The Political Chase

Plot to Kill Obama

City and federal authorities in Denver may have thwarted an attempt to assassinate Sen. Barack Obama during his acceptance speech Thursday evening at the Democratic National Convention.

Law enforcement officials have arrested at least three people (four by some reports). The New York Times reports Tharin Robert Gartrell, 28, Nathan Johnson, 32, and Shawn Robert Adolf, 33, were arrested at various times beginning Sunday when the Aurora police pulled Gartrell over for driving erratically in a rental truck early Sunday morning.

Tharin Robert Gartrell, left, and Nathan Johnson, right

While the U.S. Attorney for Colorado said the suspects pose no threat to Obama (an astute observation since they’re in jail), the suspects admitted in interviews with local authorities and CBS4 in Denver they intended to harm Obama.

One of those suspects spoke exclusively to CBS4 investigative reporter Brian Maass from inside the Denver City Jail late Monday night and said his friends had discussed killing Obama.

“So your friends were saying threatening things about Obama?” Maass asked.

“Yeah,” Nathan Johnson replied.

“It sounded like they didn’t want him to be president?”

“Yeah,” Johnson said.

Maass reported earlier Monday that one of the suspects told authorities they were “going to shoot Obama from a high vantage point using a … rifle … sighted at 750 yards.”

Law enforcement sources told Maass that one of the suspects “was directly asked if they had come to Denver to kill Obama. He responded in the affirmative.”

It’s hard to know whether those are credible or delusional assertions since the authorities discovered the suspects were in the possession of methamphetamines.

The U.S. attorney’s office has scheduled a press conference for this afternoon.

Fines Could Exceed $1 Billion for NC Robocalls

Women’s Voices, Women Votes (WVWV), a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization, may be subject to more than $929 million in fines for generating tens of thousands of robocalls to North Carolina voters last week. According to the state’s Attorney General’s office, WVWV may have violated the state’s telephone solicitation laws.

In addition to the $929 million in fines the state may levy on the non-profit, WVWV may also be liable for paying recovery fines to residents of N.C. that may, depending on the actual number of voters called, range anywhere from $91.1 million to $911.2 million.

If the maximum amounts are levied (criminal and civil) on the non-profit, WVWV would face fines and penalties totaling a staggering $1.841 billion. It should also be noted the penalties discussed here are for violating the telephone solicitation laws only. Any alleged voter suppression matters are separate and not covered in this post. I felt that $1.841 billion was enough for at least today.

Chris Kromm of The Institute for Southern Studies (Facing South) published an investigative report last Wednesday that resulted in a firestorm on the Internet, and widespread concerns throughout the country and in the N.C. Attorney General’s office. Kromm’s report strongly implied that robocalls made by WVWV and its affiliates were targeting African Americans with an objective to suppress votes.

According to the 2000 Census, approximately 28 percent of North Carolina’s eight million residents are African American.

On Wednesday, N.C. Acting Senior Deputy Attorney General Gary R. Govert issued a cease and desist letter  to WVWV’s attorneys, Licthman, Trister & Ross, and also advised WVWV, through their counsel, that the "robocalls appear to have been made in violation" of North Carolina law. An investigation by the Attorney General’s office was initiated the same day.

Page Gardner, President of Women’s Voices, Women Votes, issued a statement apologizing for "any confusion" WVWV’s calls "may have caused." Other reports have quoted Gardner and other spokespersons for WVWV as saying the robocalls were a "mistake." However, WVWV has a long history of creating widespread chaos and making almost exactly the same "mistakes" in numerous other states. Arizona, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Virginia are just a few examples. 

In North Carolina and several other states, WVWV routinely launched their massive robocalls and mailing efforts after voter registration deadlines, had already passed, which has fueled substantial speculation as to the non-profit’s motives.

The fines previously quoted are based on a N.C. statute that provides for a fine to be imposed for every call the telephone solicitor (WVWV) makes that violates the statute. Specifically, N.C.G.S § 75-105(a)(1) determines the penalties to be:

Five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the first violation, one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the second violation, and five thousand dollars ($5,000) for the third and any other violation that occurs within two years of the first violation.

