Justice Dept. Lawyers Join Chorus Criticizing Gonzales

NY Times:
Washington - Daniel J. Metcalfe, a lawyer who began his government career in the Nixon administration and retired from the Justice Department last winter, said morale at the department was worse under Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales than during Watergate.

John S. Koppel, who continues to work at the department as a civil appellate lawyer in Washington, wrote this month that he was "ashamed" of the department and that if Mr. Gonzales told the truth in recent Congressional testimony, "he has been derelict in the performance of his duties and is not up to the job."

Even though they worry that it may hinder their career prospects, a few current and former Justice Department lawyers have begun to add to the chorus of Mr. Gonzales's critics who say that the furor over his performance as attorney general, and questions about his truthfulness under oath, could do lasting damage to the department's work.

US Drops Baghdad Electricity Reports

Los Angeles Times:

The daily length of time that residents have power has dropped. The figure is considered a key indicator of quality of life.

Washington - As the Bush administration struggles to convince lawmakers that its Iraq war strategy is working, it has stopped reporting to Congress a key quality-of-life indicator in Baghdad: how long the power stays on.

Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week that Baghdad residents could count on only "an hour or two a day" of electricity. That's down from an average of five to six hours a day earlier this year.

But that piece of data has not been sent to lawmakers for months because the State Department, which prepares a weekly "status report" for Congress on conditions in Iraq, stopped estimating in May how many hours of electricity Baghdad residents typically receive each day.

Saturday Cartoons

Report Shows At Least 116 US Troop Suicides In Iraq

Editor & Publisher:
NEW YORK One of the least covered aspects of the fallout from the Iraq war is the rising toll of suicides, both near the battlefield and back home.

Latest official figures released by the Pentagon reveal at least 116 self-inflicted fatalities in Iraq. But this does not include several dozen still under investigation, nor any of the many cases back in the U.S.

The Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported the latest example today. It revealed that an Iraq war veteran reported missing in northern Minnesota -- and suffering from post-traumatic stress -- had been found dead.

E-mails Show Rove Protégé Tim Griffin Led Effort To Suppress Minority Votes In 2004

Truthout:
Previously undisclosed documents detail how Republican operatives, with the knowledge of several White House officials, engaged in an illegal, racially-motivated effort to suppress tens of thousands of votes during the 2004 presidential campaign in a state where George W. Bush was trailing his Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry.

The documents also contain details describing how Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign officials, and at least one individual who worked for White House political adviser Karl Rove, planned to stop minorities residing in Cuyahoga County from voting on election day.

The efforts to purge voters from registration rolls was spearheaded by Tim Griffin, a former Republican National Committee opposition researcher. Griffin recently resigned from his post as interim US attorney for Little Rock Arkansas. His predecessor, Bud Cummins, was forced out to make way for Griffin.

U.S Prepeares $20 Billion Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia

Let's get this straight... Bush wants to sell $20 billion dollars worth of arms to the country that produced 15 of the 19 hijackers that attacked us on 9/11.... brilliant!

McClatchy News:

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration has decided to supply billions of dollars in advanced new weapons to Saudi Arabia, other Arab allies of the United States and to Israel, senior State Department officials and congressional aides said Friday.

The arms and aid package, which the officials said is to be announced on Monday, is part of a U.S. initiative to reassure worried allies in the Middle East that despite its troubles in Iraq, the United States remains committed to the region.

Israel protested the proposed sale when word of it first leaked in April.

“It’s…An Open Joke…Fred Thompson's Wife Is Really Running The Campaign

NY Times:
Former Senator Fred D. Thompson has yet to make a formal declaration that he is running for president, but already his noncampaign campaign has gone through its first shake-up.

A week of personnel turnover that extended from his campaign-manager-in-waiting down to volunteers raised questions about whether the Thompson camp is prepared to jump fully into the race for the Republican presidential nomination, a race in which his rivals have had months to establish their campaign organizations, raise money and hone strategy.

It also ignited speculation in Republican circles about who is really in charge, and in particular about the extent of the role being played by Mr. Thompson’s wife, Jeri Kehn Thompson, a former political operative.

