click HERE for the new culturekitchen site
07 November 2005
This is the end
by Liza Sabater
Oh. My. Blog.
I'm having a moment here.
This is my last post at culturekitchen using MovableType.
This is it. This is the end of three incredible years of re-discovering myself through blogging and thanks in big part to the world of possibility this here software opened up for me.
Wow.
I thought this was just a matter of geeking out over a migration. I had no idea I was going to get worked up. Well, even if it was just a little bit worked up, being ferklempt still comes as a shock.
If you are reading this the DNS switch over has not happened yet. I posted a long winded musing about this whole process, the five years that basically took me to get here and the reasons why I'm taking up CivicSpace for Movable Type at :
That's 12 hours of writing there. Be gentle.
This post will not have comments opened for obvious reasons but you can comment over at the new site.
The MT site will remain static until I get to twist Xian, Earl or Anil's arms for a little help.
In the meantime, I want to give once again my deep thanks to Ben, Mena, Anil and the people of Six Apart for producing what is basically the standard of all blogging software.
Blogging is what broke my writer's block about 3 years ago and it's changed my life in more ways than I can describe in this post.
Goodbye MovableType. You've been great.
Posted at 12:55 AM by Liza Sabater in Blogs, CivicSpace, DevLog, Life, MovableType, Six Apart | | TrackBack (0) | CultKiterati
03 November 2005
Empathy for the Devil
by Lorraine Berry
My instincts of late have been to shut down. I’m tired, I’m struggling with health issues, and the news is such a tragic clusterfuck that I just want to turn off the lights and “say goodnight, Gracie.” Not permanently. No. I fantasize about going off to live in a civilized country, and spend my days in coffee houses talking about cabbages, kings, and beauty and truth.
And yet. I’m also conscious of trying to stay present, and here, and aware. And awareness hurts. At the moment, it physically hurts; I spend significant parts of my day trying to imagine that I exist simply from the neck up. But I’m finding that as I’ve shut down access to my body, I’ve also shut down the part of me that is capable of empathizing with my brother and sister travelers. I don’t want to feel my own pain; why would I want to feel theirs, I ask myself. And then I wonder why I feel so disconnected from the rest of the world, from my politics, my faith, the people in my life whom I love.
The news this week scares me. More dead in Iraq. Alito’s nomination. Crap. I don’t even want to go over the list. Even the little things—the whole ridiculous American Girls controversy, for example—it feels as if they would overwhelm me if I would actually let them in. I try to make myself impervious, calcified, impenetrable.
For me, as a woman, these feelings are alien. I am not accustomed to feeling hard. I have actively practiced fluidity; it is both my physical reality and my way of being in the world. I allow knowledge and the world in; I allow feelings and words to flow out. Now, I feel stoppered up. I am a stone.
Continue reading "Empathy for the Devil"
Posted at 12:36 PM by Lorraine Berry in Body, Culture, Ephemera, Epiphany, Health, Life, Poetry, Testimonial, Writing | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0) | CultKiterati
Any Drupal/CivicSpace/MovableType experts out there?
by Liza Sabater
I need your help. I need to get BlogSheroes back up. I have also some questions about moving Movable Type to Drupal.
If you can help, please give me a holler on the comments section.
Thanks.
Posted at 11:10 AM by Liza Sabater in Blog Sheroes, Blogs, DevLog | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | CultKiterati
02 November 2005
Harry Reid forces the US Senate into a closed session and suddenly becomes a one-man nuclear (option) bomb squad
by Liza Sabater
It was a move that left Bill Frist personally affronted and took Republicans by surprise, yet was foretold by Senator Jay Rockefeller in a statement he released on October 28th. Harry Reid closed down the US Senate in a special session to discuss the a matter of national security : Why did we go to war and how does the Plamegate scandal fit into the whole narrative?
