Finally

This was nine months of hassle that shouldn’t have been needed..

Bush issues new torture rules for U.S. interrogators

After nine months of wrangling between the White House and Congress, President Bush finally issued the executive order today providing guidelines for interrogators using "enhanced interrogation techniques" in secret CIA prisons. The order for the first time bars "acts of violence serious enough to be considered comparable to murder, torture, mutilation, and cruel and inhuman treatment." And it also prohibits [...]

UPDATE: But…

Bush’s New Interrogation Order Contains Loophole: ‘Does Not Create Any Right Enforceable At Law’

In October 2006, Bush signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which provided for the continuation of so-called CIA “black sites” for interrogating terrorism suspects and allowed evidence obtained through torture to be used against them. In its lengthy series on the Vice President, the Washington Post reported that the bill gave Cheney everything he [...]

Tags: Terrorist Interrogation, Enhanced Interrogation Techniques, CIA Prisions

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You Can Tell It’s Friday

Reporters are really "reaching" for a story.  Still, there’s a lot of more important stuff than this!

This Just In…

According to Robin Givhan of the WaPo, Hillary Clinton is a woman.  And…wait for it…as a result of being female, she has breasts which result in…gasp…cleavage.  This may be a new low in infotainment non-reportage: "There was cleavage on display Wednesday afternoon on C-SPAN2. It belonged to Sen. Hillary Clinton. She was talking on the Senate floor [...]

Tags: Hillary Clinton Cleavage

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It’s All So Confusing

What’s wrong one day is okay the next? You really can’t follow the Administration’s positions without a scorecard!

Bush Threatened To Veto Same Military Pay Raise That He Now Uses To Attack Anti-War Critics

In his Rose Garden address this morning, President Bush criticized the decision by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to pull the Defense Authorization bill from consideration, saying the move would deny a pay raise to soldiers serving in Iraq. “Congress has failed to act on” a bill that would “provide funds to upgrade our [...]

Tags: Defense Authorization Bill, Military Pay Raise, Harry Reid

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Friday Follies

It is only one state. And a liberal one, at that. But, still…

19 percent:

President Bush’s approval rating in Wisconsin, according to a new poll conducted by a conservative polling firm. The rating is “a new low” for the President, whose previous low [...]

Tags: George W. Bush, Bush Approval Rating

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Does This Mean It’s Over?

Can all the campaigning stop now?  Can we just go ahead and vote?

Majority Thinks Clinton Could Be President

A new CBS News/New York Times poll shows 63% of voters believe it’s likely that Sen. Hillary Clinton "will be elected the first woman president in U.S. history if she wins her party’s nomination." The poll shows Clinton with a solid lead over [...]

Tags: Hillary Clinton, CBS News, New York Times

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Just Because It’s Friday

We’ll throw in the latest sexual escapades by a politician.  True, this guy ain’t a Senator or something that prominent, but it’s still a heckuva display of hypocracy///

Former NC commissioner busted for aiding and abetting prostitution

Oh yeah, baby; hypocrites on a roll — he’s also a former Baptist minister. (WSOC) Former state legislator Coy C. Privette, a Cabarrus County commissioner and retired Baptist minister, was charged Thursday with aiding and abetting prostitution, authorities said. Privette, 74, was charged with six counts of misdemeanor aiding and abetting prostitution by renting a hotel room [...]

Tags: Prostitution, Privette, Baptist

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Just When You Think

You’ve heard the last of a story, there’s a new report, somehow even worse that the one before it.  Is anybody in control?  Anywhere?

FEMA Faulted on Response to Risks in Trailers

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is accused of refusing to acknowledge high levels of formaldehyde in trailers it provided to hurricane evacuees on [...]

Tags: FEMA, Katrina, Formaldehyde

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Moving Target

Surprise.  The target date keeps shifting…

‘At least until November’

In Wednesday’s press briefing, Tony Snow emphasized the same point he and his colleagues have been pressing for weeks: when it comes to the future of Iraq policy, everyone should just shut up until September. Just 24 hours after Snow once again asked for patience, the administration changed its tune — September isn’t good enough anymore. The [...]

