November 2, 2006
An Impeachable Offense
War Tribunal Targets: Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales and other key Bush Administration
On November 14 a group of lawyers and other experts will come before the German federal prosecutor and ask him to open a criminal investigation targeting Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales and other key Bush Administration figures for war crimes. The recent passage of the Military Commissions Act provides a central argument for the legal action, under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction: It demonstrates the intent of the Bush Administration to immunize itself legally from prosecution in the United States, even for the most serious crimes.

The military wouldn't be calling for Rumsfeld resignation if things were going well. We've been in Iraq since March of 2003 and we still haven't won. Clearly the current leadership is incapable of leading the military; from Rumsfeld, Cheney to Bush, they have lost support from the troops.

November 3, 2006
Military newspapers: "Time for Rumsfeld to go
It is one thing for the majority of Americans to think Rumsfeld has failed. But when the nation's current military leaders start to break publicly with their defense secretary, then it is clear that he is losing control of the institution he ostensibly leads.

Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.

This is not about the midterm elections. Regardless of which party wins Nov. 7, the time has come, Mr. President, to face the hard bruising truth:

Donald Rumsfeld must go.

November 4, 2006
Six Arab states join rush to go nuclear
THE SPECTRE of a nuclear race in the Middle East was raised yesterday when six Arab states announced that they were embarking on programmes to master atomic technology.

The countries involved were named by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. Tunisia and the UAE have also shown interest.

November 3, 2006
Congress Tells Auditor in Iraq to Close Office
The order comes in the form of an obscure provision that terminates his federal oversight agency, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, on Oct. 1, 2007. The clause was inserted by the Republican side of the House Armed Services Committee over the objections of Democratic counterparts during a closed-door conference, and it has generated surprise and some outrage among lawmakers who say they had no idea it was in the final legislation.

The termination language was inserted into the bill by Congressional staff members working for Duncan Hunter, the California Republican who is the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and who declared on Monday that he plans to run for president in 2008.

November 2, 2006
An Impeachable Offense
U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Secrets
Last night, the government shut down the Web site after The New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control officials. A spokesman for the director of national intelligence said access to the site had been suspended "pending a review to ensure its content is appropriate for public viewing."

Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency, fearing that the information could help states like Iran develop nuclear arms, had privately protested last week to the American ambassador to the agency, according to European diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity. One diplomat said the agency's technical experts "were shocked" at the public disclosures.

November 2, 2006
Boehner refuses to apologize for faulting general
Army Times: House Majority Leader Rep. John Boehner of Ohio is being asked by Democrats to apologize for seemingly blaming senior military officers for any problems with the Bush administration's Iraq strategy.

Boehner, however, does not appear to be budging.

"Good try," he said when asked about demands for an apology.

November 2, 2006
Former army private charged in rape, murder of Iraqi girl and family
The charges against Green include premeditated murder; murder in perpetration of aggravated sexual abuse; aggravated sexual abuse on a person under the age of 16; conspiracy to commit murder and aggravated sexual abuse; the use of firearms while committing violent crimes; and obstruction of justice.

November 3, 2006
Iraqi police find 56 bodies in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte met Friday with the Iraqi prime minister, in the second visit this week by a top U.S. official amid spiraling violence that included four American deaths and the discovery of 56 bodies bearing signs of torture.

November 2, 2006
Guilty Abu Ghraib Soldier Sent Back to Iraq
Sgt. Santos Cardona, 32, a military policeman from Fullerton, Calif., served in 2003 and 2004 at Abu Ghraib as a military dog handler. After pictures of Cardona using the animal to threaten Iraqis were made public, he was convicted in May of dereliction of duty and aggravated assault, the equivalent of a felony in the U.S. civilian justice system. The prosecution demanded prison time, but a military judge instead imposed a fine and reduction in rank. Though Cardona was not put behind bars, he was also required to serve 90 days of hard labor at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

November 2, 2006
Iraq conflict leaving mental scars
LONDON (AFP) - Exposure to violence is putting the Iraqi people at risk of serious psychological damage, according to a doctor writing in the British Medical Journal.

"It therefore seems likely that the nation of Iraq may suffer a double blow, firstly by losing a sizeable proportion of its working population and secondly by the significant consequences of people suffering post-traumatic stress disorder."

November 3, 2006
Poll: Britons wary of Bush more than Kim Jong-il
LONDON (Reuters) - The United States is seen as a threat to world peace by its closest neighbors and allies, with Britons saying President George W. Bush poses a greater danger than North Korea's Kim Jong-il, a survey found on Friday.

I'd be curious why he resigned. Was it because he's gay? married? having an affair with a gay man? the hypocrisy? No matter - another life (and family) nearly destroyed because of lies. When will religions find a way out of this mess.

November 2, 2006
Evangelical leader resigns
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The leader of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals, a vocal opponent of the drive for same-sex marriage, resigned Thursday after being accused of paying for sex with a man in monthly trysts over the past three years.

November 1, 2006
An Impeachable Offense
State Department screened speakers for possible dissent
WASHINGTON - An internal State Department review has found that U.S. officials screened the public statements and writings of private citizens for criticism of the Bush administration before deciding whether to select them for foreign speaking projects.

