I've posted important updates to two different stories from yesterday.

One is on the story of Yang offering Curtis $1 Million to come back and "work" for them in a No-Show job. The update now includes actual evidence of Curtis having told this story to the now-deceased FDOT Inspector General Raymond Lemme back in April of 2002. A piece of that recently uncovered evidentiary report is now included to partly corroborate Curtis' story on the matter. The updated story is here.

And the New Times Broward-Palm Beach story on Clint Curtis has now published. A link to the very good story online, and a quick comment or two from yours truly (what did you expect?) are available via the original item from yesterday.

No comments link on this thread so you can post any you may have at the appropriate story.

The Nashua Advocate --- which has been doing some excellent reporting on Election Irregularity stories for some months --- breaks the news of Christopher Hitchens' story in the March 2005 Vanity Fair finally joining the chorus of folks questioning the Ohio results.

The subscription-only magazine lists the article in their contents as such:

The Advocate offers some quotes from the VF piece, as well as a few quotes from Hitchens in the past regarding George W. Bush.

Since we are otherwise busy working on some other stories, we associate ourselves with their reporting on this matter for the moment.

A quick quote from the Hitchens story via The Advocate:

Hitchens was one of the many nay-sayers about Election Irregularities in the past. Here he is in a previous post-election story in Slate:

...And finally then, here's Hitch on John Kerry:

The Advocate piece offers more and includes some of the Republicans in Congress who are now beginning to question Ohio's Sec. of State and Bush/Cheney Re-Elect Co-Chair, J. Kenneth Blackwelll, on his motives and behavior. Please check it, and the rest of their fine reporting, out.

UPDATE 2/21/05: The entire Hitchens article has just been posted online here.

Regular BRAD BLOG readers know that we took the opportunity of an invitation to interview Clint Curtis live at the Freedom Cinema Festival in Park City, UT, recently to grab a few days of vacation via roadtrip on the way there and back.

Persistent (but finally waning) headcold, exhaustion, and a welcome lack of net access kept us from documenting the event in any more than scant details until now.

Some of the most notable results from the event are now still in-progress. So we're somewhat reluctant for the moment to show our hand on several of those in-progress connections made until more tangible fruit is borne from the various leads.

Holding back information from devoted readers is not something I'm entirely comfortable with. But we've learned along the way --- especially when dealing with issues of the potential magnitude of the Clint Curtis story --- that it's smarter, when in doubt, to keep cards close to the vest in such cases, even at the risk of off-putting readers.

We don't like to do it. But it is, apparently, a necessary evil if we are both to make headway and retain our fairly well-earned reputation here for getting it right, respecting our sources, and not giving away the ship until we are damned good and ready to let the chips fall where they may.

So, with all of that said, we hope to offer more details on the nefarious plans hatched and fruitful connections made via the FCF event when the time is right. Be that a few days, weeks or months from now as things shape up. We'll see.

What we can report on for the moment is how things went in general, our impressions of Clint Curtis after having spent a fair amount of face-to-face time, and his answers to some of the questions sent in by BRAD BLOG commenters prior to the interview...

You thought the Clint Curtis story had run its course just because we've been otherwise distracted here over the past month by historic Congressional Electoral College challenges, Velvet Revolutions, out-of-town seminars and headcolds? Well, think again.

There are several media outfits currently looking at and/or working on stories that either report on "our story so far" or advance things a bit. Yours truly, whenever we can catch up with all of the above, to be included in that list.

Things are moving. And perhaps quickly. So we hope to catch up over the next couple of days where possible.

In the meantime, the next oufit out of the gate to touch on the Clint Curtis story will be yet another of Feeney's "hometown papers" (get those legal threat letters ready, Tom), The New Times Broward-Palm Beach, tomorrow morning in a piece by staff writer Trevor Aaronson.

The first article on the matter from The New Times B-PB --- which we have not seen but which has been described to us by a source at the paper --- reports on the several aspects of Curtis' charges against both Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) and Yang Enterprises, Inc. (YEI) which have already been borne out as accurate via reporting by The BRAD BLOG, The Daytona Beach News-Journal, other sources and their own original investigation of several related matters.

The bad news for Feeney is that much of the meat and potatoes of Curtis' allegations are about to receive even wider coverage in South Florida (Flashback to Curtis' affidavit [PDF] quoting YEI CEO Mrs. Yang: "You don't understand, in order to get the contract we have to hide the manipulation in the source code. This program is needed to control the vote in South Florida.")

The latest thorn in Tom Feeney's side is scheduled to hit the stands on Wednesday. We will, of course, offer a link to the online version of the article just as soon as it is made available to us. We're told it should be up by tomorrow P.M.

