f a t c a t politics: July 2005

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» Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Redefining the war on terrorism

The Framing Needs To Change

The closest I have heard anyone come to Cromwell's idea is Juan Cole a while back. It was more or less the same theme I have been dwelling on since before the war... We do not understand the enemy. I have also supported the concept that change must come from within. Your idea of "Re-Framing" the ideology, motives and actions of the extremists is a valid approach to attacking the problem from within as well as from the western world's aspect. Combined, this redefinition would make a difference where little has been made up to now. - fc

Redefining the war on terrorism

Posted by Cromwell on July 26, 2005, 9:42 am

I've thought for some time that the West has been approaching terrorism - and fighting terrorism - from the wrong 'angle'; we've been attempting to fight terrorism in conventional military/police terms. Thus the use of terms like 'criminal' in reference to terrorists. Conventional warfare does not work against an enemy that has no physical location except among the population you're trying to protect.

I've also noted that while many Muslim organizations have issued various types of statements condemning the terrorists and their actions, these statements do not get much publicity or even encouragement. This is to the point that discussions I have had with some people reveal that they are honestly not aware that any Muslim organization had issued any condemnation until provided with examples. Mainstream media must be enlisted in this goal; care must be taken, however, not to 'know more Islam' than Muslims. It's time to change our approach. First, Muslim organizations and individuals must be encouraged to condemn al Qaeda and similar terrorist organizations, at the very least to define them as counterproductive - but more appropriate (and likely more effective) would be to use religious terms - define them as apostates.

The terrorists must be characterized as mufsidoon as opposed to mujahiddin (evildoers vs. holy warriors) practicing Hirabah vs. Jihad (war against society vs. holy war). The following, according to informed sources, are desecrations of the Quran:

Killing of innocents and noncombatants, including many peaceful Muslims
Decapitating the live and desecrating the dead bodies of perceived enemies
Promoting hatred among communities, nations, religions and civilizations
Committing to battle against nations where Islam is freely practiced
Issuing and inspiring unauthorized and un-Islamic fatwas (religious edicts)
Committing and enticing others to commit suicide (bombings)
Using some mosques as weapons depots and battle stations, while destroying others
Forcing extremist and absolutist versions (and distortions) of Islam on Muslims, when the Quran clearly states "no compulsion in religion"
Distorting the word "infidels" to include Christians, Jews and many Muslims -- when the Quran calls them all "Children of the Book" - the Old Testament - and "Sons of Abraham" AND refers to Jesus one of Islam's five main Prophets
Deliberate misreading, ignoring and perverting of passages of the Quran, the Hadith and the Islamic Jurisprudence (the Fiqh)

These things should be played upon - not the 'criminal' nature of the terrorists; they may indeed be criminals, but their appeal in the middle east is religious - and on driving out the West.

TreasonGate - 12 hours of Gonzales

Who did Card Tell...?

When did they know it? Who is "They"? Is Card the key? - fc

Think Progress ::
Gonzales Raises Questions For Andy Card To Answer

Writing in the New York Times, Frank Rich highlights a troubling issue that arose from early on in the leak investigation:

As White House counsel, [Alberto Gonzales] was the one first notified that the Justice Department, at the request of the C.I.A., had opened an investigation into the outing of Joseph Wilson's wife. That notification came at 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 29, 2003, but it took Mr. Gonzales 12 more hours to inform the White House staff that it must "preserve all materials" relevant to the investigation.

On CBS's Face the Nation, host Bob Schieffer noted that this time gap would have "give[n] people time to shred documents and do any number of things." Gonzales argued that he asked for and received permission from the Justice Department to wait until the next morning to order White House staff to preserve all documents regarding their contacts with journalists about Valerie Plame. But he did tell one person the night before

SCHIEFFER: Let me just ask you the obvious question, Mr. Attorney General. Did you tell anybody at the White House, get ready for this, here it comes?

GONZALES: I, I told one person, ah, in, in the White House of, of the notification, and, and —

SCHIEFFER: Who?

GONZALES: and immediately - ah, I told the chief of staff. And immediately the next morning, I told the President and, shortly thereafter, there was a notification sent out to all the members of the White House staff.

Check out the video of this at Crooks and Liars.

