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Richard Mellon Scaife, the reclusive right-wing billionaire who financed a “family values” crusade that almost bought down President Bill Clinton, has offered surprising praise for the politician he once despised - and admitted they both share an interest in philandering. The heir to the Mellon banking fortune was once scorned by Democrats as the shadowy figure behind what Hillary Clinton dubbed “the vast right-wing conspiracy”. Mr Scaife backed the so-called Arkansas Project that produced a series of stories in the American Spectator magazine into Mr Clinton’s sex life, including the notorious “Troopergate” piece that spurred Paula Jones’ sexual harrassment suit...

The Bush administration's vow this week to block contempt charges from Congress could prove to be a successful strategy for protecting White House documents about the multiple firings of U.S. attorneys, Democratic legal scholars and legislative aides said yesterday. This week, Bush administration officials disclosed that they will never allow a U.S. attorney to pursue contempt charges on behalf of Congress, noting that the Justice Department cannot be required to act against a decision by the president. But administration officials and other legal scholars, including some Democrats, noted that Justice Department lawyers in the Clinton administration made a similar argument...

Excerpt - Matt Sheffield's post over at Ace's place ("The Attempted Crucifixion of Frank Luntz") noted the heat PBS had received for having GOP pollster Frank Luntz participate as an analyst at last Thursday's Democrat debate: The blog left's puppet master, David Brock, sends out an "alert" informing them that someone who might possibly be conservative is going to be allowed to report as a "mainstream" journalist. ..... Thankfully, PBS has not backed down. Luntz, who is a respected pollster and is often quoted in liberal publications is not getting the shaft, making him one of the very few Republicans...

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has ordered U.S. Embassy posts in Baghdad filled ahead of others worldwide, saying it's essential diplomats sent to Iraq be the most qualified. In a cable sent to all U.S. missions abroad and obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, Rice disclosed a new hiring plan amid increasing criticism of American efforts in Iraq. It is designed to prevent a potential severe vacancy problem and, in part, reduce resistance from anti-war elements in the State Department who have been accused of holding up appointments and discouraging diplomats from going to Iraq. SNIP Officals familiar with the...

Houston is at a turning point. With a boost from noted urbanist Joel Kotkin, our city has begun recasting its national reputation from "that ugly, sprawling, weird city without zoning" to the exemplar city for "Opportunity Urbanism," a compelling new paradigm for cities in the 21st century. This paradigm asserts that the fundamental (but recently forgotten) core mission of cities is to accelerate the upward social and economic mobility of its inhabitants. This may sound obvious to the average person, but in the wonkish world of urban policy and planning, the themes of the past decade have been environmentalism (smart...

Grocer sentenced in food stamp fraud case Posted by Mike Tobin May 31, 2007 14:41PM Categories: Breaking News, Crime The leader of one of the biggest food-stamp fraud rings in Ohio was sentenced to less than three years in prison Thursday during a secret hearing. U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster sentenced Amin Salem to 33 months in prison for his role in a $7.7 million food stamp fraud ring dating back to 1995. It's the second time Salem has been convicted of stealing from the program designed to feed poor people. Salem was supposed to be sentenced last...

Dear MoveOn member, Every June, thousands of leaders, activists, thinkers and bloggers gather in Washington, DC at one of the biggest progressive conferences of the year—the Take Back America conference. This year I'll be helping kick it off, and we'll be joined by an amazing list of speakers—from John Edwards to Ned Lamont to Nancy Pelosi. And there are workshops and presentations on everything from universal health care to corporate reform. The folks at Take Back America are offering a special rate for MoveOn members, but it's only valid for a few more days. Want to join us on June...

A relative has been in the hospital, and then rehab at a nursing home, for a couple of months. The other day I took the 90-year-old over to his house. We weren’t there for a minute when the phone rang. It was a telemarketer. In less than ten minutes, two other sales calls came in. The elderly, often housebound and lonely, are particularly susceptible to phone pitches. Some companies specifically target them for scams. Last month the New York Times ran a story on an information broker business, infoUSA, which sells lists for telemarketing. According to the Times, a list...

