Sarah the Quitter Pummeled With More Complaints

By GottaLaff

Moreover such as and the like dontcha know you betcha but complaints, ethically, are too also a pain in the waders:

Just days after Palin made her bombshell resignation announcement July 3, another two ethics complaints were filed against her, bringing the total number of such complaints to 19.

19? That's only a notch or two above her I.Q.

Maybe David Letterman can come up with a Top 19 List.

A complaint filed earlier this week alleges that the governor misused state funds by accepting a housing stipend even when she stayed at her own home in Wasila instead of at the governor's residence in Juneau. And another complaint filed yesterday reportedly contends that the governor was paid for giving certain media interviews. [...]

Palin's chief of staff Mike Nizich fired back: "Although the governor would not have thought it possible, the latest complaint rises to a new level of absurdity in alleging that she has been paid for interviews that she has given to the news media. It is amazing to me that anyone could think that, let alone put their name behind it and once again seek to distract state officials and needlessly increase their work load." Gov. Palin said one of the primary reasons she is stepping down July 26 from office is to put an end to the seemingly endless string of ethics complaints levied against her.

Quite the track record there, Sarah. I'm sure Letterman will avoid any mention of this in his next monologue.

VIDEO: Former CIGNA executive says Michael Moore was right all along

By GottaLaff

Via DKos, a must-see:

[I]n an interview with Bill Moyers that aired tonight on PBS, Wendell Potter, former Head of Corporate Communications at CIGNA, admits that Michael Moore nailed it on the head in his movie, Sicko. It's a 30 minute interview that comes close to a confessional of the health insurance industry's enslavement to Wall Street, and I really really hope everybody in this country gets to see this. It's the only thing you'll ever need to show if anyone ever questions the public option or rambles on about the dangers of government bureaucrats.

How does one stop one's blood from boiling? Here is a partial transcript:

WENDELL POTTER: That means that part of the effort to discredit this film was to use lobbyists and their own staff to go onto Capitol Hill and say, "Look, you don't want to believe this movie. You don't want to talk about it. You don't want to endorse it. And if you do, we can make things tough for you."

BILL MOYERS: How?

WENDELL POTTER: By running ads, commercials in your home district when you're running for reelection, not contributing to your campaigns again, or contributing to your competitor.

BILL MOYERS: This is fascinating. You know, "Build awareness among centrist Democratic policy organizations--"

WENDELL POTTER: Right.

BILL MOYERS: "--including the Democratic Leadership Council."

WENDELL POTTER: Absolutely.

BILL MOYERS: Then it says, "Message to Democratic insiders. Embracing Moore is one-way ticket back to minority party status."

WENDELL POTTER: Yeah.

BILL MOYERS: Now, that's exactly what they did, didn't they? They--

WENDELL POTTER: Absolutely.

BILL MOYERS: --radicalized Moore, so that his message was discredited because the messenger was seen to be radical.

WENDELL POTTER: Absolutely. In memos that would go back within the industry — he was never, by the way, mentioned by name in any memos, because we didn't want to inadvertently write something that would wind up in his hands. So the memos would usually-- the subject line would be-- the emails would be, "Hollywood." And as we would do the media training, we would always have someone refer to him as Hollywood entertainer or Hollywood moviemaker Michael Moore.

BILL MOYERS: Why?

WENDELL POTTER: Well, just to-- Hollywood, I think people think that's entertainment, that's movie-making. That's not real documentary. They don't want you to think that it was a documentary that had some truth. They would want you to see this as just some fantasy that a Hollywood filmmaker had come up with. That's part of the strategy.

BILL MOYERS: So you would actually hear politicians mouth the talking points that had been circulated by the industry to discredit Michael Moore.

WENDELL POTTER: Absolutely.

BILL MOYERS: You'd hear ordinary people talking that. And politicians as well, right?

WENDELL POTTER: Absolutely.

BILL MOYERS: So your plan worked.

WENDELL POTTER: It worked beautifully.

BILL MOYERS: The film was blunted, right?

WENDELL POTTER: The film was blunted.

The entire video and transcript here.

This is what we're up against. The Rushpublics care nothing about the health and well-being of America. Nothing.

H/t: Shoq

The Fox Nation Declares Victory Over Obama

By GottaLaff

Who's up for some yummy winger deceit? Hands? Oh goody, because here's some now! Lookee how The Fox Nation set this up:

Thanks to News Corpse, we get a heaping bucket of extra crispy Rushpublic lunacy:

To compound the absurdity of this item, the article linked to the headline is a story in the Washington Post that merely describes a delay due to the fullness of the Senate calendar. The Senate is busy with its top priority, the healthcare bill, and Sen. Barbara Boxer, the chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, insists that the Climate Change bill will be addressed when the Senate returns from its August break. In other words, there is no “victory” in any legislative sense. The bill is moving forward in a relatively routine fashion.

So while the Fox Nation swaggers before its Mission Accomplished banner, the only real victory they have achieved is the unmasking of their deceit and their intent to manipulate public opinion. Now that is a cause to celebrate.

Sarah Palin: Vain and Simple

By GottaLaff

The Mudflats had a contest for best Sarah the Quitter book title. And the winner is....?

