Defining an Insane Senator...

Repeating the same failed rhetoric and expecting a different result:

"We have to have a remnant of the Republican Party who are recognizable as freedom fighters," Mr. DeMint said. "What I'm looking to do as a conservative leader in the Senate is to identify those Republicans, and even some Democrats, and put together a consensus of people who can help stop this slide toward socialism."

The scary ol' bogyman of socialism. Doesn't the dufus know why so many of his fellow idiots were swept out of Washington? I can recommend some good therapy for your problem that will have the same result for ya there DeMint...


And, at least, my way we don't have to listen to your whiny-assed propaganda and lies.

On 911 - Remembering the McCain neoCON

It is 911... And 7 years later it is still being pumped out as some kind of fear mongering neocon campaign wet dream and used as a GOP trademarked slogan in order to instill fear and faux patriotism in the populace. While less and less people by the "fear! FEAR! FEAR!" campaign anymore it is important to remember why we have not been able to catch bin Laden. The clusterfuck known as Iraq. The GOP, and John McCain in particular, have been using 911 to justify an illegal invasion and occupation since before it even happened.

On the morning of the 9/11, just moments after the World Trade Center collapsed from the terrorist strikes, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) went on television and immediately began focusing the nation’s attention on Iraq. In an interview with CBS’ Dan Rather on 9/11, McCain said:

To be honest with you, Dan, I never thought that an operation of this sophistication and size would take place. I just never did. But I don’t think there’s any doubt that there are countries — Iraq, Iran, Libya, North Korea and others — who we know engage in proliferation of — of capabilities and, from time to time, involve themselves in state-sponsored terrorism. But never did we imagine on a scale such as this.

The next day, on 9/12, McCain reiterated the point in an interview with Chris Matthews. “It isn’t just Afghanistan,” he said, “we’re talking about Syria, Iraq, Iran, perhaps North Korea, Libya and others.”

Just a few weeks later — on Oct. 9, 2001 — McCain narrowed his focus, arguing that Iraq was “obviously” next:

PAULA ZAHN: And as you know, Senator, the U.S. and Great Britain notified the U.N. Security Council yesterday that they reserve the right to strike against other countries in this campaign. What countries are we looking at?

MCCAIN: Well, I think very obviously Iraq is the first country, but there are others — Syria, Iran, the Sudan, who have continued to harbor terrorist organizations and actually assist them.

On Oct. 18, 2001, McCain told David Letterman, “the second phase is Iraq” while linking Iraq to the anthrax attacks.

I'll remember the dead and their surviving family and friends in a quiet and respectful manner that they deserve. I'll never forget the Middle Eastern Terrorists that did this, neither will I forget the foreign policy failures that created the hate in those countries. Policies like pimping illegal invasions and occupations. And I will NEVER EVER forget the kind of people, people like John McCain and other Bush administration neonconservative minions, that are still pushing for more of this kind of foreign policy failure.

As a tribute to some of the real heroes on 911, the policemen and firemen that risked or gave up their lives on 911, you won't see pictures of the twin towers here. No pictures of the death and destruction of that day. Nor will you see any of the flag waving testimonies to faux patriotism. I would rather point you to a local program that the fire department runs as a service to the youth of the community. A testimony to the fact that these men and women are every day heroes, not just when faced with the adversity of a tragic accident or dangerous rescues.

The Failing Media Ain't My Cup of Zell, er, Joe

Over at the Danbury NewsTimes they have a story on Joe being the typical warmongering neocon stooge that he is in his support for McCain the endless war candidate... But they don't have the balls to actually write the truth about that. Anyways. I get down to the comments and find a comment from the insane GOP side of the aisle trying to pose a Democratic party type:

"It is too bad that few if any of the members of my party ever mention the firefighters and others who died on 9/11. All that Pelosi, Reed, Murphy, Biden and the others seemed to be concerned about are the civil liberties of the terrorists."

Sure FDR... Funny - because it is the republican side of the aisle that tries to turn any remembrance of 9/11 into a military parade. Why, in New Milford, do they even bother to have Veterans show up in uniform to talk at the 9/11 remembrance ceremonies every year that I have seen it? The right has tried to do this to all of the September 11th memorial ceremonies everywhere across the country and it is pure frickin' propaganda.

It is the GOP trying to inject the military and politics into a ceremony where they have no reason to be. If you don't recognize this then I truly pity your ignorance on what has happened in America, and particularly to the the far right GOP. The party of endless failed wars.

McCain has so little respect for soldiers that he lies about his own service.

And meanwhile you had the left fighting to get real medical issues recognized and treated for everyone that survived working on the scene of ground zero. Ya know... Fighting for the firemen, the police and their families to be treated in a manner respectful of their heroism on that day. Sadly we have to fight tooth and nail against the same warmongering GOP roadblocks every single day to get them to treat Veterans coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq with the health care that they deserve for their service.

Over the years neocon warmongering, lies and utter and complete failure to be fiscally and morally competent , responsible or even, simply, humane has resulted in boatloads of traditional and sane conservatives like Susan Eisenhower walking away from the GOP and their insane policies. They know for certain that they can no longer beat the idiot neocons in their own party.

I have decided I can no longer be a registered Republican. For the first time in my life I announced my support for a Democratic candidate for the presidency, in February of this year. This was not an endorsement of the Democratic platform, nor was it a slap in the face to the Republican Party. It was an expression of support specifically for Senator Barack Obama.

I had always intended to go back to party ranks after the election and work with my many dedicated friends and colleagues to help reshape the GOP, especially in the foreign-policy arena. But I now know I will be more effective focusing on our national and international problems than I will be in trying to reinvigorate a political organization that has already consumed nearly all of its moderate "seed corn."

And now, as the party threatens to trivialize what promised to be a serious debate on our future direction, it will alienate many young people who might have come into party ranks.

The disgruntled republican voter? Shock! Awe! They are real. They are better off becoming indies, like Eisenhower did, and supporting more sane candidates that they can pick and chose from any party but the GOP.

And still, to this day, the far right wing in control of the GOP continues to be stupid and the media refuses to call them on it.

We told you that Joe Lieberman was a neocon and a supporter of bush's failed policies to his core. We told you that long before it became politically popular to tell the truth about Joe. McCain is no different in his support of endless wars and fiscal insanity.

This from the NewsTimes article:

In 2006, Greenwich Democrat Ned Lamont -- backed by a youthful group of Internet-savvy anti-war Democrats -- took on Lieberman for his support of Bush's Iraq war. Lieberman lost the Democratic primary but got a reprieve through a loophole in Connecticut election law that allowed him to form his own party and petition his way onto the November ballot.

