he can tailor his presentation to different audiences." Gore also downloads new photographs or animations while he’s on the road so he can include new information, often relating directly to his audience, the day of his talk.

Star in New Role, Gore Revisits Old Stage

By MARK LEIBOVICH and PATRICK HEALY

Published: March 21, 2007

WASHINGTON, March 20 — The last time Al Gore appeared publicly inside the United States Capitol, he was certifying the Electoral College victory of George W. Bush. He returns on Wednesday, a heartbreak loser turned Oscar boasting Nobel hopeful globe trotting multimillionaire pop culture eminence.

For Mr. Gore, who calls himself a “recovering politician,” returning to Capitol Hill is akin to a recovering alcoholic returning to a neighborhood bar. He will, in all likelihood, deliver his favorite refrain about how "political will is a renewable resource" and how combating global warming is the "greatest challenge in the history of mankind." He will confront one of his fervent detractors, Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, who derides Mr. Gore as an alarmist.

He will also embrace old friends, pose (or not) for cellphone photos and greet the legion of climate change disciples who swear by the "Goracle" as a contemporary sage.

And, of course, he will be asked whether he plans to run for president in 2008, something he has said no to a million times or so, if never quite definitively. On Tuesday at a Washington hotel, where Mr. Gore addressed a group of institutional investors, he was urged on accordingly.

"Run, Al, run," one attendee shouted after the former vice president as he barreled through the hallway, a greeting that has become as familiar as "hello."

Almost everywhere he goes these days, Mr. Gore is met with the fuss of a statesman. His hair is slicked back in a way that accentuates the new fullness of his face. At the hotel, Mr. Gore’s perma-smile folded his narrow eyes into slits as he milled his way into a ballroom. Afterward, he accepted his customary standing ovation, slipped out a back door and into the back of a Lincoln Town Car, looking almost presidential.

In a brief phone interview Tuesday night, Mr. Gore said he was eager to appear before the House and Senate on Wednesday, even though he has turned down invitations in the past. There is, he said, "an unwritten tradition" that former presidents and vice presidents testify only rarely before Congress. He accepted this time in light of the Democratic takeover and what he calls "a new determination to deal with this issue," referring to climate change.

"Mother Nature is a powerful witness and has been sending some pretty powerful messages that people are hearing," Mr. Gore said.

And he repeated that he "has no plans" to run for president.

Duhbya's political base: We The Sheeple

SHUMANS

Bush is pleased with Alberto Gonzales testimony

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 20, 2007

PRESS GAGGLE

BY DANA PERINO

Aboard Air Force One

En Route Grand Rapids, Michigan

11:56 A.M. EDT

Exerpts:

Q Is he doing any interviews on potential new candidates for the AG --

MS. PERINO: Not that I'm aware of, no. One of the things that the President did upon returning from his trip yesterday was spoke to the Attorney General, following his hours of testimony. The President was pleased that the hearing had finally been held; that the Attorney General was fully responsive to the Congress, answered hours worth of questions after providing thousands of pages of documents, and again proving that there was no credible allegation of wrongdoing. The Attorney General did apologize for the way it was handled, said it could have been handled better, and the President agrees with that. But the Attorney General continues to have the President's full confidence.

Q Was the President disappointed in the testimony?

MS. PERINO: Is the President? No.

Q But what about the fact that even Republicans now are coming out and calling for the Attorney General to resign?

MS. PERINO: There is no doubt that there were many members from both sides of the aisle who had expressed frustration over the confusing remarks from the initial responses on this matter. And that frustration had built up over many weeks. The President believes that the Attorney General answered all of their questions honestly and forthrightly. I can understand there are some people who still don't want to support the Attorney General; that is their right. But he has done a fantastic job at the Department of Justice. He is our number one crime fighter. He has done so much to help keep this country safe from terrorists. He has worked determinately to prevent predators from attacking our children. He has worked -- they have a fantastic record of fighting corruption in government and in keeping gang violence off our streets.