There it is, book cover extraordinaire. Book cover-up is more like it, based on Miss Personality Disorder's M.O.

CIA withheld secret counterterrorism program on direct orders from Cheney

By GottaLaff

It's like someone uncorked the Bottle of Bad. First this, then this, this, a lot of this... and now this:

The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency’s director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.

The report that Mr. Cheney was behind the decision to conceal the still-unidentified program from Congress deepened the mystery surrounding it, suggesting that the Bush administration had put a high priority on the program and its secrecy.

Mr. Panetta, who ended the program when he first learned of its existence from subordinates on June 23, briefed the two intelligence committees about it in separate closed sessions the next day.[...]

In the eight years of his vice presidency, Mr. Cheney was the Bush administration’s most vehement defender of the secrecy of government activities, particularly in the intelligence arena. He went to the Supreme Court to keep secret the advisers to his task force on energy, and won.

A report released on Friday by the inspectors general of five agencies about the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program makes clear that Mr. Cheney’s legal adviser, David S. Addington, had to personally approve every government official who was told about the program. The report said “the exceptionally compartmented nature of the program” frustrated F.B.I. agents who were assigned to follow up on tips it turned up.

High-level N.S.A. officials who were responsible for ensuring that the surveillance program was legal, including the agency’s inspector general and general counsel, were not permitted by Mr. Cheney’s office to read the Justice Department opinion that found the eavesdropping legal, several officials said.

The Nation of Dick is experiencing severe shrinkage. It's about time.

By the way, another person who really needs to be targeted, Limp Little Dick's personal Trojan, is David Addington. Let's get his name out there more, starting now. He deserves all the exposure we can muster up, pun intended.

Young Republicans Choose Hate

By GottaLaff

Chip Sommedevilla / Getty Images

Original posts here and here. Freedom of choice just took on a whole new meaning:

Audra Shay, the Young Republican leader accused of endorsing racism on Facebook, was elected head of the group for GOP members under 40 this afternoon.

Audra Shay, the Young Republican leader who became the subject of a national controversy after The Daily Beast uncovered racist comments she wrote on Facebook and other social networking sites, won the race to become head of the Young Republicans by approximately 50 votes (out of about 950 voting delegates) at their national convention this afternoon in Indianapolis.

Are we surprised? No we are not. Especially not in light of this big, steaming, racist pile of Commenters at Freeperland, we aren't.

According to George P. Bush, son of Jeb Bush, “Rachel’s professionalism, hard work, and leadership will well-represent the GOP.” Sarah Huckabee, daughter of Mike Huckabee, said, “Rachel Hoff’s approach to politics and life seems to be: ‘Stand Up and Lead.’”

Change you can gag at. So much for rebranding. Just ask Ba-ba-ba-Bobby Jindal:

She ran on the platform of “Restore, Revitalize, Reinforce,” which emphasized rebranding the Young Republicans as more hip through Facebook and Twitter, and spreading "our message of lower taxes and less government to these corners and let people know that we’re here and we’ll hold the Democrats’ feet to the fire.” She was endorsed in the election by her governor, Bobby Jindal.

And here's how she deals with controversy. Those accusations about her being a racist? Well, she would have none of that!

Shay responded that the allegations against her were “political attacks” which “proves that my opponents will stoop to the lowest levels to steal this election from the jaws of victory.”

How's that for young, hip, and change-y? Yup, she'll fit right in with them cool, edgy, youthy Partiers of No Way.

Obama: Don't look back; A.G. Holder: May probe Bush-era torture anyway

By GottaLaff

Part of President Obama's agenda should be maintaining our system of justice, freeing those who are innocent of wrongdoing (follow that link for all posts about the abuse and miscarriage of justice as they apply to Gitmo detainees, specifically Fayiz al-Kandari), upholding the laws, ethics, and the very fabric of this country:

Holder, 58, may be on the verge of asserting his independence in a profound way. Four knowledgeable sources tell NEWSWEEK that he is now leaning toward appointing a prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's brutal interrogation practices, something the president has been reluctant to do. While no final decision has been made, an announcement could come in a matter of weeks, say these sources, who decline to be identified discussing a sensitive law-enforcement matter. Such a decision would roil the country, would likely plunge Washington into a new round of partisan warfare, and could even imperil Obama's domestic priorities, including health care and energy reform. Holder knows all this, and he has been wrestling with the question for months. "I hope that whatever decision I make would not have a negative impact on the president's agenda," he says. "But that can't be a part of my decision."

No, it can't. Lives are at stake. Our country's legal foundation is at stake. We cannot set a precedent that will further destroy what's left of true democracy.

Holder acknowledges that he struggles against a tendency to please, that he's had to learn to be more assertive over the years. "The thing I have to watch out for is the desire to be a team player," he says, well aware that he's on the verge of becoming something else entirely. [...]

[His wife, Sharon Malone] Malone drew a direct line from the sins of America's racial past to the abuses of the Guantánamo Bay detention center. Both are examples of "what we have not done in the face of injustice," she said at one point, her Southern accent becoming more discernible as her voice rose with indignation. At the same party, Holder praised the Bush administration for setting up an "effective antiterror infrastructure."