SENATOR ROCKEFELLER'S STATEMENT ON SPECIAL PROSECUTOR FITZGERALD'S INDICTMENT OF WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL SCOOTER LIBBY || To date, Congress has completely failed to answer these critical questions. The fact is that at any time the Senate Intelligence Committee pursued a line of questioning that brought us close to the White House, our efforts were thwarted. If my Republican colleagues are not prepared to undertake a full and serious congressional investigation into the potential misuse of intelligence, then I regretfully conclude that we have no choice but to pursue an outside independent investigation. The American people deserve answers and they want the truth.
This has been a showdown in the making and that was captured by CNN. Kudos to Crooks and Liars : what would we do without you?!?! And let's not forget Think Progress has the transcript:
SEN. HARRY REID: America deserves better than this. They also deserve a searching and comprehensive investigation into how the Bush administration brought this country to war. Key questions that need to be answered include:- How did the Bush administration assemble its case for war against Iraq? We heard what Colonel Wilkerson said.
- Who did the Bush administration officials listen to and who did they ignore?
- How did the senior administration officials manipulate or manufacture intelligence presented to the Congress and the American people?
- What was the role of the White House Iraq Group, or WHIG, a group of senior White House officials tasked with marketing the war and taking down its critics? We know what Colonel Wilkerson says.
- How did the administration coordinate its efforts to attack individuals who dared to challenge the administration's assertions? We know what happened to them -- I listed a few.
- Why has this administration failed to provide Congress with the documents that would shed light on their misconduct and the misstatements?
By the by, listen to the whole thing and you will find out why so many people on the the internets think Wolf Blitzer is an idiot.
Daily Kos posted Senator Reid's timeline of events that prove why an independent counsel investigation is needed to see how bad a blow is Plamegate to our national security :
For more than two years, Senate Democrats have pressed Republicans to address the misuse of intelligence. At every turn, Republicans have blocked efforts to investigate how intelligence was used in the run-up to the war in Iraq. Below details the long record established by Democrats to investigate this matter.March 14, 2003 - Senator Rockefeller sent a letter to Director Mueller requesting an investigation into the origin of the Niger documents.
May 23, 2003 - Senators Roberts and Rockefeller sent a letter to the CIA and State Department Inspectors General to review issues related to the Niger documents.
June 2, 2003 - Senator Rockefeller issued a press release endorsing a statement made of the previous weekend by Senator Warner calling for a joint SSCI/SASC investigation.
June 4, 2003 - Senator Rockefeller issued a press release saying he would push for an investigation. Senator Roberts issued a press release saying calls for an investigation are premature.
June 10, 2003 - Senator Rockefeller sent a letter to Senator Roberts asking for an investigation.
June 11, 2003 - All Committee Democrats signed a letter to Senator Roberts asking for a meeting of the Committee to discuss the question of authorizing an inquiry into the intelligence that formed the basis for going to war.
June 11, 2003 - Senator Roberts issued a press release saying this is routine committee oversight, and that criticism of the intelligence community is unwarranted. Senator Rockefeller issued a press release calling the ongoing review inadequate.
June 20, 2003 - Senators Roberts and Rockefeller issued a joint press release laying out the scope of the inquiry.
August 13, 2003 - Senator Rockefeller sent a letter to Senator Roberts making 14 points about the investigation, asking to expand the inquiry to address the "use of intelligence by policy makers" and asking for several other actions.
September 9, 2003 - After press reports quoting Senator Roberts as saying the investigation was almost over, Senator Rockefeller sent a letter to Senator Roberts urging him not to rush to complete the investigation prematurely.
October 29, 2003 - Senators Roberts and Rockefeller sent a letter to Director Tenet expressing in strong terms that he should provide documents that have been requested and make individuals available.October 30, 2003 - Senators Roberts and Rockefeller sent letters to Secretaries Rumsfeld and Powell, and National Security Advisor Rice expressing in strong terms that they should provide documents that have been requested and make individuals available.