So the one person who knew that an investigation was underway was Chief of Staff Andrew Card, who also happened to be aboard Air Force One in July 2003 with Ari Fleischer, Colin Powell, and the top secret State Department document that contained the identity of Valerie Wilson. So, did Card tell Rove or Libby or anyone for that matter the night before Alberto Gonzales sent out the email to staff that they would soon be asked to preserve all documents?

From the Comments to this post:

It's fascinating when you locate the exact 12 hours where you can be almost certain that a crime occurred... it's a grand detective game. - - Comment by Miles - July 24, 2005

Gonzales said that it was late - after 8:00 pm when he called the White House, and that most of the staff had left for the day. By checking WH logs Fitzgerald would know who was there at the time of Gonzales' call - AND if anyone returned that night after the calls were made. I think it would be very interesting to know who was in the WH at the time, and who returned shortly afterword. - - Comment by dano347 - July 24, 2005

Related Links ::

Think Progress :: Rove Continuing to Cause Problems for White House
AP Story :: Gonzales Says He Told Card About CIA Probe
The Agonist :: Rove Round-Up
The Next Hurrah :: Is This Judy Miller's missing article ... ?
WaPo :: Bush Aide Learned Early of Leaks Probe
AMERICAblog :: Rove-Gate : The 12 Hour Gap
Huffington Post :: The Gonzales - Card Leak
NY Times :: Senate Panel to Examine Use of Cover by U.S. Spies
TPM :: What a sad state we've come to. - - Josh Marshall
DC Media Girl :: Another insane country heard from
Stygius :: The double bind
The Left Coaster :: Uranium from Africa and the Senate (SSCI) Report - Part 1
Think Progress :: McCain Mistake

Blogs linking to Think Progress ::

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» Sunday, July 24, 2005

TreasonGate - The Implosion of a Political Dynasty

From The All Spin Zone...

I like the way this is presented. And Richard is right, the Frank Rich article is well worth the read... - fc

TreasonGate - The Implosion of a Political Dynasty

Right after Matt Cooper agreed to testify to the TreasonGate grand jury, and Judy Miller was cuffed and perp walked to a federal agent's car, there were a lot of progressives scratching their heads and saying: "Well, what's next? This sure drives the Downing Street Memo off the front page."

At the time, a few of us were screaming into the void that TreasonGate and the Downing Street Memo were all part of the same ponzi scheme. TreasonGate wasn't about Karl Rove or Scooter Libby, per se. It was a smaller subset of a much grander scandal - the completely bogus selling of an illegal war; the unilateral (for all intents and purposes) invasion of a sovereign country based on prepackaged lies and deciet. And more importantly: the cover up after things went terribly wrong.

Frank Rich has written an absolutely stunning column for Sunday's New York Times. He takes the concept that many of us were promoting in the aftermath of Judy Miller's ride to the lockup, strips it down and crafts it into a fine piece that should - in an ideal world - set the wheels in motion for introduction of Articles of Impeachment first thing Monday morning. Here's a brief excerpt; you simply must read the entire column:

...When a conspiracy is unraveling, and it's every liar and his lawyer for themselves, the story takes on a momentum of its own. When the conspiracy is, at its heart, about the White House's twisting of the intelligence used to sell the American people a war - and its desperate efforts to cover up that flimflam once the W.M.D. cupboard proved bare and the war went south - the story will not end until the war really is in its "last throes."

...The second narrative to be unearthed in the scandal's early timeline is the motive for this reckless vindictiveness against anyone questioning the war...

I plucked out the last sentence in the above excerpt on purpose. One word - "timeline" - is the reason that Rich and every other reporter worth a damn has started paying very close attention to TreasonGate. They're finally doing what the blogosphere has done so well over the past 18 or 24 months. They're "timelining" the scandal, which is a fundamental exercise in any crime investigation or (gasp) investigative journalism. And each rock they turn over inside of the boundaries of the timeline reveals a whole new bunch of worms for the Bush cabal.

After the election last year, a lot of depressed progressives were wailing lamentations about another four years of the Bush regime. The more pragmatic among us counseled that the Bush Crime Family, even though they snuck through the election in whatever manner they did, were juggling too many running chainsaws. It just seemed so analogous with Nixon. Watergate was blossoming prior to Tricky Dick's reelection in 1972, but it wasn't until later that the entire house of cards came crashing in on him.

