Buck Naked Politics

Bush's 11th Hour Hunt for bin Laden; McCain --- Right for a Change --- Says 'We Need Better Human Intelligence'

by Teh Nutroots | Seven years later, Bush is finally back to chasing Osama bin Laden.   Remember him?  He's the guy who orchestrated the 911 attacks.  Bush got distracted by Saddam Hussein's non-existent 'weapons of mass destruction' and the job of de-stabilizing Iraq, but he's got OBL in his cross-hairs again. 

Defence and intelligence sources in Washington and London confirmed that a renewed hunt was on for the leader of the September 11 attacks. “If he [Bush] can say he has killed Saddam Hussein and captured Bin Laden, he can claim to have left the world a safer place,” said a US intelligence source. (Times Online)

"[The hunt] involves the use of Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles fitted with Hellfire missiles that can be used to take out specific terrorist targets...." (Times Online)  '“Bush is swinging for the fences in the hope of scoring a home run,” said an intelligence source.'(Times Online)

BBC: Around $23 Billion Lost in Iraq Due to Contractor Fraud & Mismanagement

by Damozel | My colleague D. Cupples has been all over this issue from the get-go, but it's good to see that the mainstream press --- the mainstream British press, anyway --- is on the case. 

A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.

For the first time, the extent to which some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding has been researched by the BBC's Panorama using US and Iraqi government sources.  (BBC news)   

Good for them.  This is information the American public is entitled to have. Sadly, '[a] US gagging order is preventing discussion of the allegations. The order applies to 70 court cases against some of the top US companies.'  (BBC news)  ('While George Bush remains in the White House, it is unlikely the gagging orders will be lifted,' the article adds.)

Dennis Kucinich Presents Articles of Impeachment to Congress

by Damozel |  You know, there was actually a time when I opposed impeachment of President Bush.  My reasons were pragmatic:  the impeachment of Bush would mean a Cheney presidency, or a Rice presidency, and I couldn't see how either would represent an improvement.   I also had a concern about some sort of wag-the-dog reaction in the direction of Iran.

But never mind that: as my colleague, D Cupples, has pointed out, there's really a moral imperative to impeach Bush and Cheney.  Dennis Kucinich has tried before to take steps against Bush and Cheney, though without getting a result.  As we all know, most---though by no means all--- Congressional Dems are invertebrates.

Death of the D.C. Madam

Posted by Damozel | Debra Jean Palfrey, 'the DC Madam,' was found dead in a storage shed at her mother's home in Tarpon Springs, Florida, an apparent suicide. (Fox)  Palfrey was convicted on Tuesday of money laundering, using the mail for illegal purposes, and racketeering, but hadn't yet been sentenced. (Fox)   Aged 52, she was facing a maximum of 55 years in prison. (The Swamp)  Initially there was some doubt of her identity, but this now seems to have been confirmed by the police.  (On Deadline)

Meanwhile, there's plenty of speculation in the blogosphere about her apparent suicide.   

Scalia---'Mister Justice'--- Defends Bush v. Gore ("Get Over it!" It was Al Gore Who Went "Looking for Trouble"!)

Posted by Damozel | In other words, leave the Court alone and it'll leave you alone!  What do you want from the Justice System...justice?

Watch him say it ---- well, more or less say it --- here:

Siegelman Release "A Big Win in a Very Long War" (Update)

Posted by Damozel | Siegelman has been released from prison pending his appeal.

Thursday’s ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta said Mr. Siegelman’s larger appeal had raised “substantial questions,” and so the former governor should be released from the federal prison where he has already served nine months of a seven-year sentence. (NYT)

The Raw Story has a useful timeline of his prosecution.  Meanwhile, John Conyers and the House Judiciary Committee are keen to hear from Siegelman's story from his own lips, especially given that  it's so difficult to get anything out of the DoJ.  I'm keen to hear it too. 