October 31, 2003 - Senator Rockefeller sent a letter to Director Tenet asking for documents related to the interaction between intelligence and policy makers, including the documents from the Vice President's office related to the Powell speech.
November 2, 2003 - Senator Roberts made statements during a joint television appearance with Senator Rockefeller claiming that the White house would provide all documents they jointly requested.
December 5, 2003 - Senator Rockefeller sent a letter to National Security Advisor Rice asking for her help getting documents and access to individuals.
January 22, 2004 - Senator Rockefeller sent a letter to Director Tenet asking for compliance with the Oct. 31 request for documents.
February 12, 2004 - Senators Roberts and Rockefeller issued a joint press release announcing the Committee's unanimous approval of the expansion of the Iraq review, to include use of intelligence in the form of public statements, and listing other aspects of what became Phase II.
March 23, 2004 - Senator Rockefeller sent yet another letter to Director Tenet asking for compliance with the Oct. 31 request for documents.
June 17, 2004 - Senators Roberts and Rockefeller joint press release announcing the unanimous approval of the report.
July 16, 2004 - Committee Democrats sent a letter to Bush asking for the one page summary of the NIE prepared for Bush. The Committee staff had been allowed to review it but could not take notes and the Committee was never given a copy.
February 3, 2005 - Senator Rockefeller sent a letter to Senator Roberts outlining Committee priorities for the coming year and encouraging completion of Phase II.
August 5, 2005 - Senator Rockefeller sent a letter to Senator Roberts expressing concern over the lack of progress on Phase II and calling for a draft to be presented to the Committee at a business meeting in September.
September 29, 2005 - All Committee Democrats joined in additional views to the annual Intelligence Authorization Bill criticizing the lack of progress on Phase II.
The post-session press conference is even more thrilling.
My Left Wing :: HARRY REID: The "Yippee Ki Yay, Motherfucker" Speech || Unfortunately, the unwillingness of the Republican-controlled Congress to exercise its oversight responsibilities is not is not limited to just Iraq. We see it with respect to the prison abuse scandal. We see it with respect to Katrina, and we see it with respect to the cronyism and corruption that permeates this Administration.
Time and time again, this Republican-controlled Congress has consistently chosen to put its political interests ahead of our national security. They have repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican Administration rather than to get to the bottom of what happened and why it happened.
There's also another disturbing pattern, namely, about how this Administration responded to those who challenged its assertions. Often this Administration has actively sought to attack and undercut those who dared to raise questions about its preferred course. For example, when General Shinseki indicated several hundred thousand troops would be needed in Iraq, his military career was ended -- fired, relieved of duty when he out its inspectors.
When Nobel prize winner and head of the IAEA raised questions about the Administration's claims of Saddam's nuclear capabilities, the Administration attempted to remove him from his post.
When ambassador Joe Wilson stated that there was an attempt by Saddam -- no attempt by Saddam to acquire weapons from Niger, the Administration not only went after him to discredit him, they launched a vicious and coordinated campaign, going so far as to expose the fact that his wife worked as a C.I.A. spy.These people are now having 24-hour protection fearing for their own safety.
Given this Administration's pattern of squashing those who challenge its misstatements, and I've only mentioned a few, what has been the response of the Republican-controlled Congress?Absolutely nothing.
Yes, Armando, this is a turning point. It is history in the making.
Red State, Powerline, Little Green Footballs, all blogs from the Republican noise machine have absolutely nothing to say about the shutdown. It shows they have no talking points to work with. Michelle Malkin described it as a temper tantrum. Instapundit just spends two sentences on the event. What are they all blogging about? Riots in Paris which they've all decided are only of the making of muslims.
I'd strongly recommend they rent Hate.
Which brings me to a closing note about this idea of hate, religion, war and politics.