And I could go on and on, but I think that following the hearing and following the tension that was in the room, I think on this new day I think -- hopefully people will be able to take a step back, realize that there was no credible evidence of wrongdoing, that the Attorney General has apologized for how it was handled, and that he has a job to do, and he's been doing it very well. And the President has full confidence in him.

Q Dana, has the President spoken with Paul Wolfowitz over the last couple weeks?

MS. PERINO: No, not that I'm aware of, and there's no change -- the President still has confidence in him. And there is a review that's ongoing by the board, and we're leaving it with them to go ahead and complete that.

Q Is there any plans for the President to personally call Mr. Wolfowitz and express his support to him directly?

MS. PERINO: I've said it publicly for days, and I'll let -- if there's an update on the President's call schedule --

Q Does the President ever get tired of having to express his full confidence in the people around him these days?

MS. PERINO: When you're President of the United States and you have this many folks that you are employing, it's a pretty small number that he's had to express full confidence in. All of us who serve at the pleasure of the President, if the moment he doesn't have full confidence in you, you no longer work for him. And we all take that very seriously.

Q Dana, at some point, though, whether or not the Attorney General has done anything wrong, there comes a question as to whether he's being effective any more in that job, particularly when Arlen Specter, the chairman of that committee, says there is a credibility gap.

MS. PERINO: Well, I could go through the list again of all the things -- the great things that the Attorney General has been able to do at the Department. I won't, I'll just refer you back to the transcript when you get it.

Q That isn't what I'm asking.

MS. PERINO: I hear your point, but I can tell you that this President believes that the Attorney General's effectiveness is something that he has been very proud of, and that he believes will continue with the Attorney General at the helm of the Justice dept.

Q Does the White House view this matter as closed?

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that there's no doubt there's probably going to be follow-up questions; there usually are. And the request by the President for the Department of Justice to be fully responsive stands. And as you know, we're in communication with the Hill, in terms of their requests for us, as well. I think that the hearing is over, and we'll just see where it goes from here. A lot of this isn't in our control.

Q So the President said in Mexico that he had work to do in Congress, and went up there, and we were waiting for him to go there, so do you think he did what was necessary?

MS. PERINO: I've said repeatedly, since yesterday, that the President was very pleased with how the testimony went yesterday; that the Attorney General was responsive, and he did what the President asked him to do, and that the Attorney General fulfilled his responsibility to the Congress by answering hours worth of testimony and providing all of the documents.

Q Is the President going to mention it today at all?

MS. PERINO: No. The President is going to be giving a speech about Iraq, which is something you guys might want to focus on -- with a nation that is at war. This speech is going to be more formal -- more formal, in terms of his remarks, than yesterday's, where that was a little bit more off-the-cuff. He will also be using some visuals today, some maps, that help describe what our force posture was prior to the Baghdad Security Plan implementation, and the current force structure, as well as -- so he'll talk about Baghdad, and he'll also talk about al-Anbar province, as well as areas outside of those, in terms of what we are doing to help put the Iraqis in control, quell the violence in Baghdad, and allow for those political and diplomatic and economic reforms to take place, and then so that we can eventually get to the place where the American troops can come home. The President will talk about the consequences of withdrawing too fast, when the conditions are not ripe on the ground.

Vermont Senate: Impeach Bush & Cheney

Vermont Senate: Impeach the President

MONTPELIER, Vt. - Friday April 20, 2007 10:38 am

Vermont senators voted Friday to call for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, saying their actions have raised "serious questions of constitutionality." The non-binding resolution was approved 16-9 without debate - all six Republicans in the chamber at the time and three Democrats voted against it.

The resolution says Bush and Cheney's actions in the U.S. and abroad, including in Iraq, "raise serious questions of constitutionality, statutory legality, and abuse of the public trust."

