Hot Potato Mash

REPUBLICAN REP. CALLS FOR ROVE TESTIMONY IN SIEGELMAN CASE AND SMACKS BUSH!

Republican Representative Walter Jones not only calls for Rove to testify before the House Judiciary Committee but SMACKS President Bush while doing so...

“In the year 2000 when President Bush was a candidate he said many times in debate he would bring dignity to the White House. This would be a great start if Karl Rove would come before the Judiciary Committee and let him explain his involvement, if any, in the Don Siegelman case.”

Meanwhile Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez states that she “personally would love to see” Rove arrested and held in jail where there would be a trial in the House of Representatives.

But before anyone gets overly excited it is important to point out that it is now up to Nancy Pelosi to have a vote in the full House. And Sanchez was already hedging on the Speaker's behalf stating that it would depend on whatever else takes priority legislatively.

Further, Pelosi has changed her tune many times and by most indications will not act on this. Because in Nancy Pelosi's world the rule of law, Constitution, three equal branches of government and oversight must take a back seat to picking up a few more seats in the House and Senate and winning the White House. Of course, her strategy appears flawed since Congress under her leadership now has a 9% approval rating.

See Hot Potato Mash's entire Don Siegelman archives

Technorati Tags: Bush League Justice, Dan Abrams, Don Siegelman, Karl Rove, Linda Sanchez, Walter Jones

Al-Qaeda Expert Killed AGAIN!

Lori Price at LegitGov.Org points out that Al-Qaeda expert, Abu Khabab al-Masri was killed again by the CIA:

Financial Times (July 30, 2008):

Pakistan intelligence officials yesterday confirmed a key al-Qaeda expert on chemical and biological weapons was killed in an attack by a CIA-operated unpiloted drone, late on Sunday.

ABC News (January 18, 2006):

ABC News has learned that Pakistani officials now believe that al Qaeda's master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert was one of the men killed in last week's US missile attack in eastern Pakistan.

Midhat Mursi, 52, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, was identified by Pakistani authorities as one of four known major al Qaeda leaders present at an apparent terror summit in the village of Damadola early last Friday morning.

Timeline: John McCain Does NOT Support The Troops

LECTURING OTHER COUNTRIES ON THE RULE OF LAW

Glenn Greenwald rightfully takes issue with The Washington Post's Editorial Page lecturing Russia about "the rule of law." As Glenn points out, the US lost the right to lecture anyone on the rule of law long ago:

What we've done over the last seven years -- at least much of it -- isn't a secret. It's worthwhile to state frequently in clear, dispassionate terms what our country has done. Our Government has kidnapped people off the street and from their homes and sent them to places like Syria to be tortured for months (including completely innocent people) and then invoked National Security claims to bar them from holding our Government accountable in a court of law. We've disappeared others into secret prisons beyond even the reach of the Red Cross, or encaged them in a lawless black hole on a Cuban island. We've tortured them, sometimes to death, even with the knowledge that many were innocent. We attacked and completely demolished another country that couldn't attack us even if it wanted to. And our President openly declared that he has the power to break our laws, spy on U.S. citizens with no warrants, and indefinitely imprison even our own citizens with no process of any kind. Those are all just facts that aren't really subject to dispute or debate.

Worst of all, having done all of that -- not for weeks or months following the 9/11 attacks, but for years, still -- we've collectively decided, without much turmoil or debate, that it should all be forgiven, that none of it should be punished or even investigated, that it's best just to keep these crimes concealed and, when accidentally disclosed, to immunize the criminals. And all of that is being done right out in the open, so that our formal human rights reports are self-evident, almost laughable, farces, and even countries like Zimbabwe, when their governments want to engage in tyrannical acts, can and do rationally point to the U.S. as the leading example which they're following.

See Glenn's entire post

"A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency" (Glenn Greenwald)

VINCENT BUGLIOSI EVIDENCES IRAQ NOT IMMINENT THREAT EVEN IF SADDAM HAD WMD

Vincent Bugliosi: "You shouldn't have any difficulty making a criminal referral to the Department of Justice to commence a criminal investigation of the Bush administration to determine whether first degree murder charges should be brought against certain members of this administration and I hereby strongly urge you to do so."