For all of the posturing by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee during the testimony of former Department of Justice political appointee Monica Goodling, they and their Democrat colleagues in the Clinton administration went to far greater lengths to identify and track the political activities of career and politically appointed lawyers in the Department of Justice and elsewhere. "We knew the political affiliation of every lawyer and political appointee we hired at the Department of Justice from January 1993 to the end of the Administration," says a former Clinton Department of Justice political appointee. "We kept charts and used them...

June 4, 2007 issue - The United States Department of Justice has not always been above politics. John F. Kennedy, after all, appointed his brother and consigliere Robert to be attorney general. But the Justice Department is supposed to stand for the rule of law—to be the enforcer of the laws of the United States, not the place presidents go to get around the law. Independence is an important tradition in the columned limestone building on Constitution Avenue. It is worth remembering that before Richard Nixon could find someone at the Justice Department willing to fire the Watergate special prosecutor...

BERGER'S ETERNAL SECRET May 27, 2007 -- It now looks like the American people will never learn how - and why - Bill Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy "Sticky Fingers" Berger, stole and destroyed classified documents from the National Archives. That's because Berger - in a significant, but little-noticed, move - has short-circuited the last investigation into his sordid little burglary. As Byron York reports at National Review Online, Berger last week voluntarily surrendered his law license. Now, that's hardly as serious a step as it sounds, since - as Berger freely admitted - "I have not [practiced law] for...

A federal judge approved an immunity deal Friday allowing former Justice Department aide Monica Goodling to testify before Congress about the firing of eight federal prosecutors. Goodling, who served as the department's White House liaison, has refused to discuss the firings without a guarantee that she will not be prosecuted. Congress agreed to the deal, Justice Department investigators reluctantly agreed not to oppose it and U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan gave it final approval Friday. "Monica Goodling may not refuse to testify," Hogan began his brief order, which said that Goodling could not be prosecuted for anything other than perjury...

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) is calling on the Justice Department either to drop its investigation of his wife and former political associates or else to bring charges quickly. DeLay said he has given the FBI documents exonerating his wife, but an associate of the former lawmaker said that agents have followed up with a fresh round of subpoenas. The inquiry appears to be focused on determining whether DeLay’s wife, Christine, earned her pay from two organizations controlled by Ed Buckham, a lobbyist once closely affiliated with the former Republican leader, according to sources interviewed by federal investigators....

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own set of facts." That cardinal rule of the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan comes in for mention in George Tenet's memoir "At the Center of the Storm." An unusual kind of irony, then, that Mr. Tenet is now attempting to rehabilitate himself in official Washington, and so he must paint himself as a dissenter, a truth-teller, a man railroaded by the Bush administration. The memoirist's natural tendency to recount the most favorable train of events thus takes on its own momentum. In Mr. Tenet's case, this puts the man at...

Hawking his new book, At the Eye of the Storm, former CIA Director George Tenet bared his soul Sunday night to Scott Pelley of the CBS news magazine, 60 Minutes. Some preliminary thoughts about his jaw-dropping performance are in order. 1. Tenet met every morning with President Bush. Indeed, he was the point person at the national-security briefing — the daily session Bush, from the beginning of his presidency, has made a point of taking more seriously than his predecessor did. Tenet now claims that in the summer of 2001, he was convinced al Qaeda was on the verge of...

<p>PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Opinion Research Corporation, a leading provider of global market research and consulting services, today announced the establishment of a formal polling partnership with CNN, one of the world's most respected and trusted sources for news and information. The CNN Poll will become the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll.</p>

The latest- the blogs are all over this- go to them and use their links:   Foley Setup? - Part V - Uncovering the Conspiracy--I don’t think I’ve ever seen a political conspiracy unravel as fast as this one that involves former representative Mark Foley. These you must read to catch up on the story...MacsMind - Foleygate Part IVMacsMind - Foleygate Part V   [Foley Outer] Mike Rogers Tried To Blackmail Senator On Alito Vote--Rogers was named as one of Genre Magazine’s Men We Love. http://www.pageonenewsmedia.com/docs/bio.html Here's the list of intimidation. http://www.blogactive.com/2006_06_01_blogactive_archive.html I don't think that these Gay activists who...

