May 2006 Archives
After all that bluster about the search of Jefferson's office comes this about Speaker Hastert:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation by the FBI, which is probing corruption in Congress, ABC News reported on Wednesday.
ABC, citing high level Justice Department sources, said information implicating Hastert was developed from convicted lobbyists who are now cooperating with the government.
Part of the investigation involves a letter Hastert wrote three years ago, urging the Secretary of the Interior to block a casino on an Indian reservation that would have competed with those of other tribes.
Hastert's Press Secretary told ABC in a statement: "We are not aware of this." Hastert's spokespeople were not immediately available for comment.
Of course, the implication is that Abramoff has fingered Hastert. This will be interesting to watch as it develops. And since Abramoff's generosity touched lots in Congress, Democrat and Republican alike, I wouldn't at all be surprised if we hear of more investigations.
I'm with Glenn - Search 'em all.
Via AP/Yahoo:
CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden purportedly said in an audio tape Tuesday that Zacarias Moussaoui — the only person convicted in the U.S. for the Sept. 11 attacks — had nothing to do with the operation."He had no connection at all with Sept. 11," the speaker, claiming to be bin Laden, said in the tape posted on the Internet.
"I am the one in charge of the 19 brothers and I never assigned brother Zacarias to be with them in that mission," he said, referring to the 19 hijackers.
This could be an attempt to embarrass the administration - weak psychological warfare from the king of terrorists. Regardless, UBL does acknowlege that Moussaoui wasn't here on a vacation:
"Since Zacarias Moussaoui was still learning how to fly, he wasn't No. 20 in the group, as your government has claimed," bin Laden said. "It knows this very well," he added.
Maybe Moussaoui was removed from the group because he couldn't get through his training in time? Or was he in the lineup for a later operation? Regardless, Bin Laden's characterization reveals enough to know that "brother" Moussaoui was a) active in al-Qaida and b) up to no good.
I stayed away from this one on purpose - I was Air Force, and didn't have the requisite Army know-how to spot all the discrepancies that the milblogging community did.
But it did seem fishy to me from the start. I watched only part of the video, but I saw enough to know that for someone to believe his story, they'd also have to believe that the largest war-crimes coverup in history was ongoing in Iraq. A few hundred thousand GIs, hundreds of imbedded media types, not to mention large numbers of Iraqi citizens all keeping quiet in the same environment that brought us over-hyped stories of Abu-Graib and white phosphorus from a media bloodthirsty for anything negative. No. No way that institutional slaughter of women and children would go unreported for this long.
Anyway, it now looks like Mr. MacBeth has some 'splaining to do. The best roundup, if you haven't visited yet, is from AllahPundit.
But what about the fallout from this sorry episode? Unfortunately, there are probably a few on the left who will believe MacBeth no matter what. And many that no longer do will now claim it's a plot by the right to discredit the anti-war movement.
Sigh.
The good news out of this is that MacBeth's dishonesty was outed in lightning fashion by blogs. Thirty years ago, Jesse's film would have become the predominant account, and the debunking would have been the urban legend - exactly opposite of what we saw this week.
I see it as a victory for truth.
But it was one of "those" days at work, and I just didn't get a break. We're up against several deadlines, there's a full load of students in house, and stress levels are high. Except for me, of course. I try to keep smiling no matter what.
Lorie Byrd has joined Kevin and the gang over at Wizbang. If you haven't been paying attention, she used to post over at PoliPundit before a recent parting of ways between Poli and his guest bloggers.
I wish her well in her new digs.
There was a time during the previous century that Gary Hart was a US Senator, and a major Democratic primary candidate for President of the United States. But when an extramarital affair came to light, his poll numbers plummeted and he was forced to give up his White House bid.
When Gary dropped out of the race in 1984, he said at a press conference, "I said that I bend, but I don't break, and believe me, I'm not broken".
Nowadays, he's spending time over at the Huffington Post spitting cheap moonbatty ad hominems at the person holding the office he once coveted.
If this is bending, then Gumby is a steel girder.
I'd like to take this opportunity to formally thank Donna Rice and the Miami Herald for the great service they did for our nation.
You really gotta feel sorry for the poor station owner that this happened to:
HAMMOND, Ind. - When a pump at a gas station malfunctioned, opportunistic motorists were able to buy gas for 29 cents per gallon.
