From Secrecy News :
A LEGAL ANALYSIS OF THE REAUTHORIZED PATRIOT ACT (CRS)
On March 9, the President signed into law the USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act, which made permanent 14 of the 16 sections of the Patriot Act that were set to expire. A new report from the Congressional Research Service provides a detailed, 74 page analysis of the Act, including the various modifications made in the reauthorization process.
See "USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005: A LegalAnalysis," March 24, 2006: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL33332.pdf
Wrap...
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
SCOTUS transcript confusion...
From www.scotusblog.com :
Commentary: How not to read a Court transcript
11:16 AM Lyle Denniston
The chief prosecutor of the war crimes tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Air Force Col. Morris D. Davis, has a law degree and a separate master of laws degree (in government procurement). He has had a variety of military law assignments since December 1983. On Tuesday, he met with reporters at the Cuban base that serves as the military's prison camp for suspected enemy terrorists, and read a statement of his views about a Supreme Court oral argument.
According to The New York Times story on the encounter, found here, Col. Davis suggested that a member of the Supreme Court -- Justice Stephen G. Breyer -- was mistaken in saying during a hearing that "this is not a war, at least not an ordinary war." This was a reference to Breyer's statements from the bench in the oral argument on March 28 in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (05-184). (Col. Davis' statement is also discussed by Jess Bravin in a story filed for the Dow Jones news wire; it can be found here.)
"A few hours after Justice Breyer said this is not a war," Davis' statement to the press said, "enemy combatants launched a major attack on coalition forces in southern Afghanistan." (There was more to the statement, but its full text does not appear to be available online.)
For Col. Davis' continuing legal education, a look at the transcript of the Breyer comments shows the Justice saying the following (a direct quotation from the transcript):
I'm trying to focus this. And, in my mind, I take their argument as saying, "Look, you want to try a war crime. You want to say this is a war crimes tribunal. One, this is not a war, at least not an ordinary war. Two, it's not a war crime, because that doesn't fall under international law. And, three, it's not a war crime tribunal or commission, because no emergency, not on the batttlefield, civil courts are open, there is no military commander asking for it, it's not in any of those in other respects, like past history. And if the President can do this, well, then he can set up commissions to go to Toledo, and, in Toledo, pick up an alien, and not have any trial at all, except before that special commission." Now, I've tried to summarize a whole bunch of points for you to get at, as you wish.
(This is taken from page 66, beginning on line 13, and continuing for three lines on page 67 of the transcript, which is available here. Breyer was directing his question to Solicitor General Paul D. Clement.)
Note that Breyer is summarizing the arguments of the opponents of military commissions. The transcriber understood that it was a quotation, not a statement of Breyer's own views, because there are quotation marks at the beginning and end of Breyer's references to the other side's argument.
Wrap...
Commentary: How not to read a Court transcript
11:16 AM Lyle Denniston
The chief prosecutor of the war crimes tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Air Force Col. Morris D. Davis, has a law degree and a separate master of laws degree (in government procurement). He has had a variety of military law assignments since December 1983. On Tuesday, he met with reporters at the Cuban base that serves as the military's prison camp for suspected enemy terrorists, and read a statement of his views about a Supreme Court oral argument.
According to The New York Times story on the encounter, found here, Col. Davis suggested that a member of the Supreme Court -- Justice Stephen G. Breyer -- was mistaken in saying during a hearing that "this is not a war, at least not an ordinary war." This was a reference to Breyer's statements from the bench in the oral argument on March 28 in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (05-184). (Col. Davis' statement is also discussed by Jess Bravin in a story filed for the Dow Jones news wire; it can be found here.)
"A few hours after Justice Breyer said this is not a war," Davis' statement to the press said, "enemy combatants launched a major attack on coalition forces in southern Afghanistan." (There was more to the statement, but its full text does not appear to be available online.)
For Col. Davis' continuing legal education, a look at the transcript of the Breyer comments shows the Justice saying the following (a direct quotation from the transcript):
I'm trying to focus this. And, in my mind, I take their argument as saying, "Look, you want to try a war crime. You want to say this is a war crimes tribunal. One, this is not a war, at least not an ordinary war. Two, it's not a war crime, because that doesn't fall under international law. And, three, it's not a war crime tribunal or commission, because no emergency, not on the batttlefield, civil courts are open, there is no military commander asking for it, it's not in any of those in other respects, like past history. And if the President can do this, well, then he can set up commissions to go to Toledo, and, in Toledo, pick up an alien, and not have any trial at all, except before that special commission." Now, I've tried to summarize a whole bunch of points for you to get at, as you wish.
(This is taken from page 66, beginning on line 13, and continuing for three lines on page 67 of the transcript, which is available here. Breyer was directing his question to Solicitor General Paul D. Clement.)
Note that Breyer is summarizing the arguments of the opponents of military commissions. The transcriber understood that it was a quotation, not a statement of Breyer's own views, because there are quotation marks at the beginning and end of Breyer's references to the other side's argument.
Wrap...
Kaloogian plus other odd Repubs vying for Duke Cunningham's seat...
From www.voiceofsandiego.org :
No Democrats in 'The Ranch'
By KEITH TAYLOR
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
Staid, wealthy old North County is getting its share of publicity now with the scramble of a multitude of odd politicians to fill the remaining months of the Duke's term. Since I live far from that affluent neighborhood, I can sit back and enjoy the show, and a show it is.
When the Navy piped me over the side in 1970, I sold insurance for a number of years. Following the odd notion that rich people have money and will spend it, I peddled my wares in the area surrounding the Rancho Santa Fe zip code. I was partially right.
One of my favorite stories about the area involved the late Jane Brett, a realtor. She was once asked to serve on the election board because they wanted a Democrat for balance. When Jane said she was an Independent the reply was, "Oh yes, but you know there are no Democrats in the Ranch."
Of the current pols vying for the Cunningham-tainted 50th, my favorite to watch is Howard Kaloogian. He's the guy who in 1997 initially opposed a law which would allow women to breast-feed their babies in public. Not a complete dunce, he backed off when faced with women who weren't at all happy with being shunted to the back of the bus -- or restaurant in this case.
Fortunately, references to mammary glands aren't part of this current platform. Perhaps someone told him that trying to keep one class of citizens out of sight isn't good politics. So he is sticking to the tried-and-true, saving a sinking presidency. Kaloogian jumped on board the "war-is-good" bandwagon. To prove it, he went to Baghdad, or to somewhere. His Web site, purported to show him walking the streets of that beleaguered city. Everything was peaceful as could be. You could even see the graffiti on the walls. Oops! That turned out to be in Turkey, not Baghdad.
True to form he had an "explanation," three of them in fact. Then he had another equally peaceful photograph. This "peaceful scene" included a building which was later blown up.
But don't bet against Howard. The 50th is home of many rich business moguls that gave overwhelming support to a president. I'm sure they like his tax plans, and perhaps the war doesn't touch them, but I wonder how many would keep on a manager who ran up uncontrollable debt while deliberately cutting income. Those guys didn't earn that coveted 92067 zip code with voodoo economics.
But politics is politics and up there politics means Republican. They have a colorful history of . . . uh, of unusual candidates.
In 1962, they chose James B. Utt over Lionel Van Deerlin by some 64,000 votes. Van still grumbles about that. That's not, I suspect, because he lost an election. He did that more than once. No, Van lost to a guy who claimed that barefoot Africans in Georgia were training to help the United Nations take over the country.
Utt stayed on until 1970 when he was replaced by John Schmitz, a man who said he joined the John Birch Society in order to appeal to the liberal wing of his constituency. One of his more notable constituents was the president of the United States, a fellow many thought pretty conservative himself. But not liberal enough, Schmitz. When his president was about to go to China, he remarked, "I have no objection to President Nixon going to China. I just object to his coming back." But the most telling thing of all about John Schmitz was that even the John Birch Society dumped him.
Up there, odd candidates aren't limited to the Republican Party. In 1980 the Democrats nominated a former Ku Klux Klan member and then leader of the White Aryan Nation, Tom Metzger, for congress. Mercifully the Republicans were again running popular, and rational, Clair Burgener. The Democratic Party endorsed him and Burgener won his last election with 82 percent of the votes.
Two years later Republican voters pulled another even more curious rabbit out of the hat by nominating Johnny Crean. His bizarre behavior as a candidate led the Republican leaders to jump ship. They backed Ron Packard for the seat and North County had an independent representative until Packard was able to change his politics back to the accepted and proper party.
Hint: If you are something of a liberal and want to sell insurance up there don't talk politics. And if you want to hang on to your money don't bet against the likes of Kaloogian.
Keith Taylor is a retired navy officer living in Chula Vista. He can be reached at KRTaylorxyz@aol.com. Or write a letter to the editor.
Wrap...
No Democrats in 'The Ranch'
By KEITH TAYLOR
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
Staid, wealthy old North County is getting its share of publicity now with the scramble of a multitude of odd politicians to fill the remaining months of the Duke's term. Since I live far from that affluent neighborhood, I can sit back and enjoy the show, and a show it is.
When the Navy piped me over the side in 1970, I sold insurance for a number of years. Following the odd notion that rich people have money and will spend it, I peddled my wares in the area surrounding the Rancho Santa Fe zip code. I was partially right.
One of my favorite stories about the area involved the late Jane Brett, a realtor. She was once asked to serve on the election board because they wanted a Democrat for balance. When Jane said she was an Independent the reply was, "Oh yes, but you know there are no Democrats in the Ranch."
Of the current pols vying for the Cunningham-tainted 50th, my favorite to watch is Howard Kaloogian. He's the guy who in 1997 initially opposed a law which would allow women to breast-feed their babies in public. Not a complete dunce, he backed off when faced with women who weren't at all happy with being shunted to the back of the bus -- or restaurant in this case.
Fortunately, references to mammary glands aren't part of this current platform. Perhaps someone told him that trying to keep one class of citizens out of sight isn't good politics. So he is sticking to the tried-and-true, saving a sinking presidency. Kaloogian jumped on board the "war-is-good" bandwagon. To prove it, he went to Baghdad, or to somewhere. His Web site, purported to show him walking the streets of that beleaguered city. Everything was peaceful as could be. You could even see the graffiti on the walls. Oops! That turned out to be in Turkey, not Baghdad.
True to form he had an "explanation," three of them in fact. Then he had another equally peaceful photograph. This "peaceful scene" included a building which was later blown up.
But don't bet against Howard. The 50th is home of many rich business moguls that gave overwhelming support to a president. I'm sure they like his tax plans, and perhaps the war doesn't touch them, but I wonder how many would keep on a manager who ran up uncontrollable debt while deliberately cutting income. Those guys didn't earn that coveted 92067 zip code with voodoo economics.
But politics is politics and up there politics means Republican. They have a colorful history of . . . uh, of unusual candidates.
In 1962, they chose James B. Utt over Lionel Van Deerlin by some 64,000 votes. Van still grumbles about that. That's not, I suspect, because he lost an election. He did that more than once. No, Van lost to a guy who claimed that barefoot Africans in Georgia were training to help the United Nations take over the country.
Utt stayed on until 1970 when he was replaced by John Schmitz, a man who said he joined the John Birch Society in order to appeal to the liberal wing of his constituency. One of his more notable constituents was the president of the United States, a fellow many thought pretty conservative himself. But not liberal enough, Schmitz. When his president was about to go to China, he remarked, "I have no objection to President Nixon going to China. I just object to his coming back." But the most telling thing of all about John Schmitz was that even the John Birch Society dumped him.
Up there, odd candidates aren't limited to the Republican Party. In 1980 the Democrats nominated a former Ku Klux Klan member and then leader of the White Aryan Nation, Tom Metzger, for congress. Mercifully the Republicans were again running popular, and rational, Clair Burgener. The Democratic Party endorsed him and Burgener won his last election with 82 percent of the votes.
Two years later Republican voters pulled another even more curious rabbit out of the hat by nominating Johnny Crean. His bizarre behavior as a candidate led the Republican leaders to jump ship. They backed Ron Packard for the seat and North County had an independent representative until Packard was able to change his politics back to the accepted and proper party.
Hint: If you are something of a liberal and want to sell insurance up there don't talk politics. And if you want to hang on to your money don't bet against the likes of Kaloogian.
Keith Taylor is a retired navy officer living in Chula Vista. He can be reached at KRTaylorxyz@aol.com. Or write a letter to the editor.
Wrap...
Senators Kerry & Feingold on Iraq...3 pt plan...
From NY Times:
Two Deadlines and an Exit
By John F. Kerry
The New York Times
Wednesday April 05 2006
We are now in the third war in Iraq in as many years. The first was against Saddam Hussein and his supposed weapons of mass destruction. The second was against terrorists whom, the administration said, it was better to fight over there than here. Now we find our troops in the middle of an escalating civil war.
Half of the service members listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall died after America's leaders knew our strategy would not work. It was immoral then and it would be immoral now to engage in the same delusion. We want democracy in Iraq, but Iraqis must want it as much as we do. Our valiant soldiers can't bring democracy to Iraq if Iraq's leaders are unwilling themselves to make the compromises that democracy requires.
As our generals have said, the war cannot be won militarily. It must be won politically. No American soldier should be sacrificed because Iraqi politicians refuse to resolve their ethnic and political differences.
So far, Iraqi leaders have responded only to deadlines - a deadline to transfer authority to a provisional government, and a deadline to hold three elections.
Now we must set another deadline to extricate our troops and get Iraq up on its own two feet.
Iraqi politicians should be told that they have until May 15 to put together an effective unity government or we will immediately withdraw our military. If Iraqis aren't willing to build a unity government in the five months since the election, they're probably not willing to build one at all. The civil war will only get worse, and we will have no choice anyway but to leave.
If Iraq's leaders succeed in putting together a government, then we must agree on another deadline: a schedule for withdrawing American combat forces by year's end. Doing so will empower the new Iraqi leadership, put Iraqis in the position of running their own country and undermine support for the insurgency, which is fueled in large measure by the majority of Iraqis who want us to leave their country. Only troops essential to finishing the job of training Iraqi forces should remain.
For this transition to work, we must finally begin to engage in genuine diplomacy. We must immediately bring the leaders of the Iraqi factions together at a Dayton Accords-like summit meeting. In a neutral setting, Iraqis, working with our allies, the Arab League and the United Nations, would be compelled to reach a political agreement that includes security guarantees, the dismantling of the militias and shared goals for reconstruction.