Ideologically speaking, the country has been taken hostage by extremists whores of a plutocratic class that finally took over the government of the most powerful country in the world. The US has fallen into a political Stockholme syndrome not just by the effects of a country falling prey to fear after the September 11 attacks. This political Stockholm syndrome has been in the making for over 30 years. It is the product of an ideological pollution network that has been able to use the culture of apocalyptic religion, and turn that into political gain for the last of the robber barons. It is the enmeshing of networks like the one behind the Manifesto for a Christian Church with the plutocratic networks so deftly outlined in They Rule that have taken over the government, the judiciary and the constitution.
The Scooter Libby indictment along with the nomination of Scalito are a political perfect storm that can either destroy the nation or wash away George W. Bush's pirate administration. There is no camera-ready high ground to go to at this point. Only experience on how to save the constitution and the rules of government will get us out of this one. Which is why it is important to remember the core of Harry Reid's message:
What we saw this Friday with the indictments is but a small glimpse of what is wrong with this administration. Congressional oversight is something that I have grown up with ... This Republican senate does no oversight. None. None. It's all part of a plan. They obstruct. They take orders from the White House. They do nothing without getting orders from the White House. The separation of powers doctrine is something that does not exist in this Republican town with the Republican controlled House and Senate and of course the President.
The war finally has come home. This is the first official step towards Impeach - Remove - Jail.
Elsewhere in the blogosphere:
Daily Kos: Reid Wins, Frist Loses, and the American People Get Closer To Their Promised Answers
Pam's House Blend | Freepers on Harry Reid, Gang of 14
Booman Tribune ~ Secret Senate Session: Right-Wing Blogosphere Meltdown
Swing State Project | The Day Democrats Said Enough
Seeing the Forest: For The Record -- WHY There Weren't WMD In Iraq
The Blogging of the President | The Senate Detonates
The Mahablog | Democrats Do Something
Big Brass Blog | Some Democratic Cojones!!
Posted at 02:02 AM by Liza Sabater in Bill Frist, Conspiracy, Culture of Corruption, Democrats, George W. Bush, Government, Harry Reid, Impeach-Remove-Jail, Impeachment, Iraq, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Military, National Security, Propaganda, Republicans, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Theocracy, Theocrats, War | Comments (3) | TrackBack (1) | CultKiterati
01 November 2005
EXTRA! See Trent Lott call for Karl Rove's resignation (almost)
by Liza Sabater
The liberal "internets" are abuzz with Harry Reid's bold anti-nuclear strategy and now, Trent Lott's Harball (political) gaffe --although I would call it growing a spine.
Trent Lott was on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews and in so many words came thisclose to asking for Karl Rove's resignation. The transcripts have no been put up on the site, so I am relying on the kindness of AMERICAblog to spread the word and to Crooks and Liars to spread the video clip [ be kind to my bandwidth: please do not hot-link to the clip] :
CHRIS MATTHEWS: On that, I have to ask you the toughest question. Is Karl Rove the President's top political kick? Who is pretty rough when he got rid of John McCain down in South Carolina, and pretty rough when they helped get rid of John Kerry, all "Hardball," not illegal, is he good for American politics? Should he stay at the White House?TRENT LOTT: Well, the question is, that you asked, is he good for American politics? Look, he has been very successful, very effective in the political arena. The question is should he be the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy under the current circumstances? I don't know all that's going on, so I can't make that final conclusion. But, you know, how many times has the top political person become also the top policy advisor? Maybe you can make that transition, but it's a real challenge, and I think they have to ... I do think they need to look at bringing in some more people, you know, old gray beards that have been around this town for a while, help them out a little bit at the White House.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Do you think it's a little unseemly to have Svengali on the federal payroll? That sounds like that's what you're saying? I'm trying to reconsider what you said. Do you think he should go?
TRENT LOTT: Well, I didn't say that. I mean, I said, you know, is he in the right position? I mean, a lot of political advisors, in fact, most presidents in recent years have a political advisor in the White House. The question is, should they be making, you know, policy decisions. That's the question you've got to evaluate.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: He is. Anyway, thank you very much, Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi. When we return, why there was a closed session today. You're watching "hardball" on MSNBC.