According to Alex Koppelman at Salon, WVWV made 182,236 calls in North Carolina. From there, the calculations are simple. Apply two calls at the $500 and $1000 rate, and the remaining 182,234 calls at $5,000 per call.

The recovery fees (to voters called) are based on N.C.G.S § 75-105(b)(2), which states:

An action to recover five hundred dollars ($500) for the first violation, one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the second violation, and five thousand dollars ($5,000) for the third and any other violation that occurs within two years of the first violation.

Since these penalties are based on the number of times a person is called, rather than how many calls were made to all voters, the penalties would likely vary. Moreover, since any recovery must be initiated as a civil action, if WVWV is charged and found guilty, the recovery matter would likely be handled as a class action suit against WVWV.

N.C. law does provide for a reduced penalty of $100.00 per call if the telephone solicitor can in fact prove mistakes were made. The basis of the penalty for mistakes is obviously derived from an expectation of competency on the telephone solicitor’s behalf.

Facing South has all the details of the development of the case.

NC Attorney General: Women’s Voices broke the law

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper says WVWV broke the law making all those “voter registration” robocalls and demanded the group cease and desist.

Attorney General Roy Cooper said Wednesday that the group, Women’s Voices, Women Vote, broke the state law that governs automated phone calls, or “robocalls.” No charges were filed, and Cooper’s office was seeking more information from the group.

Cooper’s statement is here (pdf).

ATTENTION NC VOTERS

To report any calls that you have made received, you can call toll free 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or fill out a complaint form available for downloading at www.ncdoj.gov.

Is Clinton behind voter suppression in NC, OH, and VA?

(Update I and Update II below)

Robocalls organized by the D.C.-based non-profit organization, Women’s Voices Women’s Votes, have targeted African-American voters in North Carolina, and possibly 23 other states, in what has all the appearances of illegal vote suppression.

The NC State Board of Elections is investigating calls that African-American voters have received where the caller tells the voter they must complete and return a voter registration packet before the voter will be allowed to vote. This is a transcript of one version of the robocalls being made in the state (audio here):

"Hello, this is Lamont Williams. In the next few days, you will receive a voter registration packet in the mail. All you need to do is sign it, date it and return your application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return the voter registration form when it arrives. Thank you."

It is worth noting that under North Carolina law, G.S § 163?275(17), it is a Class I felony to “…directly or indirectly, to misrepresent the law to the public through mass mailing or any other means of communication where the intent and the effect is to intimidate or discourage potential voters from exercising their lawful right to vote.”

Facing South has confirmed the non-profit is responsible for the robocalls made in North Carolina, and it may be part of a substantially larger operation spanning numerous states. (Emphasis added).

The D.C.-based nonprofit, led by well-connected Washington operatives, claims in a press release they sent to Facing South…that the North Carolina calls are part of a 24-state effort targeted at a list of 3 million voters, especially unmarried women. The robo-calls, which never mention Women’s Voices, are followed by mailings that include information on how to register to vote. They plan to mail some 276,000 packets in North Carolina alone.

But since last November, in at least 11 states nationwide, Women’s Voices — sometimes working through its Voter Participation Center project — has developed a checkered reputation, drawing rebukes from leading election officials and complaints from thousands of would-be voters as a result of their secretive tactics, deceptive mailings and calls, and penchant for skirting or violating the law.

With respect to Virginia and Ohio, Facing South reported (emphases in original):

[…] Voters in Virginia received calls with the same message before that state’s Feb. 12 primaries. . .

On February 8, WAMU reported:

"[...] The state board of elections says at least a dozen people in central and southern Virginia have received automated phone calls this week telling them to expect a voter registration packet in the mail. The residents say they were instructed by the caller to fill out the packets and mail them in."

Facing South has also learned that, last year, voters in Ohio received almost the exact same calls, using the same name of the supposed caller in North Carolina. In November 2007, a voter in Columbus, Ohio wrote in to the Buckeye State Blog with this eerily familiar story:

"I just got a weird robo-call that I suspect may be a form of voter suppression, albeit kinda braindead. From memory, a stentorian voice reminiscent of James Earl Jones says: ‘Hello. This is Lamont Williams. In a few days you should be getting a voter registration form in the mail. Please fill it out and return promptly and you will be able to vote. Thank you.’

"Since the election is Tuesday, the message is nonsensical. Also, I can’t find any information on this Lamont Williams. The caller ID was blocked (’unknown caller’)."

It would be extremely hard to argue that the calls in NC, VA, and OH are coincidental.

It is amazing that the non-profit confirmed they actually made the calls in North Carolina. And considering all the research Facing South has done that suspiciously parallels similar activities in Ohio, Virginia, Arizona, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Florida, this could be a very big deal. Read more here.

Update:  Sarah Johnson, a spokeswoman for Women’s Voices, Women’s Votes (WVWV), has also confirmed to TPM that the non-profit was responsible for the calls in North Carolina. Johnson said the calls were an "unfortunate mistake."

Update II 4:56 PM:  The Virginia State Police investigated the robocalls in Virginia and found that WVWV was behind the calls there as well.

Breaking: Hostages Held at Clinton NH Office

5:14 PM: The network is running commercials now. I’ll take a brief break and will start a new post for any additional updates.

4:59 PM: MSNBC - According to Rochester, NH police log for the week of April 3rd, Leland Eisenberg, a man who lives in the area, on Milton Rd., was charged with two counts of stalking.

“Somebody in the area is demanding to talk to Hillary Clinton.”

4:53 PM: MSNBC - The suspect has been tentativly identified as Leland Eisenber [sic], a local man, in his mid-40’s, and according to his son-in-law is someone who wanted to be hospitalized

4:40 PM: Press Conference - Capt. Paul Callaghan, Rochester Police Department

The situation is still fluid. the area is stablizied. they have adequate resources to handle the situation. FBI, ATF, and Secret Service participating with local authorities.

It is a hostage situation and is inappropriate to provide details on how many hostages or any other details of the ongoing investigation.

He cannot confirm the identity of the suspect.

When asked if a bomb threat currently existed, he responded “ased on information received, we have stablizied the area, which is about four or five blocks.

There have been no reported injuries.

Continues to emphasize it is a fluid investigation.

54-sworn officers (local) are working the situation.

End 4:46 PM

That is a rather cryptic summariztion of what Capt. Callaghan said — typing fast and not able to hear most of the questions asked, just responses.

4:37 PM: MSNBC is reporting that according to sources (suspects son) the suspect had been drinking earlier today and entered the office with intention of causing a scene.

Excerpt of original post from the Caucus followed by updates:

3:26 PM ET: A man claiming to have a bomb strapped to his chest walked in to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign offices in Rochester, N.H., today and took hostages, police and witnesses said.

Senator Clinton was not in the building at the time. She was scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Committee meeting in Vienna, Va., afternoon, but she canceled that appearance after receiving the reports that at least two volunteers were being held captive.

Bill Shaheen, a co-chairman of Mrs. Clinton’s New Hampshire and national campaign, said in a telephone interview at 2:40 p.m. that the two hostages are both staff members in the Rochester campaign office, one of 16 offices that Mrs. Clinton has around the state.

Read more of original post.

Updates as posted by the Caucus:

4:20 p.m. MSNBC is reporting that the son-in-law of the suspect walked into a restaurant and while he ordered coffee, told witnesses that his father-in-law had gone to a hardware store and bought roadside flares.

4:10 p.m. Mitt Romney’s campaign released a statement saying they have asked all the campaign field offices to “lock all exterior doors and be on alert for any suspicious individuals.”

“We’ve also reminded all Romney campaign employees in Boston and across the country to be cognizant when entering or exiting staff offices so as not to allow anyone into offices who is not authorized.”

“Everyone is keeping those involved in the situation in our thoughts and prayers right now as well, with hopes of a safe resolution.”

3:42 p.m. WMUR-TV in New Hampshire is reporting that two hostages have been released from the campaign offices, but it is unclear whether there are still hostages inside. According to the Associated Press, at least one hostage remains in the building.

ABC News reported that the suspect is a man who is known locally and has a history of mental illness. The network also reported that the man had
told his son today, “Watch the news.”

The suspect has not been identified publicly and there is no information available on his son.

