By GottaLaff
TwitPic from White House Correspondents Dinner
Saturday, May 9, 2009
White House Correspondents Dinner: Psyche! Sykes!
By GottaLaff
"Maybe Rush was 20th hijacker, so strung out on Oxycontin he missed his flight... Too much?"Sidebar: Ok, I really didn't need to see Greenspan fondling Andrea Mitchell's bare shoulder.
"McCain gave you grief about new helicopter. If you ask your wife nicely, Mr. McCain, she'll BUY you a new helicopter"
Re: Michelle Obama giving Queen iPod..."What're you gonna give the Pope, a Bluetooth? Give the Queen TEXAS"
Re: Michelle's bare arms... "Some of the previous 1st ladies needed sleeves... ponchos."
Re: Palin. "She pulled out [of the dinner] at the last minute. Someone should tell her, that's not how you practice abstinence"
"They never catch you [Obama] smoking, but they always catch you with your shirt off"
UPDATE, Tweet from Meghan McCain:
Omfg, wanda sykes just made a joke about obamas nipples...
Quote-O'-The-Day: President Obama at W.H. Correspondents Dinner
By GottaLaff
President Obama, re: the press--
Your ultimate success is essential to democracy...Amen.
White House Correspondents Dinner on CSPAN
By GottaLaff
Live feed of the White House Correspondents Dinner here. CSPAN is currently airing red carpet arrivals.
Pres. Obama and comic actress Wanda Sykes are the highlights of this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Watch live streams of arrivals and the dinner speeches. And follow Twitter users who are tweeting from or about the dinner — and send your own using #WHCD or #WHCA.Anybody who's anybody will attend. Why, even Gonzo will be there!
Quickie-- Enter: The new face of the Republican party...
By GottaLaff
David Petraeus, Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich and John McCain.The rebranding effort continues...
That was today's Quickie. Was it good for you?
CIA Refuses to Turn Over Torture Tape Documents to ACLU
By GottaLaff
I have to admit, I'm torn. And I'm torn because I really don't know if this is, indeed, a delaying tactic, or if it's legitimate, or both. Somebody fill me in (I feel a Clancy coming on....) . I plead semi-ignorance:
The CIA claims the integrity of a special prosecutor’s criminal investigation into the destruction of 92 interrogation videotapes will be compromised if the agency if forced to turn over to the American Civil Liberties Union detailed documents identifying the individuals responsible for destroying the material, the reasons for the purge, and the torturous tactics depicted on the tapes, according to newly released court documents.That rings true to me. The judge seems to agree with that ringing of truth I hear:
In a May 5 letter to U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein, Lev Dassin, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the Justice Department recently had discussions with prosecutors working on the criminal investigation into the destruction of the interrogation tapes and was informed that “the production of documents...would conflict and substantially interfere with the [criminal] investigation” into the destruction of the interrogation tapes.
“As the court is aware, the scope of the tapes investigation includes the review of whether any person obstructed justice, knowingly made materially false statements, or acted in contempt of court or Congress in connection with the destruction of videotapes,” Dassin's letter says. “The Government thus respectfully requests that [a previous court order demanding the CIA turn over detailed descriptions of the contents of the destroyed tapes] be withdrawn or otherwise stayed until the tapes investigation has been completed.”
Amrit Singh, an ACLU staff attorney, said the move is “a classic CIA delay tactic.”
In court papers, she said the government is using the criminal investigation “as a pretext for indefinitely postponing” its obligation to produce documents related to the destruction of the videotapes.
“The Government makes no mention of an expected timeline for completion of [Special Prosecutor John] Durham['s] investigation,” the ACLU’s said in court papers. “Nor has Mr. Durham provided a declaration in support of the Government’s position.”Much more here.
Hellerstein seemed to agree. He pointed out in a two-page order that Durham had not stepped forward to state that his probe would be hindered if documents related to the destruction of the tapes were turned over to the ACLU.
H/t: The Joshua Blog
Miss California Gets Phone Call From Sarah Palin
By GottaLaff
Miss CA: Hi, Sarah? Omg! It's me! Carrie!
Sarah: I was just sayin' to Todd how much I enjoyed your message toutin' Opposite Marriage, Carrie, also too you know moreover I'm thinkin' and how.
Miss CA: Me too! ... Wait. ... What?
