Virginia and Tom Davis' Plan to Save the GOP Brand
Tom Davis has some interesting things about how to save the Republican party. But as I read it, I kept thinking about how Davis retired this year because he couldn't risk running in his suburban DC district filled with a bunch of defense contractors and other government employees.
John McCain's "Green" Credentials Were Developed by an ACTIVE Energy Lobbyist
As it turns out, one of McCain's many lobbyist staffers--the first to be weeded out by McCain's new vetting process--has been lobbying the Senate about the same kind of energy technologies that John McCain is using to claim he is pro-environment.
The 9/11 Detainees Want Hartmann Disqualified, Too
In thoroughly unsurprising news, the defense attorneys for the 5 9/11 High Value Detainees (including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Ramzi bin al-Shibh) have moved to either have the charges against their clients dismissed or, at least, have General Hartmann disqualified as Legal Advisor to the Show Trials.
Duke Cunningham Bribery Ring: Two Down, Two to Go
Tommy K got a pretty tough sentence yesterday for bribing Duke Cunningham. But will we every learn just why he was allowed such a generous plea deal?
Happy Friday Night News Dump
Hans von Spakovsky complains that poor little Hans was treated unfairly in the ordeal of being prevented from re-nomination to the FEC because he made it harder for brown people to vote.
One Very Special Disclosure Survey
The McCain campaign is finally doing the work to ferret out all the improper conflicts of interest from among McCain staffers. But that still leaves the most troubling source of potential conflicts un-revealed--the conflicts in Cindy McCain's massive portfoiio of financial investments.
Are We Giving Saudi Arabia Nukes?
You tell me. Is giving Saudi Arabia nuclear technology, without, in exchange, getting the Saudis to increase oil production, a reasonable deal? Because that appears to be what Bush plans on doing while he's in Saudi Arabia.
The Brilliance of the Edwards Endorsement
By getting Edwards' endorsement when and in the manner in which he got it, Obama undercuts much of the leverage Hillary has to bargain for concessions from Obama.
And Since We've Been Talking about Contracting, Secrecy, and Spying...
Given today's report from the Cyber-Security Initiative, it sure sounds the Administration has a lot of work to make the Initiative do what it's supposed to do.
Grandson of Nazi Enabler Decries Talking to Nazis
It really seems like George Bush ought to avoid suggesting that talking to Nazis is a bad thing, since his family's fortune derives from Granddaddy Bush's ties to the Nazis.
Preview: Book Salon on Spies for Hire
Tim Shorrock's book, Spies for Hire, shows how the Bush Administration and Mike McConnell have handed over the keys to our privacy to CEOs interested in fighting "Islamofascists" and making lots and lots of money.
Clement's Departure
By leaving at the beginning of June, Paul Clement will avoid having to defend the Administration in its fight against Congress' subpoenas, as well as its Gitmo show trial.
It's Not Just McCain's Advisors with Financial Ties to Evil Dictators; It's His Wife
If Cindy McCain would just release her tax returns, we could all help her and her husband try to meet the standards John McCain claims to support on the campaign trail.
Conyers to Rove: No, It's Not an Open Book Test...
Gosh, Karl Rove seems to lack confidence he can answer the questions HJC might ask of him. I wonder if that's because he knows they will have a whole lot of material to ask about?
Berlusconi to Testify in Abu Omar Trial
Berlusconi will have to testify at the Abu Omar rendition trial.
Bush: There's No Better Way to Stay in Touch than through E-Mail
Bush looks forward to using email again, once he's in a place they don't delete it in bulk.
Yoo Issued an Opinion on 9/11 about Scrambling Planes
John Yoo apparently issued an opinion on 9/11 as to whether it would be legal to shoot down hijacked planes.
John Yoo's Non-Ephemeral Writings
John Yoo didn't want to write thngs that people didn't remember. I wonder whether he now regrets that his most famous writings will be remembered, but remembered with disdain?
If They Cut Off Your Rent-A-Generals, Just Buy-An-Advisor
I highly recommend checking out this Media Matters database, which lists all 4500 appearances the Rent-A-Generals named in NYT's article on the program (I hope Media Matters expands it to include other Rent-A-Hacks listed in the full document dump). Here, for example, are the appearances made by David Grange, the most prolific Rent-A-General, just as the Iraq War began.
Kind of hard to see, I know, but it basically reads CNN CNN
Why Drop Charges Against Al-Qahtani?
The charges against Mohammed al-Qahtani were dropped not because he was tortured. So was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, after all, and he's still being charged. The charges against al-Qahtani were dropped because trying him would have amounted to trying Rummy, Jim Haynes, and Diane Beaver, too. And trying al-Qahtani would have also proved that torture doesn't work.