3:35 p.m. The Rochester police received a call shortly after 12:30 p.m. alerting them to a possible hostage situation, according to Captain Paul Callaghan. It took only a short time to realize the threat was real and the Rochester Police, as part of a routine procedure, contacted the neighboring Dover and Durham police departments for assistance.

The New Hampshire State Police bomb squad unit was also called in to help deal with the situation.

The streets around Mrs. Clinton’s headquarters were sealed off and the area evacuated, including St. Elizabeth Seton School, which includes children in grades 1 through 8. Captain Callaghan said buses were arranged to transport the childrten and they were all cleared out within the last half-hour.

“We have stabilized the situation in the area around the office,” Captain Callaghan said.

He would not comment on reports that one hostage had been freed or how many remained in the building.

The Consequences of Shield Laws

The Senate is considering a bill to provide limited protection to journalists (i.e., shield law), which if passed could have substantial consequences. After the Nixon administration, Watergate, and more than six years of the Bush-Cheney administration, it would be hard to argue the importance and significance of the press, and thereby the necessity of protection. However, the mere act of implementing a federal shield law provides definition and scope, which, depending on the circumstances, can be both an asset and a liability.

Although the evolution of the press has created a substantially different medium than the Founding Fathers could have possibly envisioned, they viewed the press as the only available source to provide the critical two-way communications between the People and the Republic, as well as independent oversight. The Founding Fathers accurately and rightfully believed Democracy could not survive if two-way communications did not exist. Hence, the press has historically and justifiably been deemed the Fourth Estate.

Many people disagree to what extent the First Amendment protects the press, especially in the area of confidential sources. The contemporary debate is surely derived from the 1972 Supreme Court decision in Branzburg v. Hayes (summary, detail)and subsequently heightened when New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed in 2005 for refusing to reveal confidential sources (viz. Scooter Libby) in the CIA leak case. In Branzburg v. Hayes, the Court ruled the press “is not without First Amendment protections,” but could not agree “about the forms or depths of those protections.”

Although, shield laws exist in 49 states, there are no federal shield laws to protect national reporters, which raises the question, what is applicable to the New York Times reporter, for example, covering a Washington based story, and is predicated upon sources residing in Mobile, Alabama? Obviously protection at the federal level is needed.

I believe it is safe to assume the recent CIA leak case is one of the primary motivators of the Senate’s decision to debate implementing a shield law. It also serves as a good example to demonstrate the liabilities and assets of such laws.

The CIA leak case was based on the illegal outing of CIA agent Valerie Wilson, an operative at the time working in the WMD counter-proliferation division, by Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby, and Karl Rove. Briefly summarizing, Judith Miller, a New York Times reporter at the time, was jailed for contempt of court because she refused to reveal sources related to the case. After serving 89 days in prison, Miller finally acquiesced to the demands of the court and revealed her sources. Another key reporter in the case, Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, was spared imprisonment when he reached an agreement with prosecutors at the last minute.

Although Scooter Libby did a grand job of protecting Dick Cheney by obstructing justice and lying to the Grand Jury about the case, Libby would have never been convicted of his crimes if reporters had not been compelled to reveal their confidential information. On the other hand, there is no way of determining how many people will refuse to provide reporters information in the future, for whatever the situation may be, out of fear they may be revealed because reporters may be compelled by the courts, or limitations of law in the future, to reveal their sources.

In contrast to the CIA leak case, on December 16, 2005, New York Times reporters James Risen and Eric Lichtblau revealed George Bush’s widespread warrantless eavesdropping program - the countless violations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. No one can possibly argue that this information would have been revealed in something less than decades later if reporters had been required to reveal confidential source information. Although President Bush declared it a violation of national security and immediately initiated a Justice Department investigation for the public revelation of his crimes, no reporter has released, at least publicly, their sources of information. One can only imagine to what extent President Bush will carry out retribution if the source(s) is ever revealed.

It almost goes without saying, any Bush-Cheney-Nixon like-minded person(s) in power will twist and distort any shield law that may be in place to use as retribution against their critics and whistle-blowers. The importance of Congress carefully implementing shield laws cannot possibly be overstated.