Tags: Tony Snow, Iraq Progress Report

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Putting Their Money

Where their mouth is…

What Do the Soldiers Think?

One way for soldiers to express their opinions is to donate to presidential candidates. And they have been doing so. If the soldiers are really for staying the course we would expect them to donate to John McCain, Rudy Guiliani, or Mitt Romney. You certainly would not expect them to vote for anti-imperialist libertarian Ron Paul or liberal democrat Barack Obama. Listen up, you beltway morons. Here’s the numbers. Military contributions for Q2 [...]

Tags: Military Donations, Campaign Donations

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Absolutely Unfathonable

And, quite frankly, quite frightening:

Broader Privilege Claimed in Firings

Bush administration officials unveiled a bold new assertion of executive authority yesterday in the dispute over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, saying that the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials once the president has invoked executive privilege. The position presents serious legal and political obstacles for [...]

Keep reading.  It truly is astonishing. And everybody is blogging about it..

‘Astonishing’

I’ve written and re-written the start of this post a couple of times, trying to find the words to describe how truly radical the Bush White House has become with regards to the rule of law and the U.S. system of justice. Thoughts drift towards hyperbole — phrases like “constitutional crisis” come to mind — [...]

While we’re at it, don’t forget about this:

Never-ending Nightmare

This is purely and simply terrifying. I grow increasingly sceptical about the transformative powers of a 2008 election – if we even get to have one. These are not the actions of people who plan to leave office or give [...]

Now, go stand in line for your Harry Potter book, so you can forget about reality…

Tags: Executive Privilege, Bush Administration, Contempt Charges

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Thanks for reading!

Finally

This was nine months of hassle that shouldn’t have been needed..

Bush issues new torture rules for U.S. interrogators

After nine months of wrangling between the White House and Congress, President Bush finally issued the executive order today providing guidelines for interrogators using "enhanced interrogation techniques" in secret CIA prisons. The order for the first time bars "acts of violence serious enough to be considered comparable to murder, torture, mutilation, and cruel and inhuman treatment." And it also prohibits [...]

UPDATE: But…

Bush’s New Interrogation Order Contains Loophole: ‘Does Not Create Any Right Enforceable At Law’

In October 2006, Bush signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which provided for the continuation of so-called CIA “black sites” for interrogating terrorism suspects and allowed evidence obtained through torture to be used against them. In its lengthy series on the Vice President, the Washington Post reported that the bill gave Cheney everything he [...]

Tags: Terrorist Interrogation, Enhanced Interrogation Techniques, CIA Prisions

Powered by Qumana

Thanks for reading!

You Can Tell It’s Friday

Reporters are really "reaching" for a story.  Still, there’s a lot of more important stuff than this!

This Just In…

According to Robin Givhan of the WaPo, Hillary Clinton is a woman.  And…wait for it…as a result of being female, she has breasts which result in…gasp…cleavage.  This may be a new low in infotainment non-reportage: "There was cleavage on display Wednesday afternoon on C-SPAN2. It belonged to Sen. Hillary Clinton. She was talking on the Senate floor [...]

Tags: Hillary Clinton Cleavage

Powered by Qumana

Thanks for reading!

It’s All So Confusing

What’s wrong one day is okay the next? You really can’t follow the Administration’s positions without a scorecard!

Bush Threatened To Veto Same Military Pay Raise That He Now Uses To Attack Anti-War Critics

In his Rose Garden address this morning, President Bush criticized the decision by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to pull the Defense Authorization bill from consideration, saying the move would deny a pay raise to soldiers serving in Iraq. “Congress has failed to act on” a bill that would “provide funds to upgrade our [...]

Tags: Defense Authorization Bill, Military Pay Raise, Harry Reid

Powered by Qumana

Thanks for reading!

