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Latest Featured Reports | Friday, October 4, 2024
Time Running Out For
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The Secret Koch Brothers Tapes...

By Brad Friedman on 6/30/2005 9:15pm PT  

Looks like Bev Harris of BlackBoxVoting.org gets the first words out on ElectionAssessment.org's hearing yesterday in Houston which was set up as a counter to the phony hearing that occurred today by the now-discredited Baker/Carter National Election Reform Commission. (Details explaining both hearings here. Be sure to enjoy the comments on that itme by the way, and note our own personal restraint in not posting our private communications with Mr. Lowenstein who is privileged enough to sit on the Baker/Carter Commission, but doesn't believe he needs to hear from American Voters who are concerned about the dangers it poses to our Electoral System. But we digress...)

It doesn't look as if C-SPAN covered the 2nd and final Baker/Carter Hearings today, as they did with the first one. Which is fine by us. As the first one was filled with little more than misleading disinformation presented by a stacked deck of ringer "witnesses" who morphed the real problem of Election Fraud into the non-existant "problem" of Voter Fraud. As a matter of fact, the only thing much resembling media coverage of either meeting beforehand was the Press Release issued we issued from Velvet Revolution.

In her quick message board reply, Harris, just one of the many witnesses at ElectionAssessment.org's hearings who should have given testimony to and/or been sitting on the Baker/Carter Commission itself, gives some insight into how things went at thos hearings...

Kip Humphries had a wonderful idea. He set up the un-Carter-Baker kind of hearing, called the Election Assessment Hearing.

Three people from the Carter-Baker hearing decided to come into the Election Assessment Hearing (only to listen to themselves speak, of course; they didn't bother to come listen to any of the witnesses presenting evidence, and left after their bit was done.) One of them, Robert Pastor, was allowed to be a witness himself.

About the first thing out of his mouth was an endorsement for federal centralizing of the voting system, and the next was a cheerleading quote for how wonderful HAVA is.

Kip Humphries did a brilliant thing --- when the Carter-Baker Commission was clearly all show and no substance, he brought the substance right to their back yard, called the press, and ultimately got the Commission's Robert Pastor on tape responding to questions from Lynn Landes, me, Dr. Richard Phillips, and others. Again, shows how one ordinary citizen with common sense can make a real difference.

She has more in her post, including what should make for some very interesting video tape to come soon!

(That tape, by the way, will be available on DVD for Dr. Pastor, with whom we've exchanged pleasantries ourselves in the past, and the rest of 'em on the Baker/Carter Commission...if you haven't already let them know about that fine opportunity, you may still do so here.)

(Hat tip BRAD BLOG commenter and BRAD SHOW caller, Catherine A. from Ireland for the link to Bev's post!)

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Ready for yet another scandal?
And another major investigation likely not made by either Congress or the Mainstream Corporate Media?
By Brad Friedman on 6/30/2005 6:47pm PT  

Feeling scandal fatigue towards what is increasingly being revealed to be an indescribably filthy Republican Party / Bush Administration? Too bad, get ready for a bit more.

In just one of the increasingly too-many items that BRAD BLOG has been unable to find the time to investigate properly and report on of late, is the story of political operatives Sproul & Associates and the enormous amount of money they were paid by the Republican Party before, during and after the 2004 Presidential Election for services-still-unknown.

We had received some of the early tips on this matter based on the tireless digging of John Brakey (he, of the similarly under-reported Arizona Electoral Fraud "Rosetta Stone" investigation) but were unable to find the time to investigate and report on it properly. Thankfully, Mark Crispin Miller was able to find the time and has filed his first report on the matter today.

Miller does a fine job of making sense of a very complex set of numbers, representing millions of dollars paid to the firm of the former head of the Arizona Republican Party and the Arizona Christian Coalition.

Those numbers have since been changed, re-dated, re-apportioned, re-described, re-catagorized, disappeared and otherwise gamed in their filing of same by the RNC to the Federal Elections Commission since the November election, and even within the last few weeks!

Those of you paying close attention may remember former employees of Sproul's firm, Voters Outreach of America, alleging that the firm had shredded thousands of voter registration forms in a number of states prior to the election. Democratic voter registration forms only, mind you. They are reportedly now under criminal investigation in the state of Oregon related to such charges.

In any case, if you're not too exhausted already by the myriad other Criminal Enterprises being revealed daily as Business-as-Usual by George W. Bush and his Republican Party win-at-all-costs Partners-in-Crime, you may want to get a load of this one.

