9/11 Chair: Attack Was Preventable




"This was not something that had to happen."

"There are people that, if I was doing the job, would certainly not be in the position they were in at that time because they failed. They simply failed."

Former N.J. Governor Thomas Keane
_________

Do you think Condoleeza Rice is on the list of "The People That Would Not Still be in Their Position" if it was up to Governor Keane?


"I don't think anybody could have predicted that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile."

REALLY, Dr. Rice?
The historical facts illustrate differently:

* In 1993, a $150,000 study was commissioned by the Pentagon to investigate the possibility of an airplane being used to bomb national landmarks. A draft document of this was circulated throughout the Pentagon, the Justice Department and to FEMA.

* In 1994 a disgruntled FEDEX employee invaded the cockpit of a DC- 10 with plans to crash it into a company building in Memphis.

* In 1994, a lone pilot crashed a small plane into a tree on the White House grounds.

*In 1994, an Air France flight was hijacked by members of the Armed Islamic Group with the intent to crash the plane into the Eiffel Tower.

* In January 1995, Philippine authorities investigating Abdul Murad, an Islamic terrorist, unearthed “Project Bojinka.” Project Bojinka’s primary objective was to blow up 11 airliners over the Pacific, and in the alternative, several planes were to be hijacked and flown into civilian targets in the US. Among the targets mentioned were CIA headquarters, The World Trade Center, the Sears Tower, and the White House. Murad told US intelligence officials that he would board any American commercial aircraft pretending to be an ordinary passenger. And he would then hijack the aircraft, control its cockpit and dive it at the CIA. headquarters.

* In 1997, this plot re-surfaced during the trial of Ramsi Yousef—the mastermind behind the 1993 bombings of The World Trade Center. During the trial, FBI agents testified that “the plan targeted not only the CIA but other US government buildings in Washington, including the Pentagon.”

* In September 1999, a report, The Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism, was prepared for U.S. intelligence by the Federal Research Division, an arm of the Library of Congress. It stated, “Suicide bombers belonging to Al Qaeda’s Martyrdom Battalion could crash-land an aircraft packed with high explosives(c-4 and semtex) into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the CIA, or the White House.”

This laundry list of historical indicators—in no way exhaustive--illustrates that long before September 11th the American intelligence community had a significant amount of information about specific terrorist threats to commercial airline travel in America, including the possibility that a plane would be used as a weapon.

__________

"If you were to tell me that two years after the murder of my husband [live on televison] that we wouldn't have one question answered, I wouldn't believe it."



Kristen Breitweiser, 9-11 widow of Ronald Breitweiser

Please take a few moments to read Kristen's testimony to Congress/Joint Intelligence Committee

Ralph Nader-Please See the Green Forest for the Trees


CNN: Nader eyeing another White House run


"Vote for me and I'll give you....."

".....some Democrats blamed Nader, 69, for siphoning off votes that might have gone to Democratic candidate Al Gore, especially in the hard-fought state of Florida, where Nader took 97,000 votes.

"Gore beat Gore," Nader says to those charges..."

Ralph is a good man and I don't begrudge any Green who decided to support him in 2000.

But, let's not detach ourselves from reality here.

Ralph Nader, by his determination to further the interests of the Green Party, caused the scales to reach the tipping
point in Florida in 2000, which was the proving ground..ground zero... for the injustice that resulted in the end.

Nader's means were honorable, but the end result was a disaster for anyone with Green beliefs.
They got the last President they'd ever have wanted, even in their worst nightmares.

If the belief that "Gore beat Gore" helps Ralph get to sleep at night, he should count off that silly mantra to himself as he counts his sheep.

But let's not be intellectually dishonest. We see that this nation is nearly split down the middle in the ideology department.

If Nader decides to rock the boat this time and insist on a vanity run in 2004, he may still get voters who detach themselves from the reality that a vote for him will be nothing more than a vote for Bush.
I just hope this time he (and his supporters) can admit what he may cause the end result to be.

To everything there is a season.

In the most pragmatic sense, this is simply not a season for extreme left ideology.


See DAILY KOS' opinion of a possible Nader run.

MUSIC--BEST OF
2003-
A Collection of The Lists

Aleksander Lazaveric's Desperado Politika List

1. VIRGIL SHAW - Still falling (Munich)
2. P.W. LONG - Remembered (Touch & go)
3. HOWE GELB - The Listener (Thrill jockey)
4. THE DIRTBOMBS - Dangerous Magical Noise (In the red)
5. THE LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS - Cockadoodledon't (Bloodshot)
6. CENTRO-MATIC - Love you just the same (Munich)
7. SONGS:OHIA - Magnolia electric co. (Secretly Canadian)
8. THE BE GOOD TANYAS - Chinatown (Network)
9. CALIFONE - Quicksand/Cradlesnakes (Perishable)
10. TIMESBOLD - same (Glitterhouse)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NASHVILLE SKYLINE: Some Orphaned CDs of 2003

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Altercation: Best of 2003

2003’s Best, (reserve the right to modify):

Cds:

1) Warren Zevon, The Wind

2) Joe Strummer, Streetcore, (tied for first)

3) Rosanne Cash, Rules of Travel

4) Lucinda Williams, World Without Tears

5) Stan Getz, Captain Marvel

6) Fountains of Wayne, Welcome Interstate Managers

7) The Allman Brothers, Live at the Atlanta Pop Festival, 1970

8) Disc 3 of The Essential Bruce Springsteen

9) June Carter Cash, Wildwood Flower

10) Television, Live at the Old Waldorf

11) Emmylou Harris, Stumble into Grace

12) Thelonious Monk—Underground

13) Jim Lauderdale and Donna the Buffalo, Wait ‘Till Spring

14) Al Green, I Can’t Stop

DVDs:

1) Concert for George (available on cd)

2) The Complete Honeymooners

3) The Old Way Whistle Test

4) Led Zeppelin,

5) Grateful Dead—The Closing of Winterland (available on cd)

6) Lennon, Legend

Box Sets:

1) The Count Basie Box

2) Miles Davis, the Live at the Blackhawk Box

3) The Nat King Cole Box

4) The Modern Jazz Quartet Box

5) The Talking Heads Box

6) The Rhino Punk box

(I don’t have the Johnny Cash box yet.)

Cultural Signifiers:

1) “Caroline or Change” by Tony Kushner at the Public Theater, NYC

2) “Angels in America” on HBO, by Tony Kushner

3) “Curb Your Enthusiasm” by Larry David on HBO

4) “Bruce, Elvis, et al singing “London Calling” at the Grammys

Biggest Disappointments:

1) Let it Be… Naked

2) Liz Phair

3) That crappy version of “Highway 61”

4) Martin Scorcese for the past decade and a half

5) The war.