Sarah: Opposin' gay marriage is a super message, don'tcha know too also moreover you betcha and how. But ya might wanna do something about that whole nude picture thing, ya know furthermore likewise boyoboyhowdy.
Miss CA: Can we, like, just text next time, Sarah? 'K? 'K. 'K? 'K, gotta go. I can't understand a word you're sayeeeng. By the way, may I just say that I'm oddly attracted to you?
Sarah: Oohhh, say it ain't so, Carrie, I'm married. But that's real mavericky of ya. On second thought, gosh darn it, why the heck not? But don'tcha go tellin' Todd. He still thinks I'm straight.Prejean's father William Prejean told E! that the Gov called his daughter to offer up her support, albeit before controversial topless photographs of his daughter went online.
"She called her directly to offer support," says the 58-year-old William Prejean.Unfortunately he had no details on the conversation and no word what Palin thinks now after the photos.
Miss CA: Are you free for dinner any time soon?
Sarah: Tell ya what. I'll check and get right back to ya.
Democrats to rule until 2049?
Don't know about you, but that really doesn't sound all that healthy for the country...
Photo: Todd Palin and Greta Van Susteren at the Big Do
By GottaLaff
"Nerd Prom" is Twitter’s endearing little tag for the White House Correspondence Dinner Big Doin's. There are Tweets galore from anyone and everyone who is attending. Somebody TwitPic'd the following photo.
Warning: If the thought of Todd Palin and Greta Van Susteren together turns your stomach, look away now.
VIDEOS-- Move over Palin: Texas is charging rape victims who cooperate with the police
By GottaLaff
Making victims pay for their own rape kits worked so well in Alaska, Texas just couldn't resist hopping on the bandwagon:
CNN reports that Texas hospitals are charging women who have been raped thousands of dollars for their rape kits that are collected by police as part of their investigations. According to the state officials, Texas’s crime victim compensation consistently has a surplus and could likely cover these expenses.
Via Think Progress, September 2008:
Nothing says "compassion" like further fraying the nerves of an already-traumatized woman.[C]harging sexual assault victims for their rape kits (which cost $300 to $1,200 at the time) is exactly what happened while she was mayor of Wasilla. In a budget-cutting move, Palin’s administration began charging rape victims for exams and the kits containing the medical supplies. (Her signature is on the budget.) USA Today reported:
It is not known how many rape victims in Wasilla were required to pay for some or all of the medical exams, but a legislative staffer who worked on the bill for [state legislator Eric] Croft said it happened. “It was more than a couple of cases, and it was standard practice in Wasilla,” Peggy Wilcox said, who now works for the Alaska Public Employees Association. “If you were raped in Wasilla, this was going to happen to you.”
The practice of charging rape victims got the attention of state lawmakers in 2000, who passed a bill to stop the practice. [...]
The Palin administration says it fired public safety director Walt Monegan because he went “to Washington, D.C., to seek funding for a new, multimillion-dollar sexual assault initiative the governor hadn't yet approved.”
VIDEO: Single-payer advocates protest Senate hearing
By GottaLaff
How frustrating is this:
May 5 - Doctors and other advocates of a national single-payer health system – also known as an improved Medicare for All – directly confronted senators at a Senate Finance Committee “roundtable” on health reform today.H/t: Anon, who I suspect is one of my fellow Tweeters
One-by-one, eight single-payer advocates in the audience stood up during the opening comments of the hearing and asked why single-payer experts were being excluded from the proceedings. They each spoke out in turn until they were removed from the committee hearing room, one-by-one, by U.S. Capitol police.
The doctors and others said that a publicly funded, privately delivered single-payer system is the only solution to the crisis plaguing our nation’s non-system of health care, noting that single-payer national health insurance would guarantee coverage for everyone and contains costs.
Despite polling that shows a clear majority of public and physician support for a single-payer system, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has stated on multiple occasions that single payer is “off the table” of health reform.
