PLUS: A Late-Day DSM News Round-Up...
At today’s White House Press Briefing…The press corps managed to ask a single question about the Downing Street documents…near the very end of the briefing…
No, Scottie. I think it hasn’t.
UPDATE 5/16/05: McClellan asked again today about DSM, mocks questioner!
IN OTHER LATE RELATED DSM MATTERS…
NEWSWEEK’s Isikoff and Hosenball cover the latest DSM matters with enough seriousness to resemble actual journalism. Apparently it’s a “Web Exclusive”. Don’t know if that means it won’t make it into the print ‘zine or not. Much of their work seems to be based on that of Larisa Alexandrovna of RAW STORY, who confirmed the latest stack of docs. RAW gets a small nod in the piece, if not Larisa.
Democracy for America today joined MoveOn.org and True Majority (as reported here earlier) in the effort of getting the word out about the DSM, the hearings tomorrow, and the rally set to follow it as Conyers delivers some 500,000+ signatures to the White House. That would complete the trifecta of the largest three Internet activist groups coming on board the effort. All hands now seem to be on deck as the storm clouds gather.
Knight-Ridder bothers to report on tomorrow’s 2:30pm ET hearings by Chairman Conyers. The story also mentions legislation being forwarded by Republicans Ron Paul (R-TX) and Walter Jones (R-NC) to call for an exit strategy.
Tomorrow’s DSM hearings will feature witnesses Ambassador Joe Wilson; Co-Founder of Gold Star Families for Peace Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq; 27-year CIA analyst Ray McGovern; and AfterDowningStreet.org Co-Founder, Constitutional Attorney John Bonifaz. The latter two have recently appeared as guests on The BRAD SHOW. Sheehan is now confirmed as a guest on this weekend’s show.
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Reader Comments on
It’s Never the Crime…It’s Always the Cover-Up…
With all of the events planned in our capital today, why do I have the feeling a small aircraft (or cloud) will wander into the controlled airspace? I’m sorry, but I want to see the hearing get the media coverage it deserves, but …
What the hell does a ‘web exclusive’ mean?
I know. Let’s print the story on the ‘net so we can gain credibility among internet people while continuing to censor ourselves in the mainstream.
They can take their ‘web exclusive’ and shove it up their arses. If it’s news, then print it. All else is bullshit.
Senator Byrd is asking for money. I sent him some cash, and the following letter:
Re: Thank you for your contribution – Dear Senator Byrd…
Hi,
I donated to your campaign, even though I live in PA and have no political party, because I think Senator Byrd is doing a heroic job of holding the Bush administration accountable. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough like Senator Byrd, and the Neoconservatives continue to gain unlimited and unchecked power. If there were more like Byrd, Barbara Boxer, Howard Dean and John Conyers, I would definitely register Democratic.
I hope you will continue to hold the Bush accountable by confronting Bush about the hard evidence (many undisputed British memos) that the whole policy on the Iraq War was based on lies from the conception. There is a broad array of circumstantial evidence that for President Bush, war with Iraq was the first and only option, not the last option, and that all talk of potential peace was a lie. The 8 (or more) memos now make it clear that Bush, in fact, lied numerous times about war. Furthermore, they spent 200 million dollars on a misinformation campaign, and illegally moved 700 million from Afganistan to Iraq. Bush conspired with a foreign government to launch a war before getting support from Americans, Congress, or the international community. Bush and Blair knew, certainly, that Iraq did not pose much of a threat to the US, that evidence of any recent WMD was very weak, that the war was illegal until they could engineer a reason, and that Iraq was regarded as less of a threat than many other nations. The war with Iraq had to be accelerated because the inspectors would have verified that there were little or no WMDs.