6) Phil Spector (fill in the blank)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is my friend Sean's list (I think he has exquisite taste!)

clem snide_soft spot ... apparently 2003 was the yr to grow up ... blink 182 and bnl did it ... maybe its bc of the fact that i despise both of those bands that i consider clem snide to be the only one able to pull it off ... lots and lots and lots of sweet and thoughtful love songs ... aside from a few bouncy moments in Action, overall mellow and in the vein of yer favorite musics slow stuff

copeland_beneath medicine tree ... is it emo? is it richard marx minus the keyboards? i dunno - but its got lyrics that remind of when counting crows were good and melodies that are as fresh in my head as the first day i heard em

fruit bats_mouthfuls ... my gut is to say that they are the shins gone bluegrass ... isnt there a song like that on shutes too narrow? well this is that, and its damned good ... fave lyric: when you love somebody and bite yer tongue - all you get is a mouthful of blood

holopaw_holopaw ... so that guy from modest mouse did an album under the name ugly casanova and then one of the guys that was in u.c. w him did this and this is just about my favorite album in yrs ... i cant descibe it bc id never come close and i think i still owe andy a copy of this - so ill send it to him along with some fruit roll ups to make up for the delay

the jealous sound_kill them with kindness ... lyrically its pretty sad stuff - not sad being awful lame what is he thinking - but sad as in someone hand me my shotgun ... vocals are somewhere between loud david bazan and quiet dave grohl

the postal service_give up ... ben from dcfc along w jenny from rilo kiley ... i dont care if he's playing spoons while she sings the phonebook, its a winner

long winters_when i pretend to fall ... comparisons to rem/michael stipe-esque vocals are lost on me ... personally john roderick(vocalist-guitarist) reminds me more of robert pollard at times ... lyrics are somewhere between goofy clem snide and cracker ... poppy as hell - tons of hooks and im about to get a cavity from the sweet vocal harmonies courtesy of sean nelson (formerly of harvey danger R.I.P)

the stills_logic will break yer heart ... to my ears there are elements of Ours, 80s music from john hughes films, and bits of stuff from a certain oxford band that used to actually write and perform "songs"

matthew ryan_regret over the wires ... a perfect record - more along the lines of east autumn grin ... not as all out rocking as mayday ... not nearly crawling along like a snail slow as concussion ... oh. and hes using all those bleeps and blips that mark eitzel had leftover from "the Invisible Man"

the fire theft_the fire theft ... not so sunny day real estate, as just 3 guys who used to be in sdre and are now playing church music ... maybe its the chinese food i had the first night i heard it, but ill be damned if it aint pretty pretty stuff

***right up there with the others***-----------------------------------------

11. deathcab for cutie-transatlanticism...-somewhere after the title track i lose interest... tiny vessels makes me feel better about my ex-gf ... weird

12. eels-shootenanny!-rock rock rock - lots of rockin and a fun song about girls that curse like sailors

13. the hidden cameras_the smell of our own-just like beautiful south, i can only listen in small doses ... but what fun when i do

14. okkervil river_down the river of golden dreams-im probably missing out - but nothings gonna top don't fall in love ...

15. grandaddy_sumday-probly one of the best break up records released this yr

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SF Gate: Derk's Dozen
Favorite antipop CDs of 2003

Includes Richard Thompson, Chris Smither, Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell, Tim Sparks, Masada Guitars (Tzadik), Lou Harrison,
Roswell Rudd, Vasen, The Be Good Tanyas, Carla Bozulich, Danny Barnes, Tord Gustavsen, David Ware, Josh Abrams,
Bettye LaVette, The Magic Band, Noe Venable, and more....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Oregonian: Top 10 CDs of 2003

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Star Telegram: Best & Worst 2003 Music

~~~~~~~~~~~~

NY TIMES: Best Classical CDs of 2003


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edmondton (Canada) Journal: 2003: The Year in Music

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well...after all the times we've been misled, it does make you wonder...
doesn't it?

"...."Once again [Rep. Jim] McDermott has embarrassed this state with his irresponsible ranting," GOP state Chairman Chris Vance said in a news release. "Calling on him to apologize is useless, but I call on other Democrats to let the public know if they agree with McDermott -- and Howard Dean, who recently said he thought it was possible that President Bush had advance knowledge about 9/11. The voters deserve to know if the entire Democratic Party believes in these sorts of bitter, paranoid conspiracy theories."

*One must ask why this perceived paranoia has become the norm when it comes to the Bush Administration. There is a direct connection between material mistrust and what is perceived as public paranoia.
Lord Acton said: 'I cannot accept, your canon that we are to judge pope and king unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they do no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way against holders of power...Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.'
When I consider the Bush Administration, I realize I have not, in my lifetime, ever seen such deliberate attempt to usurp the People's power and slip that stolen power into the reserve of the Executive.
I count the many times we've been misled.
This is not anything close to clinical paranoia.

The Bush Administration will be infamously remembered for the cloak of darkness under which they operated.
See an extensive article from U.S. News and World Report about the history and timeline of the Bush Administration's active efforts to operate in secrecy.
It begins with the quote:
"Democracies die behind closed doors."
--U.S. APPEALS COURT JUDGE DAMON J. KEITH"

Executive Intelligence Review: Cheney Faction Lashes Out
Against LaRouche Exposés
_____________________

To What Extent Was Cheney Behind the Rockefeller Office Memo Theft/Leak or the Attempted Shutdown of the Senate Intelligence Commitee's probe into the Pentagon Office of Special Plans?

Ol' LaRouche must really be getting to the friends of King NeoCon, Dweller of the Cave.

"...with the publication, on Nov. 24, of a scurrilous attack on LaRouche by neo-con scribbler Kenneth R. Timmerman, in the Moonie-owned Insight magazine, it is clear that Cheney and company have launched a dirty tricks effort against the Democratic Presidential candidate..."

"....The stench of Watergate is in the air, and this time, the prime target is not the President, but Vice President Dick Cheney."

"....The leaking of the Feith annex to the neo-con media occurred simultaneously with the theft of Democratic Party staff memos from the Senate intelligence panel and the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sources say that both the thefts and the leaking of the pilfered staff memos to the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times, and right-wing radio gadfly Sean Hannity, were all aimed at bullying Democrats into a defensive posture—allowing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) to shut down the work of the Senate Intelligence Committee altogether, on the grounds that the Democrats were playing "partisan politics" with the national security of the United States in the midst of the "war on terror."
Several Senate sources have confirmed that Frist's unprecedented Nov. 14 shutdown of the SSCI's probe came under direct orders from the Vice President.
However, the whole scheme backfired, as Rockefeller refused to be cowed, and, instead, forced a criminal probe into the leaks and the thefts."


This companion story has been kept under the wire.

~~~~~~~~~~

Once again, in this fiasco, we see Frank Gaffney's direct involvement.
He's been actively witch-hunting Grover Norquist....and now Lyndon LaRouche.
What a litle witch-hunter Frank's been lately.
What is he trying to cover up? I mean, give me a break..and stop insulting me by thinking I'm a conspiracy theorist...
you have to wonder...

"....The Nov. 24 Insight piece, accompanied by a photograph of Undersecretary of Defense Doug Feith and Pentagon Office of Special Plans (OSP) head William Luti, accused Lyndon LaRouche of being the architect of a campaign to expose the OSP as a "rogue intelligence cabal," behind the unjustified and unwarranted Iraq war. Timmerman, whose attack on LaRouche is also being promoted by neo-con propagandist Frank Gaffney, through his Center for Security Policy website, lamented, "All this silliness could become deadly serious if Senate Democrats get their way, led by Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia, the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI)."

~~~~~~~~~



Since we're talking about Frank Gaffney, go look at Gaffney comparing the pulling of Saddam from
a rat-hole by the matted smelly fuzz on his flea-bitten head to the BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG!

~~~~~~~~~

THIS INFURIATES ME.
I AM AN AMERICAN.


Sun Myung sticks in his thumb and pulls out anti-American dung.