The screenings amounted to "virtual censorship" in the State Department's selection of speakers, said a report by the department's Inspector General's Office. McClatchy Newspapers obtained a copy of the 22-page report, which was completed in September.

November 2, 2006
Afghan Farmers Likely to Match Record Opium Harvest
Planting is under way in southern regions responsible for the bulk of the estimated 6,100 tons of Afghan opium produced in the 2005-06 growing season. Anti-drug officials say that despite anti-cultivation campaigns, they foresee little improvement by harvest time next spring.

The Voice of the GOP

November 1, 2006
Evangelical President Has Three Year Sexual Relationship with a Gay Man
DENVER - A gay man and admitted male escort claims he has had an ongoing sexual relationship with a well-known Evangelical pastor from Colorado Springs.

Mike Jones told 9 Wants to Know Investigative Reporter Paula Woodward he has had a "sexual business" relationship with Pastor Ted Haggard for the past three years.

Where are our national cowards on this issue? Where are Limbaugh, Bush, Snow, McCain? A republican blames the troops for the mess in Iraq and the media doesn't consider it headline news. Notice how the GOP controls the media; hook, line and sinker.

November 2, 2006
Republican Boehner Blames Troops, not Bush or Rumsfeld
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Majority Leader John Boehner's call for critics to lay off Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld because the generals are responsible for the conduct of the war in Iraq has sparked outrage among Democrats.

November 2, 2006
Poll suggests young voters could sway election results
The survey of 2,546 young people, all U.S. citizens, found that 32% "definitely" plan to vote next week. The previous record turnout for a midterm election was set in 1982 when 26.6% of 18-to-24-year-olds voted.

Their political party identification includes 35% Democrats, 27% Republicans and 39% Independent. Of those surveyed, 73% were white, 11% Hispanic and 11% black.

November 2, 2006
Keith Olbermann: Kerry Was Calling Bush Stupid
The senator, in essence, called Mr. Bush stupid.

The context was unmistakable: Texas; the state of denial; stuck in Iraq. No interpretation required.

And Mr. Bush and his minions responded by appearing to be too stupid to realize that they had been called stupid.

November 1, 2006
An Impeachable Offense
Investigations begin into whether Bush administration muzzled climate research
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, (D-N.J.), said he was informed that the inspector generals for the Commerce Department and NASA had begun "co-ordinated, sweeping investigations of the Bush administration's censorship and suppression" of federal research into global warming.

November 2, 2006
Scandals could affect House control
Not since the House bank check-kiting scandal of the early 1990s have so many seats been affected by scandals, and not since the Abscam bribery cases of the 1970s have the charges been so serious. But this year's combination of breadth and severity may be unprecedented, suggested Julian E. Zelizer, a congressional historian at Boston University.

For more than a year, Democrats have tried to gain political advantage from what they called "a culture of corruption" in Republican-controlled Washington. Republican campaign officials insist the theme has not caught on with the public, but even they concede that many individual races have been hit hard.

November 2, 2006
Voters Want New Approach
Fifty percent of independent voters, a closely watched segment of the electorate in such polarized times, said they intended to vote for the Democratic candidate, versus 23 who said they would vote for a Republican.

Among registered voters, 33 percent said they planned to support Republicans, and 52 percent said they would vote for Democrats.

November 1, 2006
The Great Divider
New York Times Editorial: As President Bush throws himself into the final days of a particularly nasty campaign season, he's settled into a familiar pattern of ugly behavior. Since he can't defend the real world created by his policies and his decisions, Mr. Bush is inventing a fantasy world in which to campaign on phony issues against fake enemies.

In Mr. Bush's world, America is making real progress in Iraq. In the real world, as Michael Gordon reported in yesterday's Times, the index that generals use to track developments shows an inexorable slide toward chaos. In Mr. Bush's world, his administration is marching arm in arm with Iraqi officials committed to democracy and to staving off civil war. In the real world, the prime minister of Iraq orders the removal of American checkpoints in Baghdad and abets the sectarian militias that are slicing and dicing their country.

November 1, 2006
Conservative Andrew Sullivan: Bush is insane
Sullivan said the president was "so in denial," comparing the Rumsfeld endorsement to applauding the job FEMA's Michael Brown did on Katrina: "It's unhinged. It suggests this man has lost his mind. No one objectively could look at the way this war has been conducted, whether you were for it, as I was, or against it, and say that it has been done well. It's a disaster.

November 1, 2006
ABC, REI respond to Air America blacklist memo
Today, an internal memo on ABC Network letterhead was posted on the Air America website and picked up by various blog sites. The memo lists companies that refused to have their radio advertising supporting Air America and Al Franken's programming. REI was listed as one of the companies declining to advertise; however this information is incorrect.

The memo posted on the internet is not correct. REI has not refused to advertise during Air America's programming. In fact, REI has placed radio ads on stations carrying Air America programming.

I wonder how many on this list advertise on right wing shows like Rush Limbaugh and FOX.

October 31, 2006
Air America Blacklisted by Advertisers
The list, totaling 90 advertisers, includes some of largest and most well-known corporations advertising in the U.S.: Wal-Mart, GE, Exxon Mobil, Microsoft, Bank of America, Fed-Ex, Visa, Allstate, McDonald's, Sony and Johnson & Johnson. The U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Navy are also listed as advertisers who don't want their commercials to air on Air America.