"I think it's going to have a tremendous political effect, a tremendous political effect on public discourse about what to do about this president," said James Leas, a vocal advocate of withdrawing troops from Iraq and impeaching Bush and Cheney.

Bill Moyers Journal: Buying the War | Excerpt | PBS

BILL MOYERS JOURNAL "Buying the War"
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
9:00-10:30 p.m. ET

Fridays, continuing series, beginning April 27, 2007
9:00-10:00 p.m. ET


Documentary Explores Role of the Press in the Lead-Up to the Invasion of Iraq


Four years ago on May 1, President Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln wearing a flight suit and delivered a speech in front of a giant "Mission Accomplished" banner. He was hailed by media stars as a "breathtaking" example of presidential leadership in toppling Saddam Hussein. Despite profound questions over the failure to locate weapons of mass destruction and the increasing violence in Baghdad, many in the press confirmed the White House’s claim that the war was won. MSNBC’s Chris Matthews declared, "We’re all neo-cons now"; NPR’s Bob Edwards said, "The war in Iraq is essentially over"; and Washington Post reporter Jeff Birnbaum said, "It is amazing how thorough the victory in Iraq really was in the broadest context."

How did the mainstream press get it so wrong? How did the evidence disputing the existence of weapons of mass destruction and the link between Saddam Hussein to 9/11 continue to go largely unreported? "What the conservative media did was easy to fathom; they had been cheerleaders for the White House from the beginning and were simply continuing to rally the public behind the President...no questions asked. How mainstream journalists suspended skepticism and scrutiny remains an issue of significance that the media has not satisfactorily explored," says Bill Moyers. "How the administration marketed the war to the American people has been well covered, but critical questions remain: How and why did the press buy it, and what does it say about the role of journalists in helping the public sort out fact from propaganda?"

You're a heck of a guy Alberto

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) to Gonzales:You should resign.
COBURN: Mr. Attorney General, it’s my considered opinion that the exact same standards should be applied to you in how this was handled. It was handled incompetently, the communication was atrocious. It was inconsistent. It’s generous to say that there was misstatements, that’s a generous statement. And I believe you ought to suffer the consequences that these others have suffered, and I believe the best way to put this behind us is your resignation.

~VIDEO~

Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran

Not funny...not cool...This idiot is running for president of the United States? I think not. His fate is sealed, just like all the other members of Bush& Co.

Bye bye...Abramoff
Bye bye...Delay
Bye bye...Libby
Bye bye...Rummy
Bye bye...Gonzo
and
Bye bye...McCaine

I know I left a few out...stay tuned...heh heh

CATS

Good morning!

No wonder that you like cats.


Cat's Cradle? New find pushes back origin of tamed felines

Researchers have often given Egyptians living around 4,000 years ago credit for having first domesticated wildcats and then bred the tame felines. However, discoveries on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus indicate that people domesticated felines there by about 9,500 years ago, long before the cat-worshipping Egyptians' time.

Who The Hell Is Don Imus?

As Uncle Hugh used to say, "If you lie down with hogs, you’re liable to start feelin’ like a cannibal."


Don Imus is a nappy-headed schmo.

A man with a head like dryer lint is talking about somebody else’s hair?

Now, understand, until last week I had never heard of Don Imus.

But more about that later

PoorRudy

It turns out that dressing up like a woman, having mobbed up business partners and recommending them as homeland security chiefs, having three wives, having a wife who's had three husbands and "omitted" one of them until recently, having no relationship with your kids, living with a gay couple, announcing your second divorce to the media before you tell your wife, supporting publicly-funded abortions, not knowing how much milk and bread costs, having no idea what the difference is between Sunni and Shiite, drinking the blood of small children and generally being an asshole doesn't play well with the GOP base (you would think the last two might make up for all the rest).

I am not one to say I told you so. But so many smart people have written McCain's obit and started buying into Rudy as GOP nominee. Ain't gonna happen. And as a new poll shows, with all the scrutiny now on Rudy very strange life, McCain is back within six points.