TPC Afternoon Roundup - Global Criticism

HEADLINES

• Washington: Press questions Bush’s language skills; Military tribunals to continue
• Congress: Iran sanctioned; Children’s health care program extended
• Supreme Court: Voter-ID laws and lethal injections to be reviewed
• Iraq: Pending legislation regulating private companies; Killing Insurgents via “Baiting Program”
• Nation: Violent crime increases
• World: Bush announces sanctions at U.N.; Monk demonstrations continue

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WASHINGTON

• “White House spokeswoman Dana Perino on Tuesday called a question that indicated President Bush might have trouble pronouncing foreign countries’ names “offensive,” the Hill reports. “The issue arose after the United Nations posted a draft of Bush’s speech to the General Assembly on its website, complete with phonetic spellings of countries that the president spoke about.”
• “A special military appeals court, overturning a lower court ruling, on Monday removed a legal hurdle that has derailed war crime trials for detainees at Guantanámo Bay, Cuba,” the New York Times reports. “The ruling allows military prosecutors to address a legal flaw that had ground the prosecutions to a halt.”
• “The Bush administration took the gloves off Monday in its fight over immigration enforcement, suing the state of Illinois for banning use of a federal system that checks whether workers are in the United States legally,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “The United States of America vs. the State of Illinois is the latest court battle the administration is waging with immigrant advocates and business groups over its crackdown on workers here illegally and the companies that hire them.”

CONGRESS

• “Congress signaled its disapproval of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a vote Tuesday to tighten sanctions against his government and a call to designate his army a terrorist group,” the AP via TPM reports. “The overwhelming bipartisan vote of 397 - 16 “reflected lawmakers’ long-standing nervousness about Tehran’s intentions in the region, particularly toward Israel _ a sentiment fueled by the pro-Israeli lobby whose influence reaches across party lines in Congress.”
• “Congressional Democrats unveiled legislation Tuesday to keep the government running until mid-November, giving them more time to bridge gaping differences with President Bush over the budget,” the AP via TPM reports. “the bill temporarily extends health coverage for children from low-income families as Congress and Bush wrangle over how much to expand the program, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP.”
• “Republicans are decrying what they say are changes to newly enacted Senate earmark rules eliminating a ban on new earmarks being inserted into authorizing bills during conference,” Roll Call reports (sub. req.). GOP Members also complain “that key disclosure requirements that mandate Members publicly disclose who their earmarks will benefit and what the purpose of the spending is have been seriously weakened.”

SUPREME COURT

• “The Supreme Court agreed today to consider whether voter-identification laws unfairly keep poor people and members of minority groups from going to the polls,” the New York Times reports. “The justices will hear arguments from an Indiana case, in which a federal district judge and a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in January upheld a state law requiring, with certain exceptions, that someone wanting to vote in person in a primary or general election present a government-issued photo identification.”
• The Court also “agreed today to hear constitutional challenges brought by two death-row inmates in Kentucky, who assert that the state’s lethal-injection procedures amount to cruel and unusual punishment, the New York Times reports. “The step could have the effect of postponing executions across the country scheduled to be performed by lethal injection, the method is used by nearly all states with a death penalty, as well as by the federal government.”

IRAQ

• “The Iraqi interior ministry has said it has drafted legislation regulating private security companies following a shooting allegedly involving a US firm,” the BBC reports. “The new code would require contractors to be subject to Iraqi law and to be monitored by the Iraqi government.”
• “Under a program developed by a Defense Department warfare unit, Army snipers have begun using a new method to kill Iraqis suspected of being insurgents, using fake weapons and bomb-making material as bait and then killing anyone who picks them up, according to testimony presented in a military court,” the New York Times reports. “The existence of the classified ‘baiting program,‘ as it has come to be known, was disclosed as part of defense lawyers’ efforts to respond to murder charges the Army pressed this summer against three members of a Ranger sniper team.”
• “Sunni extremists appear to have begun a systematic campaign to assassinate police chiefs, police officers and other Interior Ministry officials throughout Iraq, with at least 10 attacks in the last 48 hours,” the New York Times reports. “Eight policemen have been killed, among them the police chief of Baquba in Diyala Province.”

