Bush and State Dept Official Talk of Bank Records Program long before the New York Times

Glenn Greenwald:

Here is President Bush, campaigning for re-election in Hershey, Pennsylvania on April 19, 2004, boasting about our vigilant efforts to monitor the terrorists' banking transactions:

Before September the 11th, law enforcement could more easily obtain business and financial records of white-collar criminals than of suspected terrorists. See, part of the way to make sure that we catch terrorists is we chase money trails. And yet it was easier to chase a money trail with a white-collar criminal than it was a terrorist. The Patriot Act ended this double standard and it made it easier for investigators to catch suspected terrorists by following paper trails here in America.

And as former State Department official Victor Comraes detailed (and documented) on the Counterterrorism blog, it has long been pubic knowledge that the U.S. Government specifically monitors terrorists' banking transactions through SWIFT...read on

This Week on Left Turn with Cecily Friday

Joining me on the program this week is constitutional law attorney and blogger Glenn Greenwald. His book How Would a Patriot Act recently made the New York Times bestseller list. We'll be discussing the latest on the Bush administration's program to acquire U.S. citizen's bank records, under the guise of national security and their attacks on our nation's "free press". Tune in for the discussion, Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM CST.

To check out Glenn's blog, Unclaimed Territory Click Here

Also, I'll be giving tickets away tonight for Bill Maher! He'll be doing a show in Nashville on July 8th. Tune in for a chance to win!

AP: Bush Ignores Laws He Inks, Vexing Congress

Rawstory: "In a strongly worded headline that has appeared across a variety of news websites, the Associated Press has formally accused President Bush of ignoring laws he signs"

WASHINGTON - A bill becomes the rule of the land when Congress passes it and the president signs it into law, right?

Not necessarily, according to the White House. A law is not binding when a president issues a separate statement saying he reserves the right to revise, interpret or disregard it on national security and constitutional grounds.

Report: Global Warming Pollution Has Doubled in 28 States Since 1960

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group released an analysis of government data today showing that 28 states more than doubled their carbon dioxide emissions between 1960 and 2001.

GOP Kills Bill to Police Halliburton

Republicans in Congress have made it clear they're willing to fight for military contractors' right to lie, cheat and defraud taxpayers.

Rawstory: Federal contracts up 86% under Bush; Halliburton rises 600%

WASHINGTON -- A new report claims that a "shadow government" of federal contractors has exploded in size over the last five years.

Timesonline: Horror show reveals Iraq’s descent

A morgue’s grim scenes testify to a disintegrating nation, says Hala Jaber in Baghdad

'Wash Post' Obtains Shocking Memo from U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Details Increasing Danger and Hardship

NEW YORK The Washington Post has obtained a cable, marked "sensitive," that it says show that just before President Bush left on a surprise trip last Monday to the Green Zone in Baghdad for an upbeat assessment of the situation there, "the U.S. Embassy in Iraq painted a starkly different portrait of increasing danger and hardship faced by its Iraqi employees."

This Week on Left Turn with Cecily Friday

Joining me on the program this evening is James Moore, author of Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential. For the past 25 years he has covered the rise of Karl Rove and George W. Bush. In addition to being an Emmy winning former television correspondent he has traveled and reported on every presidential campaign since 1976. His current work involves a book, to be published next year, covering the long term impact of Bush and Rove policies on America. Tonight we'll be discussing Rove's escape from indictment as well as the impact he may have on the 2006 elections. Tune in for the discussion Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM CST.

Rumsfeld Kicks Reporters out of Guantanamo

Tuesday, the military ordered all independent news media off the base by 10 a.m. Wednesday, and had arranged a flight to Miami to expedite their departure.

Salon: Fitzgerald's team won't talk; Schumer wants to know more

Patrick Fitzgerald's usually tight-lipped spokesman is saying even less than usual today. Randall Sanborn won't comment on Robert Luskin's claim that he's received a letter from Patrick Fitzgerald in which the prosecutor says he doesn't anticipate indicting Karl Rove. The Associated Press follows up by asking Sanborn if Fitzgerald's investigation is continuing. "I'm not commenting on that as well as this time," Sanborn says.

Rawstory: Statement from Christopher Wolf, attorney for outed CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson

"Statement of Christopher Wolf, Proskauer Rose LLP, Counsel for Ambassador Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame Wilson

"We have become aware of the communication between Mr. Fitzgerald and Mr. Luskin concerning Karl Rove's status in the criminal investigation. We have no first-hand knowledge of the reason for the communication or what further developments in the criminal investigation it may signal. While it appears that Mr. Rove will not be called to answer in criminal court for his participation in the wrongful disclosure of Valerie Wilson's classified employment status at the CIA in retaliation against Joe Wilson for questioning the rationale for war in Iraq, that obviously does not end the matter. The day still may come when Mr. Rove and others are called to account in a court of law for their attacks on the Wilsons.""