UPDATE 2/9/05: Aaronson's story at New Times Broward-Palm Beach is now online headlined "Pulp Nonfiction". And it's very well done. He's taken the basics of a rather complicated story, and made very readable sense of it.

We have only the smallest of quibbles with a few details, but believe they are worth mentioning here just to keep the record straight.

Aaronson writes:

That's true. Though they had already received it from us as the Affidavit was first submitted to us and released by The BRAD BLOG on the morning of the 6th. We, in turn, gave it to our sources on the House JC and infact set up the meeting in D.C. between Curtis and those sources in the first place.

Incidentally, we are given no credit by Aaronson for any of reporting beyond the generic mention of "Bloggers have reported on the story with idealistic conviction."

In truth, it's not really the credit that we want for ourselves in general, but in an age where bloggers like us and other Internet-only news sites (like RAW STORY, for example) are breaking stories that the corporate media is missing, and getting those stories right in the bargain, it's important that alternative newsweeklies like New Times give credit where it's due.

We believe they'd have likely given credit to a NY Times reporter had they first broken the story and continued for two months reporting new details on it regularly. And if outlets such as ours are going to receive the credibility they deserve (when they deserve it), alternative news outlets such as New Times ought to be giving us our due.

The other small, but notable quibble...Aaronson mentions in his reporting on Feeney's relationship with Yang (YEI):

In truth, the relationship continues! Feeney's 2004 campaign continues to have its office and mailing address in the Yang Building as evidenced even today on Feeney's official website. (See the screenshots taken today below.) And both the Yang's, their company and their attorney O'Quinn (Feeney's longtime friend and former law partner at Fowler, Barice, Feeney and O'Quinn P.A.) were both substantial contributors to Feeney's 2004 campaign...in which Feeney ran unopposed.

None the less, it was a very well done article and we recommend you give it a read. We're sure Feeney's and YEI's attorneys will be doing so. We look forward to more investigation and reporting from Aaronson and The New Times P-BP.

A terrific (and very funny) Inauguration Day video mash-up from John Wellington Ennis' new blog Toolz of the New School.

John is just one of the many emerging patriots who have taken it upon themselves to be the media. Or, as his one-line bio describes him, he's "a director and producer who, after the election, couldn't take it anymore."

Good to have you in the growing club, John. Sorry it had to come to this. But, keep up the good work!

Now go watch his very fine video vandalism. Then do your part and help spread the word (as usual, the "Email it to someone!" link below makes that very easy!)

As mentioned...we're starting slow with more of the actual fun stuff still on our "desk" for the coming days.

For now though, a number of you have sent links re: Bush's latest anything-but-compassionate and anything-but-conservative budget presented today to Congress.

We're no experts, but from what we've read, it looks to be the usual masterpiece of bait-and-switch that we've come to expect from the current slicker-than-Willie occupants of 1600 Penn. Ave.

Below is a quick rundown from what just a few critics are saying. (In other words, analysis from people who have actually read the budget and crunched the numbers...rather than taking Fox "News" Channel's word for it.)

From Business Week's piece titled "Wanted: An Honest Budget"...

From Alan Fram of AP:

If these are the results he's looking for, one must wonder what his goals really are. Or do we have to wonder anymore?

Finally, BRAD BLOG's 2004 Man-of-the-Year, John Conyers, issued a statement today that gets to the heart of the matter (or the lack of heart, as the case may be). He criticizes Bush "for Snubbing Veterans, Slashing Law Enforcement, and for Turning his Back on Vicitms, Civil Rights, and Election reform".

It's the slap in the face against veterans --- during a time of War and $40 Million Inauguration parties --- that most sticks in our craw, and apparently in those of several callers even to Rush Limbaugh's show this morning.

As Conyers' statement puts it:

But Conyers, as expected, notices what so many others --- Democrats and Republicans --- are already overlooking in their rich criticism of this should-be-dead-on-arrival budget:

You bet he does.

Anyone surprised yet?

If you haven't already, please join the Revolution.

The text below the above picture in the LA Times says:

That's precisely what we're worried about, Mr. Gonzales.

It was rough going as we started sneezing about an hour out of the gate on Interstate 15 on our way up to interview senor Curtis at the Freedom Cinema Festival, and we've been under the weather ever since.

I suppose travelling across the country and up and down mountains isn't necessarily the best thing for a sloggy headcold and everytime we think we've shaken it (to quote Michael Corleone) "they keep pullin' me back in."

So with our health way below what it ought to have been after a couple of weeks away from "the job", and mountains of unanswered Email to climb and Velvet Revolutions to wage, we'll be starting slowly I guess. But a path is built one stone at a time. And so we begin again. Year number two.

