Comments on Lydia Cornell: GONZO-GATE TO BRING ROVE DOWN?

Truly Priceless

2007-03-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

Good evening folks.

2007-03-31T18:19:00.000-07:00

Good evening folks.

Oops looks like Bush has lost another supporter......

2007-03-31T17:48:00.000-07:00

Oops looks like Bush has lost another supporter........

Bush's chief campaign strategist says 'Kerry was right' on Iraq

The chief strategist for President George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign wrote an editorial that said Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry was right in calling for a withdrawal from Iraq -- "Kerry Was Right" -- but never submitted it, according to an article to be published in Sunday's New York Times.

The article, "Ex-Aide Details a Loss of Faith in the President," details the disenchantment of one of Bush's most senior campaign aides, Matthew Dowd.

Dowd was a keystone in the Administration's effort to portray Sen. Kerry as a flip-flopper "who could not be trusted with national security during wartime." He is the first of Bush's inner circle to break so publicly with him.

According to the Times, Dowd was a top strategist for Texas Democrats "who were disappointed by the Bill Clinton years" and "was impressed by the pledge of Mr. Bush, then governor of Texas, to bring a spirit of cooperation to Washington. He switched parties, joined Mr. Bush's political brain trust and dedicated the next six years to getting him to the Oval Office and keeping him there."

He was appointed Bush's chief campaign strategist in 2004. Dowd now says his faith in Bush was "misplaced."

Excerpts follow.

He criticized the president as failing to call the nation to a shared sense of sacrifice at a time of war, failing to reach across the political divide to build consensus and ignoring the will of the people on Iraq. He said he believed the president had not moved aggressively enough to hold anyone accountable for the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and that Mr. Bush still approached governing with a "my way or the highway" mentality reinforced by a shrinking circle of trusted aides.

Dowd... said his decision to step forward had not come easily. But, he said, his disappointment in Mr. Bush's presidency is so great that he feels a sense of duty to go public given his role in helping Mr. Bush gain and keep power.

"I'm a big believer that in part what we're called to do -- to me, by God; other people call it karma -- is to restore balance when things didn't turn out the way they should have," Mr. Dowd said. "Just being quiet is not an option when I was so publicly advocating an election."

The White House responded through Communications Director Dan Bartlett, "who said he disagreed with Mr. Dowd's description of the president as isolated and with his position on withdrawal," but said "he was not surprised."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

Speaking of the Brits being held by the Iranians;U...

2007-03-31T17:43:00.000-07:00

Speaking of the Brits being held by the Iranians;

U.S. rejects exchange of captives with Iran

U.S. officials say they have ruled out a possible deal to exchange the 15 British Royal Navy personnel captured by Iran for five Iranians held by U.S. forces in Iraq.

Could that be why the Iranians grabbed the Brits in the first place?

Bill O can't stand the HEAT;Bill O'Reilly cuts mic...

2007-03-31T17:40:00.000-07:00

Bill O can't stand the HEAT;

Bill O'Reilly cuts mic of US Colonel Ann Wright as she defends her service and stance

It seems the last straw that led to Bill O'Reilly cutting the mic of retired US. Army Colonel Ann Wright on The Factor last night 3/30/07 was her declaration of 29 years of service, and her questioning O'Reilly about how many years he served. This happened as she refused to let him silence her by overtalking, twisting her words and accusing her of blaming America for the Iran-Britain situation going on now.

Toensing Doesn't Know Dick About Valby, Brent Budo...

2007-03-31T12:02:00.000-07:00

Toensing Doesn't Know Dick About Val

by, Brent Budowsky

The CIA Leak Case And The Truth That Keeps Us Free.

The CIA Leak case embodies all that has gone wrong with American national security policy, the war in Iraq, and America's role in the world during the Presidency of George W. Bush.

I began working on the Intelligence Identities Protection Act shortly after CIA station chief Richard Welch was murdered in Greece when his identity was disclosed. The orginal sponsor was my boss Senator Lloyd Bentsen, who I worked very closely with over many years on this matter, along with representatives of CIA management, legal counsel, public affairs and representatives of clandestine services in extensive meetings to develop legislation to best protect those who serve our country covertly.

Senator Bentsen was also the original sponsor of related legislation, also enacted, to provide death benefits to families of CIA officers killed in the line of duty.

