Clipmarks | Kore7's 'congress' clips

The Biggest Threat to the West Lies Within Itself, Not with Islam

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:32:52 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Simon Jenkins on threats to peace and democracy.

This defeatism led the American Congress to allow its president to authorise torture and detention without trial in what Senator Robert Byrd called “the slow unravelling of the people’s liberties”. It enabled a British Home Office to curb free speech and habeas corpus. It arms police, fortifies buildings and impedes the free movement of citizens. It makes every Christian suspicious of every Muslim.

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

The biggest threat to the West lies within itself, not with Islam

The chief threat to world security at present lies in the capacity of tiny groups of political Islamists to goad the West into a rolling military retaliation.

Extremists on each side feed off the others’ frenzied scenarios so as to garner money and political support for their respective armies of the night. Each sees the other as a cosmic menace and abandons communal tolerance and peaceful diplomacy to counter it.

To portray Islam as a whole as a concerted threat to western security, and to imply that the West’s democratic institutions and freedoms are not proof against that threat, is absurd and close to treason. Then to demand that western freedoms be dismantled and stored away for the duration of a “war on terror” is to wave the flag of surrender.

I believe in the robustness of the democracies created in the West over the past half-century. I am not sure that our leaders do.

Tags: terrorism, islam, christianity, religion, freedom, war, peace, democracy, west, torture

The Terror Presidency

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 17:28:38 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Excerpts from the much-talked-about book by Jack Goldsmith, recounting his days of advising the White House on the legal boundaries of American executive power. Goldsmith explains how he was made to sign off on the unprecedented orders of presidential authority we know and love today.

He famously was present at the dramatic hospital-room showdown on national surveillance between Gonzales, Card and a frail Ashcroft, calling it "the most amazing scene I'd ever witnessed." Goldsmith resigned 10 months in.

They believed cooperation and compromise signaled weakness and emboldened the enemies of America and the executive branch. When it came to terrorism, they viewed every encounter outside the innermost core of most trusted advisers as a zero-sum game that if they didn't win they would necessarily lose.

Clip Source: www.slate.com

The Terror Presidency

"Why don't we just go to Congress and get it to sign off on the whole detention program?" I asked, explaining that the Supreme Court would have a much harder time striking down a wartime detention program that had Congress' explicit support.

"Why are you trying to give away the president's power?" Addington responded. He believed that the very act of asking for Congress' help would imply, contrary to the White House line, that the president needed legislative approval and could not act on his own.

Addington once expressed his general attitude toward accommodation when he said, "We're going to push and push and push until some larger force makes us stop." He and, I presumed, his boss viewed power as the absence of constraint.

These men believed that the president would be best equipped to identify and defeat the uncertain, shifting, and lethal new enemy by eliminating all hurdles to the exercise of his power.

Tags: terror, president, bush, cheney, addington, executive, power, secrecy, legal, torture

Constitutional Law: The 5-Minute Crash Course

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 03:47:33 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: And there you have it.

(Via kottke.)

Clip Source: www.slate.com

The basic rule of American constitutionalism is this: Before the government can forbid you from doing anything, it has to provide a reason. "Because we say so" does not count as a reason.

Under the equal protection clause, even if the government has a plausible reason for putting a burden on you, it also has to explain why it treats other people better.

Establishment of religion is really simple: government prayer, bad; private prayer, good.

As for speech, you can generally say whatever you want, but not necessarily where, when, or how you want.

Also, you have no right to dance naked unless you are a really, really good dancer, in which case it becomes art.

Congress has the power to ban anything from crossing a state line for any reason.

This national power is limited to some extent by state sovereignty, a doctrine traditionally invoked by those on the right to insulate conservative red-state practices from federal regulation.

Tags: constitution, law, america, usa, government, fun

Taguba Report: What Did Rumsfeld Know?

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 23:17:54 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Army Major General Antonio M. Taguba's delayed admission of the Department's squelching of him and his official investigation into Abu Ghraib (refusing to view the uncovered photos and videos of abuse, forcing Taguba to retire after 34 years of service) is shocking and the implications severe. At least we're at the breaking point now.

Rumsfeld then gambled on the public not wanting know as much as he wanted to cover it up. Hence his major concern in that meeting with Taguba: not preventing and exposing appalling war crimes on his own watch - but finding a way to persecute the guy whose duty it was to investigate it.

Clip Source: andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com

It doesn't get more damning than this.

Rumsfeld knew what he had authorized - and knew the consequences.