Fight Back Against ABC's Ridiculous (& Pointless) Innuendo Against Hillary

Posted by Damozel | Whereas MSNBC is becoming, as D Cupples put it, Fox News for Obama supporters, ABC News seems to be aiming for the soapy, dopey tabloid slot.  After reviewing 11,000 pages of Hillary schedules from her tenure as first lady, it published this great revelation:  she was in the White House on that semen-stained and fateful day when Bill was having his libido serviced by Lewinsky. 

I'm sorry; what?  Also:  And?   What's that got to do with...anything at all?   

Save Us, Al Gore?

by Damozel | I've never disguised my love for Al Gore.  I loved Al Gore before it was cool.  I always thought he was handsome, brilliant, prophetic, an engaging speaker, etc. etc., and I feel approximately the same way about him that Obama's fan base feels about him.  Though I am glad he is not running in this disappointing circus of a Democratic election, I would be down with this scenario, allegedly now under discussion by 'party insider,' according to this Eleanor Clift article posted by Andrew Romano in the Newsweek blogs:

Al Gore on the second ballot: A scenario that a few weeks ago seemed preposterous is beginning to look plausible to some nervous Democrats looking for a way out of the deadlock between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It goes like this: 

Do the American People Deserve Better? Mukasey's Testimony

Posted by Damozel | There's certainly an argument that we get the government we deserve.  It's just that I feel that I personally deserve better.

About the best we can say about Attorney General Michael Mukasey’s testimony Wednesday in the Senate is that he was no Alberto Gonzales, with the frequent memory lapses and possibly intentional misstatements. But that is a very low bar.(New York Times)

It certainly is.

The Bush that Never Was

Remember Bush's first, pre-911 State of the Union Speech?  Me neither.  So much has happened since then.  And for that reason, it's fascinating to take a look backwards, courtesy of Jacob Weisberg of The New York Times, to Bush in Feburary 2001.   

Mr. Bush began his...address by hailing the new spirit of cooperation he hoped would characterize his relations with Congress. “Together we are changing the tone in the nation’s capital,” he declared. The new president’s top priority would be education. He intended to marry the liberal desire for more federal money to the conservative demand for higher standards.

Under the Rug: What Came of the Gonzales Misconduct Probes?

by D. Cupples (photo from usdoj.gov) |  It's been almost a year since Congress started investigating the unprecedented (possibly politically motivated) firing of nine U.S. Attorneys.  Nearly a dozen high-level Department of Justice (DoJ) officials have resigned since the probe began, including former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

In August, the Senate Judiciary Committee asked the DoJ's inspector general to investigate whether Gonzales had misled Congress during testimony or engaged in any other misconduct. (letter & press release)  The DoJ's Office of Professional Responsibility is also investigating Gonzales.  These probes have not been concluded, but Truthout's Jason Leopold has an update on one of them:

TT#22 | 13 Unresolved Issues from 2007

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The Grand Canal, Venice (ca. 1835)
Joseph M. W. Turner (1775-1851)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Photo by D. Cupples

Looking Under the Rug: What Ever Came of...?

Posted by D. Cupples |  Sometimes, the media covers stories for days -- then we stop hearing about them.  I can't help wondering what's going on with some of those previously covered issues.  For example:

The 190,000 Weapons Lost in Iraq

On August 8, the Washington Post reported that 190,000 U.S. weapons (about 1/3 of the weapons we sent to Iraq) were lost in 2004-05. General David Petraeus, who was in charge of arming Iraqis at the time, explained that the Army was too preoccupied with combat to sit around recording serial numbers -- as though officials couldn't possibly have set up record-keeping procedures before shipping the weapons, during the long run-up to the war. (BN-Politics-1)

The Investigation of Levonda Selph & Others

On August 28, the New York Times reported that there were 73 criminal investigations into contract fraud in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. Among those under investigation was Lt. Col. Levonda Selph, former aide to General Petraeus.  Reports didn't specify why she was under investigation. (BN-Politics-2)

The Cockerham Bribery Story (next page...)