VIDEO: Stanford Anti-War Alumni, Students Call for Condi War Crimes Probe
By GottaLaff During the Vietnam War, Stanford students succeeded in banning secret military research from campus. Last weekend, 150 activist alumni and present Stanford students targeted Condoleezza Rice for authorizing torture and misleading Americans into the illegal Iraq War. [...] As National Security Advisor, Rice authorized waterboarding in July 2002, according to a newly released report of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Less than two months later, she hyped the impending U.S. invasion of Iraq, saying, "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." Her ominous warning was part of the Bush administration's campaign to sell the Iraq war, in spite of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency's assurances that Saddam Hussein did not possess nuclear weapons. I posted about that here, along with this video:
Marjorie Cohn:
On Sunday, surrounded by alumni and students, Lenny Siegel and I nailed a petition to the University President's office door. The petition, circulated by Stanford Say No to War, reads:
"We the undersigned students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other concerned members of the Stanford community, believe that high officials of the U.S. Government, including our former Provost, current Political Science Professor, and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow, Condoleezza Rice, should be held accountable for any serious violations of the Law (included ratified treaties, statutes, and/or the U.S. Constitution) through investigation and, if the facts warrant, prosecution, by appropriate legal authorities."
I stated, "By nailing this petition to the door of the President's office, we are telling Stanford that the university should not have war criminals on its faculty. There is prima facie evidence that Rice approved torture and misled the country into the Iraq War. Stanford has an obligation to investigate those charges." [...]
A week before the nailing of the petition, Rice made some Nixonian admissions in response to questions from Stanford students during a campus dinner designed to burnish Rice's image on campus.Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and president of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the author of "Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law" and co-author of "Rules of Disengagement: The Politics and Honor of Military Dissent." Read her articles at www.marjoriecohn.com.
Whether or not any of this petition has any immediate effect, it is still important to keep the pressure on. I applaud Marjorie Cohn for her efforts and support her for them. The more attention this continues to get the better.
Minnesota Senate race inches toward (non) resolution
By GottaLaff
Democrats, for now, show no indication they will try to force the issue in Washington by attempting to seat Al Franken, the comic turned politician who has been declared the winner by 312 votes over incumbent Republican Norm Coleman.
Instead the contest will be allowed to play out in Minnesota where a final resolution at the state level may come in about six or seven weeks. Coleman has asked the state's supreme court to reconsider the ruling from a special judicial panel that declared Franken the winner.
What happens after Minnesota's high court rules sometime in June is less clear. The loser could appeal to federal courts but the state's Republican governor, Tim Pawlenty, would be under pressure to certify a winner as required by state law.
"We are taking this one step at a time and are confident that the Minnesota Supreme Court will rule in our favor," Coleman spokesman Tom Erickson said.
Some-bo-dy has toked up once too often. Memo to Toker Norm: You lost. Get over it. Move on. Give Minnesota full representation in the U.S. Senate. There's a good little patriot.
[David Schultz, a professor at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota] said if Pawlenty signs the certificate he would hurt his standing among Republicans as he weighs a possible run for president in 2012. Refusing to sign could put him in contempt of court and harm his chances of winning re-election as governor in 2010.
Senator John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has said there would be all-out war if the Democrats try to seat Franken should he win in the Minnesota court, suggesting that all federal appeals should be exhausted first. [...]
Whoever wins will go to Washington with a poor approval rating and the knowledge that they were elected with a minority of the votes cast.
A recent poll in the Star Tribune newspaper showed Franken with a 43 percent approval rating and Coleman with 38 percent. "Both really only have the support of the base of the two parties," Schultz said.
Notice to readers
By GottaLaff
Uh-uh-uh....
Whether we agree with what you post in Comments or not, spam is spam. Repetitive and/or duplicate comments will now be deleted. We heard you the first time. You know who you are.
Now, if you have something you'd like us to address, go ahead and e-mail us. We'll look into it and decide whether to post or not. We're always open to suggestion, and, speaking for myself, I've gotten many e-mails that point me to excellent sites and/or articles.
To our regulars, disregard this warning. We are not addressing you, and thanks for keeping the discussions lively, thought-provoking, and on point.
By the way, this does not apply to friendly off-topic convos... but I'm pretty sure you all understood that.
Love,
Laffy
Saturday Linkage
Eric's peony is blooming!!
Pope Arrives to Mend Fences in the Middle East
New Orleans Citizens Group Questions Army Corps Use Of Funds For Media Spin; Corps Denies Misuse
Blago evidence would take 51 years to read: lawyers
More States Using GPS to Track Abusers and Stalkers
Movie memorabilia sale yields $4.2M
Did Aliens visit Bendigo?
Friday, May 8, 2009
What could Nancy Pelosi have done?
