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d.

Bush welcomes probe of CIA leak

Photo courtesy of scroff & Ruthie from

Any Which Way

The Lie:

'I want to know the truth,' president tells reporters


Wednesday, February 11, 2004 Posted: 1:46 AM EST (0646 GMT)



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush said Tuesday he welcomes a Justice Department investigation into who revealed the classified identity of a CIA operative.


"If there's a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is," Bush told reporters at an impromptu news conference during a fund-raising stop in Chicago, Illinois. "If the person has violated law, that person will be taken care of.


"I welcome the investigation. I am absolutely confident the Justice Department will do a good job. ..."



Bush said he has told his administration to cooperate fully with the investigation and asked anyone with knowledge of the case to come forward.


- CNN, International Edition, Wednesday, February 11, 2004



The Truth:



Bush claims executive privilege on CIA leak



Vice President Cheney's FBI interview on the subject at issue



WASHINGTON - President Bush invoked executive privilege to keep Congress from seeing the FBI report of an interview with Vice President Dick Cheney and other records related to the administration's leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity in 2003.



- Associated Press, Wednesday, July 16, 2008



While I fervently hope that "King" George and "Dick" Cheney will be impeached and indicted, I have come to realize that this will probably never happen.



I can, and do, implore all of our elected reps, from both sides of the aisle to come to their senses and force the Bush Crime Cartel to co-operate with the legally mandated investigations "King" George promised he was anxious to co-operate with. Didn't he say something about firing anyone in his Administration who had taken part in the outing of a covert CIA operative?



By now, even the staunchest Republican must realize that Bush and his Cronies are RINO's, Republicans In Name Only, and that their party has been hijacked by criminals who make John Gotti and Al Capone look like Alter boys.



It is up to us, the People, to make sure that all of our Elected Representatives, Democrat and Republican, understand that their actions in the coming months will determine how long they "serve" the people. It's an important election year. Let's tell our "servants" that we expect honesty and openess in our Government, and that they can regain our faith in their leadership only if they restore "Government Of the People, By the People and For the People", by holding those who have abused their power, and ignored the People, accountable.



d.

For My Maggie

Just like the Fleetwoods, we ain't gettin' older, we're gettin' better...



I love you Baby.


d.

Redstate Update

Sorry. I had to. Just had to. Too goddam funny...

Man, this is some good shit...chuckle, smirk...

Enjoy...



d.

4th of July Weekend

The title of this post says "4th of July weekend", I know, but I just couldn't come up with any Patriotic-type stuff to post. No matter how many tokes I took on the old peace pipe, (and I just got some new incredibly amazing "pipe-weed"), I couldn't quite wrap my brain around the idea.

So I went in search of those who originally came up with the whole "Independence/Democracy" plan in the first place. The painting above, is John Trumbull's dipiction of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, (look closely, John Adams appears to be stepping on Thomas Jefferson's foot!). No matter how hard I tried, no matter how long I stared at the painting above, I could get no closer to the truth of what it was they intended for the future of this new nation.

So I thought maybe I ought to read the document they came up with, something called the "Declaration Of Independence".

Now I've read it before, most of us have. Sometime in school I'm sure. And at that time it must have been a tedious task for a rambunctious little rascal like me. But I must have muddled thru none-the -less, it all seemed so familiar. Kinda reminded me of a place I used to live. America.

And it kinda made me remember what "Patriotism" is really all about. Kitchen Window Woman wrote a terrific post on it the other day at the American Patriot Institute site.

And it made me kinda sad when I realized that many of the Charges that these brave men, (to whom we pay homage today, well...yesterday), brought against King Geroge of Great Britain could well be brought against our own "King" George in the White House.

And that made me kinda angry.

So, if I'm feeling Patriotic this weekend, it's not in the ususal sense, that is to say, a sense our current government would approve of.

But a sense of patriotism that I'm sure the Founding Fathers, the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, who started this whole Democracy thing, would be proud of me for.

Happy 4th of July!


Oh, if you'd care to refresh your memory a bit, go here.

d.

Welcome To The American Patriot Institute, Michael

Nothing seems more appropriate to me than welcoming a new Resident Scholar to the American Patriot Institute on Independence Day. So it is with great pleasure that I ask you to welcome Michael, of Pendragon's Hold, to our ranks.