Information compiled from the Washington Post, “Congressional Sex Scandals in History,” and other sources. 10. Sen. Daniel Inouye. The 82-year-old Hawaii Democrat was accused in the 1990s by numerous women of sexual harassment. Democrats cast doubt on the allegations and the Senate Ethics Committee dropped its investigation. 9. Former Rep. Gus Savage. The Illinois Democrat was accused of fondling a Peace Corps volunteer in 1989 while on a trip to Africa. The House Ethics Committee decided against disciplinary action in 1990. 8. Rep. Barney Frank. The outspoken Massachusetts Democrat hired a male prostitute who ran a prostitution service from Frank’s...

ALBANY, N.Y. - They were young and eager in the 1990s, these midlevel functionaries, hotshot lawyers and one Cabinet secretary in his father's shadow, all inspired by the same boss: President Clinton. Today, Clinton administration alumni are taking their turn in the political spotlight while their former leader cheers from the sidelines. "I am pleased and proud that so many of them have run or are running for office," the former president said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "Their dedication and enthusiasm are part of the reason why we were able to accomplish as much good as we...

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's Toyota Motor Corp said the head of its fast-growing North American operations has agreed to step down following a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by his assistant. Hideaki Otaka, president and chief executive of Toyota Motor North America, denies the allegations but agreed to bring forward his departure date to Monday from the end of June, the world's number two automaker announced. "At Toyota, we have zero tolerance for sexual harassment or discrimination of any kind," Toyota Motor Corp president Katsuaki Watanabe said in a statement issued late Monday. Yuki Funo, 59, currently head of Toyota Motor...

 Little noticed in the kerfuffle over the takeover of major US ports by Dubai Ports is the key role being played by former Democratic Party leaders. Lobbying firms associated with ex-Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Madeleine Albright (Clinton’s Secretary of State) have been working (paid subscription only link) to secure approval of the purchase by Dubai. One would think that our leaders, even when out of office, would care more about their nation than their bank accounts.This hopefully will give impetus to a bill (drafted by Republican Congressman Mike Rogers of Michigan) working its slow way through Congress that would bar...

Here it is: Final Report

This is not about Dick Morris’ latest book, Condi vs. Hillary: The Next Great Presidential Race. The issue today is “Should America have a woman President?” I reply, “Of course, and not a moment too soon. But shouldn’t we put a LITTLE thought into which woman would be good for the job?” The woman/White House issue is, of course, raised by the new ABC program “Commander in Chief,” starring Geena Davis. Does anyone have slight doubt that a President should be impeached and removed, rather than praised, if he/she threatened war against another nation for executing one of its citizens,...

Sandy Berger answers questions in the White House briefing room in this Thursday, March 25, 1999 file photo. Former national security adviser Sandy Berger will plead guilty to taking classified material from the National Archives, a misdemeanor, the Justice Department said Thursday. Berger is expected to appear in federal court in Washington on Friday, said Justice spokesman Bryan Sierra. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File) Former Ntl Security Advisor Pleads Guilty to Taking Classified Materials WASHINGTON Apr 1, 2005 — Former national security adviser Sandy Berger, who once had unfettered access to the government's most sensitive secrets, pleaded guilty Friday to sneaking...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tracey Schmitt 202-863-8614 “MoveOn.org’s vulgar depiction of a violent attack on the Capitol -- a building that symbolizes our democracy -- is beyond the pale of acceptable political discourse. Democrats know Senator Frist’s efforts are intended to restore Senate tradition by granting highly qualified judicial nominees the vote they deserve and have received for the past 214 years. It’s sad that the Democrats and their third party allies would choose to play on Americans’ fears instead of engaging in constructive political debate.” - RNC Communications Director Brian JonesMoveon.Org Has Long History Of Airing Inflammatory And Inappropriate Ads...

