Year: 2007

Leaders of Bush’s Church Call for Iraq Withdrawal

Trish

Two years ago, the leaders of the United Methodist Church, of which George Bush claims to be a member, called for a timeline to withdraw from Iraq. Now — unlike Congress — they’re upping the ante.

Maybe Bush should join a church whose principles he actually shares. You know, like the Church of Cynical Greed?

Bishops of the United Methodist Church…elected an Iowa bishop to lead them and called on the United States and its allies to begin an immediate withdrawal from Iraq.

Iowa Bishop Gregory Vaughn Palmer, 53, was elected to lead the worldwide Council of Bishops of the 11 million-member church, the nation’s second largest Protestant denomination…

The resolution calling for an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq also urges no permanent military bases in Iraq, increased support for military veterans and support for a reconstruction plan.

This isn’t the first time Bush has been called to account by his brethren. As early as 2003, just after the triumphant “end of major combat operations in Iraq,” Methodists expressed their displeasure with the current occupant. A group of 120 of their leaders signed a document entitled “A Prophetic Epistle from United Methodists Calling Our Brother George W. Bush to Repent.”

Maybe Bush should join a church whose principles he actually shares. You know, like the Church of Cynical Greed?

Vitter’s Testimony Canceled in D.C. Madam Case

Jon Ponder

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) is giving thanks that he won’t have to testify next Wednesday in the D.C. Madam trial. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler canceled his testimony today because it was immaterial to the case.

Vitter has admitted he was a customer of Pamela Martin and Associates, the out-call service operated by Deborah Palfrey, the alleged madam in question.

Palfrey’s witness list also includes Harlan K. Ulmann, the military strategist who visited the “shock and awe” concept upon the world. Palfrey has said Ulmann was in her records as “Mr. U” — but that after their dates her female associates referred to him as “Mr. Unpleasant.”

Ouch.

For the record, the AP says Judge Kessler was appointed by Pres. Clinton.

Did Bush Lie to Federal Investigators in the CIA Leak Case?

Jon Ponder

Updated Nov. 23, 2007

On Tuesday, an excerpt from former Bush Press Sec. Scott McClellan’s upcoming book was released in which he accused George Bush, Dick Cheney and their three top advisors of conspiring to cover up their roles in the leaking of the covert identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson.

Martha Stewart went to jail for lying to federal investigators even though she was not under oath at the time. Scooter Libby was found guilty of one count of lying to the feds but, of course, Bush commuted his sentence and will pardon him late next year.

In the excerpt from his book, “What Happened,” McClellan wrote that he had “unknowingly passed along false information” that had exonerated Bush political operator Karl Rove and Cheney henchman Scooter Libby as sources of the leak of Agent Wilson’s secret identity, and that “five of the highest ranking officials in the administration … Rove, Libby, [Cheney], [Bush’s chief of staff Andrew Card], and [Bush] himself” had been involved in the conspiracy to deceive the public about the plot to forfeit Agent Wilson and her covert international assets in tracking terrorist sales of weapons of mass destruction.

Deceiving the public is par for the course with these guys but deceiving federal investigators is quite another matter. In fact, lying to the feds is a criminal act, even when the person being interviewed is not under oath.

To cite one recent example of this, in March 2004 Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in federal prison for, among other charges, making false statements to federal investigators. Another more salient example: In October 2005, Scooter Libby was charged with two counts of making false statements when interviewed by agents of the FBI, along with one count of obstruction of justice and two counts of perjury in testimony to a federal grand jury.

The criminality of lying to investigators could come into play now if McClellan’s version of what Bush’s role in the apparent conspiracy differs from what Bush told U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald during an Oval Office “interview” — not under oath — on the morning of June 24, 2004, 11 months after Novak betrayed Agent Wilson’s identity.

At first, details of Bush’s answers to Fitzgerald’s questions that morning were tightly embargoed. Around noon that day, McClellan surprised the White House press gaggle with news that George Bush had been interviewed that morning by Fitzgerald, but as was his habit, McClellan gave them very little actual information about the interview:

[…]

Which Candidate Would You Invite to Thanksgiving Dinner?

Buck Banks

Although the notion of inviting a presidential candidate to Thanksgiving dinner gives me acid reflux, apparently there are people out there in America who would actually consider inviting Rudy Giuliani to sit down and pass the cranberry sauce.

According to a Qinnipiac poll, it appears Democrats are considered to be preferred dinner guests over their Republican rivals (probably a question of table manners):

Sen. [Hillary] Clinton is the top turkey for 27 percent of all voters, including 42 percent of Democrats, followed by Sen. [Barak] Obama with 24 percent of all voters and 24 percent of Democrats.

[Rudy] Giuliani is the gravy for 22 percent of American voters, including 26 percent of Republicans, followed by 17 percent who want Arizona Sen. John McCain, 14 percent for former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and 7 percent for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Clinton is the choice dinner guest for 29 percent of women and 26 percent of men. Giuliani tops the list for 25 percent of women and 19 percent of men.