When the election is finished the media will ignore the fact that over 1000 subpoenas were issues under Clinton. They will do what they always do - attack Democrats.

October 30, 2006
Democrat's 'oversight priorities'
Many of the items included were also listed as part of a fact sheet released by the minority staff of the Government Reform Committee in October 2004. That document notes that, among other omissions, Congress has "failed to investigate... the role of the White House in promoting misleading intelligence about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and ties to al-Qaeda." Both documents also list grievances relating to detainee abuse, the vice president's role in government contracting and influence over energy regulations, and the outing of CIA covert operative Valerie Plame.

Though the committee has issued over 1000 Clinton-related subpoenas during Waxman's tenure, it has issued barely a dozen in its limited investigations relating to the Bush White House.

November 1, 2006
Kerry says he is sorry for 'botched' Iraq joke
WASHINGTON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Democratic Sen. John Kerry said on Wednesday he was sorry about a "botched joke" that drew election-year fire from President George W. Bush and other Republicans who accused him of insulting U.S. troops in Iraq.

Kerry reiterated the target of his joke was Bush, who immediately seized on the senator's remarks to rally Republican supporters ahead of Tuesday's elections, in which the party's control of Congress is at risk.

November 1, 2006
Fourth deadliest month: 104 US soldiers killed in October
Calls for a U.S. troop withdrawal have also strengthened with the deaths of 104 U.S. soldiers in Iraq in October, the bloodiest month for Americans in nearly two years.

November 1, 2006
New Record: 1,288 Civilian Deaths In October
BAGHDAD, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The number of Iraqi civilians killed in violence may have jumped to another record high in October, data from the Iraqi government indicated on Wednesday.

Statistics issued by the Interior Ministry for Iraqis killed in political violence put civilian deaths last month at 1,289, nearly 42 a day and up 18 percent from the 1,089 seen in September, itself a record for this particular series of data.

October 31, 2006
Transcript: Kerry takes off the gloves
KERRY: Let me tell you something: I'm not going to give them one ounce of daylight to spread one of their lies and to play this game ever, ever again. That is a lesson I learned deep and hard.

And I'll tell you: I will stand up anywhere across this country and take these guys on. This is dishonoring not just the troops themselves by pointing the finger at the troops, it's abusing the troops. They're using the troops. They're trying to make the troops into the target here. I didn't do that, and they know that.

October 31, 2006
Iraq Demands US Pull out of Baghdad
Mr. Maliki's public declaration seemed at first to catch American commanders off guard. But by nightfall, American troops had abandoned all the positions in eastern and central Baghdad that they had set up last week with Iraqi forces as part of a search for a missing American soldier. The checkpoints had snarled traffic and disrupted daily life and commerce throughout the eastern part of the city.

The language of the declaration, implied that Mr. Maliki had the power to command American forces.

October 26, 2006
Gallup: What Democrats Would Do If They Win Control of Congress
As illustrated, a majority of Americans believe the Democrats will take action on 7 out of the 11 actions tested: setting a time-table to remove troops from Iraq, rejecting most of President Bush's court nominations, increasing the minimum wage, conducting investigations of the Bush administration, increasing federal income taxes, passing legislation to provide healthcare insurance to those who do not have it, and allowing Americans to buy prescription drugs imported from other countries.

A majority of Americans would approve if the Democrats took action on 6 of the 11 items tested in the poll: increase the minimum wage, pass legislation to provide healthcare coverage to those without it, allow Americans to buy prescription drugs from other countries, set a time-table for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, implement all of the anti-terror recommendations made by the 9/11 commission, and conduct major investigations of the Bush administration.

The media is no longer mudding the water with GOP spin. Global warming is real and it's good to see they're no longer doing the Democrats say 'this' and Republicans say 'that' kind of crap. Gore was right. Maybe someday the media will admit he told the truth and admit Bush, the GOP and the media did not.

October 30, 2006
Budgets Falling in Race to Fight Global Warming
Britain, for one, has sounded a loud alarm about the need for prompt action on the climate issue, including more research. [A report commissioned by the British government and scheduled to be released today calls for spending to be doubled worldwide on research into low-carbon technologies; without it, the report says, coastal flooding and a shortage of drinking water could turn 200 million people into refugees.]

Still, more than four dozen scientists, economists, engineers and entrepreneurs interviewed by The New York Times said that unless the search for abundant non-polluting energy sources and systems became far more aggressive, the world would probably face dangerous warming and international strife as nations with growing energy demands compete for increasingly inadequate resources.

At the federal level, the Bush administration was criticized by Republican and Democratic lawmakers at several recent hearings on climate change.

October 27, 2006
Democrats Are Seen to Gain in Statehouse Races
DES MOINES, Oct. 27 — More than 6,000 state legislative seats in 46 states are on the Nov. 7 ballot, and like the seismic state elections in 1994 and 1974 the cumulative impact of the outcomes could be immense, with Democrats possibly gaining control of a majority of state capitols for the first time in a decade.