To increase the pressure on Iraq's leaders, we must redeploy American forces to garrisoned status. Troops should be used for security backup, training and emergency response; we should leave routine patrols to Iraqi forces. Special operations against Al Qaeda and other foreign terrorists in Iraq should be initiated only on hard intelligence leads.
We will defeat Al Qaeda faster when we stop serving as its best recruitment tool. Iraqis ultimately will not tolerate foreign jihadists on their soil, and the United States will be able to maintain an over-the-horizon troop presence with rapid response capacity. An exit from Iraq will also strengthen our hand in dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat and allow us to repair the damage of repeated deployments, which flag officers believe has strained military readiness and morale.
For three years now, the administration has told us that terrible things will happen if we get tough with the Iraqis. In fact, terrible things are happening now because we haven't gotten tough enough. With two deadlines, we can change all that. We can put the American leadership on the side of our soldiers and push the Iraqi leadership to do what only it can do: build a democracy.
--------
John F. Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, was the Democratic nominee for president in 2004.
******************
Russ Feingold Statement on Kerry's Call for Withdrawal From Iraq
t r u t h o u t Statement
Wednesday 05 April 2006
Statement of US Senator Russ Feingold on Senator John Kerry's Call for an End to Our Military Mission in Iraq.
"Since August 18, 2005, I have been calling on the Administration to aim to redeploy U.S. military personnel from Iraq by the end of this year so that we can focus on the threat posed by global terrorist networks. I applaud Senator Kerry's call today for our combat forces to be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of this year. Senator Kerry has been a strong leader in calling for a clear, coherent strategy to complete our military mission in Iraq while engaging Iraq's leaders with genuine diplomacy.
Having just visited Iraq last month, I witnessed the desperate need for Iraqi politicians to form a unity government to prevent the country from falling deeper into violence. Senator Kerry is absolutely right to say that the end of this year is a reasonable target date for redeploying our troops in Iraq."
Wrap...
Two Deadlines and an Exit
By John F. Kerry
The New York Times
Wednesday April 05 2006
We are now in the third war in Iraq in as many years. The first was against Saddam Hussein and his supposed weapons of mass destruction. The second was against terrorists whom, the administration said, it was better to fight over there than here. Now we find our troops in the middle of an escalating civil war.
Half of the service members listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall died after America's leaders knew our strategy would not work. It was immoral then and it would be immoral now to engage in the same delusion. We want democracy in Iraq, but Iraqis must want it as much as we do. Our valiant soldiers can't bring democracy to Iraq if Iraq's leaders are unwilling themselves to make the compromises that democracy requires.
As our generals have said, the war cannot be won militarily. It must be won politically. No American soldier should be sacrificed because Iraqi politicians refuse to resolve their ethnic and political differences.
So far, Iraqi leaders have responded only to deadlines - a deadline to transfer authority to a provisional government, and a deadline to hold three elections.
Now we must set another deadline to extricate our troops and get Iraq up on its own two feet.
Iraqi politicians should be told that they have until May 15 to put together an effective unity government or we will immediately withdraw our military. If Iraqis aren't willing to build a unity government in the five months since the election, they're probably not willing to build one at all. The civil war will only get worse, and we will have no choice anyway but to leave.
If Iraq's leaders succeed in putting together a government, then we must agree on another deadline: a schedule for withdrawing American combat forces by year's end. Doing so will empower the new Iraqi leadership, put Iraqis in the position of running their own country and undermine support for the insurgency, which is fueled in large measure by the majority of Iraqis who want us to leave their country. Only troops essential to finishing the job of training Iraqi forces should remain.
For this transition to work, we must finally begin to engage in genuine diplomacy. We must immediately bring the leaders of the Iraqi factions together at a Dayton Accords-like summit meeting. In a neutral setting, Iraqis, working with our allies, the Arab League and the United Nations, would be compelled to reach a political agreement that includes security guarantees, the dismantling of the militias and shared goals for reconstruction.
To increase the pressure on Iraq's leaders, we must redeploy American forces to garrisoned status. Troops should be used for security backup, training and emergency response; we should leave routine patrols to Iraqi forces. Special operations against Al Qaeda and other foreign terrorists in Iraq should be initiated only on hard intelligence leads.
We will defeat Al Qaeda faster when we stop serving as its best recruitment tool. Iraqis ultimately will not tolerate foreign jihadists on their soil, and the United States will be able to maintain an over-the-horizon troop presence with rapid response capacity. An exit from Iraq will also strengthen our hand in dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat and allow us to repair the damage of repeated deployments, which flag officers believe has strained military readiness and morale.
For three years now, the administration has told us that terrible things will happen if we get tough with the Iraqis. In fact, terrible things are happening now because we haven't gotten tough enough. With two deadlines, we can change all that. We can put the American leadership on the side of our soldiers and push the Iraqi leadership to do what only it can do: build a democracy.
--------
John F. Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, was the Democratic nominee for president in 2004.
******************
Russ Feingold Statement on Kerry's Call for Withdrawal From Iraq
t r u t h o u t Statement
Wednesday 05 April 2006
Statement of US Senator Russ Feingold on Senator John Kerry's Call for an End to Our Military Mission in Iraq.
"Since August 18, 2005, I have been calling on the Administration to aim to redeploy U.S. military personnel from Iraq by the end of this year so that we can focus on the threat posed by global terrorist networks. I applaud Senator Kerry's call today for our combat forces to be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of this year. Senator Kerry has been a strong leader in calling for a clear, coherent strategy to complete our military mission in Iraq while engaging Iraq's leaders with genuine diplomacy.
Having just visited Iraq last month, I witnessed the desperate need for Iraqi politicians to form a unity government to prevent the country from falling deeper into violence. Senator Kerry is absolutely right to say that the end of this year is a reasonable target date for redeploying our troops in Iraq."
Wrap...
Fundies will love the Christian publisher...
From Publishers Lunch:
Penguin Creates Christian Label
We noted in late February that Penguin was at least considering an inspirational imprint and today the company has announced the creation of Penguin Praise, a Christian publishing program. Joel Fontinos will serve as publisher, and Berkley editor Denise Silvestro will be executive editor for the line.
Rather than an entirely freestanding publishing program, Praise books will often be issued in conjunction with other Penguin Group imprints and the launch program includes existing Penguin Group authors such as T.D. Jakes and Reverend Don Piper. Putnam/Praise has also licensed exclusive trade rights to the Contemporary English Version (CEV) edition of the Bible, from the American Bible Society.
Fontinos says in the announcement: "The Penguin Praise publishing program represents the culmination of Penguin's ten years of successfully publishing into the Christian book market and becomes the gateway through which we can continue to increase our CBA presence in many exciting and unique ways. We are also sending a signal to our CBA accounts that their titles are being published through a full-service publishing program that has 100 percent reach into the CBA markets as well as the ABA markets. The program allows us to determine, on a book-by-book basis, where to best position our authors and their books while having the option to publish titles under the Praise logo or under an imprint's primary logo."
Strang Communications, which has sold and distributed select Penguin Group titles to the CBA market, will handle the Praise line along with the Noble sales group.
[NOTE: Think $$$$$$$$]
Wrap...
Penguin Creates Christian Label
We noted in late February that Penguin was at least considering an inspirational imprint and today the company has announced the creation of Penguin Praise, a Christian publishing program. Joel Fontinos will serve as publisher, and Berkley editor Denise Silvestro will be executive editor for the line.
Rather than an entirely freestanding publishing program, Praise books will often be issued in conjunction with other Penguin Group imprints and the launch program includes existing Penguin Group authors such as T.D. Jakes and Reverend Don Piper. Putnam/Praise has also licensed exclusive trade rights to the Contemporary English Version (CEV) edition of the Bible, from the American Bible Society.
Fontinos says in the announcement: "The Penguin Praise publishing program represents the culmination of Penguin's ten years of successfully publishing into the Christian book market and becomes the gateway through which we can continue to increase our CBA presence in many exciting and unique ways. We are also sending a signal to our CBA accounts that their titles are being published through a full-service publishing program that has 100 percent reach into the CBA markets as well as the ABA markets. The program allows us to determine, on a book-by-book basis, where to best position our authors and their books while having the option to publish titles under the Praise logo or under an imprint's primary logo."
Strang Communications, which has sold and distributed select Penguin Group titles to the CBA market, will handle the Praise line along with the Noble sales group.
[NOTE: Think $$$$$$$$]
Wrap...
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
A selection of books on the way....
From Publishers Weekly Lunch:
CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT:
Monkey Town author Ronald Kidd's ON BEALE STREET, the story of a Memphis teen who befriends the young Elvis Presley and discovers racism and rock and roll in the summer of 1954, to Alyssa Eisner at Simon & Schuster, in a nice deal, by Jodi Reamer at Writers House (NA).jreamer@writershouse.com
FOREIGN:
Foreign rights to Richard Doetsch's debut thriller, THE THIEVES OF HEAVEN, in which a burglar is hired to orchestrate a remarkable theft, to Philip Wilson Warsaw in Poland, by Milena Lukic; to R.A.O. International Publishing in Romania; to Via Print in Serbia, all by Prava I Prevodi. Previous rights sold for World Spanish, Russian, Czech Republic, Bulgarian, Brazilian Portuguese by Al Longden at Rights Unlimited, on behalf of the Cynthia Manson Literary Agency.
German rights to Paul Kropp's young adult novel, RUNNING THE BASES, a humorously honest look at the misadventures of teenage dating, to Saueländer/Patmos, by Suzanne de Roche at Liepmann AG, on behalf of Ron Eckel at Random House Canada.reckel@randomhouse.com
BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:
salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff and the salesforce.com Foundation's THE BUSINESS OF CHANGING THE WORLD, detailing the most important corporate philanthropic efforts across the globe, with such contributors as Michael Dell and Peter Gabriel, to Jeffrey Krames at McGraw-Hill, by James Levine at Levine Greenebrg Literary Agency (world).lydia_rinaldi@mcgraw-hill.com
HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:
Jefferson's Great Gamble and Young Patriots author Charles A. Cerami's DINNER AT MR. JEFFERSON'S: Five Men, Eight Great Wines, and An Evening That Changed America, a narrative account of one of the most important dinner parties in American history, a single great evening that put the young nation on a path to power and respect, to Hana Lane at Wiley, by Bob Silverstein at Quicksilver Books (world).quickbooks@optonline.net
HUMOR:
Bev West and Jason Bergund's BAD BRIDE: 222 Not-So-Blushing Brides and Weddings Gone Wild, a humorous collection of wedding photos revealing the pissed-off control queen beneath the veil, to Rebecca Isenberg at Warner, in a very nice deal, by Jenny Bent at Trident Media Group.
MEMOIR:
Sharon Osbourne's big UK bestseller EXTREME, a memoir, to Karen Murgolo at Springboard (after colleagues from Warner had passed previously), by Time Warner UK.
NARRATIVE:
Former Boston Globe reporter Alison Bass's SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER, a literary narrative that captures the anything-goes decade of drug development in the 90s, showing how one enterprising sleuth exposed the underbelly of the pharmaceutical industry and helped change the way drugs are tested and sold in the U.S, to Amy Gash of Algonquin, at auction, by James Levine of Levine Greenberg Literary Agency (world).jlevine@levinegreenberg.com
POP CULTURE:
NY Post reporter Michael Kane's untitled book on cybergaming, a look at the world of competitive cybergaming, seen through the top players and team owners as they make their way through national tournaments to the World Championships of the web's CounterStrike, to Alessandra Lusardi at Viking, in a very nice deal, by Stacey Glick at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (NA).sglick@dystel.com alessandra.lusardi@us.penguingroup.com
SPORTS:
Richard Bradley's THE GREATEST GAME: The Yankees, The Red Sox, and The Playoff that Saved Baseball, about the one-game playoff between the Yankees and the Red Sox in 1978, to Martin Beiser at Free Press, for publication in April 2008, by Suzanne Gluck of the William Morris Agency.carisa.hays@simonandschuster.com
Curt Sampson's GOLF DADS: Profiles of Fathers, Their Children and the Game that Binds them, a series of 10 stories about the unique bond forged between fathers and children around the game of golf, including high profile athletes such as Nicklaus, Hogan, Singh, Trevino, and Sorenstam, as well as stories of lesser known golfers, such as in his recent "Back to the Mariposas" piece in Sports Illustrated about the son of a renowned lepidopterist, to Susan Canavan at Houghton Mifflin, in a pre-empt, by Byrd Leavell at the Waxman Literary Agency (world).
GENERAL/OTHER:
Son of Auberon Waugh and grandson of Evelyn Waugh, Alexander Waugh's THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF WITTGENSTEIN, focusing on Paul Wittgenstein, the Austrian pianist who lost his right arm in World War I but continued his concert career, to tell the larger story of a family of great wealth and conspicuous genius marked by tragedy - all three of Paul's elder brothers committed suicide - and indelible achievement - his younger brother was the iconic philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, to Gerry Howard at Doubleday, by Gillon Aitken at Gillon Aitken Associates. Bloomsbury is publishing in the UK.
FOREIGN:
Canadian rights to the winner of the 2005 Governor-General's award for A Perfect Night to Go to China and former CBC TV's On the Arts film critic David Gilmour's first non-fiction work THE FILM CLUB, a poignant account of the two years Gilmour spent teaching life lessons to his high school dropout son by showing him the world's best (and occasionally worst) films, to Patrick Crean at Thomas Allen & Sons, by Sam Hiyate at The Rights Factory.US/UK: Sam@therightsfactory.com FOREIGN: rights@imriedervis.com
FILM:
Michael Gates Gill's HOW STARBUCKS SAVED MY LIFE, to Universal, for Tom Hanks to star and Gus Van Sant to direct, with Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions producing, in a pre-empt, by Shari Smiley at CAA, on behalf of Gillian MacKenzie of the Gillian MacKenzie Agency.gmackenzie@gillianmackenzieagency.com
Wrap...
CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT:
Monkey Town author Ronald Kidd's ON BEALE STREET, the story of a Memphis teen who befriends the young Elvis Presley and discovers racism and rock and roll in the summer of 1954, to Alyssa Eisner at Simon & Schuster, in a nice deal, by Jodi Reamer at Writers House (NA).jreamer@writershouse.com
FOREIGN:
Foreign rights to Richard Doetsch's debut thriller, THE THIEVES OF HEAVEN, in which a burglar is hired to orchestrate a remarkable theft, to Philip Wilson Warsaw in Poland, by Milena Lukic; to R.A.O. International Publishing in Romania; to Via Print in Serbia, all by Prava I Prevodi. Previous rights sold for World Spanish, Russian, Czech Republic, Bulgarian, Brazilian Portuguese by Al Longden at Rights Unlimited, on behalf of the Cynthia Manson Literary Agency.