A Marathon station sold a gallon of fuel for less than the price of a first-class stamp for about 90 minutes Friday before the mistake was detected and and the price corrected to $2.79.
While still answering questions from customers about why the price had suddenly gone up, clerk Nida Tayyab said more than 50 people had crowded the store, likely thinking the mishap was a price promotion, and received the bargain. Normally, the station serves about 10 people per hour.
"I was really confused," she said. "It was so messed up. I can't explain here how it was."
I think the left missed an opportunity, though. The headline from the LA Times or the NYT could have been:
"Gas prices jump $2.50 in one day, motorists mob gas station"
And it would have been, too, if the gas station was in Baghdad...
And they all belong to veterans:
WASHINGTON - Personal data, including Social Security numbers of 26.5 million U.S. veterans, was stolen from a Veterans Affairs employee this month after he took the information home without authorization, the department said Monday.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said there was no evidence so far that the burglars who struck the employee's home have used the personal data — or even know they have it. The employee, a data analyst whom Nicholson would not identify, has been placed on leave pending a review.
That's nearly 9% of the population, folks. When are people who maintain this kind of information going to learn?
By the way, this likely affects me - since I'm a veteran.
More later when I cool down.
Because I really want to know.
Why are racist statements acceptable (and even considered funny) when they're used by the left?
And they have the gall to call us on the right racist. Sheesh.
I got an email after posting this telling me that I was "off-base" and "taking a cheap shot". I wonder if the author of that email laughed at Wonkette's racism?
Ecuador has joined it's neighbors in the "resource re-nationalization" trend.
What's worrisome about Ecuador's move is that it simply gave Oxy the boot, without engaging in further negotiations to reach a settlement. In Bolivia and Venezuela, officials remain open to negotiating new terms with foreign oil companies. In Ecuador's case, President Alfredo Palacios, who took office just a year ago after his predecessor was ousted in the country's latest bout of political instability, was being threatened by some members of congress with possible treason charges if he allowed Oxy to stay.
In my mind, this is a disturbing trend that should be more prominent in the news. And it demonstrates that the middle east isn't the only factor in energy availability and price. The third wolrd's influence on the US is derived from our dependence on their natural resources. And that's why Congress should doubly ashamed of itself for letting aesthetics determine national energy policy.
Considering Kos' track record on supporting candidates, it's not surprising that they're desperate to claim a success. So when Ned Lamont makes the ballot, the headline at Kos is:
Lamont Made the Ballot! Big Time!
And it's complete with a quote from Matt at MyDD declaring "Ned Lamont is CRUSHING Joe Lieberman." However, reality seems to be inconveniently contrary to the Kos Kids' desires:
1509 votes countNed Lamont - 505 (33.4%)
Joe Lieberman - 1004 (66.5%)
I can't imagine a campaign feeling "incredibly dejected" when receiving two thirds of the vote. I can't imagine they'd feel "crushed", either.
Of course, the headline could easily read "Kos appearance in Lamont ad disgusts and frightens voters, holds Lamont back to only a third of votes".
Previous: Kos - televised moonbattery
Via AP/Yahoo:
WASHINGTON - A government analysis of more than 100 soft drinks and other beverages turned up five with levels of cancer-causing benzene that exceed federal drinking-water standards, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.
The companies that make the drinks have been alerted and either have reformulated their products or plan to do so, the FDA said. Government health officials maintain there is no safety concern, an opinion not shared by at least one environmental group.
Here are the affected drinks:
Safeway Select Diet Orange
Crush Pineapple
AquaCal Strawberry Flavored Water Beverage
Crystal Light Sunrise Classic Orange
Giant Light Cranberry Juice Cocktail
The FDA has a FAQ on the topic here and the complete list is here. And if you're curious about methods used for the study, look here. They insist the levels found aren't high enough to cause concern.
My family doesn't buy any of the above soft drinks, but if we did, I'd change brands for a while.
At 3:59 PM today, Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) posts:
HP UPDATE: Well, I finally got to someone at HP last night (my slowness, not theirs) and the computer is on its way back for repairs. They were quite nice. Am I getting special blogger-treatment? Possibly, but I've gotten several emails like this one from Gary Wishon: "My HP laptop was picked up FedEx on Tuesday and I was using it again on Thursday PM. With a follow-up call 2hrs after arrival. I'd buy HP again anytime--and have." And I didn't get any horror stories like I keep hearing about Dell...