I'm telling you, McCain is their guy by default, unless a conservative savior gets in the race (that could be Newt, or the crappy actor--although the latter has a lot of baggage waiting to be explored). As long as it's Romney vs. McCain vs. Giuliani, McCain wins by default, for simply being the most conservative of the three (particularly on Iraq, still popular among GOP crazies) and having the Bush team on board.

Will Fitzgerald re-open his investigation?

Last week, CREW sent a letter to Fitzgerald urging him to reopen his investigation in light of revelations that thousands of emails Rove sent via an email account maintained by the Republican National Committee had been lost. CREW serves as legal counsel to Joseph and Valerie Wilson in their civil suit against Rove, Vice President Dick Cheney, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and Richard Armitage. Libby was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice earlier this year for his role in the leak of Plame's identity.

Fitzgerald and the Missing Emails


By Matt Renner and Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t Report

Wednesday 18 April 2007

A couple of weeks before I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, was indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges, then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers was told that an internal White House probe determined that millions of administration emails dating back to 2003 were lost.

Miers immediately informed Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor appointed to investigate whether administration officials knowingly leaked the identity of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson, about the administration's lost emails, a government watchdog group has claimed, but Miers may not have told Fitzgerald the extent of the White House's email problem.

During a wide-ranging interview with Truthout on Monday, Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and CREW's Chief Counsel Anne Weismann said they believe Miers did not fully inform Fitzgerald about the millions of emails the White House lost between 2003 and 2005. As a result, the CREW attorneys said it's likely that Fitzgerald did not obtain all of the evidence related to the leak investigation - particularly emails sent during that time period by Karl Rove that may further implicate the White House political adviser in the Plame Wilson leak.

The latest revelation by CREW provides new insight into how Fitzgerald first became aware that some emails related to the leak investigation were not turned over to FBI investigators in the fall of 2003, which the special prosecutor disclosed in a court filing in January 2006.

"We assume this is what [Fitzgerald] was referring to [in his court filing], but we do not know how deep the briefing given to him by Miers was," Sloan said.

Time for Charlton Heston to give up his gun

US gun laws under scrutiny after massacre

The World Today - Tuesday, 17 April , 2007 12:18:00
Reporter: Emma Alberici

EMMA ALBERICI: As is always the case after such a tragedy in America, many people are today pointing their fingers at the country's lax gun laws.

Generally, those laws are grounded in the United States' Constitution, which gives its population the right to bear arms.

Laws vary among the 52 states. In southern states like Virginia, the scene of today's shooting rampage, getting your hands on a deadly weapon is relatively easy.

In that state, no license or training is required to buy a handgun and those wanting to purchase a gun can avoid background checks by shopping at gun shows.

New Yorkers Against Gun Violence is a group formed to promote more sensible gun policies throughout the United States. Indeed, New York has some of the country's strictest gun laws

Jackie Kuhls is the group's Executive Director and she spoke to me a short time ago from New York.

JACKIE KUHLS: It's very easy, sadly, to buy a gun in Virginia and in most states in the United States. Guns of any type are easily available and background checks are often skirted by folks being able to buy from non-licensed dealers.

Well...It is also sad that the regulations on Tasers are about the same as gun regulations, so those that would like one for self protection will have to check into it as it, like the gun laws varies from state to state. Also tasers are illegal in many places in the world.

A taser only has a range of 15 feet and costs about the same as a 44 magnum gun. To use it for protection where anyone might have a gun, would certainly be a losing proposition.

Charlton Heston will not like what I have to say, but I don't like what he had to say either. Referring to his guns he said "You will have to pry them from my dead dead hands". It's ok with me if he wants to die that way, but he like anybody else who wants to own or carry a gun should be required to answer for the responsibilities for doing so. Charlton was diagnosed with Alsheimers disease in 1998 and is now 83 years old. I wish him well in all things, but I stand in disagreement with the NRA. I don't know if he now carries a gun, but it would be sad if he shot someone who he didn't remember.