Is there no end to the corruption these guys are capable of?!

At least we can rest easy knowing that Bush didn't get a blowjob in the oval office (that we know of). If that had been the case, we're certain that Congress and the American Corporate Media would finally have found something criminal enough to merit a thorough investigation on behalf of the American People.

Long Live the Bloggers!

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Halliburton Denies, Pentagon Plays Dumb
Whistleblowers Face Retribution from Both
By Brad Friedman on 6/30/2005 4:00pm PT  

It seems to us that if these were normal times --- when we weren't far far through the looking glass already --- a story such as this would have been front page news. For days on end. At least. Such as things are, however, here in Bizzarro World (previously known as America) this story ran on p. 12 of Tuesday's LA Times...

A top Army Corps of Engineers official charged Monday that Halliburton Co. was able to receive no-bid contracts for work in Iraq because of repeated assistance by the office of the secretary of Defense.
...
Democrats also released a report that added up findings from previously undisclosed Defense Department audits. Together, they show more than $1 billion in possible overcharges and $422 million in billing that lacked the kind of documentation the auditors needed to determine whether the charges were proper.

The vast scale goes well beyond previously released figures. In earlier public reports, auditors had identified about $400 million in questioned costs.
...
Rory Mayberry, a former [Kellog, Brown & Root, a division of Halliburton] food service manager, discussed some of the overcharges in a videotaped statement. He said the company served troops food that had been expired for as long as a year, provided Turkish and Filipino workers with leftovers in trash bags rather than culturally appropriate food, and overcharged for 10,000 meals per day in order to make up for a financial sanction imposed by the Pentagon.
...
Another possible impropriety was a waiver, apparently given by top Defense Department officials, that allowed Halliburton to bill the department without providing cost and pricing data. [Army Corps of Engineers senior procurment officer, Bunnatine] Greenhouse said she normally would have been required to sign any such waiver, but this one "didn't even appear in my system."

The waiver allowed the company to pay a politically connected Kuwaiti oil company more than $1 per gallon to transport gasoline — work now being done, under worse security conditions, for 18 cents a gallon, according to executives of Lloyd-Owen International, which transports the fuel under contract with the Iraqi government.
...
Greenhouse and Mayberry said they faced retribution for speaking out.

Greenhouse said she had been told by the acting chief counsel of the Corps of Engineers that appearing at the hearing "would not be in my best interest." Mayberry said that after he spoke to auditors in Iraq, he was transferred to a more dangerous assignment in Fallouja.

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Few, if any, were fooled by Dubya's prime-time propoganda.
By Brad Friedman on 6/30/2005 1:48pm PT  

Considering the lack of media attention the Downing Street Documents have recieved, the fact that Zogby is reporting today that some 42% of Americans would favor impeachment of George W. Bush for misleading the nation into war is rather stunning, we think.

The fact that the American People are no longer gullible enough to buy the baloney Bush sold in his speech the other night is not quite as surprising. We find both pieces of news to be encouraging.

President Bush's televised address to the nation produced no noticeable bounce in his approval numbers, with his job approval rating slipping a point from a week ago, to 43%, in the latest Zogby International poll.
...
In a sign of the continuing partisan division of the nation, more than two-in-five (42%) voters say that, if it is found that President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should hold him accountable through impeachment. While half (50%) of respondents do not hold this view, supporters of impeachment outweigh opponents in some parts of the country.

Among those living in the Western states, a 52% majority favors Congress using the impeachment mechanism while just 41% are opposed; in Eastern states, 49% are in favor and 45% opposed. In the South, meanwhile, impeachment is opposed by three-in-five voters (60%) and supported by just one-in-three (34%); in the Central/Great Lakes region, 52% are opposed and 38% in favor.

Imagine what those numbers would be like if the Mainstream Corporate Media actually reported on what's really going on!

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Attorney General: 'Nothing at all to worry about...These aren't the droids you're looking for...'
By Brad Friedman on 6/30/2005 12:56pm PT  

The BBC, of course, not the American Media, got the headline right...

Bush sets up domestic spy service

John Negroponte will oversee the FBI changes US President George W Bush has ordered the creation of a domestic intelligence service within the FBI, as part of a package of 70 new security measures.

The White House says it is enacting the measures to fight international terrorist groups and prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, back over here across the pond, the AP typically downplays any concerns of a new "secret police" under the control of the White House. Their fawning lede for the same story seems to laud Bush for his latest actions:

President Bush, embracing nearly all the recommendations of a White House commission, said Wednesday that he was creating a national security service at the FBI to specialize in intelligence as part of a shake-up of the disparate U.S. spy agencies.

