Bush Seeks Safe Harbor in India

Later, Merka! Pickles is going along for the ride.
Lieboy Bush is taking a geographic to escape his UAE Port deal and 34% approval rating, for now. Only 21% of those approve of his shady port deal. They must be incredibly wealthy and in on the dough, or really really stupid.It will all be waiting for him when he gets back, hopefully.
He's off to woo the Indians. I hope somebody clued him in on the difference between Native American Indians and Indians. He once said to the president of Brazil, "Do you have blacks here too?" Condi had to straighten him out...always the good work wife.
It will take a security force of over 5,000 to protect him from all his well-wishers. Large protests are planned but carefully after his entourage has left the area. The New Delhi Zoo will be closed while he's around. Safer for the animals. Perhaps they planned a dangerous protest of their own.
Much has been made of his nuke talks but he has several reasons for descending upon India. There's money to be made. India is a market he can't afford to ignore. And there's a gas pipeline to deal with. India and Pakistan can't go making money without Dick and Halliburton involved. Arm twisting time.

Firstly, U.S. opposition to the pipeline is strident. ''The U.S. is not pulling its punches,'' said Batra, who served as energy expert with India's public sector oil establishment before joining TERI.

The second reason relates to the pricing of gas. India would like to pay an 'affordable price' for the gas from Iran and, according to Batra, this is a mere euphemism for prices below prevailing market rates. So far, Iran has not been obliging.

Finally, the pipeline project has been affected by the unrest in Pakistan's Baluchistan province. ''There is talk of building a longer pipeline along Pakistan's coast which may be longer but safer,'' Batra said.

Already, possibilities for an alternate pipeline to bring gas from Turkmenistan to India through Afghanistan and Pakistan is being considered, Batra pointed out.

After his India and Pakistan stops he might go to Afghanistan...no doubt to another safe hangar. He'll be under heavy guard the entire time. Once a Chickenhawk, always a Chickenhawk.He won't see any women in Burkas or Taliban members. Or poppy fields. Since we're "at war" his schedule is a closely guarded secret, as is everything he does. I hope he takes a few bike rides. Those photos are always entertaining after he crashes into the local cops.

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Fred Phelps Hates Our Troops

It takes all kinds to make up a society but some of the people in it are just plain hate-filled and evil. Fred Phelps is one of those evil people who should be locked up. In the name of Christianity he spouts hatred for all gay people and has taken it to new and disgusting levels. Now he protests at U.S. troop funerals.
Fred Phelps...homophobe filled with venom.
A young man named Matthew Shepherd was brutally murdered in 1998. Phelps and his "flock" protested at his funeral proclaiming their hatred for Matthew, whom they did not personally know. They carried signs that said, "God hates fags!" Matthew Shepherd was a lovely young man who never hurt anyone. His life was cut short at 22 and Fred Phelps virtually spat on his grave and sullied his memory. Phelps has decided that George Bush loves gay people. That fact itself makes Fred certifiable. Nobody in their right mind believes that Bush likes gay folks any more than he likes the black people he allowed to drown in New Orleans.

Rancid Fred:

"God hates fags and God hates America and God is blowing these soldiers to smithereens by Iraqi IEDs and sending them home in pieces in body bags"

When you fill the army with fags and dykes and spit in the face of God, you have sown the wind, and shall reap the whirlwind (Hos. 8:7).

This is the picture that America deserves (a picture of rows of coffins draped with flags). Get used to it! You worship at the fag altar, you get boxes draped in your fag flag coming home!

Hell has room for them ALL!!!
George W. Bush has been suckered into a bloody war that God is using to punish this filthy nation, and your children are being blown to smithereens as that punishment.
....
Bloody Butcher Bush thinks that he can distract from this fact with tall tales about freedom and horror stories of terrorism that could be. It has to happen in order for America to become Babylon and the Last Days to come. Deal with it, America!! You are doomed!

You might think you can pass laws that stop us from preaching at the funerals of your Godless brats, but it isn't going to happen. The Messengers of God do not stop preaching the truth just because you pass laws. Here's a little secret. Kansas has had a funeral picketing law for years, and we still picket funerals in Kansas!!! Dying time is truth time! DEAL WITH IT!!!

He has more to say, equally disturbing and vile. Fred, not having anything useful to do with his life but spew twisted hatred, has taken it upon himself to show up and protest at military funerals. He and his followers from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas (yes, the state of Intelligent Design) show up at military funerals and proclaim the troops' deaths as ordained by God. His daughter, Shirley Roper-Phelps is a chip of the old fetid demented block.
Luckily, there are decent human beings too. Such people are the Patriot Guard Riders who now show up at military funerals by invitation of family members. They protect the families of dead soldiers from nutjobs like Fred Phelps. Their behavior is far more Christian than the revolting actions of Phelps.