Many individuals worked on these bills that became laws. I was proud when Senator Bentsen received a letter from the Director of Central Intelligence thanking me, as well as him, for these efforts. No doubt many others received such commendations and all should be proud of having been a part of important work supporting heroic men and women.

I offer this brief summary to emphasize that the views expressed here resulted not from a day's work, or a year's work, but from work that has been, and remains, a part of my lifetime which began early and continues in various forms today. I did not come to these issues late, nor do I offer these thoughts lightly.

The CIA leak case is not about Joe Wilson, or Valerie Plame, or whether one supports or opposes the Iraq war. The CIA leak case is about integrity and truth in intelligence, which is essential in defeating terrorism, in winning wars when we must fight them, and avoiding wars when we should not fight them. The CIA leak case is about honor and patriotism, about protecting those who serve bravely and covertly, just as we should stand completely behind men and women in uniform.

The CIA leak case is about the need for strong human intelligence, a need that is urgent and has been urgent for more than three decades.

The CIA leak case is about the obsession and ideology that disrespects facts, and disrespects truth, and declares Mafia-like vendettas against those who make good faith and professional efforts to ascertain them. The CIA leak case is about using partisan and political pressure to distort and pervert the search for truth, which is what good intelligence is all about, and the CIA leak case is about what goes wrong when these cardinal principles, time honored for every intelligence service on earth, are violated.

Others worked on these laws and policies as I did and have the right to their opinion, but I would submit that my views represent the overwhelming majority of opinion among those who wrote these laws, those who devised these policies, and those who serve covertly in every clandestine service from the CIA to MI-6 and Mossad.

For anyone who offers the contrary I will debate them at any time, in any forum.

When the original Identities Law was drafted, we were sickened and disgusted that identities of American intelligence officers were revealed and at times led to their death, by some who were radical and extreme and serving the interests of America's enemies during the Cold War.

It never occurred to even one of us, working on those laws at that time, that the identity of a covert officer would ever be revealed by the highest officials in American government in leading newspapers and syndicated columns of high level Washington insiders. In those days the revealers of identities ended up taking refuge in Castro's Cuba, not Washington dinner parties or high level corridors of insider power.

It is immaterial whether the CIA Identities Act was technically violated. In my view it probably was; reasonable people can disagree; Patrick Fitzgerald said that lies threw sand in the gears of justice, so perhaps we will ultimately find out, perhaps not.

Understand the protestations of those who argue most aggresively for pardon, are those who argue most aggressively that the identity law was not broken, but support the pardon in large measure because they also fear the ultimate revelation of the truth, whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Countless people who I respect and admire have urged me to aggressively attack Victoria Toensing. I don't believe she is very important to this. She has the right to her views, though they are close to universally rejected by those who know the most of this matter, witness how few Republicans came to the Waxman hearing to offer their support.

I will make one brief point on this.

Lloyd Bentsen has left us, but I have no doubt for a second that he would have been outraged, sickened, nauseated and disgusted by this compromise of a covert officer. I have no doubt that virtually every Senator and every Member of Congress who worked on this law would be outraged, sickened, nauseated and disgusted by this compromise of a covert officer, and in my humble opinion that includes Senator Barry Goldwater, whose name Ms. Toensing invoked in making her case for her cause.

I knew Barry Goldwater. Barry Goldwater was a patriot. Ms. Toensing is no Barry Goldwater if she suggests he would not be sickened and disgusted by these leaks.

Regarding the various players on the Libby side of this case, certain neoconservatives who think its OK to reveal the identity of a covert officer, editorial pages such as the Washington Post that often misstate both facts and law and publish mug shot photos of prosecutors as the case goes to jury, and the partisans who argue that putting one's hand on the bible and lying to God Almighty about American national security is really OK, well.....

Valerie Plame was covert. Valerie Plame had served our country covertly within the last five year prior to the disclosure of her identity. To suggest otherwise today, when the facts are now beyond dispute, is that extraordinary combination of delusion and dishonesty that will be seen by history as the darkest side of national security disasters of the Bush years.

Valerie Plame worked with networks of people abroad helping her, and our country, in the battle against terrorism, including terrorism and WMD. Valerie Plame undoubtedly had various associations with sensitive people, companies and organizations that were almost certainly compromised by acts that lacked honor and patriotism, and hurt our country, and hurt our security, and hurt our troops, and increased dangers for our community no matter what the juridical status of those acts.

When these dastardly deeds are done though leaks that Lloyd Bentsen and Barry Goldwater had equal contempt for and disgust towards:

* real people can die.