By GottaLaff
Good recap:
While it remains unclear what Pelosi knew and when she knew it, it should not be forgotten that Pelosi did not write the memos authorizing the use of torture or carry that torture out; the Bush administration did. Further, the CIA briefed Pelosi without staff, told her their practices were legal, and forbade her from discussing the meeting with colleagues. As such, Pelosi could not work to “outlaw the practices.” Marc Ambinder notes that the only way Pelosi could have registered her objections at that time was to “walk out of the briefing, telling those CIA officials who came that what she just heard did not constitute a formal briefing.” The result? The CIA would have simply tried to re-brief her at a later date, but the Bush administration would have continued to carry out torture anyways.Let me say this in short, declarative sentences: BushCo tortured. They did it. BushCo. Did. It. Let's not forget that. Let's not get sidetracked. BushCo is responsible.
Mr. Spock, meet Mr. President
By GottaLaff
Nanu nanu. Wait. No. Wrong show:
President Obama has drawn not-infrequent comparisons to the Spock character. Do you see any similarities there?"Seems logical to me captain."
I’ve met him twice. The first time was a couple years ago, very early on when he had just announced his candidacy. He was in Los Angeles, speaking at a luncheon we were invited to. There was a very small crowd — minuscule compared to the crowd that he gathered later — at a private home in Los Angeles. And we were standing on the back patio, waiting for him. And he came through the house, saw me and immediately put his hand up in the Vulcan gesture. He said, “They told me you were here.” We had a wonderful brief conversation and I said, “It would be logical if you would become president.”
Nancy Pelosi on CIA waterboarding report: Nuh-UH
By GottaLaff
Back story here. Now Nancy is saying hold your horses, guys:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is disputing a CIA account sent to Congress that raises questions about her insistence she was never told explicitly that waterboarding had been used on terrorist suspects. [...]Last month, Pelosi told reporters that she was told about the legal justification for the interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, but was never told the controversial technique had been used on any detainees.
"We were not — I repeat — were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation methods were used."In a statement issued Friday, Pelosi said: "Of the 40 CIA briefings to Congress reported recently in the press, I was only briefed once, on September 4, 2002, as I have previously stated.
"As I said in my statement of December 9, 2007:
"'I was briefed on interrogation techniques the administration was considering using in the future. The administration advised that legal counsel for both the CIA and the Department of Justice had concluded that the techniques were legal.'
"I had no further briefings on the techniques.
"My understanding of the briefing I received is consistent with the description that CIA General Counsel Scott Muller provided to Congresswoman Jane Harman in a letter dated February 28, 2003, which states:
"'As we informed both you and the leadership of the Intelligence Committees last September, a number of executive branch lawyers including lawyers from the Department of Justice participated in the determination that, in the appropriate circumstances, the use of these techniques is fully consistent with U.S. law.'
"As reported in the press, a cover letter from CIA Director Panetta accompanying the briefings memo released this week concedes that the descriptions provided by the CIA may not be accurate."
However, a CIA spokesman said, "great care was taken with the list not to go beyond what the records themselves say."
A recently declassified Justice Department memo from 2005 said, "The CIA used the waterboard 'at least 83 times during August 2002′ in the interrogation of Zubaydah." That was before the September Pelosi-Goss briefing.
Whether Pelosi knew that waterboarding had been used or was told only it had been approved for use, she did not raise any objection at the time about the technique.
Rep. Harman, D-California, who took over Pelosi's position on the Intelligence Committee, did write a letter in February 2003, shortly after she was briefed, raising objections about the legality of the enhanced interrogation techniques.
Did so! Did not! Did so! Did not!
Obama official resigns over photo flap
By GottaLaff
Louis Caldera, the director of the White House Military Office who authorized the controversial Air Force One photo-op over New York City last week has resigned, the White House announced Thursday.The White House has also released a photograph taken during the unannounced flyover that caused a brief panic in the city.
Alrighty then. Are we done now?
Dijon Derangement Syndrome: Conservative media attack Obama for burger order
Krazy with a capital K.
White House Correspondents Dinner: Who's Attending?