Those of you who talk about the internet savvy of Ned Lamont supporters would do well to realize that we are also politically savvy, as well as being well informed in our policy opinions. We are always well ahead of the media in recognizing the failures of policies and politicians.

And, more often than the media or the right wing echo chamber ever is, we are proven correct.

Relegating us to a notion of only being "internet savvy" and simply "anti-war" (a bold faced lie) is a pitiful attempt to diminish that which we do so much better than 99% of you failures in the media these days.

Tell your readers the truth: Sure... some of us are anti-war. A reasonable position if you are really pro-life. BUT we are, for the most part, anti-ILLEGAL INVASION AND OCCUPATION. We are anti-ILLEGAL SPYING ON AMERICANS. We are anti-NEOCON-REPUBLICAN... Yep. Even the conservative and libertarian republicans that walk among us now.

But that doesn't fit your media agenda, does it? That would be the truth. And that would not belittle our position. I know it pains you to actually have to admit we exist, but do you have to be so oblivious as to why dead tree media is dying and Blogging is on the rise? It is your fucking job on the line you hack journalists.

While I was at the NewsTimes I decided to go take a look at Eugene's Driscoll's movie Blog because I was drawn to a post title on the front page:

"OBAMA BIDEN MILEY CYRUS SCANDAL"

Yep... The media pushing the "Black man coming after your white women!" meme straight out Rove and Luntz's playbook. Absolutely nothing in there that has anything to do with the title.

Just a Blaring title to catch people's roving eyes.

Being somewhat more responsible, timely and ethical in my writings, here, I take the time to point out the obvious in his first part of the story over there as well as question his misleading choice of title.

Anyone with half a brain didn't have to wait for the text message to find out Biden was the VP choice since the Secret Service were dispatched to protect Biden the night before.

And if you really wanted to get the internet's attention, Eugene, you would simply start posting the truth about gigolo McCain's (the guy with the sugar mama Cindy...) warmongering campaign to continue corrupt bush administration failures instead of misleading titles to insinuate scandals on the left side when there aren't any and raising the bigot factor up a notch.

While the rest of America is busy trying to figure out how many homes McCain can't remember he owns OR if he paid his taxes on all of them... Feel free to continue to be well behind the curve. It only continues to make real Bloggers look more competent and you, well, not so much.

Here is Eugene's underwhelming response to my comment:

Uh, this is blog about movies . . . but thanks for the wacky rant!

Wow! He sure told me... He writes something that is linked prominently on the front page of a news paper site that is a blatant fabrication and my rant is wacky.

Nice try Eugene but:

"OBAMA BIDEN MILEY CYRUS SCANDAL"
"Fox 61’s Rick Hancock says he received the Obama text at 3:28 a.m. He posted the news on his blog at 3:33 a.m., according to CTWeblogs.

Just before his head hit the pillow (I assume) Rick raised an interesting point:

“Media coverage of all of these people getting the text would have been a great PR move. Essentially, Obama made a 3:30 a.m. booty call to his supporters.”"

This post is a pitiful attempt to plant misleading BS in the media in the hopes of tainting Obama with innuendo in the public mind. And even if this was done unintentionally, then you have still failed the public.

He even took the time to add the "booty call" comment for extra effect in the "black man coming for the white women" BS. Pure Willie Horton there. Not the fake stuff the media distracts with, but real McCain campaign Willie Horton material.

What he really told me, yet again, was why the media is failing. He may not know it, but we do. This is right up there with Fox or CNN tactics:

"Is Obama the Antichrist?"

If someone in the media has to even ask this or uses it as the blaring title of their piece... Fire them. They are pumping pure propaganda as every part of any investigated story on this would show the real truth:

"Insane McCain Tries to Paint Obama as the Antichrist!"

That is a factual and supportable storyline. McCain and his surrogates played that ad to the lunatic fringe. The CNN fox like title was the one that ran. Fuckin' pitiful. They deserve to be scorned.

A disgrace to journalism.

The other day I wrote a quick note on the NY Times idiocy. Really, it was a question that readers everywhere deserve an honest answer to:

When will the NY Times arrive?

Because Bloggers weren't around at previous conventions, weren't there in the trenches for countless elections, primaries and issues. No, Bloggers haven't been doing what we have been doing and coalescing into one of the largest activist and information sharing networks, shaping the narrative of the news cycles in an effort to counterbalance failures in the older and compromised traditional media long before any of the more recent credentialed things started to happen...

The Year of the Political Blogger Has Arrived - NYTimes.com

Nope. According to the NY Times Bloggers have only arrived now. My question for the NY Times:

When do they plan on catching up to us?

Because we are still far ahead of the NY Times and other proven corporate and government media propaganda outlets in speaking truth to power, integrity and honesty in our coverage of the news. At least, the left side of the Blogosphere is.

Journalists are so far out of the mainstream that we really want to know. A couple of comments that underscore the perception of readers out there. First a comment from BeachBum (another Vet that Blogs about his life in South Carolina) on it:

I don't think they can catch up. Some of their mistakes lately seems to suggest they do worse than some of dedicated bloggers.

I think he is right... They seem to willfully remain mired in their dead tree ways while most people have long since moved on to better reading. They have moved on to Blogs. Another comment from someone that has fully embraced the reality of the new and obviously better media:

I have a degree in Communications and I am amazed at how slow the MSM has been in catching onto the incredible power of the internet. I wonder sometimes if they are in denial.

Part of the dead tree media problem is that they are so invested in the business model they created for ad revenue they have a hard time trying to keep up with those of us that have absolutely no budget beyond Google type ads and relatively no overhead beyond buying a digital camera or video cam and, if even, some bandwidth and domain name if we want to bother.

They are in denial.

They have a failed business model and refuse to give it up. Eventually smart advertisers will give up the dead tree media model as well. Most of them just haven't quite figured out they should. And the advertisers sure as hell don't want to support the Blogosphere (not the left side of it) because we have integrity and hold them accountable.

And the media tries to mock us as they fall further and further behind. Perhaps they are just acting out because they are ashamed of their own failings... More likely, they are hoping they won't lose that next fed up reader to the Blogs that are writing about the truth.

Then they make matters worse for themselves when they cut local content down to nil and wonder "why do more and more people turn to the internet?" And then you have the media take preposterous positions (like the Hartford Courant did) and ask Bloggers to provide them with free content after laying off many of their local staff.

Aside from Letters to the Editor, the Courant pays for every other word of editorial copy it prints. Shouldn't the paper at least pay a nominal fee to bloggers whose words they excerpt? The blogger who wants to remain pure can give permission to print without a fee, but the very idea that the Courant hasn't made the offer is exploitative.

