Major Political Changes in the USA

[Kooperman]

Nothing sticks to the teflon President....

[method77]

Nothing sticks to the teflon President....

I agree with Koop.

After reading all these articles about him and his voters, the only thing that would make him not wanted is if someone claimed he is gay.

I am not kidding

[DudeAsInCool]

If the above is true, he's in for major problems

[method77]

Somewhere else, yes. In the US, no.

Don't be angry about my views against your country Dude. You know what I mean.

You should hear me talk about our previous goverment lol

[DudeAsInCool]

Don't be angry about my views against your country Dude. You know what I mean.

I'm with you :good job:

[slum_goddess]

You should hear me talk about our previous goverment lol

you should hear me talk about our current govt. oh wait.

[Redneck4sure]

i love it when you're all deluded and shit.

Yeah, Koop and I have a lot in common.

[DudeAsInCool]

Im not surprised they tried to get away with this garbage - because they are garbage

House G.O.P. Voids Rule It Adopted Shielding Leader

By CARL HULSE

Published: January 4, 2005

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 - Stung by criticism that they were lowering ethical standards, House Republicans on Monday night reversed a rule change that would have allowed a party leader to retain his position even if indicted.

Lawmakers and House officials said Republicans, meeting behind the closed doors of the House chamber, had acted at the request of the House majority leader, Representative Tom DeLay, who had been the intended beneficiary of the rule change.

When they rewrote party rules in November, Republicans said they feared that Mr. DeLay could be subjected to a politically motivated indictment as part of a campaign finance investigation in Texas that has resulted in charges against three of his associates. The decision, coupled with other Republican proposals to rewrite the ethics rules, drew fierce criticism from Democrats and watchdogs outside the government, who said the Republican majority was subverting ethics enforcement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/04/politics...artner=homepage

[DudeAsInCool]

Despite the Presidents earlier promises not to change Social Security, lo and behond, here come the changes. Can a draft be next?

****

Social Security Formula Weighed

Bush Plan Likely to Cut Initial Benefits

By Jonathan Weisman and Mike Allen

Washington Post Staff Writers

Tuesday, January 4, 2005; Page A01

The Bush administration has signaled that it will propose changing the formula that sets initial Social Security benefit levels, cutting promised benefits by nearly a third in the coming decades, according to several Republicans close to the White House.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...av=rss_politics

[DudeAsInCool]

Third columnist caught with hand in the Bush till

Michael McManus, conservative author of the syndicated column "Ethics & Religion," received $10,000 to promote a marriage initiative.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

By Eric Boehlert

Jan. 27, 2005  |  And three makes a trend.

One day after President Bush ordered his Cabinet secretaries to stop hiring commentators to help promote administration initiatives, and one day after the second high-profile conservative pundit was found to be on the federal payroll, a third embarrassing hire has emerged. Salon has confirmed that Michael McManus, a marriage advocate whose syndicated column, "Ethics & Religion," appears in 50 newspapers, was hired as a subcontractor by the Department of Health and Human Services to foster a Bush-approved marriage initiative. McManus championed the plan in his columns without disclosing to readers he was being paid to help it succeed.

Responding to the latest revelation, Dr. Wade Horn, assistant secretary for children and families at HHS, announced Thursday that HHS would institute a new policy that forbids the agency from hiring any outside expert or consultant who has any working affiliation with the media. "I needed to draw this bright line," Horn tells Salon. "The policy is being implemented and we're moving forward."

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/01/...anus/index.html

[DudeAsInCool]

Giving "Gannon" a pass

Questions remain about how a fake reporter working for a fake news operation got White House press credentials without a background check.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

By Eric Boehlert

Feb. 11, 2005  |  Before abruptly quitting his post this week as White House correspondent for the GOP-friendly group Talon News, Jeff Gannon enjoyed unfettered access to White House briefings. He gained that access not by going through the normal full background check most journalists face when obtaining a "hard pass," the ultimate White House credential, but rather by getting day passes, which require only an abbreviated background check. According to one current member of the White House press corps, Gannon was the only reporter to skirt the rules that way, obtaining daily passes month after month for nearly two years.

"Why did the White House circumvent the process for him?" asks the White House reporter.