Take a look at the anti-liberty/anti-American garbage INSIGHT Magazine is spewing. They are insinuating that even a two-party system is becoming "dangerous". BEWARE! By categorizing Democrats' attempts to loyally oppose a suffocating majority as "all-out assault to destroy a wartime president by manipulating rules of the Senate Intelligence Committee", they insult (and assault) the heart our very American system of checks and balances.
They are throwing out threats that you and your Representatives may be called "traitor" should you or they speak out against perceived corruption within our own free nation.
I notice many recent examples being pulled from the Civil War when comparing Bush to Lincoln and 2003 Iraq to 1860 American soil.
The War in Iraq is not the American Civil War...yet, it seems to be causing American civil fracture.
We need not call one another traitors.
We need to reflect upon why there is a threatening civil division within our own nation because of the actions of the Bush administration.
Insight Magazine just can't spin away the fact that 50% of the people in this nation are skeptical about the status of our nation in respect to the war in Iraq and what it's done to our domestic and international standing.
They cannot call us traitors and expect it to be either believed or tolerated.

Howard Dean Is On A Roll!

NY Times' Adam Nagourney "outs" a cheap and
sneaky Kerry-campaign attack
on Howard Dean

______

"If someone wants to go off the record, call me up, and I'll be glad to negotiate. But you cannot do it preemptively. I will not let someone attack someone else anonymously, which is what the Kerry campaign is trying to do."

Adam Nagourney
_____

I'm not sure who the Kerry campaign thinks they're fooling,
but now they're playing around with one of this nations'
most highly respected political journalists. Sheesh.

"...Cutter, who sent Nagourney angry e-mail messages, says her staff is trying to provide a "truth squad" about Dean. "This campaign has no problem going on the record about the facts in this race," Cutter said. "We've never had a problem with ground rules before." Meanwhile, the Kerry camp has sent another "background" e-mail titled "An Illustrated Guide to Howard Dean's Foreign Policy."
Nagourney didn't get one."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Attempts to smear Howard Dean grow uglier

"It is hard to overstate the enthusiasm and renewed sense of possibility that Mr Dean's campaign has provoked in a deeply demoralised Democratic Party..."

".. Even Terry McAuliffe, the DNC chairman who is officially backing nobody at this stage, found it hard to contain his enthusiasm as he talked about the party's new electronic databases listing supporters, swing voters, the issues each of them cares about, their phone numbers and email addresses.
Despite speculation about the DNC's reluctance to embrace Mr Dean's unorthodox, decentralised, internet-driven campaign, it sounded very much as though Mr McAuliffe had already factored it into his calculations."

~~~~~~~~

Recent Ad Attack on Dean, which was uglier than Republicans could have imagined creating,
was facilitated, in part, by these ugly "Democratic" folks, who have gravely misled Union contributors:

"... Americans for Jobs, Health Care & Progressive Values, was formed a month ago by veteran Democratic campaign staffers who refuse to identify their financial backers until Jan. 31. That's the deadline for the group to file federal tax forms. The group's treasurer is a longtime fundraiser for Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, one of Dean's rivals in the Democratic presidential race, and its spokesman recently quit as press secretary for Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry's presidential campaign
Both Gephardt and Kerry have denied any involvement with the group..."

"...Robert Gleason, treasurer for the International Longshoremen's Assn., said his union also donated about $50,000 for what it thought would be general issue ads on jobs and health care, as in the group's name. When the first anti-Dean ads were aired, the union decided not to send more money..."

"...."I tell you, these ads are despicable," said Rick Sloan, communications director for the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which donated $50,000 to the effort.
"If I have my way, we'll ask for a refund."

"....[David] Jones declined to discuss how the group operates. He also declined to comment on union accusations that the group had misrepresented its campaign..."

NY Times story here

SEE THE ADVERTISEMENT BY GOING HERE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

NY Times Editorial: The Face of Scare Politics
December 17, 2003

"....The Osama ad was concocted with labor figures and politicians who have supported Senator John Kerry of
Massachusetts and Representative Richard Gephardt of Missouri, Dr. Dean's primary rivals, who disown any
connection. It's always risky to ask how dumb the ad makers think voters are. But Grand Guignol attack ads underwritten
by generic-sounding committees unconnected to any particular candidate are bad politics at any season."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

HOPE-NOT FEAR-
See Dean Campaign Mgr. Joe Trippi's Open Letter to All Democrats' Presidential Campaigns

"..We Democrats should be committing ourselves to bringing more people into the process instead of resorting to tactics that cause more people to lose faith in politics altogether..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baltimore mayor MARTIN O'MALLEY endorses HOWARD DEAN!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean Surges To New Lead In Latest Poll-
Primary Win By Dean Seen As Inevitable By Most

~~~~~~~~~~~

Congressman Elijah Cummings endorses Howard Dean!

~~~~~~~~~~

Bruce Babbit Endorses Howard Dean

"...Yesterday, he picked up the endorsement of former Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt, who served as Interior secretary during the Clinton administration. Babbitt hailed Dean as the candidate who is talking "common sense" and "facts."

~~~~~~~~~~

N.J. Governor McGreevey is planning to endorse Howard Dean and tells N.J. Democrats to start campaigning

~~~~~~~~~~

Wisconsin State Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager endorses Dean and will serve as state chairwoman
for his presidential campaign

~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean Gaining Support Among Latino Leaders

~~~~~~~~~~~
Boston Globe: Robert Kuttner, co-editor of The American Prospect, thinks
A Dean-Clark ticket would help..would combine Dean's excitement and nerve with the military credibility of Wesley Clark.

"...maybe Dean isn't another McGovern. Dean generates excitement not just because he empowered volunteers or because he was a consistent critic of the Iraq war but because he is tough. Consider: Recent losing Democratic nominees were all over the map ideologically. They ranged from center-right (Carter '80) to moderate liberal (Gore '00) to liberal (Mondale '84; Dukakis '88) to left-liberal (McGovern '72.)
But all these losers had one thing in common: gentleness. Despite intermittently brave rhetoric, not one of them came across as a fighter. Dean, of course, does, as Harry Truman and John Kennedy did. Much of this year's Democratic field comes across as wimpy in their cautious criticisms of Republican radicalism.
There are two huge reasons why the Democratic nominee in 2004 needs to be tough. First, George Bush is a tough guy, and the nominee needs to be tough against Bush. Second, the world is a tougher place since Sept. 11, and the president of the United States had better be tough enough to protect us."


**Bush's new re-election "campaign manager" Joe Lieberman never struck me as being
as tough as he is droopy. Most non-creatively, with the capture of Saddam Hussein, it seems he's trying to
re-reinvent the politics of the Democratic primary already reinvented by Howard Dean.
In reality, Joe's way late and many dollars short.**

~~~~~~~~

Howard Kurtz 12-17: Dean On the Griddle

( Howie exposes the folly of 'Democratic Wafflism' at its most hypocritical: )

"....along comes the capture of the mother of all Iraqi dictators and Gephardt and Kerry are in the if-we'd-listened-to-Howard-Dean-we'd-be-nowhere mode. Suddenly, they seem to feel, having been for the war is again the cool position."

~~~~~~~~

See the pathetic Dean hate-machine gearing up over at World Net Daily and NY Post. Weasels on parade.

Look at what Rush Limbaugh is saying about the Dean attack-ad:
"...This is said to be a "Republican-like" ad, even though it's been made, run and paid for by a bunch of Democrats. Folks, they are so discombobulated, they are on the run, they are just out of their minds. What could be worse than accusing someone of "Republican-like" tactics? It's just going to destroy these Democrats to be called "Republican-like" by the New York Times."