Washington Post, however, in a Page 1 story (refreshingly), seems to mostly get it. Even though it takes a graf or two before they get to the troubling part:

President Bush ordered another shake-up of the nation's intelligence services yesterday, forming new national security divisions within both the FBI and the Justice Department and, for the first time, putting a broad swath of the FBI under the authority of the nation's spy chief.
...
Civil liberties advocates immediately criticized the changes at the FBI, arguing that they represent a radical step toward the creation of a secret police force in the United States. Many Justice prosecutors and FBI agents had also fiercely opposed the changes but were overruled by Bush's homeland security adviser, Frances Fragos Townsend, officials said.
...
"Spies and cops play different roles and operate under different rules for a reason," said Timothy Edgar, national security counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. "The FBI is effectively being taken over by a spymaster who reports directly to the White House. . . . It's alarming that the same person who oversees foreign spying will now oversee domestic spying, too."

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III played down such concerns. Although Bush's memo gives Negroponte's office authority over the FBI's intelligence program, they said, he will not exercise authority over traditional criminal investigations conducted by the bureau.

"They're not going to be directing law enforcement," Gonzales said at a news conference. "Every law enforcement official within the FBI is going to remain under the supervision and authority of the FBI director and, ultimately, the attorney general."

Ah, well, as long as a good man and torturer like Alberto Gonzales has given his seal of approval and will be watching carefully over matters, we suppose there's nothing at all to worry about here. Phew...

Leave it to those America hating liberals at the ACLU to waste our time alarming us about such matters. It's not as if they were right at all concerning torture at Gitmo! Haven't you heard? Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) said the prisoners are feasting like kings, and Rush says Gitmo is a vacation paradise!

“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.” - Martin Niemoeller

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By Brad Friedman on 6/29/2005 4:49pm PT  

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (for whom we readily admit having a crush since having met her at the National Election Reform Conference in Nashville - see swooning photo of both of us at right) discussed the latest chililng Diebold hack conducted several weeks ago by BlackBoxVoting.org in a BuzzFlash article by Matthew Cardinale published today.

The hack they performed was very important, and raised some serious hackles from the friendly folks of Diebold Inc. They of the promise to "deliver Ohio" for George W. Bush, and coincidentally, the world's largest Voting Machine Company.

If you're not familiar with the Diebold hack done by BBV (and you may be, since we've be woefully remiss in reporting on it here) or the angry response that Diebold sent to the election supervisor who allowed the experiement, you'll want to read the whole article...

"The bottom line is we can't trust the machines, and we can't trust the results being told to the American people," U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) said in a phone interview for the progressive news community, adding "we are planning some as-yet-undefined events in [our] district" around the issue.

The problem, the Congresswoman said, is that the machines "haven't been provided with appropriate software and safeguards. If they had the appropriate software and safeguards, then the machines wouldn't be a problem. So either [provide] that, or go back to paper ballots," she advised.

Rep. McKinney, along with Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL), had been on hand for a hack demonstration in the Leon County Elections Office, in Florida, in May 2005. The demo was one of three meetings that had been organized by Bev Harris and the team at Black Box Voting. Diebold has since issued a vitriolic letter to Mr. Ion Sancho, Leon County Elections Supervisor, for allowing Black Box Voting to conduct the hack demo on site.
...
As Black Box Voting announced in recent weeks, two computer science experts have been able to hack into Leon County's Diebold central tabulator as well as individual optical scan machines.
...
"Granted the same access as an employee of our office, it was possible to enter the computer, alter election results, and exit the system without leaving any physical record of this action," said a formal statement posted by Mr. Ion Sancho on the Leon County Election's Office official website.

The statement is available here.

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More from the Phony 'Conservative' Agenda of George W. Bush
By Brad Friedman on 6/29/2005 2:13pm PT  

This is from a Reuters article we'd missed last week. It seems that there are still George W. Bush supporters who are gullible enough to believe he actually gives a damn about their tax burden and the way in which their money is spent. Apparently such folks will believe anything.

Yet since Bush didn't feel it important enough to broach this subject last night in his report to the American People on how well things are going in Iraq, we suspect this news --- even a week old --- is still notable enough that we should help get out the word about what's actually happening in Iraq...

