Guest Blogged by DES...

From The Associated Press:

The White House's opinion that advisers cannot be compelled to testify does not address whether or not the witness is nonetheless required to appear in response to a subpoena. From Congress.

It remains to be seen whether Congressional Democrats will actually assert authority and re-establish parity as a co-equal branch of the federal government under the Constitution, or if this is just more sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Last February the full House voted to hold White House officials Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers in contempt of Congress. They have failed to enforce that vote, which passed 223 to 32, and AG Mukasey has said he would not enforce the House's contempt finding.

Last December, the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended finding Rove in contempt in a bi-partisan 12 to 7 vote, during which Republican Arlen Specter noted "we have no alternative," given Rove's snub of the subpoenas issued by the panel.

Despite the endorsement from even two Republicans on the committee, Democratic Senate majority leader Harry Reid has failed to bring the recommendation to the full Senate for a vote. Will Pelosi hold the House committee's endorsement (and the will of the American people, and the Rule of Law) in similar contempt?

UPDATE FROM BRAD: In addition to the Committee's finding of contempt, the resolution passed today also recommends an interesting additional course of action recommended for the House, as noted in the Resolution's markup memo [WORD] that we received from the House Judiciary this morning...

Guest Blogged by DES

Washington Post coverage...

Coverage from around the world, including the inevitable politicization in this country, and a late update or two, all follow below...

The Washington Post reports that the United States and the European Union signed an agreement this week detailing the amount of private information the U.S. can obtain on EU citizens traveling to and from the United States, what kinds of information can be gathered, and for how long the data may be stored.

Privacy advocates in the U.S. and the E.U. immediately questioned the agreement's sweeping expansion of data mining of travelers’ private information, including such data fields as medical history, religious affiliation, trade union membership, sexual orientation, and sexual partners.

According to WaPo:

Paul Rosenzweig, Homeland Security’s deputy assistant secretary for policy, explained that the broad categories of information gathered are due to U.S. authorities' fears of risks they haven't yet imagined. Rosenzweig justified the unusual data fields if, for example, U.S. officials learned of an alert about passengers who request wheelchairs hiding bombs in leg casts.

Guest blogged by DES

It was the second week of Brad's guest hosting stint for the Peter B. Collins Show from the studios of KPFT in Houston, and what a week it was! (Audio archives now available after the jump!) BRAD BLOG DC Correspondent Margie Burns dug up the genesis of the catchphrase "compassionate conservative," Guest Blogger John Washburn uncovered apparent election fraud in Minnesota's 2004 Presidential election, and Video Master Alan Breslauer tore up the airwaves to bring you the latest and funniest video on the 'tubes! It's all here, including new revelations from CA Sec. of State Debra Bowen's "top-to-bottom" review of all of the Golden State's voting systems (all were easily hacked --- no surprise there) and the stunning reaction from some CA election officials... the quiet revisions to the Dept. of Justice manual on "voter fraud" indictments...and the reaction of a PA election director upon discovering voting machine company ES&S's "unsavory business practices" (also no surprise there)!

Catch up on all that you may have missed in the last week, and more, after the jump....

Blogged by DES from Houston...

It's the LAST DAY of Brad's week-and-a-half long Guest Hosting stint on the Peter B. Collins Show! And boy have we had a great time, and hope you have, too! Listen in today at 3p-6p PT (6p-9p ET) for our final "Bradcast" from the facilities of Pacifica's Houston station, KPFT.

Today is BE THE MEDIA/FREE-SPEECH FRIDAY! So it's your chance to call in with whatever's on your mind (1-888-5PeterB)!

We'll have a few guests hanging with us. With perhaps more to come (if we're in the mood, or they decide to drop by). Just added: GREG PALAST, whom you may have heard of, will be dropping by to say hello and take your calls.

