Arkansas Note

I’m hoping to dig out some information on why BOTH Arkansas Senators are lining up as sponsors of this bill.  AmericaBlog says it’s a smokescreen.

GOP/Dem coalition of Senators to offer legislation to keep US troops in Iraq indefinitely

A bipartisan group of Senators has prepared legislation that they want to offer in the next few weeks that would keep US troops in Iraq indefinitely. What’s worse, they’re claiming that the legislation implements the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Studgy Group, when in fact, the legislation codifies George Bush’s current failed policies in Iraq. The misnamed "Iraq Study Group (ISG) Recommendations Implementation Act of 2007," is being offered by [...]

Tags: Iraq War, Bipartisan, Iraq Study Group

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The Decision Is…

Somewhat surprising, to me..

Breaking: Judge Sides With Gov’t In Warrantless Surveillance Case

So much for the ACLU’s suit against the National Security Agency over the NSA’s warrantless surveillance program. Last year, Judge Anna Diggs Taylor of the Eastern District of Michigan ordered an [...]

The ACLU response: ACLU Responds to Dismissal of NSA Wiretapping Case

Tags: NSA, Warrantless Wiretaps

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Impeachment Talk

There is suddenly lots of it.  About Dick Cheney.

Poll: 54 percent favor Cheney impeachment.

According to a recent poll taken by the American Research Group, “54% of American adults want the US House of Representatives to begin impeachment proceedings against Vice President Dick Cheney, including 76% of Democrats, 17% of Republicans, and 51% of Independents. The same poll found 46% of voters in favor of the same thing for [...]

Also via Think Progress: Cheney lies caught on tape.

Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Films has launched a new video laying out the evidence for the articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney. Watch it: [...]

Tags: Impeachment, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush

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What Happened to Freedom of Information

This is one of the most blatant examples I’ve ever seen of how our Freedom of Information laws are being abused.  Read on.  Then, if you feel so inclined, try to convince me there’s nothing wrong with this picture..

Secrecy Shrouds Accident at Nuclear Plant

The New York Times reports that Nuclear Fuel Services of Erwin, Tennessee, "a factory that makes uranium fuel for nuclear reactors had a spill so bad that it kept the plant closed for seven months last year and became one of only three incidents in all of 2006 serious enough for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to include in an annual report to Congress. After an investigation, the commission changed the terms of the factory’s license and said that the public had 20 days to request a hearing on the changes. But [...]

Tags: Nuclear Power, Uranium, Radioactive Spill

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Not A Good Working Relationship

When the employees rise up, together, against their boss – well, let’s just say something’s amiss…

Another Bushie Mismanager?

Well, NOAA’s hurricane center is in an uproar about yet another Bush appointee. "Hurricane Center Staff Seeks New Boss 23 Staffers at the National Hurricane Center Sign Petition Urging Gov’t to Replace Their Boss By JOHN PAIN The Associated Press MIAMI Nearly half of the National Hurricane Center’s employees urged the federal government to replace their boss Thursday, saying they need [...]

Tags: NOAA, Hurricane Center

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Big Insurance Vs. Sicko

Assuming this is a "real" memo, I’m passing it along for your discussion…

Blue Cross VP Responds to “Sicko” In Secret Memo

I got this from the Michael Moore mailing list. Read what the VP of Corporate Communicatio ns for Capital Blue Cross has to say about the Sicko movie in a confidential memo. Notice how he doesn’t actually address how Moore is really wrong, or come up with compelling reasons why the “For-Profit” [...]

Tags: Michael Moore, Sicko, Blue Cross, Health Insurance

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Another One Jumps Ship

Again today, the list continues to grow…

Yet another right-wing conservative congressman turns against the war

No, not Domenici. Now it’s a conservative war-supporter on the House side. He’s had it. From E&P: "Rep. John Doolittle, a consevative California congressman, today joined others in [...]

Tags: Iraq War, Doolittle

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Good Job, Tony

It’s just getting tougher and tougher for Tony Snow to do his job.  The talking points just don’t work and the reporters take note…

When in doubt, ‘Clinton did it, too!’

Unable to defend the president’s conduct in the Libby scandal, the White House has embraced the well-established Clinton Misdirection Policy with both arms. The White House on Thursday made fun of former President Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, for criticizing President Bush’s decision to erase the prison sentence of former aide I. Lewis [...]

Tags: Libby, White House, Clinton

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Big Shift

Another Senator flips on Iraq.

Domenici Announces Shift In Iraq Policy, Calls For Troop Redeployment By 2008

Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) has been a strong supporter of President Bush’s Iraq policies, saying that he was “willing to give the plan the President has outlined a chance.” In April, he voted against legislation to set deadlines for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Today at a press conference in Albuquerque, Domenici announced a shift in [...]

Tags: Domenici, Iraq War, Troop Withdrawal, Troop Redeployment

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Instant Activism

Is the for real?  From Texas?

Texas screening of SiCKO inspires health care activism.

