Month: October 2006

The L Word: Olbermann Calls the President Out for Lying

Jon Ponder

Keith Olbermann on Countdown last night:

While the leadership in Congress has self-destructed over the revelations of an unmatched, and unrelieved, march through a cesspool …

While the leadership inside the White House has self-destructed over the revelations of a book with a glowing red cover …

The president of the United States — unbowed, undeterred and unconnected to reality — has continued his extraordinary trek through our country rooting out the enemies of freedom: the Democrats.

Yesterday at a fundraiser for an Arizona congressman, Mr. Bush claimed, quote, “177 of the opposition party said, ‘You know, we don’t think we ought to be listening to the conversations of terrorists.'”

The hell they did.

One hundred seventy-seven Democrats opposed the president’s seizure of another part of the Constitution.

Not even the White House press office could actually name a single Democrat who had ever said the government shouldn’t be listening to the conversations of terrorists.

President Bush hears what he wants.

Tuesday, at another fundraiser in California, he had said, “Democrats take a law enforcement approach to terrorism. That means America will wait until we’re attacked again before we respond.”

Mr. Bush fabricated that, too.

And evidently he has begun to fancy himself as a mind reader.

“If you listen closely to some of the leaders of the Democratic Party,” the president said at another fundraiser Monday in Nevada, “it sounds like they think the best way to protect the American people is — wait until we’re attacked again.”

The president doesn’t just hear what he wants.

He hears things that only he can hear.

It defies belief that this president and his administration could continue to find new unexplored political gutters into which they could wallow.

Yet they do.

It is startling enough that such things could be said out loud by any president of this nation.

Rhetorically, it is about an inch short of Mr. Bush accusing Democratic leaders, Democrats, the majority of Americans who disagree with his policies of treason.

[…]

Give to the GOP – Help Pay Those Legal Bills

Trish

When you donate to a Republican candidate, it’s quite likely your money will be used, not for getting the word out about how qualified your guy or gal is, but for legal bills to keep his or her butt out of the slammer.

Just look at Mark Foley.

Last year, the Federal Election Commission issued an opinion that former California Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham could use his campaign money for legal expenses surrounding his conviction on bribery charges

Foley also had a political action committee whose purpose was to give money to other political candidates. Foley’s latest report shows he had about $14,000 in that account, which was run by his sister, Donna Winterson.

That money could be used in any manner the committee determines…

Last year, the Federal Election Commission issued an opinion that former California Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham could use his campaign money for legal expenses surrounding his conviction on bribery charges related to his congressional duties…

Federal election laws allow the use of excess campaign money for political purposes such as paying campaign staff, storage costs for records and contributions to other political candidates and political parties. But the money may not be converted to personal use, such as paying for rehabilitation for alcoholism.

Well, that’s a relief. But even if Foley pays for his own legal defense (which is a pretty damn big “if”), he’s still on the publicly-assisted dole.

In addition to campaign money, Foley will be entitled to his congressional pension. Based on his age and 12-year service in Congress, Foley would be eligible to receive a pension of about $22,600 a year beginning in 2010 — when he turns 56 — or about $32,100 in 2016, according to House staff and the National Taxpayers Union.

But think about it, friends. Foley’s got that money coming (no pun intended) for all his hard (no pun intended) work to keep our kids safe as chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children (pun intended).

Secret List of Gay Republicans on the Hill Includes Staffers of Ultra-Rightwingers

Jon Ponder
Representative Katherine Harris and Henry Hyde and Senators Bill Frist, George Allen, Mitch McConnell and Rick Santorum — all of whom oppose gay rights — employ gay people in high staff positions.

Washington is astir over “The List,” a document that purportedly contains the names of every closeted gay staffer on Capitol Hill. David Corn at the Nation has a copy. While he won’t release the names of the gay staff members, he gives us their job titles and who they work for:

What’s interesting about The List–which includes nine chiefs of staffs, two press secretaries, and two directors of communications–is that (if it’s acucurate) it shows that some of the religious right’s favorite representatives and senators have gay staffers helping them advance their political careers and agendas. These include Representative Katherine Harris and Henry Hyde and Senators Bill Frist, George Allen, Mitch McConnell and Rick Santorum. Should we salute these legislators for being open-minded enough to have such tolerant hiring practices? After all, Santorum in a 2003 AP interview compared homosexuality to bestiality, incest and polygamy. It would be rather big of Santorum to employ a fellow who engages in activity akin to such horrors. That is, if Santorum knows about his orientation.

As Pam Spaulding pointed out, Santorum’s communications director, Robert Traynham, has already been outed. But publication of the list might do additional damage to George Allen, who lost the votes of antisemites, a core constituency in his base, when it was revealed that Allen is technically Jewish. On his staff, my sources tell me he actually has two gay employees. News like this could dampen turnout among another of key constituency — Republican homo-bigot “values voters.”

Foley’s Not the Story

Buck Banks

From the Armed Forces Information Service: Four Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers died at about 9 a.m. yesterday when terrorists attacked their patrol with indirect and small-arms fire northwest of Baghdad. The names of the soldiers are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Meanwhile, the Defense Department released the identities of five soldiers and one Marine who were killed recently supporting the war on terror.

Marine Capt. Justin D. Peterson, 32, of Davisburg, Mich., died Oct. 1 from a non-hostile vehicle accident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Army Sgt. Denise A. Lannaman, 46, of Bayside, N.Y., died at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, on Oct. 1 from a non-combat related incident. Lannaman was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 1569th Transportation Company, Newburgh, N.Y.