Greg's got the complete (extensive) list, but NBC is seriously representing-
NBC: Colin Firth, Jimmy Fallon, Mariska Hargitay. Mike Myers, William H. Macy, Jason Bateman, Natasha Bedingfeld, Connie Britton, Warren Buffett, Kyle Chandler, John Cusack, Ari Emanuel, Dr. Zeke Emanuel, Whoopi Goldberg, Rep. Jane Harmon, Felicity Huffman, Samuel L. Jackson, Jim Jones, Sen. Amy Klobucher, Denis Leary, John Lewis, Cheryl Mills, B.J. Novak, Gov. Ed Rendell, Wilbur Ross. Jeff Zucker, Steve Capus and Phil Griffin will attend, along with high-profile talent: Brian Williams, David Gregory, Al Roker, Ann Curry, Natalie Morales, Hoda Kotb, Amy Robach, Andrea Mitchell, Chuck Todd, Savannah Guthrie, Luke Russert, Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Ed Schultz,Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinkski , Norah O’Donnell, David Shuster, Contessa Brewer, Carlos Watson, Tamron Hall, Jim Cramer, Maria Bartiromo and Erin Burnett.
Lawrence O'Donnell goes for the big crazy
He's subbing for Ed S on the Ed Show and he has Frank Gaffney AND David Rivkin** on defending torture. Video as soon as I get it, should be tastey.
Here's what FDL got.
**Apparently I misspelled his name, fixed.
AUDIO: Steele Leaves Everyone Speechless (Again)
By GottaLaff
UPDATE: I've added the audio, and updated the blog title to reflect that.
Here I am posting from school (shhh), so this post is a, how you say, rush job:
RNC Chairman Michael Steele hosted a radio show this morning and discussed President Obama's forthcoming pick of a Supreme Court nominee:Brought to you by:
"Good morning y'all, we're back in the house. We're talking a little bit of Constitution and a little bit Supreme Court. And a whole lot of saving America's judicial system and saving our rights as citizens and not having empathetic judges decide cases, but rather judges who are actually understanding the rule of law and what the Constitution and those laws are all about. And how to apply the facts to the law and the law to the facts. And adjudicate my case. I don't need some judge sitting up there feeling bad for my opponent because of their life circumstances or their condition. And short changing me and my opportunity to get fair treatment under the law. Crazy nonsense empathetic. I'll give you empathy. Empathize right on your behind. Craziness."
Republican Candidate Launches Campaign in Wrong District
Just an afternoon aperitif of Republican fail.
California Assemblyman Van Tran (R) officially launched his quest to unseat Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) at a press conference yesterday, reports the Orange County Register.
Just one problem: He held the press conference in Rep. Dana Rohrbacher's (R-CA) district, not Sanchez's.
Obama Will Make Major Speech in Egypt
They also confirm the trip to Germany that I mentioned earlier.
President Obama will make his promised speech to the Muslim world from Egypt, according to the Washington Post.
"Obama pledged during the campaign to address the Muslim world from a Muslim capital within the first few months of taking office. Picking a site proved challenging for a range of reasons -- from diplomacy to security -- and the decision took longer than expected, with Obama commissioning options from a research team."
Climb to the crown of the Statue of Liberty
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Geekily cool. Skip to about :50 to get past the goofy bits.
Alan Keyes and other abortion protesters arrested at Notre Dame
How many people have dreamt of seeing Keyes handcuffed and frogmarched? I'm afraid that I am going to be forced to go sit at the campus next week to see what I can see. Anyone got a video camera I can borrow?
Tribune Photo/JIM RIDER
Docs Show Rockefeller Was Briefed In 2003 On "How The Water Board Was Used"
By GottaLaff
Even if they knew, they were not allowed to discuss, question, or reveal what they knew:
The fact is, BushCo ordered torture. How about getting to the bottom of that? I'm rushing to work or I'd do better than a couple of sentences on this one.In February, 2003, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, then the ranking Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, was briefed -- along with Intel chair Pat Roberts and a staff member for each senator -- on "enhanced interrogation techniques" (EIT's, in the bloodless bureaucratic abbreviation.)
The document's description of the briefing reads in part:
EITs "described in considerable detail" including "how the water board was used." The process by which the techniques were approved by DoJ was also raised.Over the next few years, according to the documents, the full House and Senate intelligence committees would also receive briefings that explicitly mentioned waterboarding. But that February 2003 briefing is the earliest one listed in the document that mentions the technique.
And here's the description of another briefing given to Rockefeller and Roberts, in July 2004:
Briefed on interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, abdominal slap, and sleep deprivation. Also briefed on actionable intelligence derived from EITs.It's not news that Rockefeller was briefed on some aspects of the torture program. Nor has Rockefeller done nothing about the issue.