He had already revoked some of the torture techniques he had personally authorized and monitored at Gitmo; he understood the import of Abu Ghraib instantly; his first instinct was to cover it up; and when he realized that was impossible, his second impulse was to start acting as if he had never heard of any of this, and to maintain deniability by not looking at the Taguba report until the day before he was due to face the Congress. Our two choices are, as they have long been: incompetent or criminal? I'd say: both.

The most plausible inference is obviously that he covered his tracks and feigned ignorance and did not look at the photographs to create a record of complete deniability. The incompetence comes from ordering torture at Abu Ghraib and not realizing that evidence of it would spread and disseminate through new media that Rumsfeld probably wasn't that familiar with.

Tags: taguba, report, investigation, torture, abuse, abu ghraib, rumsfeld, iraq, geneva, war

Where Were Vocal Conservatives When It Mattered?

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 17:11:31 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Rod Dreher is a conservative writer for Beliefnet.

Few of us stood up to Bush when he took us to this disastrous war in Iraq. Few, if any, stood up to him over his foolish support for Rumsfeld, long after it became obvious what a disaster Rumsfeld was. Few, if any, stood up to him over his amassing of power in the executive branch. Few, if any, stood up to him on the spending....

Clip Source: www.beliefnet.com

So yes, by all means let's turn our backs on this failed presidency, and save what we can, while we can. But let's not kid ourselves: Bush has failed conservatives, yes, but we have also failed ourselves. It doesn't take much courage to stand up for conservative principle to a president as weak as this one has become.

If we're looking to blame someone for the failure of Republican government and the conservative crack-up, look to the White House, yes, and look to the late, unlamented Republican Congress. But also look to the conservative talk show hosts, the conservative columnists, and finally, in the mirror. The only way we're going to rebuild after the present and coming political shattering is through honest reckoning, and taking responsibility for what we've done.

It is tempting to blame Bush for everything. But it's not fair, and it's not honest. Bush is today who he always was. The difference is we conservatives pretty much loved the guy -- when he was a winner.

Tags: conservatives, republicans, gop, bush, failure, blame, fear, responsibility, principles, honesty

Bush 'happy' for pregnant Mary Cheney

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 01:10:14 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks:

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush stood by his belief about a mother and father but also believes that "every human life is sacred and that every child that comes into this world deserves love and he believes that Mary Cheney's child will in fact have loving parents."

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Bush 'happy' for pregnant Mary Cheney

POSTED: 1:45 p.m. EST, December 15, 2006

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Vice President Dick Cheney's pregnant lesbian daughter Mary will make a "fine mom," President Bush said, sidestepping his past comment that a child ideally would be raised by a mother and father.

Mary Cheney, 37, and her longtime partner, Heather Poe, are expecting their first child, which would be the sixth grandchild for the vice president. Cheney was hired last year as an executive for America Online -- whose parent company Time Warner also owns People as well as CNN.

"I think Mary is going to be a loving soul to her child. And I'm happy for her," Bush said in an interview with People magazine.

In a 2005 interview with The New York Times, Bush said: "I believe children can receive love from gay couples. But the ideal is -- and studies have shown that --the ideal is where a child is raised in a married family with a man and a woman."

He sidestepped the issue when questioned by People magazine about whether he still held that belief.

"Mary Cheney is going to make a fine mom, and she's going to love this child a lot," he said, according to an excerpt from the interview. During the 2004 campaign, Mary Cheney served as a key aide to her father.

Bush has supported a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, but Congress failed to pass it. The vice president's daughter opposed the measure.

Tags: bush, george bush, cheney, mary cheney, gay, lesbian, homosexual, child, baby, parents, pregnant, mother, family, conservatives, gay marriage, rights

U.N. Ambassador Bolton to be Let Go

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 18:43:37 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Newsmax confirms:

"This nomination is dead and we have known it for several days," a source close to the U.S. mission to the U.N. tells NewsMax.

"We just don't know what the White House wants to do next," the source added.

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

With Balance of Power Shift, Democrats Consider List of Changes in Washington

Thursday, November 09, 2006

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is the first post-election casualty in the Bush adminstration, but with Democrats asserting new powers in Congress come January, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton may also be on the endangered list.

Members of the current Senate are expected to come together in a lame duck session to vote on remaining spending bills left unfinished before the October campaign season, but they are unlikely to vote on Bolton, a senior Republican aide told FOX News on Wednesday.

With control of the Senate next year passing to Democrats, Bolton, whose recess appointment is set to expire before the 110th Congress convenes in January, could become another sacrificial lamb.

"We'll find out if we can get him confirmed. We know what the vote tallies are," White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said Thursday, calling Bolton "a very accomplished and capable U.N. ambassador."