Personally: I'm asking for the registration for all fire arms and a licence to own or carry one. Is this too much to ask? After all, it is necessary to get a licence to hunt, fish, own a bicycle, drive any kind of vehicle, or here in Oregon...to go for a walk in the National Forest. Just my opinion...G:

TASER® Weapons Laws and Restrictions

TASER® Weapons will not be shipped to NJ or Canada. There are also restrictions in HI, MA, MI, NY, RI, WI, and some other localities. Although TASER® Weapon weapons are legal in most areas, it may not be legal to carry a TASER® Weapon on your person or as a concealed weapon in some states, municipalities and public buildings.

M18L Advanced TASER® Weapon w/ Laser Sight

Extremely powerful weapon that drops assailants to the ground from a safe distance of 15 feet away. A CO2 cartidge fires two electrified projectiles into the subject with the same type of power as an air gun. These projectiles become imbedded in the attacker and are effective in penetrating up to 2 and 1/2 inches of heavy clothing including heavy leather jackets. The barbed projectiles remain attached to the assailant and are connected to the weapon by high voltage insulated wire.

Dennis Kucinich Urges Conversation about Impeachment

Depleted Uranium

~SACRIFICE~

President George W. Bush, joined by military family members, addresses his remarks on the Iraq War supplemental spending bill in the East Room at the White House, Monday, April 16, 2007. President Bush urged Congress to pass an emergency war spending bill, without strings and without further delay. White House photo by Joyce Boghosian

~VIDEO~

Neocon Middle East plans~Wesley Clark

Democracy Now

Friday, March 2nd, 2007

The Plan -- according to U.S. General Wesley Clark (Ret.)

Today we spend the hour with General Wesley Clark, the retired four-star general. He was the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO during the Kosovo War. In 2004 he unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic presidential nomination. He recently edited a series of books about famous U.S. generals including Dwight Eisenhower and Ulysses Grant – both of whom became president after their military careers ended.

Well for the rest of the hour we are going to hear General Wesley Clark on the possibility of a U.S. attack on Iran, the impeachment of President Bush, the use of cluster bombs, the bombing of Radio Television Serbia during the Kosovo War and much more. I interviewed Wesley Clark on Tuesday at the 92nd Street Y in New York.


VIDEO

Protest in Portland, Oregon on March 18th,2007

An architect from the past comes back to haunt Karl Rove

The newly formed " American Freedom Agenda" was formed on March 20, 2007 by some leading conservatives who seem to be very concerned by the abuses of power in the present administration, and are taking steps to restore our government. This looks like Bush & Co. no longer has any credence with the Conservatives, and will have to answer to them as well as the Democratic congress. Their "Freedom Pledge" for presidential candidates has one signatory so far...Ron Paul.

Richard A. Viguerie

Viguerie’s latest book is Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books, 2006). Conservatives Betrayed is an incisive look at how the GOP rode the support of America’s conservatives to majority status, only to subsequently advance a liberal, big-government agenda. Conservatives Betrayed is both a manifesto of what conservatism stands for in the 21st century and a battle plan for reclaiming and revitalizing the movement.

Now comes the Revolution!

The November 2004 election results were barely counted when conservative leader Richard A. Viguerie proclaimed: Now comes the revolution! If we don't implement a conservative agenda now, when do we? Then he added: Make no mistake. Conservative Christians and (values voters) won this election for George W. Bush and Republicans in Congress. It's crucial that the Republican leadership not forget this, as much as some will try.

Viguerie's challenge to the GOP and his fellow conservatives was reported on the front page of The New York Times the very next day, and was immediately picked up by media around the world. Liberals in the U.S. sank into despair, for they knew that Viguerie was the marketing guru who established the conservative movement in the 1960s and 70s through the use of direct mail, and remains "the conservatives Voice of America" (Washington Post) today.

