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:

Moments ago, an eyewitness has informed The BRAD BLOG that several hundred are currently protesting outside this evening's fundraising event for Maryland's Deputy Gov. Michael Steele and featuring "Special Guest Karl Rove".

The fundraiser, being held right now at the Ronald Reagan Republican Center next door to Union Station in D.C., is being hosted by Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) for Steele is seeking a U.S. Senate bid for the seat being vacated by Paul Sarbanes (D-MD).

The protest was quickly organized this morning by members of several activist organizations including MoveOn, Velvet Revolution and Progressive Maryland.

The eyewitness tells us that there's "a rather large police presence", and that "all of the major networks are present with cameras."

The BRAD BLOG has acquired a small audio clip [MP3] of the protest as recorded moments ago. The booing near the end of the clip is when Michael Steele showed up, as he was "rushed into the backdoor."

Karl Rove reportedly snuck in through the parking garage in his Jag as the police threatened protesters with jay-walking citations.

Steele was called on to cancel the Rove Fundraiser a month ago, but laughed, as RAW STORY reported today:

...But not white.

So who cares?

The following Doonesbury comic strip has been censored or removed by some one dozen U.S. newspapers for the use of the word "Turd Blossom".

As Rove's own friend, Bill Israel confirmed with us on The BRAD SHOW several weeks ago (archive available online, in the 7/9/05 section, HOUR 3), "Turd Blossom" is George W. Bush's own nickname for Rove.

Got a problem with that? Blame your Family Values "President", not Garry Trudeau.

Many are now speaking of the '12-Hour Gap' between the time White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales was told by the Department of Justice about the official investigation into the unprecedented outing of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame and the time he "officially" notified the White House to preserve all documents relating to the investigation.

We now know, of course, that Gonzales first told White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card about the investigation the night before he gave "official" notice to the White House, thus giving them a full 12 hours heads-up before "shredding" evidence would be in official violation of the DoJ order.

Since that matter came to light on Sunday, we've also learned the '12-Hour Gap' was as likely a full '3-and-a-half Day Headstart', since MSNBC had reported on the investigation some 84 hours prior to Gonzales' giving "official" notice to the White House.

And today, we're now reminded, vis a vis a letter from several Judiciary Committee Democrats, that the DoJ had actually spent a total of 67 days before answering the official CIA request for an investigation into the matter!

Back in February of '04, Josh Marshall reported on a letter sent by the CIA on January 30, 2004 in reply to Rep. John Conyers' (D-MI) request for information related to the outing after he had requested the DoJ appoint a Special Prosecutor in the matter (eventually, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald was appointed to the case).

Today, Conyers and nine other Democratic members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to the DoJ's Inspector General, Glenn A. Fine, asking for an investigation into both that '12-Hour Gap' and what appears now to have been a full 67 Day Gap between the time the CIA had first requested a DoJ investigation, and the time the DoJ actually began one!

In today's letter to DoJ Inspector General, Glenn Fine, the Congressional Democrats point out that Gonzales did not follow the practice for such matters (Jesse of Stakeholder has the full text of the letter):

Equally as disturbing, however --- perhaps even more so --- is the information detailed in the letter concerning the DoJ's footdragging after being notified by the CIA of the outing of a covert agent! (A copy of the entire original letter from the CIA to Conyers from January 2004, detailing the following, is at the end of this article).

The key points on this are outlined in today's letter:

And here is a copy of the original letter sent from the CIA's Director of Congressional Affairs, Stanley M. Moskowitz to John Conyers in response to his initial inquiry...