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Eric Alterman/ALTERCATION
12-16-03

"..In any case, all I want to say this morning is that HOWARD DEAN IS ABSOLUTELY, UNARGUABLY CORRECT when he notes that the capture of Saddam makes America no safer. America was never threatened by Iraq. Every single one of the scare tactics employed by the administration in their game of bait and switch designed to exploit the trauma of 9/11 to deploy the neocons’ longtime plan to invade Iraq has proven an exaggeration, a chimera or a lie. There were no WMDs; no nukes, and no connections to Al Qaida. Saddam was being effectively contained at the moment George Bush chose to plunge the world into war. Meanwhile, the men who attacked us REMAIN FREE TO DO SO AGAIN—in part due to the fact that we have wasted our resources—and the world’s good will--on Bush’s Iraqi obsession. And we are hardly much better prepared than we were last time. Our nuclear and chemical plants remain all but unprotected; so too our ports and infrastructure. Our first responders are untrained and our cities starved for resources to defend themselves. The mass media might not remember that a “war on terrorism” is supposed to address actual terrorists, but we at Altercation do. Capturing Saddam Hussein is a blow for justice; and it will be a good thing for Iraqis, no doubt. But if all this war was about was making Iraqis safer, well, then, Bush should have said so. But then, of course, it would never have happened. And we would all be better off.

In the meantime, if Cheney’s ticker prevents another run, Bush should replace him with JOE LIEBERMAN. Nobody right now is doing more for the president’s first honest election victory than the Wall Street Journal’s favorite Democrat. And oh yeah, TWO CAR BOMBS went off yesterday killing six Iraqi policemen and wounding twenty more, and an American soldier was killed on Sunday by a roadside bomb near Baghdad; the same day a car bomb exploded in Khaldiya, killing 17 police officers. Didn’t anyone tell these guys we won the war?"

Grover Norquist--A Fall Guy?

Geez, and they talk about in-fighting with the Democrats!
The Right has some real house-cleaning problems, folks.
The Bushies are about to take incoming damages if this one starts circulating in the mainstream.

Frank Gaffney's making Grover Norquist, gatekeeper to Karl Rove and the White House, out to be a bloomin' traitor.

This is a follow-up to yesterday's blog about the Norquist fiasco.

Eric Alterman's tongue-in-cheek observations about the witch-hunt:
"...Speaking of witch hunts, an intramural GOP one has broken out, pitting neocon Frank Gaffney, who’s hunting anti-tax guru Grover Norquist for his side outreach project to win over Muslims voters for Republicans. Read the piece and a play a drinking game; take a shot for every time Gaffney constructs a guilt-by-association charge, where so-and-so is tainted because he’s on the board of such-and-such a school that once invited a lecturer who’s suspected, but never charged, with having terrorist ties. You know, a troubling alliance.
Let’s just put it this way, if Gaffney’s as good at uprooting dangerous Islamists inside America as he was at pinpointing Saddam’s WMD (and boy, pre-invasion, Gaffney was mighty confident), than Norquist doesn’t have much to worry about."

I know Alterman is taking the "ooomph" out of many of Gaffney's arguments, yet I'll wager Karl Rove's worried about taking heat on this one.
I predict, when this is said and done, he'll need luck in skating clean away from it all.
Why?
The Investigatory-Waxmans of this world aren't going to let this die.
I believe that, sooner or later, if we dig deeply enough, we may find that Saudi money may have been be slithering its way into Bushie- conservatives' pockets.

While today's media spins webs and webs of concocted twistings of Howard Dean's words about his position on the Middle East, we can look back and see how the Rove/Bush/Norquist GOP-machine kissed up close and flirty to extremist Islam to snare the vote in 2000. (A decided anti-Israel direction). It's no wonder Bush took virtually no action on behalf of peace in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict when he was selected into power by five on the Supreme Court. It's no wonder Bush held General Zinni back from doing all he could in the Middle East the first year of the Bush presidency. (By 2002, we realized it was no more than a cease-fire mission--in no small part to run interference for Cheney's efforts to recruit Arab support against Saddam.)
There was a great conflict of interest. And Bush is supposed to be a FRIEND to Israel?
Excuse the expression.. Bullshit.

From New Republic (in 2001): "Grover Norquist's Strange Alliance With Radical Islam"
"....When I recently spoke to the Muslim Public Affairs Council's Salam Al-Marayati, the man who fingered Israel as a potential sponsor of the World Trade Center attacks, he recited Norquist's phone number from memory. When University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian e-mailed The Wall Street Journal in response to an op-ed that tied him to Islamic Jihad, he CC'd Norquist. Last year at its annual dinner, the AMC presented Norquist with an award for his service..."

From March, 2003, National Review-Byron York: Fight on the Right
"..the argument between Norquist and Gaffney is about much more than two men, or even the conservative movement. At its heart, it is about the Bush White House and whether its contacts with some Muslim groups might someday make the administration vulnerable to charges that it cultivated close relations with groups tied to radical Islam — even as it conducted a war on terror around the world. The Norquist-Gaffney feud, some conservatives fear, might be just the first act of a very long play...."

"....The Institute's mission is to "build relationships between American Muslims and policy makers in the United States," and it has in the past promoted conservative positions on such issues as free trade, school choice, and tort reform.
While those matters are important, Norquist reserved his highest praise for Saffuri's work in having "brought to the GOP's attention the most important issue for the Muslim community — the misuse of 'secret evidence' in immigration cases." Urged on by Norquist, Saffuri, and others, Candidate Bush denounced secret evidence during the 2000 campaign. In his second debate with Gore, he brought the subject up when asked a question about racial profiling: "There's other forms of racial profiling that goes on in America. Arab-Americans are racially profiled in what's called secret evidence. People are stopped, and we got to do something about that."

".....What particularly worries some observers is the possibility that White House contacts with some of the Muslim groups and leaders might be more extensive than is publicly known — and that the president's political opponents will try to exploit them. Indeed, on February 27, California Democratic congressman Henry Waxman wrote a letter to the Secret Service requesting all electronic records of visits by Sami al-Arian to the White House complex. Waxman also asked for "all requests, whether granted or denied, by White House employees that Sami al-Arian be admitted to the White House complex." And he asked whether the Secret Service had identified al-Arian's alleged terrorist connections and objected to his visit, only to be overruled by White House officials.
Administration officials say they will try to "accommodate" Waxman's request. Perhaps nothing will come of it, but they cannot simply dismiss his concerns..."

A Word About the Importance of Credibility and Trust

This is from a February, 2003 article by Fareed Zakaria titled ""A Dangerous Trust Deficit"

"We can't do an Adlai Stevenson," admitted an administration official about Colin Powell's upcoming speech to the U.N. Security Council. What he meant was that the administration did not have the smoking gun that Stevenson had when he presented the Council with images of Soviet missiles in Cuba in 1962. But the real difference between 1962 and now is not what we say, but what people hear. Remember that in 1962 the "smoking gun" Stevenson presented to the world was a set of grainy aerial photographs with white smudges. The smudges, he explained, were Soviet missiles. And everyone believed him. Today, if Powell had digital video footage of Iraqi scientists caught in the act of manufacturing anthrax, there are many around the world--and increasingly in Europe--who would claim that Washington had manufactured the images.

The French, who are today the most disbelieving, played a special role in the 1962 crisis. After deciding to blockade Cuba, President Kennedy sent a special envoy, Dean Acheson, to France's President Charles de Gaulle. Acheson offered to show him the photographs. De Gaulle refused. "This is mere evidence," he said, "and great nations such as yours would not take a serious step if there were any doubt about evidence."

What we have today is not the lack of evidence, it's the lack of trust.

