Video- Special Report segment on Obama decision not to regularly attend a D.C. church includes graphic: "Commitment Issues"

They just can't stop. Via Media Matters.

Cartoons of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Video- Rep. Weiner calls out Fox & Friends for misinforming on health care

Calling them liars to their lying faces.

FBI broke law for years in phone record searches

By GottaLaff

Under whose watch again?

The FBI illegally collected more than 2,000 U.S. telephone call records between 2002 and 2006 by invoking terrorism emergencies that did not exist or simply persuading phone companies to provide records, according to internal bureau memos and interviews. FBI officials issued approvals after the fact to justify their actions.

E-mails obtained by The Washington Post detail how counterterrorism officials inside FBI headquarters did not follow their own procedures that were put in place to protect civil liberties. The stream of urgent requests for phone records also overwhelmed the FBI communications analysis unit with work that ultimately was not connected to imminent threats.

A Justice Department inspector general's report due out this month is expected to conclude that the FBI frequently violated the law with its emergency requests, bureau officials confirmed.

There's a whole lot more here.

The GOP is afraid of Dawn Johnsen. I bet she'd be all over this.

The real reason for their vehement opposition is that Johnsen is committed to overturning the Bush administration’s policies on torture and warrantless surveillance that would clip the wings of the imperial presidency.

As for today's DoJ, the ones who made it in:

A Justice Department inspector general's report due out this month is expected to conclude that the FBI frequently violated the law with its emergency requests, bureau officials confirmed.

I'm all a-flutter.

Tony Blair: WMD? Feh.

By GottaLaff

If Boy Georgie and his poodle had come out and said, "We are going to bomb the hell out of Iraq no matter what, to hell with all of you, try and stop us", then the world might have-- Oh wait. They did:

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said he would have found a justification for invading Iraq even without the now-discredited evidence that Saddam Hussein was trying to produce weapons of mass destruction.

Good thing they weren't arrogant. Oh wait. They were.

It was a startling admission from the onetime British leader, who was President Bush's staunchest ally in the decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

Blair's comments were immediately denounced by critics who accused him of using false pretenses to drag Britain into an unpopular war that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of allied troops and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians.

Well, at least the fraudulent invasion of a sovereign country that hadn't attacked us first produced all the positive results that Bush II and Bush III had promised. Oh wait. It hasn't.

Hans Blix, who led the United Nations team of inspectors looking into the claim, said that Blair's remarks gave "the strong impression of a lack of sincerity."

"The war was sold on the weapons of mass destruction [argument], and now you . . . hear that it was only a question of a 'deployment of arguments,' " Blix told the BBC.

"It sounds a bit like a fig leaf that was held up, and if the fig leaf had not been there, then they would have tried to put another fig leaf there."

What a relief that there will be justice done, and those responsible for this fiasco will be appropriately punished.

Oh wait. They won't.

Video- MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Goes After Liz Cheney

Video- O'Reilly to Beck: "I'm not a fearmonger like you"

Snort.

Washington Post re-prints misleading photo of Obama at G8

Your liberal media at work. Via Media Matters.

Quote of the Day

Oh yes they do Don. (The entire Time excerpt is a must read) Via Taegan.

"They never say Colin Powell lied. They don't say Condi lied."

-- Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, quoted by Time, arguing that accusations that former President Bush lied about Saddam Hussein's possession of weapons of mass destruction were unfair.

John Boehner admits CIA has lied to Congress

Countdown- We're Supposed To Believe The CIA Now???

6 Years Ago Today

Greg has a killer rundown of the various media reaction, well worth remembering how stupid they were. Here's a taste-

NEW YORK On May 1, 2003, Richard Perle advised, in a USA Today Op-Ed, "Relax, Celebrate Victory." The same day, exactly six years ago, President Bush, dressed in a flight suit, landed on the deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and declared an end to major military operations in Iraq -- with the now-infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner arrayed behind him in the war's greatest photo op.

Chris Matthews on MSNBC called Bush a "hero" and boomed, "He won the war. He was an effective commander. Everybody recognizes that, I believe, except a few critics." He added: "Women like a guy who's president. Check it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our president. It's simple."

Conservatives Launch $600,000 Ad Buy Against Obama's Health Plan

I was looking around for something interesting, and just heard this ad on my teevee. It's a cheesy ad on a cheesy website set up by a con man. Bravo Conservatives!!

Is Congress moving too quickly to stick major healthcare changes in a budget bill on the fast track for approval? Foes think so, and one, Conservatives for Patients' Rights Action Fund, tells us it is willing to spend $600,000 on ads to stop quick action. The group's angle: Compare the speed at which the bank bailout bill was passed with the pace of the healthcare plan.