And of course, as far as we can find, he hasn't denied that he was briefed on the fact that waterboarding was happening, as Pelosi essentially has. Indeed, the West Virginia senator, who this year moved over to chair the appropriations committee, has been relatively restrained in his comments about the torture debate.
Still, Rockefeller has, rightly, had harsh words for the Bushies who approved torture. CNN reported last month. [...]
But if nothing else, the documents -- which appear to show that Rockefeller had an early, detailed, look at what was being done -- suggest that the senator, like many of his colleagues, was hardly a profile in courage on the issue.
H/t: TexasLou
Network Execs Angry at White House
By GottaLaff
Broadcast network executives "are seething behind the scenes that President Obama has cost them about $30 million in cumulative ad revenue this year with his three primetime news conference pre-emptions," according to the Hollywood Reporter.Why am I being so cavalier? Here's why:
"Now top network execs quietly are hoping that Fox's well-publicized rejection of the president's April 29 presser will serve as precedent for denying future White House requests for prime airtime."
Apparently forgotten: Obama's appearances on 60 Minutes and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno which gave them big ratings boosts.Then there's that little issue of communicating with the nation. Eventually that pays off for everyone.
H/t: Dr. President
Everlasting GOPstoppers
By GottaLaff
First Read: "Could the Republican Party have gotten off to a rougher start in the Obama era? It's hard to think so. Even with Bush and Cheney no longer heading the party, the GOP finds its favorability ratings at or near all-time lows. Despite their enthusiasm for their unified opposition to Obama (on the stimulus, the budget), they're blamed more for the lack of bipartisanship in DC. While starting out with all the advantages in NY-20, they still found a way to lose that race. Despite the initial positive reaction to his victory as RNC chair, Michael Steele's reign has been, shall we say, not good. And holding on to 41 votes in the Senate, they enabled a Republican who proved he could win in the increasingly blue state of Pennsylvania to switch parties, giving Dems the prospect of a filibuster-proof majority.""The suspense is terrible... I hope it'll last"
"Yes, Obama is popular right now. And, yes, the GOP is still paying for the sins of Bush and Cheney. But what has to disappoint Republicans right now is that most of their recent problems have been self-inflicted. And to top all of this off, an effort to re-brand the party ends up causing an internal fissure between one of the party's supposed rising stars, Eric Cantor, and many of the leading conservative voices, including Rush Limbaugh. Never mind the silly debate over whether Reagan should be used as an icon or not. The issue of Reagan reminds us of the Kennedy-obsession Democrats had for decades. One could argue it took the Democrats nearly 30 years to kick the Kennedy habit (maybe longer). So, this Reagan issue may take the Republicans another 10 years to get over."
CIA Admits That Info About Torture Briefings For Dems May Not Be Accurate
By GottaLaff
Yesterday I posted about the question of what Nancy Pelosi knew and when she might have known it. Here's the latest:
As I noted below, newly released documents appear to show that according to the CIA, officials briefed Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats back in 2002 about the use of torture techniques on terror suspects.
But a letter that accompanied these documents, written by the head of the CIA, appears to clearly concede that the information in the docs about who was briefed and when may not be accurate or reliable.
Republicans are pointing to the documents — which were produced by the CIA and the Director of National Intelligence, and sent to select members of Congress — to charge that Pelosi and other Dems have been lying about what they knew about waterboarding and when.
But the docs were accompanied by a letter from CIA chief Leon Panetta that appears to suggest the CIA can’t promise that the info is right.
Here's the key part of the PDF (click to enlarge):
“MFR” apparently refers to “memorandum for the record.” [...]
That would appear to be a concession that the CIA isn’t willing to vouch for the accuracy of the info about the briefings in the docs, and that only further inquiry will produce a reliable recounting of what happened.
To be clear, it’s perfectly possible that the info about what Dems were told is right. But not even the CIA is willing to promise this right now.
But wait! It gets better... This just in:
[T]his same letter was also sent to GOP Rep Pete Hoekstra, a leading proponent of the claim that Dems knew the full scope of the torture program early on.Here is the letter to Hoekstra.