So, I'm finally convinced that we're now watching, in real time, the implosion of a political dynasty that will ultimately rival the downfall of Richard Nixon both in actual scope, and the ultimate fate of the protagonists.

Blogs linking to The All Spion Zone ::

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Roberts' Nomination Petitions

Activism and Caution...

These petitions from DU Activist Corps seek caution and even opposition to Roberts' Nomination. You decide... Cross-posted at NeoAlertz - fc

Alliance for Justice "Urge Your Senator to Thoroughly Examine Roberts' Record"	American Association of University Women "Urge a Thorough Review of Supreme Court Nominee"
Democracy For America "No Rubber Stamps"	MoveOn "Oppose John Roberts' Supreme Court Nomination"
People for the American Way "Send your senators a message right now encouraging them to withhold judgment on Judge John Roberts until his record has been thoroughly reviewed."	Planned Parenthood "Contact your senator NOW and urge him or her to require answers about Roberts' views on a woman’s right to privacy, health, and safety."
NARAL "Tell Your Senators to oppose anti-choice John Roberts!"	True Majority "Reject Bush's Supreme Court Nominee"

Blogs linking to DU Activist Corps ::

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» Friday, July 22, 2005

I am not a Liar! - I am not a Crook!

Bush - Nixon - deja vu...

Things have escalated in the Rove/Plame investigation that merits looking at. - fc

BREAKING: Bloomberg Reporting That Rove, Libby May Be Subject To Perjury Charges

Below is a Bloomberg article which is reporting that Karl Rove, senior adviser to the President and deputy chief of staff, and Lewis Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, are being investigated for having lied to a federal grand jury about how they learned the identity of a covert CIA agent, Valerie Plame (Murray Waas at the American Prospect wrote a similar story yesterday).

Rove, Libby Accounts in CIA Case Differ With Those of Reporters

By Richard Keil

July 22 (Bloomberg) — Two top White House aides have given accounts to the special prosecutor about how reporters told them the identity of a CIA agent that are at odds with what the reporters have said, according to persons familiar with the case.

Lewis “Scooter'’ Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, told special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that he first learned from NBC News reporter Tim Russert of the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame, the wife of former ambassador and Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson. Russert has testified before a federal grand jury that he didn’t tell Libby of Plame’s identity.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove told Fitzgerald that he first learned the identity of the CIA agent from syndicated columnist Robert Novak, who was first to report Plame’s name and connection to Wilson. Novak, according to a source familiar with the matter, has given a somewhat different version to the special prosecutor.

Think Progress • Murray Waas

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» Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Mercury Pollution

U.S. Public Interest Research Group

Their is growing concern over the Bush Administration's Energy Bill and what it means for our environment and the safety of our children. The lax standards that apply to pollution are a major effort to allow many to avoid the responsiblilty they should shoulder as efforts are made to protect our environment. Pollution had been forced into decline by previous administrations. Power and greed and corporate profits should take a back seat to the need to seek safe alternative energy and reduce pollution from existing technology. - fc

America's Environment at Risk

Toxic mercury pollution is so pervasive that many Americans cannot safely eat fish caught in local waters. But rather than crack down on mercury pollution, the Bush administration recently gave polluters a pass, delaying reductions in mercury emissions from power plants for years to come.

Senators Patrick Leahy (VT) and Susan Collins (ME) have introduced a bipartisan joint resolution to overturn the Bush administration's mercury plan and send them back to the drawing board to write a rule that complies with the law and protects public health.

Please ask your senators to support the Leahy-Collins resolution.