If this does not look like on of the top talking-heads of the Republican party is actually breaking rank, I sincerely do not know what is.
What is even more interesting? Chris Matthews tried to pull a swift boat earlier in the show. Harry Reid's toxic avenger punch has them what I like to say in spanish, malos, locos y sin ideas. The Republicans are perturbed, crazy and without a clue.
Loving it.
Posted at 08:56 PM by Liza Sabater in Conspiracy, Corruption, Culture of Corruption, George W. Bush, Government, Karl Rove, Plamegate, Republicans, Trent Lott | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | CultKiterati
31 October 2005
And about that new culturekitchen site ...
by Liza Sabater
I've been having problems at the home front, so unfortunately I am behind about 2 days on this. The new culturekitchen site is almost ready --but some of the stuff that needs to be done is so crucial that I cannot not do it. The there is the fact that switching over the DNS will probably take 2-3 days. So it means that by Friday, y'all be looking at pages generated with a CivicSpace platform.
I can't wait. With Scalito, Libby and the Impeachment buzz, we need more people at this here site.
In the meantime, if you are really jonesing to take a peek, go ahead and register at www.culturekitchen.org. Now, I am warning you, the site is not nearly done; but I can use a few testers badgering me about what doesn't work for them. So go ahead and start playing at the new site. It's a contruction zone, so you're entering at your own risk :)
OH!
This is a shout out at T.A. : You want a button? What kind? Can you give me a link of what you're talking about? I can certainly bang out something for ya ... unless there's people out there just dying to make some buttons themselves and share them with us.
Posted at 11:16 AM by Liza Sabater in DevLog | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0) | CultKiterati
It's War! Judge Samuel "Scalito" Alito is nominated to the Supreme Court
by Liza Sabater
First, kudos to Tom Goldstein of ScotusBlog. Much to the chagrin of A3G, Tom Goldsteing called it called it right first. Time to crow guys : SCOTUSblog: President names Alito.
Second, I've been talking to people off-blog about how I've felt Miers was more like a red herring to me --but so did John Roberts. Well, Miers proved to be the one.
Eric Muller of Is That Legal? actually worked with him in New Jersey :
Is That Legal?: Sam Alito, As I Knew Him. || He is cerebral. He is very, very smart. In small-ish interpersonal settings he comes off as a bit shy and a touch awkward. (I say that this is so only in small-ish settings because I once saw him deliver a speech, at his farewell dinner, actually, and in that setting, speaking to a big crowd, he was remarkably at ease and exceedingly funny.) He seems younger than his years; there is a boyishness to him. Because his nature is reserved, I found him tough to read for politics. I knew, of course, that his conservative pedigree was impressive, but it was not something he wore on his sleeve.
Well, if being the only dissenting judge in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey is not akin to wearing your politics on your judicial sleeves, I don't know what would be. He is already being touted as an extremist and if you read that one dissent alone, you can see there is a HUGE reason for people to keep this guy away from the Supreme Court.
This is what Planned Parenthood has to say:
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. - Bush Nominates Samuel Alito || Judge Alito was the lone dissenter in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey when the case was before the Third Circuit, voting to uphold Pennsylvania's spousal notification requirement. In callous disregard of battered women who would be affected by the statute, Alito wrote separately from the majority to express his support for the law, which would have required Pennsylvania women to notify their husbands prior to obtaining an abortion. The Supreme Court later ruled the spousal notification provision unconstitutional, holding that a state cannot give a man control over his wife, stating, "Women do not lose their constitutionally protected liberty when they marry."In Planned Parenthood of Central New Jersey v. Farmer, the Third Circuit was asked to rule on an abortion regulation that did not contain a valid health exception for the life of the woman. Alito grudgingly applied the Supreme Court precedents in both Roe v. Wade and Stenberg v. Carhart to overturn the statute while refusing to endorse the reasoning of the Supreme Court in either case.
