Articles By: David Edwards

VIDEO - McLaughlin Group Tackles Growing Impeachment Calls

By David Edwards on 1/23/2006 8:53am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

This weekend PBS' The McLaughlin Group discussed the growing call for impeachment. There is a lot of talk but as long a Congress continues to defer power to the Executive Branch, public outrage will grow. The majority party in the House of Representative must be changed to realistically pursue impeachment.

Three Questions:

Can negative perceptions of the Bush Admin. suppress the "Rove base" while motivating the anti-Bush crowds at the polls?
Can this country conduct fair and untainted national elections?
If the answer to #2 is "no" then does #1 really matter?

Brad noticed this clip first so he may have some comments to add...

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UPDATE: David Swanson of AfterDowningStreet.org/CensureBush.org sends us these thoughts on the above video...

Millions of Americans deserve credit for forcing the I word into the media. Steve Thomma of Knight Ridder says in this clip that he receives 20-50 Emails a day supporting impeachment and that he thinks they're organized. He's right. They're organized here: http://democrats.com/bush-impeachment-polls

The clip that McClaughlin plays from the Murtha-Moran town hall forum doesn't show either of them saying a word. Rather it shows the hundreds of us who were packed in the room cheering for impeachment.

The quote McLaughlin reads from Al Gore is not from his speech, but from his response to a reporter's question afterwards on the topic of impeachment --- what people in the room were promotign with flyers and shouts.

Just as we forced the Downing Street Minutes into the news, we are forcing impeachment into the news. And Congress will follow. Please take a minute to contact the major media and to write a letter to the editor of your local paper. It could save this country. Here are some tips: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/media

And do everything you can to support serious progressive media outlets that cover the news, outlets like BRAD BLOG!

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VIDEO - Rove's RNC Speech Outlines '06 Election Strategy

By David Edwards on 1/20/2006 2:19pm PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

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Rove gave this speech today to the Republican Nation Committee. The speech suggests strategy and talking points that will be used by RNC candidates and operatives in preparation for the 2006 elections.

Rove's tone is more moderated than in the past. We suspect that this is due to a variety of mounting troubles for the GOP along with waning public support. Republicans will want to project positive perception of their candidates while again using 'Swift Boat' tactics for the negative attacks.

UPDATE FROM BRAD: I'll somewhat disagree with the good David Edwards, only to say (at least from the clip posted) it doesn't seem that Rove has "moderated" much. He continues to smash up Democrats with the same misleading and factually incorrect horseshit that he (and Bush and Cheney) have been using for quite a while. Including the inaccurate characterization of scores of Democratic Party positions. Will the "Uniting, Not Dividing" ever stop?!

And, on one more thought, he talks about the remarkable economy of 2005. Bad timing, I guess, since the Dow just plummetted 213 points today, wiping out most of the gains from 2005 in a single day.

UPDATE: New York Times article:

In Preview of G.O.P. Campaign, Rove Tears Into Democrats

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 - Karl Rove, the president's chief political adviser, gave nervous Republicans here a preview of the party's strategy to maintain its dominance in the fall elections today, assailing Democrats for their positions on terrorism, the White House eavesdropping program and Mr. Bush's attempt to shape the federal judiciary.

For 26 minutes, after calling for civility in politics in a packed speech before the Republican National Committee, Mr. Rove offered a lacerating attack on Democrats that other Republicans said was a road map for how the party would deal with a tough electoral environment. Mr. Rove sharply criticized Democrats for their opposition to tax cuts and Mr. Bush's Supreme Court nominations, but he left little doubt that once again - as has been the case in both national elections since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - that he was intent on making national security the pre-eminent issue in 2006.

Mr. Rove speeches this early in an election year have proved to be accurate predictors of what Republican candidates would say in the fall, and thus every seat in the ballroom at a downtown Washington hotel was filled. He lacerated Democrats for what he described their "cut and run" policy on Iraq, for blocking a renewal of the broad antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act, and for challenging the legality of the administration's widespread use of warrantless wiretaps in the face of widespread criticism.
...
Mr. Rove was mostly optimistic about his party's prospects at a meeting in which some Republicans have expressed concern about the political environment Republican candidates might be running in, pointing to the war in Iraq, high gas prices and the investigations. "The G.O.P.'s progress during the last four years is a stunning political achievement," he said.