Most significantly, the groundwork for redrawing Congressional districts after the 2010 census will be done under the 50 capitol domes, and the party in power will set the table for those discussions in ways favorable to its interests.

I don't spend a lot of time on congressmen or senators who screw up, but this one looks pretty bad. It looks like a coverup. It reminds me of the Catholic Church scandal. Crimes were committed, then money was paid to silence the victims.

October 30, 2006
Nev. congressman assault probe reopens
LAS VEGAS - The district attorney said Monday that authorities have reopened their investigation into a cocktail waitress' claim that a Republican congressman running for governor assaulted her in a parking garage after a night of drinking.

District Attorney David Roger said the case involving Rep. Jim Gibbons — which had been closed after the woman, Chrissy Mazzeo, dropped her complaint — is under investigation again.

October 28, 2006
An Impeachable Offense
GAO chief warns economic disaster looms
Democrats and Republicans talk of cutting taxes to make life easier for the American people.

What they don't talk about is a dirty little secret everyone in Washington knows, or at least should. The vast majority of economists and budget analysts agree: The ship of state is on a disastrous course, and will founder on the reefs of economic disaster if nothing is done to correct it.

Foreign militants have moved back into Afghanistan but the carnage continues. What a mess.

October 30, 2006
October U.S. death toll in Iraq hits 101
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The American death toll for October climbed past 100, a grim milestone as a White House envoy turned up unexpectedly in Baghdad on Monday following a rough patch in U.S.-Iraqi ties. At least 81 people were killed across Iraq, including 33 in a bombing targeting workers.

Bush was never the President of the United States. He and Rove think he's president of the republican party. The real kicker? Bush PROMISED to work with Democrats and he broke his word. Voters rewarded him and his party with reelection. It seems the GOP and its supporters have no standards for those they support other than being partisan liars.

October 29, 2006
Partisan rhetoric even in wartime sets Bush apart
Other wartime presidents have been much more reluctant to argue that only their party was committed to success. Consider the way President Johnson approached the 1966 elections as the Vietnam War was escalating. To begin with, Johnson spent most of that October away from the campaign, on a 17-day tour of Asia that included Vietnam.

Foreign militants have always been a very small fraction of the problem in Iraq. But according to Bush they were responsible for most of the carnage. Now we have them leaving Iraq and the carnage is still going up. Will the media demand answers from Bush?

October 29, 2006
Foreign militants turn attention from Iraq to fight in Afghanistan
PARIS -- The conflict in Iraq is drawing fewer foreign fighters as Muslim extremists aspiring to battle the West turn their attention back to the symbolically important and increasingly violent turf of Afghanistan, European and US antiterrorism officials say.

Evangelical support of the GOP agenda has harmed the US, the GOP and the evangelicals. I hope they're all satisfied.

October 29, 2006
Evangelical-GOP alliance weakens
The number of conservative Christians with a favorable view of the party has plummeted from 74 percent to 54 percent between 2004 and this year, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Evangelicals comprise more than one-third of GOP voters.

October 21, 2006
Senate GOP Killed Most Democratic Bills in First Half of 2006
When Reid and Senate Democrats offered many amendments to last summer's Homeland Security funding bill -- to give a little less money to Halliburton and more to actually securing the country's infrastructure -- Frist was aghast.

Of course, by the time the year ended, we discovered that, despite lamenting the divisive atmosphere in the Senate and loud public claims of trying to "reach across the aisle," Senate Republicans had killed at least three-quarters of all legislation sponsored by Democrats -- with an untold number of initiatives simply dying a quiet, painful death in GOP-controlled committees.

All the right wing blowhard are self-destructing. Just a few months ago one of them attacked the wives of 911 victims. They're shameless.

October 26, 2006
Limbaugh's apology: Fox over-medicated himself "so you would really, really hate Republicans"
Highlighting an October 25 interview Fox gave on NBC's Access Hollywood, during which, Limbaugh stated, Fox "himself said he took too much medication" before shooting the McCaskill ad, Limbaugh declared: "He didn't do that when he goes on Boston Legal, but it happened for the taping of this ad; and I think the reason for that is so you would really, really hate Republicans." In fact, while Fox acknowledged on Access Hollywood that his tremors were a result of having taken "too much medication," he did not say he had intentionally done so. Indeed, after Limbaugh's remark, Fox appeared on the October 26 edition of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and confirmed that the tremors he had experienced during the taping of the ad occurred because it is difficult to "calculate" the correct dosage of medication and, "[s]ometimes, it kicks in too hard."

Shortly after the US invaded Iraq we instructed the new government to stop counting its war dead. As far as I know this is the first time Bush acknowledges the US isn't tracking the number of people we kill. The reason is simple. We kill far more innocent civilians than enemy combatants and it's better to have no numbers than defend that number.

October 25, 2006
Bush on Iraq: "If We Can't Win, I'll Pull Us Out."
"We have made a conscious effort not to be a body-count team," Bush said, in a clear reference to the tabulations of enemy killed that became a hallmark of the Vietnam War. And that, in turn, "gives you the impression that [U.S. troops] are just there — kind of moving around, directing traffic, and somebody takes a shot at them and they're down."