What force is Holder up against? Who else might be influencing him?

For his part, Emanuel calls Holder a "strong, independent attorney general." But Emanuel's agitated presence hangs over the building—"the wrath of Rahm," one Justice lawyer calls it—and he is clearly on the minds of Holder and his aides as they weigh whether to launch a probe into the Bush administration's interrogation policies.

Here is where I start to jump back onto my Fayiz/Barry Wingard/Vandeveld bandwagon:

There were startling indications that some interrogators had gone far beyond what had been authorized in the legal opinions issued by the Justice Department, which were themselves controversial. He told one intimate that what he saw "turned my stomach."

It was soon clear to Holder that he might have to launch an investigation to determine whether crimes were committed under the Bush administration and prosecutions warranted. The obstacles were obvious. [...]

Holder couldn't shake what he had learned in reports about the treatment of prisoners at the CIA's "black sites." If the public knew the details, he and his aides figured, there would be a groundswell of support for an independent probe.

And I am doing everything I can to build that groundswell, with your help, and now hopefully, with A.G. Holder's.

Obama, Holder says confidently, "understands the nature of what we do at the Justice Department in a way no recent president has. He's a damn good lawyer, and he understands the value of having an independent attorney general."

The next few weeks, though, could test Holder's confidence. After the prospect of torture investigations seemed to lose momentum in April, the attorney general and his aides turned to other pressing issues. They were preoccupied with Gitmo, developing a hugely complex new set of detention and prosecution policies, and putting out the daily fires that go along with running a 110,000-person department. The regular meetings Holder's team had been having on the torture question died down. Some aides began to wonder whether the idea of appointing a prosecutor was off the table.

But in late June Holder asked an aide for a copy of the CIA inspector general's thick classified report on interrogation abuses. He cleared his schedule and, over two days, holed up alone in his Justice Depart ment office, immersed himself in what Dick Cheney once referred to as "the dark side." [Note: You're well aware that I've been hawking Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. Even more apt in this context] He read the report twice, the first time as a lawyer, looking for evidence and instances of transgressions that might call for prosecution. The second time, he started to absorb what he was reading at a more emotional level. He was "shocked and saddened," he told a friend, by what government servants were alleged to have done in America's name.

Now do something about it, A.G. Holder. Please.

H/t: BuzzFlash

Free Republic slurs Obama girls: "A typical street whore... Wonder when she will get her first abortion"

By GottaLaff

Paddy posted about The Tee Shirt, expecting that something like this would happen:

"A typical street whore." "A bunch of ghetto thugs." "Ghetto street trash." "Wonder when she will get her first abortion."

There they are, folks. The Family Values Crowd. See how they value other people's families?

These are a small selection of some of the racially-charged comments posted to the conservative 'Free Republic' blog Thursday, aimed at U.S. President Barack Obama's 11-year-old daughter Malia after she was photographed wearing a t-shirt with a peace sign on the front.

A... peace sign? A peace sign?! Really? No more killing? What was she thinking? These would have obviously been so much more acceptable:

The thread was accompanied by a photo of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that featured the caption, "To entertain her daughter, Michelle Obama loves to make monkey sounds."

Though this may sound like the sort of thing one might read on an Aryan Nation or white power website, they actually appeared on what is commonly considered one of the prime online locations for U.S. Conservative grassroots political discussion and organizing [...]

Moderators of the blog left the comments - and commenters - in place until a complaint was lodged by a writer doing research on the conservative movement, almost a full day later.

I'm sure it was just an oversight. No, wait. Freepers don't believe in oversight.

"Could you imagine what world leaders must be thinking seeing this kind of street trash and that we paid for this kind of street ghetto trash to go over there?" wrote one commenter.

"They make me sick .... The whole family... mammy, pappy, the free loadin' mammy-in-law, the misguided chillin', and especially 'lil cuz... This is not the America I want representin' my peeps," wrote another.

How American of them. How inclusive and Big Tenty. Why, I bet their next convention will have at least two African Americans... if the Tee Vee camera can find/train on them long enough before the planted "ghetto thugs" slip out the back door to collect their paychecks. The Extras Union is fussy that way.

Now take a deep breath, because you'll need oxygen after you read the next part. Check out the Freeps' "disclaimer", and then take in how well the Commenters abided by the rules:

A note on the front of the blog reads, "Free Republic does not advocate or condone racism, violence, rebellion, secession, or an overthrow of the government," but one comment on the thread read, "This disgusting display makes me more and more eager for the revolution," while another read, "I never actually wnated [sic] to be a pistol before but..."

Ahh, the inevitable mention of guns. We all knew they'd make an appearance. There's that Very Special violent streak we all know and abhor.

After attention from other blogs, the thread was suppressed and placed under review, but before long it was returned to the site intact, and attracted a new series of racial slurs when the original complaint email was posted publicly to the site, with the sender's email address intact.