Friday Follies

It is only one state. And a liberal one, at that. But, still…

19 percent:

President Bush’s approval rating in Wisconsin, according to a new poll conducted by a conservative polling firm. The rating is “a new low” for the President, whose previous low [...]

Tags: George W. Bush, Bush Approval Rating

Powered by Qumana

Thanks for reading!

Does This Mean It’s Over?

Can all the campaigning stop now?  Can we just go ahead and vote?

Majority Thinks Clinton Could Be President

A new CBS News/New York Times poll shows 63% of voters believe it’s likely that Sen. Hillary Clinton "will be elected the first woman president in U.S. history if she wins her party’s nomination." The poll shows Clinton with a solid lead over [...]

Tags: Hillary Clinton, CBS News, New York Times

Powered by Qumana

Thanks for reading!

Just Because It’s Friday

We’ll throw in the latest sexual escapades by a politician.  True, this guy ain’t a Senator or something that prominent, but it’s still a heckuva display of hypocracy///

Former NC commissioner busted for aiding and abetting prostitution

Oh yeah, baby; hypocrites on a roll — he’s also a former Baptist minister. (WSOC) Former state legislator Coy C. Privette, a Cabarrus County commissioner and retired Baptist minister, was charged Thursday with aiding and abetting prostitution, authorities said. Privette, 74, was charged with six counts of misdemeanor aiding and abetting prostitution by renting a hotel room [...]

Tags: Prostitution, Privette, Baptist

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Thanks for reading!

Just When You Think

You’ve heard the last of a story, there’s a new report, somehow even worse that the one before it.  Is anybody in control?  Anywhere?

FEMA Faulted on Response to Risks in Trailers

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is accused of refusing to acknowledge high levels of formaldehyde in trailers it provided to hurricane evacuees on [...]

Tags: FEMA, Katrina, Formaldehyde

Powered by Qumana

Thanks for reading!

Moving Target

Surprise.  The target date keeps shifting…

‘At least until November’

In Wednesday’s press briefing, Tony Snow emphasized the same point he and his colleagues have been pressing for weeks: when it comes to the future of Iraq policy, everyone should just shut up until September. Just 24 hours after Snow once again asked for patience, the administration changed its tune — September isn’t good enough anymore. The [...]

Tags: Tony Snow, Iraq Progress Report

Powered by Qumana

Thanks for reading!

Putting Their Money

Where their mouth is…

What Do the Soldiers Think?

One way for soldiers to express their opinions is to donate to presidential candidates. And they have been doing so. If the soldiers are really for staying the course we would expect them to donate to John McCain, Rudy Guiliani, or Mitt Romney. You certainly would not expect them to vote for anti-imperialist libertarian Ron Paul or liberal democrat Barack Obama. Listen up, you beltway morons. Here’s the numbers. Military contributions for Q2 [...]

Tags: Military Donations, Campaign Donations

Powered by Qumana

Thanks for reading!

Absolutely Unfathonable

And, quite frankly, quite frightening:

Broader Privilege Claimed in Firings

Bush administration officials unveiled a bold new assertion of executive authority yesterday in the dispute over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, saying that the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials once the president has invoked executive privilege. The position presents serious legal and political obstacles for [...]

Keep reading.  It truly is astonishing. And everybody is blogging about it..

‘Astonishing’

I’ve written and re-written the start of this post a couple of times, trying to find the words to describe how truly radical the Bush White House has become with regards to the rule of law and the U.S. system of justice. Thoughts drift towards hyperbole — phrases like “constitutional crisis” come to mind — [...]

While we’re at it, don’t forget about this:

Never-ending Nightmare

This is purely and simply terrifying. I grow increasingly sceptical about the transformative powers of a 2008 election – if we even get to have one. These are not the actions of people who plan to leave office or give [...]

Now, go stand in line for your Harry Potter book, so you can forget about reality…

Tags: Executive Privilege, Bush Administration, Contempt Charges

Powered by Qumana

Thanks for reading!