What this means is that the Republican who has lodged the highest-profile attacks on Dems over what they knew and when has been directly informed by the CIA that the info on the briefings may not be reliable.Isn't that just like a Rushpublic? If he got any more fair and balanced his last name would be Hannity.
"Barack Palin"? Name 'Barack' soars in popularity
By GottaLaff
Do I sense a Barack Limbaugh or a Barack Palin coming on?
Barack Beck? Barack Boehner? Barack.... Hannity?During 2008, the new president's first name ranked 2,409th on the Social Security Administration's annual list of the most popular baby names. That's a jump of more than 10,000 spots from the name's previous ranking in the 12,535th spot during 2007.
"President Obama's popularity peaks among Americans under the age of 30, who are, in turn, most likely to be having babies," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
Obama to visit Nazi concentration camp
I've seen rumblings about this in the German and UK papers but never anything concrete.
BERLIN, May 8 (UPI) -- The White House can't confirm that President Obama will visit the site of the Buchenwald concentration camp this summer but Germany is making preparations.Almost every senior official in the German states of Thuringa and Saxony already appear to have been informed about Obama's upcoming visit, expected to be on June 5, The Times of London reported Friday.
Thomas Steg, a spokesman for the German government, said Obama might visit "historical places" related to the different aspects of World War II as well as places that have "biographical references" for his family.
Obama's great-uncle, Charlie Payne, was among the American soldiers who liberated a satellite forced labor camp close to Buchenwald in April, 1945.
Fox News Stokes Obama/Notre Dame Controversy
Bill Donahue looks like an idiot and Robert Boston did a fantastic job.
Source: Only 'Pro-Life' White House Officials Invited to Prayer Day Event
So, they set up an event, then dictated who could and could not attend, then bitched because no one attended? How in their warped little minds would it have worked for President Obama to attend then? Guess all their fauxrage was just that, a big fat fake.
Focus on the Family founder James Dobson scolded the White House for neglecting to send a representative to yesterday's National Day of Prayer event at the Capitol, but a source familiar with the situation said the Obama team didn't have much of a chance. That's because the event organizers stipulated that the White House representative had to be opposed to abortion rights, according to this source.
"The administration's representative had to be pro-life," says the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Nobody else was allowed to go."
National Day of Prayer Task Force Marketing and Media Manager Becky Armstrong declined to comment on the report. An E-mail message sent yesterday to Focus on the Family's vice president for media relations, Gary Schneeberger, went unreturned. The prayer day task force operates out of Focus's Colorado Springs headquarters and is chaired by Shirley Dobson, the wife of the Focus founder.
(snip)
But the well-placed source said the only Obama cabinet secretary to receive an invite to yesterday's event was Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, an anti-abortion rights Republican. LaHood did not attend the event.
Obama to announce education help for unemployed
Seems like common sense to me.
WASHINGTON (CNN) — New unemployment numbers are due out Friday and president Barack Obama will use the opportunity to announce new steps to help unemployed Americans.
The target of the rules will be people out of work who want to go back to school. Rules now create a catch 22: In most cases, if you are receiving unemployment compensation you have to be actively looking for a job. If you want to get more education or training, you have to give up unemployment benefits. But if you return to school you don't qualify for federal education grants since, in most cases, your qualification is based on your previous year's income.
The president is scheduled to outline a plan under which the Department of Education will send colleges legal guidance encouraging them to increase financial aid packages for the unemployed so they can enroll in educational and training programs, while keeping their unemployment benefits.
The Kindle's Obama Problem
May I also add that the blogger spell check still tells me that Barack Obama is misspelled as well.
The New York Times finds the first major problem with the new Kindle: It's electronic "voice" mispronounces two important words that show up often in the pages of newspapers: "Barack" (the device rhymes it with "black") and "Obama" (sounds like "Alabama").
Friday Linkapalooza
It's going to take all of those coffees to straighten me out today, I'm seriously discombobulated.
Lady Liberty's Crown To Reopen On July 4
US renews sanctions against Syria
Botswana's new plan to curb HIV... circumcise half a million men
Volcano boarding: Adrenaline junkies think new extreme sport is the coolest thing going
CNN: Military procurement reform sweeps through Senate
The Senate unanimously approved a bill Thursday to change the costly process of procuring weapons and equipment for the military, a budget reform pushed by President Obama.
Controversial doctor unveils corpse sex exhibition
JUST PUT YOUR LIPS TOGETHER- Heidelberg Zoo's Whistling Orangutan Releases CD
Pot smell keeps couple from prom
Survey: People cut back on laundry
USA Today: National Guard to cut forces after recruiting creates surplus
As unemployment soars, a combination of cash incentives and aggressive recruiting has left the Army National Guard with a surplus of soldiers, and now it plans to trim its force, according to government documents and interviews with Guard officials.
American Optimism Grows
Wonder where Fox is going to have to go to find some polls that match their memes?
A new McClatchy/Ipsos poll finds the public mood "appears to be lightening," with 55% of Americans saying they think the country is moving in the right direction and only 38% saying it's on the wrong track.
Just a month ago, the right track/wrong track margin was 45% to 48%.
In addition, President Obama remains highly popular, with 65% of Americans approving of how he's handling his job and 31% disapproving.
The Daily Show- Nixon Has A Burrito
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Rupert Murdoch: No more free news on the Internets
By GottaLaff
News mogul believes media sites can’t survive failing business modelThe billionaire CEO of News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, is sounding the death knell for free Internet news delivery.
At least for Fox News and the many other online media outlets Murdoch controls.
Two things: 1) I rarely read anything Fox News posts, but 2) Rupert owns everything, so, potentially, there go some of my sleaziest, most unreliable sources.
The good news?Murdoch feels that, despite the global economic turndown, charging for access to news is not only the right thing to do, it’s the wave of the future. [...]
Murdoch is so bullish on the near future that he expects moves to charge readers at the websites of Fox News, The Times, The Sun and others within a year’s time. [...]
“The current days of the [free] Internet will soon be over.”
Some might argue that Murdoch is grasping at straws as his vast portfolio flounders.Good thing I don't frequent his floundering sites.
Meghan McCain: The GOP Doesn't Understand Sex
By GottaLaff
Let me get something straight: Bristol Palin, as an eighteen-year-old adult, is free to make her own choices and decide how she wants her life to unfold. But for whatever reasons, the American public and media remain overly engrossed in our politicians’ sex lives and, as in this case, those of their families. There’s an especially unhealthy attitude among conservatives. Daughters of Republican politicians aren’t expected to have sex, let alone enjoy it—as if there were some strange chastity belt automatically attached to us female offspring. God forbid anyone talk realistically about life experiences and natural, sexual instincts. Nope, the answer is always abstinence. [...]
Perhaps the worst sexual double standard in politics right now is that too many subconsciously believe Republican women are void of sexual desire altogether, never mind its consequences.A friend of mine, whose father is also a conservative politician, used to joke it would be easier for her be a lesbian because then there would be no risk of getting pregnant and having a resulting scandal.I have always found this joke incredibly sad—for both of us. Because the GOP continues to struggle with open communication about serious issues most people deal with rationally, and on a regular basis. Unless we learn how to integrate that kind of discussion, our party will continue its descent into irrelevance. We live in a big world, one where you can contract a life-long STD, have an unplanned pregnancy, or get date-raped, just to name a few of the dangerous results of having sex. We should prepare our kids for it, realistically. Then they might be more apt to make the right choices when they live in it themselves. Bottom line: honesty isn’t a liberal or conservative issue. It’s a human one. The sooner we realize that, the better off we’ll be.
MegMac did fine and dandy with this piece, if you don't count the fact that there's nothing new in it. Well, maybe there is for her. Maybe this is an epiphany?
However, she forgot to mention that along with the Rushpublic hypocrisy comes hostility, proselytizing, nasty intolerance, and an insufferable holier-than-thou attitude, plus that special way they have of shunning anyone who disagrees with them. Maybe one day she'll have an epiphany about that, too.
You can read the rest here.
Poll-itics: How impressions of President Obama have changed
By GottaLaff
Pew Research has an interactive graphic featuring the top 20 words used to describe President Obama in April. As you roll your mouse over each word, you can see how the public's impressions have changed since September.Here are a few comparisons:
Intelligent: +10 points since September.Follow the link for more.
Socialist: +14
Great: +13
Inexperienced: -42
Honest: +2
Change: -26
Hope/hopeful: -3
President: +5
They forgot "hot" (yes, I had to go there), "kind", "thoughtful", and "cool as a cucumber under extreme stress".
Conclusion: Apparently Obama is a socialist now. But a really smart, competent one who is honest about it.
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