"Whether Republican or Democrat, all Americans should be absolutely outraged over what the Bush administration has done. How dare they do what they did. How dare they."



"Believe it or not I do not say in this book, where I am asking George W. Bush to be prosecuted for murder, that he lied about weapons of mass destruction. Actually he did lie about weapons of mass destruction but that is not why I'm saying that he should be prosecuted for murder...

The issue is not whether Hussein had weapons of mass destruction... the only issue is whether a nation that has weapons of mass destruction is an imminent threat to the security of this country. That is the only issue. And 16 US intelligence agencies in this previous classified document, including the CIA, all said, unanimously, that Hussein was not an imminent threat to the security of this country...

These 16 US agencies thought that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and they still said [Saddam Hussein] was not an imminent threat to the security of this country."

MUCH MORE VINCENT BUGLIOSI AT HOT POTATO MASH

"The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder" (Vincent Bugliosi)

KARL ROVE INCRIMINATES SELF AND REPUBLICANS ADMIT DON SIEGELMAN CASE FIXED

In a new installment of Bush League Justice today, guest Julian Epstein, former counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, stated that Republicans will admit, off-camera, that the case against former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman was fixed.

The segment concentrated on Karl Rove finally giving written answers to questions, NOT under oath, about the Siegelman case. The questions, which were posed by Lamar Smith (R-TX), and answers can be read at Talking Points Memo.

While the general consensus is that the softball questions were a "pathetic attempt to save Karl Rove", the effort appears to have failed. In the video above, Epstein states that Rove actually appears to "incriminate" himself by refusing to answer a specific question about whether he contacted non-state officials.

Marcy Wheeler agrees with Epstein over at emptywheel:

In a classic non-denial denial, Karl Rove makes it clear that he did talk to people about Siegelman's prosecution--even while he denies that he spoke to anyone in DOJ about it.

And Larisa Alexandrovna thinks "This is getting to be rather fun" before proceeding to rip apart Rove's answer with the facts. She also poses six real questions she'd like to see asked of Rove.

EXCLUSIVE: Mysterious Liquid Sidelines Airplane While TSA Considers Action

My flight from Los Angeles to Dulles Airport outside of Washington, D.C. on Sunday was delayed on the runway without explanation for more than two hours. Our Virgin America jet was pulled off to the side of an LAX runway where we watched plane after plane taxi by us and takeoff.

At one point the man next to me asked a flight attendant for an explanation but was told that the decision to keep us informed was solely up to the pilot. After an hour the Captain finally came on over the loudspeaker:

"We've been talking to our company about regulatory compliance concerning the boarding of liquids on this aircraft. I had to know exactly for sure what I was talking about before I gave you any sort of announcement. I don't want to cause undue alarm about this. It is not a threat against the aircraft. You really have nothing to be concerned about safety-wise...

Right now where we stand, we are talking to TSA right now. They're the ones that kinda make the decision on what happens with this. Whether or not we are, in fact, allowed to take off at this point. I'll be honest with you, we're about 50/50 whether we're gonna go back to the gate and have to do a re-screening or we can leave. That decision is being figured out right now."

Our wait continued interrupted only by the occasional moving of the airplane to different parts of the airport. Finally the Captain returned:

"We are still waiting word. Just trying to keep you up to date with as much as I know. And right now we do not have word. This has gone on to TSA - they are not known for being particularly fast with their decisions. So that's what's going on."

Good dirt on TSA but the info hardly helped us passengers as we waited still longer. Finally the pilot returned and announced we had been cleared for takeoff but failed to give any explanation:

So, upon debarking the aircraft I asked a member of the crew about the mysterious liquid that held up the full plane for hours and learned a passenger had brought aboard liquid medication.

So there you have it. A plane delayed for hours, without explanation, parked in multiple spots on the runway, while awaiting word from TSA about whether or not a return to the gate was in order to re-screen all the passengers because some passenger made the ginormous mistake of bringing onboard their liquid medication.

And the "War on Terror" continues...