* real foreign sources fail to trust our honor and withdraw their cooperation.

* real intelligence networks are compromised and real intelligence is lost or corrupted.

* real front companies are exposed which only heightens the damage, danger and death for others who serve covertly or cooperate with our clandestine services.

* real damage is done to our security and real services are performed for those seeking WMD to attack us, by violating and endangering those who work covertly to kill them, before they attack us.

* real American troops are killed our wounded on the battlefield because delusion, dishonesty and deadly obsessions corrupt decision making in Washington.

Make no mistake, those compromsing identities of clandestine officers act as the enemy of brave men and women who serve our country, and act as the friend of terrorists and enemies who dream of flying more planes to bomb our buildings, and dream of exploding WMD in our great cities to kill hundreds of thousands of our people.

If someone pointed to an American Marine in Baghdad and helped a sniper kill a hero, would the ideolgogues and apologists be standing by his body smiling and waving statute books and calling for pardons of those who pointed to our troops and aided the snipers who killed them?

If an American city is attacked by terrorists using WMD, would the proud leakers of a covert identity of those who tried to stop them be waving their statute books and calling for pardons?

The sound you hear, is the fist of Lloyd Bentsen and Barry Goldwater, in heaven, pounding the table that these acts are sickening, nauseating, despicable and their names should never be used to justify, excuse or condone these acts.

What is most appalling and scandalous is that some of those who wave our flag the highest when it suits them politically, are willing to justify a betrayal of those who serve covertly, are willing to justify acts that endanger our country with sophistries and legalisms, and do not show even the slightest outrage and disgust of acts so unworthy of anyone who holds high office.

I personally believe the Identities Law was violated, but that is beside the point.

This case is about obsessions, delusions, lies, misrepresentations, breaches of security, and the deliberate and aggressive distortions of the collection, analysis and public use of intelligence.

This case is about those so hungry to frighten out country to war that they endanger the very lives of those who serve us.

This case about those who wage vendettas against the search for truth itself.

This case is about the contempt and disresepct for human intelligence itself, when those who provide it have their lives treated as the petty cash of partisan politics and the delusions of ideology that will justify anything, no matter what the harm to our country, to get what they want.

They got what they wanted in Iraq and the world now knows the result, but the delusions, the vendettas, the dishonesties, the half truths, falsehoods, deceptions and lies continue even today by those who dare to falsely claim, even today, that Valerie Plame was not covert, and those who dare to falsely state, even today, that real damage was not done by these sick and despicable leaks of classified information and covert identity.

I propose the Waxman Committee take thebroadest view with a long overdue investigation and examine the pressures on intelligence, the attacks on the intelligence community, the distortions of intelligence information, the selective and deceptive leaking of classified information, the damage to human intelligence, the petty and large corruptions of the truth and honor that lie at the heart of good intelligence, which themselves protect the heart of our national security and defend the safety of our communities, and the lives of our troops.

I expect shocking revelations to come when the Senate Intelligence Committee releases its next report on pre-war Iraq intelligence, shamefully withheld for partisan reasons, in the hope that the last election would have kept in power the party that withheld it. And I hope the Waxman Committee leads the fight for truth and honor in the collection and use of intelligence, in the broadest sense.

Lets understand, this case is not about the people involved, or the technicalities of law.

This is case is about principles and values far larger than the moment, it is about the declaration of war against truth, against honor, against facts, against our security itself by those who endangered the brave, and now seek pardon for the guilty.

In the world of intelligence it is the truth that sets us free, and the truth that keeps us safe.

It is the truth, as much as the identities, that we must always protect, at all times, at all costs, even at the risk of our lives, as those who seek the truth, to serve our country, risk theirs.

hey moo, i hear your playing foest gump in the rem...

2007-03-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

hey moo, i hear your playing foest gump in the remake of that movie for the handicapped.

their using the little bus to bus all you SPECIAL people in.

Anonymous said...who is the biggest schmuck of all...

2007-03-31T10:42:00.000-07:00

Anonymous said...
who is the biggest schmuck of all?

What is you, AKA moo moo.

I bet Anny Tranny and Fox Lies Noise machine won't...

2007-03-31T09:50:00.000-07:00

I bet Anny Tranny and Fox Lies Noise machine won't be all over this courts-martial;

Sanchez investigation wraps up today

The Corps on Friday was slated to wrap up an investigation into allegations that a corporal in the Individual Ready Reserve who appeared in gay porn films before enlisting solicited more than $12,000 from private organizations by asking them to fund a deployment to Iraq he never made, according to e-mails from the investigating officer forwarded to Marine Corps Times.