A report by Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California, said in the week before the hand-over on June 28, 2004, the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority ordered the urgent delivery of more than $4 billion in Iraqi funds from the U.S. Federal Reserve in New York.

One single shipment amounted to $2.4 billion --- the largest movement of cash in the bank's history, said Waxman.
...
Cash was loaded onto giant pallets for shipment by plane to Iraq, and paid out to contractors who carried it away in duffel bags.

The report, released at a House of Representatives committee hearing, said despite the huge amount of money, there was little U.S. scrutiny in how these assets were managed.
...
An audit by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction said U.S. auditors could not account for nearly $8.8 billion in Iraqi funds and the United States had not provided adequate controls for this money.
...
Contractors were told to turn up with big duffel bags to pick up their payments and some were paid from the back of pick-up trucks.

One picture shows grinning CPA officials standing in front of a pile of cash said to be worth $2 million to be paid to a security contractor.
...
In total, more than 281 million individual bills, including more than 107 million $100 bills, were shipped to Iraq on giant pallets loaded onto C-130 planes, the report said.

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And other thoughts on funding the Media Revolution...
By Brad Friedman on 6/29/2005 11:58am PT  

Not sure where they picked it up, but yesterday Editor & Publisher covered the planned Guest Blogging duties here of Tribune Media Services' Bob Koehler for the upcoming BRAD BLOGathon. Their quickie item on it is right here.

This one is difficult for me to write about as I'm the main beneficiary of the effort and yet have not been in on much of the actual planning of the event (see this latest guest blog from Winter Patriot with more details including other notable Guest Bloggers scheduled for the event), but I'm glad that E&P picked up on the matter since I think the effort is actually newsworthy. Not so much the actual coverage of a fundraiser for this blog, but the general idea of readers organizing to raise funds for the Independent/Alternate Voices they appreciate as a counter to the Corporate Media.

I know that Dr. Steve Viele (one of the main ringleaders in the effort) has mentioned to me that he hopes this will serve as a model for other blogs out there, and I hope that he's right. Advertising and donations throughout the course of normal daily blogging here only go so far to cover the costs for the time and effort this gig now takes. Very few, if any, of us bloggers have major corporate sponsorship, and that's probably a good thing. But then how do we continue to do the important work that needs to be done without regular sponsorship or subscriptions if we can't pay our bills?

Don't know if Dr. Steve's model will work or not (the Blogathon is scheduled for the weekend of July 9, 10 & 11) but I think it's worth watching, and I hope that other blogs and blog readers keep an eye on it if only to see if they may be able to organize similar efforts for those other bloggers out there who find themselves in the same position/predicament that I do.

It seems there are a lot of folks --- political players with lots of access to money --- who complain about the bias and laziness of the Corporate Media. Many of them are more than willing to toss tons of bucks to Political Candidates every two or four years. But when it comes to opening their pocketbooks to support the work of the folks who are actually in the trenches every day trying to counter the Corporate Media Bias on a daily basis, those big money players are nowhere to be found.

If those monied folks who toss $50/month or more to their Cable Company without batting an eye realized how important even half of that amount would on a monthly basis to folks like the bloggers on the ground, there would be a lot more of us, and we'd have the resources to do alot more of this work...Anyway, sorry to natter on...I just hope the effort makes a difference. For me, yes, but even more so for so many others out there like me who are trying, against all odds, to do similar work. To that end, don't forget our friends at RAW STORY continue their ongoing fundraiser through tomorrow, and yes, our own PayPay Link is always open.

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Doesn't Play 9/11 Card
Calls for 'Honest answers, not pep rallies' from Bush
By Brad Friedman on 6/28/2005 8:39pm PT  

American Hero, Paul Rieckhoff, founder of OpTruth.org who quit his job on Wall Street after 9/11 to go fight in Afghanistan, (here's a link to our first-ever blog item on him from May of '04) responds to Bush's speech tonight.

Here are just a few of the highlights....

Tonight at Fort Bragg, in front of a backdrop of American service members, President Bush told the nation that victory is at hand, as long as we stay the course. Add a banner praising a job well-done and an aircraft carrier, and this all begins to seem eerily familiar.
...
Mr. President, we don't need to be told that the insurgents intend to shake our will, because we've sifted through the havoc wreaked by even the crudest weapons, then watched our friends sent home, changed forever. We don't need to be told that your administration is committed to taking care of the Troops, because we've already gotten the bill you sent us for the meals we ate while recovering at Walter Reed.