And the results have been disastrus. 1700 US soldiers dead. Ten times that number with their faces, arms and/or legs blown off. 100,000 innocent Iraqis dead, or maybe even much more than that. That’s 1 in 250 Iraqi’s, dead mostly from aerial bombings. It keeps me up at night. 300 Billion dollars, and counting. 8.8 Billion dollars have vanished, and nobody in government seems concerned. All our enemies now know our military is weak and over-extended. Our economic base is degraded. I am certain that hundreds of millions of people now hate America when they did not before, and that this is a pool for the next generation of terrorists. Iraq has become a training ground for terrorists, when it was not before. We’ve severely damaged our relationships with nearly all (maybe even ALL) of our traditional allies, and their civilian populations. We have no credibility. They all know Bush lied. Americans are the last to know. And we are progressively giving up our rights and moving towards a police state. We already jail Americans with no charge, based on secret arguments and secret evidence. We have tortured captives to death. Dozens, perhaps more than 100 have been violently murdered in captivity. Very few of the perpetrators have been held accountable. Many people wonder why the torture techniques used in our torture chambers all around the world use the same techniques.
While we stay in Iraq, there is a mathmatical progression that is difficult to ignore. We can only get weaker. Recruitment goals have been very short. Soldiers get killed and wounded. On the other hand, the insurgency gets more people and more training, fueled by the hypocracy and injustice of US international policy. Iraq seems to be progressing towards civil war, despite our efforts. The outcome of staying long-term in Iraq is grim, yet there is still no discernable Bush plan.
Furthermore, are we supposed to believe it’s a coincidence that all industries most favorable to Bush also benefit the most from the War in Iraq? I have come to believe that Bush’s lack of planning for the invasion’s aftermath was deliberate, in order to maximize the potential benefit of his war profiteer buddies. The Bush Administration has never demonstrated a plan to the public. The longer the war drags on, the more contracts they get, and the more the oil market is destabilized, raising oil prices for Bush’s friends.
What also keeps me up at night is that the opposition party is having a hard time standing up to these high crimes and corruption. I see a tyrannical majority party that fights hard for everything, no matter how wrong or evil, while a minority party rarely fights, rarely stands up clearly for what is just, and simply enables the corrupt Bush administration. For example, between the Democrats dropping any sustained and coherrant push for universal health care and letting the bankruptsy bill pass, we now get to watch greedy bankers push people into their graves while taking everything they own.
Many in the public have grown very concerned and frustrated. Before the Downing Street Minutes were published in May, 50% of Americans belived Bush "deliberately mislead" on Iraq. The number will certainly grow higher. Yet where is a clear and unanamous stand by the opposition party? The President has lied us into war. If Democrats would take a unified and very VOCAL!! stand against lying about war, they would have the support of the public and it could no longer be ignored by the 24-7 Pro-Corporation "news" networks. Because of the lack of a strong response by the Democrats, I have to conclude that a large number of Democrats have also sold out to the same masters, or become intimidated. America is dying.
I wish Senator Byrd the best of luck and I hope he gets re-elected. I also hope he can be effective at convincing other Democrats that Bush needs to be confronted now (as in NOW) about lying about Iraq. That will be the proper beginning to holding the Bush Administration accountable. If the Democrats do not succeed at confronting Bush on this, America is finished.
Sincerely,
Republican Ron Paul is a good guy. He’s definitely votes his concience, not the party line. I like him, even though I hate what the GOP has become…
Isikoff is a true hero, and this is the treatment he gets–exiled to the web? Oh, I get it. Real news goes on the web. Fake news goes on paper.
I just sent in my Newsweek cancellation and wrote on the form: "No coverage of stolen election. No coverage of DSM. No coverage of real news of any kind. No renewal."
I mean jeez!!! I like Zacharia and Alter and Anna Quindlen, but this is just effing pathetic!!!!!!
In a completely unrelated matter:
I just sent this letter to the Tennesee Department of Health. Some of you 6 or 7 might wish to send similar…
email: TN.health@state.tn.us
6/15/05
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to request an investigation into the behavior of Senator Bill First. Based on his behavior of this year, I believe his medical license should be revoked.
In March of this year, Dr. Frist appeared twice before the Florida senate and made impassioned speeches saying that he believed that all the doctors who had reviewed Terry Schiavo were in error. Based on his review of archival videotape, he called Schiavo "a living person who has a level of consciousness." This "diagnosis"–in direct contradiction to CT scans and every neurologist who examined her–was proven flat-out wrong by the autopsy results released today.
Frist clearly broke the Hippocratic Oath. He certainly did harm–to Schiavo’s family and to the nation, by politicizing this unfortunate woman and using her as a platform to appeal to the conservative base. Neurologist William Hammesfahr said of Frist, "He has no credibility – none whatsoever." This clearly is NOT what any medical doctor should be doing. I urge review of this urgent matter.
Thank you,
It ain’t over until we say it’s over scotty. Inform your boss of our decision.
Whew…bush is in trouble and scotty can only fend off trouble for a while. Last time bush’s rating were falling so low and his ‘lame duck’ (which he is) reputation was growing, he LET the jets crash into the World Trade Centers and Pentagon.
I pray he don’t have another "Pearl Harbor" size event waiting in the wings to improve his reputation and give him and his cronies more power. Like some other evil asshole in history said paraphrased… ‘You can make the people follow you into any war by making them fear enough’. As you see it worked for a bunch of monkeys out there.
Anyone that could read knew before the 2000 election fraud that he fully intended to attack Iraq as revenge for daddy and payback to the oil boys that refilled his pockets several times (due to inability to handle money and his many fiscal failures).
I’d like to see us let Dean loose on the issue – have him raise the questions – get it out there – encourage the media to push it up front with the administration. What’s there to lose?
On a related note:
hairytruth.blogspot.com
The Conyers hearing starts today.
How long does it run?
What’s their schedule?
I don’t get C-SPAN-3, so I’ll try and listen
on Pacifica radio, internet stream.
Hi Mark.
2:30 to 4:30 Eastern time.
Details here.
I’m with you Ada!
You expressed everything I have been fretting over since the neo cons started to lose power earlier this year.
Brad,
Here is something I read in yesterday’s P-I and thought you might like:
Quote from Joel Connolly, Seattle PI, 6-16-05, Page A2
Updating Scripture: As a traditionalist, I’ve stuck by the King James Bible and cringed at "relevant" modern translations. But in recent days, my former pastor offered an irresistible updating of the 23rd Psalm:
"Bush is my shepherd; I dwell in want.
"He maketh logs to be cut down in national forests.
"He leadeth trucks into the still wilderness.
"He restoreth my fears.
"He leadeth me in the paths of international disgrace for ego’s sake.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of pollution and war, I will find no exit, for thou art in office.
"Thy tax cuts for the rich and thy media control, they discomfort me.
"Thou preparest an agenda of deception in the presence of thy religion.
"Thou anointest my head with foreign oil.
"My health insurance runneth out.
"Surely megalomania and false patriotism shall follow me all the days of thy term,
"And my jobless child shall dwell in my basement forever."
End Quote
Oops… misquoted on the date… should be 6/15/05
It’s time to surroung the WH and not leave til Bush does. If they can create a daily media circus for things like MJ trials, surely we can do a sustained protest? I can’t be there today, but if this should occur, I will make arrangements to join you. Everyone could come down for a few days, leave when they have to, to be replaced by even more of us coming. What do ya’ll say? Is it time yet?
Off topic but interesting.
"Cha Ching" From ¢¢¢ to $$$: How the Bush Crime Syndicate Funneled Foreign Cash Into the U.S. Political System
Florida Investigator Who Got Too Close to Florida "Coin Gate" Silenced by Jeb Bush’s Gangsters ( Lemme/Coin gate connection…Lemme knew)
Wayne Madsen
FLORIDA PANHANDLE, June 10, 2005 — Experienced federal investigators, acting independently, have discovered a covert funding channel used by the 2000 and 2004 Bush-Cheney campaigns and the administrations of Jeb Bush in Florida and Bob Taft in Ohio to illegally funnel foreign and other questionable money into Republican coffers.