Our little ragtag bunch has grown. What started out as a "Rogues Gallery" is becoming something of a minor force in the socio-political blogosphere. When Moderate Man took the Rogue's Gallery one step further, and founded the American Patriot Institute, it was more of an inside joke than anything-else. Why shouldn't we, he reasoned, who have served our nation and believe in the oath we swore to defend the Constitution of The United States of America, have an "umbrella organization" from which we could "issue papers" countering the propaganda of other "patriotic" organizations such as the American Enterprise Institute, and none has done so more effectively than the Moderate Man himself. (With the possible exception of Kitchen Window Woman, whose posts continue to amaze me.) Yet we all have something to contribute in our own way, and we all do. Whether it be Spadoman regaling us with details of "The Longest Walk" or the Ashland Peace Vigil, or Buffalo spinning a tale that takes us back to our lost youth, we have all continued to "fight" for the America we were once so proud to serve. We are all in accordance that the path this current Administration has chosen is terribly wrong for America and we are united in our efforts to change it for the better. While we don't always agree on all things, we do agree that we love our country and that our meager efforts to restore her to her once great glory is Patriotic and that by doing so, we are fulfilling the oaths we swore, (for some of us), so long ago.

Michael's voice will strengthen us. His writing is poignant and insightful. His dedication to our cause is clearly evident in his posts. His service in the United States Navy provides him with a perspective no chickenhawk can ever have.

Welcome aboard, Michael.

At some time in the near future, please post your "baby picture" (boot graduation pic or any pic of you in uniform), for inclusion in the image map posted in the sidebar of many of our sites. Your pic will be included and will link directly to your site, These Thoughts Escape Me. You may copy and paste the Flag and Eagle logo of the API in your sidebar, as evidence of your membership. You may also copy the link-list to the other members from my site, (I believe I have the most recent list). Shortly, you will receive an invitation to post here with full admin rights. This site is a "we" thing, so feel free to add links, change the template, whatever. This site will only grow if we all water and feed it.

Once again, welcome. Welcome home, Brother.

d.

Michael posts at These Thoughts Escape Me.

Please update your API linklists to include Michaels' website.

Oh, and Happy Independence Day Brothers and Sisters! Let us continue our efforts to win our Independence from those who have abused our nation and it's Constitution!

Semper Fi!

Also posted at The American Patriot Institute

Comical Ignorance

The following post was written by one of our fine Navy Veterans and Fellow Scholar of the American Patriot Institute, Cafkia, and posted at the Official Site of the American Patriot Institute.

Cafkia can be found at Meanderthal. Pay him a visit. It's well worth it.

Comical Ignorance

Except it isn't funny. Pitiful perhaps, dangerous maybe but, funny it aint. "It" is the response of the reich-wing bloviators I half heard on CNN late at night responding to General Wesley Clark's well considered denunciation of the idea of flying and/or crashing a fighter plane as qualifying one for the job of POTUS. I suppose it will come as a shock to no thinking person that General Clark is waaaaaayyy more likely to be right when it comes to military issues than the chickenhawk guild. However, there are a couple of points worth expanding.

In the USN, unless you are the CO or XO of a squadron, a pilot is in command of nothing. (S)He does not lead men and flying is not generally considered a command path. Even the term/job "plane captain" does not refer to the pilot but instead, to the enlisted (wo)man who has the responsibility for just damn near everything on the bird except when it is actually in flight. Yes, pilots are officers but, few of them turn out to be leaders. Their training focuses on what they can do to avoid costing the U.S. and USN a shitload of money by giving gravity primary control of an airborne plane.(Such training apparently did not take with McSame as evidenced by his time as a POW.) They also receive some training on delivering death, destruction and mayhem on command. As a general rule, with acknowledged exceptions, O3 and below flyboys know less about leadership and command than your average E6 and up. Yea, sure the E6 will have to salute the O3 but that is more tradition and general orders than it is respect.

"Line" officers are the command path officers. They learn to drive boats and head up divisions on a ship and they cross train in a lot of different shit. In running a division, they will be the leader of the enlisted men who make up that division (if the Chief lets them) and they can dream of their own command. Interestingly enough, John Kerry was a line officer with command experience. When he was being unfairly dissed and outright lied about by veteran and chickenhawk alike, such experience wasn't especially valuable to the GOP. Even to the point of the rank and file rethugs making graphic fun of Purple Heart earners at the national convention.
In short Barack Obama has just as much command experience as John McSame. Both have "commanded" political campaigns. It is comical ignorance indeed to believe that all military service is the same or that all military jobs are command prep. But, these comically misinformed individuals have huge misinformed audiences. Even worse, none of them seem to even want to know the truth. The relevant truth here is that Clark is right. Flying and/or crashing airplanes is in no way, shape, form, or fashion, suitable or significant preparation for the job of POTUS. Serving as a POW does not give one special insight into how to prosecute a war or, how to lead the nation in times of peace. Physical suffering for one's nation does not entitle one to high political office. It just doesn't.

I interacted with a lot of officers during my time in the military and, like just damn near any other enlisted puke, I learned to size them up pretty quickly. If I was being recalled into the military tomorrow and I had to choose one of the two presidential candidates to be the officer I reported to, the nation would be in trouble because with my life on the line, I would pick the intelligent, analytical, clear-headed, quick thinking one of the two. I'd pick Obama.