Bikers roll to military funerals to oppose anti-gay protests
FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky (AP) -- Wearing vests covered in military patches, a band of motorcyclists rolls around the country from one soldier's funeral to another, cheering respectfully to overshadow jeers from church protesters.

They call themselves the Patriot Guard Riders, and they are more than 5,000 strong, forming to counter anti-gay protests held by the Rev. Fred Phelps at military funerals.
...
“This is just the right thing to do. This is something America didn’t do in the ’70s,” said Kurt Mayer, the group’s national spokesman. “Whether we agree with why we’re over there, these soldiers are dying to protect our freedoms.”
...
The project’s deputy director, Heidi Beirich, said other groups have tried to counter Phelps’ message, but none has been as organized as the Patriot Guard.

“I’m not sure anybody has gone to this length to stand in solidarity,” she said. “It’s nice that these veterans and their supporters are trying to do something. I can’t imagine anything worse, your loved one is killed in Iraq and you’ve got to deal with Fred Phelps.”
....

Comments

Brownie's Battlefield

msnbc.com
Michael Brown: I was ‘left on the battlefield’
Ex-FEMA head says he either fell or was pushed on his sword after Katrina

Entire Interview
...
Brian Williams: I want to ask you: Why didn't you shout it from the mountaintops, or do you feel you did?

Michael Brown: I shouted it from the mountaintops. In the first, I'm going to use the term SVCC — secure video conference call — that we had, that I conducted from FEMA, after it (Hurricane Katrina) had passed the Florida penninsula. I told everybody in that conference call — the president, Chertoff, the state of New Orleans, all of the teams, all the departments and agencies — my gut tells me this is the big one. I want to push everything forward as far as we can. I want to jam up supply lines. I want to cut the bureaucratic red tape. I want it "balls to the wall," is the phrase that I used, in doing everything we could.
...

It's time for the blame game...Chertoff is next, I hope. Then the Chimp-in-chief. Brownie's pissed and doesn't like being the only crony scapegoat. Sure, he's totally inept but they ALL are. In the meantime, six months later, New Orleans is still in ruins and our corrupt thieves in power don't give a shit. They want to build Casinoil instead. It's more profitable to them.

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Ha Ha Ha America

Sundance Film Festival

Ha Ha Ha America

Thanks to Cell Whitman for the link.

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Cheap Labor Conservatives

I first read the term Cheap Labor Conservatives at Conceptual Guerilla, here in 2003. Since then I've seen the phrase picked up by Buzzflash, DU several times, and at miscellaneous blogs. The new site is decidedly easier on the eyes and I encourage anyone interested in pursuing a dose of reality to check out Conceptual Guerilla. CG doesn't need to add graphics, he's a superb writer. But I think some folks like pictures. So, I keep at it since one of these days maybe it will click with a Republican out there who keeps voting in their own worst interests.

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Draconian South Dakota's Misogyny

It's official. South Dark-Dakota has declared war on all women in the United States. The Taliban is alive and well in America. Stoning women to death and executing them for "asking" to be raped can't be too far off.

S.D. House Approves Abortion Ban Bill
PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota lawmakers approved a ban on nearly all abortions Friday, setting up a deliberate frontal assault on Roe v. Wade at a time when some activists see the U.S. Supreme Court as more willing than ever to overturn the 33-year-old decision.
...

Approximately 800 abortions a year take place in South Dickota at the ONE Planned Parenthood Clinic, 90% in the first trimester. Minnesota doctors fly into SD because doctors licensed there face a felony and a five year prison sentence for performing a D&C.
House Speaker Matthew Michels, R-Yankton, ugly pig-nosed white man has never needed an abortion. He has no uterus. He hates women. This will affect poor women more than affluent women. Rape? Incest? Too bad, it's god's will that they remain pregnant, no matter what. Rich women can still travel to another state and terminate pregnancies if they so CHOOSE. These Neanderthals want to take this abortion ban to the Supreme Court and make criminals out of women and doctors nationwide. In the meantime, poor women in South Dakota have to endure a pregnancy after they've been viciously raped by Daddy Jebby, Uncle Marvin or Cousin Neil. It's a terrible state of affairs for the innocent victim...and since a fetus can't yet be raped its rights are secure.