At 7:30 PM, AP headline:
HP Gains on Dell in Tough Computer Market
We all knew he was influential, but who knew just how much? And should we be afraid?
Update: Welcome Instapundit readers! Thanks for the "Heh", Glenn!
Hey, wasn't Karl Rove supposed to be indicted this last week? Hmmm?
Think those sources that got it wrong will be outed as promised? You'd think it would be here if they were, but alas, no cigar...
Fitzmas seems to come nearly every week, but all the liberals ever get is a lump of coal in their stocking.
To those on the right - Happy Holidays!
Update: What exactly does a "partial apology" mean?
The time has now come, however, to issue a partial apology to our readership for this story. While we paid very careful attention to the sourcing on this story, we erred in getting too far out in front of the news-cycle. In moving as quickly as we did, we caused more confusion than clarity. And that was a disservice to our readership and we regret it.
"Too far out in front of the news cycle"? Ouch.
House Votes to Keep Offshore Drilling Ban
And after all that breast-beating about gas prices, too. Sooner or later coastal states are gonna figure out that aesthetics mean little when folks can't afford to drive there for their vacations. And just out of view, the most likely source of a spill is gonna be those Chinese and Indian oil rigs. Someone is going to get that oil - why can't it be us?
BellSouth Seeks Retraction From USA Today
ATLANTA - BellSouth Corp. is pressing USA Today to retract claims in a story asserting that the telecommunications company provided phone records of its customers to the National Security Agency.
The Atlanta-based company's chief lawyer, Marc Gary, sent a letter Thursday to the publisher of the newspaper, Craig Moon, and general counsel, Thomas Chapple, asking Gannett Co.'s flagship newspaper to retract "false and unsubstantiated statements" made in a May 11 story, BellSouth spokesman Jeff Battcher said.
False and unsubstantiated? But it was an unnamed source! And unnamed sources are always right when the left media quotes them.
Right?
That's the title of this AP/Yahoo story and it pretty much says it all.
I find the fact that we can have that story title in the year 2006 very disturbing.
Kos (Marcos Zuniga) is now appearing in commercials (H/T LGF).
I have some advice for the leader of the unhinged side of the blogosphere - playing with your nipples in public, however enjoyable, shows bad manners. Playing with them on TV is downright disgusting.
Now please excuse me while I go get really drunk in an attempt to get that image out of my head.
See this as well.
Via AP/Yahoo:
WASHINGTON - A Senate committee approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Thursday, after a shouting match that ended when one Democrat strode out and the Republican chairman bid him "good riddance."
"I don't need to be lectured by you. You are no more a protector of the Constitution than am I," Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., shouted after Sen. Russ Feingold (news, bio, voting record) declared his opposition to the amendment, his affinity for the Constitution and his intention to leave the meeting.
"If you want to leave, good riddance," Specter finished.
"I've enjoyed your lecture, too, Mr. Chairman," replied Feingold, D-Wis., who is considering a run for president in 2008. "See ya."
So what's his problem?
Among Feingold's objections was Specter's decision to hold the vote in the President's Room, where access by the general public is restricted, instead of in the panel's usual home in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
That's right - he was upset because he didn't have an audience for his theatrics. Never mind that the purpose of the meeting was to get some work done. Partisan politics and playing to the audience is much more important to the juvenile mind of primadonna Russ.
I do find Specter's choice of words interesting, though. He pays himself no compliment at all when he says "You are no more a protector of the Constitution than am I" to Feingold. After all, Feingold's outright contempt for the constitution has been well demonstrated by his attempts to abolish Article III.
A reminder - we're paying for this. If I wanted to see this kind of behavior, I could could have gone to a pro wrestling match. And saved a lot of buckage, too.
Via AP/Yahoo:
DENVER - A new study reinforces a tiny rodent's reputation as the mouse that roared, and that could block millions of dollars in development in Wyoming and Colorado if it hangs on to its endangered status.
For the second time, a study has found the Preble's meadow jumping mouse is distinct from other types of mice and deserves federal protection.
The 3-inch-long mouse has been at the center of a huge controversy in the West because its habitat includes prime undeveloped real estate, and protected status would put limits on what the owners could do with their land.
Why does this have to be so hard? The solution is pretty simple, and everyone wins:
Land owners in Wyoming and Colorado - capture a few dozen breeding pairs of the filthy little rodents. Take in enough stray cats to eliminate the rest of the mouse population (that's called natural selection, folks). Ship the breeding pairs out to families in danger of having their homes taken away by eminent domain (google to find out where they are - I can't be bothered with details). Once the mice are gone, you can do what you wish with your own land.
Eminent domain victims - Take good care of the breeding pair - cute little critters, aren't they? Once they have their first litter, release onto your property. Notify animal rights and conservation groups that you have an endangered species on your property, and they'll rush to court, protecting the cute little critters from the evil developers. Once the city has built the stadium or shopping center in another location, you're home free, and you can follow the instructions for land owners above to rid yourselves of the filthy little rodents.
The best part is the conservationists win, too, since you've all helped the species survive.
Next week, I'll outline my solution to the snail darter situation. Cheers!
Via Girl on the Right, we learn that PETA has a Q & A section on their website. And Potfry is asking the tough questions, although answers are a little slow in coming:
"We're still waiting for replies to the questions we submitted..."
Go check it out at Potfry.
Hey - Maybe I should ask PETA for some recipes - after all, I've got tons of sea turtle in the freezer, and I'm getting really tired of soup...
Via AP/Yahoo:
USA Today reported last week that three of the four major phone companies provided information on the calling records of millions of Americans. Two of the companies — Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. — have since disputed key assertions that they provided vast amounts of customer data to the NSA.
In an interview, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., a former FBI agent and intelligence committee member, said: "I can assure you there are no customer records involved. None." But he would not elaborate on the briefings he received.
But it came from an unnamed source. Doesn't it have to be true?
"I think it was inaccurately reported and completely overblown about what is and what isn't available to the NSA," he said.
Oh, my. What's the left gonna do without victims?
Added - Sad thing is, USA Today will probably get a pulitzer anyway, as a reward for making the administration look bad and because they thought they were publishing classified information. It wasn't their fault it wasn't true...
After all, it's the thought that counts...
I occasionally drive over to New Jersey - one of the quaint oddities to be found there is that the state doesn't allow self-service at gas pumps. Since I'm old enough to remember when it was that way in many more places, it brings back a few memories for me. I'm sure younger visitors probably find it just odd.
Evidently the folks in the garden state like it that way:
In New Jersey, motorists who need to fill 'er up haven't pumped their own gas in 57 years. But in the face of soaring gas prices, Gov. Jon Corzine came up with a novel plan last month to try to ease the pain: allow self-service at some stations along the New Jersey Turnpike and see if prices dip. He believed prices could drop 5 to 7 cents a gallon.
Corzine retreated after about 1,400 e-mails and calls poured in from a mostly outraged public. Concern about other state issues paled in comparison. A proposal to raise the sales tax by one cent, for example, received about 200 responses from the public, says Brendan Gilfillan, a spokesman for the governor.
Only in Jersey...
Over the last few days, several things have happened:
Congressional Panels to Get NSA Briefings
And I'm sure that just as the limited briefings produced a bipartisan crowd that a) wants the programs to continue and b) doesn't complain about legality, this new round of briefings will have a similar effect. Ain't truth wonderful?
Hatch Says Court Briefed on Surveillance
Way back in 2001. Who wants to float the theory that the administration is afraid of courts now?
BellSouth Denies It Gave NSA Call Data
Verizon Denies Giving NSA Phone Records
Hang on - I thought that unnamed sources were always reliable?
If the trend continues, some books may sell better in the humor category.
I haven't written much about immigration, even though it's the hot topic. Maybe because it's so emotional for so many folks. Just because I've stayed away from the topic doesn't mean I'm not interested.
The President's speech Monday caused quite a storm in the blogosphere, much of it negative. Perhaps too much is negative. I'm going to be negative as well.
On enforcement and securing the borders, he was not as forceful as I would have liked. I see a distinct difference between "reducing" illegal imigration and stopping it. The former is too much like "a little bit pregnant" for my liking. Can the stream of illegals coming across the border be stopped? Maybe not - but if stopping it isn't your goal then you'll never know. "Reducing" implies that there's some acceptable level of illegals slipping through.