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Bush Admin. Wants Your Google Search Data

By David Edwards on 1/20/2006 8:41am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Over 70 million searches are done each day on Google. The Bush Administration want access to Google's search data as well as the pages contained in the Google database.

The government says that it wants the private records to help fight kiddie porn on the internet. Privacy experts are concerned and Google vows to fight the request. A court date has been scheduled for October 2005.

Yahoo, MSN and AOL have already cooperated with the government's request by turning over private search records. Google conducts more searches than Yahoo, MSN and AOL combined.

In the following report from CNN, legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin suspects that the Bush Administration considers the Google search records too important to be left to the decision of a court. He concludes that Google and the government will reach an agreement for sharing Google's records before the court is allowed to create a precedent on the conflict.

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Fox Analyst: OBL Threats No Excuse for Illegal NSA Wiretaps

By David Edwards on 1/19/2006 4:15pm PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Fox News analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano says that the new Bin Laden tape is no excuse to subvert the constitution and conduct illegal wiretaps on Americans as the Bush Administration has been doing since before 9/11.

Of course, John "freedom hater" Gibson called the new Bin Laden tape the "trump card" in the argument for allowing unconstitutional spying and the Patriot Act.

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Article Categories: Fox 'News', Andrew Napolitano

CBS Reporter Explains Lack of 'Good News' in Iraq

Deadline Looms for Kidnapped Journalist Jill Carroll

By David Edwards on 1/19/2006 11:37am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

PBS Newshour invited several journalists with experience reporting in Iraq to comment on the kidnapping of Jill Carroll. Carroll is a freelance reporter that was working on a story for the Christian Science Monitor when she was abducted and her translator was killed on January 7th.

CBS journalist Lara Logan was asked how the lack of security in Iraq effected the ability to gather news. Logan responded to a complaint, often made by the Bush Administion, that positive stories are not reported as often as negative news.

The big complaint about this war coming from the American military and the Bush Administration is that the media aren't telling the "real story". They don't talk about the good things that are happening and I frequently say to American Military officers and soldiers on the ground:

"Look, you want us to risk the lives of all our team to come and film the opening of a bridge that was intact before it was bombed in this war anyway or a school that's had new windows being put in and has been painted. I mean, those are just not reasons to risk the lives of all the people that are involved in trying to tell the story."

Until journalists have the freedom of movement, not just around Baghdad but around the country... We used to be able to drive to Fallujah. I want to go down to Najaf and interview Mohammed al-Sadr. I can't do that anymore.

It has a huge impact on our ability to tell the story.

Since the beginning of the war in Iraq, 39 journalists have been kidnapped and 60 journalists have been killed. About 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in total.

Jill Carroll's kidnappers have given authorities 72 hours to release the 8 women that have been detained by security forces in Iraq. The deadline expires Friday night.

In the meantime, the security situation in Iraq is not improving. Just this morning, bombings in Baghdad have left 23 people dead.

See Lara Logan's comments about the dangers of reporting in Iraq in the following PBS Newshour video.

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VIDEO - Rep. Slaughter's Speech on GOP Corruption and Reform

By David Edwards on 1/18/2006 5:56pm PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

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Earlier today, Democrats in Congress unveiled the "Honest Leadership, Open Government Act" which they hope will restore a measure of honesty, integrity and transparency to government.

While a number of Democrats spoke with high aspirations, Louise Slaughter's speech may have presented the strongest indictment of Republican ethics:

But today we're suffering the consequences of what may be the worst corruption in the nation's history. As everybody has mentioned before, we all know about the majority leader. We know about the man who left the White House in handcuffs. We know about the Republican congressman who pled guilty, and there are many more coming. Every day we pick up the paper and yet there is even more.

What we're up against isn't just the shameful work of individuals like these. It's a much broader problem. It's a problem that is rooted in the Republican establishment that has held power in this nation's capital for far too long.

Sadly, their legacy has been the fundamental degradation of our democratic institutions and the abandonment of core principles.

...
And under Republican guidance, America has truly been put up for sale to the highest bidders.

Here is the full transcript of Representative Slaughter's speech.

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Al-Jazeera Sues U.K. for 'Bush Bomb Threat' Memo

By David Edwards on 1/18/2006 10:41am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Last November, The Daily Mirror published details of a "top secret" U.K. memo revealing that President Bush wanted to bomb headquarters for the al-Jazeera news network. At the time, The Mirror quoted its' source saying:

"He made clear he wanted to bomb al-Jazeera in Qatar and elsewhere. Blair replied that would cause a big problem.