But this "woman" is the worst traitor to womankind of all of them. Sen. Julie Bartling, D-Burke, is a co-sponsor of the bill that would ban nearly all abortions in South Dakota. Could she be suffering from Battered Wife Syndrome to even suggest such a thing? An anti-choice woman-hating DINO has GOT to go! She does look a bit bruised and abused in all her pictures. Perhaps she should focus instead on why pre-teens in her sanctimonious state of mind are contracting STDs instead. Down during the Clinton years...UP during the Coup years. Somebody is having sex with those children. Winger theocrats in this country are trying to force women back into the Stone Age. South Dickotan Theocrats should mind their own fucking business. This is about subjugation and control of women. Brutish males, apparently unsure of their own manhood, aren't happy unless they have absolute caveman control over all females.
Why South Dakota we may ask? It's a sparsely populated state with only 770,000 residents. However, an "anonymous donor" gave a million dollars to the South Dakota Alpha Center to lobby for anti choice laws. Dr. Allen Unruh and his wife Leslee, are the founders of the Alpha Center - a crisis pregnancy center in Sioux Falls. Please note that "Dr." Unruh is a Chiropractor, not an M.D, and never studied Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Leslee Unruh, president of the Alpha Center, a Sioux Falls pregnancy counseling agency that tries to steer women away from abortion, said most of the abortions performed in South Dakota do not stem from rape or even failed contraception, but are simply "conveniences." Unruh said she believes most South Dakota women want the abortion ban, and many who have had abortions "wish someone would have [sic] stopped them."

Unruh "believes" she knows how women feel? Did Ghod tell her? A 50 State Abortion Survey begs to differ with her uninformed opinions, as do the results from her own state. SD 49% anti choice The SD Senate and House Votes. For all the self-professed love of fetal cells, South Dickota ranks 41st in prenatal care. You can't have it both ways, Darkotans. The Task Force appointed by Republican Governer, Mike Rounds and their recommendations. Worth reading. The report's premise is that life begins at conception. A woman (girl) is less than human in their eyes since they've given more rights to a clump of cells. Only one of the four M.D.s on the task force is an OB/GYN. Let those white men who love the zygote carry that "person" inside their own fucking bodies instead. Insert the cells into their rectums and let's see how viable they are. And I do believe it's time to protect the rights of the sperm. Using the same "science" as the morons in South Dickota, a sperm is a potential human being too. Why can't these assholes just stay out of the uterus. This country is so unenlightened and uneducated. The Fall of the American Empire is in full swing. Fasten your chastity belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride.


Update: Republican Governor Mike Rounds signed the legislation today, March 6, 2006, banning abortion in South Dakota. I shall never set foot in that state. So much for Republicans claiming to favor less government intervention in our lives. Hypocrites!

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Torturing Prisoners to Death

Report probes US custody deaths

Almost 100 prisoners have died in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan since August 2002, according to US group Human Rights First.
The details were first aired on BBC television's Newsnight programme.
Of the 98 deaths, at least 34 were suspected or confirmed homicides, the programme said.
The Pentagon told Newsnight it had not seen the report but took allegations of maltreatment "very seriously" and would prosecute if necessary.
The report, which is to be published on Wednesday, draws on information from Pentagon and other official US sources.
...

And if you believe that...I have a bridge to nowhere to sell you.
My plan to stop torture: Start at the top.
If Bush,Cheney and Rumsfeld, torturers-in-chief, gave the Miller/Gitmo torture techniques a dry run first, things would quickly change. That's not going to happen, but I can dream, can't I? It beats the hell out of the nightmare we're perpetrating on people who hate us for our freedoms. If there's a difference between what is being done in our names at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib and what was done at Belsen and Auschwitz I'd like to know. More people were killed by the Nazis? True, but the Nazis didn't have troops with digital cameras and the internet. Nazi officers took pictures for their own personal enjoyment. The Information Age has simply cut down on the number of people who can be killed with impunity. American zombified sheep, incredibly undereducated and stupid, don't believe this killing and torturing is going on because it's not on TV and it's not in WalFart. They're more interested in Britney's implants and the sport of morons, NASCAR. The internet is available for them to learn the truth...but they don't care. Our "leaders" should be in jail for crimes against humanity. Anyone who goes along with them should share adjoining cells. A nation of blind assholes who refuse to see what's going on.
Feel like talking yet,Dick? No? Well, that's because torture doesn't work! Ask McCain. But that didn't stop Rumsfeld from authorizing the torture of children so that their parents would "tell" all they knew to make it stop. Parents will do anything to save their kids, even make shit up.