On the "virtual fence" stuff - sensors, cameras, etc. - all very effective stuff when used by our military to protect deployed assets (like a base). This effectiveness, however, is in large part due to having a large, well-armed, vigilant, and motivated group waiting to open fire in the direction of the sensor trip when needed. Defending life and limb takes priority over deterrence. And there's little reluctance to use deadly force when needed.
There will be no such vigilance backing up the virtual fence proposed for the border with Mexico. Even with the additional agents, the Border Patrol won't have enough people to back up the sensors. And since the goal is capture, not protection, agents will be engaged in time-consuming capture activity and unable to respond to breaches downrange, much as it is now. Sure, more will be caught, but the resources will still fall short of what's needed for stopping the flow.
No, more than detection, we need deterrence. As poor of an image as a wall projects to Americans, it has the benefit of projecting the same image to the potential illegal immigrants. An intimidating wall means fewer people will even try. Which puts the Border Patrol in better position to deal with them.
The amnesty issue disturbs me as well. I'm not so blind that I don't realize how difficult it would be to deport 12+ million illegals. And I'm sure that some of the GOP's reluctance to seriously discuss enforcement is born of the fact that it can't be done painlessly. As soon as the deportations start, the television screens and front pages would be full of tragedy. You'd see families split apart. You'd see mothers giving up their kids for adoption so they could continue to go to American schools. You'd see massive "refugee" camps growing along the border with all of the requisite suffering. Faces of homeless and hopeless waifs would haunt the airwaves and the pages of Time Magazine.
And there's a darker (albeit remote) possibility as well. The recent demonstrations, while largely peaceful, displayed graphically what we might see the same day the order was given to round 'em up and ship 'em out. Except the demonstrators will have nothing to lose. If some were to organize, well - lets just say that no one in DC has the stomach for urban warfare on our own soil.
Have no illusions, folks. President Bush and the GOP fear the backlash from such a move more than they fear anything else.
The toughest part of the immigration issue that there's little breathing room for compromise. You can't "sort of" secure the borders - either you do, or you don't. The natural opposite of mass deportation is amnesty - there's no middle ground. That's why so many conservatives are upset. But I'm a little more than surprised that they're so angry.
After all, Bush's leanings on this issue were no secret, even back in 2000. He mentioned it frequently during his campaign. And his stubborn devotion to principle was a major selling point during the 2004 elections. Remember when we were all saying "stay the course"? This was more than predictable - when immigration came to a head, we knew exactly what Bush was going to do.
Me, I don't personally like the way our government is approaching the issue. And I'm sorry, but I don't have an answer to the problem. But I do know what isn't constructive. I know what weakens our side of the argument. And I know what actually makes the situation worse. While I like a good rant as much as anyone, when your entire argument is couched in name-calling and shrieking the people you wish to convince hear nothing of your message - only the rage comes through. In the end, the only thing you accomplish is to feed the masterbatory fantasies of the small-minded.
Stamping your feet and taking your ball and bat home won't accomplish any more than it did when you were seven years old. And in this case, it actually has the opposite effect, as the other side wins while some of you sit at home and sulk instead of writing letters and casting votes.
It's entirely possible to support and persuade simultaneously - all it requires is a little growing up. If the Democrats win this fall, make sure it's in spite of your efforts - not because of them.
Related:
Between the lightning strike and the Massachusetts flooding, Teddy Kennedy would be wise to avoid ladders and black cats.
The fact is that I believe this is the last time I will be blogging at Polipundit.
In my opinion, PoliPundit is one of the best group blogs around, so this news really saddens me.
I hope that there's a chance that PoliPundit reconsider, and I sent him an email saying so. That said, I fear that there has been some gratuitous bridge-burning behind the scenes that may prevent that from happening.
I look forward to seeing PoliPundit's next post - I imagine it will be interesting.
Update: It looks like they're still talking to each other - always a good sign.
Good luck guys. I hope you get it worked out.
Anchoress had decided to swear off of politics for a while:
"I’ve decided that if I’m going to keep blogging, I’m going to have to leave off writing or reading about politics for a little while, because it’s all making me sick."
