Fight Back Against Republican Sex Scandals Double Standards

Representative Mark Foley's resignation in disgrace over allegations of improper sexual advances towards little boys once again bring the familiar refrain; it's Bill Clinton's fault. The party of personal responsibility and family values are neither. The opportunity exists, for those of us in the netroots, to cast aside one such double standard hypocritical rightard running for the open seat of Oklahoma's 5th congressional district. Mary Fallin, long insulated in her cocoon of Rethuglican cohorts, feels she can step out of the shadows of her long twelve year stint as Lt. Governor, the demanding daily task requires every morning to ask, "How is the Governor feeling today?" Sure, her good buddy Governor Frank Keating threw her projects to make her political bones. But someone else may have been "boning" Fallin.

While Governor Keating was hammering Clinton for his "pecadillos", Lt. Governor Mary Fallin was embroiled in her own steamy little tryst with a hunky Highway Patrol officer assigned to guard her body (yikes!)
The real "body guards" of Fallin's professional career are Frank Keating, a real mucky-muck in the DoJ of the Reagan and Bush administrations,prior to his stint as Governor of Oklahoma, and Bob Ricks, (yes, THAT Bob Ricks, mouthpiece of the FBI at WACO) and who got the cushy job of Oklahoma's Director of Public Safety, from, you guessed it, Frank Keating. Now, think this through, the Governor tells some old chum of his that he appointed to "leave no stone unturned" in investigating the alleged "poking" of his second in command, by one of his ol' buddies employees.
Now, this is sleazy to be sure, and I'll be taking a shower when I'm done writing it, but it is a story that is not being told. Insiders shielding insiders and shrieking violently about immoral behavior(IOKIYAR).
Which brings us to the 5th Congressional District of Oklahoma. Political neophyte Dr. David Hunter won the Democratic primary and is facing Fallin on November 7. It is an open seat as Istook wants to be Governor (not gonna happen.) Hunter opposes the Iraq war and the Republican Torture Authorization Act.

I set up a donation page at Act Blue for Dr. Hunter. Please hit the tip jar over their so we can get oversight in congress, and really just bitchslap these rightards and their one-way ethics. Everything helps.

Republicans Shield Child molesters

The party of "family values" has a shiny new member to place on its list of pedophiles. Representative Mark Foley (R-FL) has resigned in disgrace when it became publicly known that he was allegedly sexually harassing a 16-year-old male page via email and instant messages.

As sick as these allegations are, even more distressing is that the Republican leadership has known about this for nearly a year, and were more concerned with protecting their leadership positions than protecting the children of America from pedophiles. Once again, the Republican leadership was willing to trade oversight for overlook and end the session without any investigation and hit the campaign trail. Not so fast, says House Democratic Leader, Nancy Pelosi:

Whereas for more than 150 years, parents from across the country have sent their children to be pages in the U.S. Capitol, the Page School is a national treasure, and the children who attend it and work in the Congress are our special trust;

Whereas, according to press reports, Representative Mark Foley (R-FL) reportedly engaged in highly inappropriate and explicit communications with a former underage page;

Whereas these allegations were so severe that Representative Foley immediately resigned his seat;

Whereas the page worked for Representative Rodney Alexander (R-LA) and, according to press reports, Representative Alexander learned of the emails "10 to 11 months ago"; (AP, September 29, 2006)

Whereas Representative Alexander has said, "We also notified the House leadership that there might be a potential problem", and the Democratic leadership was not informed; (AP, September 29, 2006)

Whereas all Members of Congress have a responsibility to protect their employees, especially young pages who serve this institution;

Whereas these charges demand immediate investigation, including a determination of when the emails were sent, who knew of the emails, whether there was a pattern of inappropriate activity by Mr. Foley involving email or other contacts with pages or former pages, when the Republican leadership was notified, and what corrective action was taken once officials learned of any improper activity;

Whereas given the serious nature of these charges, the pages, their parents, the public, and our colleagues must be assured that Congress will take responsibility that such egregious behavior is not tolerated and will never happen again;

Therefore be it resolved,

That the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall immediately appoint an Investigative Subcommittee to fully and expeditiously determine the facts connected with Representative FoleyÂ’s conduct and the response thereto; and

That Committee on Standards of Official Conduct is further directed to make a preliminary report to the House within ten days.