FLASH: LARRY FLYNT OBTAINS DIVORCE RECORDS OF BUSH UN NOMINEE JOHN BOLTON -- Divorce Records Show First Wife Fled Home When He Was Traveling Abroad... Explosive: Flynt asks questions about sex... "Allegations that Mr. Bolton’s first wife, Christina Bolton, was forced to engage in group sex have not been refuted by the State Dep't despite inquires posed by Hustler publisher Larry Flynt concerning the allegations. Flynt has obtained information from various sources that Bolton participated in paid visits to Plato’s Retreat, a popular swingers club that operated in NYC in late 1970s and early 1980s.... MORE COMING....

Texans are generally gung-ho for law and order. They support the death penalty for capital crimes and tough prison sentences meted out to drug users and multiple offenders. That enthusiasm doesn't seem to extend to automated traffic enforcement systems that can videotape cars zooming through red lights and then mail tickets to the vehicle owner later. It's the rare Houston motorist who hasn't narrowly escaped being struck by an impatient driver trying to beat a red light. Police officers joke that Houstonians believe a red light means only three more cars can go through the intersection. Places of business as...

Ex-fugitive Marc Rich is suspected of having become one of Saddam Hussein's middlemen in Iraq's illegal oil trade just a month after he won a controversial pardon from former President Bill Clinton, a news report said. ABC News reported last night that Rich's alleged role in the growing UN oil-for-food scandal is under investigation by federal officials. Rich, who was pardoned by Clinton in January 2001, and several other prominent oil traders are suspected of making illegal kickbacks to Iraq to win the lucrative oil contracts, the network reported. The UN program was set up in 1996 to help Iraqis...

The Reynolds story... November 24, 2004 BY MICHAEL SNEED SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST Former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds was reportedly a personal guest of former President Bill Clinton at the dedication of his library in Little Rock, Ark., last week. *Background: During his final hours in office, Clinton commuted the jail sentence of Reynolds, who served 2-1/2 years in federal prison on charges of corruption and having sex with an underage girl. Reynolds petitioned for clemency so he could be reunited with his children, who he felt needed him desperately. Clinton concurred. *Foreground: Reynolds was accompanied by his son and namesake, 11-year...

In recent weeks, The Heinz Endowments has been accused of using its funding of the Tides Center of Western Pennsylvania to advance a laundry list of partisan causes and fringe political groups. This accusation is simply wrong. It originated in an opinion column written by a researcher for the conservative, Washington, D.C.-based Capital Research Center. The crux of CRC’s argument is that money directed by the Endowments to Tides is "fungible." By supporting projects through Tides, CRC alleged that Heinz has secretly funneled money to every other organization that has ever received funding through Tides Center and the separate Tides...

TAMPA - At 70 years old, Gloria Steinem cannot be considered the poster child for punk rock music. But that didn't stop the famous women's rights activist from partnering with Punkvoter.com, a Washington, D.C., collective of punk bands campaigning against President Bush. Punkvoter.com invited Steinem to join it in Tampa on Sunday for a concert stop at an Ybor City club. But before taking the stage with the bands Anti-Flag, Strike Anywhere and others, she swung by a Michael Moore rally at the University of South Florida and spoke at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser at the Columbia Restaurant. "This is...

I admire the courage of astronaut John Glenn. He has led our great nation into space and slipped the bounds of Earth's atmosphere as he sped off into the aether. Only this time, he neglected to suit up and travel on a rocket. John Glenn had this to say regarding the recent GOP convention. Former senator John Glenn (D-Ohio) took the defense a step further by comparing the Republicans' misleading statements to those of Nazi Germany. "You've just got to separate out fact from fiction. . . . Too often, too often, in this country, if you hear something repeated,...

I wouldn't have posted this as a separate topic until I heard on the radio on the way home from the rally that the AP had reported the crowd booed when it was annnounced that the former president had been hospitalized. That is a bold faced lie. I understand it was later retracted, but that's like unringing a bell. I do not think it was in error, either, since the writer further stated that 'Bush did nothing to stop them.' Shameful.The rally was amazing. I don't know how many were in attendance, but the crowd could not have been more...