NATION

• “Violent crime in the United States rose more than previously believed in 2006, continuing the most significant increase in more than a decade, according to an FBI report released yesterday, the Washington Post reports. “The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program found that robberies surged by 7.2 percent and homicides rose 1.8 percent from 2005 to 2006. Violent crime overall rose 1.9 percent.”
• “Investigators used a ruse to question a man later charged with aiding terrorists, an FBI agent testified Tuesday at a hearing over admissibility of the conversation and a search of the defendant’s luggage,” the AP reports. “FBI agent Michael Scherck said he and another law enforcement officer approached Ehsanul Sadequee as he got off a flight from Atlanta to New York on Aug. 18, 2005, and told him they wanted to talk to him about passenger complaints that he had acted suspiciously on the plane.” Instead, “Scherck said that in fact there were no complaints, but investigators wanted biographical information from Sadequee as part of a terrorism probe involving him.

WORLD

• Addressing the United Nations General Assembly today, President Bush “chided nations to live up to the rights and freedoms the United Nations promised six decades ago, announced new sanctions on Myanmar and denounced the governments of Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Zimbabwe as ‘brutal regimes,’ ” the New York Times reports. The president “called on members of the United Nations to do more to support nascent democracies and to oppose autocratic and tyrannical governments.”
• “Tens of thousands of Buddhist monks and supporters today defied a government warning in Myanmar and returned to the streets for an eighth day of peaceful antigovernment protests, the New York Times reports. “For the first time since protests began on Aug. 19, the government began to issue warnings and to move security forces into positions in Yangon, the largest city and former capital.”
• “Iranians on Tuesday called the combative introduction of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by the head of Columbia University “shameful” and said the harsh words only added to their image of the United States as a bully,” AP reports. “In a region where the tradition of hospitality outweighs personal opinions about people, many here thought Columbia University President Lee Bollinger’s aggressive tone — including telling Ahmadinejad that he exhibited the signs of a ‘petty and cruel dictator’ — was over the top.”
• Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto criticized U.S. support for President Gen. Pervez Musharraf as a strategic miscalculation,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “Backing Musharraf, a close U.S. ally who seized power in a 1999 coup, makes the fight against extremists operating along the Pakistani-Afghan border more difficult, she said today.”

SCANDALS

• A Minnesota judge will be hearing Sen. Larry Craig’s petition to overturn his guilty plea on a disorderly conduct charge in Minneapolis on Wednesday, but the Idaho Republican will not be at the hearing,” CNN reports. ” ‘I have been advised not to. I will not be attending,’ Craig said.”

Video proves Blackwater attack unprovoked

Updated below.

There are a few significant pieces in tomorrow’s NYT and the WaPo - none of which bode well for Blackwater or the Bush-Cheney administration. Iraqi officials reportedly have hard evidence — as in a video — that Blackwater’s killing of at least eight Iraqis was unprovoked. Given the hour (4:07 AM ET), I’ll just point them out for now and will review the detail tomorrow.

First, buried on page A18, the Washington Post reveals the Iraqi government has complained repeatedly to “U.S. officials” about “Blackwater’s involvement in the deaths of numerous Iraqis.” But the administration chose to ignore their concerns.

Senior Iraqi officials repeatedly complained to U.S. officials about Blackwater USA’s alleged involvement in the deaths of numerous Iraqis, but the Americans took little action to regulate the private security firm until 11 Iraqis were shot dead last Sunday, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.

…The lack of a U.S. response underscores the powerlessness of Iraqi officials to control the tens of thousands of security contractors who operate under U.S.-drafted Iraqi regulations that shield them from Iraqi laws. It also raises questions about how seriously the United States will seek to regulate Blackwater, now the subject of at least three investigations by Iraqi and U.S. authorities.

In this piece, the New York Times reports Iraq intends to file criminal charges against the group, although current law doesn’t allow Iraq to prosecute U.S. contractors, so how they’re going to actually follow through with their intent is unclear. Furthermore, from what I’ve read thus far, based on Iraq’s alleged repeated complaints, this piece appears to be highly indicative of the Bush administration’s standard dodge ball performance. They’re giving a soft-shoe performance, but the music just don’t connect with their act.

The Iraqi government said Saturday that it expects to refer criminal charges to its courts within days in connection with a shooting here by a private American security company, and the Interior Ministry gave new details of six other episodes it is investigating involving the company.