That is the text of Leader Pelosi's privileged resolution. It simply cannot be any clearer that the Republicans are unethical and completely uninterested in anything other than their grip on power. It was hard for me to fathom anything Republicans could do any worse than they have already done last Thursday. Friday, they threw the bar on the ground and tripped over it.

One can only imagine what kind of pressure was applied to this lad to STFU. Imagine being a 16-year-old boy and having the power of the future of the world in your possession. Surely someone took a run at him.

Welcome To The United States Of Torture

Okay, so we've all seen the pictures of Abu Grahib prisoners being humiliated and gnawed on by german shepherds, so we can say "bullshit" when Dubya says we do not torture. As an end run around the Geneva conventions, detainees were classified as enemy combatants, and since they belong to no government that signed any treaty, they were persona non grata, the Bush administration could run their own little petri dish of intel gathering, however they saw fit. Remember, none of these detainees have even been charged with a crime. Some, without doubt, are evil, as some, without doubt, are just poor unlucky bastards.

Then, the Supreme Court ruled that Dubyas little kangaroo court idea needed a serious enema, and oh, by the way, the detainees are protected by the Geneva conventions. Did you see the "fiendish fourteen" terrorists suddenly come out of the secret CIA prisons and get transferred to Gitmo? Did ya here Bush tell Congress to enact the bill he proposed to enable the CIA program to "go forward?"

CIA agents were told their torture program was legal. The Supreme Court told them they are fulla shit. The CIA spooks told Bush "fuck this" we are like not doing time for war crimes, so they halted their operation "Terror/Torture".

Now Bush is thumping his chest saying the deal is done and operation Terror/Torture can continue. McCain, Graham and Warner have returned oversight to the executive branch and the Democrats are tediously gnawing their fingernails, shell shocked into an opinionless mass of quivering shit.

We do not have to be a lawyer or listen to anything this administration says to understand what is going on. This administration tortures people. SCOTUS says no-no. Program stops. POTUS gets new rules, program re-starts.

How would you like to be the poor unlucky bastard when your tormenter returns, reinvigorated after a hiatus, armed with the power of God? Surely some people think torture could be an effective tool. Please, do not confuse America with countries who accept this, even though Bush has.

They actually think they can prevent the courts from reviewing any of this. It's in the language of the bill. These guys are not strong on defense, they're lame in the brain. This will not stand. The only question I have is where do the Democrats stand?

Nationbuilding With The Wingnut Welfare Program

So, to build a shining example of Democracy and free-enterprise, one would think you would assemble the best and brightest for the job. But then again we are talking about a program coming from the culture of corruption and cronyism that defines the Bush administration. From the Washington Post.

After the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in April 2003, the opportunity to participate in the U.S.-led effort to reconstruct Iraq attracted all manner of Americans -- restless professionals, Arabic-speaking academics, development specialists and war-zone adventurers. But before they could go to Baghdad, they had to get past Jim O'Beirne's office in the Pentagon.
[...]

Yeah, I said that already. You know there is a "but" in there somewhere.

[...]

To pass muster with O'Beirne, a political appointee who screens prospective political appointees for Defense Department posts, applicants didn't need to be experts in the Middle East or in post-conflict reconstruction. What seemed most important was loyalty to the Bush administration.

O'Beirne's staff posed blunt questions to some candidates about domestic politics: Did you vote for George W. Bush in 2000? Do you support the way the president is fighting the war on terror? Two people who sought jobs with the U.S. occupation authority said they were even asked their views on Roe v. Wade .

[...]

Now, I have never applied for a Federal job before, I always assumed it would be different somehow.

[...]
Many of those chosen by O'Beirne's office to work for the Coalition Provisional Authority, which ran Iraq's government from April 2003 to June 2004, lacked vital skills and experience. A 24-year-old who had never worked in finance -- but had applied for a White House job -- was sent to reopen Baghdad's stock exchange. The daughter of a prominent neoconservative commentator and a recent graduate from an evangelical university for home-schooled children were tapped to manage Iraq's $13 billion budget, even though they didn't have a background in accounting.
[...]

hmmm. This Bush appointee O'Beirne is married to Kate, the far right talking head that spins faster than a Texas tornado. This is basically just a wingnut welfare jobs program for the sons and daughters of rightwing think tanks, all of whom will eventually wind up being "Foxsperts" on some blah blah bullshit sales job on the rank and file of racist homophobic "value voters" Republicans hoodwink into voting for their fundraising schemes.