They've been in the business for a long time, and they must surely understand that while the web is extraordinarily freewheeling when it comes to sharing and borrowing information, if you are a major media outlet, who makes money for your newspaper/website, then "borrowing" without pay is impolite, if not immoral.

Is the Courant frigin' nuts?

They will be the first to push the "FREE MARKET RULES AND ALL HAIL DEREGULATION!" talking points for the GOP corporate interests, like all of the ones that led to the housing crash, but they want Bloggers to dig them out of the hole they made for free?

I don't begrudge the few Bloggers that took them up on it and wanting to get at least some sane views in their news papers. In fact, I believe the few that are in there from the reality based community are ones that were there before the layoffs happened. If they don't continue those pages will be left to only the right wing nuts that we have already had to suffer from for years.

If we had a thriving and healthy local media they would still be making money. They are the cause of their own downfall through failed business decisions and failed editorial decisions.

Any media manager that would hire the likes of Judy propaganda Miller, Billy “I’m not right about anything, but I still get my regular TV gig to screw over the national discourse” Kristol, Karl Rove, or pay the AP services for Ron Fournier's GOP talking points, or present a dunderhead like Fred Lucas as a non-partisan contributor without any real opposing views is begging for failure.

I would like nothing more than to see the media succeed.

But they need to provide real hard news and investigative reporting that is fact checked and reality based, and they have do this both locally and nationally in order to succeed. At this point in time, more then ever before, they need to stand up for the little guys.

They don't and the citizens that used to rely on them for the truth suffer. And even more of them head to our Blogs. But Bloggers suffer too. Because now we have to not only fact check the media and political failures but we have to create content for ourselves in their absence.

What did you think? That I was doing this for my own pleasure? Fuck that!

I used to enjoy reading the news paper to keep up on everything. They used to provide a valuable service to their customers. Now they are just a marketing tool for corporations and partisan politics. Very few exceptions to that rule.

Frankly, I would like nothing more than to have more time to Blog about and do things that actually interest me - like hockey, gardening or sex... Anything but politics - So I am begging the intellectually lazy and incompetent media to do their job, to fire the liars, to cut the stenography and to start fact check again, to start doing your job the way you are supposed to so I don't have to anymore.

When will the NY Times arrive?

Because Bloggers weren't around at previous conventions, weren't there in the trenches for countless elections, primaries and issues. No, Bloggers haven't been doing what we have been doing and coalescing into one of the largest activist and information sharing networks, shaping the narrative of the news cycles in an effort to counterbalance failures in the older and compromised traditional media long before any of the more recent credentialed things started to happen...

The Year of the Political Blogger Has Arrived - NYTimes.com

Nope. According to the NY Times Bloggers have only arrived now. My question for the NY Times:

When do they plan on catching up to us?

Because we are still far ahead of the NY Times and other proven corporate and government media propaganda outlets in speaking truth to power, integrity and honesty in our coverage of the news. At least, the left side of the Blogosphere is.

Juice Box Judy Miller

Judy Miller is back on the propaganda koolaide serving circuit:

Former New York Times reporter Judith Miller, famous for reporting on Iraq’s purported WMD in the run-up to the invasion, is “back on Iraq and back in big-circulation print. In the July Reader’s Digest, she reports how great things are in U.S.-run detention facilities.” Miller “reports that life in two detention camps housing nearly 23,000 suspected insurgents is much improved.”

Meanwhile, in other prisoner abuse news:

The military released photos of what it calls "segregation boxes" used in Iraq.

Three grainy black-and-white photos show the rudimentary structures of wood and mesh. Some of the boxes are as small as 3 feet by 3 feet by 6 feet tall, according to military officials. There was no image released of a box that size.

The average Iraqi male is 5 feet 6 inches tall, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Health. That leaves little room for a prisoner to move once placed inside.

Do you think there is a few extra boxes lying around for neocon lovin', propaganda pushing, lying and traitorous in-bedded reporters?

7 Years Ago Today

Via The Progress Report:

SEVEN YEARS AGO TODAY, BUSH RECEIVED
'BIN LADEN DETERMINED TO STRIKE IN U.S.' MEMO:

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the day President Bush received a President's Daily Brief entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." (See the memo here.) At the time, Bush was vacationing at his ranch in Crawford, TX; he stayed on vacation for the rest of August 2001. According to the 9/11 Commission report, Bush "did not recall discussing the August 6 report with the Attorney General" and there was "no indication" that there was "any further discussion before Sept. 11 among the President and his top advisers of the possibility of a threat of an al Qaeda attack in the United States" after Bush received the memo. The day after he received the memo, "Bush seemed carefree as he spoke about the books he was reading, the work he was doing on his nearby ranch, his love of hot-weather jogging, his golf game and his 55th birthday," the Washington Post noted. The President has since admitted that he "didn't feel that sense of urgency, and my blood was not nearly as boiling" in the months before 9/11. Today -- 2,557 days later -- bin Laden still remains free and "determined to strike in U.S."

And the bush version of the "Where's Waldo?" game continues.

Meanwhile, Admiral Mullen had this to say about Afghanistan last month:

"It is urgent. It is one where the violence is growing."
-- Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, 7/22/08

But not to fear! In less than a month everything is now all hunky dory in bush land:

"I would take issue with the characterization that there's anything desperate about the situation in Afghanistan, anything urgent or precarious about the situation in Afghanistan." -- Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell, 8/5/08

See... All is well because they waved a magic wand and say it is so!

And here is a peek back at December of 2001... Just a reminder as to whom we have to applaud for the Iraq distraction - ya know? The illegal invasion and occupation - from the real battlefront in Afghanistan:

Outside the administration, there is still a lobby pressing for a move against Iraq, but it is President Bush's strong political standing as a wartime commander in chief that will be essential in preparing the country and its allies for an Iraq campaign, foreign diplomats and administration officials say.

On Dec. 5, Congressional leaders sought to frame the justification for attacking Mr. Hussein in a letter to the president.

''For as long as Saddam Hussein is in power in Baghdad, he will seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them,'' said the letter, signed by Senators Trent Lott, Joseph I. Lieberman and John McCain, among others. ''We have no doubt that these deadly weapons are intended for use against the United States and its allies. Consequently, we believe we must directly confront Saddam, sooner rather than later.''

Any particular names jump out at you up there?

Partisan Politicization of the DoE by the GOP

So sayeth The Caretaker at Region 19 BOE Gazzette:

My, my, my. The dirty tricks never end. For Independence Day Margaret Spellings has announced which States will enjoy relaxed NCLB protocols. Of the seventeen states that applied, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio were -cough- chosen.

Given the electoral importance of these states, one cannot help but wonder aloud how tax money that pays for federal bureaucracies can be so cynically and shamelessly targeted toward the unethical influencing of federal election sentiments.