Army Sgt. Joseph W. Perry, 23, of Alpine, Calif., died on Oct. 2 in Muhallah, Iraq, when his mounted patrol came in contact with enemy forces using small-arms fire. Perry was assigned to the 21st Military Police Company, 16th Military Police Brigade, 18th Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Army Spc. Angelo J. Vaccaro, 23, of Deltona, Fla., died Oct. 2 in Korengal, Afghanistan, from injuries suffered during combat operations. Vaccaro was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

Army Staff Sgt. Jonathan Rojas, 27, of Hammond, Ind., died on Oct. 3 in Baghdad from injuries suffered from enemy small-arms fire while performing security operations. Rojas was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd
Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Ala.

Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Isshak, 25, of Alta Loma, Calif., died on Oct. 3 in Tikrit, Iraq, from injuries suffered when his vehicle received enemy small-arms fire at Hawija during combat operations. Isshak was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Page in Foley Case Receives Threats, Was Outed by Rightwing Bloggers

Jon Ponder
“No ethics, no scruples, no morals, no compassion, no sense. Just really bad people.”
— Atrios

It is the way of the authoritarian right to threaten and bully anyone who exposes their dark ways to the light of day:

A former male House page from Louisiana has received threats since reports surfaced Friday that former Rep. Mark Foley sent him inappropriate e-mails, another congressman said Monday night.

“This teenager and his family have gone through hell,” GOP Rep. Rodney Alexander of Louisiana said.

The timing of this is unclear, but this news would seem to explain how the rightwing bullies found the page’s identity:

An obscure right-wing blogger, Wild Bill, has outed one of Mark Foley’s victims, a former Congressional page. It is a despicable act. Wild Bill however, gets almost no traffic, so the damage done to the victim’s life could have been minimal.

All that ended, however, when some of the most highly-trafficked right-wing bloggers decided to direct their readers to Wild Bill’s site. First, Roger L. Simon, co-founder and CEO of Pajamas Media — a portal and advertising broker for nearly every major right-wing blog — posted a link to Wild Bill on his personal site. (The Pajamas Media portal also linked to Wild Bill.) Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit — probably the most highly-trafficked right-wing blog — followed suit by linking to Simon’s post and the Pajamas Media post.

Atrios’s take on Simon and Reynolds:

No ethics, no scruples, no morals, no compassion, no sense. Just really bad people.

Despite Rightwing Claims, Media’s Source of Foley Emails Was a Lifelong Republican

Jon Ponder
The source of the emails has been a registered Republican since becoming eligible to vote.

Conservatives from House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader John Boehner to comedian Rush Limbaugh are attempting to float the lie that Democrats are behind the release of GOP Rep. Mark Foley’s X-rated emails to 16-year-old boys. The target audience for this falsehood is their base. They are lying to them (as ever) to create the illusion that they are under assault from liberals, when in fact the source of their troubles is within their own ranks:

The source who in July gave news media Rep. Mark Foley’s (R-Fla.) suspect e-mails to a former House page says the documents came to him from a House GOP aide.

That aide has been a registered Republican since becoming eligible to vote, said the source, who showed The Hill public records supporting his claim.

The same source, who acted as an intermediary between the aide-turned-whistleblower and several news outlets, says the person who shared the documents is no longer employed in the House.

But the whistleblower was a paid GOP staffer when the documents were first given to the media.

U.S. Deaths in Iraq Up Sharply

Jon Ponder

Last throes, continued:

Two months after a security crackdown began in the capital, U.S. military deaths appear to be rising, even as fatalities among Iraqi security forces have fallen, U.S. military sources and analysts said.

The U.S. military Tuesday revised to eight its count of American deaths in the capital on Monday, the highest daily toll in a month. In September, 74 U.S. troops died nationwide, about a third of them in Baghdad, according to the military.

It’s O.K. to Vote for Foley, Florida Elections Officials Say

Trish

Florida elections officials, whom you met in 2000 even you don’t live here, are being helpful again. Just trying to avoid voter confusion, they say, and make sure all those morons who normally rely on being able to spot the “R” after a candidate’s name are not repelled by seeing “Foley” preceeding the “R” and for once in their miserable lives vote “D.”

Election officials are considering posting signs in polling places and including notices in absentee ballots clarifying that a vote for former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley is a vote for his Republican replacement, Joe Negron

Yes, the folks who brought us the butterfly ballot, credited with helping one of the most most heavily Jewish population centers in the entire country go for Pat Buchanan in 2000, are at it again.

Election officials at state and local levels are considering posting signs in polling places and including notices in absentee ballots throughout the 16th Congressional District clarifying that a vote for former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley is a vote for his Republican replacement, Joe Negron.

Supporters of Negron’s opponent, Tim Mahoney, and some legal experts are crying foul, saying this would give the Republican an unfair advantage in a congressional race already overshadowed by controversy and turmoil.

…[B]ecause Foley pulled out of the race after the primary-election results were certified, it will be his name, not Negron’s, on the Nov. 7 ballot in District 16.

…Sterling Ivey, spokesman for the Florida Division of Elections, said state law does not prohibit such signs from being posted at polling places in an effort to clear up confusion for voters.

…Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Arthur Anderson said he liked the idea of signs and didn’t think they would put Mahoney, D-Palm Beach Gardens, at a disadvantage.

“Often times people don’t read signage at polling places,” Anderson said. “I don’t think it would necessarily do anything to Mahoney.”

Well of course not. But some might ask, if that’s true, why put up signs?

I feel confident that if the situation were reversed, and some Democrat was forced to resign after being exposed as an ephebophile, Republicans would be lining up to “help” voters understand. *Snork*