Boing Boing has a “first-hand account of a trip to see Michael Moore’s Sicko in a suburban mall in Dallas, in which the audience of conservative cowboys were converted to health-care activists“: The entire Sicko audience had somehow formed an impromptu town hall meeting in front of the ladies room. I’ve never seen anything like [...]

Tags: Sicko, Michael Moore

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Common Sense

How about this!  Two posts in a row dealing with common sense in the blogosphere.  The other one is directly below this one….

Checks On An Out Of Control Executive Branch

Contrary to what some in the Left blogs seem to think, the Constitution provides and contemplates methods for the Legislative Branch to check an out of control Executive short of impeachment and removal. And that is a good thing. For in the history of the Republic, only one President would likely have been removed from office, Richard M. Nixon, had he not resigned (it is why he resigned actually.) President George W. Bush is no exception. He will never [...]

Tags: Constitution, Congress

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A Little Common Sense

Really DOES go a long, long way…

Live Earth Concert in Brazil canceled – put away your conspiracies

Having seen a couple stories from folks complaining about the Live Earth Concert in Brazil being canceled, I figured, as someone who lives here, I’d make a couple simple points. “Who knows what pressure the government is getting from global warming deniers to cancel this concert, so help us give them the support to change their [...]

Tags: Live Earth Concert, Brazil

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Taking On Tony

Tony Snow takes it on the chin from Steve Benen, over at Political Animal…

Snow’s case

SNOW MAKES HIS CASE….Tony Snow wrote an op-ed for USA Today presenting a defense for the president’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence. He didn’t get a lot of space — 382 words isn’t much — but before a White [...]

Tags: Tony Snow, Scooter Libby, Commutation

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Taking It Private

We’re still rounding up stellar bits of information from yesterday.  Here’s a fact about the Iraq War that really hit me hard…

Privatization of Iraq – Worse Than You Think.

For starters, I want to give a hat tip to nyceve for sending me the LA Times article from yesterday titled Private contractors outnumber US troops in Iraq, and also to theyrereal for pointing this out earlier today I recommend reading that diary (it isn’t too long) for some background. When I first read the LA Times article, I was thinking something along the lines of Blackwater/private militia/2nd amendment angle would be one to take. But then as I read through the article, I noticed a few other items that [...]

Tags: Iraq War, Private Contractors, Blackwater

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The Clinton Factor

It’ll take a lot of handshakes to overcome numbers like these.  But, in politics, all things are possible.  Especially when your name is "Clinton"…and you have this guy named "Bill" campaigning with you…

52% of Americans Won’t Vote for Hillary Under Any Circumstances

Sure it’s early, but of all the candidates running who is as well known as Hillary Clinton? Answer: none. So here’s another poll that indicates that nominating Hillary might not be the best idea the Dems’ ever had. “More than half of Americans say they wouldn’t consider voting for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton [...]

Tags: Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton

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Presidential Popularity

A new poll came out yesterday; I’m guessing you missed it, thanks to the July 4th holiday.  So, with a "better late than never" attitude, read on…

Poll: 60% of Americans unfavorable towards Nixon; 59% towards Bush

Rasmussen Reports today as the results of a new survey out on feelings toward several American presidents. No real surprises; the list is topped by George Washington, who is viewed favorably by 94% of Americans, and Abraham Lincoln is viewed favorably by 92% (although I’ve read polls in the past that show most people thinkg Lincoln [...]

Tags: Rasmussen Reports, Nixon, Bush, Washington, Lincoln

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Libby Commutation

It’s pretty obvious the White House announced the Scooter Libby commutation Tuesday, hoping it would be a "one-day" story and then disappear. That may be the way the major national media treats it, but there are many other avenues for information that will keep it alive.  The blogosphere certainly isn’t going to let it go that easily.  Neither, apparently, will MSNBC..

VIDEO: MSNBC’s Dan Abrams Puts Lie To Bush Claim That Libby Sentence ‘Excessive’

Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer MSNBC’s Dan Abrams looks up the definition of "Excessive" in the dictionary, reviews Justice Department guidelines for commuting prison sentences and evidences how Bush ignored all proper procedure in the Libby case, before concluding: "I fear this is another example of the disdain for the courts and for rules that attempt [...]

And, of course, don’t forget Olbermann’s empassioned demand that both Bush and Cheney resign.

Tags: Libby, MSNBC, Dan Abrams, Keith Olbermann, Special Comment

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They’ll Call It Success

What do you think?

41% more dead bodies on streets of Baghdad in June then January

Hard to imagine how Bush, Lieberman and McCain will view this as progress: "Nearly five months into a security strategy that involves thousands of additional U.S. and Iraqi troops patrolling Baghdad, the number of unidentified bodies found on the streets of the capital was 41 percent higher in June than in January, according to unofficial Health Ministry statistics. During the month of June, 453 unidentified corpses, some bound, blindfolded, and bearing signs of torture, were found in Baghdad, according to morgue data provided by [...]

Tags: Iraq War, Baghdad, Troop Surge

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