Ever since the brutal death of Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) investigator Ray Lemme in July 2003, the focus of investigators in Florida and Georgia has been on the political scandal Lemme was uncovering. After his official investigation of contract fraud, money laundering, illegal immigration, and election fraud was shut down on orders of Jeb Bush, Lemme continued to investigate the use of FDOT to launder cash for the Bush Brothers and their allies. Lemme’s focus was on the use of the Florida turnpike system to launder cash for the Jeb and George W. Bush campaigns. It was an investigation that would ultimately lead to Lemme’s body being discovered in a motel room bath tub in Valdosta, Georgia. A two-state police cover up of Lemme’s death, threats directed at Florida and Georgia investigators, and a virtual media blackout indicates that the GOP administrations of Jeb Bush and Georgia’s Sonny Perdue wanted the Lemme story to go away — and fast.
The reason for the cover-up of Lemme’s reported "suicide" is simple. Investigators have now discovered that foreign cash, including Chinese, Saudi, and Nigerian money, was laundered via the biggest state-run cash cow in Florida — the Florida Turnpike system. Because most of the transactions involving Florida’s toll roads involve cash and huge amounts of it, it was easy for foreign and other questionable money to be laundered via FDOT.
Lemme had reportedly become aware of the use of FDOT to commit criminal acts. Valdosta, where Lemme went to meet a still unknown source, is a key center for international organized criminal activity, including illegal foreign worker smuggling, involving close political allies of George W. and Jeb Bush.
http://www.waynemadsenreport.co...oops/Lemme.htm
Slate Magazine weighs in on the DSM:
Let’s Go to the Memo
What’s really in the Downing Street memos?
By Fred Kaplan
An excerpt from the article states:
This is about as solid as the evidence gets on these matters: By mid-summer 2002—at a time when Bush was still assuring the American public that he regarded war as a "last resort"—the president had in fact put it on his front burners.
Sounds promising, right?
Well, at the end of this article, Kaplan gets a little soft.
It’s worth noting that "fixed around" is not synonymous with "fixed." To say that Bush and his aides "fixed" intelligence—as some Web sites claim the memo shows—would mean that they distorted or falsified it. To say "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy" means that they were viewing, sifting, and interpreting intelligence in a way that would strengthen the case for their policy, for going to war.
Either way—"fixed" or "fixed around"—Bush and his aides had decided to let policy shape intelligence, not the other way around; they were explicitly politicizing intelligence.
"explicitly politicizing intelligence"???!!!
Jeezus, Kaplan!! I can’t think of a better euphemism. Can you? George W. Bush and the neocons deliberatelyDECEIVED congress and (tried to) deliberately DECEIVE the rest of the world about the need to go to war at the time. This is not merely "politicizing intelligence". It is a CRIME OF THE WORST KIND.
Oh, well. I guess we should be happy that it’s finally getting some coverage from the MSM.
Dang! This thing must be hot meat – look at all the trolls hoping for a baby accidentally dropped overboard
Far as I know, C-Span 3 is showing it here
http://www.c-span.org/watch/csp...&Code=CS3
in 20 minutes. My stream keeps cutting out though :
Bejammin075 #3 – That is an excellent letter. Send it to ALL the Dems in Congress and Senate, including Mr. Conyers and Howard Dean. Bravo! Someone suggested that snail mail is better than e-mail, which is too easy to delete. I agree.
Bejammin075 #3 – Hi, again. Actually, I think she suggested FAX instead of e-mail (saves postage) which gives a hard copy that gets passed around.
Linda #13 – YOU ARE BRILLIANT! I LOVE THAT IDEA!
Hi, Truth4achange #8 – Why ISN’T Dean out there chewing Bushes’ head off? Every Day! Until, like Linda says, Bush leaves the W.H. permanently!!!
I’m caught up on this thread. Onward (whew!) (puff, puff). I’m getting too old for this …
I wish Wayne Madsen would tell us who the investigators are in Florida and Georgia. Who hired them? Certainly not Jeb Bush or Sonny Perdue.
Are they journalists? Federal agents? How does Wayne Madsen know what they’re doing?
Great news if true. But so far, too nebulous for credibility, I’d say.