The fund argues that the bailout moved so fast that nobody caught the AIG bonuses. "After the embarrassment of the AIG bonus scandal, these same people are now talking about ramming a $634 billion healthcare plan through Congress, and we still don't have any details," says Rick Scott, the fund's founder. The ads will run on CNN and Fox.

Matt has more background here.

May I just say

That Harold Ford Jr (lame, wussy) vs Tom Delay (unchallenged liar) in a cable show "debate" is just a fracking joke. I think all the gains I made in blood pressure maintenance by not watching "Morning Joe" anymore have disappeared.

See for yourself-

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Jonathan Alter Smacks Down RNC Chair Michael Steele and Sen McConnell

I half heard this in the other room. Yeah Jonathan! Via FDL.

Iffy poll represents troops' support of Obama as iffy

This really chafes my butt. The headline in the Chicago Sun Times is "Troops' support of Obama iffy: poll". Seems straightforward yes? Um, no, once you get to the last paragraphs-

When asked how they feel about President-elect Barack Obama as commander in chief, six out of 10 active-duty service members say they are uncertain or pessimistic, according to a Military Times survey.

(snip)

Nearly one-third of respondents -- including eight out of 10 black service members -- said they are optimistic about their incoming boss.

The findings are part of the sixth annual Military Times survey of subscribers to Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times newspapers. This year's survey, conducted Dec. 1 through Dec. 8, included more than 1,900 active-duty respondents.

The responses are not representative of the opinions of the military as a whole. The survey group overall under-represents minorities, women and junior enlisted service members, and over-represents soldiers.

I expect this to be linked over at all the winger sites by noon, purported to reflect their own neanderthal biases over PE, while conveniently omitting the fact that troops deployed abroad gave 6:1 to Obama. Thanks Military Times.

Senior officials authorized ‘aggressive’ interrogation

By GottaLaff

From the Department of What Else Is New:

Senior U.S. officials authorized the use of aggressive interrogation techniques resulting in the abuse of military detainees in U.S. custody, according to a report released by the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

The authorization was not only the cause of aggressive interrogation techniques, but also conveyed the message that it was OK to mistreat and degrade detainees in U.S. custody, according to the report released by panel Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and ranking member John McCain (R-Ariz.). [...]

SERE training is designed to teach soldiers how to resist interrogation by enemies who refuse to follow the Geneva Conventions and international law. During SERE training, U.S. troops are exposed to harsh techniques such as stress positions, forced nudity, use of fear, sleep deprivation and, until recently, the waterboard, according to a release issued by the committee. The SERE techniques were never intended to be used against detainees in U.S. custody.

The committee’s investigation found that senior officials in the U.S. government decided to use some of these harsh techniques against detainees based on flawed interpretations of U.S. and international law, according to the release. [...]

Levin also said that the abuses that took place at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and earlier at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq are not the actions of just a “few bad apples.”

“Attempts by senior officials to pass the buck to low-ranking soldiers while avoiding any responsibility for abuses are unconscionable,” Levin said. “The message from top officials was clear: It was acceptable to use degrading and abusive techniques against detainees.”

McCain said, “The committee’s report details the inexcusable link between abusive interrogation techniques used by our enemies who ignored the Geneva Conventions and interrogation policy for detainees in U.S. custody. These policies are wrong and must never be repeated.”

Oh really, Gramm-pa? Really? February 2008:

Last week, the Senate brought the Intelligence Authorization Bill — which contained a provision banning waterboarding — to the floor for a vote. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), an outspoken waterboarding critic, voted against the bill.

Gingrich Gets His Facts Wrong, Claims GOP Governors Have Lowest Unemployment In Their Regions

Just wanted to point this out since I'm one of Mitch's 6.2%. Liar. Via Think Progress.

At 6.2 percent, Indiana isn’t even close to having the lowest unemployment rate in its Midwest region: It ranks eighth out of the 12 states in the region. Iowa (4.2 percent), Kansas (4.8 percent), Minnesota (5.9 percent), Nebraska (3.5 percent), North Dakota (3.6 percent), South Dakota (3.2 percent), and Wisconsin (5 percent) all posted lower unemployment rates than Indiana. And, as Media Matters notes, “Three of those states — Iowa, Kansas, and Wisconsin — have Democratic governors.”

New(est) Doubts Over Palin's Troopergate Claims

By GottaLaff

ABC News has an exclusive:

An internal government document obtained by ABC News appears to contradict Sarah Palin's most recent explanation for why she fired her public safety chief, the move which prompted the now-contested state probe into "Troopergate."