"We think it's important that he stay there," Snow said.

Bolton was given a recess appointment to be the chief diplomatic negotiator to the international body in August 2005 after Congress refused to confirm him. The position lasts until the new congressional term.

Opponents called him too brash. For four months prior to the appointment, Senate Democrats questioned Bolton's temper and treatment of staff aides. They also said they need more documents relating to Bolton's term as undersecretary for arms control and international security.

Tags: bolton, john bolton, nomination, congress, ambassador, un, usa, politics, bush administration, united nations, midterms, election, shakeup, washington

Republican House Speaker Hastert Will Step Down

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:44:22 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Fox News confirms:

The officials who described Hastert's plans did so on condition of anonymity, saying they did not want to pre-empt a formal announcement.

Clip Source: www.time.com

Hastert Will Step Down

Exclusive: The Speaker bows out of the Republican leadership after Democrats take his power. The contest to succeed him will help define the Republican Party in a new era of divided government.

Posted Wednesday, Nov. 08, 2006
House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) will not seek reelection to the Republican leadership when his members return as a minority party after taking heavy losses in Tuesday's elections, a Republican official tells TIME. Hastert, 64, a low-key former high school wrestling coach, was beloved by members as a "good cop," compared to the enforcer style of the longtime number two leader, former Rep. Tom Delay (R-Tex.). But Hastert was badly damaged by questions about how much he had known about former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) and his contact with pages, and members felt Hastert also handled the aftermath of the revelations clumsily.

The battle to succeed him will be bruising, as members attempt to allocate blame for the Foley mess. Among those seeking to replace him at the top of the House leadership, which will now be the minority leader, are House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), now second in the House leadership, and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), chairman of the House conservative caucus, the Republican Study Committee. Other possible candidates are Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), now chief deputy whip and one of the most popular and hard-working members of the leadership, and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), now chairman of Energy and Committee.

The Speaker plans to announce his departure this week and perhaps as soon as today, officials said. Leadership elections are scheduled for next Wednesday but are likely to be pushed back to closer to the deadline under party rules, which is Dec. 20.

Tags: republican, gop, house, congress, speaker, majority, minority, hastert, dennis hastert, departure, foley, scandal, politics

Democrat wins Montana Senate Seat

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:06:42 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: That brings the total to 50 Democrat seats in the Senate, 49 Republicans. It Virginia goes Democrat also, that would bring the ratio to 51-49 and the sweep of Congress would be complete. (Democrat Webb has already declared victory there, and even with a recount, it seems highly unlikely the numbers would change enough to matter.)

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Democrat wins Montana Senate seat, CNN projects

(CNN) -- CNN projects that Montana state Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, will defeat Republican Sen. Conrad Burns.

With the victory, Democrats would hold 50 seats in the Senate and Republicans would have 49, with the undecided Virginia race determining which party controls the chamber.

Tester leads Burns by about 3,000 votes -- less than 1 percentage point -- with 99 percent of precincts reporting.

Montana's secretary of state has not officially declared a winner, but Tester told CNN there were only about 800 votes left to count and even if his opponent got all of those, it wasn't enough to take the victory.

Tags: democrat, democrats, montana, senate, tester, burns, election, congress

Rumsfeld Stepping Down!

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 18:06:47 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Bush is announcing Rumsfeld's resignation on TV right now.

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

GOP officials: Rumsfeld stepping down

BREAKING NEWS

Updated: 1 minute ago

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, a key target of Iraq war critics, is stepping down, Republican officials said on Wednesday.

Former CIA Director Robert Gates will replace him, Republican officials said.

Earlier today, a spokesman for Rumsfeld said he'd given no indication that he would step down in the wake of Democratic election gains. The spokesman said Rumsfeld would work with Congress on Iraq but added that the focus on stabilizing the country will remain the same.

This breaking news story will be updated.

Tags: rumsfeld, donald rumsfeld, resignation, bush administration, iraq, war, pentagon, defense, secretary, politics

American Conservative Magazine: GOP Must Go

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 15:05:26 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks:

There may be little Americans can do to atone for this presidency, which will stain our country’s reputation for a long time. But the process of recovering our good name must begin somewhere, and the logical place is in the voting booth this Nov. 7. If we are fortunate, we can produce a result that is seen—in Washington, in Peoria, and in world capitals from Prague to Kuala Lumpur—as a repudiation of George W. Bush and the war of aggression he launched against Iraq.