But there's always that one deeply sensitive soul, in this case the Creepy Freepy Leader, whose wisdom is passed down to his Fellow Freepers:

"The writer has a point," wrote site owner Jim Thompson sarcastically. "We should steer clear of Obama's children. They can't help it if their old man is an American-hating Marxist pig."

His kindly influence was felt instantly. Why, just look at the resulting, er, empathy:

"I agree Jim," wrote commenter, by the nickname NoobRep. "The kids didn't pick their commie pinko pansy of a father. Nor did they choose to be put into the spotlight. But Obama/Soetoro is fair game and so is his witch of a wife."

"Poor kids. I hope they're not 'punished with a baby'," wrote another. "Hopefully they won't deal cocaine like the Kenyan."

"DIRTBAGS! All of them. Our [White House] is now a joke to the rest of the world. We have no respect and this is not going to turn out well, mark my words. We will be hit, and much worse than last time. We are now seen as weak and vulnerable. Ghetto and Chicago thugs have taken over."

And then they all donned their fishing waders, joined hands in a show of unity, and dove back into the cesspool from which they originally oozed.

H/t: Misha1234 via Twitter

Police launch Guantanamo 'torture' probe

By GottaLaff

Here I go again, writing about seeking justice. Color me stubborn. And forgive me just this millionth time once:

The Metropolitan Police Service(MPS) said Friday they had launched a criminal investigation into allegations made by former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed that he was tortured with the help of British agents.

Hey kids! Torture's not just for the CIA any more! Tell your friends!

"The papers were reviewed by the MPS and the investigation accepted. A team of detectives... has now been selected and vetted to appropriate levels. As a result a criminal investigation has now begun," a police statement said.

Dear ObamAdministration: Please follow suit. Love, Laffy

Ethiopian-born Mohamed, 30, was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 while trying to return to Britain and spent six and a half years either in US custody or that of countries taking part in the US-run rendition programme of terror suspects.

After a lengthy campaign orchestrated by his supporters in Britain, he became the first prisoner to be released from the US-run Guantanamo camp under President Barack Obama and returned to Britain in February.

On his journey through the rendition system, Mohamed was first held for three months in Pakistan, during which time he claims he was tortured and questioned by US and British agents.

The rendition system is still intact. But now there's serious pinky swearsies that torture won't happen, and the stays at the Holiday Inn Rendition Express will only be short ones.

He says he was then taken to Morocco with the explicit knowledge of Britain's Security Service, where he alleges he was subjected to further torture, including sexual mutilation. [...]

In January 2004, he was transferred to US facilities in Afghanistan for five months before being taken to Guantanamo, where he was never charged or faced trial.

Does all this sound familiar? It should:

All my previous posts about Gitmo detainee Fayiz al-Kandari, and his military attorney Lt. Col. Barry Wingard, can be found here; That link includes audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.Our system of justice is broken. Military commissions rely on coerced confessions and hearsay, something Jane Mayer covers in great detail in her book..

If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.

If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.

Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.

AUDIOS: 3 "My Tweet Spots" in one post! Aired June 10, 2009

By GottaLaff







There you go. A whole Common Sense Radio show's worth of My Tweet Spots in a single post. These 3 were from yesterday's show.

Did you even know that I do radio segments every Friday? Look at me going all podcasty and stuff!

"My Tweet Spot" is a recap of the week in politics via Tweets from Twitter.

I do three per show every Friday. Podcasts here.

Hope you like 'em!

Mark Sanford's Affair Might Have Jeopardized Top-Secret Clearance

By GottaLaff

Illustration by Ed Wexler for USN&WR

The Rushpublics are willing to give this guy a pass, but they jumped all over Bill Clinton for his under-the-desk, er, undertakings:

[He also jeopardizes] his Department of Homeland Security clearance and raises new questions about his candor on the steamy affair. [...] Well, as a chief of state and head of the South Carolina National Guard, Sanford has a top-secret security status that lets him in on classified information such as possible terrorist threats and emergency tips. But with that need to know come intelligence community rules of conduct, a key one being that relationships with foreigners must be revealed. The reason: Those in the know can leave themselves open to blackmail from rival intelligence services about a compromising dalliance.

Now isn't that similar to what we heard about Clinton's not-so-youthful indiscretions? That our national security was at stake...?

Bill Clinton did not care that he had exposed the presidency to blackmail by a foreign power by engaging in at least seventeen phone sex calls with Monica Lewinsky on her unsecured line.

Kate O'Beirne in 1998:

After a sexual encounter in March 1997, the President told Monica he suspected that an unnamed foreign embassy was tapping his phones. [...] National security is threatened, and the President proposed a plan that wouldn't fool a nearsighted, hearing-impaired frat mother?

Back to Argentina Marky:

"Agency policy requires our officers to document their relationships with foreign nationals," a CIA official tells Whispers. [...] Bart Bechtel, a former CIA clandestine officer, adds, "CIA officers are required to report such relationships. Failure to do so can easily be grounds for termination and loss of clearances. In some cases, even when reported, an officer may lose clearances and be terminated." [...] Homeland Security canceled former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's after he was arrested on corruption charges.

Who knows? Had Sanford revealed a penchant for cigars, the threat level might have shot up to orange.