"Samuel Alito's record is deeply troubling to Americans, who overwhelmingly support a woman's right to choose," said Pearl. "His confirmation would radically transform the Supreme Court and create a direct threat to the health and safety of American women."The Supreme Court's decision to hear Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood at the end of November spotlights the urgency of the threat to reproductive freedom. In this high-stakes case, the justices are expected to rule on whether a woman's health will remain the paramount concern in laws that restrict abortion access. The ruling may have an immediate impact on women's health across the nation and will determine whether a fundamental principle established in Roe v. Wade will remain the law of the land.
People for the American Way has not only an overview but a 24 page preliminary report of Alito's judicial record.
Quick Facts on Samuel Alito || Samuel Alito has been a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit since his appointment by the first President Bush in 1990. In that time, Alito has compiled an extensive, extreme right-wing judicial record on numerous matters of importance to the protection of the rights and interests of ordinary Americans -- a record that has earned him the nickname "Scalito" for his ideological resemblance to Justice Antonin Scalia. Alito's judicial opinions demonstrate that he is an out of the mainstream opponent of fundamental legal rights and protections for all Americans and must not be confirmed to the Supreme Court.For example:
Hostile to basic reproductive privacy rights: Alito wants government to be able to interfere in personal decisions on reproductive rights. In Casey, Alito stated that he would have upheld a provision of Pennsylvania's restrictive anti-abortion law requiring a woman in certain circumstances to notify her husband before obtaining an abortion. His colleagues on the Third Circuit and the Supreme Court majority disagreed and overturned the provision.
Rejects basic protections for workers: In a number of dissenting opinions, Alito has taken positions that, if adopted, would have made it more difficult for victims of race and sex discrimination to prove their claims. In one case involving claims of race discrimination, the court majority sharply criticized Alito's dissent, stating that Alito's "position would immunize an employer from the reach of Title VII" in certain circumstances.
Leads revolution against federal laws protecting individual and other rights: According to one of Alito's opinions, Congress had no authority to require state employers to comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act, a ruling that was repudiated by the Supreme Court in a later case in which conservative Chief Justice Rehnquist, no friend of civil rights, wrote the Court's decision. Alito also dissented from a ruling by the Third Circuit that Congress has the power under the Commerce Clause to restrict the transfer and possession of machine guns at gun shows.
Fails to consider racial discrimination in capital punishment: An African American had been convicted of felony murder by an all white jury from which black jurors had been impermissibly struck because of their race. Alito cast the deciding vote and wrote the majority opinion in a 2-1 ruling rejecting the defendant's claims. The full Third Circuit, in a split decision, reversed Alito's ruling, and the majority specifically criticized him for having compared statistical evidence about the prosecution's exclusion of blacks from juries in capital cases to an explanation of why a disproportionate number of recent U.S. Presidents have been left-handed. According to the majority, "[t]o suggest any comparability to the striking of jurors based on their race is to minimize the history of discrimination against prospective black jurors and black defendants . . ."
I have much, much more to say about this. I was quiet during the Miers selling period because, honestly, she did not strike me as the real nominee. It was such a bad choice and such an error in judgement after the FEMA "Brownie" fiasco that I could not for the life of me believe Miers really was going to make it to the Supreme Court.
Now we know why.
By the by, Eric Muller says that when Alito became US Attorney in New Jersey, he hired none other than Michael Chertoff to be his top deputy. Let's just say I am a bit creeped out by that bit of information.
It's an omen.
I am going to take a whole different tactic with Alito. With John Roberts, I felt I was evaluating a resume. With Scalito, I am not going to take that strategy.
My forte is not judisprudence. My forte is literary analysis --looking at how people use words to construct a judgement, frame it with an ideology and make it pass as if it were The Truth. I just drooled at a quick glance of Scalito's work, because, as a deconstructivist, I can see how right-wingers have coopted the language of the pro-choice movement to throw it back at them with alleged judicial impartiality.