There have been so many contradictions. Anyone out there keeping track?

Fighting back against allegations she may have fired her then-Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan, for refusing to go along with a personal vendetta, Palin on Monday argued in a legal filing that she fired Monegan because he had a "rogue mentality" and was bucking her administration's directives.

Wowzers! A rogue cop! He must have done something terrible! I'm afraid to even imagine...

"The last straw," her lawyer argued, came when he planned a trip to Washington, D.C., to seek federal funds for an aggressive anti-sexual-violence program. The project, expected to cost from $10 million to $20 million a year for five years, would have been the first of its kind in Alaska, which leads the nation in reported forcible rape.

Good lord! He... he... wanted to help prevent rape?! In a state that leads the nation in... forcible rape!? What kind of beast is this Walt dude? Who would do such a thing?! Why... why... that's almost as bad as a governor who won't cover the costs of rape victims' medical tests!

The McCain-Palin campaign echoed the charge in a press release it distributed Monday, concurrent with Palin's legal filing. "Mr. Monegan persisted in planning to make the unauthorized lobbying trip to D.C.," the release stated.

So Gramm-pa McCain is on the attack, too, huh? Good for him! Nobody should be allowed to spend so much as a company dime on something as frivolous as rape prevention! Especially without permission! ... I'm sorry, hang on... What's that?... I can barely hear... It's coming in more clearly now, and... okay... This just in!

But the governor's staff authorized the trip, according to an internal travel document from the Department of Public Safety, released Friday in response to an open records request. The document, a state travel authorization form, shows that Palin's chief of staff, Mike Nizich, approved Monegan's trip to Washington D.C. "to attend meeting with Senator Murkowski." The date next to Nizich's signature reads June 18.

Well, now, that's a moose of a different color.

Monegan said he didn't know why Palin's chief of staff approved a trip that confounded her other aides. "It sounds like it's a breakdown of communication internal to the governor's staff," he said.

It sounds like a breakdown of Palin's entire premise. This just in: Palin/McCain have lost all credibility... and that's assuming they had any to begin with.

H/t: JohnnyAppleseed at DKos.

Investigator: Palin probe to end before election

By GottaLaff

Bush III, Cheney II. The secrecy, cover-ups, and lame excuses continue at the voters' expense, and the expense of our legal system:

The Alaska lawmaker directing an abuse-of-power investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin promised Friday the probe will be finished before the election, despite refusals by key witnesses to testify, including the governor's husband.

After waiting 35 minutes for Todd Palin and two state administrative employees to appear under subpoena before the state Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Hollis French condemned their refusal to testify and the attorney general's broken promise that seven other witnesses would testify who were not subpoenaed.

French said the retired prosecutor hired by the Alaska Legislature to investigate Palin, Stephen Branchflower, will conclude his investigation by Oct. 10. Still, that report will not include testimony from the Republican vice presidential nominee, her husband or most of the top aides Branchflower hoped to interview.

Despite the stonewalling, Palin/McCain's attempts to skirt the law only serves to magnify the fact that they're hiding something, as well as their obvious lack of ethics.

Sarah Palin's allies hoped the investigation would be delayed past the election to spare her any troublesome revelations - or at least the distraction - before voters have made their choice. Palin's reputation as clean-government advocate who takes on entrenched interests is central to her appeal as Republican John McCain's running mate, and possibly at risk in the probe.

Palin initially promised to cooperate in the investigation, telling the Legislature to "hold me accountable."[...] She now opposes the investigation. [...]

The committee subpoenaed six people to appear Friday to testify or meet for private interviews with Branchflower. French said three of those six had complied. Todd Palin, special assistant Ivy Frye and Randy Ruaro, who is the governor's deputy chief of staff, did not.

Todd Palin's attorney sent French a letter Thursday listing Palin's objections to the Legislature's investigation of his wife. Among them, the attorney said, were jurisdiction questions, separation of power issues and an inconvenient travel schedule. [...]

Attorney General Talis Colberg earlier this week reversed himself, saying the governor declined to participate and that Palin administration employees would not appear.

French said subpoenas will be issued for those seven people, ordering them to testify on Sept. 26.

Witnesses who refuse to testify can be found in contempt under Alaska law. But the full Legislature must be in session, which won't happen until January. That means witnesses can stonewall without penalty beyond the Nov. 4 election, lawmakers said.

If this is what Republicans want, if this is what they think will restore honor to the White House, they're fooling themselves, but they are no longer fooling the rest of us.