Clip Source: www.amconmag.com

November 20, 2006 Issue

GOP Must Go

It should surprise few readers that we think a vote that is seen—in America and the world at large—as a decisive “No” vote on the Bush presidency is the best outcome. We need not dwell on George W. Bush’s failed effort to jam a poorly disguised amnesty for illegal aliens through Congress or the assaults on the Constitution carried out under the pretext of fighting terrorism or his administration’s endorsement of torture. Faced on Sept. 11, 2001 with a great challenge, President Bush made little effort to understand who had attacked us and why—thus ignoring the prerequisite for crafting an effective response. He seemingly did not want to find out, and he had staffed his national-security team with people who either did not want to know or were committed to a prefabricated answer.

As a consequence, he rushed America into a war against Iraq, a war we are now losing and cannot win, one that has done far more to strengthen Islamist terrorists than anything they could possibly have done for themselves. Bush’s decision to seize Iraq will almost surely leave behind a broken state divided into warring ethnic enclaves, with hundreds of thousands killed and maimed and thousands more thirsting for revenge against the country that crossed the ocean to attack them. The invasion failed at every level: if securing Israel was part of the administration’s calculation—as the record suggests it was for several of his top aides—the result is also clear: the strengthening of Iran’s hand in the Persian Gulf, with a reach up to Israel’s northern border, and the elimination of the most powerful Arab state that might stem Iranian regional hegemony.

The war will continue as long as Bush is in office, for no other reason than the feckless president can’t face the embarrassment of admitting defeat. The chain of events is not complete: Bush, having learned little from his mistakes, may yet seek to embroil America in new wars against Iran and Syria.

Tags: american, conservative, conservatives, gop, bush, bush administration, war, iraq, policy, washington, election, campaign, midterm, vote, voters, referendum, principles, conservatism

Who's Planning to Vote for Whom

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 23:32:43 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks:

Fifty percent of independent voters, a closely watched segment of the electorate in such polarized times, said they intended to vote for the Democratic candidate, versus 23 who said they would vote for a Republican.

Clip Source: graphics8.nytimes.com

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 — A substantial majority of Americans expect Democrats to reduce or end American military involvement in Iraq if they win control of Congress next Tuesday and say Republicans will maintain or increase troop levels to try to win the war if they hold on to power on Capitol Hill, according to the final New York Times/CBS News poll before the midterm election.

The poll showed that 29 percent of Americans approve of the way President Bush is managing the war, matching the lowest mark of his presidency. Nearly 70 percent said Mr. Bush did not have a plan to end the war, and 80 percent said Mr. Bush’s latest effort to rally public support for the conflict amounted to a change in language but not policy.

The poll underlined the extent to which the war has framed the midterm elections. Americans cited Iraq as the most important issue affecting their vote, and majorities of Republicans and Democrats said they wanted a change in approach. Twenty percent said they thought the United States was winning in Iraq, down from a high this year of 36 percent in January.

Even beyond the war, the Times/CBS News poll, like most other polls this fall, contained worrisome indicators for Republicans as they go into the final days of a campaign in which many are bracing for a loss of seats in both the House and the Senate.

Tags: vote, voting, votes, election, midterm, congress, house, usa, america, republicans, democrats, independents, demographics, poll, survey, nytimes

Army Times: "Time for Rumsfeld to go"

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 04:18:12 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks:

Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.

Clip Source: sfgate.com

An editorial scheduled to appear on Monday in Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times, calls for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

The papers are sold to American servicemen and women. They are published by the Military Times Media Group, which is a subsidiary of Gannett Co., Inc.

Here is the text of the editorial, an advance copy of which we received this afternoon.

Time for Rumsfeld to go

"So long as our government requires the backing of an aroused and informed public opinion ... it is necessary to tell the hard bruising truth."

That statement was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Marguerite Higgins more than a half-century ago during the Korean War.

But until recently, the "hard bruising" truth about the Iraq war has been difficult to come by from leaders in Washington. One rosy reassurance after another has been handed down by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: "mission accomplished," the insurgency is "in its last throes," and "back off," we know what we're doing, are a few choice examples.

Military leaders generally toed the line, although a few retired generals eventually spoke out from the safety of the sidelines, inciting criticism equally from anti-war types, who thought they should have spoken out while still in uniform, and pro-war foes, who thought the generals should have kept their critiques behind closed doors.

Now, however, a new chorus of criticism is beginning to resonate. Active-duty military leaders are starting to voice misgivings about the war's planning, execution and dimming prospects for success.

Tags: rumsfeld, donald rumsfeld, army, air force, navy, marines, military, usa, resign, resignation, failure, war, iraq, generals, strategy

Another Republican FL Congressman Resigns Amid Scandal, Felony Charges

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 01:34:44 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Republican Rep. Arza and his cousin were recorded using racist slurs against a black school superintendent.