"If we can't win, I'll pull us out," the president said. "If I didn't think it was noble and just and we can win, we're gone. I can't — I'm not going to keep those kids in there and have to deal with their loved ones.

At some point we have to stop blaming Bush and Rumsfeld. The generals on the ground seem to have their fingers up their asses.

October 30, 2006
American Military Failed to Track Hundreds of Thousands of Weapons
The American military has not properly tracked hundreds of thousands of weapons intended for Iraqi security forces and has failed to provide spare parts, maintenance personnel or even repair manuals for most of the weapons given to the Iraqis, a federal report released Sunday has concluded

I watched NBC Nightly News last night for the first time in months. I was amazed how much they sanitize the news. US deaths today, xxx. Iraqi deaths, yyy. No details, no real news. Why doesn't NBC fire Brian Williams? Is it because he makes bad news sound not so bad?

October 29, 2006

The retreat of the coalition & rise of the militias
This is a shadowy struggle, which involves tortured prisoners huddled in dungeons, murder victims mutilated with knives and electric drills, and distraught families searching for relations who have been "disappeared".

Iraq's savage sectarian war is now regarded as a greater obstacle to any semblance of peace returning than the insurgency, and was the main reason for the Americans recently pouring 12,000 troops into the capital - an operation that, they now acknowledge, has failed.

If it looks like a war crime it probably is.

October 29, 2006
UK paper: Israel used 'uranium bombs'
"The weapon was [either] some novel small experimental nuclear fission device or other experimental weapon (e.g., a thermobaric weapon) based on the high temperature of a uranium oxidation flash ...[or it] was a bunker-busting conventional uranium penetrator weapon employing enriched uranium rather than depleted uranium," Dr. Chris Busby, the British Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, told The Independent.

The paper said American and British forces used hundreds of tons of depleted uranium (DU) shells in Iraq in 1991 - their hardened penetrator warheads manufactured from the waste products of the nuclear industry - and five years later, a plague of cancers emerged across the south of Iraq.

Chris Bellamy, the professor of military science and doctrine at Cranfield University, who has reviewed the Busby report, told The Independent: "At worst it's some sort of experimental weapon with an enriched uranium component the purpose of which we don't yet know. At best - if you can say that - it shows a remarkably cavalier attitude to the use of nuclear waste products."

It seems obvious - the US uses depleted uranium in its weapons. Therefore, US soldiers are subjected to a "hazardous substance." It seems like Canadians know to stay away from US weapon drops, but what about the citizens we're supposed to be freeing?

October 30, 2006
Saving troops from a deadly, invisible enemy
The U.S. says it uses depleted uranium for some of its munitions, armour and armour-piercing projectiles.

"Depleted uranium is only one of many potentially hazardous substances that soldiers may be exposed to during deployment and combat operations," the U.S. fact sheet said.

Depleted uranium saw large-scale use during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, sparking some worries that it was responsible for the mysterious illnesses suffered by some U.S. veterans.

October 29, 2006
Depleted Uranium Death Toll Tops 11,000
Of the 580,400 soldiers who served in Gulf War I, 11,000 are now dead, he said. By the year 2000, there were 325,000 on permanent medical disability. More than a decade later, more than half (56 percent) who served in Gulf War I have permanent medical problems. The disability rate for veterans of the world wars of the last century was 5 percent, rising to 10 percent in Vietnam.

October 26, 2006
GOP Troubles Extend into Home Territory
With less than two weeks to go before the midterm elections, the Democrats not only continue to maintain a double-digit advantage nationally, but also lead by the same margin in the competitive districts that will determine which party controls the House of Representatives. Nationally, the Democrats hold a 49%-38% lead among registered voters, and a nearly identical 50%-39% lead among those voters most likely to cast ballots on Nov. 7.

Similarly, other key voter groups that favored the Republican candidate by large margins four years ago are much more divided today. These include men, who backed the Republican candidate by 12 points four years ago and now narrowly favor the Democrat in their district (by four points), and whites, who also preferred the GOP candidate by 15 points but are now divided (44% Democrat-43% Republican). However, among these groups the biggest shift has occurred among married mothers: In the fall of 2002, married mothers favored the Republican candidate in their district by 57%-34%; today they support the Republican by just three points.

By any standard the GOP is the minority party. In fact, if you look at the first graph, republicans have been the minority party since Bush was elected in 2000.

September 27, 2006
Blue States Get Even More Democratic - GOP is the minority party
In nearly 20,000 interviews conducted by the Pew Research Center over the past year, 34.9% of registered voters identify themselves as Democrats, 33.5% as independents, and 31.6% as Republicans.

Beyond the national trends in party affiliation, there have been significant shifts at the regional and state levels. Notably, the GOP's post-9/11 gains in West Coast states have all but disappeared. In 2002, Democrats led by only three points in this group of states; this year, 39% of voters in these states, taken together, identify themselves as Democrats, compared with 33% as independents and 28% as Republicans. The Democrats' advantage in this group of states is now about the same as it was in 2000 (10% then, 11% now).

October 27, 2006
Investigators Say Speaker's Aide Hindered Inquiry of Hill Security Contracts
Two former House committee investigators who were examining Capitol Hill security upgrades said a senior aide to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert hindered their efforts before they were abruptly ordered to stop their probe last year.