German rights to Paul Kropp's young adult novel, RUNNING THE BASES, a humorously honest look at the misadventures of teenage dating, to Saueländer/Patmos, by Suzanne de Roche at Liepmann AG, on behalf of Ron Eckel at Random House Canada.reckel@randomhouse.com
BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:
salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff and the salesforce.com Foundation's THE BUSINESS OF CHANGING THE WORLD, detailing the most important corporate philanthropic efforts across the globe, with such contributors as Michael Dell and Peter Gabriel, to Jeffrey Krames at McGraw-Hill, by James Levine at Levine Greenebrg Literary Agency (world).lydia_rinaldi@mcgraw-hill.com
HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:
Jefferson's Great Gamble and Young Patriots author Charles A. Cerami's DINNER AT MR. JEFFERSON'S: Five Men, Eight Great Wines, and An Evening That Changed America, a narrative account of one of the most important dinner parties in American history, a single great evening that put the young nation on a path to power and respect, to Hana Lane at Wiley, by Bob Silverstein at Quicksilver Books (world).quickbooks@optonline.net
HUMOR:
Bev West and Jason Bergund's BAD BRIDE: 222 Not-So-Blushing Brides and Weddings Gone Wild, a humorous collection of wedding photos revealing the pissed-off control queen beneath the veil, to Rebecca Isenberg at Warner, in a very nice deal, by Jenny Bent at Trident Media Group.
MEMOIR:
Sharon Osbourne's big UK bestseller EXTREME, a memoir, to Karen Murgolo at Springboard (after colleagues from Warner had passed previously), by Time Warner UK.
NARRATIVE:
Former Boston Globe reporter Alison Bass's SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER, a literary narrative that captures the anything-goes decade of drug development in the 90s, showing how one enterprising sleuth exposed the underbelly of the pharmaceutical industry and helped change the way drugs are tested and sold in the U.S, to Amy Gash of Algonquin, at auction, by James Levine of Levine Greenberg Literary Agency (world).jlevine@levinegreenberg.com
POP CULTURE:
NY Post reporter Michael Kane's untitled book on cybergaming, a look at the world of competitive cybergaming, seen through the top players and team owners as they make their way through national tournaments to the World Championships of the web's CounterStrike, to Alessandra Lusardi at Viking, in a very nice deal, by Stacey Glick at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (NA).sglick@dystel.com alessandra.lusardi@us.penguingroup.com
SPORTS:
Richard Bradley's THE GREATEST GAME: The Yankees, The Red Sox, and The Playoff that Saved Baseball, about the one-game playoff between the Yankees and the Red Sox in 1978, to Martin Beiser at Free Press, for publication in April 2008, by Suzanne Gluck of the William Morris Agency.carisa.hays@simonandschuster.com
Curt Sampson's GOLF DADS: Profiles of Fathers, Their Children and the Game that Binds them, a series of 10 stories about the unique bond forged between fathers and children around the game of golf, including high profile athletes such as Nicklaus, Hogan, Singh, Trevino, and Sorenstam, as well as stories of lesser known golfers, such as in his recent "Back to the Mariposas" piece in Sports Illustrated about the son of a renowned lepidopterist, to Susan Canavan at Houghton Mifflin, in a pre-empt, by Byrd Leavell at the Waxman Literary Agency (world).
GENERAL/OTHER:
Son of Auberon Waugh and grandson of Evelyn Waugh, Alexander Waugh's THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF WITTGENSTEIN, focusing on Paul Wittgenstein, the Austrian pianist who lost his right arm in World War I but continued his concert career, to tell the larger story of a family of great wealth and conspicuous genius marked by tragedy - all three of Paul's elder brothers committed suicide - and indelible achievement - his younger brother was the iconic philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, to Gerry Howard at Doubleday, by Gillon Aitken at Gillon Aitken Associates. Bloomsbury is publishing in the UK.
FOREIGN:
Canadian rights to the winner of the 2005 Governor-General's award for A Perfect Night to Go to China and former CBC TV's On the Arts film critic David Gilmour's first non-fiction work THE FILM CLUB, a poignant account of the two years Gilmour spent teaching life lessons to his high school dropout son by showing him the world's best (and occasionally worst) films, to Patrick Crean at Thomas Allen & Sons, by Sam Hiyate at The Rights Factory.US/UK: Sam@therightsfactory.com FOREIGN: rights@imriedervis.com
FILM:
Michael Gates Gill's HOW STARBUCKS SAVED MY LIFE, to Universal, for Tom Hanks to star and Gus Van Sant to direct, with Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions producing, in a pre-empt, by Shari Smiley at CAA, on behalf of Gillian MacKenzie of the Gillian MacKenzie Agency.gmackenzie@gillianmackenzieagency.com
Wrap...
Monday, April 03, 2006
Note: Iran does not have a nuclear bomb. Period.
From Information Clearing House:
Blix: Iran Years Away From Nuclear Bomb:
Former U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said Monday that Iran is a least five years away from developing a nuclear bomb, leaving time to peacefully negotiate a settlement.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12626.htm
Wrap...
Blix: Iran Years Away From Nuclear Bomb:
Former U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said Monday that Iran is a least five years away from developing a nuclear bomb, leaving time to peacefully negotiate a settlement.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12626.htm
Wrap...
Honor & Courage = Sen John Conyers...
Note: If anyone deserves honors, Sen Conyers does. It's about time!
Rep. John Conyers Presented Backbone Award For Bold Leadership
Six grassroots citizen groups unite in an expression of gratitude.
Washington, D.C. - Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) is lauded by Tim Carpenter, Director of Progressive Democrats of America as "the heart and soul of the Democratic Party."
Rep. Conyers has been a consistent thorn in the side of the Bush administration. Utilizing his senior position on the House Judiciary Committee, he has published two landmark investigations on both election irregularities (What Went Wrong In Ohio) and potentially impeachable offenses related to the Iraq war (The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Cover-ups in the Iraq War.)
As exemplified by most Democratic Senators' refusal thus far to support Feingold's resolution for censure, most politicians on Capitol Hill seem allergic to forcefully calling on the Bush Administration for disclosure and accountability.
John Conyers has not shied away from confrontation. He has effectively united with grassroots forces to address a crisis of confidence both in our elections and regarding the threat of unbridled, unaccountable executive power.
Six grassroots organizations: the Backbone Campaign, Democrats.com, AfterDowningStreet.org, Progressive Democrats of America, HipHopCaucus.org, and Cities for Progress--united to express their gratitude to Congressman John Conyers in an informal presentation in his Washington, D.C. office. Bill Moyer, Director of the Backbone Campaign, made the presentation on their behalf.
Below is the text of Moyer's presentation:
"At the Backbone Campaign, we like to emphasize that it is the people who lead, and the leaders who follow, but Congressman Conyers, your career forces us to acknowledge one of the few exceptions to that rule.
"We could easily justify this award by listing your years of commitment to civil rights, to economic justice, to exposing racism and the lingering shameful reverberations of slavery. We could easily justify this award with your consistent and persistent advocacy for a health care system worthy of a nation, as wealthy as our own. We could surely find many long past accomplishments to justify presenting you this award, but that is unnecessary.
"Though you have served longer than all but one of your colleagues, your stride, pace, and passion are unequaled by any of those younger than yourself. Your activities in the last 18 months are enough to inspire awe. In that time you have spearheaded efforts to expose the truth and force accountability in GannonGate, The Plame Outing, The Downing Street minutes, NSA spying, and more.
"Your leadership was pivotal in the investigation of election irregularities in Ohio. You have led the fight to bring accountability to an Administration that claims to be above the law. Your bills HR 635, 636 and 637 for investigation and censure represent the exact kind of leadership we think will rejuvenate and energize the Americans who feel let down by those members of both parties who have allowed the Bush administration to violate laws, treaties, and the trust of Americans.
"Sir, we know you love Jazz, but you most definitely ROCK!
"Congressman Conyers, YOU ARE OUR CHAMPION, and therefore on behalf of Backbone Campaign, Progressive Democrats of America, Democrats.com, AfterDowningStreet.org, HipHopCaucus.org, and Cities for Progress, it is my honor and great privilege to present to you this Backbone Award."
"Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) is proud to join with the Backbone Campaign in honoring Rep. Conyers, who is the heart and soul of the Democratic Party. Congressmen Conyers has been at the forefront of Congress for the last 40 years leading the struggle for peace and justice," stated PDA Director Tim Carpenter.
Wrap...
Rep. John Conyers Presented Backbone Award For Bold Leadership
Six grassroots citizen groups unite in an expression of gratitude.
Washington, D.C. - Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) is lauded by Tim Carpenter, Director of Progressive Democrats of America as "the heart and soul of the Democratic Party."
Rep. Conyers has been a consistent thorn in the side of the Bush administration. Utilizing his senior position on the House Judiciary Committee, he has published two landmark investigations on both election irregularities (What Went Wrong In Ohio) and potentially impeachable offenses related to the Iraq war (The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Cover-ups in the Iraq War.)
As exemplified by most Democratic Senators' refusal thus far to support Feingold's resolution for censure, most politicians on Capitol Hill seem allergic to forcefully calling on the Bush Administration for disclosure and accountability.
John Conyers has not shied away from confrontation. He has effectively united with grassroots forces to address a crisis of confidence both in our elections and regarding the threat of unbridled, unaccountable executive power.
Six grassroots organizations: the Backbone Campaign, Democrats.com, AfterDowningStreet.org, Progressive Democrats of America, HipHopCaucus.org, and Cities for Progress--united to express their gratitude to Congressman John Conyers in an informal presentation in his Washington, D.C. office. Bill Moyer, Director of the Backbone Campaign, made the presentation on their behalf.
Below is the text of Moyer's presentation:
"At the Backbone Campaign, we like to emphasize that it is the people who lead, and the leaders who follow, but Congressman Conyers, your career forces us to acknowledge one of the few exceptions to that rule.
"We could easily justify this award by listing your years of commitment to civil rights, to economic justice, to exposing racism and the lingering shameful reverberations of slavery. We could easily justify this award with your consistent and persistent advocacy for a health care system worthy of a nation, as wealthy as our own. We could surely find many long past accomplishments to justify presenting you this award, but that is unnecessary.
"Though you have served longer than all but one of your colleagues, your stride, pace, and passion are unequaled by any of those younger than yourself. Your activities in the last 18 months are enough to inspire awe. In that time you have spearheaded efforts to expose the truth and force accountability in GannonGate, The Plame Outing, The Downing Street minutes, NSA spying, and more.
"Your leadership was pivotal in the investigation of election irregularities in Ohio. You have led the fight to bring accountability to an Administration that claims to be above the law. Your bills HR 635, 636 and 637 for investigation and censure represent the exact kind of leadership we think will rejuvenate and energize the Americans who feel let down by those members of both parties who have allowed the Bush administration to violate laws, treaties, and the trust of Americans.
"Sir, we know you love Jazz, but you most definitely ROCK!
"Congressman Conyers, YOU ARE OUR CHAMPION, and therefore on behalf of Backbone Campaign, Progressive Democrats of America, Democrats.com, AfterDowningStreet.org, HipHopCaucus.org, and Cities for Progress, it is my honor and great privilege to present to you this Backbone Award."
"Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) is proud to join with the Backbone Campaign in honoring Rep. Conyers, who is the heart and soul of the Democratic Party. Congressmen Conyers has been at the forefront of Congress for the last 40 years leading the struggle for peace and justice," stated PDA Director Tim Carpenter.
Wrap...
The good guy: Fitzgerald...
From truthout.org :
Fitzgerald Knew Identity of Leaker From Start
By Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t Report
Monday 03 April 2006
The special counsel appointed in late December 2003 to investigate the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson found out the identity of the Bush administration official who disclosed her undercover status to syndicated columnist Robert Novak just two months after the probe began.
But in early February 2004, a month after he started the investigation, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald shifted gears and started to build a perjury and obstruction of justice case against White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Vice President Dick Cheney's former Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby according to several attorneys close to the investigation.
That month, Justice Department investigators working on the leak case approached a senior official in the Office of Vice President Dick Cheney who had been identified by witnesses as having played a major role in the Plame Wilson leak.
The Bush administration official was given an ultimatum: either cooperate with the special counsel's probe or face criminal charges for his involvement in the leak, attorneys close to the case said.
The senior official decided to cooperate with the investigation and told Fitzgerald that Libby and Rove spoke to reporters about Plame Wilson, the attorneys said.
The official has been identified by attorneys and four current and former White House officials as John Hannah, a senior national security aide on loan to Vice President Dick Cheney from then-Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs John Bolton.
Hannah worked with Libby on the issue of weapons of mass destruction as part of an informal team known as the "White House Iraq Group." Hannah told friends last year that he was worried he might be implicated by the investigation, according to a report in the Washington Post.
Libby was indicted on five counts of perjury, obstruction of justice, and lying to investigators related to his role in the leak. Hannah was named Cheney's national security adviser the day Libby was indicted.
Hannah's cooperation early on in the leak investigation ultimately helped Fitzgerald and his staff discover the identity of the Bush administration official who leaked information about Plame Wilson's work with the CIA to Novak, these sources said.
The identity of the individual who leaked Plame Wilson's CIA status to Novak is still publicly unknown. No one in the White House was aware that Hannah was cooperating with the special counsel, the sources said, adding that information Hannah provided to Fitzgerald was instrumental in securing a perjury indictment against Libby. Hannah's attorney did not return numerous calls for comment.
The disclosure of Plame Wilson's identity and CIA status was an attempt by White House officials to discredit Plame Wilson's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, a critic of the administration's pr-war Iraq intelligence.
Wilson wrote an editorial in the New York Times on July 6, 2003, accusing President Bush of knowingly "twisting" Iraq intelligence by citing bogus claims in his January 2003 State of the Union address about Iraq's attempt to acquire yellow-cake uranium from Niger. Wilson revealed that he had personally traveled to Niger a year earlier on behalf of the CIA to check out the uranium allegations and had reported back that it was untrue.
A week after Wilson's editorial was published, Novak printed the identity of Wilson's wife and said she worked at the CIA. He said two White House officials told him the trip was a boondoggle because Plame Wilson had recommended her husband to check out the Niger claims.
Fitzgerald was tapped by the Department of Justice in December 2003 to investigate whether White House officials violated a 1982 federal law making it a felony to knowingly disclose the identity of an undercover CIA officer.
A month or so after obtaining testimony from Hannah and more than a dozen other senior White House officials who may have been involved in the leak, Fitzgerald sent a letter to his boss, then-acting Attorney General James Comey, seeking confirmation that he had the authority to investigate and prosecute individuals for additional crimes that may have been committed during the probe.
Comey responded to Fitzgerald in writing on February 6, 2004, confirming that the special prosecutor had the authority to prosecute "perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses."
It was the conflicting testimony Fitzgerald obtained from I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and Karl Rove that prompted Fitzgerald to send a letter to Comey, attorneys and current and former administration officials close to the probe said.
From the moment Fitzgerald received Comey's response, the investigation changed course and moved to an obstruction of justice and perjury probe against Rove and Libby, the sources close to the investigation said.
Rove was questioned by FBI investigators at least five times between October 2003 and February 2004. Libby was questioned by investigators at least twice during that time, according to attorneys familiar with Rove and Libby's interviews with investigators.
Libby and Rove said in interviews with FBI investigators that they found out about Plame Wilson's identity from reporters. Rove testified that he couldn't recall who in the media told him that Plame Wilson worked for the CIA and was married to the former ambassador.
Rove told FBI investigators on five occasions and testified twice before a grand jury that he distributed damaging information about Plame to the Republican National Committee, outside political consultants and the media after Novak had disclosed her identity, according to the attorneys who are familiar with Rove's testimony.
However, Rove was actually a source for Novak and another reporter who wrote about Plame Wilson but failed to disclose that fact in nearly a dozen times he was questioned about his role in the leak.
Sources said that Fitzgerald is now preparing the paperwork to present to a grand jury outlining the charges against Rove in hopes of securing an indictment.
The attorneys close to the case said that in order to build a rock-solid perjury and obstruction case against Libby, Fitzgerald needed to secure the testimony of the journalists Libby spoke to about Plame Wilson.
The investigation surely would have ended in 2004, the attorneys said, but journalists Fitzgerald subpoenaed went to court to fight the subpoena and the legal challenge delayed the case for nearly a year.
In the end, the testimony of Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper and New York Times reporter Judith Miller - both of whom identified Libby as their source of information on Plame Wilson - convinced the grand jury that Libby lied about his role in the leak.
In the interest of fairness, any person identified in this story who believes he has been portrayed unfairly or that the information about him is untrue will have the opportunity to respond in this space.
Jason Leopold spent two years covering California's electricity crisis as Los Angeles bureau chief of Dow Jones Newswires. Jason has spent the last year cultivating sources close to the CIA leak investigation, and is a regular contributor to t r u t h o u t.
Wrap...
Fitzgerald Knew Identity of Leaker From Start
By Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t Report
Monday 03 April 2006
The special counsel appointed in late December 2003 to investigate the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson found out the identity of the Bush administration official who disclosed her undercover status to syndicated columnist Robert Novak just two months after the probe began.
But in early February 2004, a month after he started the investigation, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald shifted gears and started to build a perjury and obstruction of justice case against White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Vice President Dick Cheney's former Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby according to several attorneys close to the investigation.
That month, Justice Department investigators working on the leak case approached a senior official in the Office of Vice President Dick Cheney who had been identified by witnesses as having played a major role in the Plame Wilson leak.
The Bush administration official was given an ultimatum: either cooperate with the special counsel's probe or face criminal charges for his involvement in the leak, attorneys close to the case said.
The senior official decided to cooperate with the investigation and told Fitzgerald that Libby and Rove spoke to reporters about Plame Wilson, the attorneys said.
The official has been identified by attorneys and four current and former White House officials as John Hannah, a senior national security aide on loan to Vice President Dick Cheney from then-Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs John Bolton.
Hannah worked with Libby on the issue of weapons of mass destruction as part of an informal team known as the "White House Iraq Group." Hannah told friends last year that he was worried he might be implicated by the investigation, according to a report in the Washington Post.
Libby was indicted on five counts of perjury, obstruction of justice, and lying to investigators related to his role in the leak. Hannah was named Cheney's national security adviser the day Libby was indicted.
Hannah's cooperation early on in the leak investigation ultimately helped Fitzgerald and his staff discover the identity of the Bush administration official who leaked information about Plame Wilson's work with the CIA to Novak, these sources said.
The identity of the individual who leaked Plame Wilson's CIA status to Novak is still publicly unknown. No one in the White House was aware that Hannah was cooperating with the special counsel, the sources said, adding that information Hannah provided to Fitzgerald was instrumental in securing a perjury indictment against Libby. Hannah's attorney did not return numerous calls for comment.
The disclosure of Plame Wilson's identity and CIA status was an attempt by White House officials to discredit Plame Wilson's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, a critic of the administration's pr-war Iraq intelligence.
Wilson wrote an editorial in the New York Times on July 6, 2003, accusing President Bush of knowingly "twisting" Iraq intelligence by citing bogus claims in his January 2003 State of the Union address about Iraq's attempt to acquire yellow-cake uranium from Niger. Wilson revealed that he had personally traveled to Niger a year earlier on behalf of the CIA to check out the uranium allegations and had reported back that it was untrue.
A week after Wilson's editorial was published, Novak printed the identity of Wilson's wife and said she worked at the CIA. He said two White House officials told him the trip was a boondoggle because Plame Wilson had recommended her husband to check out the Niger claims.
Fitzgerald was tapped by the Department of Justice in December 2003 to investigate whether White House officials violated a 1982 federal law making it a felony to knowingly disclose the identity of an undercover CIA officer.
A month or so after obtaining testimony from Hannah and more than a dozen other senior White House officials who may have been involved in the leak, Fitzgerald sent a letter to his boss, then-acting Attorney General James Comey, seeking confirmation that he had the authority to investigate and prosecute individuals for additional crimes that may have been committed during the probe.
Comey responded to Fitzgerald in writing on February 6, 2004, confirming that the special prosecutor had the authority to prosecute "perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses."
It was the conflicting testimony Fitzgerald obtained from I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and Karl Rove that prompted Fitzgerald to send a letter to Comey, attorneys and current and former administration officials close to the probe said.
From the moment Fitzgerald received Comey's response, the investigation changed course and moved to an obstruction of justice and perjury probe against Rove and Libby, the sources close to the investigation said.
Rove was questioned by FBI investigators at least five times between October 2003 and February 2004. Libby was questioned by investigators at least twice during that time, according to attorneys familiar with Rove and Libby's interviews with investigators.
Libby and Rove said in interviews with FBI investigators that they found out about Plame Wilson's identity from reporters. Rove testified that he couldn't recall who in the media told him that Plame Wilson worked for the CIA and was married to the former ambassador.
Rove told FBI investigators on five occasions and testified twice before a grand jury that he distributed damaging information about Plame to the Republican National Committee, outside political consultants and the media after Novak had disclosed her identity, according to the attorneys who are familiar with Rove's testimony.
However, Rove was actually a source for Novak and another reporter who wrote about Plame Wilson but failed to disclose that fact in nearly a dozen times he was questioned about his role in the leak.
Sources said that Fitzgerald is now preparing the paperwork to present to a grand jury outlining the charges against Rove in hopes of securing an indictment.
The attorneys close to the case said that in order to build a rock-solid perjury and obstruction case against Libby, Fitzgerald needed to secure the testimony of the journalists Libby spoke to about Plame Wilson.
The investigation surely would have ended in 2004, the attorneys said, but journalists Fitzgerald subpoenaed went to court to fight the subpoena and the legal challenge delayed the case for nearly a year.
In the end, the testimony of Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper and New York Times reporter Judith Miller - both of whom identified Libby as their source of information on Plame Wilson - convinced the grand jury that Libby lied about his role in the leak.
In the interest of fairness, any person identified in this story who believes he has been portrayed unfairly or that the information about him is untrue will have the opportunity to respond in this space.
Jason Leopold spent two years covering California's electricity crisis as Los Angeles bureau chief of Dow Jones Newswires. Jason has spent the last year cultivating sources close to the CIA leak investigation, and is a regular contributor to t r u t h o u t.
Wrap...
As for John McCain....UGH!
From the NY Times:
Op-Ed Columnist
John and Jerry
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Well, I'll be damned. At least, that's what the Rev. Jerry Falwell says. Last month Mr. Falwell issued a statement explaining that, in his view, Jews can't go to heaven unless they convert to Christianity. And what Mr. Falwell says matters — maybe not in heaven, but here on earth. After all, he's a kingmaker in today's Republican Party.
Senator John McCain obviously believes that he can't get the Republican presidential nomination without Mr. Falwell's approval. During the 2000 campaign, Mr. McCain denounced Mr. Falwell and the Rev. Pat Robertson as "agents of intolerance." But next month Mr. McCain will be a commencement speaker at Liberty University, which Mr. Falwell founded.
On "Meet the Press" yesterday, Mr. McCain was asked to explain his apparent flip-flop. "I believe," he replied, "that the Christian right has a major role to play in the Republican Party. One reason is because they're so active and their followers are. And I believe they have a right to be a part of our party."
So what has happened since the 2000 campaign to convince Mr. McCain that Mr. Falwell is not, in fact, an agent of intolerance?
Maybe it was Mr. Falwell's TV appearance with Mr. Robertson on Sept. 13, 2001, during which the two religious leaders agreed that the terrorist attack two days earlier was divine punishment for American immorality. "God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve," said Mr. Falwell, who also declared, "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the A.C.L.U., People for the American Way — all of them who have tried to secularize America — I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.' "
Or maybe it was Mr. Falwell's appearance on "60 Minutes" in October 2002, when he declared, "I think Muhammad was a terrorist." Muhammad, he said, was "a violent man" — unlike Mr. Falwell, I guess, who said of terrorists that we should "blow them all away in the name of the Lord."
After each of these incidents, by the way, Mr. Falwell issued what were described as "apologies." But they weren't apologies — they were statements along the lines of, "I'm sorry that some people were upset by what I said." It's clear that in each case Mr. Falwell's offensive remarks were not a slip of the tongue; they reflected his deeply held beliefs.
And that's why it's important to hold someone like Mr. McCain — who is still widely regarded as a moderate, in spite of his extremely conservative voting record — accountable when he cozies up to Mr. Falwell. Nobody thinks that Mr. McCain shares all of Mr. Falwell's views. But when Mr. McCain said that the Christian right had a right to be part of the Republican Party, he was in effect saying that Mr. Falwell's statements were within the realm of acceptable political discourse.
Just to be clear: this is a free country, and Mr. Falwell has a right to say what he thinks, even if his views include the belief that other people, by saying what they think, brought down God's wrath on America. By the same token, any political party has a right to include Mr. Falwell and his supporters, just as any politician has a right to make a political alliance with Mr. Falwell.
But if you choose to make common cause with religious extremists, you are accepting some responsibility for their extremism. By welcoming Mr. Falwell and people like him as members of their party, Republicans are saying that it's O.K. — not necessarily correct, but O.K. — to declare that 9/11 was America's punishment for its tolerance of abortion and homosexuality, that Islam is a terrorist religion, and that Jews can't go to heaven. And voters should judge the Republican Party accordingly.
As for Mr. McCain: his denunciation of Mr. Falwell and Mr. Robertson six years ago helped give him a reputation as a moderate on social issues. Now that he has made up with Mr. Falwell and endorsed South Dakota's ban on abortion even in the case of rape or incest, only two conclusions are possible: either he isn't a social moderate after all, or he's a cynical political opportunist.
Wrap...
Op-Ed Columnist
John and Jerry
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Well, I'll be damned. At least, that's what the Rev. Jerry Falwell says. Last month Mr. Falwell issued a statement explaining that, in his view, Jews can't go to heaven unless they convert to Christianity. And what Mr. Falwell says matters — maybe not in heaven, but here on earth. After all, he's a kingmaker in today's Republican Party.
Senator John McCain obviously believes that he can't get the Republican presidential nomination without Mr. Falwell's approval. During the 2000 campaign, Mr. McCain denounced Mr. Falwell and the Rev. Pat Robertson as "agents of intolerance." But next month Mr. McCain will be a commencement speaker at Liberty University, which Mr. Falwell founded.
On "Meet the Press" yesterday, Mr. McCain was asked to explain his apparent flip-flop. "I believe," he replied, "that the Christian right has a major role to play in the Republican Party. One reason is because they're so active and their followers are. And I believe they have a right to be a part of our party."
So what has happened since the 2000 campaign to convince Mr. McCain that Mr. Falwell is not, in fact, an agent of intolerance?
Maybe it was Mr. Falwell's TV appearance with Mr. Robertson on Sept. 13, 2001, during which the two religious leaders agreed that the terrorist attack two days earlier was divine punishment for American immorality. "God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve," said Mr. Falwell, who also declared, "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the A.C.L.U., People for the American Way — all of them who have tried to secularize America — I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.' "
Or maybe it was Mr. Falwell's appearance on "60 Minutes" in October 2002, when he declared, "I think Muhammad was a terrorist." Muhammad, he said, was "a violent man" — unlike Mr. Falwell, I guess, who said of terrorists that we should "blow them all away in the name of the Lord."
After each of these incidents, by the way, Mr. Falwell issued what were described as "apologies." But they weren't apologies — they were statements along the lines of, "I'm sorry that some people were upset by what I said." It's clear that in each case Mr. Falwell's offensive remarks were not a slip of the tongue; they reflected his deeply held beliefs.
And that's why it's important to hold someone like Mr. McCain — who is still widely regarded as a moderate, in spite of his extremely conservative voting record — accountable when he cozies up to Mr. Falwell. Nobody thinks that Mr. McCain shares all of Mr. Falwell's views. But when Mr. McCain said that the Christian right had a right to be part of the Republican Party, he was in effect saying that Mr. Falwell's statements were within the realm of acceptable political discourse.
Just to be clear: this is a free country, and Mr. Falwell has a right to say what he thinks, even if his views include the belief that other people, by saying what they think, brought down God's wrath on America. By the same token, any political party has a right to include Mr. Falwell and his supporters, just as any politician has a right to make a political alliance with Mr. Falwell.
But if you choose to make common cause with religious extremists, you are accepting some responsibility for their extremism. By welcoming Mr. Falwell and people like him as members of their party, Republicans are saying that it's O.K. — not necessarily correct, but O.K. — to declare that 9/11 was America's punishment for its tolerance of abortion and homosexuality, that Islam is a terrorist religion, and that Jews can't go to heaven. And voters should judge the Republican Party accordingly.
As for Mr. McCain: his denunciation of Mr. Falwell and Mr. Robertson six years ago helped give him a reputation as a moderate on social issues. Now that he has made up with Mr. Falwell and endorsed South Dakota's ban on abortion even in the case of rape or incest, only two conclusions are possible: either he isn't a social moderate after all, or he's a cynical political opportunist.
Wrap...
PNAC/BushCo strike again...Info Internet War....
From the Sunday Herald.com :
America's war on the web
While the US remains committed to hunting down al-Qaeda operatives, it is now taking the battle to new fronts. Deep within the Pentagon, technologies are being deployed to wage the war on terror on the internet, in newspapers and even through mobile phones. Investigations editor Neil Mackay reports
IMAGINE a world where wars are fought over the internet; where TV broadcasts and newspaper reports are designed by the military to confuse the population; and where a foreign armed power can shut down your computer, phone, radio or TV at will.
In 2006, we are just about to enter such a world. This is the age of information warfare, and details of how this new military doctrine will affect everyone on the planet are contained in a report, entitled The Information Operations Roadmap, commissioned and approved by US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld and seen by the Sunday Herald.
The Pentagon has already signed off $383 million to force through the document’s recommendations by 2009. Military and intelligence sources in the US talk of “a revolution in the concept of warfare”. The report orders three new developments in America’s approach to warfare:
lFirstly, the Pentagon says it will wage war against the internet in order to dominate the realm of communications, prevent digital attacks on the US and its allies, and to have the upper hand when launching cyber-attacks against enemies.
lSecondly, psychological military operations, known as psyops, will be at the heart of future military action. Psyops involve using any media – from newspapers, books and posters to the internet, music, Blackberrys and personal digital assistants (PDAs) – to put out black propaganda to assist government and military strategy. Psyops involve the dissemination of lies and fake stories and releasing information to wrong-foot the enemy.
lThirdly, the US wants to take control of the Earth’s electromagnetic spectrum, allowing US war planners to dominate mobile phones, PDAs, the web, radio, TV and other forms of modern communication. That could see entire countries denied access to telecommunications at the flick of a switch by America.
Freedom of speech advocates are horrified at this new doctrine, but military planners and members of the intelligence community embrace the idea as a necessary development in modern combat.
Human rights lawyer John Scott, who chairs the Scottish Centre for Human Rights, said: “This is an unwelcome but natural development of what we have seen. I find what is said in this document to be frightening, and it needs serious parliamentary scrutiny.”
Crispin Black – who has worked for the Joint Intelligence Committee, and has been an Army lieutenant colonel, a military intelligence officer, a member of the Defence Intelligence Staff and a Cabinet Office intelligence analyst who briefed Number 10 – said he broadly supported the report as it tallied with the Pentagon’s over-arching vision for “full spectrum dominance” in all military matters.
“I’m all for taking down al-Qaeda websites. Shutting down enemy propaganda is a reasonable course of action. Al-Qaeda is very good at [information warfare on the internet], so we need to catch up. The US needs to lift its game,” he said.
This revolution in information warfare is merely an extension of the politics of the “neoconservative” Bush White House. Even before getting into power, key players in Team Bush were planning total military and political domination of the globe. In September 2000, the now notorious document Rebuilding America’s Defences – written by the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a think-tank staffed by some of the Bush presidency’s leading lights – said that America needed a “blueprint for maintaining US global pre-eminence, precluding the rise of a great power-rival, and shaping the international security order in line with American principles and interests”.
The PNAC was founded by Dick Cheney, the vice-president; Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary; Bush’s younger brother, Jeb; Paul Wolfowitz, once Rumsfeld’s deputy and now head of the World Bank; and Lewis Libby, Cheney’s former chief of staff, now indicted for perjury in America.
Rebuilding America’s Defences also spoke of taking control of the internet. A heavily censored version of the document was released under Freedom of Information legislation to the National Security Archive at George Washington University in the US.
The report admits the US is vulnerable to electronic warfare. “Networks are growing faster than we can defend them,” the report notes. “The sophistication and capability of … nation states to degrade system and network operations are rapidly increasing.”
T he report says the US military’s first priority is that the “department [of defence] must be prepared to ‘fight the net’”. The internet is seen in much the same way as an enemy state by the Pentagon because of the way it can be used to propagandise, organise and mount electronic attacks on crucial US targets. Under the heading “offensive cyber operations”, two pages outlining possible operations are blacked out.
Next, the Pentagon focuses on electronic warfare, saying it must be elevated to the heart of US military war planning. It will “provide maximum control of the electromagnetic spectrum, denying, degrading, disrupting or destroying the full spectrum of communications equipment … it is increasingly important that our forces dominate the electromagnetic spectrum with attack capabilities”. Put simply, this means US forces having the power to knock out any or all forms of telecommunications on the planet.
After electronic warfare, the US war planners turn their attention to psychological operations: “Military forces must be better prepared to use psyops in support of military operations.” The State Department, which carries out US diplomatic functions, is known to be worried that the rise of such operations could undermine American diplomacy if uncovered by foreign states. Other examples of information war listed in the report include the creation of “Truth Squads” to provide public information when negative publicity, such as the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, hits US operations, and the establishment of “Humanitarian Road Shows”, which will talk up American support for democracy and freedom.
The Pentagon also wants to target a “broader set of select foreign media and audiences”, with $161m set aside to help place pro-US articles in overseas media.
02 April 2006
Wrap...
America's war on the web
While the US remains committed to hunting down al-Qaeda operatives, it is now taking the battle to new fronts. Deep within the Pentagon, technologies are being deployed to wage the war on terror on the internet, in newspapers and even through mobile phones. Investigations editor Neil Mackay reports
IMAGINE a world where wars are fought over the internet; where TV broadcasts and newspaper reports are designed by the military to confuse the population; and where a foreign armed power can shut down your computer, phone, radio or TV at will.
In 2006, we are just about to enter such a world. This is the age of information warfare, and details of how this new military doctrine will affect everyone on the planet are contained in a report, entitled The Information Operations Roadmap, commissioned and approved by US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld and seen by the Sunday Herald.
The Pentagon has already signed off $383 million to force through the document’s recommendations by 2009. Military and intelligence sources in the US talk of “a revolution in the concept of warfare”. The report orders three new developments in America’s approach to warfare:
lFirstly, the Pentagon says it will wage war against the internet in order to dominate the realm of communications, prevent digital attacks on the US and its allies, and to have the upper hand when launching cyber-attacks against enemies.
lSecondly, psychological military operations, known as psyops, will be at the heart of future military action. Psyops involve using any media – from newspapers, books and posters to the internet, music, Blackberrys and personal digital assistants (PDAs) – to put out black propaganda to assist government and military strategy. Psyops involve the dissemination of lies and fake stories and releasing information to wrong-foot the enemy.
lThirdly, the US wants to take control of the Earth’s electromagnetic spectrum, allowing US war planners to dominate mobile phones, PDAs, the web, radio, TV and other forms of modern communication. That could see entire countries denied access to telecommunications at the flick of a switch by America.
Freedom of speech advocates are horrified at this new doctrine, but military planners and members of the intelligence community embrace the idea as a necessary development in modern combat.
Human rights lawyer John Scott, who chairs the Scottish Centre for Human Rights, said: “This is an unwelcome but natural development of what we have seen. I find what is said in this document to be frightening, and it needs serious parliamentary scrutiny.”
Crispin Black – who has worked for the Joint Intelligence Committee, and has been an Army lieutenant colonel, a military intelligence officer, a member of the Defence Intelligence Staff and a Cabinet Office intelligence analyst who briefed Number 10 – said he broadly supported the report as it tallied with the Pentagon’s over-arching vision for “full spectrum dominance” in all military matters.
“I’m all for taking down al-Qaeda websites. Shutting down enemy propaganda is a reasonable course of action. Al-Qaeda is very good at [information warfare on the internet], so we need to catch up. The US needs to lift its game,” he said.
This revolution in information warfare is merely an extension of the politics of the “neoconservative” Bush White House. Even before getting into power, key players in Team Bush were planning total military and political domination of the globe. In September 2000, the now notorious document Rebuilding America’s Defences – written by the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a think-tank staffed by some of the Bush presidency’s leading lights – said that America needed a “blueprint for maintaining US global pre-eminence, precluding the rise of a great power-rival, and shaping the international security order in line with American principles and interests”.
The PNAC was founded by Dick Cheney, the vice-president; Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary; Bush’s younger brother, Jeb; Paul Wolfowitz, once Rumsfeld’s deputy and now head of the World Bank; and Lewis Libby, Cheney’s former chief of staff, now indicted for perjury in America.
Rebuilding America’s Defences also spoke of taking control of the internet. A heavily censored version of the document was released under Freedom of Information legislation to the National Security Archive at George Washington University in the US.
The report admits the US is vulnerable to electronic warfare. “Networks are growing faster than we can defend them,” the report notes. “The sophistication and capability of … nation states to degrade system and network operations are rapidly increasing.”
T he report says the US military’s first priority is that the “department [of defence] must be prepared to ‘fight the net’”. The internet is seen in much the same way as an enemy state by the Pentagon because of the way it can be used to propagandise, organise and mount electronic attacks on crucial US targets. Under the heading “offensive cyber operations”, two pages outlining possible operations are blacked out.
Next, the Pentagon focuses on electronic warfare, saying it must be elevated to the heart of US military war planning. It will “provide maximum control of the electromagnetic spectrum, denying, degrading, disrupting or destroying the full spectrum of communications equipment … it is increasingly important that our forces dominate the electromagnetic spectrum with attack capabilities”. Put simply, this means US forces having the power to knock out any or all forms of telecommunications on the planet.
After electronic warfare, the US war planners turn their attention to psychological operations: “Military forces must be better prepared to use psyops in support of military operations.” The State Department, which carries out US diplomatic functions, is known to be worried that the rise of such operations could undermine American diplomacy if uncovered by foreign states. Other examples of information war listed in the report include the creation of “Truth Squads” to provide public information when negative publicity, such as the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, hits US operations, and the establishment of “Humanitarian Road Shows”, which will talk up American support for democracy and freedom.
The Pentagon also wants to target a “broader set of select foreign media and audiences”, with $161m set aside to help place pro-US articles in overseas media.
02 April 2006
Wrap...
Sunday, April 02, 2006
A new book found on New Orleans...
From www.g21.net :
KATRINA & THE LOST CITY OF NEW ORLEANS by Rod Amis
New Orleans is the Lost City of America.
New Orleans has disappeared as surely as the lost city of Atlantis or the lost city of Pompeii, which former mayor Marc Morial and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA.) have compared us to in their statements.
That New Orleans, the New Orleans I mean to tell you about, that will never, ever, exist again--that city of love, lust, death and sex--will never exist again.
A portion of the proceeds of this book will go to the New Orleans Hospitality Workers Fund. The cooks, servers and restaurant workers of New Orleans have provided fabulous times and memories for millions. Now we must remember them in their time of need.
To order on Amazon.com, go here!
Wrap...
KATRINA & THE LOST CITY OF NEW ORLEANS by Rod Amis
New Orleans is the Lost City of America.
New Orleans has disappeared as surely as the lost city of Atlantis or the lost city of Pompeii, which former mayor Marc Morial and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA.) have compared us to in their statements.
That New Orleans, the New Orleans I mean to tell you about, that will never, ever, exist again--that city of love, lust, death and sex--will never exist again.
A portion of the proceeds of this book will go to the New Orleans Hospitality Workers Fund. The cooks, servers and restaurant workers of New Orleans have provided fabulous times and memories for millions. Now we must remember them in their time of need.
To order on Amazon.com, go here!
Wrap...
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Molly, my favorite Texan, has a few choice words....
From AlterNet.org via truthout.org :
Immigration 101
By Molly Ivins
AlterNet.org
Thursday 30 March 2006
Racists seem to think that illegal workers - the hardest-working, poorest people in the US - are getting away with something.
In 1983, I was a judge at the Terlingua Chili Cookoff, and my memory of the events may not be perfect - for example, for years I've been claiming Jimmy Carter was president at the time, but that's the kind of detail one often loses track of in Terlingua.
Anyway, it was '83 or some year right around there when we held The Fence climbing contest. See, people talked about building The Fence back then, too. The Fence along the Mexican border. To keep Them out.
At the time, the proposal was quite specific - a 17-foot cyclone fence with bob wire at the top. So a test fence was built at Terlingua, and the First-Ever Terlingua Memorial Over, Under or Through Mexican Fence Climbing Contest took place. Prize: a case of Lone Star beer. Winning time: 30 seconds.
I tell this story to make the one single point about the border and immigration we know to be true: The Fence will not work. No fence will work. The Great darn Wall of China will not work. Do not build a fence. It will not work. They will come anyway. Over, under or through.
Some of you think a fence will work because Israel has one. Israel is a very small country. Anyone who says a fence can fix this problem is a demagogue and an ass.
Numero Two-o, should you actually want to stop Mexicans and OTMs (other than Mexicans) from coming to the United States, here is how to do it: Find an illegal worker at a large corporation. This is not difficult - brooms and mops are big tip-offs. Then put the CEO of that corporation in prison for two or more years for violating the law against hiring illegal workers.
Got it? You can also imprison the corporate official who actually hired the illegal and, just to make sure, put some Betty Sue Billups - housewife, preferably one with blonde hair in a flip - in the joint for a two-year stretch for hiring a Mexican gardener. Thus Americans are reminded that the law says it is illegal to hire illegal workers and that anyone who hires one is responsible for verifying whether or not his or her papers are in order. If you get fooled and one slips by you, too bad, you go to jail anyway. When there are no jobs for illegal workers, they do not come. Got it?
Of course, this has been proposed before, because there is nothing new in the immigration debate. As the current issue of Texas Monthly reminds us, the old bracero program dating from World War II was actually amended in 1952 to pass the "Texas proviso," shielding employers of illegal workers from criminal penalties. They got the exemption because Texas growers flat refused to pay the required bracero wage of 30 cents an hour. Instead of punishing Texas growers for breaking the law, Congress rewarded them.
In 1986, the Reagan administration took a shot at immigration reform and reinstated penalties on employers. They weren't enforced worth a darn, of course. In 2004, only three American companies were threatened with fines for hiring illegal workers. Doesn't work if you don't enforce it.
This brings us to the great Republican divide on the issue. Conservatives, in general, are anti-immigrant for the same reasons they have always been anti-immigrant - a proud tradition in our nation of immigrants going back to the days of the Founders, when Ben Franklin thought we were going to be overrun by Germans. But Business likes illegal workers. The Chamber of Commerce lobbies for them. They're lobbying now for a new bracero program. What a bonanza for Bidness.
Old-fashioned anti-immigrant prejudice always brings out some old-fashioned racists. This time around, they have started claiming that Mexicans can't assimilate. A sillier idea I've never heard. Why don't they come to Texas and meet up with Lars Gonzales, Erin Rodriguez and Bubba at the bowling alley. They can drink some Lone Star, listen to some conjunto and chill.
Racists seem obsessed by the idea that illegal workers - the hardest-working, poorest people in America - are somehow getting away with something, sneaking goodies that should be for Americans. You can always avoid this problem by having no social services. This is the refreshing Texas model, and it works a treat.
Aren't y'all grateful that we're down here doing exactly nothing for the people of our state, legal or illegal? Think what a terrible message it would send if you swapped Texas with Vermont, and they all got health care. In Texas, we never worry about illegals taking advantage of social benefits provided by our taxpayers. Incredibly clever, no?
One nice thing about the benefit of long experience with la frontera is that we in Texas don't have to run around getting all hysterical about immigrants. The border is porous. When you want cheap labor, you open it up; when you don't, you shut it down. It works to our benefit - it always has.
Molly Ivins writes about politics, Texas and other bizarre happenings.
Wrap...
Immigration 101
By Molly Ivins
AlterNet.org
Thursday 30 March 2006
Racists seem to think that illegal workers - the hardest-working, poorest people in the US - are getting away with something.
In 1983, I was a judge at the Terlingua Chili Cookoff, and my memory of the events may not be perfect - for example, for years I've been claiming Jimmy Carter was president at the time, but that's the kind of detail one often loses track of in Terlingua.
Anyway, it was '83 or some year right around there when we held The Fence climbing contest. See, people talked about building The Fence back then, too. The Fence along the Mexican border. To keep Them out.
At the time, the proposal was quite specific - a 17-foot cyclone fence with bob wire at the top. So a test fence was built at Terlingua, and the First-Ever Terlingua Memorial Over, Under or Through Mexican Fence Climbing Contest took place. Prize: a case of Lone Star beer. Winning time: 30 seconds.
I tell this story to make the one single point about the border and immigration we know to be true: The Fence will not work. No fence will work. The Great darn Wall of China will not work. Do not build a fence. It will not work. They will come anyway. Over, under or through.
Some of you think a fence will work because Israel has one. Israel is a very small country. Anyone who says a fence can fix this problem is a demagogue and an ass.
Numero Two-o, should you actually want to stop Mexicans and OTMs (other than Mexicans) from coming to the United States, here is how to do it: Find an illegal worker at a large corporation. This is not difficult - brooms and mops are big tip-offs. Then put the CEO of that corporation in prison for two or more years for violating the law against hiring illegal workers.
Got it? You can also imprison the corporate official who actually hired the illegal and, just to make sure, put some Betty Sue Billups - housewife, preferably one with blonde hair in a flip - in the joint for a two-year stretch for hiring a Mexican gardener. Thus Americans are reminded that the law says it is illegal to hire illegal workers and that anyone who hires one is responsible for verifying whether or not his or her papers are in order. If you get fooled and one slips by you, too bad, you go to jail anyway. When there are no jobs for illegal workers, they do not come. Got it?
Of course, this has been proposed before, because there is nothing new in the immigration debate. As the current issue of Texas Monthly reminds us, the old bracero program dating from World War II was actually amended in 1952 to pass the "Texas proviso," shielding employers of illegal workers from criminal penalties. They got the exemption because Texas growers flat refused to pay the required bracero wage of 30 cents an hour. Instead of punishing Texas growers for breaking the law, Congress rewarded them.
In 1986, the Reagan administration took a shot at immigration reform and reinstated penalties on employers. They weren't enforced worth a darn, of course. In 2004, only three American companies were threatened with fines for hiring illegal workers. Doesn't work if you don't enforce it.
This brings us to the great Republican divide on the issue. Conservatives, in general, are anti-immigrant for the same reasons they have always been anti-immigrant - a proud tradition in our nation of immigrants going back to the days of the Founders, when Ben Franklin thought we were going to be overrun by Germans. But Business likes illegal workers. The Chamber of Commerce lobbies for them. They're lobbying now for a new bracero program. What a bonanza for Bidness.
Old-fashioned anti-immigrant prejudice always brings out some old-fashioned racists. This time around, they have started claiming that Mexicans can't assimilate. A sillier idea I've never heard. Why don't they come to Texas and meet up with Lars Gonzales, Erin Rodriguez and Bubba at the bowling alley. They can drink some Lone Star, listen to some conjunto and chill.
Racists seem obsessed by the idea that illegal workers - the hardest-working, poorest people in America - are somehow getting away with something, sneaking goodies that should be for Americans. You can always avoid this problem by having no social services. This is the refreshing Texas model, and it works a treat.
Aren't y'all grateful that we're down here doing exactly nothing for the people of our state, legal or illegal? Think what a terrible message it would send if you swapped Texas with Vermont, and they all got health care. In Texas, we never worry about illegals taking advantage of social benefits provided by our taxpayers. Incredibly clever, no?
One nice thing about the benefit of long experience with la frontera is that we in Texas don't have to run around getting all hysterical about immigrants. The border is porous. When you want cheap labor, you open it up; when you don't, you shut it down. It works to our benefit - it always has.
Molly Ivins writes about politics, Texas and other bizarre happenings.
Wrap...
Correction: Bechtel leaving Los Alamos, not coming..
From Pahrump Valley Times:
March 31, 2006
Bechtel out at the Nevada Test Site
By PHILLIP GOMEZPVT
The Nevada Test Site's principal management and operations contractor for the past 11 years, Bechtel Nevada Corp., will no longer be in the driver's seat after July 1. The decision is expected to affect a small number of Bechtel employees living in Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas and the more than 200 who live in Pahrump.
The Department of Energy's semi-autonomous agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration, announced earlier this week the selection of National Security Technologies LLC, to replace Bechtel. The transition to the new contractor is to begin Saturday.
As NTS contractor, Bechtel Nevada comprises both Bechtel Nevada and Lockheed Martin Nevada Technologies Inc. More than half of Bechtel Nevada's employees work in the Las Vegas area or at the nearby Nevada Test Site, according to the company's Web site. Bechtel employs 267 persons who reside in Pahrump, according to media contact Leann Inadomi.
A clause in the contract provides for continued employment to most employees wanting to keep their jobs, according to National Nuclear Security Administration spokespersons. The majority of Bechtel employees, about 2,900 in number, will be retained in the transition, but some 100 key personnel will not be, said Inadomi.
Bechtel is also the principal contractor for the Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Repository on the edge of the NTS near Lathrop Wells in Amargosa Valley, the contract for which is unaffected by NNSS's new contract with NSTec. The terms of NSTec's contract are for the next five years with potentially five additional years after that.
NSTec is to manage operations at the 1,375-square-mile facility established in 1951 as the nation's premier atomic proving grounds. Global defense behemoth Northrop Grumman Corp., the managing partner in NSTec, is headquartered in Los Angeles. Others in the joint venture are AECOM, CH2M Hill and Nuclear Fuel Services.
Northrop Grumman, with approximately 125,000 employees and operations in all 50 states and 25 countries, plans for about 3,000 employees in its technical services division to work on the contract.
The government puts out bids on a regular basis, said media contacts for the NNSA. A little over a year ago bids were reviewed and NSTec was selected for offering the best proposal.Under the contract, NSTec will be responsible for managing and operating the NTS, Nellis Air Force Base and satellite facilities in North Las Vegas. In addition, nuclear laboratories, air force bases and scientific offices across the nation will fall under the new contractor's management auspices, including Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories in Livermore and Santa Barbara, Calif.
NSTec's Test Site work will include management of the nuclear explosives safety team, which supports the Department of Energy's efforts to prevent or slow the spread of nuclear weapons and to bolster the department's counter-terrorism mission.The contract also states that NSTec provide technical support in hazardous chemical spill testing, emergency response training and conventional weapons testing.
Some of NSTec's specific duties will include remote field experiments; physical and environmental science; design and fabrication of electronic, mechanical and structural systems; remote and robotic sensing; management of multi-laboratory facilities; engineering, construction and mining operations; chemical, explosives and hazardous materials systems and technologies; and waste management for various categories of waste.
The NNSA is responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; works to reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad.
For comment or questions, please e-mail webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com
Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2006
Wrap...
March 31, 2006
Bechtel out at the Nevada Test Site
By PHILLIP GOMEZPVT
The Nevada Test Site's principal management and operations contractor for the past 11 years, Bechtel Nevada Corp., will no longer be in the driver's seat after July 1. The decision is expected to affect a small number of Bechtel employees living in Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas and the more than 200 who live in Pahrump.
The Department of Energy's semi-autonomous agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration, announced earlier this week the selection of National Security Technologies LLC, to replace Bechtel. The transition to the new contractor is to begin Saturday.
As NTS contractor, Bechtel Nevada comprises both Bechtel Nevada and Lockheed Martin Nevada Technologies Inc. More than half of Bechtel Nevada's employees work in the Las Vegas area or at the nearby Nevada Test Site, according to the company's Web site. Bechtel employs 267 persons who reside in Pahrump, according to media contact Leann Inadomi.
A clause in the contract provides for continued employment to most employees wanting to keep their jobs, according to National Nuclear Security Administration spokespersons. The majority of Bechtel employees, about 2,900 in number, will be retained in the transition, but some 100 key personnel will not be, said Inadomi.
Bechtel is also the principal contractor for the Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Repository on the edge of the NTS near Lathrop Wells in Amargosa Valley, the contract for which is unaffected by NNSS's new contract with NSTec. The terms of NSTec's contract are for the next five years with potentially five additional years after that.
NSTec is to manage operations at the 1,375-square-mile facility established in 1951 as the nation's premier atomic proving grounds. Global defense behemoth Northrop Grumman Corp., the managing partner in NSTec, is headquartered in Los Angeles. Others in the joint venture are AECOM, CH2M Hill and Nuclear Fuel Services.
Northrop Grumman, with approximately 125,000 employees and operations in all 50 states and 25 countries, plans for about 3,000 employees in its technical services division to work on the contract.
The government puts out bids on a regular basis, said media contacts for the NNSA. A little over a year ago bids were reviewed and NSTec was selected for offering the best proposal.Under the contract, NSTec will be responsible for managing and operating the NTS, Nellis Air Force Base and satellite facilities in North Las Vegas. In addition, nuclear laboratories, air force bases and scientific offices across the nation will fall under the new contractor's management auspices, including Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories in Livermore and Santa Barbara, Calif.
NSTec's Test Site work will include management of the nuclear explosives safety team, which supports the Department of Energy's efforts to prevent or slow the spread of nuclear weapons and to bolster the department's counter-terrorism mission.The contract also states that NSTec provide technical support in hazardous chemical spill testing, emergency response training and conventional weapons testing.
Some of NSTec's specific duties will include remote field experiments; physical and environmental science; design and fabrication of electronic, mechanical and structural systems; remote and robotic sensing; management of multi-laboratory facilities; engineering, construction and mining operations; chemical, explosives and hazardous materials systems and technologies; and waste management for various categories of waste.
The NNSA is responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; works to reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad.
For comment or questions, please e-mail webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com
Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2006
Wrap...
Friday, March 31, 2006
Dan Froomkins scolds major reporters/papers...
An excerpt from Dan Froomkins Washington Post column:
A Compelling Story
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Friday, March 31, 2006; 10:54 AM
Slowly but surely, investigative reporter Murray Waas has been putting together a compelling narrative about how President Bush and his top aides contrived their bogus case for war in Iraq; how they succeeded in keeping charges of deception from becoming a major issue in the 2004 election; and how they continue to keep most of the press off the trail to this day.
What emerges in Waas's stories is a consistent White House modus operandi: That time and time again, Bush and his aides have selectively leaked or declassified secret intelligence findings that served their political agenda -- while aggressively asserting the need to keep secret the information that would tend to discredit them.
The latest entry in Waas's saga came yesterday in the highly respected National Journal. Waas writes: "Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, cautioned other White House aides in the summer of 2003 that Bush's 2004 re-election prospects would be severely damaged if it was publicly disclosed that he had been personally warned that a key rationale for going to war had been challenged within the administration."
This happened, Waas writes, after "then-Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley determined that Bush had been specifically advised that claims he later made in his 2003 State of the Union address -- that Iraq was procuring high-strength aluminum tubes to build a nuclear weapon -- might not be true."
The aluminum-tube allegation was perhaps the strongest, most concrete piece of evidence the White House had in its campaign to drive the American public into the proper frame of mind to go to war against a country that had never before been seen as a threat to the national security.
In a March 2 story, Waas documented how Bush had been explicitly informed that the aluminum-tube allegation might not be true well before his State of the Union Address.
Yesterday's new twist is that Rove apparently understood that if American voters found out how Bush had intentionally misled them, the election might be lost. He was intent on not letting that happen.
Waas's narrative also helps explain why the White House felt so compelled to discredit former ambassador Joseph Wilson's charge in May 2003 that another key justification for war was manifestly false.
More of Waas's stories can be found here.
The blogosphere is abuzz with Waas's latest revelation. The Booman Tribune blog explains how it is in fact Waas's "magnum opus on the Plame Affair."
But in the traditional media, the reaction has been utter and complete silence -- both after Waas's well-documented March 2 story, and again today. There's not one word about it in a single major outlet this morning.
And that's just not acceptable. Waas's fellow reporters at major news operations should either acknowledge and try to follow up his stories -- or debunk them. It's not okay to just leave them hanging out there. They're too important.
Wrap...
A Compelling Story
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Friday, March 31, 2006; 10:54 AM
Slowly but surely, investigative reporter Murray Waas has been putting together a compelling narrative about how President Bush and his top aides contrived their bogus case for war in Iraq; how they succeeded in keeping charges of deception from becoming a major issue in the 2004 election; and how they continue to keep most of the press off the trail to this day.
What emerges in Waas's stories is a consistent White House modus operandi: That time and time again, Bush and his aides have selectively leaked or declassified secret intelligence findings that served their political agenda -- while aggressively asserting the need to keep secret the information that would tend to discredit them.
The latest entry in Waas's saga came yesterday in the highly respected National Journal. Waas writes: "Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, cautioned other White House aides in the summer of 2003 that Bush's 2004 re-election prospects would be severely damaged if it was publicly disclosed that he had been personally warned that a key rationale for going to war had been challenged within the administration."
This happened, Waas writes, after "then-Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley determined that Bush had been specifically advised that claims he later made in his 2003 State of the Union address -- that Iraq was procuring high-strength aluminum tubes to build a nuclear weapon -- might not be true."
The aluminum-tube allegation was perhaps the strongest, most concrete piece of evidence the White House had in its campaign to drive the American public into the proper frame of mind to go to war against a country that had never before been seen as a threat to the national security.
In a March 2 story, Waas documented how Bush had been explicitly informed that the aluminum-tube allegation might not be true well before his State of the Union Address.
Yesterday's new twist is that Rove apparently understood that if American voters found out how Bush had intentionally misled them, the election might be lost. He was intent on not letting that happen.
Waas's narrative also helps explain why the White House felt so compelled to discredit former ambassador Joseph Wilson's charge in May 2003 that another key justification for war was manifestly false.
More of Waas's stories can be found here.
The blogosphere is abuzz with Waas's latest revelation. The Booman Tribune blog explains how it is in fact Waas's "magnum opus on the Plame Affair."
But in the traditional media, the reaction has been utter and complete silence -- both after Waas's well-documented March 2 story, and again today. There's not one word about it in a single major outlet this morning.
And that's just not acceptable. Waas's fellow reporters at major news operations should either acknowledge and try to follow up his stories -- or debunk them. It's not okay to just leave them hanging out there. They're too important.
Wrap...
John Dean agrees with Sen Feingold on censure...
From the NY Times:
March 31, 2006
Censure Resolution Sparks Bitter Debate in Senate
By DAVID STOUT
WASHINGTON
President Bush's once-secret surveillance program sparked a bitter debate today before the Senate Judiciary Committee over what kind of president George W. Bush has become and how he stands in history.
The committee met to consider a resolution by one of its members, Senator Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, to censure the president over the surveillance program. The resolution was not voted on and is almost surely going nowhere, but it still had the power to ignite feelings.
Under Mr. Bush's theory of government, Mr. Feingold said, "we no longer have a constitutional system consisting of three co-equal branches of government. We have a monarchy."
Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the panel's ranking Democrat who was congratulated on his 66th birthday today in a rare moment of bipartisan friendliness, sided with Mr. Feingold, although stopping short of saying he would vote for censure.
The Congressional resolution of force passed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, makes no mention of surveillance, Mr. Leahy said, yet "the administration claims now that Congress unconsciously authorized warrantless wiretaps."
"This is 'Alice in Wonderland' gone amok," Mr. Leahy said. "It is not what we in Congress said, and it certainly was not what we in Congress intended."
But Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said Mr. Feingold's move was "completely without merit," and he spoke contemptuously of one witness, John Dean of Watergate fame, as "a convicted felon" bent on publicizing his books.
"And I believe that the American people would view what we are about here as part of the surreal atmosphere that they believe, and sometimes correctly so, is completely out of touch with the rest of the United States," Mr. Cornyn said.
Another Republican, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, wondered why "the national spasm" over the surveillance program had not run its course. The president was within his rights and within the law to have the National Security Agency do limited surveillance, and he has kept Congressional leaders informed, the senator said.
Mr. Sessions said Mr. Feingold's resolution was irresponsible, "and it has the potential to send abroad throughout the terrorist community and to those who are watching our resolve around the world a very perverse and false message."
The panel's chairman, Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, said he too thought Mr. Feingold's resolution was without merit. "But it provides a forum for the discussion of issues which really ought to be considered in greater depth than they have been," Mr. Specter said.
The expert witnesses were also far apart.
"The president did not break the law," said Prof. Robert Turner of the University of Virginia's Woodrow Wilson Department of Government and Foreign Affairs. "Every wartime president, even every wartime leader going back to George Washington, when he authorized the opening of British mail coming into the United States during the American Revolution, has done this kind of behavior. It's essential to the successful conduct of war."
But Bruce Fein, a lawyer who worked in the Justice Department in the Reagan presidency, said Mr. Bush's assertions of powers "have to be taken as permanent changes on the political landscape on checks and balances." The president's claims are "extravagant" and his interpretation of the authorization given him by Congress "is not just wrong, but preposterous," Mr. Fein said.
Then there was Mr. Dean, the White House lawyer for President Richard Nixon, making his first appearance before a Congressional panel since he mesmerized the country in his Nixon-incriminating testimony before the Senate Watergate Committee more than three decades ago.
Mr. Dean, who spoke in favor of Senator Feingold's measure, is the author of the 2004 book "Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush." Presidents "push the envelope as far as they can" in their power struggles with Congress, Mr. Dean warned. Had Mr. Nixon been censured, "it would have been a godsend," Mr. Dean said, apparently meaning that all the abuses that led to Mr. Nixon's resignation might never have happened.
One thing Mr. Dean said prompted no disagreement whatever. "I must say, I think I have probably more experience first-hand than anybody might want in what can go wrong and how a president can get on the other side of the law."
Copyright 2006The New York Times Company
Wrap...
March 31, 2006
Censure Resolution Sparks Bitter Debate in Senate
By DAVID STOUT
WASHINGTON
President Bush's once-secret surveillance program sparked a bitter debate today before the Senate Judiciary Committee over what kind of president George W. Bush has become and how he stands in history.
The committee met to consider a resolution by one of its members, Senator Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, to censure the president over the surveillance program. The resolution was not voted on and is almost surely going nowhere, but it still had the power to ignite feelings.
Under Mr. Bush's theory of government, Mr. Feingold said, "we no longer have a constitutional system consisting of three co-equal branches of government. We have a monarchy."
Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the panel's ranking Democrat who was congratulated on his 66th birthday today in a rare moment of bipartisan friendliness, sided with Mr. Feingold, although stopping short of saying he would vote for censure.
The Congressional resolution of force passed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, makes no mention of surveillance, Mr. Leahy said, yet "the administration claims now that Congress unconsciously authorized warrantless wiretaps."
"This is 'Alice in Wonderland' gone amok," Mr. Leahy said. "It is not what we in Congress said, and it certainly was not what we in Congress intended."
But Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said Mr. Feingold's move was "completely without merit," and he spoke contemptuously of one witness, John Dean of Watergate fame, as "a convicted felon" bent on publicizing his books.
"And I believe that the American people would view what we are about here as part of the surreal atmosphere that they believe, and sometimes correctly so, is completely out of touch with the rest of the United States," Mr. Cornyn said.
Another Republican, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, wondered why "the national spasm" over the surveillance program had not run its course. The president was within his rights and within the law to have the National Security Agency do limited surveillance, and he has kept Congressional leaders informed, the senator said.
Mr. Sessions said Mr. Feingold's resolution was irresponsible, "and it has the potential to send abroad throughout the terrorist community and to those who are watching our resolve around the world a very perverse and false message."
The panel's chairman, Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, said he too thought Mr. Feingold's resolution was without merit. "But it provides a forum for the discussion of issues which really ought to be considered in greater depth than they have been," Mr. Specter said.
The expert witnesses were also far apart.
"The president did not break the law," said Prof. Robert Turner of the University of Virginia's Woodrow Wilson Department of Government and Foreign Affairs. "Every wartime president, even every wartime leader going back to George Washington, when he authorized the opening of British mail coming into the United States during the American Revolution, has done this kind of behavior. It's essential to the successful conduct of war."
But Bruce Fein, a lawyer who worked in the Justice Department in the Reagan presidency, said Mr. Bush's assertions of powers "have to be taken as permanent changes on the political landscape on checks and balances." The president's claims are "extravagant" and his interpretation of the authorization given him by Congress "is not just wrong, but preposterous," Mr. Fein said.
Then there was Mr. Dean, the White House lawyer for President Richard Nixon, making his first appearance before a Congressional panel since he mesmerized the country in his Nixon-incriminating testimony before the Senate Watergate Committee more than three decades ago.
Mr. Dean, who spoke in favor of Senator Feingold's measure, is the author of the 2004 book "Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush." Presidents "push the envelope as far as they can" in their power struggles with Congress, Mr. Dean warned. Had Mr. Nixon been censured, "it would have been a godsend," Mr. Dean said, apparently meaning that all the abuses that led to Mr. Nixon's resignation might never have happened.
One thing Mr. Dean said prompted no disagreement whatever. "I must say, I think I have probably more experience first-hand than anybody might want in what can go wrong and how a president can get on the other side of the law."
Copyright 2006The New York Times Company
Wrap...
A selection of books worth enjoying...
From Publishers Lunch Weekly:
FICTION/DEBUT:
The Mummy Diaries author and columnist Rachel Johnson's NOTTING HELL, in the tradition of Helen Fielding and Alison Pearson, a about life in one of London's Notting Hill communal gardens, complete with celebrity neighbors, wealthy one-upmanship, pushy Americans, battles over building permits, and adultery, to Trish Todd at Touchstone Fireside, in a two-book deal, by Melanie Jackson (NA).
UK rights to Julliet Annan at Fig Tree.marcia.burch@simonandschuster.com
GENERAL/OTHER:
Novelist (THE ORDINARY WHITE BOY), story collection author (CARRYING THE TORCH), and McSweeney's and Believer contributor Brock Clarke's AN ARSONIST'S GUIDE TO WRITER'S HOMES IN NEW ENGLAND, the story of a young man jailed for torching Emily Dickinson's house in Amherst, Massachussetts -- part detective story, part rumination on family, home, and place, and part examination of why we read books -- a story of numerous fires addressing not only the the mystery of who set them, but what they mean, to Chuck Adams at Algonquin, by Elizabeth Sheinkman at Curtis Brown UK.Elizabeth@curtisbrown.co.uk
THRILLER:
Matt Bronleewe's ILLUMINATED, including the historical details of Guttenburg and the printing of limited edition Bibles, to Allen Arnold at WestBow, in a five-book deal, by Don Pape at Alive Communications (world). dpape@alivecom.com
CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOK:
Blair Underwood's untitled children's book about the first haircut, to Kelli Martin at Hyperion Children's, by Lydia Wills at Paradigm (world).jyarn@paradigmny.com
UK:
Scott Frost's Edgar-nominated RUN THE RISK and NEVER FEAR, both featuring the same woman LA homicide detective, plus an untitled third book, to Vicki Mellor in her first acquisition at Headline UK, by David Grossman, on behalf of the Elaine Koster Agency.
HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:
Cambridge historian Anna Whitelock's MARY: The First Queen of England, the story of Mary Tudor, trailblazer for her younger sister Elizabeth, to Michael Fishwick at Bloomsbury UK, and to Susanna Porter at Random House, by Emma Parry at Fletcher and Parry, on behalf of Catherine Clarke at Felicity Bryan Agency.emma@fletcherparry.com cc@felicitybryan.com cc@felicitybryan.com
Host of MSNBC's Countdown Keith Olbermann's THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD & 119 MORE STRONG CONTENDERS, to Stephen Power at Wiley, in a very nice deal, by Esther Newberg at ICM (NA).monorato@wiley.com
Harvard historian Jonathan Hansen's history of Guantanamo Bay, spanning from Christopher Columbus's discovery of the Americas through America's seizure of the land and the establishment of its naval base all the way up to the recent controversies concerning the detentions of political prisoners, to Tim Bartlett at Random House, by Wendy Strothman (world).
TRUE NORTH author and co-author of NYT bestseller AND THE SEA WILL TELL Bruce Henderson's DOWN TO THE SEA: Admiral Halsey, the Third Fleet, and the Great Typhoon, the story of one of the worst Naval disasters in US history, off the coast of the Philippines in December, 1944, to Elisabeth Dyssegaard at Smithsonian Books, for publication in Fall 2007, by Paul Bresnick of the Paul Bresnick Agency (NA).crissmand@si.edu
HUMOR:
Star of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report (and coiner of "truthiness") Stephen Colbert's untitled book, promising "the same noble goal as my television show: to change the world one factual error at a time," to Jamie Raab at Warner, in a pre-empt, for publication in September 2007, by Dan Strone at Trident Media Group and James Dixon at Dixon Talent.jimmy.franco@twbg.com
MEMOIR:
Terrell Owens's INELIGIBLE RECEIVER: The Real Story of My Journey from the Super Bowl to the Sidelines, recounting what happened during his two years in Philadelphia, describing his deteriorating relationship with Donovan McNabb, and providing a detailed account of his arbitration hearing, to David Rosenthal at Simon & Schuster, to be edited by Bob Bender, for publication in July 2006, by Ian Kleinert of Literary Group International (world).
Son of famed New Yorker writer, Brendan Gill, Michael Gates Gill's HOW STARBUCKS SAVED MY LIFE, a lemons-to-lemonade memoir, chronicling his transformative year working at Starbucks after falling from the heights of privilege, an opinionated white man in his 60s learning humbling life lessons from his new boss, an equally opinionated, 20-something African American woman raised in the projects, to Erin Moore at Gotham, in a pre-empt, by Gillian MacKenzie of the Gillian MacKenzie Agency (world).gmackenzie@gillianmackenzieagency.com
NARRATIVE:
Rachel Dickinson's FALCONER AT THE EDGE, a book that will do for contemporary falconry what THE ORCHID THIEF did for orchidelirium, penetrating the world of obsessed falconers through the story of one character who lives and dies for the hunt, to Lisa White at Houghton Mifflin, in a very nice deal, by Russell Galen at Scovil Chichak Galen Literary Agency (NA).Foreign rights: Danny Baror russellgalen@scglit.com
SCIENCE:
Fermat's Last Theorem author Amir Aczel's THE JESUIT AND THE SKULL: Teilhard de Chardin and the Search for Peking Man, the story of the French priest-scientist who was present at the discovery in 1923 of the ancient skull that became known as Peking Man, and how that breakthrough anthropological find marked the beginning of both de Chardin's scientific vindication and the greatest test of his faith as it escalated the debate between science and religion, to Geoff Kloske and Jake Morrissey at Riverhead, at auction, by Ike Williams at Kneerim & Williams.
How to Survive a Robot Uprising author Daniel H. Wilson's HOW TO BUILD A ROBOT ARMY, based on interviews with leading researchers across multiple disciplines, teaching us to harness the power of our robot friends, with illustrations, to Colin Dickerman at Bloomsbury, by Laurie Fox at Linda Chester Literary Agency
GENERAL:
Steve Lopez's IMAGINING BEETHOVEN, about how a chance encounter with a homeless man, who was a Julliard-trained violinist, triggers a personal reawakening for a Los Angeles Times reporter, and changes both of their lives forever, to Dan Conaway at Putnam, at auction, by David Black (NA). dan.conaway@us.penguingroup.com
[NOTE: HAVE READ SOME OF LOPEZ'S COLUMNS ON THIS IN THE LA TIMES AND IT'S ONE TERRIFIC STORY!]