Given the politicization of so many arms of the government this is just more proof that the reckless pattern of politicization is SOP for the GOP SOBs, showing a complete disregard for what is actually good for the country.

A sampling of the GOP's partisan politicization of government, effectively putting their political party over the needs of the country, via Think Progress:

Partisan campaign or electoral activities on federal government property are illegal. This prohibition, however, has not stopped the Bush administration from politicizing virtually every agency under its control. Below is a quick review of the extent of the White House’s efforts to politicize the federal agencies:

Office of Faith Based Initiatives: The office was “used almost exclusively to win political points with both evangelical Christians and traditionally Democratic minorities. The office’s primary mission, providing financial support to charities that serve the poor, never got the presidential support it needed to succeed.” [MSNBC, 10/13/06]

General Services Administration: After a GSA meeting during which White House deputy director of political affairs Scott Jennings gave a PowerPoint presentation that included slides listing Democratic and Republican seats the White House viewed as vulnerable in 2008, a map of contested Senate seats and other information on 2008 election strategy, GSA Administrator Lurita Doan asked how GSA could help “our candidates.” Special Counsel Scott Bloch has since advised the President that Doan should “be disciplined to the fullest extent for her serious violation of the Hatch Act.” [Congress Daily, 6/12/07]

Department of Justice:

“Unlike federal judges, immigration judges are civil service employees, to be appointed by the attorney general based on professional qualifications, not their politics. [During Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s aide Monica Goodling’s] tenure, vacancies were apparently not always posted and she selected lawyers to be considered for interviews based in part on their loyalty to the Republican Party and the Bush administration.” [New York Times, 5/25/07]

Department of Justice: “After the 2004 election, administration officials quietly began drawing up a list of US attorneys to replace. Considerations included their perceived loyalty to Bush and a desire by White House political adviser Karl Rove to increase voter fraud prosecutions, documents and testimony have shown. Most of the proposed firings were for US attorneys in states with closely divided elections. Among those later fired was David Iglesias, from the battleground state of New Mexico, where many of his fellow Republicans had demanded more aggressive voter fraud probes.” [Boston Globe, 5/6/07]

Interior Department: “A midlevel Interior Department official” received a “phone call from [Vice President Dick] Cheney in 2001, setting in motion a secret move to undermine the science of federal biologists who had said diverting water from the Klamath would violate the Endangered Species Act and devastate two imperiled species of fish.” [The Oregonian, 6/30/07]

Interior Department: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Julie MacDonald has consistently “rejected staff scientists’ recommendations to protect imperiled animals and plants under the Endangered Species Act.” A civil engineer with no training in biology, she has “overruled and disparaged” the findings of her staff, instead relying on the recommendations of political and industry groups. [Washington Post, 10/30/06]

Defense Department: “[T]he Pentagon’s public affairs division has become a dumping ground for administration cronies…seek[ing] to bypass the traditional media and work directly with talk radio and bloggers, mostly those with a heavily conservative tilt.” [Harper’s Magazine, 7/16/07]

Defense Department: “The Defense Department…has stepped up intelligence collection inside this country since 9/11, which now includes the monitoring of peaceful anti-war and counter-military recruitment groups.” [MSNBC, 9/14/05]

NASA: “The top climate scientist at NASA says the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming…officials at NASA headquarters had ordered the public affairs staff to review his coming lectures, papers, postings on the Goddard [Institute for Space Studies] Web site and requests for interviews from journalists.” [New York Times, 1/29/06]

Food and Drug Administration: “The top Food and Drug Administration official in charge of women’s health issues…resigned in protest against the agency’s decision to further delay a final ruling on whether the ‘morning-after pill’ should be made more easily accessible. ‘I can no longer serve as staff when scientific and clinical evidence, fully evaluated and recommended for approval by the professional staff here, has been overruled,’ she wrote in an e-mail to her staff and FDA colleagues.” [Washington Post, 9/1/05]

Health and Human Services: “An internal investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services confirms that the top Medicare official threatened to fire the program’s chief actuary if he told Congress that drug benefits would probably cost much more than the White House acknowledged.” [New York Times, 7/7/04]

Health and Human Services: “The Department of Health and Human Services recently revised its website, 4Parents.gov, and replaced factual data designed to help parents talk about preventing teen pregnancy with biased and misleading claims” reflecting administration policy. [NARAL, 7/10/07]

Office of the Surgeon General: “The first U.S. surgeon general appointed by President George W. Bush accused the administration on Tuesday of political interference and muzzling him on key issues like embryonic stem cell research.” [Reuters, 7/10/07]

Environmental Protection Agency: In a government report on the state of the environment, strong language that “climate change has global consequences for human health and the environment” was stricken by the White House, as was government research that suggests recent climate change is “likely mostly due to human activities.” The changes were protested by EPA staffers, who wrote in a confidential memo that the report “no longer accurately represents scientific consensus on climate change.” [CBS, 6/19/03]

Office of National Drug Control Policy: “At the request of Sara Taylor, the former White House Director of Political Affairs, John Walters, the nation’s drug czar, and his deputies traveled to 20 events with vulnerable Republican members of Congress in the months prior to the 2006 elections. The trips were paid for by federal taxpayers and several were combined with the announcement of federal grants or actions that benefited the districts of the Republican members.” [House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, 6/17/07]

Corporation for Public Broadcasting: During his tenure, former CPB chairman Kenneth Tomlinson “moved to address what he contend[ed was] the left-leaning lineup of news programs at PBS by advocating the addition of new shows with a conservative outlook.” He “failed to strike a proper balance by infusing politics into so many decisions at CPB” and by “in essence, allowing the White House to help direct plans of the CPB.” According to Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, this extreme politicization was “unprecedented.” [National Public Radio, 6/20/05]

Bear in mind that these are just some of the examples and does not include some of the major propaganda campaigns illegally used to disseminate partisan GOP talking points like the lies and deceptions used against us in the run up to the illegal Iraq invasion and occupation.

These are the GOP's WMDs. Weapons of Mass Dissembling...

DANGERstein Idiocy Alert!

Dan Gerstein's own brand of right wing propaganda, from BooMan at the The Booman Tribune:

For those of you keeping score at home, the Baby Boomer Generation is made up of people born between 1946 and 1964, meaning that they are currently between 44 and 62 years old. The Blog Reader Project shows the following demographic breakdown for Daily Kos readers:

Age:

Less than 18: 0.3%
18-20: 1.2%
21-34: 26.3%
35-45: 22.8%
46-55: 25.7%
56-65: 18.0%
66-75: 4.6%
Older than 75: 1.0%

The results show that the majority of Daily Kos readers are not Baby Boomers. The largest category (the plurality) is the 21-34 contingent, and more than 50% of readers (the majority) are too young to be part of the Boomer generation, while more than 5% are too old. This doesn't prevent senior adviser to Sen. Joe Lieberman's vice presidential and presidential campaigns, Dan Gerstein, from asserting:

The Kossacks and their activist allies -- who skew toward the Boomers -- believe that Republicans are venal bordering on evil, and that the way Democrats will win elections and hold power is to one-up Karl Rove's divisive, bare-knuckled tactics. Their opponents within the party -- who skew younger and freer of culture war wounds -- believe that the way to win is offer voters a break from this poisonous tribal warfare and a compelling, inclusive vision for where we want to take the country.