Also, today's previously scheduled guests (subject to change/updates as warranted): BRYAN MYERS, producer of PBS's NOW, on tonight's special report --- including new, never-before-released documents --- on Voter Caging (check local listings for airtime); today's Daily Election Integrity Hour with JOHN GIDEON of VotersUnite.org with news on the release of CA SoS Bowen's unprecedented "Top-to-Bottom Review" of Voting Systems, plus a backlog of stories we haven't been able to get to all week, BREAKING NEWS and YOUR CALLS in the Free Speech/Be The Media Zone!

Listen LIVE via: http://www.PeterBCollins.com (or an on-air affiliate station)
Call in at: 1-888-5-PeterB (1-888-573-8372)
Open thread discussion during the show: In Comments below...

POST-SHOW UPDATE/ARCHIVE:

HOUR 1: Open lines, news from Bush World, breaking news on Bowen's "Top-to-Bottom Review" of voting systems, and Greg Palast on vote-caging et al...

HOUR 2: Open lines, more news from Bush World, and Bryan Myers on details from PBS's NOW report on vote-caging, airing this evening...

HOUR 3: Election Integrity Hour - Details from Bowen's "Top-to-Bottom Review" with John Gideon (report was released while we were on the air), a hand-off to Christine Craft of 1240am Talk City in Sacramento, who will be taking over as Guest Host of the PBC show beginning next week, and also leading a group to Bowen's public hearing next Monday, and tons of last minute callers!...

Thank you, PBC! Houston! And everybody in between! We're "outta here"!

Guest blogged by DES...

The Hill reports that Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has issued a subpoena to White House adviser Karl Rove, the next step in the escalation of the standoff between the White House and Democrats over their attempts to assert congressional oversight and investigation over the executive branch. Scott Jennings, a White House aide, was also subpoenaed.

The latest subpoenas come on the heels of the contentious Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, in which Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was openly derided by both Democrats and Republicans on the committee for his perceived misleading testimony; several members of the committee alleged the testimony borders on perjury and today asked the U.S. Solicitor General to appoint a Special Prosecutor.

Comparing current Bush White House tactics to the embattled Nixon Administration, Leahy said:

Rove and Jennings have one week to appear before the committee to testify under oath.

Hold your breath.

Blogged by DES from Houston...

It's our penultimate day of Brad's week-and-a-half long Guest Hosting stint on the Peter B. Collins Show! We've got a big show again today from 3p-6p PT (6p-9p ET), broadcasting still from KPFT in Houston, Texas.

Our Election Integrity Hour today will feature the first LIVE broadcast interview with TOVA ANDREA WANG since she's finally been un-gagged by the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission (EAC). You'll recall she co-authored a report on Voter Fraud for the EAC (her original report here [PDF]) which was subsequently buried and then altered without her permission by the federal commission, when they didn't care for her findings that Voter Fraud was not the wide-spread epidemic that Republican operatives in the White House, DoJ, and other front groups like the ACVR had pretended it to be. Wang, a Democracy Fellow at The Century Foundation, had been disallowed, through dubious legal tactics by the EAC, to speak about their duplicity, their changes to the report, and much more for months...until now!

Other guests scheduled for today's show: (subject to change/updates as warranted): FAIZ SHAKIR of the Center for American Progress, KRISTINA JOHNSON of the Sierra Club and TRACY FLEISCHMAN of Brave New Films on the hard-hitting new documentary Fox Attacks!, JOHN GIDEON of Voters Unite and the PBC show's military affairs contributor, SCOTT DICK (and perhaps more to be announced shortly), plus BREAKING NEWS and YOUR CALLS throughout!

Listen LIVE via: http://www.PeterBCollins.com (or an on-air affiliate station)
Call in at: 1-888-5-PeterB (1-888-573-8372)
Open thread discussion during the show: In Comments below...

POST-SHOW UPDATE/ARCHIVES:

HOUR 1: Faiz Shakir on the Democratic requests for a special prosecutor to investigate Gonzales for perjury. Kristina Johnson and Tracy Fleischman on the campaign against Fox "News" (and their advertiser Home Depot) and their anti-environmental propoganda...