The United States has done its part to contribute to this atmosphere with careless and confrontational talk and actions. Other than Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, no one in the administration has bothered to build and nurture relationships with their counterparts abroad--odd when you consider that this was one of the chief skills of the elder President Bush. Dick Cheney has taken exactly one foreign trip in his current job, probably setting a record as the least-traveled vice president since John Nance Garner...."

_____________________________________

Can you imagine anyone from the Bush administration going to most any foreign country today pushing bogus intelligence and exaggerated threat and having any of those countries' leaders say: "..This is mere evidence, and great nations such as yours would not take a serious step if there were any doubt about evidence.."???

Norquist Arranged Islamic extremists' visit to WH on 911

The Strangest of BedFellows
Grover Norquist is Exposed at FrontPage Magazine-

Norquist Arranged Islamic extremists' visit to WH on 911


Why has this man consorted with killers of Americans to keep Republicans in power?

_______________

Allegedly, per FrontPageMag's writers, this is "the most disturbing that we at frontpagemag.com have ever published.."

Grover Norquist, 'standard bearer of the right', is taking quite a beating here from Frank Gaffney.
Read to find out why.
Excerpt: "On the basis of the evidence assembled here, it seems beyond dispute that Grover Norquist has formed alliances with prominent Islamic radicals who have ties to the Saudis and to Libya and to Palestine Islamic Jihad, and who are now under indictment by U.S. authorities. Equally troubling is that the arrests of these individuals and their exposure as agents of terrorism have not resulted in noticeable second thoughts on Grover’s part or any meaningful effort to dissociate himself from his unsavory friends."


A group you may or may not be familiar with called the ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) is mentioned in the article.

So just who is the ISNA?

".....Muzammil Siddiqi. In September 2001, when Siddiqi met twice with Mr. Bush, he was president of the Board of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). This Saudi-funded organization is, as will be discussed below, used by the Muslim World League (MWL) to finance and exercise control over most of the mosques in the United States. Siddiqi’s ties to Saudi Arabia are even deeper.
Before heading up ISNA, Siddiqi was previously a top figure in the MWL itself, whose American headquarters was raided in March 2002 on suspicion of ties to terrorism during the U.S. government’s Operation Green Quest.."

Another FrontpageMag article by Evan McCormick regarding Rumsfeld and ISNA: ".....what good is it for the Secretary to rightly bemoan the existence of Madrassas abroad if the Pentagon is funding virtual Madrassas within its own ranks?...with campaign season rapidly approaching, Pentagon officials may be unwittingly setting the President up for a scandal ripe for exploitation by his opponents. All at the hands of Islamist extremists who are seeking to exploit the Military chaplain program in order to subvert US strategy in the war against terrorists."


Interestingly, the ISNA is a recent focus of the most unexpected and controversial concern:
The little-noticed alliance between gay marriage opponents and alleged terrorist sympathizers
"...JewishWorldReview.com has discovered that prominent religious conservatives — Jews, Catholics and Evangelical Christians — are allied with a radical Islamic group to stop gay marriage. Pushing a constitutional amendment that would restrict marriage to heterosexuals, they work with the Islamic Society of North America. What is ISNA?......."

With a follow-up article here --both of these extremely interesting articles, by the way, are by writer Evan Gahr at Jewish World Review.
Evan has spurred past fiery and interesting controversies--(you may recall this one).

A third follow-up by Rod Dreher is here: "What the Alliance for Marriage heads and board members either don't know or don't want you to know".

From the follow-up article titled:
One less fellow traveler. 'God Squad' rabbi bolts Queer Alliance. Is 'Lieberman's rabbi' next?
".....The AFM contends that ISNA is a legitimate, mainstream Islamic group. The "proof" is that ISNA is not on the State Department's list of terrorist front groups. But that rationale doesn't impress terrorist expert Steve Emerson..."



Related/Grover Norquist articles:

Targets of terror financing probe had political clout
"....."People think that George Bush and Texas are hicksville and they don't have Muslims there," [Grover] Norquist said. "They are wrong."
____________

Norquist-"Standard Bearer" of Conservatives??

"..Grover Norquist has neither a public office nor a famous name. Yet few people in the nation's capital wield more influence in Republican circles..."

".....Norquist's other outline for the future, which he has carefully written down and even charted on a timeline, includes a plan to reduce the size of government by half in relation to the national economy in the next 25 years. His aim is to do that by cutting taxes, privatizing Social Security and other government pension programs, selling off public lands, privatizing the postal service and giving universal vouchers for schools.

The goal is an anathema to his critics, who charge that he merely wants to put more power and money in the hands of the corporations..."

____________

"...."Bipartisanship is another name for date rape," the fanatic G.O.P. tax cutter Grover Norquist later said, in what could stand as an epitaph for the gullible Congressional Democrats..."

________________

Justin Raimondo: NeoCons Turning on Bush?

".....Vicious certainly describes the attack launched by Frank Gaffney, ostensibly directed at conservative leader Grover Norquist, but which includes this astonishing accusation leveled at the White House:

"...Ironically, pro-Islamist groups had been scheduled to meet with President Bush on the morning of September 11 to hear what he planned to do to deliver on his secret evidence campaign pledge. But that day, the executive mansion complex was shut down, for fear that a fourth hijacked aircraft was headed its way. I watched bemused as Grover Norquist and the White House official responsible for Muslim outreach, Suhail Khan, escorted the displaced Islamists into the conference room we share. (Al-Arian had arranged to participate in the presidential meeting via phone. According to his website, his teaching schedule at the University of South Florida would not allow him to be there in person.)"

From US Conservatives split on policy toward radical Islamists
By CAROLINE B. GLICK:

Norquist further attacked Gaffney for past comments against former White House staffer Suhail Khan, who was removed from his position after it became known that his father, a prominent Wahhabi Islamic cleric on the West Coast, had hosted an al-Qaida operative on two separate visits to the US.

Abdurahman Alamoudi admitted that he participated in a plot to murder Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah for Muammar Gaddafi. Records show Alamoudi gave at least $35,000 to Norquist's Islamic institute, although Alamoudi said in a written statement he did "not recollect having been quite that generous." In 2002, federal authorities raided this groups and others in Operation Greenquest, a major assault on suspected terrorist financial networks. Why was Alamoudi an important economic contributor to Grover Norquist's interests?

Norquist has apparently maintained ties to radical Islamists and supporters of terrorism since 1998. In 1998, Norquist founded the Islamic Institute with money from a number of sources, mainly in the Middle East [6]. One of the early major contributors was Abdurahman Alamoudi, the founder of the American Muslim Council. Abdurahman Alamoudi appears to have contributed $35,000 to the Islamic Institute [7]. Abdurahman Alamoudi, was videotaped outside of the White House saying "We are all supporters of Hamas ... I am also a supporter of Hezbollah." Abdurahman Alamoudi has since distanced himself from these comments.

Norquist was willing to overlook Islamic extremism for their money and alliance against the gay community's civil rights, securing more Republican power with the kind of narrow-values agenda that brings unsuspecting conservative Christians flocking to the polls. Norquist even made sure extremists were invited to our White House to have face time with the President - on 9/11, no less!

How can we trust a party when we know that the most powerful and influential people within their ranks are putting money and power far above ethics, principle and the rule of law?

Fulfilling the Promise of America:
Meeting The Security Challenges of the New Century

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.
The Pacific Council
Los Angeles, California
December 15, 2003

Short Excerpts:

"....To meet these and other important security challenges, including Iraq, I will bring to bear all the instruments of power that will keep our citizens secure and our nation strong.