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Just One Beer

Cheney, has put this incident behind him. It's now "old" news. Fux gnus said so. Mr. Whittington is out of the hospital. One has to wonder what Dick would have said had Harry died. And what if the shoe had been on the other foot and it had been Harry who shot Dick? Think Harry would be running around making speeches? Not likely. The sheriff wasn't allowed to interview the Vice President until the next day so we'll never know how drunk he was that day and evening. It's been covered up, like everything this corrupt bunch does. Mr. Whittington has yet to file an affidavit. He probably needs to liaise further with Katharine Armstrong and get his story straight. So far, she's divulged there was beer before and cocktails after the shooting. Cheney has admitted to "one beer" and Harry said there was NO drinking. They'll need to fix up his story for his affidavit. None of the official statements taken by the sheriff have been made public...until they all match perfectly. How can the sheriff's department have closed the case before all the statements are in? Dick must have decided already it's over. Case closed.

Sheriff’s department says no charges will be filed against Cheney
Friday, February 17th, 2006
By: The Associated Press
SARITA, Texas — The sheriff’s department closed its investigation Thursday into Dick Cheney’s accidental shooting of a hunting partner and said no charges will be filed.

The Kenedy County Sheriff’s Department issued a report that largely supports the vice-president’s account of the weekend accident that wounded lawyer Harry Whittington, 78.

Whittington, interviewed in the hospital, assured investigators no one was drinking when the accident occurred and everyone was wearing bright orange safety gear, according to the report.

Sheriff’s dispatcher Diana Mata, speaking for the department, said the case is closed and no charges will be filed. She said Sheriff Ramon Salinas would have no comment on the report.

Whittington was peppered with bird shot in the face and chest Saturday while hunting quail with Cheney on a ranch in South Texas. He is in a Corpus Christi hospital in stable condition after suffering a mild heart attack caused by a pellet that travelled to his heart.

Gilberto San Miguel Jr., an investigator with the Sheriff’s Department, interviewed Cheney at the ranch a day after the shooting. San Miguel reported that Cheney shook his hand and ‘‘told me he was there to co-operate in any way with the interview.’’

The vice-president said the sun was setting when Whittington fired at some quail and went to find his downed birds, according to the report.

Cheney said he walked about 100 yards (metres) and met up with the hunting guide. He said a bird flew behind him, and he followed it in a counterclockwise direction, not realizing Whittington had walked up behind him to rejoin the group. He said Whittington was about 30 yards away, on lower ground, when he fired his shotgun.

‘‘Mr. Cheney told me if Mr. Whittington was on the same ground level, the injuries might have been lower on Mr. Whittington’s body,’’ the investigator reported.

The investigator, accompanied by another officer, briefly interviewed Whittington at his hospital room on Monday.

‘‘I asked Mr. Whittington if we could record our conversation and Mr. Whittington requested not to be recorded due to his voice being raspy,’’ San Miguel wrote.

The investigator asked for an affidavit, and Whittington said he would provide one when he returned home to his office in Austin. Doctors have said Whittington will probably remain hospitalized until next week.
.....

Another sickening coverup by the thugs. Above the law. Only the little people have to obey laws.

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Republicans Are Racists

"George Bush doesn't care about black people."-Kanye West

No, Bush and his entire crime family HATE black people. Republican racism has been much more evident in the last five years. The moronic and criminal tax cuts for the obscenely rich have been financed in part by cuts to basic social programs that assist the poor, some of whom happen to be black. Since the coup of 2000 and control of all branches of government by neocon Republican thugs, all pretense of "Liberty and justice for all" is gone.

The current illegal occupants of the White House, with Karl Rove at the helm, have systematically stripped this country of any semblance of fairness. Karl Rove and Lee Atwater have a long history of dirty politics aimed at disenfranchising black people. Had Lee Atwater not died of a brain tumor in 1991 he would no doubt have been a part of this criminal cabal.
Lee Atwater, quoted in Bob Herbert's "Impossible, Reprehensible, Repugnant"

You start out in 1954 by saying, ‘Nigger, nigger, nigger.’ By 1968 you can’t say ‘nigger’ - that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states’ rights and all that stuff. You’re getting so abstract now [that] you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites.
And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I’m not saying that. But I’m saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me - because obviously sitting around saying, ‘We want to cut this,’ is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a hell of a lot more abstract than ‘Nigger, nigger.’