That's just one of several questions that continue to swirl around the man who covered the White House under the pseudonym Jeff Gannon -- his real name is James Guckert -- and his abrupt departure from Talon News. After Guckert piqued interest in the blogosphere with an overly obvious softball question to President Bush at the Jan. 26 press conference, online sleuths uncovered the truth about Talon's close working ties with Republican operatives and their GOPUSA Web site as well as past identity. Faced with allegations that he was tied to gay-themed Web sites, Guckert resigned his Talon position Tuesday night. (Talon has posted scores of anti-gay articles.) Still left unanswered, though, is how a partisan novice reporter working for a fake news organization was able to gain regular access to White House briefings.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/02/...nnon/index.html

[Wolfie]

Can a draft be next?

Where do think they'll those poor bastards to send to Iran? :rolleyes:

PS. I am so glad my draft years was during Clinton's 8 years. Much appreciated, Bill.

[DudeAsInCool]

Appeals Court Says Reporters Must Testify or Go to Jail

By ADAM LIPTAK

Published: February 15, 2005

Two reporters who have refused to name their sources to a grand jury investigating the disclosure the identity of a covert C.I.A. agent should be jailed on contempt charges, a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court in Washington ruled unanimously today.

Citing a 1972 decision of the United States Supreme Court, the panel held that the reporters, Judith Miller of The New York Times and Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, have no First Amendment protection from a grand jury subpoena seeking to learn the identity of their sources. Under a 1982 law, it can be a crime for government officials to divulge the identities of covert agents.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/15/national...artner=homepage

[method77]

It's well known that reporters can keep their sources secret. Are they trying to break ALL international laws? Enough already!

[Redneck4sure]

Put the reporters in jail. Never release the reporters until they disclose the leakers or die in jail. When and if they finally talk, put the officials in jail that leaked the info and keep the reporters in jail for another couple of years for not talking sooner.

Good for the appeals court, good for the Supreme Court of 1972, and good for the 1982 law.

[slum_goddess]

Put the reporters in jail.

y'mean after robert novak, don't you?

[DudeAsInCool]

y'mean after robert novak, don't you?

[slum_goddess]

Questions remain about how a fake reporter working for a fake news operation got White House press credentials without a background check.

'...This is an issue that threatens the GOP.The cosmopolitan conservatives and libertarians don't have a problem with gays and yet The Christian Right is building a homophobic crusade. A lot of people in the middle don't know what to think. A party with political instincts would exploit that. It's not a new concept I'm advocating here. It's called "divide and conquor." The Right blogosphere sounds like a bunch of San Francisco ACLU liberals when the issue of Gannon comes up and the smart thing for the left to do is ask the Christian right if they agree with their fellow "conservatives."...

'... the biggest reason to pursue this story is because we are creating a terrible moral hazard if we don't. The Republicans have no incentive to stop the politics of personal destruction if we don't hold them to their own standards and they continue to be rewarded. Pitchers, batters and Republicans understand this instinctively. So should we...'

more at Digby

and way the fuck more at billmon.

[DudeAsInCool]

Rule Change Lets C.I.A. Freely Send Suspects Abroad to Jails

By DOUGLAS JEHL and DAVID JOHNSTON

Published: March 6, 2005

WASHINGTON, March 5 - The Bush administration's secret program to transfer suspected terrorists to foreign countries for interrogation has been carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency under broad authority that has allowed it to act without case-by-case approval from the White House or the State or Justice Departments, according to current and former government officials. The unusually expansive authority for the C.I.A. to operate independently was provided by the White House under a still-classified directive signed by President Bush within days of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack.

http://nytimes.com/2005/03/06/politics/06i...artner=homepage

***

Thus bypassing the American judicial system and letting torure be un-monitired. I dont thiknk the action was legal - and it certainly un-American in principle

[slum_goddess]

Thus bypassing the American judicial system and letting torure be un-monitired. I dont thiknk the action was legal - and it certainly un-American in principle

not these days. *mirthless laughter*

[DudeAsInCool]

Bankruptcy Bill Is Arena for Abortion Fight

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

Published: March 8, 2005

WASHINGTON, March 7 - A bankruptcy bill pending before the Senate is about to provide a forum for the first abortion battle of the new Congress, and how it plays out could set the stage for much larger fights over abortion restrictions and judicial nominees, including perhaps a nominee to the Supreme Court.

Read more here:

http://nytimes.com/2005/03/08/politics/08abort.html

[DudeAsInCool]

Teresa Heinz: 2004 Presidential Election was Hacked!

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash3thk.htm

***

Quite possible - Kerry was leading in every Ohio poll...

[Redneck4sure]

Quite possible - Kerry was leading in every Ohio poll...

and your point is?

[DudeAsInCool]

and your point is?

It wouldnt surprise me if the election was stolen...

[Redneck4sure]

It wouldnt surprise me if the election was stolen...

and your point is???