The state minister for national security affairs, Shirwan al-Waili, said the government had received little information from the American side in the early days of a joint investigation of the shooting, which involved the company Blackwater USA and left at least eight Iraqis dead. But he said that the Iraqi investigation was largely completed and that he believed the findings were definitive. “The shots fired on the Iraqis were unjustifiable,” he said. “It was harsh and horrible.”

Maybe it’s just the hour and the dots will connect differently tomorrow, but the two just don’t fit.

Finally, this is the money piece, (see update below) which was filed by the AP at 3:07 AM ET.

Iraqi investigators have a videotape that shows Blackwater USA guards opened fire against civilians without provocation in a shooting last week that left 11 people dead, a senior Iraqi official said Saturday. He said the case was referred to the Iraqi judiciary.

Iraq’s president, meanwhile, demanded that the Americans release an Iranian arrested this week on suspicion of smuggling weapons to Shiite militias. The demand adds new strains to U.S.-Iraqi relations only days before a meeting between President Bush and Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. (Emphasis added.)

More later…

Late Update: The link in the above paragraph points to an AP article that has been updated and does not cover the video Iraqi officials claim proves Blackwater was not provoked. For more information on the video, see this piece at CNN.

Whoopi Goldberg’s regional bigotry

I don’t believe I have ever discussed topics of this nature here and don’t intend on making it a habit, but I am making an exception today.

Whoopi Goldberg, who has lived in New York or California most of her life, suddenly became a sociocultural expert yesterday on the South. In her debut appearance as moderator on “The View,” Goldberg attributed Michael Vick’s heinous dog-fighting crimes to being a product of his environment — living and growing up in the South.

Click To Play

Transcript:

GOLDBERG:  From his background, this is not an unusual thing for where he comes from. It’s like cock fighting in Puerto Rico. You know there are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of our country.

WALTERS:  What part of the country is this?

GOLDBERG:  He’s from the South, the Deep South, and dog-fighting that’s pat of the thing…

[Cross talk]

BEHAR:  What about torturing and dog-murdering, though?

GOLDBERG:  Well that’s part, unfortunately that’s part of the thing. 

Goldberg’s statements were not stereotyping; instead they were an outright exercise in bigotry — regional bigotry. Even if Goldberg was stereotyping, her comments were unjustified and inappropriate.

Indeed, there are identifiable sociocultural characteristics that are commonplace to a given region, but that does not mean any one person is predestined to inherit them — if they exist — and in this particular instance, Goldberg is flat out wrong from several perspectives.

I grew up and have lived in the South most of my life, but I have also lived in other areas of the U.S. and in other countries. Furthermore, I have traveled extensively throughout this country professionally, which oftentimes required extended visits lasting months at a time. My point is, not only do I have insight into the South, I have considerable exposure to other areas of the country and the world that allows me to make reasonable relative comparisons.

Organized dog-fighting is not rampant in the South nor a part of the Southern culture regardless of race. In fact, I have never witnessed dog-fighting or anything similar, nor have I ever heard it as a topic of conversation. I can’t say statistically at what level dog-fighting or similar heinous crimes occurs in the South, but it is not occurring on every street corner or neighborhood nor is it part of the normal discourse as Goldberg implied.

Yes, the South does have “liabilities,” but every other region or locality has liabilities, many of which parallel or surpass liabilities often associated with the South. Education is generally lower, and in a few areas it is incredibly and disgracefully high. I can cite one county that has a literacy rate of only 37%.

Racism is indeed prevalent in the South, but I have visited other areas of the country where the percentage of minorities was low, but racism, on an observation basis, was considerably worse than in most southern cities. And, while the South has its reputation for rednecks, my experiences and observations have taught me the same rednecks can be found throughout the country.

Goldberg’s statements were arguably derogatory, at best, and further promoted the all too frequent improper and inappropriate characterization of the South.

The Patriot Act - You’ve Come A Long Way Baby

The Patriot Act - how did we ever do without it? It’s like the wheel, fire, the printing press, computers, ATM’s and mobile phones. It appears society can no longer persevere without it, hence it’s not just for terrorists anymore.

Just after midnight on May 13, 2004, a small team of FBI agents crept into the legendary Del Rio Cockfighting Pit in Cocke County.

The illegal gambling arena was closed, and agents were able to copy a computer hard drive before slipping away. They didn’t notify the property’s then-owner, Michael Maynard of Hot Springs, N.C., of the search for another three months.

Acting under the authority of the Patriot Act, the agents had obtained a search warrant that allowed them to clandestinely enter the property, search for evidence and not tell anyone about it until the government or a judge was ready to let the owners know they’d been there.

Originally touted as a tool in the struggle against terrorism, the Patriot Act now was being used in the hills of East Tennessee as part of a shadowy war that had been going on for decades, a struggle that pitted the federal government against a homespun Appalachian culture that had churned out generation after generation of proud outlaws.

So, five-card draw is now on par with terrorism and deemed a clear and present danger to our national security?

Few, if any, will dispute the fact that viscous and cruel exploitation of animals in acts such as cockfighting and dog fights (e.g., Michael Vick) are at best despicable. But is it not a heinous violation of civil liberties to use the Patriot Act to arrest gamblers and organizers of cockfighting? 

H/T to Nick.

House Passes Hate Crime Bill, Bush to Veto

The House passed a hate crime bill today 237-180 and George Bush threatened to veto it. How can any president veto a hate-crime bill, especially this one who professes to have a hotline from God?

Bob Ney doing the jailhouse rock in low places

Beginning tomorrow today, former Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) will definitely have friends in low places and plenty of time to sing about it (30 months).

Former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, expresses remorse and quotes singer/songwriter Garth Brooks in an e-mail sent to friends Wednesday, a day before he is to enter federal prison after pleading guilty to corruption charges.

In the all-lowercase e-mail note to friends, Ney thanks them “for all you have done for me and my family. your kind words, thoughts, and prayers throughout the last six months have helped us quite a lot.”

Ney also quoted the lyrics from Brooks’ song “The Dance”:

and now i’m glad i didn’t know
the way it all would end, the way it all would go
our lives are better left to chance,
i could have missed the pain,
but i’d have had to miss, the dance

Ney was convicted for accepting lavish gifts, dinners, and extravagant gifts from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Italy indicts 31 people in CIA abduction case

31 people, 26 Americans and five Italians, were indicted in Italy for abducting an Egyptian terror suspect on Feb. 17, 2003. 25 of the 26 Americans were CIA agents, which included Milan station chief Robert Seldon Lady and Rome station chief Jeffrey Castelli. The one American not affiliated with the CIA is Air Force Lt. Col. Joseph L. Romano III.

Since the Bush administration will never consider extraditing the Americans, the indictments are in essence meaningless for the Americans. However, I doubt any of the 26 will be going to Capri for vacation, since Italian law provides for trial in absentia.

Former senior CIA official indicted

This one is shaping up to be quite juicy. From the AP:

The CIA’s former No. 3 official and a defense contractor were charged Tuesday with fraud and other offenses in the corruption investigation that sent former Rep. Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham to prison.

The indictment named Kyle ‘Dusty’ Foggo, executive director of the CIA until he resigned in May, and his close friend, San Diego defense contractor Brent Wilkes, both 52, according to two government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because grand jury proceedings are secret.

Paul Keil’s (TPM Muckraker) take:

The underlying allegation is that Foggo, while he was perched atop a key contracting position at the CIA, made repeated efforts to throw his best friend Brent Wilkes business. In return, Wilkes paid for swanky vacations to Scotland and other locales, dinners, and other perks, and kept open a post at his company for when Foggo retired. And the two concealed the whole thing from Foggo’s CIA associates and ethics officials by using shell companies and flat out lying about their relationship.

Tags: CIA, Kyle+Fogo, Brent+Wilkes, defense+contractor, indictment, Duke+Cunningham

Ann Coulter: Potential Felon

Ann Coulter is being scrutinized for two third degree felonies (voter fraud and fraudulently registering driver’s license) and a misdemeanor charge.

From TalkLeft:

For your Friday entertainment, you may want to read the police reports and documents (linked at Brad Blog) outlining the three crimes (two of them felonies) that might be charged against Ann Coulter, who misrepresented her address when she applied for a driver’s license, when she registered to vote, and again when she voted.