October 27, 2006
Democrats Get Late Donations From Business
The shift in political giving, for the first 18 days of October, has not been this pronounced in the final stages of a campaign since 1994, when Republicans swept control of the House for the first time in four decades.

For the first nine months of the year, for example, Pfizer's political action committee had given 67 percent of contributions to Republican candidates. But October ushered in a sudden change of fortune, according to disclosure reports, and Democrats received 59 percent of the Pfizer contributions.

October 27, 2006
U.S. Data Fluke Exaggerated Growth. Economy grew only 0.9%
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- An unexpected increase in auto production last quarter was a statistical fluke that will be reversed, making current U.S. economic growth even weaker, according to a former Commerce Department economist.

Last quarter's annualized 26 percent increase in auto production shocked Joe Carson, now director of economic research at AllianceBernstein LP in New York. Without the gain, the economy would have grown at an annual rate of 0.9 percent, not the 1.6 percent the Commerce Department reported today.

October 27, 2006
NBC, CNN ban ads. Theaters ban "Death of a President" movie
However, Regal Entertainment Group, the largest movie theatre operator in the US, is not screening the movie on any of its 6,300 screens.

Other large chains like AMC and Cinemark have also declined to show the movie, which is screening in only 120 theatres.

To further strangle interest in the film, media outlets like CNN and National Public Radio have refused to carry advertisements for the movie, citing "the extreme nature of the movie's subject matter."

October 28, 2006
NBC and CW ban Dixie Chicks Ad
In a statement released late Thursday, Weinstein Co. claimed that NBC and CW refused to air nationwide commercials to promote the documentary "Shut Up & Sing."

Weinstein distributed documents that appeared to be from NBC's advertising standards division turning down the ads and saying that the network "cannot accept these spots as they are disparaging to President Bush."

Time and time again Marines are charged with crimes. There's something seriously wrong with the Marine Corps. What's taking Congress so long to investigate and stop this nonsense?

October 26, 2006
Jodka describes killing Iraqi citizen by Marines
In reality, the victim was Hashim Ibrahim Awad, a 52-year-old civilian whom the squad abducted after not finding their targeted man. The unit's members had placed him in a roadside hole, Jodka recounted, all part of an effort to make it look like they were defending themselves against an insurgent who started a firefight while planting a bomb.

October 26, 2006
Home prices plunge by most in 35 years
The Commerce Department reported that the median price for a new home sold in September was $217,100, a decline of 9.7 percent from September 2005.

That was the lowest median home price in two years and the sharpest year-over-year decline since December 1970, providing dramatic evidence of the slowdown in the once-booming housing market.

October 23, 2006
GOP Senator Say Iraq Is Near Chaos
"We're on the verge of chaos, and the current plan is not working," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in an Associated Press interview. U.S. and Iraqi officials should be held accountable for the lack of progress, said Graham, a Republican who is a frequent critic of the administration's policies.

A little education goes a long way.

October 25, 2006
Voters Increase Support for Stem Cell Research After Viewing Michael J. Fox Ad
Among all respondents, support for stem cell research increased from 78% prior to viewing the ad, to 83% after viewing the ad. Support among Democrats increased from 89% to 93%, support among Republicans increased from 66% to 68% and support among Independents increased from 80% to 87% after viewing the ad.

I find it odd we're still debating "equal rights." How would conservatives or Catholics feel if we banned their marriages? It's easy to see why it's so wrong. What some states have done to gays in the name of religion is both immoral and unChristian.

October 25, 2006
New Jersey Court Backs Rights for Same-Sex Unions
TRENTON, Oct. 25 — New Jersey's highest court ruled on Wednesday that gay couples are entitled to the same legal rights and financial benefits as heterosexual couples, but split over whether their unions must be called marriage or could be known by another name, handing that question to the Legislature.

October 26, 2006
U.S. death toll in Iraq worst in a year
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The number of American troops killed in Iraq in October reached the highest monthly total in a year Thursday after four Marines and a sailor died of wounds suffered while fighting in the same Sunni insurgent stronghold.

The US has used "waterboarding" that's a well known fact
The CIA's role in breaking our laws
Washington Post
December 30, 2005
"The authorized techniques include "waterboarding" and "water dousing," both meant to make prisoners think they are drowning; hard slapping; isolation; sleep deprivation; liquid diets; and stress positions -- often used, intelligence officials say, in combination to enhance the effect.

Behind the scenes, CIA Director Porter J. Goss -- until last year the Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee -- has gathered ammunition to defend the program.

After a CIA inspector general's report in the spring of 2004 stated that some authorized interrogation techniques violated international law, Goss asked two national security experts to study the program's effectiveness."

Vice President of Torture
Washington Post
October 26, 2005
"The Justice Department and the White House are known to have approved harsh interrogation techniques for some of these people, including "waterboarding," or simulated drowning; mock execution; and the deliberate withholding of pain medication. CIA personnel have been implicated in the deaths during interrogation of at least four Afghan and Iraqi detainees."

October 28, 2006
White House: VP didn't back waterboarding
Instead, press secretary Tony Snow said, Cheney was talking literally about "a dunk in the water," though Snow declined to explain what that meant or whether such a tactic had been used against U.S. detainees.

