Monday, May 01, 2006
We’re surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides-the president's side and the vice president's side. - Stephen Colbert
Prosecuting Reporters via the Espionage laws…so as to make them divulge their info re national security.
Earlier administrations have fired and prosecuted government officials who provided classified information to the press. They have also tried to force reporters to identify their sources.
But the Bush administration is exploring a more radical measure to protect information it says is vital to national security: the criminal prosecution of reporters under the espionage laws.
Such an approach would signal a thorough revision of the informal rules of engagement that have governed the relationship between the press and the government for many decades. Leaking in Washington is commonplace and typically entails tolerable risks for government officials and, at worst, the possibility of subpoenas to journalists seeking the identities of sources.
But the Bush administration is putting pressure on the press as never before, and it is operating in a judicial climate that seems increasingly receptive to constraints on journalists. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/washington/30leak.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
Colbert at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Biting satire, targeting our failed journalists and the Administration. NSA wiretaps, Fox News, Rumsfeld, Bush as The Decider, etc. Left ‘em laughing or squirming.
The video and transcript:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/04/29.html#a8104
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/30/1441/59811
More, below
Rush (Limbaugh) The drug addict copped a plea deal in Florida. His fame and money apparently enough to reduce his ‘doctor shopping’ for thousands of oxycontin to but one count and a probation of sorts.
Rush Limbaugh and prosecutors in the long-running painkiller fraud case against him have reached a deal calling for the only charge against the conservative commentator to be dropped if he continues treatment, his attorney said Friday.
Limbaugh was booked on a single charge that was filed Friday, said Teri Barbera, a spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Jail. He left about an hour later, after Limbaugh was photographed and fingerprinted and he posted $3,000 bail, Barbera said. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1903495
Now, I know there are some polls out there saying this man has a 32% approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in "reality." And reality has a well-known liberal bias. - Stephen Colbert
What’s Happening, Iran: Nothing. In sum: The only crisis with Iran is the crisis with Bush's public approval ratings. Pass it on.
Darfur: Protest, but no peace in the near-term:
Clutching signs that read "Never Again," thousands of protesters from across religious and political divides descended on the Mall yesterday along with celebrities and politicians to urge President Bush to take stronger measures to end the violence in Sudan's Darfur region that the U.S. has labeled genocide.
They wore skullcaps, turbans, headscarves, yarmulkes, baseball hats and bandanas. There were pastors, rabbis, imams, youths from churches and youths from synagogues. They cried out phrases in Arabic and held signs in Hebrew. But on this day, they said, they didn't come out as Jews or Muslims, Christians or Sikhs, Republicans or Democrats. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/30/AR2006043000183.html
[Also, an unknown- 300 – 350,000?- number protested the ongoing war in Iraq in NYC on Saturday. Unlike the Globe, the major media ignored it.]
Sudan's government offered Sunday to accept a potentially historic Darfur peace agreement, but two of Darfur's three main rebel groups raised last-minute objections that left the negotiations mired in confusion as a midnight deadline passed. Mediators agreed to extend the talks for 48 hours at the request of the United States. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/01/world/africa/01sudan.html
When the president decides something on Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday - no matter what happened Tuesday. -Stephen Colbert
South American Alliance:
Bolivia's new left-leaning president signed a pact with Cuba and Venezuela on Saturday rejecting U.S.-backed free trade and promising a socialist version of regional commerce and cooperation.
Cuban authorities did not release copies of the so-called Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas signed by Bolivia's Evo Morales, so its contents were unclear.
Local media reported that it had the same language as the declaration signed last year by Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, which contained much leftist rhetoric, and few specifics, but was followed by closer economic ties between the two vehemently anti-U.S. leaders. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114635989328639810.html?mod=politics_primary_hs
Let's review the rules. Here's how it works. The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know--fiction. – Stephen Colbert
Immigration: Administration overconfidence With the back-drop of immigrant groups split as to today’s walk-out and polls showing that the White House has been successful in getting Americans to “worry” about immigration…
President Bush's growing confidence that he will secure a victory on immigration runs in direct contrast to the House Republican leadership, which is prepared to block legislation that offers illegal immigrants a path to citizenship without sending them home.
Senate Democratic and Republican leaders are closing in on a bipartisan deal to secure the nation's borders, create a guest-worker program for foreign workers and offer citizenship to illegal immigrants who clear certain hurdles.
Assuming agreement is reached in the Senate, White House advisers said Bush believes that he can count on House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and other leaders to rally skeptical House Republicans behind legislation. But the White House may be underestimating the degree of opposition from within his party, according to several GOP members and aides. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/30/AR2006043000795_pf.html
I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq. -Stephen Colbert
Democrats’ strategy: Minimum wage to be highlighted
As Republicans resist efforts to raise the federal minimum wage, Democrats see the issue boosting party turnout in November's midterm elections -- and their chances of gaining seats in Congress.
Six states are expected to have a minimum-wage increase on their ballots this fall, and efforts are under way in at least three more states to collect enough signatures to place it on those ballots.
Among the six is Arizona where Democratic challenger Jim Pederson plans to use the issue to appeal to independents and moderate Republicans in his quest to unseat Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, who hasn't taken a position on the wage increase. "We think voters understand that $5.15 an hour just isn't enough for folks to get along on," says Kevin Griffis, Mr. Pederson's spokesman.
