We've been (mostly) quietly watching the situation in Ohio blow up in slow motion over the last several weeks/months.

The "CoinGate" scandal there has been the touchstone of Campaign Finance/Money Laundering scandals which is spreading like a cancer across the entire state; from "Mr. Republican" Thomas Noe, who angled his way into mis-managing a $50 million piece of the State Workers Pension Plan via his own personal exceedingly risky investments in rare coins --- millions of dollars from which have now disappeared --- through the Republican Governor Taft's own office and even the Ohio Supreme Court itself, both of which are all now being implicated through the spidering tentacles of this extraordinary state-wide scandal.

But what is known so far appears to be just the tip of an incredibly rotten iceberg.

Mixed metaphors aside, the scandal in Ohio is far from isolated to the state only. Noe's influence as a Bush-Cheney "Pioneer" contributor and his reach into and out of the pockets of GOP Officials (elected and otherwise) all around the country is still bubbling towards the top, and promises to be at least as stunning as the current Karl Rove "TreasonGate" investigations.

After several months as we've been keeping the corner of our eye on the scandal, the story of Noe's wife Bernadette and her complicity in helping to game the November '04 elections is finally making its way to the top of the filthy brewing pot.

RAW STORY's Larisa Alexandrovna today has some stunning revelations --- based on a newly obtained memo from a Blackwell investigation --- in what is likely just the first salvo exposing Ms. Noe's personal role in this growing GOP cancer.

In her dual role as chairman of the Lucas County, OH Republican Party and the Lucas County Board of Elections, it now appears that Ms. Noe was one of the key players in the Ohio Republican Party's proven gaming/likely theft of the 2004 Presidential Election in the state via her BoE's "gross failures" to secure ballots, voting machines and the manipulation of the Green/Liberatarian-requested recount which followed the election.

And yes, at least one Diebold employee was present on the scene throughout all of the shenanigans.

The RAW STORY Exclusive is a must read, filled with remarkable details. As well, it's accompanied this morning by a request to the Dept. of Justice from John Conyers (D-MI) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) to appoint a Special Prosecutor in the matter to replace the current DoJ-appointed Prosecutor Gregory White.

White, as it turns out --- himself a partisan operative and friend of Gov. Taft and Karl Rove's --- is in no way "independent" in the matter. The letter from Conyers and Kapture explains in detail, the several personal conflicts of interest that White has across the entire case.

There will be more on this matter to come from several different angles. Though it all begins in Ohio, it will be little surprise to regular BRAD BLOG readers to find that it will soon reach out far and wide, in several different directions, across the country.

Stay tuned...

P.S. For a hint at just some of the further dots to be connected, see Bob Fritakis and Harvey Wasserman's recent article from Columbus Free Press. They add many details to the complex case, though it can be tough to follow since there are so many corrollaries. The second half of the article, however, speaks directly to the Ohio/Noe/Lucas County connections to Bush/Cheney and the November '04 Election.

Save the world while I'm otherwise occupied. Thanks!

(Hope to have the archives to last night's BRAD SHOW up within the next 24-48 hours! Lots of great stuff if you missed --- even if I say so myself

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

This week's Brad Show is almost ready to hit the airwaves.
Once again we have a fine lineup and the prospect of a really fine show.

Listen LIVE via the Web! Saturday from 7p-11p ET (4p-8p PT)!
Repeating Sunday 12noon-4p ET (9a-1p PT)

It's free speech at its best, but it's not free!
Brad pays for the studio rental --- out of his own pocket --- at $500 per week!
So please donate here to help defray costs!
Every little bit helps, friends.

Tonight Brad's guests will include:

• COLEEN ROWLEY, The FBI's original 9/11 whistleblower now running for U.S. Congress in Minnesota
• JIM MARCH of Black Box Voting on his felony arrest during San Diego Mayoral vote tallying and California's rejection of Diebold!!
• PATRICIA BIRNIE of the "Tuscon Raging Grannies" on being arrested for trying to enlist!
• CARL CONETTA of Project on Defense Alternatives' "400 Days and Out of Iraq" initiative.

Join us Saturday Night 7p-11p ET (4p-8p PT)! Listen up via www.BradShow.com, call in with your questions and comments for our guests at 323-650-1286, and blog along with us right here at The BRAD BLOG in our LIVE Open Thread during the show!

URGENT REMINDER: The BRAD SHOW is still supported primarily by listener donations ... and we still need more listeners and more contributors! So please pick up the phone, or send some e-mail, and tell a few friends about The BRAD SHOW. You (and they) will be glad you did.

LIVE OPEN THREAD BLOGGING below: click on the "comments" link at the bottom-right corner of this item to join in!

Another rockin' BRAD SHOW set to roll this Saturday Night LIVE! Spread the word! And don't miss it! Or else!

GUESTS SCHEDULED FOR THIS WEEK...

Join the Open Thread during the show here at BRAD BLOG, listen up at www.BradShow.com and call in with your Questions at 323-650-1286 on Saturday Night 7p-11p ET (4p-8p PT)!

We still must rely on your support to help keep us on the air! As well as donating, kewl gear (like the shirt I'm wearing at left) is available from The BRAD STORE! Every bit helps, so buy a book, a shirt, a mug, a bumper sticker and help us all continue to Be The Media!