Civil rights group threatens to fire local leader for gay marriage endorsement

By GottaLaff

People love each other. Some are gay, some are straight. Get. Over. It.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights group partly founded by Martin Luther King Jr., has threatened to fire the president of its Los Angeles chapter because he supports same-sex marriage.

The Rev. Eric P. Lee, president of the local SCLC chapter for two years, became an outspoken advocate of same-sex marriage during the recent campaign against Proposition 8, an amendment to the state Constitution that banned such unions.

The SCLC national board notified Lee on May 27 that he would have to attend a hearing at its Atlanta headquarters on June 4 to explain his stance on same-sex marriage. If he did not show up, they said, they would suspend and fire him.

Lee did not attend the hearing. He told the board he could not afford the last-minute trip but could participate via conference call. He said he never heard back from the board.

When Lee failed to appear for the hearing, he received an e-mail warning him to set a date to appear or face removal. [...]

But Lee said he was driven to support same-sex marriage by the teachings of King, who helped found the SCLC to champion civil rights 50 years ago.

"Any time one group of people are denied the same rights as other people, it is unequivocally a denial of civil rights," Lee said. [...]

Lee said he is not waiting for approval to continue his advocacy for same-sex marriage.

"I'm not going to let their inaction handcuff me from fighting for justice," he said.

We need about 4 million more like Lee.

Senate votes to block release of detainee photos

By GottaLaff

I've posted about the threat to destroy all the torture photos, but how'd I miss this?

The Senate has again voted to allow the Obama administration to refuse to release new photos showing U.S. personnel abusing detainees held overseas.

The move by Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman and South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham reprises a huge fight with House liberals during action on a war-funding bill enacted last month.

The famous Senate vaudeville team of Joe and Lindsey strikes again. Get the hook, Harry.

These photos are necessary to prove the brutal abuse of detainees. In fact, Fayiz al-Kandari's are being withheld from his lawyer, Lt. Col. Barry Wingard, as are doctors' notes verifying his mistreatment.

The photographs do not have to make the front pages of the Times, but they are vital to exposing what really happened behind prison walls and holding the abusers responsible. And by abusers, I mean BushCo and the CIA, per Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side.

H/t: Cody

Sotomayor backers urge reporters to probe New Haven firefighter

Do we really want to do to this guy what they did to Anita Hill? And to what purpose? His background has nothing to do with Judge Sotomajor's decision in the case. Ugh.

WASHINGTON — Supporters of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor are quietly targeting the Connecticut firefighter who's at the center of Sotomayor's most controversial ruling.

On the eve of Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearing, her advocates have been urging journalists to scrutinize what one called the "troubled and litigious work history" of firefighter Frank Ricci.

This is opposition research: a constant shadow on Capitol Hill.

"The whole business of getting Supreme Court nominees through the process has become bloodsport," said Gary Rose, a government and politics professor at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.

Videos- The "Private" White House Fourth of July Celebration

These are "in-house" videos made by the administration. There was bit of a hoo haa over the fact that journalists were invited to attend the "private" bash only if they did it off record.

Video- CNN: President Obama's Trip To Ghana

Saturday Linkage

This week has been so weird.

Latest Tehran protests show opposition lacks clear leader

The Healthiest Foods On Earth

Man charged with blasting porn soundtrack

Too much cleavage in workplace hampers promotion prospects

Gay couple detained by security near Mormon plaza after kiss

Jail sperm smuggling 'stupid, outrageous'

Obama campaign plane emergency could have led to disaster

Just an interesting follow up to an incident that most of us remember.

Reporting from Washington -- Airplane control problems last summer could have led to disaster for then-Sen. Barack Obama and his presidential campaign, according to a report released Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board.

On July 7, 2008, a McDonnell Douglas MD-81 en route to Charlotte, N.C., and carrying Obama and 50 other passengers and crew made an emergency landing in St. Louis. An evacuation slide within the tail cone had inflated shortly after takeoff from Chicago.

Although the NTSB's final report -- and determination of probable cause -- is not expected until later this summer, Friday’s report suggested that the inflated slide and a nearby fractured walkway railing may have "impinged" on a set of elevator cables, interfering with the cockpit's ability to control the plane's angle, or pitch.

President's Weekly Address: Recovery and the Jobs of the Future

U.S. Commander to Seek Expansion of Afghan Forces

By GottaLaff

I smell protests:

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the newly arrived top commander in Afghanistan, has concluded that the Afghan security forces will have to be far larger than currently planned if President Obama's strategy for winning the war is to succeed, according to senior military officials.

Such an expansion would require spending billions more than the $7.5 billion the administration has budgeted annually to build up the Afghan army and police over the next several years, and the likely deployment of thousands more U.S. troops as trainers and advisers, officials said. [...]

Without significant increases, said another U.S. official involved in training Afghan forces, "we will lose the war." Gates would have to agree to any request from McChrystal for additional funding or troops, and recommend it to Obama.

Honduran de facto FM resigns after racial remarks about Obama

By GottaLaff

I posted about the incident here. Now we have breaking news:

AFP: Honduran de facto FM has resigned after calling President Obama a "little black man," interim president Micheletti said.