The comments were aimed at calming a growing furor over comments made by Cheney during an interview with a conservative radio host, which were taken by many human-rights advocates and legal experts as an endorsement of waterboarding as a method of interrogation.

October 29, 2005
History of an Interrogation Technique: Water Boarding
Water boarding was designated as illegal by U.S. generals in Vietnam 40 years ago. A photograph that appeared in The Washington Post of a U.S. soldier involved in water boarding a North Vietnamese prisoner in 1968 led to that soldier's severe punishment.

"The soldier who participated in water torture in January 1968 was court-martialed within one month after the photos appeared in The Washington Post, and he was drummed out of the Army," recounted Darius Rejali, a political science professor at Reed College.

If Democrats think Americans are informed on these issues, they're screwed. Dems will have to start education the American people on day one. God knows the media hasn't done its job of educating Americans. Foley, Katrina and Iraq brought down the GOP. Now we need to bring down Bush and the neo con movement.

October 27, 2006
Poll: Most feel civil liberties not harmed by war on terror
While 39 percent of the 1,013 poll respondents said the Bush administration has gone too far, 34 percent said they believe the administration has been about right on the restrictions, according to the Opinion Research Corp. survey. Another 25 percent said the administration has not gone far enough.

It's good to see the GOP base is opposed to the GOP in congress. But look at what this man wants. In the face of the largest accumulation of debt in human history, he wants more tax cuts for the rich. The GOP will be the minority party for a very, very long time.

October 24, 2006
Richard Viguerie: Halloween Scare Tactics Won't Work for GOP
"The big-spending, high-deficit, morally-deficient Republican Party hasn't anything to offer conservatives except Halloween scare tactics about the Democrats. But since the GOP majority in Congress has engaged in an unprecedented spending spree, conservatives know that Democrats cannot be any worse and that divided government may lead to less spending," Viguerie said.

October 26, 2006
Poll: Middle class favoring Democrats
Motivated by anger at President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress, 56 percent of likely voters said they would vote on Nov. 7 to send a Democrat to the House and 37 percent said they would vote Republican. Voters in the latest Associated Press-AOL News poll rated
Iraq and the economy as their top issues.

October 27, 2006
Ex-administration official Safavian gets 18 months in Abramoff case
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Bush administration official David Safavian was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Friday for concealing his relationship with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Abramoff is cooperating with an FBI corruption investigation into Congress and the White House. He has admitted using gifts to influence lawmakers.

Most Americans still don't know Bush has amassed massive new powers. The reason is two-fold; the media and the Democrats have been very quiet for years. The truth is our constitutional system is under assault. Bush signs laws and then notifies congress he'll ignore those same laws. When Dems get power, they'll have to take down Bush, but first they'll have to explain why they didn't do anything about his abuses earlier.

October 26, 2006
An Impeachable Offense
CIA tried to silence EU on torture flights
The disclosure is among fresh revelations about how the CIA flew terrorist suspects to locations where they were tortured, and Britain's knowledge of the practice known as "secret rendition". They are contained in Ghost Plane, by Stephen Grey, the journalist who first revealed details of secret CIA flights in the Guardian a year ago. More than 200 CIA flights have passed through Britain, records show.

October 26, 2006
Afghan officials say at least 60 civilians killed during NATO operation
LAY KUNDI, Afghanistan Dozens of civilians were killed during NATO operations in a volatile southern area of Afghanistan this week that also left many Taliban fighters dead, officials and villagers said Thursday.

Let's face it. The US media would have allowed Snow and Bush to get away with these lies if it weren't for blogs. What did this country do before blogs?

October 24, 2006
Snow Falsely Claims Bush Said "Stay The Course" Only 8 Times (Actually, It's At Least 30)
On Sunday, President Bush told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that his Iraq policy has "never been stay the course." (Today, Rumsfeld disagreed, calling suggestions they were backing away from the phrase "nonsense.")

Moments ago on Fox News, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said "we went back and looked today and could only find eight times where he [Bush] ever used the phrase stay the course."

Apparently, the White House research team isn't very good at "the Google." ThinkProgress has documented 30 times that Bush has used the phrase to describe his policy in Iraq:

October 24, 2006
NY Times Defends Lieberman Lies: Stay the Course
Never, in the statements reviewed, did Mr. Lieberman utter the words "stay the course." He has his own catch phrases, however, describing Iraq as a "just war" or "just cause" more than a dozen times; often saying Mr. Hussein is "not just a thorn in our side" but "a threat to our lives;" and repeatedly calling for a Marshall Plan for the Muslim world.

I don't buy it. A Google search shows numerous examples of Lieberman using the words "stay the course," including a video at YouTube. The NT Times is either lying or incompetent.

October 30, 2006
NY Times Correction: Lieberman & 'Stay the Course'
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has used the phrase "stay the course" several times in discussing the war in Iraq in recent years, echoing a key phrase of the White House, contrary to an article published today in The Times.