Empowered by the American people, I will work to restore:

The legitimacy that comes from the rule of law;

The credibility that comes from telling the truth;

The knowledge that comes from first-rate intelligence, undiluted by ideology;

The strength that comes from robust alliances and vigorous diplomacy;

And, of course, I will call on the most powerful armed forces the world has ever known to ensure the security of this nation.."
_______________

**Note Dean's Strong comment about America's alliance with Israel, countering the ridiculous
media spin that Dean's priority focus is pro-Pal:

"...We also must bring skill and determination to a task at which the current administration has utterly failed: We can and we must work for a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Our alliance with Israel is and must remain unshakeable, and so will be my commitment every day of our administration to work with the parties for a solution that ends decades of blood and tears.

I believe that, with new leadership, and strengthened partnerships, America can turn around the situation in the Middle East and in the Persian Gulf. I believe we can defeat terrorism and advance peace and progress. I believe these things because I believe in America's promise. I believe in our capacity to come together as a people, and to act in the world with confidence, guided by our highest aspirations..."

Statement by Governor Dean on the Capture of Saddam Hussein


Dec. 14, 2003, WEST PALM BEACH-- Governor Dean issued the following statement this morning:

"This is a great day for the Iraqi people, the US, and the international community.

"Our troops are to be congratulated on carrying out this mission with the skill and dedication we have come to know of them.

"This development provides an enormous opportunity to set a new course and take the American label off the war. We must do everything possible to bring the UN, NATO, and other members of the international community back into this effort.

"Now that the dictator is captured, we must also accelerate the transition from occupation to full Iraqi sovereignty."

Telegraph UK- How the Chinese helped Iraq fight the US
Filed: December 14, 2003
Beijing know-how was handed over to Saddam as air strikes began

Note of Warning: A source in this article is well-known to be unreliable because of his vested political interests.
In another recent WMD-related controversy surrounding a Colonel al-Dabbagh, it is said:

"....In al-Dabbagh’s case the presumption should be that his evidence is not to be believed, given that he is a man with a definite political agenda. His aim is not only to support Blair’s claims that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, but also to insist that they are a continued threat that can be employed by remnants of the old regime. In this way he hopes to justify further repression by the occupation forces and their puppet government, for which he functions as an advisor.
As was so often the case, if al-Dabbagh claim of origin is to be believed then the intelligence cited in the September dossier came from forces anxious to bolster the case for war against Iraq and with a vested interest in the Bush administration’s plans for regime change."

Now That Saddam's Officially Gone....

Now that Saddam's Officially Gone...


Read this Toronto Star article from June 7, 2003.
It still rings true.

*I recalled the article because I had used it in my blog of June 7.*

All that...and Dr. David Kelly is still dead.
"Dr. David WHO!??", you say?

William Rivers Pitt on John Kerry

If you take an interest in the Democratic race for the Presidenial nomination, you'll want to read this article by the intuitive William Rivers Pitt.
He sat in Al Franken's living room on Thursday, December 4th, for a pow-wow with (or shall we call it a grilling of) Democratic candidate John Kerry.
The impressive list of guests were:

"Al Franken and his wife Franni;
Rick Hertzberg, senior editor for the New Yorker;
David Remnick, editor for the New Yorker;
Jim Kelly, managing editor for Time Magazine;
Howard Fineman, chief political correspondent for Newsweek;
Jeff Greenfield, senior correspondent and analyst for CNN;
Frank Rich, columnist for the New York Times;
Eric Alterman, author and columnist for MSNBC and the Nation;
Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist/author of ‘Maus’;
Richard Cohen, columnist for the Washington Post;
Fred Kaplan, columnist for Slate;
Jacob Weisberg, editor of Slate and author;
Jonathan Alter, senior editor and columnist for Newsweek;
Philip Gourevitch, columnist for the New Yorker;
Calvin Trillin, freelance writer and author;
Edward Jay Epstein, investigative reporter and author;
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., who needs no introduction."

Highlights of Pitt's Thursday-night-with-Kerry observations:

"....The most revealing moment of the entire event came as it was breaking up. Kerry was slowly working towards the door when he was collared by Art Spiegelman. Though Kerry towered over him, Spiegelman appeared to grow with the intensity of his passion. “Senator,” he said, “the best thing you could do is to is to just come out and say that you were wrong to trust Bush. Say that you though he would keep his promises, but that you gave him more credit than he deserved. Say that you’re sorry, and then turn the debate towards what is best for the country in 2004.”

Kerry nodded, bowed his head, and said, “You’re right. I was wrong to trust him. I’m sorry I did.” And then he was gone."

".....In order to regain any momentum and take the nomination, he will have to convince Dean supporters, more than anyone else, to switch to his camp. Dean’s stand on the war is not the central reason for the support he has gained, but it was what drew the attention of so many would-be Kerry people. That attention, with time, became support. With all the time that has passed, and with Dean’s campaign picking up such momentum, engineering a wholesale switch seems highly unlikely."

See Altercation's "Kerry Conundrum Continued" at this cached site...dated December 5, 2003

See a discussion and poll at Daily Kos.

John Kerry Implodes on FOX News Sunday


I hate to say this..I really like John Kerry.

On a day like today (interestingly categorized as "enchanting" by Sen Bill Frist), this is where it all falls out.

On FOX News Sunday, Kerry ostracized Americans who are joyous that Saddam Hussein has been captured with a lot of sad-faced complaint.

This is surely not the time.
As a dyed-in-the-wool liberal myself, even I am feeling satisfaction in the hopes that this capture will turn things
around and cause less death all-around.
We've had enough death.

During the interview, Kerry went on to rip away at Democrat front-runner Howard Dean.
He chimed in with Chris Wallace's suggestion that Dean's campaign, because of its alleged "anti-war" focus, would be damaged at the capture of Hussein.
Kerry couldn't agree more.

Here's the conundrum...Dean stated in the last debate that the focus should NOT be on the war.
The focus of election 2004 should be about the people taking back this country.

I think we saw the end of the Kerry campaign today. It was an all-around shabby performance and proof he's out of touch with the pulse of the Democrat of tomorrow.

Today has made the Democratic hopes for a 2004 win far, far more competitive.
This is where the rubber meets the road...where champions shine and partisans whine.
Democrats beware.

Wait until you hear Howard Dean's major speech on foreign policy tomorrow.
He will shine.

Comment: I think today's events will gravely impact Bob Graham's chances that he may have been tapped
for VP by Dean. Wesley Clark and John Edwards will probably be 'A'-list.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

From last week's debate in New Hampshire:

Ted Koppel: "In other words, you're saying, given where we are today, a continuing presence of some number of U.S. troops is going to be essential over a period of, what, years?"

Howard Dean: "Over a period of a few years, until the Iraqis really are able to have a democracy which is strong enough not to allow Al Qaida to emerge and has a constitution that's widely enough respected so they will not have a fundamentalist Shiite regime."

Later in the debate:

Howard Dean: "You know, I just did something that George Bush's father did, I looked at my watch during the debate. We have about 12 minutes left. We've spent almost all our time on Iraq.

Now, Iraq and national security are important, but it's not what this debate's about.

I was in a car the other day with a woman who was a teacher. She told me she'd taught for 23 years. She made a decent salary. Her husband had lost his job, but he was able to find another one that was for less pay.

They made too much to get any help sending their kid to college, and they couldn't afford their one child's tuition for college. That's what this election is about.

This president has lost 3 million jobs. He has given tax cuts to people who make $1 million a year of $112,000. Sixty percent of us got $325.

What this election is about is taking back this country for ordinary people. And we can argue all we want about Iraq..."