HOUR 2: Scott Dick on all matters military, Iraq, and the meltdown of America...

HOUR 3: The latest on CA SoS Debra Bowen's release of her "Top-to-Bottom" study of electronic voting systems and the rest of the hour with Tova Andrea Wang on her extraordinary experience with the EAC and the political gaming of her voter fraud report...

A complete text-transcript of this interview with Wang is now posted here...

Blogged by DES from Houston...

It's Day 6 and we're closing in on the last few laps of Brad's week-and-a-half long Guest Hosting stint on the Peter B. Collins Show! Listen in today from 3p-6p PT (6p-9p ET), where we'll be continuing our live broadcasts from facilities of Pacifica's Houston station, KPFT.

Today's scheduled guests (subject to change/updates as warranted): MAX BLUMENTHAL of Huffington Post; MIKE LUX of American Family Voices on OpenLeft.com; BRAD BLOG D.C. Correspondent MARGIE BURNS (see Margie's newest article here); LARISA ALEXANDROVNA of RawStory.com; today's Daily Election Integrity Hour with JOHN GIDEON and ELLEN THEISEN of VotersUnite.org on today's Senate hearings for Diane Feinstein's new election reform bill, plus the latest news on Debra Bowen's "Top-to-Bottom" voting system review in California, plus BREAKING NEWS and YOUR CALLS in the Free Speech Zone!

Listen LIVE via: http://www.PeterBCollins.com (or an on-air affiliate station)
Call in at: 1-888-5-PeterB (1-888-573-8372)
Open thread discussion during the show: In Comments below...

POST-SHOW UPDATE/ARCHIVES:

HOUR 1: Latest on Contempt of Congress in the House, Mike Lux on "Legislation 2.0" and Max Blumenthal on "Generation Chickenhawk" with some great audio from his recent video taped visit to a College Republicans convention...

HOUR 2: Audio from Gonzales hearings in the Senate, Margie Burns on where Team Bush came up with "Compassionate Conservative", and Larisa Alexandrovna on the questions about the ties to Iran in the latest National Intelligence Estimate...

HOUR 3: Election Integrity Hour! With John Gideon on the latest ES&S mess in San Francisco and the horrible idea to sell poll worker sponsorship to corporations in one Ohio County, a Brad rant on the California Election Clerks' Dick Cheney-like attempt to undermine Debra Bowen's "Top-to-Bottom Review" of voting systems in the state, Ellen Theisen on the Senate hearings for Diane Feinstein's S.1487 Election Reform Bill, and a quick in-studio special appearance by 9-year old George W. Bush expert, Alister...

Blogged by DES from Houston...

It's Day 5 of Brad's week-and-a-half long Guest Hosting stint on the Peter B. Collins Show! Listen in today from 3p-6p PT (6p-9p ET), where we'll be continuing our live broadcasts from facilities of Pacifica's Houston station, KPFT.

Today's scheduled guests (subject to change/updates as warranted): MARY MAPES, the Peabody-award winning former CBS Evening News producer and current Huffington Post contributor; Investigative Journalist and author of News Junkie, JASON LEOPOLD of Truthout.org; DUANE BRADLEY, General Manager of KPFT Pacifica Houston and OTIS MACLAY, formerly of the Pacifica Radio Network, old-school veterans of independent radio (and our generous hosts here in Houston), on the Fairness Doctrine and our ever-changing media landscape; today's Daily Election Integrity Hour with JOHN GIDEON of VotersUnite.org, Luzerne County, PA Election Director LEONARD PIAZZA on his county's problems with ES&S, plus BREAKING NEWS and YOUR CALLS in the Free Speech Zone!

Listen LIVE via: http://www.PeterBCollins.com (or an on-air affiliate station)
Call in at: 1-888-5-PeterB (1-888-573-8372)
Open thread discussion during the show: In Comments below...

POST-SHOW UPDATE/ARCHIVES

HOUR 1: Joined in-studio by KPFT's General Manager Duane Bradley on the history of the station and Pacifica, and the KKK bombing of their transmitter in the 70's, and then by Pacifica legend Otie Maclay to discuss the Fairness Doctrine (which he's against)...