Harvey Leroy "Lee" Atwater (February 26, 1951 – March 29, 1991) was an American Republican political consultant and strategist. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Atwater is notorious as the very definition of smashmouth politics, in which every effort is made to destroy the reputations, careers and lives of political opponents.

Atwater was a trusted advisor of U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. He was also a political mentor, close friend of Karl Rove. Atwater's skills at attack politics brought him and his candidates success. His opponents characterized him as "the Darth Vader of the Republican party", "the happy hatchet man", and "the guy who went negative for the sheer joy of it."

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New Abu Ghraib Photos Released

uruknet
New Abu Ghraib Photos Released
...
The images, which have been shown on SBS's Dateline program Wednesday, were taken at the same time as the infamous photographs of US soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners inside Abu Ghraib, which sparked international outrage after they were leaked in 2004.
...

More Pictures:

Abu Ghraib Abuse

A horrendous few...makes me so ashamed to be an American.

Comments

More Abu Ghraib Pics

No, they won't be shown in the U.S. but instead on Australian TV's, SBS Dateline. Since our MSM is owned lock stock and Cheney's barrel by the Right Wingers, it's not clear if we'll see them here. Americans have to turn to the internet for the truth. Sad. Justice and freedom for all. Torture, NOT IN MY NAME! Rumsfeld belongs in jail for war crimes. But hey, some of our prisoners were only "peppered" by shotgun pellets and since we all now know that Cheney does that to his FRIENDS, it can't possibly be categorized as torture, can it? It was an accident.

The Photos America Doesn't Want Seen
By Matthew Moore
February 15, 2006

MORE photographs have been leaked of Iraqi citizens tortured by US soldiers at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Tonight the SBS Dateline program plans to broadcast about 60 previously unpublished photographs that the US Government has been fighting to keep secret in a court case with the American Civil Liberties Union.

Although a US judge last year granted the union access to the photographs following a freedom-of-information request, the US Administration has appealed against the decision on the grounds their release would fuel anti-American sentiment.

Some of the photos are similar to those published in 2004, others are different. They include photographs of six corpses, although the circumstances of their deaths are not clear. There are also pictures of what appear to be burns and wounds from shotgun pellets.

The executive producer of Dateline, Mike Carey, said he was showing the pictures leaked to his program because it was important people understood what had happened at Abu Ghraib.

Seven US guards were jailed following publication of the first batch of Abu Ghraib photographs in April 2004.

Mr Carey said he could not explain why the photographs had not yet been published, as he thought it was likely that some journalists had them.

"It think it's strange, maybe they think its more of the same."

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When Dick Shot Harry

Yet another coverup from the Thug Administration. Dick Cheney continues to believe he is above the law. Cheney lacked the requisite stamp to hunt upland game bird. He had to pay a $7 fine. Since none of these neocon bastards are ever responsible for their crimes Cheney will blame his henchmen for not obtaining the stamp. The local sheriff waited until the next morning to interview Cheney, over twelve hours after he shot Whittington. Did Dick need to sober up? He has a history of DUIs...it isn't inconceivable he'd been drinking. Otherwise, why the delay?
Why was Katharine Armstrong (wealthy Republican ranch owner) the "reporter" on the story the next day? She says she was a witness and it's Harry's fault. "It appears he didn't announce himself." Blame the victim?"There's really no one to blame here it was an accident and fortunately one that will end well," she said. Where were Cheney's Secret Service agents during the incident? We know Cheney is really in charge but he didn't inform Lieboy until three hours later. Why not? It's also possible that Mr. Whittington had already bagged a bird and was retrieving it at the time he was gently sprayed. So many questions...NO ANSWERS...as usual.
Harry Whittington wasn't "peppered" or "sprayed" he was SHOT in the face, neck and chest. He was in ICU. That doesn't sound minor at all. Per Time Magazine, Harry is "tough."

The Vice President flew down to Texas on Friday after working at the White House, his office said. He remained there Sunday but did not hunt, his office said, before flying back to Washington on Sunday night. He joined Bush on Monday afternoon during an Oval Office meeting with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, but left before reporters were allowed in for questions; Bush ignored any questions shouted his way about the incident. White House aides can be expected to say that the Vice President did not shoot Whittington, which suggests a bullet, but rather sprayed him with birdshot, a type of ammunition made up of tiny pieces of lead or steel.

Bush Learned of Cheney Shooting Accident on Saturday.
"Chief of Staff Andy Card called the president around 7:30 p.m. to inform him that there was a hunting accident," a statement released today by the White House said. "He did not know the vice president was involved at that time. Subsequent to the call, Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove spoke with Mrs. Armstrong. He then called the president shortly before 8 p.m. to update him and let him know the vice president had accidentally shot Mr. Whittington."

In a contentious news briefing with White House reporters earlier about a subject that captivated the capital today, Scott McClellan, the president's spokesman, said he himself did not learn until about 6 a.m. on Sunday that it was Mr. Cheney who had shot Mr. Whittington, 78, when the two were on a weekend quail hunting trip along with several others at the Armstrong Ranch.

Mr. Whittington is still listed in stable condition at the intensive care unit of Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital in nearby Corpus Christi, Tex. Peter Banko, the hospital administrator, told reporters today that Mr. Whittington would be moved out of the intensive care unit later in the day but that no date had yet been set for him to leave the hospital.

The White House has been criticized for not publicly reporting the incident, or details of what happened, even up to today, when Mr. McClellan deflected most questions about the matter to the vice president's office. News of the shooting was first reported on the Web site of The Corpus Christi Caller-Times, after the owner of the ranch, Katherine Armstrong, called reporters there late Sunday morning to tell them of the incident, which had taken place about 18 hours earlier.
...

Time has already taken this to a lower MSM level...equating it to Carter's innocuous but overblown"Killer Rabbit" incident...they ALWAYS have to malign a Democrat when a Republican screws up or commits a real crime.
Stonewalling and lying. That's all we can ever expect out of these lying assholes. It's a good thing Harry is a wealthy Republican. What's passing the pepper between friends?

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Bush and Abramoff Pics

Poor George. You ordered the pictures destroyed but somehow they showed up. Thanks to thedoubles.com here are some of the pictures that show you clearly did know Jack Abramoff. It's a little hard to forget a man who raised over $100,000 "officially" for your second coup. Interestingly, they were taken by a for-profit right wing company that coincidentally documented YOUR many collaborations to STEAL more from us. No press photographers available? Or, not allowed? This is THE most secretive administration EVER. It appears that Jack isn't too happy to be left in the lurch. He had his own plans to spread some of the pics around. And emails. Jack Abramoff Describes Relationship With President Bush

...
The emails written by Abramoff was [sic] addressed to Kim Eisler, the national editor of Washingtonian magazine. The Washingtonian recently reported on the existence of several photographs showing Abramoff and Bush together. Eisler is also the author of Revenge of the Pequots, a book about tribal politics for which Abramoff was interviewed.

In the emails, Abramoff describes meeting Bush “in almost a dozen settings,” and details how he was personally invited to President Bush’s private ranch in Crawford, Texas, for a gathering of Bush fundraisers in 2003. Abramoff did not attend, citing a religious observance.
...

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
January 4, 2006
...
Q But have you been able to more clearly determine whether the President ever met Abramoff at any of these White House --

MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, I talked about this earlier today, maybe you weren't here earlier this morning, but -- when I talked to some of your colleagues.

Q I thought you said he might have been, but I'm just wondering --

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I said it's possible that they would have met at a holiday reception or some other widely attended gathering. The President does not know him, nor does the President recall ever meeting him.

Q But he has the special designation as a Pioneer, as Terry was alluding to, raising more than $100,000. And he attended, as you told us, three events, holiday receptions at the White House. How likely is it that the President would not have met him --

MR. McCLELLAN: That's why I said it's possible. But I just told you what I know at this point, and the President doesn't recall meeting him and he certainly doesn't know him.

...

President George W. Bush smiles as he listens to reporter's question Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006, during a press conference at the White House that covered several topics including economy, the upcoming election year and fiscal policy. White House photo by Kimberlee Hewitt

President George W. Bush responds to news correspondent David Gregory during a news conference Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006, in the press briefing room of the White House. The President took questions regarding a variety of topics including security and the country's economy. White House photo by Paul Morse

Press Conference of the President

James S. Brady Briefing Room
January 26, 2006
...
Q What do you hear or your staff hear about releasing of photographs of Jack Abramoff with you, Mr. President? If you say you don't fear anything, tell us why you won't release them?

THE PRESIDENT: She's asking about a person who admitted to wrongdoing and who needs to be prosecuted for that. There is a serious investigation going on, as there should be. The American people have got to have confidence in the -- in the ethics of all branches of government. You're asking about pictures -- I had my picture taken with him, evidently. I've had my picture taken with a lot of people. Having my picture taken with someone doesn't mean that I'm a friend with them or know them very well. I've had my picture taken with you -- (laughter) -- at holiday parties.