The Foreign Relations Minister said he was sorry, took his toys, and went home.

I wonder if he got a phone call of encouragement from Sarah the Quitter.

"Do NOT Elect A Racist"... by Meghan McCain

By GottaLaff

As the Young Republicans prepare to elect a woman on Saturday who has compared to President Obama to a terrorist and appears to have laughed at a comment calling blacks “coons,” Meghan McCain seeks to stage an intervention.

I use MegMac's Tweets on My Tweet Spot regularly. Why? Because, if nothing else, she always has something interesting to say, whether inane, serious, sensible, or provocative. Look! Here's one of her more interesting moments now!

If you remember, posted about this... this... "person", this "Young Republican" named Audra Shay the other day.

Now Meghan is taking her on, too:

You can probably guess how I feel about a woman who thinks comparing President Obama to a terrorist and referring to blacks as “mad coons” is funny.

The definition of insanity is repeating the same actions over and over again and expecting different results. What exactly do the Young Republicans expect to achieve by electing a 38-year-old woman who thinks racial epithets are acceptable? [...]

I understand that my place within the Young Republicans and the Republican Party is a controversial one, which is something I am still trying to get comfortable with. I am criticized almost daily for not being “conservative enough.” But the Republican Party needs to reach out to all kinds of voters. The last time I checked, most conservatives are already Republicans. It’s the independents that we need to sway. We need to make them believe we really do practice what we preached about less government, less spending, national security, etc, and we aren’t recruiting leaders who are old and out of touch. I am not saying I am that face, but Audra Shay certainly isn’t. She represents the same old stereotypes about “young Republicans”—apparently racist and more middle-aged than youthful. In short, disconnected from the real youth of this country.

::brakes screeching!:: 38 is middle-aged?

Oh, and MegMac? No matter how hard your team tries, Rushpublicans just aren't, well, cool. But I digress:

What Young Republicans need is a revolution.

And what they're getting is a civil war.

But we appreciate the sentiment.

H/t: Cody

Why Democrats won't prosecute Bush's crimes

By GottaLaff

Jonathan Turley just now on MSNBC:

"Democrats like to disclose crimes, but don't like to prosecute them. Why? Because they'd have to [...] indict Bush."

Color me naive, but isn't that why one would disclose the crimes? To prosecute them? To prevent future crimes? To uphold the law?

BushCo lied and withheld information from Congress. That's a crime. So says Turley. So prosecute.

I'm sorry, I may be a little slow here, but what's the problem again?

VIDEO: Sarah Palin's Speecher

By GottaLaff



HA!

An in-depth interview with Sarah Palin's now unemployed speechwriter, Dan Tubagoo.

Why, I'm positively flummoxed. This obviously professional, stylish savant seems much more resourceful and creative than Sarah the Quitter's usual crew. Such as.

Ex-Bush ‘domestic policy czar’ Rove rips czars as ‘giant expansion of presidential power’

By GottaLaff

KKKarl Rove Tweets:

To which Think Progress responds:

It is surprising that Rove finds the appointment of czars to be “a giant expansion of presidential power” because he actually served as the “domestic policy czar” in the Bush White House. In fact, President Bush himself appointed numerous czars in order to deal with various public crises and controversies, including a “cybersecurity czar,” “regulatory czar,” “AIDS czar,” “bird-flu czar” and “Katrina czar.” Moreover, Rove’s criticism of Obama is ironic, given his role in an administration that was marked by the expansion of executive power.

Rove's not even remotely close to being the "genius" the corporate media made him out to be, now is he?

AUDIOS: 3 "My Tweet Spots" in one post!

By GottaLaff







There you go. A whole Common Sense Radio show's worth of My Tweet Spots in a single post.

Did you even know that I do radio segments every Friday? Look at me going all podcasty and stuff!

"My Tweet Spot" is a recap of the week in politics via Tweets from Twitter.

I do three per show every Friday. Podcasts here.

Hope you like 'em!

Breaking: BushCo pushed Ashcroft to re-authorize spy program

By GottaLaff

MSNBC: Bush pressured Ashcroft in hospital to re-authorize surveillance program.

This is news?

Apparently, they didn't know that Bush himself had been involved.

I did, why didn't they?

Obama Extends Cheney's Secret Service Protection

Why would anyone even bother to try? I mean, he's had like 6 heart attacks already, and with the Dark Side in his pocket...

There appears no end in sight for when Dick Cheney, a rare former vice president with Secret Service protection, will lose his security detail. Whispers has learned that the political battler's Secret Service protection has been extended, though there were no details on the length.

We don't know why President Obama OK'd the extension, which must be approved by the commander in chief because former veeps typically don't get any Secret Service security after leaving office. But indications are that the threats against Cheney, who's working on his biography at his homes in Virginia and Maryland, haven't lessened since his term expired.

I'm honestly surprised.

CNN Poll: Do Americans care if Obama smokes?

I'd much rather that he smoke than binge drink and choke on pretzels...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Most Americans say that President Barack Obama's struggle to quit smoking doesn't change their views of him, according to a new national poll.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday also indicates that only a third say that they would like to see Obama give up cigarettes completely.