HOUR 2: Mary Mapes on George W. Bush and his brutal record of using the death penalty in TX (after commuting Scooter Libby's sentence for being "excessive") and the railroad she received after her CBS/Dan Rather story on Bush's National Guard service (or lack thereof). And Jason Liepold on Dick Cheney's coverup of his energy task force and the phony California power "crisis"...

HOUR 3: Election Integrity Hour, with...John Gideon's Daily Voting News update, and PA Election Director Leonard Piazza on the strongarming of his county by the ES&S voting machine company and a somewhat contentious exchange or two on DREs. Plus, Bill Richardson and his "touch stone" voting systems...

Blogged by DES from Houston...

We're launching into the second week of Brad's week-and-a-half long Guest Hosting stint on the Peter B. Collins Show! Listen in today from 3p-6p PT (6p-9p ET), where we'll be continuing our live broadcasts from facilities of Pacifica's Houston station, KPFT.

Today's scheduled guests (subject to change/updates as warranted): AfterDowningStreet.org co-founder and activist DAVID SWANSON, fresh from the scene (if he's not in jail!) of today's Impeachment March and Sit-in at Rep. John Conyers office; Media Matters' ERIC BOEHLERT; MATTHEW ROTHSCHILD, Editor of The Progressive and author of You Have No Rights; and live from Baghdad, Reporter and author of Baghdad Bulletin, DAVID ENDERS! Plus: today's Daily Election Integrity Hour starts a half hour early (4:30pm PT) with software expert, citizen investigative journalist JOHN WASHBURN on his new BRAD BLOG post below, JOHN GIDEON of VotersUnite.org, and YOUR CALLS!

Listen LIVE via: http://www.PeterBCollins.com (or an on-air affiliate station)
Call in at: 1-888-5-PeterB (1-888-573-8372)
Open thread discussion during the show: In Comments below...

POST-SHOW UPDATE/ARCHIVES...

HOUR 1: Eric Boehlert on the attempted Rupert Murdoch buyout of Wall Street Journal and Matthew Rothschild on Bush's troubling new Executive Orders...

HOUR 2: Bob Fertik of Democrats.com updates us with the latest on the 1,000,000 impeachment signatures dropped off today at John Conyers office, in place of David Swanson who was arrested there today with Cindy Sheehan and others. And, in the first half of our Election Integrity Hour today (which started early), John Washburn gives us inside details on his Exclusive today on the apparent ballot box stuffing and forgeries in Milwaukee's 2004 Presidential Election...

HOUR 3: John Gideon on the failure of Sequoia Printers in New Jersey, and Tom Courbat checks in from Riverside County, CA for the second part of our split EI Hour today, followed by journalist Eric Benders LIVE from Iraq...and not from the green zone!

Guest blogged by DES

BRAD BLOG Guest Bloggers were on a tear this last week, with Video Master Alan Breslauer doing much of the heavy lifting, and John Gideon of VotersUnite.org keeping you up-to-date on the (apparent) death of the controversial Holt Bill, HR811, among other deeds and misdeeds in the world of elections and politics. Dr. Rebecca Mercuri brought us some verrrry interesting photos and Arlen Parsa weighed in with a weird "Swift-boating"-style campaign video making its way around the intertubes... and a very special shout-out to the makers of Hacking Democracy to congratulate them on their very first Emmy Nomination! (Host a house party and share this stunning documentary with your friends and neighbors!)

All the while, Brad has been blogging from the road and holding down the fort as daily Guest Host of the Peter B. Collins Show, reporting on the big news of the day --- like the dismissal of the Plame civil suit, Impeachment Friday with Cindy Sheehan, and more. Archives from this last week are now posted, so you can catch up on all the breaking news, analysis, commentary, and of course, your calls and comments!

It's all the news that you won't find in the Mainstream Corporate Media, and it's all right here after the jump...