Still, I have one more thing to say about Miers before I move along. I also have to finish migrating this website to it's new home.
Stay tuned.
Posted at 09:52 AM by Liza Sabater in Supreme Court | Comments (1) | TrackBack (2) | CultKiterati
28 October 2005
First Day of Fitzmas is here : Lewis "Scooter" Libby resigns after indictment
by Liza Sabater
CNN.com - Cheney's top aide quits after indictment - Oct 28, 2005 || Libby was indicted on one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury and two counts of making false statements, court documents show. The indictments were not directly related to the actual leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson's name.
As many citizens around the country and the world, I am glued to the boob tube (CNN, more specifically), awaiting more information on this developing story. If you want to know where I am, Chelsea Piers is the place to be at the moment ... if you are a soccer-gymnastics mom like me. Thank goodness for Wi-Fi.
What am I seeing here in the documents and listening in on the talking heads on the boob tube? Fitzgerald seems to have been very careful how he dispensed the indictments and, instead of going for the kill --aka, conspiracy count-- he is going for the best charges given the evidence. What is even more comforting is the fact that there will definitely be an extension of the investigation.
Here is Fitzgerald.
* Investigators are set up to gather the facts ... who, what, when, where, and why
* Investigations have to be done in secrecy, especially if it involves national security
* You have to have the fact before you let the information out; no charges, no leads
* This was conducted in secrecy because it shows the integrity of the law as well as the dafeguards afforded to citizens put to trial under our countries laws
* This was not just done to Valerie Plame, this was done to all of us
* Obstruction of justice charges as no less than leak of information charges because this has compromised national security
* Scooter Libby is innocent until proven guilty
* The investigation was about gathering information for evidence that there was wrongdoing
* I cannot give you any information or give you any names ... I can't tell you want I am working on ... I don't like this but it's the law ... and I think the law is right
* People in the CIA need to know other government officials are not going to
* Witnesses are not bound by the secrecy of a grand jury but everybody else working on it are --we could go to jail if we leaked any information
* My job is to investigate if Scooter Libby can be charged
* "I wished Ms. Miller would not have spent a minute in jail but I think it has to be done"
There is a lot to learn from a reporter, especially as to how a crime is not committed but when you have a reporter who is a witness of the crime, you haev to do whatever it takes to get the facts [ By the way, this is the one moment he got emotional about this whole case].
* He does not have the jurisdiction for writing a final report. He believes it should stay as a criminal investigation.
* I am not an independent counsel and I am very comfortable with that.
* We have to deal with false statements and obstruction of justice all the time ... our jobs in the criminal justice system is to have people tell us the truth ...
* Might as well hand our jobs if we don't hold high ranking officials to the same standards
Posted at 02:06 PM by Liza Sabater in Lewis "Scooter" Libby | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | CultKiterati
Signs of desperation: Bush to announce a Miers replacement as early as today?
by Liza Sabater
George Bush must be bugging out in record numbers if he is ready to announce a replacement for Miers today. Over at Chicago Tribune | Bush pulls plug on Miers, Jan Crawford Greenburg writes :
Facing political fallout from the nomination of Miers, who was attacked as an unimpressive figure with little background in constitutional law, the White House, also confronting the possible indictments of high-level officials, was planning to announce Miers' replacement as early as Friday.A senior administration official said that after concluding Wednesday that Miers must withdraw, the White House focused on judges who were in the running to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor before President Bush chose Miers, his longtime adviser and current White House counsel.
The group includes Samuel Alito, J. Michael Luttig, Priscilla Owen and Karen Williams, the official said. All four judges had been interviewed by Bush or top administration officials and indicated they would accept the nomination if asked.
George Bush is either desperately trying to save face or, and this is where I put on my tin foil hat, he is coldly proceeding with the next step of a plan. Miers' nomination always struck me as a red herring for either somebody or something else. Well, what if Miers' nomination was intended to be a diversionary tactic that backfired?