Many democrats have told Senator Kerry in private to elevate the role of Clinton White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart. Kerry was also advised to reconfigure the department for managing the message, arguably the most important job in politics--dominated by round the clock media coverage. One top Democrat said James Carville, the Clinton's top strategist, is urging the campaign to bring on Paul Begala, who worked for Carville, in a senior position to help with message and strategy. Begala is a Kerry friend who already informally advises the campaign. Several Kerry friends have also privately told the candidate to quit...

HEWITT: Sitting across from me Terry McAuliffe. Strike me dead. It’s so good to see you here Mr. Chairman. It’s good to have you at the Democratic National Convention and at the Republican National Convention MCAULIFFE: Who would have thought that I’d be going around with a credential at the Republican Convention. HEWITT: Can you stay for a couple of hours? MCAULIFFE: Love to. Love it here. Everybody is being hospitable to me. HEWITT: I want to start with some very easy questions. MCAULIFFE: Yeah. HEWITT: Do you believe that John Kerry took a CIA man into Cambodia and kept...

George Bush-bashing celebs have joined forces with Moveon.org on a new series of campaign commercials. The celeb-studded spots feature the voices of Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Martin Sheen, Rob Reiner and Ed Asner and star Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Woody Harrelson, Illeana Douglas and Margaret Cho. Janeane Garafalo hosted Tuesday night's kick-off at Hammerstein Ballroom, billed as "10 Weeks: Don't Get Mad, Get Even!" Howard Dean, Kevin Bacon, Edie Falco, "School of Rock" director Richard Linklater and Al Franken fired up the faithful. Musical guests included The Roots, Natalie Merchant, Moby and Perry Farrell, who joined forces for Jane's Addiction's "Idiots Rule,"...

A SPECTACULAR malfunction in laws designed to clean up US politics has sent almost $250m (£135m) into the hands of ‘para-political’ groups dedicated to negative campaigning in the race for the White House.A cast of billionaires, including financier George Soros and film producer Stephen Bing, are bankrolling a new breed of pressure groups which can raise limitless cash as long as they agree not to support any one candidate. The majority focus on attacking President George W Bush - ensuring a flood of the venomous political attacks which have characterised the race for the White House in recent weeks. But...

Sen. Clinton built life on faith BY JANE FULLERTON SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Posted on Sunday, August 8, 2004 As Hillary Rodham Clinton builds the public record she began as Arkansas’ first lady, continued as the nation’s first lady and is now expanding as New York’s junior senator, her views on religion remain central to her outlook on life and her position on issues. Although she doesn’t go out of her way to publicize her religious views, neither does she shy from discussing them. Indeed, those who know Sen. Clinton believe her Christian faith has been the motivation for many...

The Iraq War did not Force Gadaffi's HandThe Financial Times, March 9, 2004Martin S. Indyk, Director, Saban Center for Middle East Policy Martin S. Indyk Embarrassed by the failure to find Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, President George W. Bush is trying to find another WMD-related justification for his pre-emptive war on Iraq. Bush administration spokesmen have been quick to portray Libya's December decision to abandon WMD programmes as the direct result of the US invasion of Iraq or, as Mr. Bush himself put it in his State of the Union address: "Nine months of intense negotiations succeeded with...

After three days worth of denials from his legal team, eyewitnesses to Sandy Berger's top secret document heist have confirmed that the former national security advisor did indeed stash national security secrets in his socks, as well as his pants pockets. "The stuffed socks and pockets is real," a senior law enforcement official told the New York Daily News. "The (theft) was reported by the guards." Guards at the National Archives told the FBI that Berger was observed stuffing his socks with handwritten notes about files he reviewed that were going to the Sept. 11 panel, the News said. Guards...

KERRY'S SUDDENLY DISAPPEARING WEB DOCUMENTS Various Kerry Spot readers are calling attention to the fact that the Kerry web site appears to have removed the press release that used to be here: http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0227a.html But can still be seen in the Google cache here, and has been posted on the FreeRepublic.com discussion board here: The date of the event is February 27, 2004. The event was a speech at UCLA about homeland security, mentioning port security and airline security. Now, Kerry wouldn't need any secret documents from March 2000 to make a speech saying port and airline security should be improved...