Blogged by DES from Houston...

It's Day Three --- IMPEACHMENT FRIDAY! --- of Brad's week-and-a-half long Guest Hosting stint on the Peter B. Collins Show, and maybe he's getting the hang of this thing! Listen in today from 3p-6p PT (6p-9p ET), where we'll be broadcasting live from the facilities of Pacifica's Houston station, KPFT.

Today's scheduled guests (subject to change/updates as warranted): CINDY SHEEHAN, "Peace Mom" and leader of the anti-war movement, alongside AfterDowningStreet.org co-founder and activist DAVID SWANSON, LIVE on the scene from the Rally For Peace in Charlottesville, Virginia; investigative citizen journalist/blogger ARLEN PARSA of The Daily Background.com; former federal prosecutor and author of U.S. v. Bush ELIZABETH De La VEGA; and in today's Daily Election Integrity Hour, JOHN GIDEON of VotersUnite.org, San Diego election attorney KEN KARAN, and YOUR CALLS!

Listen LIVE via: http://www.PeterBCollins.com (or an on-air affiliate station)
Call in at: 1-888-5-PeterB
Open thread discussion during the show: In Comments below...

POST-SHOW UPDATE/ARCHIVES...

HOUR 1: Kicked off IMPEACHMENT FRIDAY with Cindy Sheehan, live from a Peace Rally in Virginia, and Arlen Parsa on John McCain's PR firm, apparently "Swift Boating" Rudy "JEW-Liani" and all the rest of the GOP...

HOUR 2: Elizabeth de la Vega and a whole bunch of callers on the case for Impeachment NOW...with one caller's news on John Conyers' comments today in California to the effect of "What are we waiting for? Let's take these two guys out!"

HOUR 3: Election Integrity Hour with John Gideon on today's news on the (potential) death of the Holt Bill as reported by NYTimes, election attorney Ken Karan on the death of the Busby/Bilbray election contest, plus more callers with good news out of Ohio, and a visit from Diebold Whistleblower Stephen Heller.

Blogged by DES from Houston...

It's Day Two of our hijacking week-and-a-half long Guest Hosting stint on the Peter B. Collins Show today from 3p-6p PT (6p-9p ET). We'll be broadcasting from the facilities of Pacifica's Houston station, KPFT.

Today's scheduled guests (subject to change/updates as warranted): FAIZ SHAKIR, Research Director at the Center for American Progress and Editor of ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report; PBC's regular contributor on military affairs, retired Marine SCOTT DICK, MICHAEL ZACCHEA of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and just added, CHRISTINE JENNINGS, candidate for Congress from Florida District 13, and in today's Daily Election Integrity Hour, JOHN GIDEON of VotersUnite.org, voting machine expert REBECCA MERCURI and YOUR CALLS! (More guests added soon!)

Listen LIVE via: http://www.PeterBCollins.com (or an on air affiliate station)
Call in at: 1-888-5PeterB
Open thread discussion during the show: In Comments below...

POST-SHOW UPDATE/ARCHIVES...

HOUR 1: Breaking news on the Plame case dismissal, Faiz Shakir on that and the politicization of the Judiciary and Executive branches, and "Congresswoman" Christine Jennings announces her intention to run again in '08 and that the GAO will announce their findings on her FL-13 '06 election in a closed door Congressional meeting on July 27...

HOUR 2: Military affairs contributor Scott Dick and Iraq vet Michael Zacchea on the lack of armored vehicles (MRAPs) for U.S. troops and Zacchea's experience training the Iraqi army...

HOUR 3: Election Integrity Hour with John Gideon on the rumored death of the Holt Bill, Robert Carillo Cohen on the emmy nomination for Hacking Democracy and Rebeca Mercuri on the mess that is Election Reform...