Great news from today's Oakland Tribune! California, the country's largest voting "market" rejects Diebold. Again...And hopefully for the last time...

The already under-funded and under-manned EPA gets drafted to go to work in Iraq. In fact, according to the the full email sent yesterday to "all EPA Employees", it looks as if all Government agencies are now being encouraged to send their employees to do Iraq's work. Good thing everything is already taken care of here in "the homeland."

Via David Corn...

Was wondering if a video existed of this. Apparently, it does...

The video clip is small, but for those of you with trouble downloading video, here's an audio version I made. Seems important enough that everyone should be able to hear it.

And for those of you who can't even download that, here, once again, is what George W. Bush's own father said in his April 1999 speech to a CIA gathering at the CIA's own George H.W. Bush Building, where he was once the Director of Central Intelligence:

Not down the memory hole. God love the Internets.

UPDATE: By the way, according to The New York Times, there now seems to be confirmation of a third traitor inside the White House whom George the Son also doesn't seem to care much about. We'd venture, however, to say the number invovled in this White House criminal conspiracy and cover-up will go far beyond just three.

In re: the above, memorializing our lost friend Andy, the great Freeway Blogger reports in to us this morning that, this one has been up "four days now on I-5 in the heart of San Diego downtown, so a couple hundred thousand commuters have seen it."

As well, the Freeway Blogger's "Summer of Truth" continues...

If you haven't already joined him, please free to keep spreading the word! And the truth! His site shows you how easy it it. Your country --- and your grandchildren --- thank you.

(To listen to the The BRAD SHOW's rare, exclusive interview with the mysterious and legendary Freeway Blogger, click here and scroll to the 6/11/05 show, HOUR 4.)

Has Bush ever said anything that didn't turn out to be a lie?

His latest effort at "restoring honor and dignity to the White House" was revealed yesterday. Here's the video.

We're happy to see how he's matured since his earlier days as Governor, when he was making the Christians proud down in Texas. I'm sure you remember it. But if not, here's that video for ya.

President Frat Boy. America couldn't be prouder.

(Hat tip to BRAD BLOG commenter, KestrelBrighteyes for bringing it to our attention.)

UPDATE: From today's White House briefing:

UPDATE 4:00p PT: Aravosis at AMERICAblog received a call from the White House with a fresh explanation:

...Which forces me to ask again: Is there nothing these guys won't lie about??

In today's LA Times, Juliette Kayyem --- a former member of the National Commission on Terrorism --- speaks about the Administration's "rebranding" of Bush's failed "Global War on Terror".

In case you haven't heard, it's no longer a "war", it's now the "Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism" according to the latest nuance from the Bushies who are --- as they always have been --- more concerned with poll numbers and good P.R. than about National Security and keeping this country safe.

As we previously saw the color-coded "Terror Alert" system cynically manipulated to keep American's frightened prior to the election (and then go virtually unchanged ever since), Kayyem also points out the change in pre/post-Election usage of the word "war" by the dangerous and unrepentant opportunistic Chickenhawks in the White House:

Looks like the Administration has gone downright "French" on us. What a bunch of girlie-men! It's almost as if John Kerry and those advocating "nuance" and "diplomacy" prior to the Election were right or something! As if they didn't actually "hate America" after all! What next for this White House? "Preparing indictments" like those "soft on terror" Liberals?

Kayyem closes with the obvious. Though clearly, it still requires repeating to get through the noise...

Last Saturday on The BRAD SHOW, our first hour guest, Iraq War vet and OpTruth.org, Paul Rieckhoff kept talkin' and talkin' so that I couldn't even get out properly for the commercial break.

When I apologized to him on the following segment, he explained it was because he was used to being on with Rightwingers who --- if you take a breath --- will cut you off and interupt and won't let you make your point or get in a word edgewise. I can attest to the fact that he is absolutely right on that score.

Today, Rieckhoff appeared on MSNBC and, sure enough, there was a crazy wingnut "War Mom" who did exactly that to poor Paul. Give it a look... Funny and/or sad. Your choice.

And to listen to the BRAD SHOW segment from Saturday of which I speak, click here and select HOUR 1 from the 7/23/05 section.

Still censored, but pretty amazing timing...

The John Roberts gambit (distraction) seems to be really paying off for the Bushies. At least in the White House Press Room for the moment where most of the questioning today was on Bush's Supreme Court nominee (WH Reporters seem easily distracted...LOOK! SHINY FIRETRUCK!)

There was just one very short exchange today re: The Unprecedented Outting of a Covert CIA Agent by the the most Senior of White House Officials. But it was an interesting one...

Fistfull of BRAD BLOG Bumperstickers to anybody who can find the question asked and/or answered before.

Be the Blog...Cuz someone's got to. (Busy with all manner of things for the moment).

Bay Buchanan gets busy. Today she was helping the White House and the Republican Party minimize the implications of the National Security breach committed by the unprecendented White House outting of a covert CIA asset. One who had been working with the agency on WMD, we might add.

She blamed the media, of course, for "turn[ing] this into some kind of a scandal."

From Buchanan's appearance earlier today on CNN's Inside Politics (Windows Media Player video here NOTE - Link now corrected!):

Also, since we'd hate to shatter "her" world, please be sure not to let resident BRAD BLOG commenter/troll, Karla see this poll:

And in other news from the same poll, more bad news for Bush: