Betsy
Bush's Herd of Loyal Texas Advisers Continues to Thin
via t r u t h o u t on Aug 28, 2007
Dave Montgomery, of the McClatchy Newspapers writes: "They were fiercely loyal, unfailingly disciplined and, as a unit, offered the president a comforting touchstone from his home state. Now, Team Texas is moving ever closer to extinction. The already thinning cadre of advisers who followed George W. Bush from Austin to Washington is unraveling even further, with Alberto Gonzales and Karl Rove heading toward the door."
American Nightmare: Gonzales “wrong and illegal and unethical”
via Greg Palast by Greg Palast on Aug 28, 2007
by Greg PalastTuesday, August 28.
“What I’ve experienced in the last six months is the ugly side of the American dream.”
Last month, David Iglesias and I were looking out at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island where his dad had entered the US from Panama decades ago. It was a hard moment for the military lawyer who, immediately after Attorney General Alberto Gonzales fired Iglesias as US Attorney for New Mexico, returned to active military duty as a Naval Reserve JAG.
Captain Iglesias, cool and circumspect, added something I didn’t expect:
“They misjudged my character, I mean they really thought I was just going toWhen a federal prosecutor says something is illegal, it’s not just small talk. And the illegality wasn’t small. It’s called, “obstruction of justice,” and it’s a felony crime.
roll over and give them what they wanted and when I didn’t, that I’d go away
quietly but I just couldn’t do that. You know US Attorneys and the Justice
Department have a history of not taking into consideration partisan politics.
That should not be a factor. And what they tried to do is just wrong and illegal
and unethical.”
Specifically, Attorney General Gonzales, Iglesias told me, wanted him to bring what the prosecutor called “bogus voter fraud” cases. In effect, US Attorney Iglesias was under pressure from the boss to charge citizens with crimes they didn’t commit. Saddam did that. Stalin did that. But Iglesias would NOT do that - even at the behest of the Attorney General. Today, Captain Iglesias, reached by phone, told me, “I’m not going to file any bogus prosecutions.”
But it wasn’t just Gonzales whose acts were “unethical, wrong and illegal.“
It was Gonzales’ boss. Iglesias says, “The evidence shows right now, is that [Republican Senator Pete] Domenici complained directly to President Bush. And that Bush then called Alberto Gonzales, the Attorney General, and complained about my alleged lack of vigorous enforcement of voter fraud laws.“ In other words, it went to the top. The Decider had decided to punish a prosecutor who wouldn’t prosecute innocents.
All day long I’ve heard Democrats dance with glee that they now have the scalp of Alberto Gonzales. They nailed the puppet. But what about the puppeteer? The question that remains is the same that Watergate prosecutors asked of Richard Nixon, “What did the President know and when did he know it?” Or, to update it for Dubya, “What did the President know and how many times did Karl Rove have to explain it to him?” During the Watergate hearings, Nixon tried to obstruct the investigation into his obstruction of justice by offering up the heads of his Attorney General and other officials. Then, Congress refused to swallow the Nixon bait. The only resignation that counted was the one by the capo di capi of the criminal-political cabal: Nixon’s. The President’s.
But in this case, even the exit of the Decider-in-Chief would not be the end of it. Because this isn’t about finagling with the power of prosecutors, it’s about the 2008 election.“This voter fraud thing is the bogey man,” says Iglesias.
Beck: "Nobody Cares" About Gonzales Resignation
via The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post News Editors on Aug 28, 2007
Yesterday on his CNN Headline News show, Glenn Beck mentioned the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, stating that he was "surprised" the "media jumped all over this story":
Well, after weathering the storm of congressional calls for his resignation, Alberto Gonzales has finally done just that, he has resigned. But the thing is, I don't think anybody cares. I don't think how he -- anybody cares how he was connected to the firing of those nine U.S. attorneys.
U.S. most armed country with 90 guns per 100 people (Reuters)
via Yahoo! News: Top Stories on Aug 28, 2007
Reuters - The United States has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world, a report released on Tuesday said.
Craig Recants Misconduct Plea
via washingtonpost.com - Politics by Paul Kane on Aug 28, 2007
Facing a revolt from his closest GOP allies, Sen. Larry Craig today disavowed his own criminal plea agreement for disorderly conduct in an airport men's restroom in June, declaring he was "not gay" and vowing to continue to serve in the Senate.
NJ tops nation in household income
Bridgewater Courier News - 21 minutes agoBy RAJU CHEBIUM WASHINGTON - Though New Jersey is one of the country's richest states, more than 1 million of its residents lack health insurance.Household incomes rise but ... CNNMoney.comUS Income and Poverty Rates Improved in 2006 New York TimesReuters - Dallas Morning News (subscription) - Indianapolis Star - The Coloradoanall 260 news articles
NJ no longer richest state, Camden no longer poorest US city - Newsday
via Google News on Aug 28, 2007
KARENJ no longer richest state, Camden no longer poorest US cityNewsday - 1 hour agoBy GEOFF MULVIHILL AP Writer 3:03 PM EDT, August 28, 2007 MOUNT LAUREL, NJ - New Jersey is no longer the nation's wealthiest state and Camden is no longer the nation's poorest city, according to federal data released Tuesday
Trainers faulted in Fort Hood GI death
via Statesman - Top Stories on Aug 28, 2007
A 1,700-page Army investigative report, obtained by The Associated Press, details a multitude of violations, judgment errors and alleged misconduct.
Gannon: I’m ‘the most honest’ White House reporter.
via Think Progress by Matt on Aug 28, 2007
Jeff Gannon, the infamous former male escort who for two years gained a White House press pass using a pseudonym, is releasing a book next week, in which he chronicles what he sees as liberal bias in the White House press corps. “In my mind, I was the most honest reporter [in the White House press corps] because I was absolutely transparent with regards to my [conservative] perspective,” Gannon told the Washington Examiner. “My work has never been discredited.”
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