Anchoress writes on a variety of topics, so this isn't going to stop her blogging. But her political posts were what attracted me to her blog in the first place. She rarely follows the crowd, adding a unique voice to the right side of the blogosphere. And when she's of a mind to rant, nobody rants better. Even when I disagree with her opinion, she challenges me to think from different perspectives - something I feel contributes to the health of the blogosphere and in sore need from more bloggers.
This particular rant is no exception, as she spares neither side of the debate:
"There is a terrible toxicity to our political and social exchanges - there is little real thought and lots of shrieking going on, lots of noise, little real discourse and precious little honesty. There is no way to debate because - no matter which side tries to get serious - a well-thought-out discourse is immediately shot down by the other side with a one-line-sneer, usually a specious one, that distorts or misdirects and never allows a thought to go forward. The disrespect between “sides” is staggering, and completely unproductive."
While I would wish for her to reconsider, I understand and sympathise with her distaste with the nastiness that passes for politics nowadays.
Anchoress, I'd like you to know that your political commentary will be missed around here. If it's just for the summer, please make it a short one.
And ready to re-live their glorious past:
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Democratic Party leaders are wondering what to do about a candidate for attorney general who denies the Holocaust occurred and wants to "reawaken white racial awareness."
Larry Darby, the founder of the Atheist Law Center, made an abortive bid for the AG job as a Libertarian in 2002, but only recently have his views on race and the Holocaust come to light.
He has no money for campaign advertising and has made only a few campaign speeches, but garnered 12 percent support in the June 6 primary in a poll of 400 registered voters last month.
I'm sure that he'll lose the primary - but the stunner is that he has 12% support among Democrats.
Lester Maddox would be proud.
Uh, that would be Joseph Nacchio.
I wouldn't be surprised if that isn't the only bad decision he's ever made.
By now everyone's heard that Nancy Pelosi has (at least publicly) pulled impeachment off the table (H/T Blue Crab Boulevard). Me, I don't buy it. This is just to counter the Republican stategy of letting the voters know that Democrats care more about satisfying their BDS cravings than keeping the country safe.
As Blue Crab Boulevard notes, the left has been fairly quiet about the announcement. I guess it's starting to sink in, though, as David from Radio Left declares "Democrats need to get rid of Pelosi". Here's more:
Rich Hope: "the democrats should go to hell in the same way that I hope the republicans will"
Aaron Bonn on DKos: "I say it's time to impeach Pelosi from her position within our party."
Robb Black on DKos: "I think this is simply pathetic..."
Folks, don't be fooled. She's lying through her teeth. Of course, it's nice to see you guys eat your own...
Back in February, I snuck a pop-up photoshop I made of Nancy Pelosi as the wicked witch into this post. I dusted it off and reused it here. Just to save your clicky finger:
Obviously, I'm not the only one who views Nancy that way. Meet Blue Crab Boulevard. And he used a better picture than I did, too.
Of course, to stay bleeding edge, I now have to come up with something new for the evil of the eighth. But what? Vampire? Too sexy. Zombie? Ewwww - too gross. This is gonna keep me awake tonight....
Oh well. At least I still have the franchise sewn up for the Reiddler:
So I'm doing a little searching for a variety of topics last night, and come across a story of a web site that was apparently shut down when a law enforcement agency siezed the hard drive on the server they were hosted on:
As you can see, Pajiba.com is a mess. We were as surprised as anyone when the site went down yesterday, but based on the limited information we have, it looks like the Department of Homeland Security has seized the disk drive on which our site was hosted, and apparently they've also taken the backup files. So for the time being, Pajiba.com has no data, and we don't think DHS has any intention of returning the hard drive to our hosting company anytime soon. I suppose we shared server space with some punk who threatened the President or something, and now anyone on that server has to suffer the consequences. Frankly, the entire debacle is pretty heart-wrenching for us, and thus far, completely out of our control. We have no idea when, or if, the disk drives will be returned.
In the meantime, we've decided to copy all of our old reviews from their Google caches (thank God for Google), and do our best to rebuild the entire site from scratch, bottom up; (which, for me, means relearning a lot of things on Movable Type). So for the next few days, the place is gonna look like Oprah's couch after Tom Cruise has had his way with it. We'll do our best to get the most recent reviews up in as timely a manner as possible, and then we will start adding the archives. I'm not sure what that will mean for this weekend's reviews yet, unfortunately, but I'm not resting until I get this place back into a respectable place to visit.