It's All In Your Head!

Many of the same clips from the beginning of my week-old John McCain and the economy mashup, but definitely done more professionally and effectively.

If Only Europeans Elected Our President

Who would you vote for for President?

The Onion Predicted Bush Administration Failings 7 Years Ago!

According to Wikipedia, "The Onion is an American 'fake news' organization. It features satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news..."

With that in mind, check out the following satirical piece that appeared on The Onion on January 17, 2001, titled, "Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'":

WASHINGTON, DC–Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that "our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over."

"My fellow Americans," Bush said, "at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us."

Bush swore to do "everything in [his] power" to undo the damage wrought by Clinton's two terms in office, including selling off the national parks to developers, going into massive debt to develop expensive and impractical weapons technologies, and passing sweeping budget cuts that drive the mentally ill out of hospitals and onto the street.

During the 40-minute speech, Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.

"You better believe we're going to mix it up with somebody at some point during my administration," said Bush, who plans a 250 percent boost in military spending. "Unlike my predecessor, I am fully committed to putting soldiers in battle situations. Otherwise, what is the point of even having a military?"

On the economic side, Bush vowed to bring back economic stagnation by implementing substantial tax cuts, which would lead to a recession, which would necessitate a tax hike, which would lead to a drop in consumer spending, which would lead to layoffs, which would deepen the recession even further...

Turning to the subject of the environment, Bush said he will do whatever it takes to undo the tremendous damage not done by the Clinton Administration to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He assured citizens that he will follow through on his campaign promise to open the 1.5 million acre refuge's coastal plain to oil drilling. As a sign of his commitment to bringing about a change in the environment, he pointed to his choice of Gale Norton for Secretary of the Interior. Norton, Bush noted, has "extensive experience" fighting environmental causes, working as a lobbyist for lead-paint manufacturers and as an attorney for loggers and miners, in addition to suing the EPA to overturn clean-air standards...

"Finally, the horrific misrule of the Democrats has been brought to a close," House Majority Leader Dennis Hastert (R-IL) told reporters. "Under Bush, we can all look forward to military aggression, deregulation of dangerous, greedy industries, and the defunding of vital domestic social-service programs upon which millions depend. Mercifully, we can now say goodbye to the awful nightmare that was Clinton's America."

"For years, I tirelessly preached the message that Clinton must be stopped," conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh said. "And yet, in 1996, the American public failed to heed my urgent warnings, re-electing Clinton despite the fact that the nation was prosperous and at peace under his regime. But now, thank God, that's all done with. Once again, we will enjoy mounting debt, jingoism, nuclear paranoia, mass deficit, and a massive military build-up."...

"We as a people must stand united, banding together to tear this nation in two," Bush said. "Much work lies ahead of us: The gap between the rich and the poor may be wide, be there's much more widening left to do. We must squander our nation's hard-won budget surplus on tax breaks for the wealthiest 15 percent. And, on the foreign front, we must find an enemy and defeat it."

SEND KARL ROVE TO JAIL

Sign the petition at Send Karl Rove to Jail.

Check out all of my Don Siegelman coverage which includes the most extensive video collection about the case on the web.

Bush Spooks Little Kid

ROVE EXPLAINS HIS FAILURE TO ANSWER SUBPOENA IN REMARKABLE CONVERSATION WITH O'REILLY

This is an extraordinary exchange, on many levels, between Bill O'Reilly and Karl Rove. For starters, Bill-o doesn't seem to know or at least pretends not to know, who Don Siegelman is. Introducing the segment, O'Reilly looks down at his notes and struggles to come up with Siegelman's name, and even calls him "Donald" which I have never heard any media personality use to refer to the former Alabama Governor. It would be quite remarkable if O'Reilly was truly unfamiliar with the Siegelman case. More likely O'Reilly was intentionally attempting to minimize the significance of the Siegelman case in an effort to make Rove's failure to appear before the House Judiciary committee appear more reasonable.

Next, O'Reilly clearly doesn't believe in oversight. At least during Republican administrations. House subcommittees are seemingly valueless, according to O'Reilly, since their purpose is merely to be a "dog and pony show" that tries to embarrass witnesses.