If Berger was stealing classified information from the National Archives, ostensibly to help his party, either Kerry's election bid or clinton's so-called 'legacy', how does this compare to Watergate? Watergate was a burglery of DNC offices looking for information to help Nixon purportedly. So how does this rank?

.The GapSandy Berger's pilfering of papers from the archive should be big trouble for the Democrats. Why is the press AWOL?by Hugh Hewitt07/22/2004 12:00:00 AMHERE ARE the two key sentence from yesterdays Washington Post: "[Sandy] Berger returned two of the after-action drafts within days, according to his attorneys. Other drafts of the after-action document, they said, were apparently discarded." As any lawyer who has ever argued over the contents of a brief knows, the stuff that gets left out can be the most telling material of all--indicative of prejudices and priorities, sensitivities and credibility. Berger's sticky fingers have left a...

I haven't watched CBS News in 15 years, but happened to catch a clip of Dan Rather's announcement of the Berger resignation, and was shocked at the undisguised partisanship of Mr. Rather. He stated that the Berger resignation was prompted by a "carefully orchestrated" set of manuevers, in effect blaming Republicans, while not even mentioning the fact that Mr. Berger was caught stealing documents from the National Archives. It's pathetic that CBS has been reduced to this low level. I can't find the transcript on the internet. Does anyone have it?

Joe Lockhart claims ex-aide didn't hide secret docs in his hose Former colleagues of Clinton National Security Adviser Sandy Berger challenged allegations that the ex-aide stuffed classified documents in his socks to remove them from a secure reading room prior to his 9-11 Commission testimony. Federal officials have launched a criminal investigation into the former aide, who now advises Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, for pocketing highly classified terrorism documents. Though Fox News is reporting Berger and his lawyer said last night he knowingly removed handwritten notes by placing them in his jacket, pants and socks, CNN reports law-enforcement sources...

ROBERT REICH'S RHETORICAL RUBBISH News Analysis By David W. Virtue Bill Clinton's former Labor Secretary Robert Reich predicts there will be a religious war in America. Writing for the liberal magazine The American Prospect, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich calls for a war against conservative (read Evangelical) religious believers. "The great conflict of the 21st century will not be between the West and terrorism. Terrorism is a tactic, not a belief," he writes. "The true battle will be between modern civilization and anti-modernists; between those who believe in the primacy of the individual and those who believe that...

CLINTON SAYS BERGER-DOCUMENTS FUROR IS JUST POLITICS: 'WE WERE ALL LAUGHING ABOUT IT' Tue Jul 20 2004 20:54:50 ET Former president Bill Clinton defends his embattled national security advisor as a man who "always got things right," even if his desk was a mess. "We were all laughing about it," Clinton said about the investigation into Sandy Berger for taking classified terrorism documents from the National Archives. "People who don't know him might find it hard to believe. But ... all of us who've been in his office have always found him buried beneath papers." MORE DRUDGE has learned: In...

Please post any and all references to the Breaking news about Sandy "Pantsload" Berger and his sloppy habit of stuffing documents in his pants, socks and elsewhere.. Just wondering how the spin will be on the ABCCBSNBC left wing lapdog bootlicking extremist media.. I'm gonna hold my nose and watch CBS for a few...

In any and ALL references to Sandy Berger we MUST rightfully link him to Kerry, NOT just Clinton!: "Sandy Berger, now a chief foreign policy adviser to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry..." www.bisnow.com/040708.cfm July 13, 2004 "[Kerry's] foreign-policy team, dominated by Sandy Berger..." www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5251332/site/newsweek June 28, 2004. "Sandy Berger, national security adviser to President Bill Clinton, who recently joined the [Kerry] campaign." www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/05/31/MNGK86UH4E1.DTL May 31, 2004. "Kerry foreign policy advisor Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger..." www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2004_0528.html May 28, 2004.