CAFKIA

For Anyone Who Prefers 2 Wheels to 4

Some of us are born Outlaws...

Some of us wish we were...

Some of us will never be...

Fuck safety. If I wanted to be safe, I wouldn't ride at all.

Now crank up the volume and rattle some fuckin' windows!




Ride hard.
Die fast.

Support your local 81.

d.

Fox News, Mouthpiece of the Always Wrong Right

Looks like the Always Wrong Right-wing minions at Fox News are at it again. Under the guise of delivering "news", Fox has been insidiously taking pot-shots at Barack and Michelle Obama.

Let's put an end to this now.

d.

Dear MoveOn member,

Right now, FOX is trying to paint Barack Obama as foreign, un-American, suspicious, and scary. They're trying to send Americans the message that our country's first viable black candidate for President is not "one of us."

We've seen this before from FOX. They won't stop until it becomes too painful to continue—until the public calls them out and advertisers start getting worried.

Now is the time to draw a line in the sand by putting FOX on notice that their behavior won't be tolerated. Nearly 100,000 Americans have already expressed their outrage. Can you express yours by adding your name to this message?

"FOX must stop injecting racism, prejudice, and fear into our political dialogue. We intend to hold FOX, its advertisers, and its personalities accountable for FOX's attempts to smear the Obamas."

FOX's longtime pattern of smearing Obama and the black community is well documented.¹ But the outrageous moments have increased in the last month.

First, a paid FOX commentator accidentally confused "Obama" with "Osama" and then joked on the air about killing Obama.² Next, a FOX anchor said a playful fist bump by Barack and Michelle Obama could be a "terrorist fist jab."³ And then, FOX called Michelle Obama "Obama's baby mama"—slang for an unmarried mother of a man's child, and a clear attempt to associate the Obamas with negative stereotypes about black people.⁴

If you know others who'd find FOX's recent actions despicable, please ask them to sign the petition too. The more people who sign, the bigger our impact will be.

Our friends at ColorOfChange.org—an online advocacy group focused on the issues of importance to the black community—are leading this charge. They have already collected nearly 100,000 names to deliver as a group to FOX's headquarters (in front of other media cameras, so FOX feels more heat). Here's how they describe the situation:

After each of the incidents mentioned [above], FOX issued some form of weak apology. But what does it mean when you slap someone in the face, apologize the next day, then slap them again? It means the apology is meaningless.

Now is the time to call out FOX for these attacks and their fake apologies. The first stop is FOX. Next will be their advertisers and the FCC. If we don't push back now, we will see more of the same from now until November. Please join us to demand that FOX answer for its behavior:

Add your name to this important cause by clicking here—then tell your friends:

http://pol.moveon.org/stopthesmears/o.pl?id=13007-8552455-V2FumZx&t=6

Thanks for all you do.

–Adam G., Peter, Anna, Justin, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Fox Attacks Obama." Brave New Films at FoxAttacks.com, February 2007
http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/573-fox-attacks-obama

"Fox Attacks: Black America," Brave New Films at FoxAttacks.com, June 2007
http://foxattacks.com/blog/572-fox-attacks-black-america

"Fox Attacks: Obama, Part 2," Brave New Films at FoxAttacks.com, March 2008
http://foxattacks.com/blog/32376-fox-attacks-obama-part-2

2. "Fox News Jokes About Killing Obama," YouTube video posted May 25, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjYpkvcmog0

3. "Fox News' E.D. Hill teased discussion of Obama dap: "A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab?" Media Matters, June 6, 2008
http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060007?f=h_clips

4. "Fox News in trouble again over Obama smear: 'baby mama'" Los Angeles Times, June 12, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3855&id=13007-8552455-V2FumZx&t=7

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 3.2 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

Department of Justice Corrupted by Bush Administration

Proof is emerging that the Bush Administration has done everything in it's power to pervert the Department of Justice by politically profiling candidates for the position of Attorneys General. This is despicable and shows how far the Always Wrong Right will go to maintain their death grip on our country. Talk about shredding the constitution! Please copy the video below and post it since Keith Olbermann seems to be the only one, (as usual), in the main stream media willing to talk about it. Anyone who thinks that the fight to regain our America will be easy needs to watch it.

Now pardon me while I go puke.



d.

Post Script: The above makes it clear once and for all, (at least to me), that this Administration is neither bumbling nor incompetent, but rather, a Mafia-like family, bent on controlling our nation for their own gains, in a cold, calculating way. They will use any means possible to maintain this control and protect their asses. Face it, we have been taken over by Facists, and anyone who doesn't think so has their head up their ass.

This makes the upcoming Presidential Election more important than ever. With the collapse of our Democratic led Congress on Telecom Immunity, Impeachment, the Plame "incident" and other vital issues, we may never know how far reaching their crimes are, but a clean sweep in November, DINO's (Dems In Name Only), as well as Republi-cons, would be a great start.