The article in the Post very long and is an excerpt from a book. I strongly recommend reading it. To be aware of these things makes it very difficult to vote for Republicans. Impossible for me.

FBI Triples Fraud Investigators In DC

This is why Grover Norquist wants to reduce the size of government where he can drag it into the bathroom and drown it into a bathtub.

WASHINGTON - There is so much political corruption on Capitol Hill that the FBI has had to triple the number of squads investigating lobbyists, lawmakers and influence peddlers, the Daily News has learned.

For decades, only one squad in Washington handled corruption cases because the crimes were seen as local offenses handled by FBI field offices in lawmakers' home districts.

But in recent years, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and other abuses of power and privilege have prompted the FBI to assign 37 agents full-time to three new squads in an office near Capitol Hill.

FBI Assistant Director Chip Burrus told The News yesterday that he wants to detail even more agents to the Washington field office for a fourth corruption squad because so much wrongdoing is being uncovered.

[...]

Try to remember, the cops and robbers both are on our payroll. Vurp!

Abramoff And Bush Connected

Remember Jack Abramoff, the crooked lobbyist that no Republican knew?

Press briefing by Presidential spokesliar, Snotty McClellan, January 17, 2006.

Q So would the White House be open to complying with the Democrats' request to go ahead and provide that kind of information, the contacts Abramoff had with senior staff, that type of thing?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I've already indicated to you a general description of any contacts that were there.

Q Can you be more specific about the contacts with the senior staff? You said you were going to get back to us on that. Can you give us --

MR. McCLELLAN: I did check. There were a few staff-level meetings. As I indicated there were -- I think I previously indicated that he attended three Hanukkah receptions at the White House. It is actually only two Hanukkah receptions that he attended.

Q And the years?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think it was the earlier years, earlier 2000 -- early in the 2000 time period. I can double-check that. And so that's --

Q Specific staff? You were going to get back to us on the specific staff --

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, my understanding from the check that we did was that there are just a few staff-level meetings in addition to those.

Q Who was in the staff meetings?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't get into discussing staff-level meetings.

Q Why not?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, if you got something to bring to my attention, Elisabeth, I'll be glad to look into it. If you've got something specific, I'll be glad to take a look into it.

Q Did he meet with Karl Rove, for example?

MR. McCLELLAN: We don't -- we don't ever tend to get into those staff-level meetings.

Gee, sounds like just a couple of times, like maybe religious ceremonies or something. Or not.

Former associates of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff had dozens of appointments with Bush administration staff members, according to Secret Service visitor logs the White House released yesterday to settle a lawsuit by the Democratic Party and an ethics watchdog group.[...]

Seems the Dems weren't willing to rely on ole Snotty to get back to the steno capitol crew and had to break out the lawyers to find out who has been in the people's Whitehouse, currently occupied by Repugnicons.

[...]
Republican activists Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed, political allies of President Bush and longtime Abramoff associates, totaled more than 100 visits to the Bush White House. Abramoff, a former GOP lobbyist, has pleaded guilty to fraud and is cooperating with prosecutors in an influence-peddling investigation. White House officials said they believe all their meetings that included Bush were group events, such as Christmas parties or policy briefings for GOP supporters.[...]

Ah, Grover and Ralph, lobbying for Jack and the mighty right-wing welfare programs. I guess when Snotty said "two" referring to meetings, he left out the modifier "hundred." It only took nine months to get these records. If this story gets any traction Iran better head for cover.

NSA Claims Wiretapping Program Illegal

The National Security Agency provided a list of "talking points" about the warrantless eavesdropping program on American's in America to Senate intelligence agency chair, Pat Roberts (R-Kan) that somehow ended up on the pages of WaPo. The one that caught my eye, was the one that admitted guilt.