Guest blogged by DES

It's high summer and the movers and shakers got back to movin' and shakin' without delay after coming back from the 4th of July holiday week. Brought to you by our intrepid Guest Bloggers and the Travelin' Brad, the biggest stories this last week ranged all over, but our BIGGEST story bar-none was the victory of dogged citizen activists in their battle to dump disenfranchising DRE (basically, touch-screen) voting machines in their home county of Riverside, CA. Be sure to read the story of how unflagging dedication to election integrity and sheer stick-to-it-iveness can overcome bureaucratic stonewalling and stupidity...

In other election integrity news this last week, the big cajones award goes to the California judge who ordered a RE-VOTE after county election officials destroyed the evidence from a 2004 race, depriving plaintiffs of a recount... PFAW continues their disingenuous campaign to keep those dangerous DREs in every county in the nation... the notorious Election Assistance Commission finally un-gagged researcher Tova Wang, author of a study proving the "myth" part of the Republican Myth of Voter Fraud... Rep. Dennis Kucinich dropped his support of Holt's HR811.... plus the other biggie story of the week: the stunning revelation of discrepancies in the code ES&S submitted to the state of California --- which could have national implications!

In other big stories this last week, BRAD BLOG DC correspondent Margie Burns analyzed the politics of leaks and pardons by presidents, past and current... the Guts of Michael Chertoff told him bad things might happen to the U.S.... revelations of Vote Caging by Republicans in Florida in 2004 (aren't you shocked?) and the release of the escort service client phone list of the "DC Madam", already netting one Republican representative senator (aren't you shocked?) in just the first 24 hours...

From tireless Guest Blogger Alan Breslauer, we have multo must-see video: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s inspiring speech during the Live Earth concerts, NYC firefighters exposing Giuliani's actions in the aftermath of 9/11, and the er, unusual eavesdropping of a conversation between Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, and a very entertaining smack-down delivered by RFK, Jr. to the hapless Glenn Beck...Plus a revealing debate between Wolf Blitzer and Michael Moore over his newest film, "Sicko"!

Check out the newest pro-Net Neutrality video released this last week, and sign up to tell the FCC to PROTECT YOUR INTERNET from corporate raiders! They aren't playing fair, kids --- they never do --- and it's up to us to save it --- the deadline is July 17th, so spread the word!

Even more awaits after the jump...

Guest blogged by DES

Hope you had a fabulous Independence Day! While Brad is out and about traveling on various speaking engagements and posting where possible, our Guest Bloggers are doing the heavy lifting to bring you stories and analysis that matter, that you won't find anywhere else.

The biggest story on last week's list: Fallout from Bush's unprecedented commutation of "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence dominated the newscasts and the marbled fat halls of punditry, as apologists and critics joined in the chorus in the continually-escalating drama that is the Valerie Plame/CIA Leak case. (Guess the Bushies didn't read the DoJ handbook, and are blaming Clinton --- again.) As our newest guest blogger Jon Ponder reveals, the Bush Administration is now publicly operating under "Justice for me, but not for thee."

Second biggest story from the last week: The Obstructors of Justice (Department of Gonzo) continue to bob and weave to hide from congressional oversight, but the Summer of Accountability inexorably rolls forward. What extra-constitutional tactic will the Bush Administration try next? Perhaps VP Dick "A Law Unto Myself" Cheney and his anti-Constitution minions in the Office of the Vice President are working overtime to bring you the latest in bizarre interpretations of the Constitution. If you're down with OVP, you get out of jail for (nearly) free... (at least until you're discovered on the newly-released "DC Madam" phone list... or Cheney-fatigue sets in...)

Although the leaders of the astro-turf group ACVR have "hit the mattresses" for now, the long tentacles of their trumped-up campaign to spread the Republican Myth of Voter Fraud across the nation have surfaced (again) in the U.S. Attorney Purge Scandal, this time in David Iglesias' New Mexico. Perps in the Jack Abramoff Lobbying and Bribery Scandal are also trying to escape further scrutiny (there are so many --- are there any congressional Republicans not involved?)...

And be sure to give a listen to Brad's debate with Larry Norden of the Brennan Center, as they try to sort out just what is going on in the controversial Holt bill on the Peter B. Collins Show...