Technically, Gerstein said 'Kossacks and their activist allies', so I guess he can try to defend himself by claiming that the 'activist allies' skew to the boomer generation, thereby tilting Kossacks in that direction. I don't know, Gerstein is an asshat. But it's kind of important that he's screwed up the generational profile of Daily Kos because his entire essay depends on Kossacks (and by extension, the blogosphere as a whole) being about the politics of the past, in distinction from the hopeful, post-partisan politics of the future (as embodied in Senator Barack Obama).

Gerstein might be onto something about Kossacks (and the blogosphere more generally) but not because of the age distinctions, i.e., because non-Kossacks/Blogopshereites are "freer of culture war wounds." Ironically, Gerstein hits on a better explanation (though he skips right over it) while he is in the process of distorting the history of the Lieberman/Lamont battle.

Read on...

Yes! More asshat idiocy from Dan Gerstein...

The 935 Things I Hate About You

Most people would call it propaganda:

A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."

A war by the bush administration on the American people:

The study counted 935 false statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and administration officials stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or had links to al-Qaida or both.

snip

Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq's links to al-Qaida, the study found. That was second only to Powell's 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.

They've killed hundreds of thousands of people in an illegal invasion and occupation and it was all a pack of lies...

Shorter Bolton: "Israel Should Act Dumber Than USA"

Everyone's favorite pet neocon, Whiskers the wacko walrus, does a craptacular job spewing pure persian bushit while simultaneously balancing bush's recently NIE-neutered warmongering balls on his nose:

"One can say with some assurance that in the next year the use of force by the United States is highly unlikely," Bolton told AFP on the sidelines of the Herzliya conference on the balance of Israel's national security.

"That increases the pressure on Israel in that period of time... if it feels Iran is on the verge of acquiring that capability, it brings the decision point home to use force," he said.

"ARF! ARF! ARF!""Bushies balls are this BIG!"

Unfortunately for the world, you get "more war" cheerleading from undisclosed Israeli sourcing:

Reacting to Bolton, a “senior Israeli security official” told Agence France-Presse that “one should listen very closely to what Bolton has to say.”

But Israel would have to be as dumb as a box of republican rocks to listen to Bolton's barking at the moon. And America ain't joining you in your three ring circus of propaganda, illegal wars and repeated stupidity:

During his trip to Israel this week for the the Herzliya Conference, Bolton has ratcheted up his criticisms of the report, saying on Sunday that the “illegitimate politicization” of the NIE was “a quasi-coup by the intelligence services.”

An amazing amount of projection there, as anyone in their right mind considers the NIE a cutting off at the knees of the coup by the neoconservative warmongering idiots like Bolton and the illegitimate and extremely politicized bush government.

Swift Reactions to Me?

Surprisingly, the most reasonable conservative Blogger on the intertubes, and an A-lister by any standards, actually knows my name?

Stephen Herron at Drinking Liberally in New Milford reminds us that February 3 is the first anniversary of Blogroll Amnesty Day, which was once one of the darkest days in the blogosphere, but has now been turned into a celebration of the power of smaller blogs. If you are celebrating this day on your blog, send us a link and we'll post it here and send it out to other blogs who are writing about it. Blue Gal, Barefoot Bum, Mike the Mad Biologist, The S.N.A.F.U. Principle and House of the Rising Sons are just a few of the many blogs that plan to celebrate the weekend of February 1 to 3. And skippy and Pharyngula remind us that some blogs, including this one, celebrate Blogroll Amnesty Day all year round. Blogroll us and we'll blogroll you.

Thankfully, and due to his reasonable nature, I do not have to worry about him being some kind of Conservative terrorist coming after me to enact, with all the rabidity of some mindless Michelle Malkin or Freeper inspired act of terror, some retribution for being a -shudder- liberal. Jon Swift is just interested in participating in Blogroll Amnesty Day Celebrations. Some Blogs that appear to be interested in participating in Blogroll Amnesty Day Celebrations may have some minor stipulations on your inclusion to their Blogrolls, such as Pharyngula:

Finally, with some trepidation, I'm also making this an Open Enrollment thread. Do you want to be on the Pharyngula blogroll? It's easy. First, you need a blog with an RSS feed (I do all my blog browsing with a newsreader, so that's an absolute requirement). Second, you need to give me a link to your blog in a comment here. And finally, you have to pass a test demonstrating that you actually read Pharyngula: name your favorite commenter. (That's a cunning way to get more votes in the Molly nominations.)

Reading and voting? I have been known to do that! Others are taking the Skippy and Jon Swift inspired road, like Barefoot Bum:

My blogroll is always open, but in the spirit of the times, I'm actively soliciting reciprocal links. Link to me and (assuming you don't offend my delicate sensibilities) I'll add your blog to my blogroll. Post a comment to this thread telling me about it. I'll also actually link to you in the body of a post, so you'll get that heady Technorati boost.

I cannot be too offensive since I do bath regularly. Other Bloggers, like myself or Blue Gal, may be trying to find a way to take what might be considered a bit of a negative for some Bloggers and turning it into something that is a positive for everyone:

February 3 is the anniversary of the notorious Blogroll Amnesty Day. It is evolving, quite rightly it seems to me, from a vitriolic attack on A-listers into something more celebratory of us B-C-D-and-DD-list blogs.

We'll be celebrating the small blogosphere that day somehow and suggestions as to how to do so are most welcome.

As small as some of us may be, there is strength in numbers. But for whatever reasons you might have, I encourage you to participate in this with the many Blogs that are doing what they can to help build a better Blogtopia. (y! sctp) Even if only to claim that you are doing some work:

jon swift and skippy have been working together (that is to say, jon has been working and skippy has been together) to spread the word throughout blogtopia and yes, we coined that phrase, that national blogroll amnesty day & blogroll bloodbath anniversary remembrance day is fast approaching (feb. 3...tho we intend to celebrate all weekend long).

To show how hard I work, I will cut'n'paste my policy on Blogrolling from a previous post here:

If I am on your Blogroll and you notice that you are not on mine, tell me! I will fix it. Heck... Add me to yours and I will add you to mine. Just drop a note in comments here.