(APPLAUSE)

"... but average people can't send their kids to college. Average people have health-care payments every month that are more than their house payments.

We need to talk about how to move George Bush back to Crawford, Texas, so ordinary people in this country don't have to worry about their jobs going to China; so that we can have a president of the United States who doesn't think that big corporations who get tax cuts ought to be able to move their headquarters to Bermuda and their jobs offshore.

So that we do something for small businesses in this country that create 70 percent of the jobs in America and keep their jobs in their community.

What this election is about -- yes, national security is important, but I don't think it's an hour and a quarter out of an hour and a half debate.

We need to talk about jobs. We need to talk to about health insurance for every single American. We need to talk about an education system that's different than No Child Left Behind, which has left so many children and so many teachers behind and given huge unfunded mandates to Americans all over this country.

I do not think the president of the United States, for example, ought to be able to run the school systems of New Hampshire and Iowa, for example, from Washington, D.C., and I don't think Tom DeLay ought to be the chief superintendent. Those are things that we need to talk about as well."

(APPLAUSE)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Birth Brothers..or Mere Coincidence?


You decide.

Saddam Hussein Captured

SADDAM HUSSEIN CAPTURED- Iraqis Fill Streets of Capital, Firing Guns in Celebration

Good work by our brave American forces.
This is their shining moment..most deservedly.

The Army 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division-Operation Red Dawn- did us proud.



They found him hiding like a rat in a hole.
Hopefully, our precious troops will be made safer by this capture.

My question..was this rat hole an effective command-center for the Iraqi resistance?
Who is actually running this show?

I commend whoever made the decision that Saddam be taken alive.
He will serve a far better example alive than dead.
This statement from AP today leads us to believe that the White House may have wished it had happened differently: "Without directly saying so, the White House had clearly preferred to see Saddam killed than captured, as having him in custody raises questions about a trial."

The Guardian asks: How should Saddam's capture be handled? Readers have submitted comments.

Many blogger comments about the Hussein capture can be found at Truth Laid Bear.
And here, TruthLaidBear asks a rather preposterous question, but gets some thoughtful answers.

Now and the near future is the time we will discover what portion of these deadly assaults upon our troops were
Hussein-centered and how much was centered in terrorist-interests. We must remember that these are and always have been two separate entities...the Baathists and the terrorist groups who've swarmed into Iraq since we've begun the pre-emptive campaign. Who are the "dead-enders" and who are the literal suicide-"live wires"?


Let's hope this is true:

"....A Governing Council member, Jalal Talabani, told Iran's official news agency, IRNA, that Saddam's detention will bring stability to Iraq. "With the arrest of Saddam, the source financing terrorists has been destroyed and terrorist attacks will come to an end. Now we can establish a durable stability and security in Iraq," Talabani was quoted as saying."

The President will speak at 12:00 pm (noon) today. It will be broadcast on Dish Network channel 209.

Note: This may save Donald Rumsfeld's job...for the moment.
He really needed this.

AP- Official: Saddam Dug Hole to Hide Himself

Saddam capture good for Bush in many ways


AP- Car Bomb at Iraq Police Station Kills 17

Democratic Candidates' Book List

JOHN EDWARDS


"FOUR TRIALS"


HOWARD DEAN


"WINNING BACK AMERICA"


WESLEY CLARK


"WAGING MODERN WAR"


JOHN KERRY:


"A CALL TO SERVICE-MY VISION FOR A BETTER AMERICA"



DENNIS KUCINICH:


"A PRAYER FOR AMERICA"

December 13, 2003: A look back at this week's News Stories

December 13, 2003:
A look back at this week's News Stories

~~~~~~~~~~
There has been so much happening that it has been hard to keep up.
Below are some recent stories (along with a couple older/relevant ones) to summarize 'the week that was'.
~~~~~~~~~~~

The Dow's up over 10,000!
Soooo....
How Come Jobless claims have risen again?
If things are so sunny, why have 378,000 more Americans lost their jobs?
New claims for unemployment benefits are up a second straight week, exceeding analyst estimates.
"....Continued claims, the number of people out of work for a week or more, rose 11,000 to 3.346 million for the week ended Nov. 29, the latest data available, from a revised 3.335 million the prior week.."

Clift/Newsweek: Why some Establishment Dems Hate Howard Dean
"....the inside-the-beltway elites are terrified that Dean will disrupt their power base and consign Democrats to the wilderness for another four years. Last weekend, Hillary Clinton appeared on all the Sunday shows, insisting President Bush did the right thing in Iraq and defending her vote giving him the authorization. Dressed in soft pink, Clinton's tough line on the war made her the rallying point for Democrats unnerved by Dean's anti-war rhetoric....Two days later at a rally just blocks from President Clinton's office in Harlem, Gore stood with Dean to call the Iraq war a colossal mistake and a quagmire.....the endorsement takes on the trappings of an Oedipal clash..."

Gore's Endorsement of Dean Gives Democrats Back Their Voice...and Their Vote!
"....Republican bullying has been met almost inevitably by Democratic cowering, the ruthless will to power by timid retreat. Before this spectacle, Democratic voters have felt themselves unrepresented and voiceless. Until the presidential candidacy of Howard Dean, their burning sentiments lacked expression. Now, Al Gore's early endorsement of Dean dramatically amplifies them and partly explains them...."

Here's An Example of How the Establishment Democrats Have Fallen Out of Touch With So Many of Their Own Party Members:
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle has actually boasted about the fact that that he has supported Bush 75% of the time.
Dear heavens! When you look long and hard at many of the radical rightwing policies of this President, you have to ask yourself: What in hell IS Senator Daschle thinking?

The Touch-Screen Vote Debacle: Diebold Says "Charge Maryland out the yin-yang if we're forced to add paper trail!"
"....The Gazette of Maryland reports, "An e-mail found in a collection of files stolen from Diebold Elections Systems' internal database recommends charging Maryland 'out the yin-yang,' if the state requires Diebold to add paper printouts to the $73 million voting system it purchased... The e-mail has been cited by advocates of voter-verified receipts, who say estimates of the cost of adding printers -- as much as $20 million statewide -- have been bloated. 'I find it appalling,' said Del. Karen S. Montgomery (D-Dist. 14), who plans to file a bill mandating a voter-verified paper trail... "

-Send in the inspectors? -
BBC News - 'Scrap nuclear arms' Israel urged
"...."Frankly, I am not happy with the status quo, because I see a lot of frustration in the Middle East due to Israel's sitting on nuclear weapons or [its] nuclear weapons capability, while other parties in the Middle East are committed to the Non-Proliferation Treaty," [ElBaradei] said.

September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows - Statement on the Second Anniversary of 9/11


Yahoo! News - Mortars Pound U.S. Headquarters in Baghdad
**You know it's getting bad when you're not even safe in your own fortified enclave.**


CNN - Climate change 'cost $60b' in 2003
"..."Climate change is not a prognosis, it is a reality that is, and will increasingly, bring human suffering and economic hardship," UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said."

ITV News - MP Meacher: 'US bent on world domination'
"...Mr Meacher, MP for Oldham, claimed that "the truth may well be a great deal murkier", citing a document called Rebuilding America's Defences, written in September 2000 by neo-conservative think tank Project for the New American Century (PNAC), which was set up by a group including Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and Lewis Libby (Mr Cheney's chief of staff). The PNAC plan "is a blueprint for US world domination" which "provides a much better explanation of what happened before, during and after 9/11 than the global war on terrorism thesis", he wrote.
"From this it seems that the so-called `war on terrorism' is being used largely as bogus cover for achieving wider US strategic geopolitical objectives." He said the PNAC document stated that making the US "tomorrow's dominant force" would be a long process without "some catalysing event - like a new Pearl Harbour".