My point is, I mean, there's thousands of people that come through and get their pictures taken. I'm also mindful that we live in a world in which those pictures will be used for pure political purposes, and they're not relevant to the investigation.

Q Do you know how many?

THE PRESIDENT: I don't have any idea.
.....

Well, there are more some say, unless they're really of Rick Renzi. They do look like Renzi and Bush is shorter than him and taller than Abramoff. (click to enlarge)

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Cheney accidentally shot lawyer

The shooting occurred in Texas YESTERDAY, but the MSM isn't getting around to reporting it as "breaking news" until Cheney already left the hospital. He visited Mr. Whittington, now in "stable condition" atthe hospital today. Should Dick be allowed to use guns if he can't tell the difference between a quail and a man?
Per CNN it's Mr. Whittington's fault as he didn't "announce" himself to Cheney.

Cheney Accidentally Shoots Fellow Hunter
Cheney Accidentally Shoots and Injures Fellow Hunter in Texas; Man, 78, 'Alert and Doing Fine'
WASHINGTON Feb 12, 2006 (AP)— Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and injured a man during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, his spokeswoman said Sunday.

Harry Whittington, 78, was "alert and doing fine" after Cheney sprayed Whittington with shotgun pellets on Saturday at the Armstrong Ranch in south Texas, said property owner Katharine Armstrong.

Armstrong said Cheney turned to shoot a bird and accidentally hit Whittington. She said Whittington was taken to Corpus Christi Memorial Hospital by ambulance.

Cheney's spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, said the vice president was with Whittington, a lawyer from Austin, Texas, and his wife at the hospital on Sunday afternoon..

Gee, it seems like only yesterday Cheney ridiculed Kerry's hunting skills.

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Abramoff and Bush

Just one of the missing Abramoff pictures has surfaced. May 9, 2001 at the White House. Big deal. We KNOW that Abramoff met with Bush several times. Where are the rest of the pictures? Note sleazebag Rove on the right, Abramoff's really good pal.

Web Exclusive to www.time.com

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, circled in red, is visible to the left as President Bush greets Indian tribal leader Raul Garza, while Bush adviser Karl Rove, right, looks on

time.com

First Photo of Bush and Abramoff
White House had initially said there was no record of disgraced lobbyist at 2001 meeting
By ADAM ZAGORIN AND MATTHEW COOPER/WASHINGTON

Posted Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006
Just how close was the relationship between the White House and disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff? The Bush Administration again faced questions about those ties after an e-mail Abramoff sent a journalist friend surfaced last week in which Abramoff wrote that he had met President Bush almost a dozen times over the past five years, and even received an invitation to the President's Crawford, Texas ranch along with other large political donors. Bush "has one of the best memories of any politician I have ever met," Abramoff mused in the e-mail last month, adding that, He "saw me in almost a dozen settings, and joked with me about a bunch of things, including details of my kids." The White House, however, has continued to assert that the President had no recollection of ever meeting Abramoff. When TIME reported in January that it had viewed unpublished photographs of Abramoff with Bush, aides responded that the pictures meant nothing since the President is photographed with thousands of supporters and White House visitors every year.

Now, finally, the first such photo has come to light. It shows a bearded Abramoff in the background as Bush greets an Abramoff client, Raul Garza, who was then the chairman of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas; Bush senior advisor Karl Rove looks on. The photograph was provided to TIME by Mr. Garza. The meeting took place in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House on May 9, 2001. Told about the photograph in January, the White House said it had no record that Abramoff was present at the meeting. Shown the photograph today, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the White House had still found no record of Abramoff's presence but confirmed that it is Abramoff in the picture. McClellan told TIME: "The president has taken countless, tens of thousands of pictures at home and abroad over the last five years. As we've said previously a photo like this has no relevance to the Justice Department's investigation (of Abramoff)."
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It's my party and I'll spy if I want to

Permission to Eavesdrop?

Even as the White House launches a media blitz to portray its controversial wiretapping program as a perfectly legal weapon in the war on terror, administration officials have begun dropping subtle hints—without explicitly saying so—that President Bush could go to Congress to seek more specific authority to listen in on U.S. citizens who are suspected of entanglement with terrorists. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales added to such speculation Tuesday by asserting during a series of television interviews that the law setting up an apparatus requiring warrants for such eavesdropping—the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA—might be outmoded. "I think we all realize that since 1978, when FISA was passed, there have been tremendous changes in technology," he said on CBS's "The Early Show." "We are engaged in a debate now, a conversation with Congress about FISA and about these authorities."
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bradblog.com
Blogged by Brad on 2/11/2006 @ 2:18pm PT...