Just make sure to note your Blog's name and link in the comments anywhere on this Blog so I am not sitting around wondering whom to thank and link to... :)

Previously Brewed in New Milford:

Celebrating Blogroll Amnesty Day!

It is a little early but Mike the Mad Biologist brings back an idea that skippy the bush kangaroo and Jon Swift got a lot of people involved in last February after January's link assault by some "A list" Bloggers:

"Speaking of Jon Swift, the start of 2008 seems like a good time to have another Blogroll Amnesty Day. If you're not on my blogroll, and I'm on yours, leave me a link below and I'll add you (note: racists, creationists, and flat-out weirdos won't be accepted). Instructions below the fold.

Please put your blog name on one line, and the url on the second line, like so:

Mike the Mad Biologist
http://scienceblogs.com/mikethemadbiologist/

or give me a line of html code, like so:

Mike the Mad Biologist

Thanks!"

Same goes for this Blog. If I am on your Blogroll and you notice that you are not on mine, tell me! I will fix it. Heck... Add me to yours and I will add you to mine. Just drop a note in comments here.

For me, it doesn't matter whether you are covering local Connecticut stuff, national politics, and or pretty much anything else. And if you click around you should be able to get a link from Mike, John Swift and skippy as well as from here! Four Blogroll links just for being astute enough to add 4 links from your Blogroll... Does it get any better or easier than that?

Some ideas are worth repeating over and over again. It is all about building a better Blogtopia! (y!sctp) I was re-repeating the mantra to left leaning people to "Link Damnit!" in a piece on the "Blog Link Meta Backlash" around the time all of that stuff was going down:

(Here I am with another "Link Damnit!" moment...)

Skippy hops along in Jon Swift's "Liberal Linking Policy" footsteps:

skippy the bush kangaroo:
we got yer 'amnesty' right here

"and who are we to limit political discourse diversity? what's going on here? it's as if the major blogs are trying to emulate the democrats in washington who suddenly forget about their constituents.

(ok, it's not. our metaphors suck tonight. but we're pissed. so cut us some slack.)

ergo, we here at skippy are planning to retaliate by offering real blog amnesty. and here's how it goes:

many smaller blogs link to skippy for one or more of a few reasons: out of politeness, out of a hope that we might notice them and link back, or simply out of the imitation of what it takes to make a good blog. it's the second reason that interests us (we really should have put it as the last reason to be more clear with sentence structure (on the other hand, using less parenthetical phrases in a paragraph would go a long way towards grammatical clarity (too late now))).

to wit: any blog that has linked to skippy and has not received a reciprocal blogroll link will now be included on our roll! all you have to do is notify us in our comments section or email us, and we will happily include you! that will show those big shot elitists too good for the little guy blogs! ha!"

At a time when the bigger Blogs need to be doing more to help build the left community some are, and some aren't. I find it ironic that I posted just last week on Chris Bowers argument that we need to link more effectively:

If everyone on the left works a little harder on this we can turn the tides on on the Google Wars and win. We have already made a lot of inroads since this 2004 picture:

The graphs represent the aggregate linkage going on leading up to the 2004 election. Reds (them) are the Republican bloggers, and Blues (us) are the Democratic bloggers. The full expanation of the graphs particulars are on page 9 of the PDF paper. Basically, the first graph connects dots (blogs) when there is strong linkage between them (+25 during the period), the second one where there is less stronger linkage (+5), and they've a 3rd map that includes all linkage that I've not included.

Between blogs then (not taking into consideration that diaries on #8DailyKos and #17MyDD serve to allow massive coordiantion and spreading of message), there's just a lot more coordination through linking among Republican than there has been with Democratic bloggers, at least on the surface of particular URL's. The other interesting thing I noted was that the blog by George Bush's campaign didn't even make the top 40-- now that's pitiful.

We were less coordinated in '04. But in '06 we did little things a little better. I am sure the more recent graphs would look a lot better. But you know that we can still keep on improving on this.

Remember that every time you link to any site you are, over time, creating a kind of GOOGLEBOMB effect on that site when it comes to site rankings, search results, etc.. Tagging and choice of words that are used to link are important in these cumulitive effects as well.

Now this week... Brilliant at Breakfast has the scoop on how MyDD has become an apologist for those attempting to cut out the links that we need to build the Left:

Shorter Chris Bowers

"We innovate more than you, we hired people to help us, and because we did that there is no place for you lone bloggers anymore -- because WE decide who makes it and who doesn't."

Oh, you really have to read this self-congratulatory drivel to believe it. It's truly amazing to see one blogger fellating the entire Big Name Blogosphere in one post, while at the same time consigning the rest of us to the ranks of the MySpacers.

Kool Kidz Klub indeed.

It's funny how Bowers uses a quote by Jeffrey Feldman to illustrate his point, because as I've mentioned before, I had a very nice conversation about blogging just last week with Mr. Feldman, who seems to be in no way a blog snob. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there is at least one Big Name Blogger who isn't puffed up with his own self-importance.

But with Kos and Atrios making a big show about "culling the blogroll", and Chris Bowers playing "Mine's Bigger" with the rest of the blogosphere, is this really what it's come to? Is this the Revenge of the Nerds come to fruition? Is this the guys who DIDN'T get laid on prom night finally staking their claim to coolness?

If so, are we going to sit by and take it? Are we going to just toil away while guys like Atrios and Kos and Chris Bowers define the rules and brand the rest of us as useless?

What an amazing flip-flop-contortion there Bowers... This leaves me wondering just how committed he really is to the cause.

Jon Swift puts it all in perspective:

I adopted this policy in a spirit of both self-interest and altruism. In the blogosphere links are like capital. By offering links to others, others would be more inclined to offer links to me. But I am also very grateful to those who helped me out by throwing a link my way or adding me to their blogroll when I was just starting out. Now that I am a Large Mammal, according the Truth Laid Bear Ecosystem, I have tried to return the favor by helping out those further down the food chain.

Links are capital! It is the foundation of bringing views from fellow bloggers out of obscurity and into the top of search engine results. And just how much does it cost any blogger to spend some of this valuable capital?

ZIP. Zilch. Zero dollars.

Not even one penny to use the most effective marketing tool that Blogtopia has to offer.

All you have to do is put a few seconds into the act of cut'n'paste into your Blogroll or into a post... And you make a huge difference for everyone in our fight.

As ctblogger commented in an earlier MLN diary of mine on building a better community:

We should all work together to fight the good progressive fight and not be so critical in terms of other people's sites. I read CTBlue, Ed's Daily Rant, CT Local Politics, and the watch sites everyday and I learn something new from all of those guys which I incorporate into my site and that's the way it should be. Learn something from me and I learn something from you.