"There's no doubt what Bush wanted to do - and no doubt Blair didn't want him to do it."

While the story has gone largely unnoticed in the U.S., British media and al-Jazeera have continued investigating. Check out this earlier Brad Blog report for more backstory.

Political pressure to release the memo increased this week when British lawyers retained by the al-Jazeera network announced a lawsuit filed against the U.K. that requests the leaked memo be made public. Soon after, Downing Street officially denied that the memo has anything to do with the bombing of al-Jazeera. But the Downing Street spokesperson would not reveal what the memo did say.

In the following video, Sky News reports on the new lawsuit and the mounting political pressure.

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Bush Says Debate Hurts Troops... Hackett Disagrees

By David Edwards on 1/17/2006 9:31am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

NBC's Today Show reports that the president is demanding that critics "disagree responsibly" about Iraq. Bush says that criticism of the Iraq war is "defeatism" that is hurting the troops morale.

Paul Hackett is a veteran of the Iraq war who is running for the Senate in Ohio. Hackett disagrees with the president's accusations. Hackett says that the troops debate the war just like other patriotic Americans. The troop morale in Iraq remains high.

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Extended Highlights from Al Gore's 'Executive Power' Speech

By David Edwards on 1/17/2006 7:58am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

We've put together this video clip of highlights from
Al Gore's excellent speech on the abuse of executive powers.
Text highlights were posted yesterday here... And an exclusive response by FBI Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds was posted here...

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(Playing time: 39 min.)

C-SPAN has the entire video up in Real Media format.

Crooks and Liars may post our extended highlights clip in other video formats later today.

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VIDEO - 'I Have A Dream' by Martin Luther King Jr.

By David Edwards on 1/16/2006 9:42am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Washington, D.C.
August 28, 1963

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Murtha Believes Iraq's Civil War is Already Underway

By David Edwards on 1/16/2006 9:26am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

In an interview with 60 Minutes' Mike Wallace, Rep. John Murtha says that Iraqis are already in the middle of a civil war. He says that the political reality of U.S. elections will be one of the reasons that most troops will be redeployed from Iraq by the end of this year.

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Specter on Illegal NSA Wiretaps: 'Remedy is Impeachment'

By David Edwards on 1/15/2006 9:14am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

George Stephanopoulos interviewed Senator Arlen Specter on today's edition of ABC's This Week.

On the issue of warrent-less NSA Wiretaps authorized by the president, Stephanopoulus asked Specter what the possible remedies would be if the president's actions were found to be illegal. Specter replied, "...Impeachment is the remedy. After impeachment, you could have a criminal prosecution..."

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Investigator Finds Europe 'Complicit Over CIA Jails'

U.S. Has Undertaken Illegal Activities in Europe

By David Edwards on 1/14/2006 12:42pm PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Dick Marty, a Swiss Senator, is leading the Council of Europe's inquiry into reports that the C.I.A. operated secret prisons in several European countries. Marty is also looking into other C.I.A. activities including the use of European airports and airbases for U.S. rendition flights along with kidnappings and torture on European soil.

Investigators are scheduled to complete a preliminary report on January 23rd. Dick Marty gave a press conference where he shared some of his early conclusions.

Marty accuses the U.S. of violating civil rights. He also says that European leaders have known about the U.S. crimes. Several European leaders are complicit because of their "shocking" passivity. Marty has no doubt that the secret prisons exist and that the U.S. activities in Europe are illegal.

BBC has documented more of Dick Marty's allegations in this article and the following video report.

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Pakistan Reports U.S. Air Strike Missed al-Zawahri

Killing of Women and Children Spurs Anti-American Protests

By David Edwards on 1/14/2006 9:43am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

A U.S. air strike in Pakistan targeted the al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahri. The attack destroyed 3 houses in small village near the Pakistan border. 18 people, including women and children were also killed.

Pakistan officials and other sources are reporting that al-Zawahri was not killed in the attack as previously thought.

Pakistan condemned the air strike because of the loss of civilian lives. Today, hundreds of people in Pakistan protested the U.S. action.

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The Colbert Report Returns with Take on Abramoff Scandal

By David Edwards on 1/10/2006 8:03am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Fresh from the holiday break, Stephen Colbert uses his classic sarcastic style to highlight the corruption scandal that has erupted around Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Stephen Colbert: "There is no story here."

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