Reserve Col. Charles Jones, a staff judge advocate called to Marine Corps Mobilization Command in Kansas City, Mo., on temporary orders that expire Saturday, informed Reserve Cpl. Matt Sanchez of the allegations against him in a March 22 e-mail that advised Sanchez of his rights.

Jones wrote that Sanchez’s participation in porn films was part of the investigation, but that two of the three allegations against him involved lying “to various people, including but not limited to, representatives of the New York City United War Veterans Council and U-Haul Corporation” about deploying to Iraq at the commandant’s request.

“Specifically, you wrongfully solicited funds to support your purported deployment to Iraq” by coordinating a $300 payment from the UWVC and $12,000 from U-Haul, Jones wrote.

I wonder if the chicken hawk college re-pubies are gonna invite him back next year for Anny Tranny to hug all over?

Rudy might just have a small problem brewing which...

2007-03-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

Rudy might just have a small problem brewing which he can do nothing about;

WaPo:

Federal prosecutors have told Bernard B. Kerik, whose nomination as homeland security secretary in 2004 ended in scandal, that he is likely to be charged with several felonies, including tax evasion and conspiracy to commit wiretapping.

Kerik's indictment could set the stage for a courtroom battle that would draw attention to Kerik's extensive business and political dealings with former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who personally recommended him to President Bush for the Cabinet. Giuliani, the front-runner for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination according to most polls, later called the recommendation a mistake.

Rudy Rudy Rudy, you should be a little more careful about the friends you choose.....

Who's the biggest schmuck?Jim "Mellon Head" Web, D...

2007-03-31T08:13:00.000-07:00

Who's the biggest schmuck?

Jim "Mellon Head" Web, Dick Turbin, or Ted Kennedy, the Cape Cod Orca?

Who's the biggest schmuck:Madeline Halfwit, Nancy ...

2007-03-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

Who's the biggest schmuck:

Madeline Halfwit, Nancy "Stretch" Pelosi, or Schmucky Schumer?

Bill Clinton hits Hillary's fundrasing goal; wins ...

2007-03-31T07:51:00.000-07:00

Bill Clinton hits Hillary's fundrasing goal; wins pink Cadillac. Story to follow.

who is the biggest schmuck of all?a) that fat yent...

2007-03-31T07:48:00.000-07:00

who is the biggest schmuck of all?

a) that fat yenta Rosy O'Donell?

b) that sex pervert Keith Overbite?

or

c) that fat sex pervert Chris Matthews?

Good Morning!! (yawn)

2007-03-31T07:02:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!! (yawn)

When fervent apologists like this one start admitt...

2007-03-30T23:14:00.000-07:00

When fervent apologists like this one start admitting we can't win in Iraq, the end of the game is drawing near.

I wonder if anyone's bothered to go to the Oval Nursery and explain this to Chimpy yet?

Didn't FF or Volt or TT say "No one pays attention...

2007-03-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

Didn't FF or Volt or TT say "No one pays attention to Pat Roberton, he's a loon?"

Now we find out that 150 graduates of Pat Robertson's Regent University are installed in the White House and State Department. From Max Blumenthal:

"When the Bush administration came into power, it looked to Regent for a reliable pool of well-groomed Republican ideologues eager to wage the culture war from the inside. The former dean of Regent's Robertson School of Government, Kay Coles James, was promptly installed as the Director of the Office of Personnel Management.

According to her bio, from 2001 to 2005, James was "President Bush's principal advisor in matters of personnel administration for the 1.8 million members of the Federal civil service." In that role, James rolled back the power of unions in the federal sector. Now that she's out of government, James is back among her Christian right allies, appearing frequently as a guest on James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio show.

more....Christian right super-lawyer Jay Sekulow, who also teaches at Regent and shares a Washington office with Ashcroft, participated in regular briefings with the White House on court appointments. In 1998, he leased a private jet through Regent to fly Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to speak at the school's 20th anniversary (Though Sekulow regularly argues cases before the Supreme Court, he apparently did not view hobnobbing with Scalia as an ethical breach).

Canada is re-looking at their Afghanistan military...