EXCLUSIVE: DoJ Notifies House Today of Monday Briefing on NSA Wiretaps
Rare Saturday Email in Advance of Resolutions of Inquiry Mark-Up Said a Sign of GOP/White House Concern About Warrantless Eavesdropping Program..
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The email announcement follows in full...

From: Cylke, Chris
Sent: Saturday, February 11, 2006 11:14 AM
To: Cylke, Chris; Judiciary, Rep Leg Staff; Judiciary, Dem Staff & LAs
Cc: Judiciary, Majority Staff
Subject: Unclassified briefing by DOJ on NSA surveillance program
Importance: High

Will be held at 3 pm on Monday, Feb 13th. Presentation will be followed by an opportunity for Q & A. This briefing is for Judiciary Committee Members and staff only. If you have questions, please contact Beth Sokul at 5-3951.
Christopher Cylke
House Judiciary Committee

I love this guy,

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More Crooked Than Nixon

U.S. Constitution: Fourth Amendment

Search and Seizure
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The crooks in the White House lie as easily as they breathe. Their crimes have surpassed Nixon's dirty tricks. Nixon was desperate to listen in on his enemies as are the current White House occupants. It's against the law and in violation of the Constitution Nixon and Bush swore to uphold. The Bushies have gotten it down to a fine art. Nixon would be so jealous.

FBI Finds Nixon Aides Sabotaged Democrats

By Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
Washington Post Writers
Tuesday, October 10, 1972; Page A01

FBI agents have established that the Watergate bugging incident stemmed from a massive campaign of political spying and sabotage conducted on behalf of President Nixon's re-election and directed by officials of the White House and the Committee for the Re-election of the President.

The activities, according to information in FBI and Department of Justice files, were aimed at all the major Democratic presidential contenders and -- since 1971 -- represented a basic strategy of the Nixon re-election effort.

During their Watergate investigation, federal agents established that hundreds of thousands of dollars in Nixon campaign contributions had been set aside to pay for an extensive undercover campaign aimed at discrediting individual Democratic presidential candidates and disrupting their campaigns.

"Intelligence work" is normal during a campaign and is said to be carried out by both political parties. But federal investigators said what they uncovered being done by the Nixon forces is unprecedented in scope and intensity.
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Until now. Dick Cheney is more paranoid than Dick Nixon. He will stop at nothing to continue the neocon (PNAC) agenda and rake in more dough, including leaking the names of CIA agents through his Chief of Staff, Scooter Libby.

Scooter is using the Ollie North defense. (I was only doing things I was authorized to do and the person who authorized me can't tell you anything because it would endanger our national security and harm our troops and it's unpatriotic to ask.)

Libby: 'Superiors' authorized disclosure

Scooter' will claim Cheney encouraged him to share classified information
MSNBC
Feb. 10, 2006
David Shuster
MSNBC Correspondent

According to the “National Journal,” Scooter Libby, Vice President Cheney‘s former chief-of-staff testified to a federal grand jury that he was authorized by the vice president and other superiors to leak classified information to journalists, in order to defend the administration‘s case for war in Iraq.

It seems to me like a bombshell the fact that the man on trial now, about to go to trial for having broken the law by either lying under oath or obstruction of justice in the leak case, is now telling prosecutors that his boss told him to do it.

What makes it so significant is this now marks the very first time that the defense is putting Vice President Cheney right at the heart of these leaks about Valerie Wilson, the wife of administration critic Joe Wilson.

Legal sources in case are telling us that this came up recently in a conference call with the judge in the case and Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. There was a discussion about evidence and requests by the defense, by Scooter Libby to get classified documents and it was during this conversation, according to lawyers, that Scooter Libby‘s lawyers said that part of their defense is based on the idea that Scooter Libby was acting on orders by his superiors, including Vice President Cheney.
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Hahaha....yeah, this will work.
ABA chief says Bush should obey law on spying

February 11, 2006
By ANNA JOHNSON
Associated Press
CHICAGO - The president of the nation's largest lawyers' group said Friday that President Bush should comply with federal law when conducting electronic surveillance of Americans and refrain from scaring people into giving up their civil liberties in the fight against terrorism.
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In the meantime, Cheney says it's all within their legal rights. These thugs are NOT going to give up any power. They like it too much.
PBS interview
CHENEY: "We believe, Jim, that we have all the legal authority we need."

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Welcome

Welcome to my blog.

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