Smearing Patriots Altercation

There aren't enough hours in the day to keep up with all the theories and counter-theories, plus the spin and propaganda being thrown out in the hopes of deflecting attention from the actions of the Rove/Novak diabolic duo. One thing worth keeping in mind is the quality of the people they are seeking to smear. Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame were both life-long public servants. Wilson, whom the right is seeking to smear as a partisan-minded Democrat—not that he wouldn’t have the right to be if he chose—contributed to the presidential campaign of George H.W. Bush, and took many hazardous and unpleasant duties on behalf of his country. When the CIA sent him to Niger, he knew that the politically smart—and self-promotional course to take would be to hew to the Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz/Perle line without gumming up the system. Instead he told the truth and they came after him.
Valerie Plame, meanwhile, lived her entire life under cover—no small or easy thing—in the service of her country. (How many journalists and Republican pols or consultants can say the same?) And for her trouble, she has seen her cover revealed and both herself and her husband smeared across the land. Her former colleague, Larry Johnson, writing in TPM Café, tells you what kind of person and patriot she was, here.
Can you spell “desperate?”  They are now even spreading rumors, believe it or not, that Wilson was the source who blew his wife’s cover, if you can believe that.  Also, the Rove camp's claim that Matt Cooper "burned" his source is nonsensical.  Boy are these guys grasping at straws.
Meanwhile, Murray Wass reports here that “Fitzgerald is looking seriously at conspiracy or obstruction charges against Rove et al. and perhaps even Novak himself.”  Read the whole thing.

How We'll Know                     Rain Storm

Since Donald Rumsfeld has never been able to come up with a way to measure whether or not we are winning the global war on terror (GWOT), one of my fellow army veteran's is willing to suggest one:Can you spell “desperate?” They are now even spreading rumors, believe it or not, that Wilson was the source who blew his wife’s cover, if you can believe that. Also, the Rove camp's claim that Matt Cooper "burned" his source is nonsensical. Boy are these guys grasping at straws.
Meanwhile, Murray Wass reports here that “Fitzgerald is looking seriously at conspiracy or obstruction charges against Rove et al. and perhaps even Novak himself.” Read the whole thing.

Another One Bites the Dust Roger Ailes

Finally -- finally! -- an obituary that mentions some of the unpleasant truths about Reed Irvine:

Ideologically, [Accuracy in Media] paved the way for the tide of conservative talk shows, Web sites and news programming that would follow decades later. And while AIM occasionally lived up to its name, it also spent much of its time pursuing conspiracy theories.

In recent years, for example, Mr. Irvine turned his attention to such speculative topics as whether the death in 1993 of Vincent W. Foster Jr., the deputy White House counsel in the Clinton administration, was really a suicide. He also challenged the government's explanation of the crash in 1996 of T.W.A. Flight 800, alleging that it had been caused by a rocket.

Irvine also pimped the theory that the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was the work of al-Qaeda.

Yes, Irvine had no respect for the survivors of tragedy -- or for the truth.

CNN's Bush Moment
CNN was a little over anxious in their coverage of Bush's speech tonight.
Download | play -WMP Download | play -QT

Wolf: Let me interrupt for a second. I think what happened Jeff, is that the President is rehearsing and the pool, the network pool inadvertently went to the President as he was rehearsing...

Just another CNN conspiracy moment to make our Commander in Chief look bad.

Update: CNN just sent me an email with a document saying that:"NBC stage manager has now admitted he cued the president early and CNN was the only network ready to go."

(h/t David Edwards)

Another embarrassment for the war of terror.

A federal judge has declared another mistrial against six men accused of plotting to spark an anti-government war by toppling Chicago's Sears Tower and bombing FBI offices.
U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard ordered a mistrial Wednesday when jurors reported they were hopelessly deadlocked after 13 days of deliberation in the case of the so-called "Liberty City Seven." The first trial ended in a mistrial in December because of a hung jury for the same six defendants and the acquittal of a seventh.

The six defendants could have faced up to 70 years in prison if convicted of four conspiracy charges.

Logan posted on the first trial here. Jeralyn's take on the original case too.

This isn't an especially political story, but I was nevertheless amazed by what we learned at a hearing late last week of the House Transportation Committee. We're not allowed to fly with more than a few ounces of shampoo in a carry-on, but you might be amazed at what airlines can get away with.

In startling disclosures to Congress, federal inspectors overseeing Southwest Airlines say they were repeatedly thwarted by senior government officials from reporting critical problems that compromised the safety of passengers.

Federal whistle-blowers, other federal aviation inspectors and the independent investigator for the Department of Transportation testified Thursday that problems at Southwest were far more widespread than has previously been reported.

Transportation Department Inspector General Calvin Scovel said investigators in recent months found violations at the airline in addition to the breaches last year that prompted a $10.2 million fine against the carrier. Southwest violated four different crucial safety requirements on eight occasions since December 2006, including five this year, Scovel said.... Southwest knowingly flew 46 jets that had not received required inspections for cracks in the fuselage. When the inspections were finally completed, mechanics found cracks on six of the jets. Similar cracks caused a fatal air disaster on a jet in 1988 in Hawaii.

If this were simply a story of an airline trying to cut corners, and in the process putting passengers at risk, it would be startling enough. But in this case, we're talking about federal inspectors who were pressured by their superiors to allow an airline to put passengers at risk.

Continue reading »

I can't say that justice has been served for anyone involved.

NY Times (reg. req'd)

Jose Padilla, once accused of plotting with al-Qaida to blow up a radioactive ''dirty bomb,'' was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years and four months on terrorism conspiracy charges that don't mention those initial allegations.

The sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke marks another step in the extraordinary personal and legal odyssey for the 37-year-old Muslim convert, a U.S. citizen who was held for 3 1/2 years as an enemy combatant after his 2002 arrest amid the ''dirty bomb'' allegations.

Prosecutors had sought life in prison, but Cook said she arrived at the 17-year sentence after taking into consideration the ''harsh conditions'' during Padilla's lengthy military detention at a Navy brig in South Carolina.

''I do find that the conditions were so harsh for Mr. Padilla ... they warrant consideration in the sentencing in this case,'' the judge said.

Cooke also imposed prison terms on two other men of Middle Eastern origin who were convicted of conspiracy and material support charges along with Padilla in August. The three were part of a North American support cell for al-Qaida and other Islamic extremists around the world, prosecutors said.

The jury in his trial was told that Padilla was recruited by Islamic extremists in the U.S. and filled out an application to attend an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan.

Cooke said that as serious as the conspiracy was, there was no evidence linking the men to specific acts of terrorism anywhere.

And yet it merits 17 more years after four years of torture and mental debilitation? Lewis Koch looks at Citizen Padilla

Good morning. I'm Lance Mannion and I am a fugitive from a chain gang. I'm also a fugitive from a deadline, so l'd better get to this quick.

Guest host for the round-up: Me. My blog: here. Usual subjects: Whatever. Today's links: Coming right up.

Roxanne Cooper finds evidence that "the the anti-science/ pro-big business/ anti-Constitution/ othering coalition" otherwise known as the national Republican Party "is melting faster than Kilimanjaro".

Steven Hart has an attack of anti-nostalgia for the cigarette ads that used to interrupt the stories in the paperback books he loved back when he was young and impressionable.

Plenty of Democrats aren't happy at the prospect of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee---George Clooney, for one, according to the fab David E., who had cocktails with the man. Taylor Marsh, though, has her doubts about Barack Obama.

Pam Spaulding on Mike Huckabee's "rapist/murderer problem." Publius reminds us of how Huck's pardon of Dumond fits in with the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy to destroy Bill Clinton---Dumond was innocent, don't you know? And Bill had him railroaded.

And with the holidays crashing down upon her, Quinn Cummings tries to find a place of sanity "somewhere between Ebenezer Scrooge and Thomas Kincaid."

Deadline met. Barely. Over and out.

Send tips to lance(atsign)lancemannion(dot)com.

CNN: Are you confident that nobody who supports you is involved in that push polling?

Romney: You've got to be kidding. Obviously the beneficiaries of push polling that attacks me is not me. Somebody else has obviously pushed that forward. I have no idea who it was but....as you know it was a vicious attack on me. An un-American attack on me...I think it's the same kind of conspiracy theorists that you're raising that say we brought down the World Trade Centers ourselves and it turns everything on its head.It's a little silly I think...

OK, this answer by Romney is off the wall. Hmmmm....Makes you wonder though, doesn't it?

Several recipients of the calls, which raised questions about Romney's Mormon faith and military deferments, are prominent supporters of the former Massachusetts governor. ---Roth and Kramer are now the third members of Romney's Iowa campaign to have publicly acknowledged received the calls. Ralph Watts, a state representative in Iowa, who also backs the former governor, was one of the first people to come forward.

And yet, during subsequent press interviews, neither Roth nor Kramer disclosed the positions they held on Romney's team. In fact, as several other reporters have pointed out, both individuals drastically downplayed their campaign associations. And in an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune, Roth took the opportunity to lash out against Sen. John McCain, the presidential candidate initially thought to be behind the calls.

Not disclosing that you're part of the campaign and then blasting John McCain is cause for one of those Drudge flashing red lights. The press has virtually done nothing in regards to reporting on his campaign other than pointing out his constant flip flopping so I wonder---will this get the ball rolling?

 I figured they gave him over the weekend to make a decision.

Michael Vick's lawyer said Monday the NFL star will plead guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, putting the Atlanta Falcons quarterback's career in jeopardy and leaving him subject to a possible prison term. The offense is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, although federal sentencing guidelines most likely would call for less. Vick's plea hearing is Aug. 27...read on

Human Events, a ridiculously-conservative political magazine, recently reported, “Quietly but systematically, the Bush Administration is advancing the plan to build a huge NAFTA Super Highway, four football-fields-wide, through the heart of the U.S."

It’s hard to understand exactly what the right is arguing here, but apparently the idea is that the free-trading Bush administration wants to sell out U.S. interests and let Mexicans move products and people through the American Heartland, while bypassing Teamsters on the coasts. Or something. It’s hard to keep up with conservative conspiracy theories.

Yesterday, Christopher Hayes at The Nation tackled the subject, debunked the myths, and connected the bizarre ideas to domestic fears over globalization.

Through towns large and small it will run, plowing under family farms, subdevelopments, acres of wilderness. Equipped with high-tech electronic customs monitors, freight from China, offloaded into nonunionized Mexican ports, will travel north, crossing the border with nary a speed bump, bound for Kansas City, where the cheap goods manufactured in booming Far East factories will embark on the final leg of their journey into the nation’s Wal-Marts. […]

Grassroots movement exposes elite conspiracy and forces politicians to respond: It would be a heartening story but for one small detail.

There’s no such thing as a proposed NAFTA Superhighway.

Well, sure, if you’re going to let facts get in the way of perfectly good demagoguery, the existence of the highway project might matter.