Friday, May 12, 2006

Aaron Brown needs to be happy that he was a very successful anchor at a very tough news hour.

...Cooper averaged 710,000 viewers in April versus 907,000 for predecessor Aaron Brown during the same month a year ago. Cooper's ratings among adults 25-54 were down 36 percent, averaging just 198,000 versus 307,000 for Brown.

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Political Victory for Bush?

Frankenstein has a feature video all his own. I'm tellin' you this is the future of CNN's idea for an anchor. They already use faceless 'anchors' on their "CNN Presents." They did it with the North Korea presentation.

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John Roberts - Tax cut hollow to 77 percent of the USA.

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John King - Laura Bush. She doesn't set policy.

Bush nominated Abramoff associate same day Abramoff visited the White House in 2001

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Bush_nominated_Abramoff_associate_same_day_0510.html

Convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff went to the White House on the same day President Bush nominated one of Abramoff's former colleagues to be Assistant Secretary of Labor,
RAW STORY has found.
President Bush announced his intent to nominate Patrick Pizzella, who worked with Abramoff at his former lawfirm Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds, the same day Abramoff made a visit to the White House, according to Secret Service records released today.
On Mar. 6, 2001, Abramoff entered at 4:23 p.m. and left at 4:49 p.m., according to Cox News Service, which obtained the records from the government watchdog Judicial Watch today

Abramoff’s White House visits
By
Ken Herman Wednesday, May 10, 2006, 03:54 PM
Secret Service records released today under court order show that convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff made only two visits to the White House since President Bush took office in January 2001.
On March 6, 2001, Abramoff entered at 4:23 p.m. and left at 4:49 p.m. On Jan. 20, 2004, he went in at 10:42 a.m. and left at 11:29 a.m. The records do not show who he saw or what the topic was. Bush delivered a State of the Union address on Jan. 20, 2004.
The records were sought by Judicial Watch, a public interest group curious about Abramoff’s White House connections. A federal judge ordered the records released.
Judicial Watch noted today that Secret Service records it procured while President Clinton was in office also showed “visitee” and room number, information not on the records released today.
“At first glance, these documents seem incomplete when compared to other White House visitor logs obtained by Judicial Watch. We therefore have reason to believe there are additional details about Jack Abramoff’s visits to the White House that have not been disclosed,” said Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch president. “However, now we know there are at least two visits by admitted felon Jack Abramoff that the White House must explain. What was Jack Abramoff doing at the White House? With whom did he meet? The public deserves to know answers to these questions.”
White House spokeswoman Erin Healy declined to offer any further information concerning the visits.
Abramoff, once one of Washington’s top lobbyists, pleaded guilty in January to federal corruption charges linked to his congressional lobbying work. He raised more than $100,000 for Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign and had boasted about his close links to the White House.
The administration has downplayed those ties. Spokesman Scott McClellan last week said the Secret Service records should not be viewed as a “complete historical record” of Abramoff’s visits to the White House. McClellan offered no details or explanation. He previously had said Abramoff’s only visits were for “a few staff level meetings” and Hanukkah receptions in 2001 and 2002.
Abramoff told Washingtonian magazine he had nearly a dozen meetings with Bush.

http://www.coxwashington.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/washington/washington/entries/2006/05/10/abramoffs_white.html

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The John's Debate 'stuff' - The old Republican Playbook

The discussion segment leading up to this debate was to justify the NSA nomination to the FBI. This 'debate' is already old news that was part of the rhetoric leading upto the invasion into Iraq and an aspect of the Culture of Fear. For years this 'so called' pattern of tracking al Qaeda is empty in it's meaning. For all the alerts and fear it had generated nothing ever manifested.

Some of the best in the business bought into it.

JIM LEHRER: Life signs from al-Qaida. Margaret Warner has that story.
MARGARET WARNER: Last night's FBI warning of another possible terrorist attack on the U.S. follows several signs this week of a resurgent al-Qaida. They include an audio message from Osama bin Laden broadcast by al-Jazeera on Sunday, warning that "the youth of Islam" are preparing to target key sectors of the U.S. economy.
Also Sunday, an unexplained explosion on a French supertanker off the coast of Yemen. Then a second audio interview broadcast Tuesday from bin Laden's chief deputy, Ayman al- Zawahiri, threatening continuing attacks on "America and its allies," and also Tuesday, the killing of a U.S. Marine on exercises in Kuwait by two gunmen who trained at an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan. A string of coincidences, or part of a pattern?
We talk to three reporters covering different parts of this story-- Christopher Cooper covers the Pentagon and State Department for the Wall Street Journal; Walter Pincus covers intelligence for the Washington Post; and Eric Schmitt covers the Pentagon for the New York Times.
Welcome to you all.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/july-dec02/terror_10-10.html

Following the money of al Qaeda generated by the poppy crops in Afghanistan has done some good.

Testimony of Dennis M. Lormel, Chief, Financial Crimes Section, FBIBefore the House Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Oversight and InvestigationsFebruary 12, 2002 Financing Patterns Associated with Al Qaeda and Global Terrorist Networks
Good afternoon Madam Chairman and members of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. On behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), I would like to express my gratitude to the Subcommittee for affording us the opportunity to participate in this forum and to update the Subcommittee on what the FBI has learned since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks about the patterns of financing associated with Al Qaeda and global terrorist networks, and the extent to which U.S. anti-money laundering statutes provide the necessary tools to detect and disrupt those patterns.

http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress02/lormel021202.htm

WHY THEN would a president nominate anyone who runs a basically poor performing program to the top rank at the FBI? More of the Culture of Fear to be expected? What else is one to conclude. General Hayden has run mostly a program of eavesdropping on Americans without even an outcome that justifies breaking the law. There is no reason to nominate General Hayden when his current resume' reveals illegal as well as poor performing programs that instill fear in the American people.

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The News Secretary

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Warren Jeffs. He's wanted for crimes. What is there to say? Except. Perhaps. It would be better if he would simply surrender and stop putting all his victims, especially children, through any more humiliation and social ridicule. We also don't need another Waco. If he feels he is being a victim then he can plead 'not guilty.' But, to put primarily his family through this is not an expression of a compassionate man.

Get off the subject already.

I am sure he'll appear on America's Most Wanted.

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I'm not interested in this nonsense. It victimizes women as sheep and baby machines. Brain washing is the issue. No woman whom understands her opportunities in the 'real society' would participate willingly in any multiple marriage. The 'polygamist marriages' that currently exist is due to a failure of government. Polygamy is a crime. What's the issue already?

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enough.

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