"Current law is not agile enough to handle the threat posed by sophisticated international terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda"

So instead of following the law, that is not "agile enough" (72 hour retro-warrants are waaay too slow) they chose to ignore the law. Which is a polite way of saying they are engaged in criminal activity, and their own talking points point that out. Can somebody get a judge on the phone?

The Path To 9/11; A Critical Review

So, over the vehement protestations of hundreds of thousands of people, ABC/Disney elected to air the GOP-U-Drama, Path To 9/11, saying to criticize it before viewing is "irresponsible." So, this is my attempt at being responsible.

For full disclosure, I was busy, and missed some of the start of the shillathon and cannot review the treatment the previous administration received for rounding up all of the perpertrators that first attacked the world trade center, prosecuted, convicted who now sit rotting in a maximum security prison in Colorado. Even though that attack occurred very early in the Clinton administration, I do not recall anyone blaming Bush the Senior.

What I did witness was the path to 9/11 during the Clinton Administration was aided and abetted by the constant stumbling over the Clenis--apparently the previous Commander-In-Chief was thinking with the wrong head. Deep throat wore a blue dress and bin Laden got away because our President couldn't shoot straight.

Enter Leader-by-landslide Dubya (aka The English Patient) and Kinda Sleazy Rice knicking her leg by pushing Dick away from the Adults table. The tin star Rexall Ranger is tired of "swatting flies" and wants to go all "shock and awe" on bin Laden, but the apparatus left by Clenis is impotent, unable to penetrate and deliver a climax to the baddies.

FISA can't help and wiretapping laws have them hamstrung. Shit, these guys hit all the points in making this $40 million gift for the Republican party.

Okay, so Disney/ABC chose to air a movie that is a huge stain on the events of 9/11. The writers and producers are well known partisan hacks as has been brought to light on the internet. They took the default position of the "Party of Personal Responsiblity" and blamed Clinton. They peopled their movie with actors portraying real people who are still alive and have them saying things they do not say, and doing things they do not do.

They claimed their shillathon was based on the 9/11 bi-partisan commission report, even though their movie was not bi-partisan, contradicted the 9/11 report and carried a blantant political slant.

Now it is not possible to put this turd back into the elephant that shit it out, but those involved with this must know it is not without consequences.

I'll start out this way; Disney/ABC--Fuck You.

I won't be going to Disneyland or anything like that--for sure. I'll be sure and tell everyone I know that you hire and coddle child molesters. You belong with the GOP, the party of child molesters. Fifteen-year-old boys would be safer on an all male Greek freighter. At least they don't wear goofy costumes and preach about family values.

ABC is joined at the hip with these assfuckers. An Iron Curtain of Orwellian Reich-speak has descended upon the corporate media. Would you approve of a holocaust denial movie-of-the-week "docudrama?" Credibility is like virginity, once you've lost it, you're fucked. And in the words of Pat Paulsen, "I'm trying to up my standards, so up yours."

The Actors.

Lending starpower to such a politically slanted movie is a dangerous thing to do. Perhaps you were misled. However, ignorance is no excuse, and making political statements can be quite costly. I watched in horror as flight Toby Keith crashed into the Dixie Chicks tower, reducing the Chicks careers to a smoldering hole in the ground. Maybe Keith thinks it's kewl to beat up on chicks, but the message stands; you have tread on treacherous ground.

Certainly your high priced handlers are saying "no comment" as fast as they can. Wolf is trying to get out in front. Shave your heads, put ashes on your forehead, gird your loins up in sackcloth, and when you go out in public, wear clappers and bells and yell "unclean, unclean" whenever someone approaches, and maybe you can weather this shitstorm.

Yeah, I'm a little pissed over this deal. The movie is a fucking lie, Republicans refuse to accept responsibility for anything, and they wrap their failure around the Clenis. Everyone involved in this project is part of the military-industrial complex of war profiteers, getting rich off of fomenting strife and death throughout the world and the manufacture and sales of mechanized doom. They have dishonored the victims of September 11, 2001 by turning their memory into an excuse to blame their political rivals and an opportunity to line their pockets.

Disney/ABC/GOP--Fuck You.