"Obama has admitted that he still smokes on occasion, but nearly nine in 10 Americans say that doesn't affect their view of him and only 12 percent think that indicates something negative about Obama himself," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Eighty-five percent believe that shows how hard it is to quit cigarettes."

One third of those questioned in the survey say that they would prefer that Obama never smoke again, with 18 percent feeling that an occasional cigarette is OK and 48 percent saying they would not mind if Obama smoked every day.

(snip)

"Liberals are accused of getting into people's business. Do they care if President Obama smokes? No. About half say it's OK with them if he smokes every day," says CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider. "Conservatives? About half of conservatives also say it's also OK with them if the president smokes every day."

Pic is the President signing the tobacco bill.

Videos- The Obamas at the Vatican

Gawd, I remember having to wear a mantilla when I was a kid. Oy.





Videos via Politico.

VIDEO: Loretta Sanchez Breaks From ‘Blue Dog Coalition,’ Endorses Public Plan

By GottaLaff

Standing O:

Fortunately, there is at least one “Blue Dog” member who understands this contradiction and is willing to break from her coalition to support a public plan. On MSNBC this afternoon, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) said, “I am one of those people who believes that we should be required to have a public option because it will bring the costs of health care down.”

VIDEO- David Brooks: A Republican senator put ‘his hand on my inner thigh’ for a ‘whole’ dinner party

By GottaLaff

Ew Factor: Over the top...



Maybe it's because Brooks is just too attractive to resist.

I did NOT just say that.

House boosts funding for veterans programs

By GottaLaff

Bipartisan support? Wtf? I thought that was ever so passe:

Veterans health care programs would receive another big boost under a $132.4 billion measure passed by the House on Friday.

The 12 percent increase for the veterans medical services account is but the latest in a recent string of generous increases. Funding for veterans has long had strong bipartisan support.

The bill passed by a 415-3 vote, making it the most bipartisan of the seven appropriations bills to have passed so far. The 12 annual spending bills will total $1.2 trillion for agency operating budgets passed each year by Congress — known in Capitol Hill argot as the "discretionary" portion of the $3.6 trillion federal budget.

The veterans funding measure contains sweeping increases for most of the programs it covers. It would pay to hire about 1,200 additional claims processors to relieve backlogs, provide money to cover more veterans whose health problems are not related to their service, and raise the reimbursement rate that veterans get for their drives to receive care to 41.5 cents per mile.

Health Care Watch- VIDEO: Dennis Kucinich Sets Dr. David Gratzer Straight

By GottaLaff



Via:

I tuned into CSPAN 3 to watch the Live Stream video of the House HELP single payer hearing.

When the hearing had to temporarily adjourn for members to cast 3 votes on the House floor CSPAN 3 inserted a video of Betsy McCaughey, PhD. of the conservative Manhattan Institute speaking about the evils of single payer. When CSPAN 3 retuned to the HELP single payer hearing, the hearing was already in progress. What kind of coverage is this? Of course the video of the hearing is up now without Betsy McCaughey, PhD. of the conservative Manhattan Institute. Kind of like it never happened, but it did and I have the video to prove it.

It appears to me CSPAN 3 has taken sides on this issue and what they did is very questionable.

Dennis Kucinich kind of evened things out when set Dr. David Gratzer, Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow, straight during the hearing and that video is below, if CSPAN 3 doesn't make me take it down.

Domestic surveillance program began soon after 9/11, intelligence agencies say

By GottaLaff

All these various leaks and reports are inflating the narrative, and the stories are growing, the way kids blows up balloons... Huff, puff, bigger... bigger... huff.. puff... until... eventually...

Pop!

The highly controversial warrantless surveillance program initiated by President George W. Bush began within weeks of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a newly released report to Congress compiled by the inspectors general of the nation’s top intelligence agencies, the Pentagon, and the Justice Department.

The report, mandated by Congress, provides context to information that has been leaked in press accounts and buttressed by congressional testimony and in books authored by former officials involved in the surveillance effort.

The report notes that several members of Congress — including then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Nancy Pelosi — were briefed on the program on October 25, 2001, and a total of 17 times before the program became public in 2005.

Among other things, the report also cites a Justice Department conclusion that “it was extraordinary and inappropriate that a single DOJ attorney, John Yoo, was relied upon to conduct the initial legal assessment of the (surveillance program).”

“The lack of oversight and review of Yoo’s work … contributed to a legal analysis of the (program) that at a minimum was factually flawed,” it says.

"The American people have shown no interest in this issue."

By GottaLaff

My dear Twitter friend and TPC reader FutureDirected forwarded me the following e-mail invitation yesterday:

Hear directly from a Guantanamo lawyer!

Guantanamo attorney and War Criminals Watch Advisor Candace Gorman on a national conference call.

Hear from one of the very brave and self-sacrificing attorneys who are devoting their lives to defending Guantanamo detainees. The interview wil be followed by a Q&A session.

I had to miss the call, but she was kind, and thorough, enough to take the following notes last night.