Environmentat Risk.org :: Petition

US PIRG • Ohio PIRG

Mercury Contamination in Fish :: US PIRG

US PIRG :: Congressional Scorecard

Blogs linking to this article ::

» Monday, July 18, 2005

Why the Great Experiment is failing

A DailyKOS Diary by Sean Robertson

This article ties together several sentiments I have had since the rise of the grassroots movement created by Howard Dean. Robertson refers to it as the second american revolution and I agree. Much has changed in the last two years and most of that change has come in the moderate, progressive, liberal elements of our society. As many have said, organizing liberals is like herding cats. We all consider ourselves free thinkers, not bound by the norms of conservative restraint. Many like myself have been apolitical since the days of Nixon and his corrupt cronies. Turned off by the same feeling Sean reflects in his article, stating, our vote does not count. It took the corruption and lies of bush and rove to awaken in me the sense that I needed to do my share. I have admonished several times in the last few months that we must do more than vote every four years. This is a radical turnaround for me and the same for many people who found hope in the words and deeds of Howard Dean in 2004. Since that time even more have taken responsiblilty for activism and participation in the process of trying to correct and stop the NeoCon Revolution. As Sean mentions, the republicans did not invent the partisan divide and conquer tactics, they just perfected them under Karl Rove and his 21st Century NeoCon Cronies. It will take a continued persistant grassroots effort to counter the effect they have had on our country. The people's media, the blogs will make this effort possible and we must make sure that it succeeds. - fc

Why the Great Experiment is failing

I just finished reading a book yesterday by David Gerrold called Leaping to the Stars. It's mostly just a great action-adventure story, but like nearly all science fiction, it does hit upon some rather weighty issues including the relationship betwen man and technology and the nature of good and evil. In the context of a political science class, he described how the United States had collapsed after three hundred years. It was almost as if he was channeling both Howard Dean and Barack Obama when this book was written in 2001/2002 (first edition was printed in 2002, well before Dean exploded onto the national scene).

When asked why the US had failed, the students responded with a litany of complaints, all of which we're familiar with in some form or another (illegal aliens, liberals, fundies, greed, special interests, etc.). After the students ran our of people to blame, the professor explained the truth in a way that I think will prove to be prophetic.

[... snip]

We are not cogs in this machine, we are it's engineers. We control it with every lever in the voting booth. We guide it with every query to our representatives. We make the machine work for us every time we demonstrate or write letters or work the polls. Only we have the power to make it work more efficiently for all of us. When we forget that we allow others to manipulate it.

That is perhaps the biggest, most important part of Dean's campaign, both for the whitehouse and now as chair of the DNC: he is trying to teach us how to use the machine again. By first reminding us that we do have that power, he is helping to wrest control back away from the greedy manipulators. By reminding us that we're all in it together and exposing the far right's attempts to divide and conquer, he is helping to ensure that the machine is used for good, not evil.

That is what the grass roots movement is fundamentally about. I dare say it is nothing short of a second American revolution, one which, if it is to succeed will result not in the ousting of the Republicans from power by replacing them with someone else, but will result in the reawakening of the citizenry to their true potential. It must result in a renewed understanding of and faith in the amazing machine that is our government and it must culminate in reeducating the people in how to use that machine.

We must begin teaching people how to be active, creative particpants in the experiment, not merely loyal or usable subjects. We must inspire people to see that the well being of each is determined by the well being of the community, that we are only as free and as successful as the least among us and that our government is a tool to designed acheive that. We must rekindle people's faith in the social contract. If we do not succeed in any part of that, the Great Experiment will fail.

Read the rest of this article at : Sean Richardson's dkos diary

Blogs linking to this article ::

» Sunday, July 17, 2005

Conyers' TownHall

Rovian Conspiracy and DSM

I wish this type thing was afforded the tri-state area of Southern Ohio, NorthEast Kentucky and Western West Virginia. I am sure this event will be well worth the time. We owe many thanks to John Conyers Jr. for providing the leadership and activism that this country so desperately needs in this time of NeoCon Revolution and Corruption. - fc

Downing Street

Rovegate

The Ongoing Deception in Iraq

July 23rd is the 3-year anniversary of the drafting of the Downing Street Minutes. I am organizing a series of house parties on this date throughout the country in order to broaden public understanding of how Karl Rove and the Bush Administration have manipulated intelligence, deceived the American people, and misled our nation into war.

Related Links ::

afterdowningstreet.org :: Congressman Conyers Plans Event for Detroit Next Saturday
house.gov/conyers :: Questions to ask at the Conyers' London meeting about the DSM.

Blogs linking to Conyers TownHall ::

» Friday, July 15, 2005

Rove-gate

Who Leaked to the Leakers?