Happy Labor Day

The final stretch to the November elections and Karl said he's bringing the two "t's" to the fight. Terrorism and turnout. Looks like the Republicans are going to focus on six congressional seats to maintain a slim majority and avoit oversight and indictments. They have $60 million to spend on this, half of which is dedicated to get out the vote.

Everyone has a voice. Use it. Get active. Donate and do whatever you can. Many people have no voice and are no longer active. To see who I am talking about, click right here.

(h/t to cbl @ fdl for the link. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Double Down Presidency

cross posted at firedoglake

In an awkward pivot from Bush's failed Katrina response anniversary, the President tries to drum up support for additional wars with Iran and Syria, heading toward the 9/11 anniversary, while stuck in the Iraqi tar-baby debacle. Some choice excerpts of his speech on August 31, 2006.

The enemies of liberty come from different parts of the world, and they take inspiration from different sources. Some are radicalized followers of the Sunni tradition, who swear allegiance to terrorist organizations like al Qaeda. Others are radicalized followers of the Shia tradition, who join groups like Hezbollah and take guidance from state sponsors like Syria and Iran. Still others are "homegrown" terrorists -- fanatics who live quietly in free societies they dream to destroy. Despite their differences, these groups from -- form the outlines of a single movement, a worldwide network of radicals that use terror to kill those who stand in the way of their totalitarian ideology.

Okay. We have a worldwide boogeyman but the big ol' fat bullseye is painted on Iran and Syria.

Second, we have made it clear to all nations, if you harbor terrorists, you are just as guilty as the terrorists; you're an enemy of the United States, and you will be held to account.

He has done so well with Iraq, now he wants to expand the war. And he will.

The Iranian regime arms, funds, and advises Hezbollah, which has killed more Americans than any terrorist network except al Qaeda. The Iranian regime interferes in Iraq by sponsoring terrorists and insurgents, empowering unlawful militias, and supplying components for improvised explosive devices. The Iranian regime denies basic human rights to millions of its people. And the Iranian regime is pursuing nuclear weapons in open defiance of its international obligations.

Like a gambler on a losing streak, Bush insists on doubling down. His administrations complete failure on the GWOT seeks to pick bigger fights with larger nations and even more dangerous adventures. Using new buzzwords like fascism, nazi, and Hitler, they are pandering to the warporn wing of the country, nastier images are required to achieve erection and gratification.

This administration will generate more wars. It is what they do, even if very badly. To stop them, Democrats must undertake a blistering assault on their warmaking. I'll pass some ammunition.

Half of the people in Iraq are under eighteen, according to UNICEF. I wonder where their parents are and if they are enjoying their freedoms from them? Are the policies of this administration reducing the ranks of terrorists or increasing them?

The number of terrorist attacks worldwide increased nearly fourfold in 2005 to 11,111, with strikes in Iraq accounting for 30 percent of the total, according to statistics released by U.S. counterterrorism officials yesterday.

Does this make anyone feel safer? Not a very good track record coming from the Daddy party. This current track of escalating wars is doomed to fail for two very basic reasons. First of all, when someone is killed, usually it makes someone else upset that they lost their friend or family member. And maybe it pisses off several people. Some have been known to strike back indiscriminately, especially if the death of their friend or loved one was senseless. The Bush Doctrine, for this reason, is a terrorist multiplier.

The second reason it is doomed for failure is that a fella needs to work. When war comes to town, it sorta makes it hard to find a job, and soldiering is about the only game in town. And clearly Bush does not get these two points, even as simple as he is. Bush wants war, so the Democrats must give him one. Never explain, never defend, always attack. Keith Olbermann shows us how it's done.

The man who sees absolutes, where all other men see nuances and shades of meaning, is either a prophet, or a quack.

Donald H. Rumsfeld is not a prophet.

Mr. Rumsfeld’s remarkable speech to the American Legion yesterday demands the deep analysis—and the sober contemplation—of every American.

For it did not merely serve to impugn the morality or intelligence -- indeed, the loyalty -- of the majority of Americans who oppose the transient occupants of the highest offices in the land. Worse, still, it credits those same transient occupants -- our employees -- with a total omniscience; a total omniscience which neither common sense, nor this administration’s track record at home or abroad, suggests they deserve.

Two words: K. O.