Sometime after 8 last Saturday night, state Rep. Ralph Arza, in calm voice that betrayed just a hint of inebriation, left a 20-second message on the cellphone of his colleague.

''Hey, bitch,'' he said. "You're nothing but a bitch. You're a bitch. You're nothing but a bitch. God Bless you, bitch."

Sometime later, in a voice just a little less calm, Arza left a second message for Rep. Gus Barreiro. "Hey, bitch. You ain't nothing but a bitch. You ain't nothing but a bitch, brother, my n****er.''

A second caller dialed Barreiro and cursed Barreiro out even more, profanely threatening him with physical harm for filing a complaint.

Hear the two phone messages in question (1, 2).

Clip Source: www.forbes.com

Fla. Lawmaker Charged in Slur Scandal

11.01.06, 4:44 PM ET

A state lawmaker under fire for leaving a message filled with obscenities and a racial slur on a colleague's voice mail resigned Wednesday and was charged with two crimes.

Rep. Ralph Arza, who had been urged to step down by fellow Republicans, including Gov. Jeb Bush, apologized for his actions and said he was resigning because he did not want to distract from the work of the GOP-led Legislature.

"I do not want to be the story," he said.

Arza acknowledged leaving the message on fellow Republican Rep. Gus Barreiro's voice mail last month but said he was drunk.

He said he had learned that Barreiro had filed a complaint accusing him of using a racial epithet to refer to Miami-Dade County School Superintendent Rudy Crew, who is black. He used the same epithet in his phone message to Barreiro, who is Hispanic, but has vehemently denied ever using a racial slur to refer to Crew.

Prosecutors charged Arza with retaliating against and tampering with a witness, both felonies, for allegedly trying to thwart the investigation of the complaint.

Arza's cousin was also charged with the same offenses. They could get up to 10 years in prison.

Authorities said 10 phone calls were made between Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 to Barreiro from phones belonging to Arza and his cousin. Five threatening calls were recorded, two from Arza's cell phone and three from the cousin's phone, officials said.

The two men were expected to turn themselves in Thursday

Arza resigned about an hour before a special House panel was set to begin hearings on whether to expel him.

Tags: arza, ralph arza, fl, florida, miami, republican, gop, congress, representative, racism, racist, slur, felony, scandal

Evangelicals betrayed by Bush administration: Farah

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 15:23:56 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks: Farah is the founder and editorial voice of the very influential conservative Christian website, WorldNetDaily.

This is the face of the Republican Party establishment. It's the reason Democrats are likely to sweep into power in a few short weeks. It's an illustration of the double talk we get from the Bush administration. It's confirmation that we who actually believe in that Bible have nowhere to turn politically in this country – at least in terms of voting options.

Remember what I told you on the evening of Nov. 7.

Don't blame me for the Republican debacle to come. Blame the people who brought it to you – the people in power.

Clip Source: www.worldnetdaily.com

What do they really believe?

Posted: October 20, 2006

1:00 a.m. Eastern

What does the Republican Party really believe?

What does the Bush administration really want?

What does the congressional leadership really think?

These are questions on the minds of Americans this week as we draw near to a mid-term congressional election that threatens to change the balance of power in Washington.

If the Republicans do lose one or both houses of Congress, it will be because Americans have lost trust in them, because Republican constituents feel like it doesn't make that much difference who is in power, because the people feel betrayed.

Why would they feel that way? Because it's true – they have been betrayed by an incompetent and arrogant Republican Party leadership in the White House and Congress.

I didn't need a former Bush administration official to tell me that most White House political operatives don't really like the evangelical base that brought them to power. I've seen the evidence for myself, up close and personal.

But the more astonishing phenomenon is how current high-level officials of the Bush administration daily go out of their way to insult this critical constituency just weeks before the vote.

Here's an example: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, someone who claims to be a Christian herself, which, by definition, means you submit to the authority of Jesus and the Bible, last week swore in to the position of AIDS coordinator an open homosexual. The position carries the rank of ambassador. The photo accompanying this column shows the smiling first lady, Laura Bush, and Mark Dybul's partner, Jason Claire, leering at him.

During her comments, Rice referred to the presence of Claire's mother and – sit yourself down for this one – called her Dybul's "mother-in-law."

Do you get the picture?

Tags: joseph farah, wnd, bush administration, condi, homosexual, gay, aids, duplicity, betrayal, election, voters, conservatives, religion, religious right, evangelicals, bible