This article confirms the feeling I had in my post on tuesday that this has the potential to go much higher and be of more consequence than it seems right now. Working with so few "Facts" leads one to conclude that the smoking gun has yet to be introduced. The smell of the two year old powder burns have resurfaced and the stinch is being spread to the public by the M$M as it should have been in 2003. This is a must read... - fc

Rove-gate: Who Leaked to the Leakers?
This isn't about Karl Rove
by Justin Raimondo
July 15,2005

What if Karl Rove isn't guilty of knowingly leaking Valerie Plame's name as a covert CIA agent involved in nuclear proliferation issues? What if Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, is correct when he says that he's been assured by prosecutors that his client is not a target of the ongoing investigation into Plame-gate? I'm going to swim against the tide, here, and against the expectations of my readers, by suggesting that this investigation isn't about Rove – and, furthermore, that Rove is a victim, in an important sense, someone who was used and abused by the real culprits. And who are these mysterious culprits?

[... snip]

The fast developing scandal seemingly centered around Rove and a few journalists has only begun to unfold. By the time it is over, we'll have the War Party – or, at the very least, a few high profile representatives – in the dock, and then the fun will really begin. So forget "Rove-gate" and get ready for "Cheney-gate." I'll gladly forgo the pleasure of seeing the president's chief political advisor frog-marched out of the White House for the prospect of seeing our vice president, along with his top staffers, led out of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in handcuffs.

External Links in this article :

WikiPedia :: Valerie Plame
NewsMax :: Karl Rove Spoke With Time Reporter by Carl Limbacher
AntiWar.com :: Plame-gate by Justin Raimondo
CalPundit :: Valerie Plame or Valerie Wilson? - 10.12.03
Needlenose :: Why "Valerie Plame"? - 10.12.03
TownHall.com :: Mission to Niger by Robert Novak - 7.14.03
WaPo :: Leak of Agent's Name Causes Exposure of CIA Front Firm - 10.04.03
The Freedom of Information Center :: Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982
reason online :: Agee's Revenge by Jesse Walker - 7.14.05
DU:: Who were the six journalists who were given the leak ? - 7.10.05
CSMonitor :: Rove leak is just part of larger scandal by Daniel Schorr - 7.15.05
New Yorker :: Selective Intelligence by Seymour M. Hersh - 5.5.03
Village Voice :: Going to School on Doug Feith - 7.30.04
WaPo ::Some Iraq Analysts Felt Pressure From Cheney Visits - 6.5.03
Common Dreams :: The New Pentagon Papers by Karen Kwiatkowski - 10.4.04
howardlabs :: What Dick Cheney Really Believes. The Radical by Franklin Foer & Spencer Ackerman - 11.20.03
Common Dreams :: What I Didn't Find in Africa by Joseph C. Wilson 4th - 6.6.03
guardian.co.uk :: A state of chaos by Sidney Blumenthal - 12.30.04
telegraph.co.uk :: Chalabi stands by faulty intelligence that toppled Saddam's regime - 2.19.04
AntiWar.com :: Uncle Sap Suckered Again by Justin Raimondo - 2.23.04
WikiPedia :: Yellowcake forgery
Sooner Thought :: Neocon Revenge War - 11.16.04
Salon :: The worst of Times by Andrew O'Hehir - 12.28.04
Talk Left :: Joe Wilson on Leakers: Elliot Abrams, Libby & Rove - 7.5.05
AntiWar.com :: Handmaiden of the State by Justin Raimondo - 3.16.05
Raw Story :: Transcript: White House Grilled On Rove...
Talking Points Memo :: Josh Micah Marshall 10.10.03
super hanc petram :: Karl Rove, Scooter Libby and Dick Cheney - 7.11.05
daveweigel.dailykos :: Horrifying, personal John Bolton story by 4.15.05
buzzle.com :: US Claims Proof of Cuba's Germ War Project - 6.5.02
AntiWar.com :: Bolton, the Unlawful by Gordon Prather 6.11.05
AntiWar.com :: John Bolton's Yellowcake by Ray McGovern - 5.13.05
rightweb :: David Wurmser - profile - 11.22.03
NewsWeek :: Exclusive: Cheney and the ‘Raw’ Intelligence
On Lisa Rein's Radar :: Feds Ready To Nail Cheney Staff Members Hannah and Libby - 2.7.04
calpundit :: Who is John Hannah? - 2.7.04
Activists Reader :: Washington Institute for Near East Policy - 2005
Juan Cole :: John Hannah Allegedly Focus of Plame Probe - 2.7.04
Google:: AIPAC
AntiWar.com :: Indictment Shows Washington Is 'Israeli-Occupied Territory' by Justin Raimondo
DOJ - pdf:: franklin - June 2005
Forward:: FBI Affair Costs Lobby Dynamic Director Rosen - 4.29.05
Forward:: UPDATED: Aipac Officials Being Pushed Out - 4.22.05
Juan Cole :: Franklin Met with Naor Gilon - 8.31.04
National Security Strategy:: 2002
war and piece :: February 07, 2004
Digby :: June 2, 2005
USA Today :: CIA 'outing' might fall short of crime by Mark Memmott - 7.14.05
Mother Jones :: The Lie Factory by Robert Dreyfuss and Jason Vest - Feb 2004
Center fro Media & Democracy :: Counter Terrorism Evaluation Group
Seattle Times :: Iran used Chalabi to dupe U.S., report says - 5.22.04
Fox News :: FBI Probing Purported Chalabi-Iran Intel Leak 7.3.04
chalabigate.blogspot :: Leo Strauss Philosophy of Deception
AntiWar.com :: The Franklin Affair: A Spreading Treason by Justin Raimondo
AntiWar.com :: War-gate The scandal that could bring down a President by Justin Raimondo
tom paine :: All The Plame-Gate You Can Handle
cryptome :: Forged Nigerien documents - 7.27.03
cryptome :: Nigerien documents - PDF
Common Dreams :: How Powerful Can 16 Words Be? by Christopher Marquis 7.20.03
CBS News :: New Fight Over Iraq Nuke Claim - 7.19.04
White House.gov:: Vice President's Ceremonial Office