Interestingly, Obama and McCain rate higher as dinner guests than they do as presidential candidates.

Me? I’d invite Rep. Dennis Kucinich because I find him infinitely more entertaining than the other Dems and I agree with him on 90 percent of the issues. I suppose I’d have to borrow a booster chair ….

Who would you consider inviting to Thanksgiving dinner? Let us know in a comment.

Quote du Jour

Buck Banks

Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.

— Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) 26th President of the United States

Hooded Protestors Take Stage at Gonzales Lecture

Trish

Photo from the Independent Florida Alligator

It’s not going that well for disgraced former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales out on the lecture circuit. Although he collected a hefty $40,000 fee for his recent appearance at the University of Florida, students made sure Gonzo earned every penny.

Early in his speech, two people climbed on the stage in hoods. Gonzales stopped talking for a few minutes as police led them away without incident, though there were several outbursts from the crowd.

The hooded demonstrators were charged with interruption of a public event, said Steve Orlando, a university spokesman. Several other people were ejected for yelling, and more than a dozen people stood for most of Gonzales’ hour-long speech with their backs toward him.

The actions by the protesters are even more commendable when you realize that this was the first political lecture on campus since John Kerry’s questioner pleaded, “Don’t tase me, bro,” in September. Go Gators!

Conservapedia’s Gay Obsession: Nine Most Popular Pages Are Gay Related

Jon Ponder

The statistics for Conservapedia’s “most viewed pages,” as of Nov. 20, 2007, are truly shocking:

Conservapedia statistics

There are 44,984 total pages in the database. This includes “talk” pages, pages about Conservapedia, minimal “stub” pages, redirects, and others that probably don’t qualify as content pages. Excluding those, there are 19,552 pages that are probably legitimate content pages.

5,900 files have been uploaded.

There have been a total of 36,356,826 page views, and 334,003 page edits since the wiki was setup. That comes to 7.42 average edits per page, and 108.85 views per edit.
User statistics

There are 15,441 registered users, of which 27 (or 0.17%) are Administrators.

Most viewed pages

1. Main Page? [1,895,231]
2. Homosexuality? [1,477,467]
3. Homosexuality and Hepatitis? [516,056]
4. Homosexuality and Promiscuity? [416,446]
5. Homosexuality and Parasites? [387,304]
6. Homosexuality and Gonorrhea? [327,825]
7. Homosexuality and Domestic Violence? [320,084]
8. Gay Bowel Syndrome? [306,808]
9. Homosexuality and Syphilis? [261,806]
10. Homosexuality and Mental Health? [244,134]

Scotty Strikes Back: McClellan Blames His Lies about Plame Leaks on Bush, Cheney, Rove, Libby and Card

Jon Ponder

The title of former Bush flak Scott McClellan’s new book, “What Happened” brings to mind the title of O.J. Simpson’s recent allegedly fictional memoir, “If I Did It.”

Perhaps it’s because both books seek to exonerate their authors from much deserved guilty verdicts — both in the court of public opinion and in courts of law, certainly in O.J.’s case, and maybe even for Scotty too.

Here’s an excerpt from Scotty’s book:

The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White House briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.

There was one problem. It was not true.

I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President’s chief of staff, and the president himself

And this was not just run of the mill political spin. Rove, Libby, Ari Fleischer and others, including Colin Powell’s righthand man Richard Armitage, leaked the secret identity of a CIA agent whose specialty was tracking WMD. And they did it at the behest of the vice president who eagerly jeopardized state secrets for the tawdriest of purposes: to do political damage to the agent’s husband, Joe Wilson, because he had dared to expose a lie told by the president in his 2003 State of the Union speech about Iraq seeking uranium from Niger.

The CIA, of course, can’t reveal how many illegal weapons were successfully transported into the Middle East or how many foreigners acting as U.S. agents were permanently sidelined — or captured or killed — as a result the treasonous act of outing Agent Plame by George Bush, Dick Cheney and their henchmen.

Only Armitage has expressed regret about the leak.

Scott McClellan shredded his credibility for Bush, Cheney and the rest. Surely he can’t expect anyone to believe he is telling the truth now when he was misled by these same people. He is either the most gullible person to walk the planet, or he thinks the rest of us are fools.

Hate Crime Murder Victim Ryan Skipper’s Parents Are Asking Questions

Trish

The parents of Ryan Skipper, a Central Florida man stabbed to death and dumped on the side of the road earlier this year because he was gay, have a question for the Republicans running for president. Will you take responsibility for the hate and savagery your party has used to manipulate its base into condemning and attacking gays? Will you stop twisting religious tenets into a battle cry? Do you understand your rhetoric fuels ignorance and fear and violence? Do you realize there is blood on your hands?

Ryan’s mom and stepdad recorded this video for the town hall meetings where candidates answer questions from the public. Knowing how Republicans operate, this might be the most light of day this submission ever sees. Pass it along to your friends and to anyone who says homophobia is no big deal.