2007-03-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Canada is re-looking at their Afghanistan military role;

Afghan war may be lost: experts

Taliban are back in force, MPS hear. Contradicting military chief's optimistim

Two Afghanistan experts painted a sobering picture of the conditions there yesterday, arguing support among Afghans for NATO forces is plummeting, the U.S.-driven policy of poppy eradication is wrongheaded, and the war might not be winnable in its present form.

(snip)

But Rubin, who has been to Afghanistan 29 times over more than two decades, said yesterday many Afghans are growing frustrated with the pace of Western efforts to stabilize the country.

"They're not at all happy. Support for both the international presence and the government has plummeted in the past year or so," he told the foreign affairs committee.

He said Afghans aren't seeing the results of promises by the United States and NATO, which took over the mission in 2003, to increase security, establish democracy and improve the economy. "The main complaint that I hear from Afghans is ... that we haven't delivered what they think we promised."

Rubin recently published an article in Foreign Affairs magazine warning Afghanistan "is at risk of collapsing into chaos." In it, he blasts the U.S. for underestimating the influence of Pakistan, which he accuses of providing "safe haven" to the Taliban.

(snip)

Smith recently released a critical report of his own, titled Canada in Afghanistan: Is it Working? He questions whether NATO can achieve its stated goals, even within 10 years. Canada has committed to maintain its military presence until 2009.

He argued NATO needs to hike its troop commitment, while using development aid more effectively and opening negotiations with the Taliban. Smith also said NATO must create a market so Afghan farmers can sell their opium for legal use in medical products like morphine.

Both Rubin and Smith suggested Canada needs to have a new debate about its role in Afghanistan. Liberal MP Keith Martin welcomed their remarks.

Not good Georgie, the Brits wanna come home from Iraq and NOW ther Canadians are thinking of coming home from Afghanistan, I guess everybody does not like perpetual war like Georgie does.

Sounds like A really good show Lydia..........i've...

2007-03-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

Sounds like A really good show Lydia..........i've had that book for a while but have been reading other things first.

As for the Sunday Morning Shows being dominated by repugs I talked about that very point with several co workers earlier in the week........its QUITE noticable!

That's OK Worfeus, but I have watched him squawk o...

2007-03-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

That's OK Worfeus, but I have watched him squawk on Imus before and he's always a know it all who is always wrong.

I'm not watching Maher, but recognized him from your description (and of course his facts out the ass routine)

I have made a concerted effort Clif to not learn h...

2007-03-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

I have made a concerted effort Clif to not learn his name.

If its all the same to you, I'll continue to refer to him as the bald headed republican.

Or bald headed monkey, depending on my mood.

He's Michael Smerconish, a neo-con re-pubie from ...

2007-03-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

He's Michael Smerconish, a neo-con re-pubie from Philly, who Tweety knows.

Larry said... Mayer wasn't as funny as normal. Las...

2007-03-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

Larry said...
Mayer wasn't as funny as normal. Last week he tore Bush up in New Rules over Valerie Plame

Honestly I think its just getting hard to keep up with every crime and lie these guys commit. You really have to make it a full time job to do it. I mean the attorney scandal alone means knowing intimate details about 8 different cases! Add that to the CIA leak, the Iraq war, the usage of the Niger case, Duke Cunningham, Tom Delay, Scooter Libby, Dusty Foggo, the White House Policy advisor who ran the SHOPLIFTING RING, the Domestic Spying Scandal, blah blah blah blah ...

I mean, if you want to do things like, oh gee, I don't know, eat lunch and wash your armpits, then you can't possibly keep up on all the volumes of minutia associated with each case.

Even if you're Bill Maher.

:|

Course it would probably help if he didn't get stoned before the show.

Mike, thank you, you are a gentleman. Several item...

2007-03-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

Mike, thank you, you are a gentleman.

Several items will be posted before our radio show tomorrow on a new blog post.

Please tune in tomorrow to bashamandcornell.com We are having Media Matters' Eric Boehlert on to discuss "If It's Sunday, it Must be Conservative" -- his new report on Meet the Press and Face the Nation... about "liberal media bias." He will also talk about his new book LAPDOGS: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush.

Upcoming guests: John Kerry, Congressman Rangel, John Edwards (in the near future) and possibly Hilary Clinton.

Alberto Gonzales says he doesn't "recall" being in...

2007-03-30T21:19:00.000-07:00

Alberto Gonzales says he doesn't "recall" being in any deliberations over firing the attorneys.

Funny how that memory suddenly faded!