The article used a database to analyze hundreds of Mr. Lieberman's war-related comments since 2001. It pointed out that Ned Lamont, the Democratic nominee for United States Senate, frequently criticized Mr. Lieberman for being a strong supporter of the Bush Administration's "stay the course" policy on Iraq, and said that in the statements reviewed the senator never actually uttered that phrase.

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. CNN and NPR will gladly show us footage of real assassination attempts against US presidents (Reagan in 1981) but not a fictional movie? Good grief. We shouldn't forget CNN also banned anti Bush and anti War ads in 2003, along with Fox, Viacom and CBS (and others). Censorship is alive and well.

October 24, 2006
CNN, NPR Refuse Ads for Bush 'Death' Film
LOS ANGELES (Oct. 24) - Two major U.S. news outlets, CNN and National Public Radio, will not air advertisements for a controversial movie depicting the assassination of President George W. Bush, citing the film's content, network spokeswomen said on Tuesday.

This is why the media should never be trusted. ABC has a reporter who they know lies and they don't fire him.

October 30, 2006
ABC's The Note baselessly suggested double standard in media's treatment of Pelosi and Gingrich
ABC News' The Note predicted that prior to the midterm elections, the "(liberal) Old Media" will "[g]lowingly profile" House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi but "fail to describe her as 'ultra liberal' or 'an extreme liberal,' which would mirror the way [former House Speaker Newt] Gingrich was painted twelve years ago." But a Media Matters examination of coverage found that in 1994, Gingrich was treated in a similar manner to the way Pelosi is treated now.

Look how easy it was for the government to imprison what appears to be an innocent man BEFORE 9/11. With the new laws we have now, this man wouldn't have access to a lawyer, the courts or the truth.

October 23, 2006
Former CIA spy branded a traitor is clearing his name
U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes found that about two dozen government lawyers were involved in hiding information from Wilson's defense attorney, presenting Briggs' false statement and refusing to come clean about it later.

In his blistering opinion, Hughes noted that the CIA had more than 80 contacts with Wilson after he left the agency, which, among other things, had used him to "trade weapons or explosives for sophisticated Soviet military equipment -- like MiG-25 fighters, tanks, missiles and ocean mines -- with Libya."

October 25, 2006
An Impeachable Offense
Some contracts in Iraq spend over 50% on overhead
The report by a federal oversight agency provides the first official estimate that in some cases, more money is being spent on things like housing and feeding employees, completing paperwork and providing security than on actual construction.

October 25, 2006
U.S. generals call for Democratic takeover
Disgusted with the leadership of the Iraq war, two retired generals say the GOP must go. Plus: More than 100 current military personnel join a campaign to get the U.S. out of Iraq -- now.

The GOP has been using fearmongering and warmongering since 9/11 and we finally have voices in the media calling them on it. The other media - the brain dead type consistently tell us Democrats are weak on defense. They fail to mention that Bush and the GOP took us to war for no reason and you can't be weaker than that.

October 24, 2006
Olbermann's Special Comment on GOP Fearmongering
But why is the Republican Party imitating them? Bin Laden puts out what amounts to a commercial of fear; the Republicans put out what is unmistakable as a commercial of fear.

The Republicans are paying to have the messages of bin Laden and the others broadcast into your home! Only the Republicans have a bigger bankroll.

One key reason is the GOP congress made it harder for individuals to file bankruptcy so borrower (banks) let had very low standards because their risk was low. It should be noted the GOP didn't make it harder for business to file for bankruptcy. If anything, they made it easier for the rich to stay rich no matter what.

October 24, 2006
Foreclosures on the Rise
It can be traced back to a number of factors from over-extended borrowers to an increase in lax lending practices that lure unsuspecting consumers with low- or no-down-payment, interest-only loans or mortgages with incredibly low initial interest rates that skyrocket once the rate adjusts to its "real" interest rate.

Another factor has been the recent rise in interest rates for adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), which account for nearly one in every four of all mortgages sold. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association most ARMs are held by people with poor credit.

We have to wonder why more soldiers haven't been court marshaled. Is it because the evidence against them remains hidden and/or classified?

October 23, 2006
Judge Orders Release of Abu Ghraib Photos
What is shown on the photographs and videos from Abu Ghraib prison that the Pentagon has blocked from release? One clue: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Congress last year, after viewing a large cache of unreleased images, "I mean, I looked at them last night, and they're hard to believe." They show acts "that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhumane," he added.

October 24, 2006
Maureen Dowd: Running Against Themselves
The president is cutting and running from the president.

In a momentous event at the White House on Monday, Tony Snow made a major announcement about an important new strategy for Iraq. The president will no longer stay the course on the rallying cry "stay the course."

Posted October 26, 2006
Impeachable Offenses
Presidential Signing Statements
Presidential Signing statements from March 20, 2001 through October 13, 2006
As of October 4, 2006, Bush had signed 134 signing statements challenging 810 federal laws.

Tenet and Blair had no idea how gullible the US media was. After they learned how easy it was to roll the media, rolling the American people was a breeze.

October 30, 2006 issue
UK, CIA initially opposed war in Iraq
But the foreign rep cautioned, "I hope we can all agree that we should concentrate on Afghanistan and not be tempted to launch any attacks on Iraq." In Drumheller's account, Tenet replied, "Absolutely, we all agree on that."