2006 is going to be a HUGE election year and Connecticut will be ground zero in terms of who controls Congress (2nd, 4th 5th district races). The faster we can all work to get this site up to full-speed, the more national attention it will receive.

He also called me out for not having links to his sites... Which I quickly fixed. lol

2006 is behind us but there are still a lot of common causes that we all share, and we can all help each other in achieving our goals. Linking is the first, easiest AND cheapest way to start.

For more background on all of this: Boston Joe has a Meta diary up x-posted at BooTrib and at MLW covering a bit more of this Meta discussion in a thoughtful way. Both have generated a lot of comments. I usually hate Meta... But this topic is the foundation of what Blogging is all about.

We can do better than we have been doing. And if we keep building on what we already have our numbers (and the fact that we deal in reality) will easily overcome the right wing echo chamber's lies and propaganda.

Start the new year off kicking Blogtopia (y!sctp) up a notch! BAM!

For Media, Blogging Is Making a Difference

In shaping everyone's views, including Journalists according to Googit:

Picked up from Jerry Johnson, head of strategic planning at Brodeur, news of a survey finding that blogs are having a significant impact on journalist's story ideas, angles and insights.

• Over 75% of reporters see blogs as helpful in giving them story ideas, story angles and insight into the tone of an issue.
• 70% of reporters check a blog list on a regular basis.
• 21% of reporters spend over an hour per day reading blogs.
• 57% of reporters read blogs at least two to three times a week.

Journalists are also increasingly active participants in the blogosphere.

• 28% of reporters have their own blogs.
• 16% have their own social networking page.
• 48% say they are "lurkers" – reading blogs but rarely commenting.

The survey is part of an ongoing research project by Brodeur in conjunction with Marketwire to understand the impact that social media and blogs are having on traditional news delivery. The survey was conducted among a random sample of North American reporters and editors. You may obtain a copy of the survey here .

So... You are all, likely, having a bigger impact than you might think. But why do I get the feeling more of them read farrr right wing fanatics Blogs?

"The problem is that moderate conservative candidates, and ones that are somewhat authoritarian to boot, have been labeled as "Liberals" for so long by the corporate owned MSM it has skewered the views of the American people to accept candidates that are far more conservative than many of the American people really are.

IOW: People have been conditioned to reject candidates that would better represent their own views through years of propaganda.

This is a direct result of the MSM's incompetence in addressing real issues and, instead, sticking to their scripts of Horse Races, Manipulation of Polling Popularity Contests, Who Smells the Best, The Prettiest Face, Masculintity, The Money Game, Crying Games and a myriad of other exercises in avoidance and misdirection from the real issues that are truly important and could do a lot to shape your support based on what is actually best for you, the voter.

Information is the best weapon you have to fight this propaganda:

Click on Pic to Enlarge

So it is left up to you to seek out the important information, at least, until the media finally meets our demands that they AND the candidates address the issues honestly.

The short version of this post?

"Media: Do. Your. Job."

Because We The People are getting tired of doing all of the heavy lifting."

I can only hope a journalist reads this and actually gets the point... lol

Another Republican Terrorist!

You can't make this stuff up! Another republican gets tangled up with a terrorist group:

A Kansas City grand jury has charged a defunct charity in Columbia with sending money to an Afghan terrorist with ties to al Qaida and the Taliban.

snip

George Bush, SR and Siljander

The new charges also accuse Mark Deli Siljander, who represented Michigan in Congress from 1981-1987, of receiving $50,000 from the charity in 2004. Siljander, who operates a Washington D.C. public relations firm, was hired to lobby Congress to remove the charity from a U.S. Senate Finance Committee list of non-profit organizations suspected of being involved in supporting international terrorism.

Newt Gingritch, Trent Lott and Siljander

Want more? He was a former Reagan appointee to the UN. And he tried to claim that they gave him the $50,000 for a book deal.

Also charged in today's superseding indictment is Mark Deli Siljander, 57, a former U.S. Congressman from Michigan (1981-87) who serves as the owner/director of Global Strategies, Inc., a planning, marketing and public relations company located in the Washington, D.C. area.

Bob Dole and Silander

Other defendants named in the indictment are Ali Mohamed Bagegni, 53, formerly of Columbia, Mo, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Libya and a former member of IARA's board of directors; Ahmad Mustafa, 55, of Columbia, a citizen of Iraq, and a former fund-raiser for IARA; Khalid Al-Sudanee, 56, a citizen and resident of Jordan, and the regional director of the Middle East office of the Islamic African Relief Agency (also known as the Islamic Relief Agency, or ISRA); and Abdel Azim El-Siddig, 51, of Palos Heights, Ill., a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Sudan, and formerly vice president for international operations for IARA.

On March 6, 2007, IARA, along with five officers, employees and associates were charged in a 33-count indictment for illegally transferring funds to Iraq in violation of federal sanctions. They were also charged with stealing government funds, with misusing IARA's charitable status to raise funds for an unlawful purpose, and with attempting to avoid government detection of their illegal activities by, among other things, falsely denying in a nationally-televised interview that a procurement agent of Osama bin Laden had been an employee of IARA. These charges are included in the superseding indictment returned today.

snip

Today's superseding indictment adds to the original charges by alleging that IARA and its former executive director, Mubarak Hamed, engaged in prohibited financial transactions for the benefit of Specially Designated Global Terrorist, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan mujahideen leader and founder of the Hezb-e-Islami-Gulbuddin (HIG), who has participated in and supported terrorist acts by al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Hekmatyar has vowed to engage in a holy war against the United States and international troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. government designated Hekmatyar as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on Feb. 19, 2003, thereby blocking all property
and interests in property of Hekmatyar.

Yeah... You read that right! A republican tied into a group that funded Osama Bin Laden. And they paid their Republican buddy with the US GOVERNMENTS OWN MONEY! Money that was supposed to be used for "relief and aid" in Africa by the group, and this republican turd knew this when he took the $50,000.00 from them!!!

Via CNN:

The former Republican congressman from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.

More on his Reagan ties from dKos:

When Ronald Reagan became President he tapped Congressmen David Stockman to be his budget director, creating an opening in Stockman's SW Michigan district. Siljander was one of the first Congressional creations of the radical religious right.

"I'm part of the silent majority that was heard Nov. 4 [when President Reagan was elected]," says Siljander. "My support comes from morally concerned citizens who are sick of the situation in this country." Siljander pledges to battle the Equal Rights Amendment, pornography, abortion, school busing and "big spending." He will champion the neutron bomb, the MX missile and prayer in public schools.