Viguerie's new book, "Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause", will lead conservatives into battle, and serve notice to the Republican Party that it must hew to the conservative line if it hopes to remain in power. For before Karl Rove, another direct marketing guru, there was Richard Viguerie; but while Rove's first loyalty is to the GOP, Viguerie's is to the conservative movement.

Written as a compact manifesto in easy-to-understand language, the book explains what conservatives must do to preserve moral values; protect the institution of marriage; overthrow Roe v. Wade; downsize government dramatically; slash the deficits that are holding back the American economy; cut taxes; reduce waste; and protect the interests around the world of America and its allies such as Taiwan. A call to action, Viguerie's latest book gives Conservatives their marching orders for the coming political battles ahead.

VIDEO

.

Karl Rove Talks Out Of His Ass

And this time it’s about Portland. This time it’s personal.

Posted on TPMmuckraker yesterday morning is a post called “Rove on Voter Fraud,” which includes a lengthy transcript from a speech and Q&A Karl Rove held with the Republican National Lawyers Association one year ago. In the Q&A, Rove attempts to build a case that voter fraud is rampant (Hey Rove! Where were you in Florida and Ohio in 2000?) across the country.

Toward the end of the transcript, Rove starts picking on Portland to outline his disdain for vote by mail:

I remember in 2000, that we had reports of people—you know, the practice in Oregon is everybody gets their ballot mailed to them and then you fill it out.
And one of the practices is that people will go to political rallies and turn in their ballots. And we received reports in the 2000 election — which, remember we lost Oregon by 5000 votes — we got reports of people showing up at Republican rallies and passing around the holder to get your ballot, and then people not being able to recognize who those people were and not certain that all those ballots got turned in.

On Election Day, I remember, in the city of Portland, Multnomah County—I’m going to mispronounce the name — but there were four of voting places in the city, for those of you who don’t get the ballots, well, we had to put out 100 lawyers that day in Portland, because we had people showing up with library cards, voting at multiple places.

I mean, why was it that those young people showed up at all four places, showing their library card from one library in the Portland area? I mean, there’s a problem with this.

And I know we need to make arrangements for those people who don’t live in the community in which they are registered to vote or for people who are going to be away for Election Day or who are ill or for whom it’s a real difficulty to get to the polls. But we need to have procedures in place that allow us to monitor it.

And in the city of Portland, we could not monitor. If somebody showed up at one of those four voting locations, we couldn’t monitor whether they had already cast their mail-in ballot or not. And we lost the state by 5,000 votes.

I mean, come on. What kind of confidence can you have in that system? So yes, we’ve got to do more about it.


As you might have guessed, Rove’s relationship with the facts is more than a little tenuous. Multnomah County Elections Director John Kauffman explains why after the jump.

"There were no voting locations in the county in 2000," he explains. "It was all strictly by mail. This was the first election after vote-by-mail passed, and everything was mailed in. People could go into the county elections office to pick up their ballot if they didn't receive one, but there weren't other locations to drop them off."

As for the bizarre library card claim, "I have no idea what he's talking about. A library card has nothing to do with people being able to vote."

Further, Kauffman says, vote-by-mail makes it harder, not easier, for fraud to take place. "Every signature on the back of the mailed-in envelope is checked against signatures on registration cards," he explained. "In the old days, you'd just sign in at the polling place, and your signature was never checked against anything else. Those places have their own means of identification, but those have problems too, which we're saved from by having vote-by-mail."

Even the registration process has safeguards. First time voters have to show state ID or write in the last four digits of their social security number in order to register--and the elections offices are linked to the DMV and social security system for verification.

Plus, he added, vote-by-mail eliminates the opportunity for things like polling place intimidation--based on things like, you know, race--which this country has a not-so-shining history of.

John Lindback, the State of Oregon's elections officer, is also confident that Oregon's vote-by-mail system is set up to stop fraud, and has extended an invitation to Rove to stop in while he's in the area to get a lesson on how vote-by-mail actually works.