Anyway, thanks for your patience ... thanks for dropping by ... and we do hope you'll return after we get our shit together. In the meantime, I suppose we can all thank either the Bush Administration or the dumbass terrorists threatening our government, depending on your politics.
"...we can all thank either the Bush Administration or the dumbass terrorists threatening our government, depending on your politics." In the "reality based community", who do you suppose would get chosen? Yeah, I know, it's too easy (profanity edited by yours truly). From Maryscott O'Connor:
I don't know WHAT the f**k to make of it. These people make a g*dd***ed LIVING off that site, and now, with no explanation, the DHS f**king SEIZES their work material?
Can you imagine the ramifications of sh*t like this? Imagine p*ssing off someone in the DHS and coming in to the office to discover your livelihood has just been shattered because you p*ssed off the wrong f**king Politburo *sswipe.
THAT'S what this f**king is, man. Remember those Russian bad guys we vilified throughout the Cold War in decades of movies and television? THEY'RE WORKING IN THE BUSH REGIME, NOW.
Congratulate the Bush Administration, man. They've turned us into the f**king KGB-riddled Soviet f**king Union.
Apparently the siezure affected a number of web sites, including one run by this guy, who dons a few extra ounces of tinfoil in response:
What I resent more than the loss of website files, is the idea of a massive bureaucracy that has the ability to shut down anyone's website, business, or livelihood, without Congressional or judicial oversight. Some weeks back, I read about a couple whose account was red-flagged by DHS when they tried to pay a large sum on their credit card. Is this still America anymore?
What's of even more concern is the potential that such an agency could pose to the rights of Americans who disagree with the administration in power - any administration. Given the unchecked power granted to such agencies, what's there to prevent planting "suspicious files" on anyone's computer or home, because you're a little too vocal in your opposition to war in your emails or at work? Does it not sicken you that you're more reluctant to say things you feel about certain people in power in your phone conversations?
A little civics lesson for you all courtesy of DHS:
The Financial Crimes Division (FCD) plans, reviews, and coordinates criminal investigations involving Financial Systems Crimes, including bank fraud; access device fraud; telemarketing; telecommunications fraud (cellular and hard wire); computer fraud; automated payment systems and teller machines; direct deposit; investigations of forgery, uttering, alteration, false personation, or false claims involving U.S. Treasury Checks, U.S. Savings Bonds, U.S. Treasury Notes, bonds, and bills; electronic funds transfer (EFT) including Treasury disbursements and fraud within Treasury payment systems; fraud involving U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Coupons and Authority to Participate (ATP) cards; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation investigations; Farm Credit Administration violations; fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents and fraudulent commercial, fictitious instruments,foreign securities. The Division also coordinates the activities of the U.S. Secret Service Organized Crimes Program, and oversees money laundering investigations.
In other words, they investigate a wide range of crimes. They have legitimate power to execute a warrant and sieze hards drives in order to bring criminals to justice.
And check this page titled "BEST PRACTICES FOR SEIZING ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE" to learn a little about the procedure they followed in siezing the hard drive in question.
If you go to the Kos link at the top of this post, there are lots of looney comments. Amazing that there are so many people who blame Bush for anything bad in the world. Also, here's what I use as a "Left-wing fever swamp" theme song (warning: opens Rhapsody music service window - but it's free!) while I read such gems as:
"They are slowly building electronic gulags and separating potential enemies (again, Dems, progressives, and so on) from the means to communicate and share information -- first, privately, and then AT ALL."
"I would not be surprised if they then declare a federal state of emergency and then herd us into REAL gulags."
"I said this sh*t would happen 5 years ago when the Patriot ACT destroyed our civil rights..."
"Costa Rica is looking better and better. Anyone want to start a commune down there?"
Can't any of these folks think? If the DHS was doing what so many of these folks seem to believe, there would be no Kos. No My Left Wing. No Eschaton. No Crooks and Liars. No Democratic Underground.
BTW, if the music link doesn't work for you, the lyrics to the song I linked are here. But it's much better if you listen to it.