Iraq Embassy Oversight Hearing: I believe these men were kidnapped by First Kuwaiti to work at the US Embassy…

C&L:
Henry Waxman held oversight hearings on the construction of the US Embassy in Iraq. To say that the testimony coming out is explosive and damning to the State Department is putting it mildly.

Rory Mayberry: “Mr. Chairman, when the airplane took off and the captain announced that we were heading to Baghdad, all you-know-what broke out on the airplane. The men started shouting, it wasn’t until the security guy working for First Kuwaiti waved an MP5 in the air that the men settled down. They realized that they had no other choice but to go to Baghdad. Let me spell it out clearly: I believe these men were kidnapped by First Kuwaiti to work at the US Embassy… I’ve read the State Department Inspector General’s report on the construction of the embassy. Mr. Chairman, it’s not worth the paper it’s printed on. This is a cover-up and I’m glad that I’ve had the opportunity to set the record straight.”

You can view the testimony here

BBC: W's grandpappy planned fascist coup of USA

Kevin says: A BBC Radio 4 investigation sheds new light on a major subject that has received little historical attention, the conspiracy on behalf of a group of influential powerbrokers, led by Prescott Bush, to overthrow FDR and implement a fascist dictatorship in the U.S. based around the ideology of Mussolini and Hitler.

Document uncovers details of a planned coup in the USA in 1933 by a group of right-wing American businessmen.

The coup was aimed at toppling President Franklin D Roosevelt with the help of half-a-million war veterans. The plotters, who were alleged to involve some of the most famous families in America, (owners of Heinz, Birds Eye, Goodtea, Maxwell Hse & George Bush's Grandfather, Prescott) believed that their country should adopt the policies of Hitler and Mussolini to beat the great depression.

Mike Thomson investigates why so little is known about this biggest ever peacetime threat to American democracy.

To listen to the report click here

Contempt Charges Readied For Top Bush Officials

AP:
WASHINGTON — Heading toward a separation-of-powers showdown, House Democrats prepared contempt of Congress citations against two White House aides who have refused to comply with subpoenas for information on the abrupt firings of federal prosecutors.

The White House has said that Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former legal counselor Harriet Miers, among other top advisers to President Bush, are absolutely immune from subpoenas because their documents and testimony are protected by executive privilege.

Impeach Gonzales

To watch the video click here

C&L:

Check out this testimony from Gonzo about his Ashcroft hospital visit….James Comey refutes it thoroughly. What a CREEP! I agree with Digby. Impeach Gonzo already:

His testimony, as usual, is unresponsive, misleading and sometimes perjurious. Today, he is smug and arrogant in attitude, sometimes even laughing at the questions. Apparently he believes he’s weathered the storm.

Even Jeff Sessions sounded pissed today. But I doubt it would get that far. He would likely feel the need to spend more time with his lawyers and would resign.

This man is an insult to the constitution. Impeach him. Get him out of there. Whatever it takes.
The Democrats need to stop worrying about the Republican attack dogs and get this man out. He placed his loyalty for Bush and Cheney above the needs of the country. The only thing missing from his resume is a degree from Pat Robertson’s Regent University.

Today's Funny

Rep Steve Cohen Insulted

Congressman Steve Cohen, from Tennessee, lays down the law, in response to Harriet Miers no show.

Patrick Leahy Sets Sara Taylor Straight on What Oath She Took

To watch the video click here

Apparently Sara Taylor thought she took an oath to the President and NOT the Constitution. It's nice to see Patrick Leahy clearing this up for her. It seems to be a pervasive misconception with members of the Bush administration.

Pressure Builds for Impeachment!

You can keep the pressure on by contacting members of the Judiciary Committee. This is where articles of impeachment will originate. Here is their contact info:

Chairman John Conyers, Michigan, 14th (202) 225-5126 Contact him here.
Howard Berman California, 28th (202) 225-4695 Contact him here
Rick Boucher Virginia, 9th (202) 225-3861 Contact him here
Jerrold Nadler New York, 8th Contact him here
Robert C. Scott Virginia, 3rd (202) 225-8351 Contact him here
Melvin L. Watt North Carolina, 12th (202) 225-1510 Contact him here
Zoe Lofgren California, 16th (202) 225-3072 Contact her here
Sheila Jackson Lee Texas, 18th (202) 225-3816 Contact her here
William D. Delahunt Massachusetts, 10th (202) 225-3111 Contact him here
Robert Wexler Florida, 19th (202) 225-3001 Contact him here
Linda T. Sánchez California, 39th (202) 225-6676 Contact her here
Steve T. Cohen Tennessee, 9th (202) 225-3265 Contact him here
Hank Johnson Georgia, 4th (202) 225-1605 Contact him here
Luis Gutierrez Illinois, 4th (202) 225-8203 Contact him here
Brad Sherman California, 27 (202) 225-5911 Contact him here
Anthony D. Weiner New York, 9th (202) 225-6616 Contact him here
Adam B. Schiff California, 29th (202) 225-4176 Contact him here
Artur Davis Alabama , 7th (202) 225-2665 Contact him here
Debbie Wasserman Schultz Florida, 20th 202-225-7931 Contact her here
Tammy Baldwin Wisconsin, 2nd (202) 225-2906 Contact her here

Dailykos has more info on this movement.

Dem calls for Special Prosecutor to investigate Gonzales' lies to Congress

Rawstory:
A Democratic Congressman called for Alberto Gonzalez's resignation and said he wants an independent prosecutor to investigate reports that the attorney general misled Congress in denying knowledge of civil rights abuses by the FBI.

"Attorney General Gonzales has shown an apparent reckless disregard for the rule of law and a fundamental lack of respect for the oversight responsibilities of Congress," said Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. "The man entrusted with enforcing our nation's laws must also abide by them - and Mr. Gonzales has apparently failed in that duty."

Former Bush surgeon general says he was muzzled

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - 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.
"Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as the nation's top doctor from 2002 until 2006, told a House of Representatives committee.

Live Earth! Make the Pledge!

You can stream Live Earth here

Al Gore brings Live Earth to the National Mall

Thompson Leaked Watergate Investigation Info To Nixon Admin During Time On Senate Committee

Boston Globe:

WASHINGTON -- The day before Senate Watergate Committee minority counsel Fred Thompson made the inquiry that launched him into the national spotlight -- asking an aide to President Nixon whether there was a White House taping system -- he telephoned Nixon's lawyer.

Thompson tipped off the White House that the committee knew about the taping system and would be making the information public.

New poll shows majority of Americans think Cheney should be impeached

Rawstory:
A new video released Friday morning makes a three-part case for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney. Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films released the short film at their website ImpeachCheney.org.

The video comes the same day that a polling firm found a majority of Americans supporting impeachment of the Vice President. American Research Group, in a poll of 1,100 respondents taken from July 3-5, found that 54% of Americans favored impeachment. Only 17% of Republicans in the poll favored the impeachment of Cheney, while 76% of Democrats supported the move in the House of Representatives. However, of independents polled, a slight majority of 51%, also supported impeaching the Vice President.

National Impeachment Call in Week!!

JULY 9-13!

We are asking that people call their representatives, every day, the week of July 9-13, to ask them to investigate and impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for high crimes and treason. You can start this week, by calling the local offices of your representatives! Next week is the big push. Need a reason? Here's a long list.

Take Two Impeachments and Call Me in the Morning

Alternet:
I will give Bush credit for one thing: he has cured me of my scandal fatigue. After six years under the crop of thugs that occupy the White House, I'd become like an abused child: emotionally tapped out and unable to muster more than the proverbial 1,000 yard stare as each new offense by this rogue administration came to light. But while the latest "signing statement" had lost the ability to elicit much more than a desultory shrug from me in recent months, Bush's decision to spring Scooter out of the hoosegow has made me a righteous, hot-under-the-collar pissed-off moonbat again.

Was Commuting Libby an Impeachable Offense?

Truthout:
Like a thief in the night, George W. Bush commuted the prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. He made no public appearance to announce the decision, but instead air-mailed a written statement after 5 p.m. at the outset of a midweek holiday. The statement praised Patrick Fitzgerald as "a highly qualified, professional prosecutor who carried out his responsibilities as charged." As for Libby himself, the statement noted that "the consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting."

Special Comment: George Bush and Dick Cheney Should Resign

To watch the video click here