Meanwhile, O'Reilly claims that no one in their right mind would want to appear before a House committee. But the fact of the matter is that most witnesses voluntarily testify before House committees because they have information that might be helpful to our government and country. In right wing parlance, one could argue that it is often the patriotic thing to do.

O'Reilly then makes some kind of straw-man argument claiming that "they wouldn't" testify before a House subcommittee without identifying who is the "they" he is referring to. He goes on to say that "they" wouldn't even appear on his show before calling them "pinheads". Maybe O'Reilly is speaking about the TV critics or maybe he has the House committee in mind (Democrats only one supposes). Undoubtedly O'Reilly's audience understands "they" and "pinheads" to be code words for SP's (secular progressives), Democrats and the looney left.

Rove's answer is equally problematic. Note that Rove claims that the White House has invoked executive privilege which prevents him from testifying before the House committee but that he has also indicated "five times" that he would be willing to answer the same questions from House members, either by meeting with them or in writing. Thus, presumably the White House is not worried about Rove answering questions from Congress, but only answering questions under oath. Could anything be more absurd?

The transcript...

Bill O'Reilly: [TV critics] gave you a hard time about not wanting to go testify in front of a House subcommittee about Don, Donald Siegelman (looking at notes), you know. Now who in their right mind, and this is a non-partisan thing, who in their right mind would want to go in to a House committee - which is just a dog and pony show trying to embarrass whoever it is, you, me, whoever has to go - who in their right mind would want to do that? They wouldn't. They won't come on this program most of these pinheads, okay. So they give you a hard time about that and I guess they are giving you a hard time because you worked at the Bush administration and now you work at FNC.

Karl Rove: Yeah, well on the first one you know, well, in a lot of them the questions were polite but they were clearly ill-informed. They said why do you refuse to testify. I said look, I've not invoked any privilege. The White House has invoked an executive privilege - the Constitutional authority of the President not to have his aides drawn up to the Hill for any reason that they want. And I've said but I have been five times offered through my lawyer to meet with Democrat members, Democrat staff, Republican members, Republican staff or answer in writing questions that they may want to submit about this in order to preserve the President's prerogatives - separation of powers - while at the same time giving them information they supposedly want and not foreclosing any option.

O'Reilly: Yeah, but you know they don't want that.

Rove: Sure they don't. They want a circus.

O'Reilly: They want to get you up there and mock you and the TV critics want to see you disparaged.

Rove: Sure. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly.

O'Reilly: Now why in your opinion - I'm in journalism 35 years, you are in politics, I guess, about the same time - why is the print media particularly so left wing in this country in your opinion?

BUSH LEAGUE JUSTICE: Karl Rove Says White House Won't Allow Him To Testify In Siegelman Case and Attacks MSNBC's Dan Abrams

 

Karl Rove talks for the first time about his failure to appear before the House Judiciary to testify about his knowledge of the prosecution of Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and says it is the White House that is preventing him from testifying. Rove also attacks MSNBC's Dan Abrams.

So what will Congress do about Rove?

a) huff and puff and do nothing

b) vote to hold Rove in contempt and then do nothing

c) go on TV and huff and puff in order to win points with their constituencies and then do nothing

d) give him yet another extension to testify and then do nothing

e) say that they are powerless to do anything despite always claiming that they are a co-equal branch of government and then do nothing

f) all of the above

e) ???

Technorati Tags: Bush League Justice, Dan Abrams, Karl Rove

MUST WATCH STOLEN ELECTION/DEMOCRACY VIDEOS

First up is the newly released free online documentary "Free For All" (the entire movie is available for download here). The flick, which is written, produced and directed by John Wellington Ennis, is not only informative but hugely entertaining.

Next up is a clip (7:04) about Clint Curtis from the excellent election documentary, Uncounted, The New Math of American Elections, by David Earnhardt. Curtis has testified under oath that he was hired by hella corrupt Florida Republican Congressman Tom Feeney to create vote flipping computer software in order to steal elections.

FYI: Brad Blog's Brad Friedman figures prominently in both documentaries.