It's a strategy stolen straight from Republicans, who for more than two decades have used ballot initiatives to create wedge issues and whip up excitement among core voters. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114644237570740071.html?mod=politics_primary_hs
-R
Prosecuting Reporters via the Espionage laws…so as to make them divulge their info re national security.
Earlier administrations have fired and prosecuted government officials who provided classified information to the press. They have also tried to force reporters to identify their sources.
But the Bush administration is exploring a more radical measure to protect information it says is vital to national security: the criminal prosecution of reporters under the espionage laws.
Such an approach would signal a thorough revision of the informal rules of engagement that have governed the relationship between the press and the government for many decades. Leaking in Washington is commonplace and typically entails tolerable risks for government officials and, at worst, the possibility of subpoenas to journalists seeking the identities of sources.
But the Bush administration is putting pressure on the press as never before, and it is operating in a judicial climate that seems increasingly receptive to constraints on journalists. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/washington/30leak.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
Colbert at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Biting satire, targeting our failed journalists and the Administration. NSA wiretaps, Fox News, Rumsfeld, Bush as The Decider, etc. Left ‘em laughing or squirming.
The video and transcript:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/04/29.html#a8104
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/30/1441/59811
More, below
Rush (Limbaugh) The drug addict copped a plea deal in Florida. His fame and money apparently enough to reduce his ‘doctor shopping’ for thousands of oxycontin to but one count and a probation of sorts.
Rush Limbaugh and prosecutors in the long-running painkiller fraud case against him have reached a deal calling for the only charge against the conservative commentator to be dropped if he continues treatment, his attorney said Friday.
Limbaugh was booked on a single charge that was filed Friday, said Teri Barbera, a spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Jail. He left about an hour later, after Limbaugh was photographed and fingerprinted and he posted $3,000 bail, Barbera said. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1903495
Now, I know there are some polls out there saying this man has a 32% approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in "reality." And reality has a well-known liberal bias. - Stephen Colbert
What’s Happening, Iran: Nothing. In sum: The only crisis with Iran is the crisis with Bush's public approval ratings. Pass it on.
Darfur: Protest, but no peace in the near-term:
Clutching signs that read "Never Again," thousands of protesters from across religious and political divides descended on the Mall yesterday along with celebrities and politicians to urge President Bush to take stronger measures to end the violence in Sudan's Darfur region that the U.S. has labeled genocide.
They wore skullcaps, turbans, headscarves, yarmulkes, baseball hats and bandanas. There were pastors, rabbis, imams, youths from churches and youths from synagogues. They cried out phrases in Arabic and held signs in Hebrew. But on this day, they said, they didn't come out as Jews or Muslims, Christians or Sikhs, Republicans or Democrats. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/30/AR2006043000183.html
[Also, an unknown- 300 – 350,000?- number protested the ongoing war in Iraq in NYC on Saturday. Unlike the Globe, the major media ignored it.]
Sudan's government offered Sunday to accept a potentially historic Darfur peace agreement, but two of Darfur's three main rebel groups raised last-minute objections that left the negotiations mired in confusion as a midnight deadline passed. Mediators agreed to extend the talks for 48 hours at the request of the United States. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/01/world/africa/01sudan.html
When the president decides something on Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday - no matter what happened Tuesday. -Stephen Colbert
South American Alliance:
Bolivia's new left-leaning president signed a pact with Cuba and Venezuela on Saturday rejecting U.S.-backed free trade and promising a socialist version of regional commerce and cooperation.
Cuban authorities did not release copies of the so-called Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas signed by Bolivia's Evo Morales, so its contents were unclear.
Local media reported that it had the same language as the declaration signed last year by Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, which contained much leftist rhetoric, and few specifics, but was followed by closer economic ties between the two vehemently anti-U.S. leaders. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114635989328639810.html?mod=politics_primary_hs
Let's review the rules. Here's how it works. The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know--fiction. – Stephen Colbert
Immigration: Administration overconfidence With the back-drop of immigrant groups split as to today’s walk-out and polls showing that the White House has been successful in getting Americans to “worry” about immigration…
President Bush's growing confidence that he will secure a victory on immigration runs in direct contrast to the House Republican leadership, which is prepared to block legislation that offers illegal immigrants a path to citizenship without sending them home.
Senate Democratic and Republican leaders are closing in on a bipartisan deal to secure the nation's borders, create a guest-worker program for foreign workers and offer citizenship to illegal immigrants who clear certain hurdles.
Assuming agreement is reached in the Senate, White House advisers said Bush believes that he can count on House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and other leaders to rally skeptical House Republicans behind legislation. But the White House may be underestimating the degree of opposition from within his party, according to several GOP members and aides. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/30/AR2006043000795_pf.html
I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq. -Stephen Colbert
Democrats’ strategy: Minimum wage to be highlighted
As Republicans resist efforts to raise the federal minimum wage, Democrats see the issue boosting party turnout in November's midterm elections -- and their chances of gaining seats in Congress.
Six states are expected to have a minimum-wage increase on their ballots this fall, and efforts are under way in at least three more states to collect enough signatures to place it on those ballots.
Among the six is Arizona where Democratic challenger Jim Pederson plans to use the issue to appeal to independents and moderate Republicans in his quest to unseat Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, who hasn't taken a position on the wage increase. "We think voters understand that $5.15 an hour just isn't enough for folks to get along on," says Kevin Griffis, Mr. Pederson's spokesman.
It's a strategy stolen straight from Republicans, who for more than two decades have used ballot initiatives to create wedge issues and whip up excitement among core voters. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114644237570740071.html?mod=politics_primary_hs
-R
