Iran is in Lieberman’s cross hair
Jun 10, 2007 at 11:48 PM by Political Chase
A brief heads up. On “Face the Nation” today, Joe Lieberman said the U.S. should attack Iran. I’m working on the video now and will have the details soon.
Archive for June 10th, 2007
Colin Powell Meet the Press V - Guantanamo Bay
Jun 10, 2007 at 9:14 PM by Political Chase
Gen. Powell’s opinion on Guantanamo is anything but ambiguous. The General said: “If it was up to me, I would close Guantanamo not tomorrow, but this afternoon.”
Duration 02:18
Colin Powell MTP IV - Administration at Best Negligent in Managing Post-Saddam Iraq
Jun 10, 2007 at 6:05 PM by Political Chase
Employing his famous, “you break it, you own it” policy, General Powell lays the catastrophic meltdown of Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein squarely at President Bush’s feet. Furthermore, and this may be pure hubris on my part, but I believe the well-respected General inferred in an indirect, but intelligible way, that Dubya, Cheney, et al, could technically be considered war criminals. And, if that’s not enough, he all but called Bush stupid.
Read this quote and see if you glean the same interpretations or something different.
It was our responsibility then under international law as the occupying authority, as well as the liberators, to be responsible for restoring order, and we didn’t have enough troops there to restore that order, nor did we have the political understanding of our obligation to restore that order.
In this video (above quote at the end), General Powell makes it abundantly clear the Bush administration was well aware the grave issues facing Iraq and the U.S. were distinct possibilities. The administration was cognizant of considerably more than what Walter Pincus of the Washington Post exposed on June 3. How does he know? Powell told Bush himself. They negligently did nothing to mitigate the problems going into Iraq and even worse, they did nothing about the problems when they surfaced.
Powell points out the negligence above, but he also, with little fanfare, makes it clear he forewarned the administration about most of the issues. And, in other circumstances, Powell was simply duped.
Duration 03:46
Colin Powell MTP Part III - War Not Justified
Jun 10, 2007 at 4:09 PM by Political Chase
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Meet the Press today, said in retrospect, the U.S. and its allies should not have invaded Iraq based on what is known today.
Duration 01:28
Powell on Meet the Press II - President Mismanaged War
Jun 10, 2007 at 3:58 PM by Political Chase
This post was updated at 12:46 PM EDT. See notes at end of post.
Colin Powell is indeed not holding back any punches to the Bush Administration. In this second video of his Meet the Press interview with Tim Russert, the former Secretary of State and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, bluntly says the war in Iraq has been poorly managed and President Bush is responsible.
The interview gets progressively better; stay tuned, more to come…
Duration 01:17
Late Update: For whatever reason, YouTube is blocking the original video, so I switched it to Google. Hopefully, they won’t do the same thing.
Later Update: Somehow I managed to get the order of the videos mixed up and posted the third video twice. The correct video will be posted soon.
Even Later Update: The video sequence should be back to normal now.
Powell on Meet the Press Part I, Commanders Ignored
Jun 10, 2007 at 1:48 PM by Political Chase
For years, President Bush has said countless times the war in Iraq should not be run by politicians in Washington, but by the military commanders in the field. Another assertion constantly made by President Bush is that al Qaeda is the primary issue in the Iraq war. Appearing on Meet the Press today, Colin Powell blew away what integrity and credibility the President may have had left.
In this first video of Colin Powell’s interview on Meet the Press, Powell confirms what most have said for years. Contrary to his statements to the public, George Bush has ignored all of his military commanders in Iraq, opting instead to pursue his (and Cheney’s)Â strategies, all of which have failed miserably.
Powell also rebukes Mr. Bush’s perpetual assertions that al Qaeda is the primary issue in Iraq.
Duration: Â 02:07
Lurita Doan Violated Hatch Act
Jun 10, 2007 at 6:36 AM by Political Chase
Government Executive reports that General Services Administration chief Lurita Doan violated the Hatch Act according to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). OSC delivered its findings in a report to President Bush Friday. Since Doan is a presidential appointee and confirmed by the Senate, President Bush must decide what disciplinary action will be taken. Additionally, OSC provided Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a copy of the report.
In related news, OSC has provided the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee with redacted transcripts of their nine-hour interview with Doan, along with the e-mail records obtained by OSC to determine whether Doan was using her Blackberry during specific time periods during the January meeting. The panel’s chairman, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and ranking member, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., both received copies of the report, the OSC spokesman said.
On Wednesday Doan is scheduled to appear before the oversight committee to discuss her allegations that GSA employees who testified about her statements at the Jan. 26 meeting were biased and poor performers. Waxman also said Doan may be asked other questions about her previous statements to the committee and to officials involved in the OSC investigation.
You can watch a part of Doan’s dismal testimony in March before the Committee.
More Grass, Less Talk
Jun 10, 2007 at 6:00 AM by Political Chase
It seems as if this sudden conservative grass-roots rising is having an impact and creating discourse.
From the Top 10 Conservative Idiots on the RNC:
I hate to break it to the House Minority Leader, but I think the Republican party might need more than a new slogan. Last week the Washington Times reported that “The Republican National Committee, hit by a grass-roots donors’ rebellion over President Bush’s immigration policy, has fired all 65 of its telephone solicitors.”
Apparently fired staffers are reporting that “many former donors flatly refuse to give more money to the national party if Mr. Bush and the Senate Republicans insist on supporting what these angry contributors call ‘amnesty’ for illegal aliens.” And now the RNC is estimating a 40% drop-off in small-donor contributions.
I don’t know what all the fuss is about. If their small-donor contributions have dropped off by 40% means that they’ll be bringing in $6 instead of $10 this year. Big deal. Who needs small donors when you’ve got Halliburton, Exxon-Mobil, and Wal-Mart, right?
Characteristics of Fascism
Jun 10, 2007 at 4:58 AM by Political Chase
Check out the 14 defining characteristics of fascism at bushflash.com
Late Update: And, a by-product of the Bush administration’s intelligence surveillance.
Grass Roots Impact on Immigration Plan
Jun 10, 2007 at 4:35 AM by Political Chase
Amazing. Neocons are trainable. They’ve learned how to use the Internets (Bush vernacular).
Veep Supports A Felon On White House Web Site
Jun 10, 2007 at 4:14 AM by Political Chase
Unfortunately, until tonight, I simply have not had the time to read the correspondence to Judge Reggie Walton regarding the sentencing of Scooter Libby. I would like to mention at least one, and I may comment on more from time to time.
I call your attention to Dick Cheney’s comments. First, isn’t Mr. Cheney the Vice President of the United States? And, he is supporting a felon, convicted of obstruction of justice, perjury, and making false statements??
Hey Dick, did you forget you took an oath to uphold the law?
Furthermore, it’s posted on the White House’s web site - the Vice President publishes his support for a convicted felon on the most prestigious web site in the world, and one that is paid for by the taxpayers.
What’s that impeachment rating up to now?
Vice President’s Statement on Libby Sentencing
Scooter has dedicated much of his life to public service at the State Department, the Department of Defense and the White House. In each of these assignments he has served the nation tirelessly and with great distinction. I relied on him heavily in my capacity as Secretary of Defense and as Vice President. I have always considered him to be a man of the highest intellect, judgment and personal integrity-a man fully committed to protecting the vital security interests of the United States and its citizens. Scooter is also a friend, and on a personal level Lynne and I remain deeply saddened by this tragedy and its effect on his wife, Harriet, and their young children. The defense has indicated it plans to appeal the conviction in the case. Speaking as friends, we hope that our system will return a final result consistent with what we know of this fine man.
(Emphasis added.)
Real Prosecutorial Misconduct
Jun 10, 2007 at 1:55 AM by Political Chase
There have been many unjustified allegations by neocons that Patrick Fitzgerald committed prosecutorial misconduct against Scooter Libby in the CIA leak case. Not true.
This is prosecutorial misconduct - ten years for consensual oral sex.
Microsoft, the DOJ, and the White House
Jun 10, 2007 at 1:22 AM by Political Chase
The New York Times revealed a damning indictment of collusion between the Justice Department and Microsoft, and a strong inference the White House exerted inappropriate, if not illegal, influence benefiting Microsoft and other large corporations. The Times also illuminates the unbelievable arrogance and stupidity of Thomas O. Barnett, the Justice Department’s top antitrust official.
As you may recall, Microsoft lost a major antitrust suit that was initiated during the Clinton administration and consequently procedures were implemented allowing the government to monitor Microsoft’s corporate behavior; however, the overall punitive sanctions against Microsoft were drastically reduced with Dubya in the White House. Now, with Dick Cheney and Dubya’s prejudice for large corporations, like Halliburton, over time trends clearly show the government’s oversight of big business reduced substantially. But, reducing regulation enforcement wasn’t enough; the Bush administration and the Justice Department became a pseudo extension of Microsoft’s and others’ legal department. The DOJ and Dubya have had significant roles in “resolving” international obstacles for Microsoft. Of course, the $55+ million Microsoft has paid lobbyists during Bush’s term would never test the ethics of Bush’s administration.
Enter the Google (Bush’s vernacular), currently Microsoft’s most-feared competitor. Google recently filed a complaint alleging that Microsoft was not in compliance with the 2002 antitrust settlement. Google asserted that Microsoft put “controls” in its new operating system, Vista, that degraded the performance of Google’s products, specifically the desktop search engine. Not a problem - Thomas Barnett, a top partner in the law firm that represented Microsoft in the antitrust suit and until 2004, is now the Justice Department’s top antitrust official. How convenient.
A brief history note on the original antitrust suit. Many states’ attorneys general entered as plaintiffs in the antitrust suit against Microsoft - that’s just the way it works. Moving on to arrogance and stupidity…
Mr. Barnett, the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, sent a memo last month to states attorneys general throughout the U.S., urging them to reject Google’s complaint. Did Barnett really think that with a snap of his fingers, every state attorney general would agree to his request and keep quiet about it? Of course Mr. Barnett’s plan backfired on him; many state prosecutors rejected Barnett’s pontification.
Now, this is the point of undeniability and accountability. Microsoft and the White House can argue plausible deniability, but Barnett cannot retract his memo. The Times elegantly and subtly points its finger at Barnett, the Justice Department and George Bush, but stops short of accusations.
Antitrust experts attribute the Bush administration’s different approach to Microsoft to a confluence of political forces as well as significant changes in the marketplace.
Well, its blatantly obvious after reading the article at least one of them has been caught.
It would be easy to opine at length about Mr. Bush’s integrity; that’s where the article leads, however, Alberto Gonzales needs to be included in this discussion. Yet again, more politization and corruption in the Justice Department that Alberto Gonzales either knew about or was asleep at the wheel. I vote for both. We know Gonzales will either refuse to comment and/or deny any knowledge of the matter. How could he not? He received the best possible training for plausible deniability directly from the master of denial - Dubya.
Nope, this will be another item to add to Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-VT) already long list. President Bush’s 52 percent impeachment rating might just go a little higher.