Blogs linking to this article ::

» Thursday, July 14, 2005

NeoAlertz : Rove Petitions

Four New Petitions

Four new petitions have been initiated by Democratic leadership. Louise Slaughter, John Kerry, the DSCC and the Democratic Party have made their petitions available online. Please visit NeoAlertz and sign the petitions... - fc

NeoAlertz :: Petition Spotlight

NeoAlertz :: Petition Archive

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» Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Rove Conspiracy

Who Told Rove!

A question in the post Blue Color Politics :: The All You Can Eat Scott McClellan Buffet! is of extreme importance in actually getting to the bottom of all this business. As John Dean mentioned to Tweety on HardBall, the 'conspiracy to defraud the government' issue may be the reason the investigation has gone after the sources so steadily. Even more interesting would be if the outing of an agent during war time would lead to charges of treason and the investigation is heading instead towards charges based on Conspiracy To Commit Treason, a much more serious crime and one still punishable by death, I believe... - fc

Blue Color Politics

So, what if Karl really didn't "know" that Plame was undercover?

Well, in the CIA only someone with a need to know would have been aware that Plame even worked for the Agency. Hence, only a person who had high level clearance AND had a need to know about Plame's job could have leaked Plame's identity. Rove didn't just dream up Plame's status. Someone had to tell him. And THAT is the person Prosecutor Fitzgerald needs to go after. Rove should be forced to finger whomever it was that told him of Plame's real job.
That person needs to tell why she/he revealed Plame's job, what restrictions he told Rove he was under and whether others in the admin were also told about her undercover status.
Then the fun will begin!

Read the reast of the article... at Blue Collar Politics

External Links in this article :
Smelling like a Rove : Salon : Farhad Manjoo
The Real Rove Scandal : LA Times : Robert Scheer
White House shunts Rove queries : Boston Globe : Rick Klein
Bush Aide Deflects Questions On Rove : WaPo : Mike Allen - Dan Balz
White House Still Silent on Rove Evidence : NewsDay : Pete Yost
Dems call for action against Rove after leak report : USA Today : Mark Memmott
At White House, a Day of Silence on Rove's Role in C.I.A. Leak : NY Times : Richard W. Stevenson

Blogs linking to this article ::