Bush Says He Expects Halliburton to Repay Iraq Overcharges
and....as you might expect...
MSNBC - Halliburton denies Iraq overcharge
And, as you might expect, yesterday "shares of Halliburton advanced 75 cents, or 3 percent, to $25.44 in afternoon trading."

Aljazeera.Net - Shia demand UN decides on elections
"..Grand Ayat Allah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's highest-ranking Shia cleric, wants the United Nations to rule if early elections can take place in the country, in a new embarrassment to the US occupation authorities.."

t r u t h o u t - "Been, a long, long time comin..." : McCollum, ERA

United Press International - Global View: China and U.S. symbiosis by Ian Campbell
"...Within the world economy (or indeed any economy) players always rely on one another. That is how economics works. But there are healthy equilibria and unhealthy ones, and for now the equilibrium is unhealthy and dangerous. The U.S. economy has huge imbalances in the fiscal and trade accounts. It needs capital from the rest of the world. The willing provider is the country that is selling a big surplus of goods to it: a fast-developing giant of a country with an unpleasant, authoritarian government, a vast, poor population, ready to work for very low wages, and a banking system that is creaking dangerously..."

YES! Magazine - The End of Empire and the Step to Earth Community; a speech by David Korten
"...Many of us engaged in these struggles have been inclined to think of ourselves as representatives of an alternative fringe. It is a self-defeating way of thinking that is both unnecessary and contrary to fact, for we represent the majority values of the people in America and beyond. Our work is to midwife the birth of an emerging new mainstream."

DESPERATION CENTRAL: David Brooks Calls Bush's clumsy bungling of foreign policy "Honesty"and "Candor", then rips Al Gore a new one for backing the Democratic candidate of his own free choosing.

NY Times - A Deliberate Debacle by Paul Krugman
"... James Baker sets off to negotiate Iraqi debt forgiveness with our estranged allies. And at that very moment the deputy secretary of defense releases a "Determination and Findings" on reconstruction contracts that not only excludes those allies from bidding, but does so with highly offensive language. What's going on?.....In the end the Bush doctrine — based on delusions of grandeur about America's ability to dominate the world through force — will collapse. What we've just learned is how hard and dirty the doctrine's proponents will fight against the inevitable."

Josh M Marshall: Incompetent White House Blows off Its Allies, then Begs Them to Cancel Iraqi Debt
"....."Read this lede from an article in the Times and tell me with a straight face that these guys have any idea what they're doing: 'President Bush found himself in the awkward position on Wednesday of calling the leaders of France, Germany and Russia to ask them to forgive Iraq's debts, just a day after the Pentagon excluded those countries and others from $18 billion in American-financed Iraqi reconstruction projects. White House officials were fuming about the timing and the tone of the Pentagon's directive, even while conceding that they had approved the Pentagon policy of limiting contracts to 63 countries that have given the United States political or military aid in Iraq.' I mean, it defies ridicule (what will I do?). The tone? How were they supposed to sugar-coat it? And you wonder why they're bringing Jim Baker into the mix? Forget about Rove's phone records. I want the last month's phone records between Dubya and Pops."

TOMPAINE.com - Feeling The Sting by David Corn
".... How can one act reasonably or rationally in a situation borne of delusion? Some things broken cannot be repaired. Yes, moaning will not make things better (unless, of course, it leads to Bush's replacement). And non-delusional minds ought to try to find a path out of this mess. But it never should be forgotten that Bush waged an elective war based on a phony rationale, that he did not prepare for the easy-to-foresee aftermath, that he rushed in with his stick, and that the unleashed hornets are his fault..."

DEXTER FILKINS/NY Times: "Tough New Tactics by U.S. Tighten Grip on Iraq Towns"
"....As the guerrilla war against Iraqi insurgents intensifies, American soldiers have begun wrapping entire villages in barbed wire..."

The Atlantic Monthly - A Post-Saddam Scenario by Robert D. Kaplan
*see my comments to blogger Anonymoses about Mr. Kaplan*


Washington Post - Is Dean Doomed? by Howard Kurtz
"...He will be, in a word, McGovernized. Smart primary candidate, but no chance of winning. Too liberal, too northern, too angry, too antiwar, too blunt, too short, too whatever.
But what if that's wrong? "

TIME Magazine - Operation February by Karen Tumulty
"....Confident about winning Iowa and New Hampshire next month, Howard Dean is already setting his sights on the rest of the nation.."

TOMPAINE.com - A Populist Tide by Steven Rosenfeld
"....there is something going on in the country's political psyche that is being tapped by these various and seemingly diverse political insurgencies. They are all prompting new and fervent participation in politics—and it is participation driven by a perception that these campaigns will restore governance that's in line with core and defining principles.."

Yahoo! News - AP: U.N. May Have to Abandon Afghan Effort
"....Lakhdar Brahimi said his team could not continue its work unless security improves.."


Misleader.org - More Presidential Deficit Deceit
"...Because the President has decided to focus on dishonest rhetoric - instead of action - the deficit now sits at $374 billion - the highest in history.."

Medford Mail Tribune - Panel Boss: Muslims Hurting French Values By John Leicester
"..."Secularism has worked until now," said Monsignor Jean-Michel di Falco, auxiliary bishop of Gap, in southeastern France. "In my opinion, a law risks making this problem even harder to manage."
About 7 percent of France's 60 million people are Muslims; Jews make up 1 percent of the population...."

‘The System Needs Significant Changing’
by Jonathan Darman
"..With Kerry and Dean opting out of public financing, is the idea dead? One activist says no."

Village Voice Defies Media Blackout of Ellen Mariani's 9-11 Lawsuit Against Bush
I read this at Democrats.com:
"James Ridgeway of the Village Voice is the first major reporter to discuss the RICO lawsuit against Bush filed by Ellen Mariani, widow of Louis Neil Mariani, who was aboard Flight 175 when it hit the south tower on 9-11. As written by attorney Phil Berg, "The suit claims [Bush & Co.] 'abetted the murder of plaintiff's husband,' so he is suing the Bushies, under the RICO Act, for conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and wrongful death. The suit documents detailed forewarnings from foreign governments and FBI agents, what it calls the unprecedented delinquency of our air defense, and the inexplicable half-hour dawdle by Bush himself at an elementary school after hearing the nation was under deadly attack. Berg's suit also notes the administration's incessant invocation of national security and executive privilege to withhold documents and accuses the government of obstructing the investigation." How will the Bush-controlled corporate media scrub this historic lawsuit? Stay tuned..."

International Herald Tribune - Afghanistan's stories, in a ripening voice
"....Akbar's two broadcasts side by side is to witness the evolution of a young man thrown into a situation that would be unimaginable for most Americans - a cauldron of old grievances, precarious accords and surprise attacks. Akbar exudes both overconfidence (refusing to get vaccines because Afghans don't have them) and wide-eyed wonder (gaping at a loaded AK-47 in a host's living room)..."

HYPOCRISY CENTRAL: For all his talk of democracy,( as so many shiny-eyed Bush lovers have babbled on about since his November 6 National Endowment for Democracy Speech), Taiwan doesn't seem to be on Bush's democracy-in-reality-list.
Taiwan Leader Rattles Bush With Referendum
"...."No democratic country should describe Taiwan's efforts to realize democracy as provocation."
-Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian -

Transcript: Howard Dean on Fox Sunday Dec 7