As to the matter of who could be on the pick of the short list, SCOTUSblog is saying Alito. Over at IsThatLegal?, Eric Mueller fantasizes Karl Rove telling Bush to pick Patrick Fitzgerald as the next nominee. But it's A3G over at Underneath Their Robes, who has the juiciest rumor-mongering going.
UPDATE:
A3G is calling it for Luttig.
And what does the big mamajama of law bloggers have to say to all of this? She's calling for a Miers Blog Blackout:
The withdrawal of Harriet Miers nomination today was the ultimate boondoggle - timed to distract us from tomorrow's indictment news.It's not going to work on TalkLeft. I'm declaring a blackout on Harriet Miers posts until after the news of the Indictments subsides a little - at least until Saturday. That is the real news. I'm not going to feed into the Administration's spin plan.
Go gurl.
Posted at 10:25 AM by Liza Sabater in George W. Bush, Harriet Miers, SCOTUS, Supreme Court | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | CultKiterati
FITZMAS IS COMING! Special Counsel Fitzgerald to hold press conference today
by Liza Sabater
Indictments are sealed and ready to go but the investigation is not over.
U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald to Hold Press Conference Today" || U.S. Department of Justice Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. EDT today, Friday Oct. 28, regarding the status of the special counsel's criminal investigations.WHO: Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald
FBI Special Agent-in-Charge John C. Eckenrode
WHAT: Release of public information and press conferenceWHERE: Department of Justice, 7th Floor Conference Center,
950 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20530
This may well be the longer fall and winter of Bush's discontent.
Posted at 10:08 AM by Liza Sabater in Corruption, Crime, Fitzmas, Patrick J. Fitzgerald | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | CultKiterati
Blog 1, HSLDA ARMY 0
by Liza Sabater
The unholy matrimony of the HSLDA and US Army has been dissolved, at least on the GoArmy website.
It took this here blog to publish a huge rant about the spiritual armies of the HSLDA and for a writer of Home Education Magazine to drop a note to the appropriate US Army department for them to at least take down the HSLDA ad that was on their website. This is what it looked like :
Check out now the current GoArmy website.
The "issue" was brough to their attention by Daryl Cobranchi. He posted their response to his email at
Yahoo! Groups | HEM-Networking came this bit from the Army via Darryl Cobranchi :
Mr. Cobranchi,Your email reference the goarmy on-line home school advertisement was forwarded to me for response.
Regarding the goarmy on-line home school advertisement, it was never the Army's intent to endorse any particular home school association over another but rather the intent was to inform all home school graduates that the Army now offers them the same education incentives as traditional high school
graduates.Also, I would like to make it clear that all home school seniors and graduates regardless of their home school affiliation or not who meet the current Department of Defense home school definition are eligible to enlist in the Army.
This is the message we tried to emphasize and promote in our on-line advertisement. However from the issues you addressed in your email it appears that in our haste to get this message out as quickly as possible to as many home school students/graduates as possible we made an error in judgment. To address your concern we have already started to take corrective action. I can assure you that by the end of the day the link to hslda will be removed from the goarmy website to eliminate any perception that the Army is endorsing a particular vendor/association. Also, I have discussed further action with our Outreach Directorate and they plan to change the URL once we have collected/exhausted our print materials.
Thank you for making us aware of the problem/concern. If you have any other
questions please feel free to contact me.v/r
Brian Labashosky
Chief, Education Division
United States Army Recruiting Command
(502) 626-XXXX
I do feel a bit conflicted about this though. I would have loved for that ad to stay if only because it proves the unholy alliance between the HSLDA and the US Army. Now, there is no transparency to their relationship --and anything can happen behind closed doors or in this case, scrubbed websites.
Posted at 03:31 AM by Liza Sabater in Christian Fundamentalism, Dominionism, Dominionists, Evangelical, Extremists, Homeschooling, Military | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | CultKiterati