We don't need to be told that flak jackets and safer Humvees are on the way, because we've already learned that a phone-call home and a few hundred bucks is probably the quickest way to get body armor. Hundreds of Troops have been wounded or killed because of faulty vehicles or missing armor, but who has been held accountable?
...
Mr. President, we need honest answers, not pep rallies.

As they say at OpTruth, "Really support the Troops! Listen to them!"

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Repeating Yes, Reporting No.
By Brad Friedman on 6/28/2005 2:29pm PT  

Apparently the AP received the same couple of paragraphs from the White House about Bush's speech tonight that we did. However, we didn't bother to use their Press Release to write an article about a speech that hasn't yet occured. And to write it as if it already did occur! The AP, however, has done exactly that.

And they say we're too tough on the Mainstream Corporate Media for merely repeating instead of reporting...Give us a break!

UPDATE: The complete White House Press Release, from earlier today, is below so you can compare it to the article as run by AP...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

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ElectionAssessment.org to Hold Alternate Election Reform Hearings!
VR Webletter Campaign Launched to inform Baker/Carter Members to Attend!
By Brad Friedman on 6/28/2005 1:05pm PT  

Tomorrow, in Houston, the day prior to the Baker/Carter Commission's 2nd and Final hearing on Election Reform, ElectionAssessment.org is holding their own alternate hearings featuring many of the Experts and Advocates that the Baker/Carter Commission should have asked to testify at their own hearings!

Velvet Revolution has created a webletter allowing you to inform the Baker/Carter Commission about these alternate hearings!

Unfortunately, the Baker/Carter Commission has now irrevocably discredited themselves by stacking the deck with Partisan Operatives and Voting Machine Company Representatives as we have reported here many times. So it's up to groups like ElectionAssessment.org to present the honest testimony required for any commission to make real recommendations for Election Reform in the United States of America!

Please click here to send an Email Immediately to Baker/Carter Commission Members about ElectionAssessment.org's Hearings...

As time is now short, please use the "Email it to Someone" link at the bottom of this item to let your frirends know about this!!!

The superb set of real witnesses and experts scheduled to give testimony tomorrow include the following...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

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Forums to Mark Third Anniversary of Original 'Downing Street Minutes'!
*** A BRAD BLOG EXCLUSIVE! ***
By Brad Friedman on 6/28/2005 11:56am PT  

The BRAD BLOG has learned that Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and a number of other Congressional Members will announce their intention to hold open Town Hall Meetings across the country on July 23rd to discuss the "Downing Street Documents" with constituents.

The meetings, to be held on the same day around the country in the members' various Congressional Districts, will mark the third year anniversary of the creation of the original Downing Street Minutes document. That document, released nearly two months ago, revealed that the Bush Administration had determined at least eight months prior to the War on Iraq that they intended to topple Saddam Hussein through military means, and planned to "fix" the intelligence and facts around the policy.

Earlier this month, a letter was delivered to the White House signed by 122 Congressional Members and more than 560,000 American Citizens asking George W. Bush to answer a number of questions concerning the information contained in the minutes written by the head of British Intelligence, Richard Dearlove. The White House has still refused the courtesy of a reply to that letter.

MORE: We are told that "at least" 10 U.S. Congressional Members will be holding these Town Hall Meetings, and that --- unlike Bush and Cheney's phony Town Hall Meetings --- the forums will actually be open to the public for discussion. No loyalty pledges to be required before attending. The number of Congressmen and women to hold hearings is expected to increase in the days and weeks ahead prior to the July 23rd date.

AND MORE... AfterDowningStreet.org is helping to organize the Town Hall Meetings, and offers quite a few links on how you can help from your home town!

AND STILL MORE... Conyers has now released further details on his blog, including a link to sign up for information, help with hosting house parties on the day of the Town Hall meetings and an email address to send questions and suggestions for the event.

He goes on to say, in his blog item, that this event is a "follow up to our hugely successful hearing we held in the basement of the Capitol Building on June 16." Perhaps it should be suggested that all such July 23rd House Parties be held in basements or storage closets just to get into the spirit of things!

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Way to go Ohio!
By Brad Friedman on 6/27/2005 11:21pm PT  

Since Ohio seems to be doing a fine job collapsing on itself politically, we haven't waded too much into the entire mess. Suffice to say, the Buckeye State seems to be imploding without much help from us, so far be it for us to get in its way.