Via AP/Yahoo:
Congress Demands Phone Records Answers
WASHINGTON - Congressional Republicans and Democrats demanded answers from the Bush administration Thursday about a government spy agency secretly collecting records of ordinary Americans' phone calls to build a database of every call made within the country.
Presumably this has been discussed with key members of the intelligence committees as the terrorist surveilance program was. I suspect we'll get the same level of silence from those members. And once again, there will be calls for hearings, but no one will call for the program to end.
I don't believe that Congressional Republicans are as loyal to the President as the left suggests. Shoring up my belief that the NSA terrorist surveilance program was legal was the low number of complaints from the right. If the "R" crowd in congress really thought the President broke the law, they'd throw Bush under the bus in a heartbeat. And it would help them gain (instead of lose) seats this fall.
Watch what congress doesn't do. That will tell you more than the pandering statements made to the press.
This time from USA Today:
The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.
The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren't suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews.
Three cheers to President Bush for coming out rapidly on this:
"Our intelligence activities strictly target al-Qaida and their known affiliates," Bush said. "We are not mining or trolling through the personal lives of innocent Americans."
From the description in the USA Today article, this appears to be a companion program - in other words, meant to be a ready resource for other efforts. For example, if the Terrorist Surveilance Program bags an Al-Qaida operative coordinating with an accomplice in the US, the NSA can use the database to rapidly pinpoint other potential operatives, and using FISA warrants, maybe identify an entire cell. This could be crucial in stopping a plot in the execution phase, and could potentially save lots of lives.
But the question everyone will be asking: "Is It Legal?" Unknown. It appears that personal data is not collected, just phone numbers. I'm sure there will be lots of analysis over the next few days. I'll also note that it's refreshing to see one of the anti-constitution crowd refrain from a knee-jerk declaration that it's illegal.
Of course, that's the exception on the left right now. Huffington Post's headline is typical of the breathless assertations coming from outer moonbattia - "Bush Admin. Spying On Tens Of Millions Of Americans...". Read the comments - it appears that most of the readers didn't even bother to read the story. Many of the posts assume that this program is for listening to calls instead of simply recording phone numbers.
Another issue for me is why we can't stop these leaks. There are whistleblower procedures for the intelligence community, and until someone actually tries them you can't convince me that they had no other choice but the newspapers. These leaks, at least so far, have been engineered to only serve a polical goal and the leakers need to be prosecuted.
More as the story develops - in the meantime, there are several good places to go for more - Michelle Malkin has a good roundup, and John over at Powerline is always worth checking. Also Allahpundit is on the case.
This won't be received well by those that want us to fail in Iraq:
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister-designate said Tuesday the main stumbling blocks to forming a new Cabinet have been overcome and he expects to present his team to parliament for approval by the end of the week.
Nouri al-Maliki said representatives of the country's political parties had agreed on who will head the main posts and that just a few ministries remain unfilled. Discussions were still under way on the nominees for the oil, trade and transportation ministries, he said.
The incoming prime minister did not say who would get the key ministries of interior, which controls police, and defense, which runs the army. U.S. and British officials have insisted those posts go to people without ties to sectarian militias, believed responsible for many of the revenge killings of Sunnis and Shiites.
"The direction we took, and which was agreed upon by the political groups, was that the two who will occupy these posts be independent and unaffiliated with a party or a militia," he said at a news conference.
Al-Maliki, a Shiite, said he hoped to present the Cabinet to parliament by the end of the week. Parliament must approve each minister by a majority vote.
Even AP must feel this is good news for the U.S. effort in Iraq, as they felt compelled to devote the second half of the story to insurgent attacks, sectarian tensions and journalists' deaths.
However, separate stories like this one where death and bad news is the lede include no mention of al-Maliki's announcement.
As expected:
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema quickly rejected a motion the confessed al-Qaida conspirator filed Monday to withdraw his guilty plea and get a new trial.
After learning of comments made by jurors, Moussaoui figured that they were rubes who could have been convinced to set him free. Nice try, said Judge Brinkema:
At sentencing, Brinkema told him he could not appeal the conviction he got when he pleaded guilty in April 2005. "You waived that right," she said. She said Moussaoui could appeal the life term but "I believe it would be an act of futility."
On Monday, Brinkema said federal rules prohibit withdrawing a guilty plea after sentencing so his request must be rejected.
Good.