» Monday, July 11, 2005

Ohio Progresive Blogs

MyDD Dairy :: fc

Chris Bowers at MyDD asked that we contribute links to local blogs in our area. I took the initiative to look into the blogosphere in Ohio. I had previously joined The Ohio Progressive Alliance and link to it on all my pages. From several comments to this thread, I have run down quite a few links. I decided to create this post and mirror it on my MyDD Dairy and eventually at my DailyKOS Diary. - fc

MyDD :: Local Progressive Blog Rings

Ohio Progressive Blogs
common cause : ohio blogpac : ohio ohio progressive alliance progressive blog alliance grassroots democrats personal democracy case ohio ohio watch · - 2 - ohio governor 2006 grow ohio bring ohio home ohio citizen's action protect ohio's future Ohio's Got the Blues ohio fair schools licking county pro active ohio countdown 2004 ohio 2nd the blue ohioan ohio liberal	cincinnati blog cincinnati group cincinnati black blog grass roots cincinnati an age like this toledo bloggers the agora szollosi toledo sardonic views dispassionate liberalism brewed fresh daily democracy guy democratic veteran let the lady speak nosey online covington just well mixed shameless agitator the tomb of horrors	pandagon make it blue coins for change people have the power axinar's brian patton elenamary porkopolis seven cent nickel a straight shot of politics the nati who-dey hotel walk in brain law dork de magno opere the modern esquire it's in there bluegrass roots the religious left

my web pages :: fc
this page	NeoAlertz	BBA BlogRoll	Indy 500 BlogRoll

Blogs linking to this article ::

Conyers' Letter on Rove

Seventeen in Congress sign Conyers' letter on Rove

Conyers is keeping the pressure on. Ya gotta love it! - fc

The Raw Story

A letter penned by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) calling on Bush adviser Karl Rove to explain or resign over his role in outing a CIA agent has garnered a handful of signatories in the House, RAW STORY has learned.

Just 17 members have signed. Finding congressmembers to sign a letter during a Congressional recess is often difficult, and Conyers' office has extended a deadline for others to sign on until next Wednesday.

The current signers are Reps. John Conyers, Jr.; Maurice Hinchey; Sheila Jackson Lee; Sam Farr; Diane Watson; Barbara Lee; Zoe Lofgren; Danny Davis; Henry Waxman; Corrine Brown; Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick; Raul Grijalva; James McGovern; Bernie Sanders; Lynn Woolsey; Mike Honda; and Carolyn Maloney.

The Letter :

July 14, 2005

The President The White House Washington, DC Dear Mr. President:

We write in order to urge that you require your Deputy White House Chief of Staff, Karl Rove, to either come forward immediately to explain his role in the Valerie Plame matter or to resign from your Administration.

Notwithstanding whether Mr. Rove intentionally violated the law in leaking information concerning former CIA operative Valerie Plame, we believe it is not tenable to maintain Mr. Rove as one of your most important advisors unless he is willing to explain his central role in using the power and authority of your Administration to disseminate information regarding Ms. Plame and to undermine her husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson.

We now know that e-mails recently turned over by Time, Inc. between writer Matthew Cooper and Time editors reveal that one of Mr. Cooper's principal sources in the Plame matter was Mr. Rove.1 This has been confirmed by Newsweek and two lawyers representing witnesses involved in the investigation.2 Mr. Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, also has confirmed that Mr. Rove was interviewed by Mr. Cooper in connection with a possible article about Ms. Plame three or four days before Robert Novak wrote a column outing Ms. Plame as a CIA operative.3

We also know that Mr. Rove told Chris Matthews that Ambassador Wilson's wife and her undercover status were "fair game."4 A White House source also appears to have previously acknowledged that Mr. Rove contacted Mr. Matthews and other journalists, indicating that "it was reasonable to discuss who sent Wilson to Niger."5

The above facts appear to be directly inconsistent with previous statements by you and representatives of your Administration concerning leaking in general and the Plame case in particular. For example, on September 30, 2003, you stated "there's just too many leaks [in Washington]. And if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is."6 You also stated "I want to know the truth. If anybody has got any information inside our administration or outside our administration, it would be helpful if they came forward with the information so we can find out whether or not these allegations are true and get on about the business."7 On October 10, 2003, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan was asked if Mr. Rove or two other aides in your Administration had ever discussed the Plame matter with any reporter, and he stated he had spoken to Mr. Rove and the others and "they assured me that they were not involved in this."8

Regardless of whether these actions violate the law - including specific laws against the disclosure of classified information9 as well as broader laws against obstruction of justice,10 the negligent distribution of defense information,11 and obligating reporting of press leaks to proper authorities12 - they seem to reveal a course of conduct designed to threaten and intimidate those who provide information critical of your Administration, such as Ambassador Wilson.