UK:
Susan Devenyi's QUIET: The importance of introverts in a world that can't stop talking, draws on psychology, science, and history to explore how western societies have gone from valuing introverted personality types to valuing extroverts, and examines the impact of this shift on individuals, in schools and in the workplace, to Kate Barker at Viking, by Bill Hamilton at A.M. Heath, on behalf of Richard Pine at Inkwell Management.Kate.Barker@Penguin.co.uk
PAPERBACK:
Betool Khedairi's ABSENT, set in 1990s Iraq, the story of a young woman and her family and neighbors, all determined to maintain ordinary lives and even to find love and hope, amid bombings, international sanctions, surprise arrests, and a crumbling social fabric, to Judy Sternlight at Random House, by Jessica Papin at American University in Cairo Press.English language rights: ctisne@randomhouse.com Others: Jpapin@aucegypt.edu
Wrap...
FICTION/DEBUT:
The Mummy Diaries author and columnist Rachel Johnson's NOTTING HELL, in the tradition of Helen Fielding and Alison Pearson, a about life in one of London's Notting Hill communal gardens, complete with celebrity neighbors, wealthy one-upmanship, pushy Americans, battles over building permits, and adultery, to Trish Todd at Touchstone Fireside, in a two-book deal, by Melanie Jackson (NA).
UK rights to Julliet Annan at Fig Tree.marcia.burch@simonandschuster.com
GENERAL/OTHER:
Novelist (THE ORDINARY WHITE BOY), story collection author (CARRYING THE TORCH), and McSweeney's and Believer contributor Brock Clarke's AN ARSONIST'S GUIDE TO WRITER'S HOMES IN NEW ENGLAND, the story of a young man jailed for torching Emily Dickinson's house in Amherst, Massachussetts -- part detective story, part rumination on family, home, and place, and part examination of why we read books -- a story of numerous fires addressing not only the the mystery of who set them, but what they mean, to Chuck Adams at Algonquin, by Elizabeth Sheinkman at Curtis Brown UK.Elizabeth@curtisbrown.co.uk
THRILLER:
Matt Bronleewe's ILLUMINATED, including the historical details of Guttenburg and the printing of limited edition Bibles, to Allen Arnold at WestBow, in a five-book deal, by Don Pape at Alive Communications (world). dpape@alivecom.com
CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOK:
Blair Underwood's untitled children's book about the first haircut, to Kelli Martin at Hyperion Children's, by Lydia Wills at Paradigm (world).jyarn@paradigmny.com
UK:
Scott Frost's Edgar-nominated RUN THE RISK and NEVER FEAR, both featuring the same woman LA homicide detective, plus an untitled third book, to Vicki Mellor in her first acquisition at Headline UK, by David Grossman, on behalf of the Elaine Koster Agency.
HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:
Cambridge historian Anna Whitelock's MARY: The First Queen of England, the story of Mary Tudor, trailblazer for her younger sister Elizabeth, to Michael Fishwick at Bloomsbury UK, and to Susanna Porter at Random House, by Emma Parry at Fletcher and Parry, on behalf of Catherine Clarke at Felicity Bryan Agency.emma@fletcherparry.com cc@felicitybryan.com cc@felicitybryan.com
Host of MSNBC's Countdown Keith Olbermann's THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD & 119 MORE STRONG CONTENDERS, to Stephen Power at Wiley, in a very nice deal, by Esther Newberg at ICM (NA).monorato@wiley.com
Harvard historian Jonathan Hansen's history of Guantanamo Bay, spanning from Christopher Columbus's discovery of the Americas through America's seizure of the land and the establishment of its naval base all the way up to the recent controversies concerning the detentions of political prisoners, to Tim Bartlett at Random House, by Wendy Strothman (world).
TRUE NORTH author and co-author of NYT bestseller AND THE SEA WILL TELL Bruce Henderson's DOWN TO THE SEA: Admiral Halsey, the Third Fleet, and the Great Typhoon, the story of one of the worst Naval disasters in US history, off the coast of the Philippines in December, 1944, to Elisabeth Dyssegaard at Smithsonian Books, for publication in Fall 2007, by Paul Bresnick of the Paul Bresnick Agency (NA).crissmand@si.edu
HUMOR:
Star of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report (and coiner of "truthiness") Stephen Colbert's untitled book, promising "the same noble goal as my television show: to change the world one factual error at a time," to Jamie Raab at Warner, in a pre-empt, for publication in September 2007, by Dan Strone at Trident Media Group and James Dixon at Dixon Talent.jimmy.franco@twbg.com
MEMOIR:
Terrell Owens's INELIGIBLE RECEIVER: The Real Story of My Journey from the Super Bowl to the Sidelines, recounting what happened during his two years in Philadelphia, describing his deteriorating relationship with Donovan McNabb, and providing a detailed account of his arbitration hearing, to David Rosenthal at Simon & Schuster, to be edited by Bob Bender, for publication in July 2006, by Ian Kleinert of Literary Group International (world).
Son of famed New Yorker writer, Brendan Gill, Michael Gates Gill's HOW STARBUCKS SAVED MY LIFE, a lemons-to-lemonade memoir, chronicling his transformative year working at Starbucks after falling from the heights of privilege, an opinionated white man in his 60s learning humbling life lessons from his new boss, an equally opinionated, 20-something African American woman raised in the projects, to Erin Moore at Gotham, in a pre-empt, by Gillian MacKenzie of the Gillian MacKenzie Agency (world).gmackenzie@gillianmackenzieagency.com
NARRATIVE:
Rachel Dickinson's FALCONER AT THE EDGE, a book that will do for contemporary falconry what THE ORCHID THIEF did for orchidelirium, penetrating the world of obsessed falconers through the story of one character who lives and dies for the hunt, to Lisa White at Houghton Mifflin, in a very nice deal, by Russell Galen at Scovil Chichak Galen Literary Agency (NA).Foreign rights: Danny Baror russellgalen@scglit.com
SCIENCE:
Fermat's Last Theorem author Amir Aczel's THE JESUIT AND THE SKULL: Teilhard de Chardin and the Search for Peking Man, the story of the French priest-scientist who was present at the discovery in 1923 of the ancient skull that became known as Peking Man, and how that breakthrough anthropological find marked the beginning of both de Chardin's scientific vindication and the greatest test of his faith as it escalated the debate between science and religion, to Geoff Kloske and Jake Morrissey at Riverhead, at auction, by Ike Williams at Kneerim & Williams.
How to Survive a Robot Uprising author Daniel H. Wilson's HOW TO BUILD A ROBOT ARMY, based on interviews with leading researchers across multiple disciplines, teaching us to harness the power of our robot friends, with illustrations, to Colin Dickerman at Bloomsbury, by Laurie Fox at Linda Chester Literary Agency
GENERAL:
Steve Lopez's IMAGINING BEETHOVEN, about how a chance encounter with a homeless man, who was a Julliard-trained violinist, triggers a personal reawakening for a Los Angeles Times reporter, and changes both of their lives forever, to Dan Conaway at Putnam, at auction, by David Black (NA). dan.conaway@us.penguingroup.com
[NOTE: HAVE READ SOME OF LOPEZ'S COLUMNS ON THIS IN THE LA TIMES AND IT'S ONE TERRIFIC STORY!]
UK:
Susan Devenyi's QUIET: The importance of introverts in a world that can't stop talking, draws on psychology, science, and history to explore how western societies have gone from valuing introverted personality types to valuing extroverts, and examines the impact of this shift on individuals, in schools and in the workplace, to Kate Barker at Viking, by Bill Hamilton at A.M. Heath, on behalf of Richard Pine at Inkwell Management.Kate.Barker@Penguin.co.uk
PAPERBACK:
Betool Khedairi's ABSENT, set in 1990s Iraq, the story of a young woman and her family and neighbors, all determined to maintain ordinary lives and even to find love and hope, amid bombings, international sanctions, surprise arrests, and a crumbling social fabric, to Judy Sternlight at Random House, by Jessica Papin at American University in Cairo Press.English language rights: ctisne@randomhouse.com Others: Jpapin@aucegypt.edu
Wrap...
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Blogger says Conservatives books freaking BushCo out...
From http://sheanc.blogspot.com :
GOP Memo Now Using Horror Movie Stock Footage
If you are a horror movie fan, or even if you have seen more than a few of them in your lifetime, you are well aware of the scenario: In the end, the villain is dragged down into the abyss/pit/hell/sludge/airlock/portal/whatever. They get their just desserts, for all the evil they have done. They end up suffering the same, or worse, as what they have been inflicting on their victims.Flash forward to the present: RNC Memo Warns GOPers Not To Distance Themselves From Bush
"The President is seen universally as the face of the Republican Party. We are now brand W. Republicans."Ha ha ha! After all the big talk about how "Bush is a liberal" and how repukes are trying to distance themselves from the apalling circus of depravity that is the Bush administration, their party tells them they can't leave! Ha ha ha! Like a gang of street thugs, they're in it from cradle to grave.Why would the RNC have to issue such a memo, you ask? Dig this: Conservatives' new books have Bush in crosshairs
[Read the rest at http://sheanc.blogspot.com ]
Wrap...
GOP Memo Now Using Horror Movie Stock Footage
If you are a horror movie fan, or even if you have seen more than a few of them in your lifetime, you are well aware of the scenario: In the end, the villain is dragged down into the abyss/pit/hell/sludge/airlock/portal/whatever. They get their just desserts, for all the evil they have done. They end up suffering the same, or worse, as what they have been inflicting on their victims.Flash forward to the present: RNC Memo Warns GOPers Not To Distance Themselves From Bush
"The President is seen universally as the face of the Republican Party. We are now brand W. Republicans."Ha ha ha! After all the big talk about how "Bush is a liberal" and how repukes are trying to distance themselves from the apalling circus of depravity that is the Bush administration, their party tells them they can't leave! Ha ha ha! Like a gang of street thugs, they're in it from cradle to grave.Why would the RNC have to issue such a memo, you ask? Dig this: Conservatives' new books have Bush in crosshairs
[Read the rest at http://sheanc.blogspot.com ]
Wrap...
Nuke Iran?!!!
From Information Clearing House:
Will The U.S. Nuke Iran?
Professor of Physics Highlights The Dangers
New US policy to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear countries has been officially formulated in two US government documents Nuclear Posture Review delivered to Congress in December 2001 and Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations dated March 15, 2005.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12569.htm
Wrap...
Will The U.S. Nuke Iran?
Professor of Physics Highlights The Dangers
New US policy to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear countries has been officially formulated in two US government documents Nuclear Posture Review delivered to Congress in December 2001 and Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations dated March 15, 2005.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12569.htm
Wrap...
Los Alamos in the hands of Betchel Corporation?!!!
From Tom Dispatch via truthout.org :
Privatizing the Apocalypse
By Frida Berrigan
TomDispatch.com
Thursday 30 March 2006
Started as the super-secret "Project Y" in 1943, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has long been the keystone institution of the American nuclear-weapons producing complex. It was the birthplace of Fat Man and Little Boy, the two nuclear bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Last year, the University of California, which has managed the lab for the Department of Energy since its inception, decided to put Los Alamos on the auction block. In December 2005, construction giant Bechtel won a $553 million yearly management contract to run the sprawling complex, which employs more than 13,000 people and has an estimated $2.2 billion annual budget.
"Privatization" has been in the news ever since George W. Bush became president. His administration has radically reduced the size of government, turning over to private companies critical governmental functions involving prisons, schools, water, welfare, Medicare, and utilities as well as war-fighting, and is always pushing for more of the same. Outside of Washington, the pitfalls of privatization are on permanent display in Iraq, where companies like Halliburton have reaped billions in contracts. Performing jobs once carried out by members of the military - from base building and mail delivery to food service - they have bilked the government while undermining the safety of American forces by providing substandard services and products. Halliburton has been joined by a cottage industry of military-support companies responsible for everything from transportation to interrogation. On the war front, private companies are ubiquitous, increasingly indispensable, and largely unregulated - a lethal combination.
Now, the long arm of privatization is reaching deep into an almost unimaginable place at the heart of the national security apparatus - - the laboratory where scientists learned to harness the power of the atom more than 60 years ago and created weapons of apocalyptic proportions.
Profane Problem or Prolific Profit?
Nuclear weapons are many things to many people - the sword of Damocles or the guarantor of American global supremacy, the royal path to the apocalypse or atoms for peace. But in each notion, they are treated as idols - jealously-guarded, shrouded in code, surrounded by sacred secrecy. That is changing.
[Continued at : http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/033006C.shtml
Wrap...
Privatizing the Apocalypse
By Frida Berrigan
TomDispatch.com
Thursday 30 March 2006
Started as the super-secret "Project Y" in 1943, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has long been the keystone institution of the American nuclear-weapons producing complex. It was the birthplace of Fat Man and Little Boy, the two nuclear bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Last year, the University of California, which has managed the lab for the Department of Energy since its inception, decided to put Los Alamos on the auction block. In December 2005, construction giant Bechtel won a $553 million yearly management contract to run the sprawling complex, which employs more than 13,000 people and has an estimated $2.2 billion annual budget.
"Privatization" has been in the news ever since George W. Bush became president. His administration has radically reduced the size of government, turning over to private companies critical governmental functions involving prisons, schools, water, welfare, Medicare, and utilities as well as war-fighting, and is always pushing for more of the same. Outside of Washington, the pitfalls of privatization are on permanent display in Iraq, where companies like Halliburton have reaped billions in contracts. Performing jobs once carried out by members of the military - from base building and mail delivery to food service - they have bilked the government while undermining the safety of American forces by providing substandard services and products. Halliburton has been joined by a cottage industry of military-support companies responsible for everything from transportation to interrogation. On the war front, private companies are ubiquitous, increasingly indispensable, and largely unregulated - a lethal combination.
Now, the long arm of privatization is reaching deep into an almost unimaginable place at the heart of the national security apparatus - - the laboratory where scientists learned to harness the power of the atom more than 60 years ago and created weapons of apocalyptic proportions.
Profane Problem or Prolific Profit?
Nuclear weapons are many things to many people - the sword of Damocles or the guarantor of American global supremacy, the royal path to the apocalypse or atoms for peace. But in each notion, they are treated as idols - jealously-guarded, shrouded in code, surrounded by sacred secrecy. That is changing.
[Continued at : http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/033006C.shtml
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