Confidence games

Let's think about this:

Shrub has confidence in Wolfowitz - the one who spits on his comb before using...oh yuck!

Shrub has confidence in Gonzalez - the one who has lied repeatedly to Congress.

And Rumsfeld had Bush's full confidence.

I'll bet Michael Brown had his full confidence as well....

Funny about the Shrub's use of this word..... To him it means he can trust them to do his bidding - not necessarily the job they are supposed to do for us - "we the people."

To King George - being the king is the same as playing a confidence game...gain the trust of the people and then screw them - royally!

The worst administration gets worse?

Remember Nixon's 18 minutes of missing tape recording? If you don't - that's okay - but this make the current WH so much worse it's hard to fathom...but you know what? There is more "worse" to come -

This just in from CREW [Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE APRIL 12, 2007
CONTACT: NAOMI SELIGMAN STEINER 202.408.5565

Shocking New Disclosure - White House Lost over FIVE MILLION EMAILS in Two Year Period

Washington, DC - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) today has released a report, WITHOUT A TRACE: The Missing White House Emails and the Violations of the Presidential Records Act, detailing the legal issues behind the story of the White House e-mail scandal.

Download the executive summary 80K PDF
Download the exhibits 4.4MB PDF
Download the full report 2.4MB PDF

In a startling new revelation, CREW has also learned through two confidential sources that the Executive Office of the President (EOP) has lost over five million emails generated between March 2003 and October 2005. The White House counsel's office was advised of these problems in 2005 and CREW has been told that the White House was given a plan of action to recover these emails, but to date nothing has been done to rectify this significant loss of records.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, said today, "It's clear that the White House has been willfully violating the law, the only question now is to what extent? The ever changing excuses offered by the administration Ð that they didn't want to violate the Hatch Act, that staff wasn't clear on the law - are patently ridiculous. Very convenient that embarrassing - and potentially incriminating - emails have gone missing. It's the Nixon White House all over again."

WITHOUT A TRACE covers the following areas:

Presidential Records Act (PRA): Enacted in 1978, requires the president to preserve all presidential records, which are defined as those records relating to the "activities, deliberations, decisions, and policies that reflect the performance of [the president's] constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties..."

Clinton Administration Policy: In 1993, then-Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary John Podesta sent a memo to all presidential staff explaining that the PRA required all staff members to maintain all records, including emails. Podesta stated that the use of external email networks was prohibited because records would not be saved as required. The 1997 White House Manual and a 2000 memo issued by Mark Lindsay, then Assistant to the President for Management and Administration echoed this policy, requiring staff to use only the White House email system for official communications.

Bush Administration Policy: The Bush Administration has refused to make public its record-keeping policy. A confidential source provided CREW with a 2002 document indicating the use of "non-EOP messaging-enabled mechanisms should not be used for official business."

Bush Administration Practice: In the wake of the scandals surrounding Jack Abramoff and the fired U.S. Attorneys, emails were released showing that top White House staffers routinely used Republican National Committee (RNC) email accounts to conduct official business. For example, J. Scott Jennings, White House Deputy Political Director, used an RNC account to communicate with the former chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales regarding the appointments of new U.S. Attorneys. Similarly, Susan Ralston, a former aide to Karl Rove, used RNC email accounts to communicate with Abramoff about appointments to the Department of the Interior.

PRA Violations: 1) The administration failed to implement adequate record-keeping systems to archive presidential email records; 2) two confidential sources independently informed CREW that the administration abandoned a plan to recover more than five million missing emails; 3) White House staff used outside email accounts to conduct presidential business, ensuring that emails were not adequately preserved. In fact, former Abramoff associate Kevin Ring said in an email to Abramoff that Ralston had told him not to send emails to her official White House account "because it might actually limit what they can do to help us, especially since there could be lawsuits, etc."

Hatch Act Excuse: The administration has claimed that Rove, Jennings and other staffers use RNC accounts to avoid violating the Hatch Act. This is untrue. The Hatch Act prohibits White House staff from using official resources for purely "political" purposes. "Political" refers to the president's role as either a candidate for office or as the leader of his party. Email communications regarding presidential appointments for U.S. Attorney and Interior Department positions clearly fall within the PRA as making appointment is an official presidential function and does not relate to the president's role as party leader.