A quick word of thanks to both our friends Fin and Winter Patriot for keeping the joint in such tip-top shape over the last coupla weeks. As much as I was draggin' ass throughout my travels, at least I was able to rest easy knowing the two of them were fighting the good fight and keeping things in good order here while I was otherwise occupied.

Please be sure to visit both of their excellent blogs regularly. Winter Patriot's is right here. Fin's What We Know is right here.

Aside from lending me a hand, I'm hoping they each had enough fun that they'll consider doing it again in the future if/when I'm pulled away by other projects and/or distractions. Several of which --- if some touchstones made at the FCF bear fruit --- just may be on the horizon.

But more on all of that, news from Clint Curtis in UT and beyond, and much more to come as we crank up again. Slowly.

NOTE TO MR. FEENEY: Yup, I'm back. Didja miss me?

Guest blogged by Fin

For those who wondered why Senator Feinstein didn't join Senator Boxer in opposition to Condoleezza Rice, we have this from The Byrne Report:

Some would say it's just business as usual, but with 1,500 dead and tens of thousands wounded (both physically and psychologically), it all seems criminal.

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

In a few recent posts, I have mentioned Russ Kick and his twin websites, The Memory Hole and The Memory Blog. The most recent [February 4] item on The Memory Blog looks very interesting...

This would be bad enough, of course, even if Enron and Bush were not like this [holding two fingers very close together].

Click here for more details on the so-called president's close friends, and their high moral values...

UPDATE: Brad here, jumping in with a quick update to Winter Patriot's post. It's a quote from comments on this thread posted by Nana, but it deserves to be front and center. The fake California Energy Crisis of 2001 being a pet bugaboo of mine...Thanks, Nana.

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

USA's new Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, has begun a week-long tour of Europe, during which she has been assuring foreign leaders that an attack on Iran is "not on our agenda".

Do you believe her?

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

Early this afternoon, the lead story on CNN's main page was headlined "Critics question Pentagon news sites".

It began:

That story is now gone, and not a trace of it can be found. The CNN search engine can't find it. Google knows nothing. Interesting, no?

Why do you suppose CNN pulled it? You don't suppose they got any heat for it, do you?

And what do you make of the shift-of-tense? The first sentence says "[DoD] plans to add more sites", but the second sentence says "the sites are run". Is this story about sites that are already up and running? Or about sites that don't yet exist? Or both? I can't tell. Can you? We may as well assume the worst.

Further, what do you suppose it means by "journalists"? What do you suppose that word means in the context of the phrase "President Bush's pledge not to pay journalists to promote his policies"? How about "partisan hacks pretending to be journalists"? Do you think his pledge extends that far? Do you suppose Jeff Gannon qualifies as a "journalist"?

I still say we may as well assume the worst. We may as well expect more "information warfare". We may as well expect more "battlefield deception". We should never forget that "the home front" is considered "a battlefield", where those who can see through the propaganda, and who dare call it by its proper name, are considered "the enemy".

I wish I had saved more of that story. I wish I had read more of it.

Oh well. We'll find out soon enough. But not from CNN.

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

According to from this item from Southern California's NBC4, Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the Marine Corps' top general, believes that it is

"fun to shoot some people."

What? Yeah! Not only did he say it; he said it in public! Here's the video!

According to the NBC4 story,

Many military members laughed at the comments

but Retired Vice Adm. Edward H. Martin

"was a little surprised"

What surprised the Retired Vice Admiral? The attitude? Or the statement?

"I don't think any of us who have ever fought in wars liked to kill anybody."

Aha! It was the attitude!

You tell me. Who's kidding whom? The "surprised" Retired Vice Admiral? Or the "many military members" who "laughed at the comments"?

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

In a previous post, I highlighted Manuel Valenzuela, one of my favorite writers who did not make John Kaminski's Top 25. Valenzuela writes long essays composed of long sentences; his pieces require substantial time and effort --- to read! Imagine what it takes to write them...

Let's go a different direction this time: Robert Parry writes fairly short pieces using short and simple sentences. But that's not why I like him so much. I like him because he never seems to get distracted from the major issues. He just keeps pounding away, hoping that eventually some of it might start to sink in. And maybe it will. Someday.

Most of what Parry writes, most of what we read and see and think every day, every little bit of what we think of as 'political reality', can be better understood against the backdrop of Bush's 'Perception Management' Plan. If you haven't read this important essay yet, please do so.

You can find Robert Parry at Consortium News. Or you can click on the links here to read his most recent columns:

Your comments, as always, are invited, and welcomed...

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

You have the floor...