Rove Off the Hook.

For those of us who suffered through bad sources and false hopes in this story, this is a frustrating conclusion. Be that as it may, Karl Rove's crimes against this country go far beyond his involvement (or lack of evidence thereof) in the Valerie Plame case. Did he strike a deal with the prosecutor to avoid prosecution? Will we ever know what really happened?

WASHINGTON (June 13) -- The prosecutor in the C.I.A. leak case on Monday advised Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser, that he would not be charged with any wrongdoing, effectively ending the nearly three-year criminal investigation that had at times focused intensely on Mr. Rove

Boston Globe: NASA shelves climate satellites

NASA is canceling or delaying a number of satellites designed to give scientists critical information on the earth's changing climate and environment.

New Scientist: Pentagon sets its sights on social networking websites

New Scientist has discovered that Pentagon's National Security Agency, which specialises in eavesdropping and code-breaking, is funding research into the mass harvesting of the information that people post about themselves on social networks. And it could harness advances in internet technology - specifically the forthcoming "semantic web" championed by the web standards organisation W3C - to combine data from social networking websites with details such as banking, retail and property records, allowing the NSA to build extensive, all-embracing personal profiles of individuals.

Al-Qaida in Iraq reportedly names new leader

CAIRO, Egypt - A statement posted online Monday and attributed to Al-Qaida in Iraq said that a militant named Abu Hamza al-Muhajer was the group’s new leader to replace Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed Wednesday by a U.S. airstrike on his hideout.

WP: What Happens without Plan B? Abortions.

By fighting against Plan B and other emergency contraception, President Bush left me with no choice but to have an unwanted abortion.

This Week on Left Turn with Cecily Friday

Joining me on the program this evening is Shane Kadidal. He is an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights and has worked on their case against the Bush administration involving the NSA’s illegal wiretapping program. In the past he has been involved in cases concerning the Patriot Act and has testified before Congress on such matters. Tonight we’ll be discussing the latest on the NSA spying controversy as well as the American Bar Associations unanimous decision to investigate whether President Bush has exceeded his constitutional authority. Tune in for the discussion, Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM CST

To learn more about the Center for Constitutional Rights Click Here

Look out Wages

Wedge Issue Rant Replay

This is part of a post I wrote in May, but felt like it needed to be said again, considering the shameful pandering the GOP is participating in this week.


Gay marriage is the GOP’s wedge issue du jour and its proven useful before in distracting the public from the real issues we face, like a president who lied us into a war, approved torture, spied illegally and now has the nerve to still lie to us about it.

We should not be surprised, after all its an election year, which makes it time for the Republican majority, with our own Senator Frist taking the lead, to trot out their wedge issues (abortion and gay marriage) in order to get their homophobic, anti-women’s rights base to come out to the polls and pull the lever for the GOP, like so many rats in a Skinner box.

Bring up gay men living in wedded bliss or women making choices about what to do with their own bodies and these republican followers drool like Pavlov’s dogs. It worked in 2004, will it work again in 2006? Those of us that haven’t been conditioned to respond to these GOP tricks hope it doesn’t.

ABA to investigate whether Bush exceeded his constitutional authority

WASHINGTON -- The board of governors of the American Bar Association voted unanimously yesterday to investigate whether President Bush has exceeded his constitutional authority in reserving the right to ignore more than 750 laws that have been enacted since he took office.

From C&L: Another Reason not to watch Bill O'Reilly

From Crooksandliars: "While O'Reilly was debating Wesley Clark on his FOX show, Bill once again was short on the facts."

To watch the Keith Olberman clip Click Here

Rolling Stone: Was the 2004 Election Stolen?

Republicans prevented more than 350,000 voters in Ohio from casting ballots or having their votes counted -- enough to have put John Kerry in the White House. BY ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.

FEC finds Frist violated law by failing to disclose $1.4 million personal loan

Earlier today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) received notice from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) indicating that in response to a complaint filed by CREW, the FEC found that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's 2000 Senate campaign committee, Frist 2000, Inc. violated federal campaign finance laws, RAW STORY can report.

Rawstory: George W. Bush named worst president in 61 years

President George W. Bush has been named the worst president in the last 61 years by American voters -- with nearly twice the negative rating of Richard Nixon -- in a new poll by Quinnipiac University, RAW STORY has learned.

Molly Ivins: Bush & Enron: The Takeover is Complete

I'll be damned if Enron's No. 1 show pony politician, George W. Bush, should be allowed to walk away from this.