We hope you agree with us that such behavior should never be tolerated by any Administration. While it is acceptable for a private citizen to use every legal tool at his or her disposal to protect himself against legal liability, high-ranking members of your Administration who are involved in any effort to smear a private citizen or to disseminate information regarding a CIA operative should be expected to meet a far higher standard of ethical behavior and forthrightness. This is why we believe it is so important that Mr. Rove publicly and fully explain his role in this matter.

Sincerely,

/s

This is the full text of the article... at The Raw Story

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» Sunday, July 10, 2005

Bush without his brain

Rove Should Resign

As Digby points out below, Rove should resign. With a post in Newsweek tomorrow, it should become clear even to the M$M that it is all pointing to Rove and his get even mentality. If it does take him down, it will be interesting to see how Bush navigates the lame duck political waters that remain for him. - fc

He Should Resign

John is absolutely right about this. It makes no difference for our purposes whether Rove is legally culpable because he did or did not know that Plame was undercover. He was a very, very, very high level official in the White House and he shouldn't have been telling anyone anything about CIA agents for political reasons, particularly ones he knew worked in the field of weapons of mass destruction, period. He may have broken the law; the investigation will proceed apace whether we think he did or not. But regardless, the fact is that Rove conducted a smear operation in which a CIA agent was outed.

And there is no reason that Rove should not be forced to resign over this. If it were any other White House we would naturally assume it would happen. But I think that for some reason everyone, wingnuts and moonbats alike are invested in the idea that Rove is omnipotent. He's not. He's a cheap thug. And while it may be true that if he is forced to resign he will still be able to advise the president, it's also true that the president would not have his single most necessary and loyal lieutenant by his side every day. Rove is the most malevolent force in the Republican party. He's building a criminal Republican machine --- that's his legacy. It's vitally important that we stop him if he can. Wringing our hands and saying nothing will ever happen because he's Superman is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The dirtiest most devious president in history was brought down by his own paranoia and sloppiness. Karl Rove is no more omnipotent than he was.

Read the reast of the article... at Digby's Hullabaloo

External Links in this article :
newsweek
americablog

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» Saturday, July 09, 2005

Major Increase in Terrorism

BTC News provides the details...

From a post on HardBall by Balls, it seems that this is such a sharp contrast to bush's lies about how good the war on terror is going. The truth is out there but only a few are able to see it. The rest of the american people only hear what the neocons have programed into their subconscience and will always have a hard time dealing with the truth when it finally comes to the forefront. - fc

BTC News :: U.S. reports major increase in worldwide terrorism

The U.S. government's National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) announced this week that the number of worldwide terrorist attacks that occurred in 2004 was 3,192. This number is almost five times higher than the figure of 651 "significant" attacks that NCTC released on April 27 of this year, after the administration received widespread criticism for attempting to hide a major increase in terrorist incidents by dropping the data from the State Department's 2004 report on global terrorism.

Read the rest of the article... at BTC News

External Links in this article :
CNN :: NCTC article
Alternet :: April 27 - 651 significant attacks
State Dept. :: 2004 Report on Global Terrorism

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» Thursday, July 07, 2005

NeoAlertz

News The NEOCON's Don't Want To Hear...

NeoAlertz News . . .
They Don't Want YOU To Hear !

My new blog has launched...

I have been busy with this for over a week. I wanted a new light weight code and a dedicated site for Progressive Activism Sites and Online Petitions. The name was not my first choice but either kids or neocons have the ones I wanted already created with nothing on them... just wasting the neocon names up... argh... Oh well... It has "Progressive Sites List" and "Government and official contact" info along with the list of online petitions from my other homepage. It also has a dedicated "Petition SpotLight" for the newest of the important petitions. NARAL Pro Choice is in the spotlight with their "Choose Justice" petition about the supreme court nominations.

NeoAlertz

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