We're fairly certain that the evil J. Kenneth Blackwell (OH Sec. of State and, by complete fluke of nature, Co-Chair for Bush/Cheney '04) will be sucked irrevocably into the vortex of criminal political corruption now unravelling in Ohio. Hubris has its way. The only unclear question is whether the entire national Republican Party will be sucked in as well.

Either way, we congratulate Ohio on overtaking Florida --- for the moment --- as the filthiest political state in the union! It seems a sure bet that any state responsible for delivering George W. Bush a "victory", is most likely corrupt from top to bottom. Ohio has yet to disappoint in that regard!

We also have a feeling, as Jolson used to say, we ain't seen nothin' yet!

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By Brad Friedman on 6/27/2005 4:49pm PT  

As reported today by AfterDowningStreet.org...

Congressman John Conyers, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee are asking their colleagues in the House of Representatives to join them on the evening of June 28 to discuss the Downing Street Minutes on the floor of the House.

They need our help. Please contact your Congress Member right away and ask them to contact the Judiciary Committee staff and commit to taking part.
Phone: 1-877-762-8762
Email: http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/39

The letter to colleagues from Conyers, Waters and Lee is here...

UPDATE 6/28/05: Plan for speeches on the floor rescheduled for Thursday...

The handful of members were forced to delay their plans after the Republican leadership scheduled several late-night votes, Conyers press secretary Dena Graziano told RAW STORY. They now plan speeches Thursday evening, though they could be thwarted again if votes are scheduled or Congress is adjourned.
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Personal Stuff, Late-Breaking Downing Street Stuff and a Belated Sunday Toon of the Moment...
By Brad Friedman on 6/27/2005 3:51pm PT  

As usual, on Monday morning, after taking a few hours off yesterday, I'm beseiged with stuff that I must catch up on. I'm doing my best to do so, and hope to be making some noise here soon. In the meantime, a couple of personal mop-up items from the weekend...


  • Yesterday's hour in-studio at KRLA with Barry Gordon (and friends) was a lot of fun. We had some time --- in a bit of a round-table format --- to talk about how I started blogging, a bit of BRAD BLOG history, as well as Election Reform, DSM matters and, of course, some shots at the Mainstream Corporate Media. On that note, it shouldn't be mentioned that KRLA, a major Los Angeles Talk Radio station, home to Dennis Prager, Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham, Michael Medved and other despicables and liars from the Right devotes precisely one-hour per week to the Left. And that would be Barry's show. If that isn't an argument to re-instate the Fairness Doctrine on the airwaves, I don't know what is.

    I had hoped to add on air, but time didn't allow, that Barry was very helpful when I was speeding back to Los Angeles from my time on the road a month or so ago, when I was trying to find a homebase studio for The BRAD SHOW. I can't thank him enough for that simple act of kindness, support and generosity. So I'll simply thank him here and now.

    Barry, himself, is a tremendously interesting guy. If you're not familiar with his name, please allow me to embarrass him a bit, by suggesting that you check out his Bio. I'm quite sure that it will trigger precisely who Barry is to most of you folks. I suspect everybody reading this blog has likely both seen and heard Barry at some point in your lives.

    The archive from yesterday's hour, if you missed it, is right here in MP3 format courtesy, as usual, of our friend DonM.

  • The full audio archives of last Saturday's BRAD SHOW are now available here. All of the techincal errors that occurred during the live broadcast are nowhere to be found. And there is some terrific interviews there for your listening pleasure if you missed anything. So enjoy.
  • We've received word from HuffingtonPost that the removal of this blog from their blogroll was an unintentional error. Apparently, their Blogroll reverted to an old pre-launch version at some point last week. They've informed us that BRAD BLOG will soon be restored to it's proud position at HuffPost. Thanks to all of you who let them know about the problem.
  • Finally, Larisa Alexandrovna's latest breaking Downing Street story is now up on RAW STORY as we first alluded to as the news broke during the show on Saturday when the latest Sunday London Times article by Mike Smith (the Brit journalist who broke the original 'Downing Street Memo' story) dropped. Smith gave an appropriate nod to Larisa in his story, stating that "The bloggers may have found their own smoking gun." Indeed. It's about time someone noticed.

    Larisa's latest story, with John Byrne, tracks how the Bush Administration had started the War on Iraq months before they received the official go-ahead from Congress, by attempting to taunt Saddam into a fighting back at a massive aerial assault. Her story includes this useful graph of the aerial bombardment prior to the "official" start of war.

  • And lastly...since I didn't post it in time, here's a belated Sunday Toon of the Moment for ya...
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