Here are the notes I took during the call, and a pdf by Candace [Note: Link to html version]:

http://gtmoblog.blogspot.com/

Candace Gorman, Attorney Civil Rights/Human Rights Professional consultant to the Hague: War crimes/Crimes Against Humanity
Algerian client, Al-Jizawe, guilt by association, lived in same guest house as another detainee. Asked for expedited ruling on Habeas Corpus

Two other clients

Letters between client and attorney, read and censored. Redacted version sent. Full version can be read in Washington. Process takes weeks.

Access to evidence: "None." Timex watch, supposedly can be used for detonating a bomb. US will not produce watch.

"Clients have not been charged with a crime, and never will be."

"It has been a mistake, by the Obama administration, to attempt to revise the Military Commissions process." "Take it out of Military hands. I recommend Article III court as the only Constitutional alternative."

Obama & Justice Dept. : "Nothing has changed in the DOJ (I don't like to use the word Justice because there is no Justice there.) .... I had great hope and there have been no changes."

Torture and treatment: Torture yes: solitary confinement. force feeding hunger strikers tube feeding. Being there, solitary, force fed, 'earthed'
Don't know about waterboarding.

Closing gitmo is important, but not just by moving them to another prison. "Most of these men are not guilty of anything."

"Handful of men have committed acts that need attention, we have to set up a process for handling that. We don't lock them up because they might do something."

"The American people have shown no interest in this issue."

"There is something insidious going on this country, with all this secrecy."

Many of the detainees have contracted tuberculosis and are not receiving appropriate care for it.

Does all this sound familiar? It should:

All my previous posts about Gitmo detainee Fayiz al-Kandari, and his military attorney Lt. Col. Barry Wingard, can be found here; That link includes audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.Our system of justice is broken. Military commissions rely on coerced confessions and hearsay, something Jane Mayer covers in great detail in her book..

If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.

If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.

Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.

Palin not so rogue: "Pallin' around with terrorists" line from McCain camp

By GottaLaff

Sarah Pallin' isn't too original, among all those other things that she's not too...

...also:

Had Gov. Sarah Palin "gone rogue" in last year's presidential campaign when she accused Barack Obama of "palling around" with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers?

According to a book out next month -- The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election by Haynes Johnson and Dan Balz -- she was acting on directions from the very top of the McCain campaign, Marc Ambinder reports.

Emails show the McCain campaign had suggested the following line: "This is not a man who sees American as you and I do -- as the greatest force for good in the world. This is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country."

At the event, Palin said this: "Our opponent... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country. This is not a man who sees America as you see America and as I see America."

Monotone: Wow. How. Mavericky.

Or just, "icky".

Ex-Senator Graham: Cheney, CIA Lied to Congress About Domestic Spying

By GottaLaff

Jason Leopold is reviving some of his reporting to show the parallels between Then and Now. One day, hopefully soon, this will explode in BushCo's faces:

In an interview with ABC's "Nightline" on Dec. 15, 2005 - after the New York Times disclosed the existence of the warrantless wiretapping program - Graham said he attended meetings in Vice President Dick Cheney's office and discussed surveillance activities, but added that neither Cheney nor then-National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden spoke about a plan to spy on Americans. (CIA Director George Tenet also took part in the meeting.)

"The issue was whether we could intercept foreign communications when they transited through U.S. communication sites," Graham said. "The assumption was that if we did that, we would do it pursuant to the law, the law that regulates the surveillance of national security issues. ...

"There was no suggestion that we were going to begin eavesdropping on United States citizens without following the full law. There was no reference made to the fact that we were going to use that as the subterfuge to begin unwarranted, illegal - and I think unconstitutional - eavesdropping on American citizens."

Graham suggested that Cheney and the intelligence officials had lied to him and other members of congressional intelligence panels.

Cheney and other Bush administration officials - aided by Republican lawmakers - responded to Graham's comments with a fierce counterattack, much like they are doing now against Pelosi. In another "Nightline" interview on Dec. 18, 2005, Cheney said Graham, as well as other members of Congress knew that the administration intended to spy on the phone calls of some Americans.

"He knew," Cheney said. "I sat in my office with Gen. Hayden, who was then the head of NSA, who's now the deputy director of the National Intelligence Directorate, and he [Graham] was briefed as long as he was chairman of the committee, or ranking member of the committee." [...]

Graham said he did attend briefings on the two other dates but he told the Washington Post "there was no discussion of anything [about spying on Americans' telephone calls] in the meeting with Cheney." [...]

The dispute then is nearly identical to the one now playing out in Congress about a similar document cited by the CIA supposedly showing top Democrats receiving briefings about the Bush administration's torture program.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

H/t: The Joshua Blog

Mooning over Bipartisan Health Care Talks

By GottaLaff

Talk about Rushpublics cutting off their collective noses to spite your health care:

George Stephanopoulos: "Little progress has been made in continuing negotiations on Capitol Hill over a bipartisan health care reform bill... As a fall back plan, Democrats on Capitol Hill are planning to go this alone. That will increase the chance that we'll see Obama's public option in the bill."

Good. Good good good. If the Rushpublics are going to moon the Dems, then the Dems should let them expose their big, fat Party of No hineys and move on without them.