Once in Congress, he became one of the most radical wingers, someone who in today's Republican caucus would fit in. For instance, in1984 he unsuccessfully tried to amend a civil rights bill "to define the term ''person'' under the bill to include ''unborn children from the moment of conception.'" But back then, in the early days of the radical religious right's takeover of the GOP, he attracted a lot of attention, too much for some, so in 1986 plutocrat Fred Upton defeated him in a Republican primary, helped by the crazy news that Siljander had issued a tape recording to fundies asking them to "break the back of Satan" by fasting and praying for his victory.

Their prayers weren't answered. He lost, but Reagan cushioned his landing by appointing him a position at the United Nations.

Ronald Reagan and Siljander

dKos has more on Siljander's fundy ties. And the WaPO reports in their story, Ex-Congressman Indicted In Terrorism Funding Case, that 'His attorney, James R. Hobbs of Kansas City, Mo., said in a statement yesterday that his client "denies the allegations in the indictment and will enter a not-guilty plea."' WaPo also covers more of his Christian Fundy traits. Typical wacko Republican...

Do you remember Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, whose partner in crime was bilking Baptists?

Remember the card carrying republican terrorist?

Brian David Anderson was arrested in Spain in March, but you don't hear a thing as his ties to the card carrying Republican Al Qaeda terrorist Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari are going unreported in the American MSM. Hundreds of people defrauded, MILLIONS in fraud, terrorism ties, BUT nothing from the MSM.

Brian David Anderson was arrested in Spain in March. This guy was supposedly running a ponzi scheme and was picked up after defrauding hundreds of people out of millions of dollars.

A Canadian under investigation in British Columbia and Ontario for allegedly scamming millions from investors was arrested in Spain yesterday for his suspected role in financing terrorist training camps.

Spanish police said they had arrested businessman Brian David Anderson at a Madrid hotel for his alleged involvement in financing terrorist camps in Afghanistan.

The arrest followed a joint investigation led by the FBI, which arrested Mr. Anderson's business partner, Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari of New York, on terror financing charges last month.

Remember the Republican terrorist, Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari? (AKA Michael Mixon)

Ok... So the terrorism part first:

Terrorism charges brought Friday against the administrator of a loan investment program claimed that he secretly tried to send $152,000 to the Middle East to buy equipment such as night vision goggles for a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan.

Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, 53, of Ardsley, N.Y., pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to an indictment accusing him of terrorism financing, material support of terrorism and other charges. The charges carried a potential penalty of 95 years in prison.

But would you really believe me if I told you he was a Republican?

CBS News has confirmed that Alishtari is a donor to the Republican Party, as he claims on his curriculum vitae. Alishtari gave $15,500 to the National Republican Campaign Committee between 2002 and 2004, according to Federal Election Commission records. That amount includes $13,000 in 2003, a year when he claims to have been named NRCC New York State Businessman of the Year.

Alishtari also claims to be a lifetime member of the National Republican Senate Committee's Inner Circle, which the NRCC describes as "an impressive cross-section of American society – community leaders, business executives, entrepreneurs, retirees, and sports and entertainment celebrities – all of whom hold a deep interest in our nation's prosperity and security."

The Republican party needs to be placed on "The List" of terrorist related organizations and watched very carefully.

It is pretty apparent that the FBI and Homeland Security are wasting their time watching us liberal/peacenik/Quaker/progressive/etc. types. Just ask Ken Krayeske...

Thank you to those that got this story moving originally. Raw Story, Crooks and Liars, and Josh Marshall, whose his readers have been dig, dig, digging.

snip

This story should have had legs of its own... What the heck was the NY Post doing trying to pass this guy off as a "Peace Activist"?

"A Westchester businessman and purported peace activist was nabbed by the feds for allegedly plotting to funnel more than $150,000 to terrorists at training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

Peace activist my ass! This guy is so up to his eyeballs in the GOP and full of it.
As it turned out Alishtari actually donated more than the originally reported $15,500 to the Republican party coffers... About $35,000.00 in total.

Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, indicted two weeks ago for financing terrorists in Afghanistan among other charges, gave more than $35,000 to Republican campaign committees, not $15,000 as was reported earlier.

A $20,000 contribution from Alishtari to the National Republican Senatorial Committee on August 29th, 2003, was not previously reported because his name was misspelled ("Allshtari") on the NRSC's disclosure form to the Federal Election Commission (unfortunately, such misspellings are fairly frequent). Alishtari's online CV stated that he was named an "Inner Circle Member for Life" of the NRSC.

As for Anderson's accused involvement in terrorism funding with the Republican terrorist, they haven't released much on that yet, but it appears like Alishtari may have been planning on using his ponzi scheme investments for more terrorist funding, "IF" I am reading this correctly:

The connection between Mr. Anderson's alleged investment scheme and terrorist financing surfaced at a hearing held on Feb. 26, when the commission introduced as evidence the U.S. allegations. The Ontario Securities Commission has also accused Mr. Anderson of violating provincial securities law.

snip

At least $25,000 was transferred from a New York bank account to an account in Montreal "with the intent that the funds be used to provide material support to terrorists," the U.S. prosecutors said, adding the money was to be used for, among other things, the purchase of night-vision goggles.

The indictment says Mr. Alishtari transferred the money "in exchange for payment," suggesting his alleged involvement in the scheme may have been motivated by profit rather than support for the terrorist cause.

The indictment also accuses Mr. Alishtari of committing a "massive fraud" by operating a loan program called the Flat Electronic Data Interchange, which was part of Mr. Anderson's Alpha Program.

Anderson supposedly used a pressure sales pitch and had reportedly tried to bilk people out of their money, sometimes as much as $125,000.00 from marks, in the "Alpha Program" in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, London and Portland, as well as in Canada.

I am wondering why we have heard so little of this card carrying Republican terrorist and his partner in crime in the American MSM considering the amounts of money and terorism charges involved?

Well, except for Keith Olberman on Countdown, (h/t ctblogger) who gave Alishtari the Bronze when his terrorist links first broke in February:



[update] Welcome to Crooks & Liars, Knoxviews, and Buzzflash readers that came by to check this out.

As was pointed out by standingup at EpluribusMedia: Anderson is a Baptist minister and it is notable that they targeted many Baptist parishoners to be fleeced in their ponzi scheme. But sadly, this doesn't follow the MSMs' carefully scripted storyline that the "The Democrats support Terrorists" and the crickets chirp all throughout the media.

Any more news on Paris Hilton? 'Cause the world really needs more of that. sigh

Republican terrorists are everywhere... <<< I ain't kidding about that! And just what does Karl Rove have the gaul to say in his most recent propaganda piece?

ROVE: DEMS ‘IRRESPONSIBLE,’ GOP ‘POSITIVE’

Does Republican gas count as terrorism?