Read the full WITHOUT A TRACE report at CREW's Website

This supports the troops how?

Today's news...

Pentagon Orders Longer Tours for Soldiers in Iraq
New York Times
By DAVID STOUT. WASHINGTON, April 11 - All active-duty Army troops now in Iraq or Afghanistan or headed to either country will serve 15-month tours of duty, up from the usual 12-month tours, effective immediately, the Pentagon announced today.

Full article HERE

So this is how the administration supports our kids? By giving them a more predictable schedule of awfulness? But hey - the military is not stretched or broken - it's just that we need more cannon fodder and no one is signing up even though the "bonus" goes up all the time... But I think the kids have figured it is hard to spend a bonus if you are dead....

And for anyone who does not like my use of the term cannon fodder - my own son, who was in the 82nd Airborne, uses the term more than I do.

But only yesterday the shrub was saying it was the democrats fault the troops were going to be spending more time in Iraq - IF - the bill Congress is working on is not passed. Words here:

“The bottom line is this: Congress’s failure to fund our troops will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines. Others could see their loved ones headed back to war sooner than anticipated. This is unacceptable. It’s unacceptable to me, it’s unacceptable to our veterans, it’s unacceptable to our military families, and it’s unacceptable to many in this country.

But wait a minute the House is still on vacation....and what did Congress have to do with the pentagon stretching the time of already stretched and tired military? DOH - nothing!

Here's what Hoyer said:

"The Defense Department announcement today that all active-duty Army soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan will serve three months longer than the usual standard undercuts the President’s claim that Congress is straining the military and keeping soldiers from their families - and exposes it as nothing more than empty political rhetoric.

“Military leaders have made it clear that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have strained our military. That is why Democrats inserted an additional $2.5 billion for troop readiness in the Iraq Accountability Act.

“I commend our brave servicemen and women for their dedication to our country and have no doubt that they will continue to serve with distinction. But it is time for the President to sit down with Democrats for a real discussion on how to forge a new direction in Iraq that protects our nation and our soldiers.”

Here's what Emmanuel said:

“What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, extending tours of duty was ‘unacceptable’ to the President. Today, it is Pentagon policy. American troops and taxpayers are paying the price for a war with no end in sight.”

And do remember this - Congress IS funding the troops - it will be the shrub with his promised veto that denies them the money!

Now this from Reid:

"Today's news that active-duty troops' tours in Iraq will be extended to 15 months is another in a long line of examples of how the President's Iraq policies are making us less secure. A bipartisan majority of Congress sees it, the American people see it and military experts see it.

"It is time for the President to work with Congress to change course in Iraq. Congress will send President Bush a bill that gives our troops the resources they need and a strategy in Iraq worthy of their sacrifices. If the President vetoes this bill he will have delayed funding for troops and kept in place a strategy that neither our troops nor the American people can afford any longer."

and from Pelosi:

"Today’s announcement just underscores the fact that the burden of the war in Iraq has fallen upon our troops and their families. The Bush Administration has failed to create a plan to fully equip and train our troops, bring them home safely and soon, and provide our veterans with the quality care they deserve.

"Extending the tours of all active-duty Army personnel is an unacceptable price for our troops and their families to pay.

"Democrats have offered a new direction in Iraq – one that would bring our troops home safely and soon. We encourage President Bush to sit down with us to find a solution to bring this war to an end."

Isn't it great that the Democrats are in control [of sorts] of this madman? and his cronies?

MoveOn Town Hall

On the air now - attend by clicking below:

town hall presentation

A letter to AirAmerica Radio

I sent this to AAR headquarters via email and also cced my local station


You have finally lost me as a loyal listener.

1- I am a NYC native but now in Portland Oregon - for what that is worth it says who I am.
2- an unabashed progressive
3- loved AirAmerica and listened all day when it debuted but lost much interest in AAR as it changed line-ups seemingly to appease the "middle"
4- dislike that my local affiliate keeps Ed Schultz on and changed the line-up so much I now listen to KBOO - a local community station

5- but the final reason I am quitting as a listener is that you are getting rid of daily Sam Seder - I liked Sam in the AM but our station put him on at 6 PM - that was still okay - but you have now taken that option away.

So - no more okay. You lost me and I am now an ex-AirAmerica listener....

Lynn Dorman

cc KPOJ