The BRAD BLOG

Ushering in the Fall of the House of Bush

So Much Unprecedented Corruption, So Little Accountability...

By Brad Friedman on 7/18/2005 4:12pm PT

Never one to put all of our democracy lovin' eggs into a single basket, no matter how much treason is in that basket's "gate", the breadth of scandals finally coming home to roost right now on this administration (has there ever been a dirtier one?) is simply remarkable.

While any one of the scandals and investigations listed below would have likely taken down "lesser" administrations long ago --- though those administrations, unlike this one, would likely have had some help in that direction from an actual fourth estate --- it's remarkable to see how many of these scandals are currently rolling.

To date, we don't believe anyone has actually been held accountable yet for any of the following (with the exception of a few poor sap soldier/scapegoats from Abu Ghraib --- of course, when the rubber meets the road, the Bush Administration blames the troops rather than supports them!).

This list is rather extraordinary when taken in total. So... We leave it to you... Tell us which scandal and/or investigation will be the straw that finally breaks this Administration's back and why? (The various options presented here are in no particular order)

1) Plame/Rove "TreasonGate" investigation
2) Jack Abramoff/Tom Delay investigation
3) Thomas Noe/Ohio "Coingate"/RNC investigation
4) "Duke" Cunningham/MZM investigation
5) Sproul & Assoc./RNC investigation
6) Halliburton/Dick Cheney investigation
7) Downing Street Documents/Iraq War investigation
8) Abu Ghraib/Gitmo/Torture accusations/investigation
9) Election Fraud allegations/investigation
10) Jeff Gannon investigation
11) 9/11 investigation
12) Combination of all of the above
13) Scandal/investigation we failed to list above
14) An as of yet unknown/unpublicized scandal/investigation
15) None of the above and none in the future

Place your bets in comments and consider it an open thread as I attempt to get the hell outta Dodge for 24 hours or so to celebrate (my birthday, not Bush's woes). We'll see if I make it out of town or not. Trying to...If I do, hopefully Winter Patriot will feel free to cover the slack here --- as needed --- while I'm gone. Peace.

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Iraq Vets Place Ad in WaPo Challenging Bush!

First Major Print Ad by Such a Group, Critical of Admin's Vet Health Care Budget

Ad Text: 'Mr. President, You're Either With Us or Against Us'

By Brad Friedman on 7/18/2005 3:23pm PT

As if Dubya didn't have enough (self-inflicted) problems...OpTruth.org, a coalition of U.S. veterans of the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars whose slogan is "Really Support the Troops - Listen to Them!", is taking out an ad in tomorrow's Washington Post critical of the Bush Administration and calling on Bush to "provide leadership" by meeting the needs of healthcare for returning vets.

In their ad, the group generously attributes the $1 Billion shortfall in Bush's 2005 budget for "Veterans of the War on Terror" to a "miscalculation".

In 2006, the ad claims, the budget shortfall will be a full $3 billion short of what our returning veterans need to cover health care costs at Veterans Administration hospitals. OpTruth covers this issue in more detail on their website.

OpTruth.org founder Paul Reickhoff --- who we've previously covered here and more recently here, quit his Wall Street job after 9/11 to fight in Afghanistan and has been critical of Bush's level of support for troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Reickhoff tells The BRAD BLOG that this ad represents the "first time an Iraq vets group has taken out a major print ad."

The text from the OpTruth ad is as follows...

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION recently admitted that they miscalculated the health care costs for Veterans of the War on Terror this year by at least $1 billion. In 2006, the shortfall will be $3 billion.

WITHOUT IMMEDIATE CHANGES, four out of five returning Veterans could be turned away from care at VA hospitals. That's a raw deal the American people will not tolerate.

A UNANIMOUS, BIPARTISAN SENATE has moved quickly to cover this year's outrageous budget gap with a $1.5 billion emergency supplemental. Congress should adopt the Senate's plan, and should make up the 2006 budget gap as well.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, President Bush needs to act immediately and provide the leadership that will prevent Veterans from being shortchanged now and in the future.

A graphic version is below (click to see full PDF version):

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Poll of the Moment...

Or, George W. Bush Unites America...

(For all except the Bush Dead-Enders)

By Brad Friedman on 7/18/2005 2:21pm PT

(Hat tip Jesse at Stakeholder!)

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Sunday Toon of the Moment...

By Brad Friedman on 7/17/2005 2:57pm PT

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Rove is Toast...

But Keep Your Eyes On What Matters, As the Investigation Moves Up the Food Chain...

What Did the President Know? And When Did He Know it?

By Brad Friedman on 7/17/2005 1:10pm PT

"I am saying that if anyone was involved in that type of activity which I referred to, they would not be working here."
- Ron Ziegler, press secretary to Richard Nixon, defending the presidential aide Dwight Chapin on Oct. 18, 1972. Chapin was convicted in April 1974 of perjury in connection with his relationship to the political saboteur Donald Segretti.

"Any individual who works here at the White House has the confidence of the president. They wouldn't be working here at the White House if they didn't have the president's confidence."
- Scott McClellan, press secretary to George W. Bush, defending Karl Rove on Tuesday.

Thus begins Frank Rich's NY Times editorial today, "Follow the Uranium" (we might have suggested, "Follow the Yellowcake Road", but they didn't ask us first).

It's been said that the political landscape is littered with the corpses of those who've "misunderestimated" George W. Bush. But it's not Bush who should take the credit for his political mastery. It is, of course, his brain, Karl Rove.

Misunderestimating him and what he's able to pull off, slither out of and otherwise apply his ample slime to is a game that one plays at his own peril. As Rich summarizes points of Rove's illustrious career (but barely scratches the surface):

Trashing is in his nature, and bad things happen, usually through under-the-radar whispers, to decent people (and their wives) who get in his way. In the 2000 South Carolina primary, John McCain's wife, Cindy, was rumored to be a drug addict (and Senator McCain was rumored to be mentally unstable). In the 1994 Texas governor's race, Ann Richards found herself rumored to be a lesbian. The implication that Mr. Wilson was a John Kerry-ish girlie man beholden to his wife for his meal ticket is of a thematic piece with previous mud splattered on Rove political adversaries.

Yet even with those "successful" campaigns under his belt, this time, it seems Rove is quickly finding himself at a dead-end. At least as Rich sees it. And we tend to agree with him.

Aside from his observation that "there's only one certainty ahead: the timing of a Karl Rove resignation," Rich aptly moves the ball forward by pointing out that Rove, Joe Wilson, Matt Cooper, Judith Miller et al. are small potatoes in this matter.

As the Plame Game moves up the food chain, through All The President's Men, the real question is rapidly --- and we mean rapidly --- becoming a matter of What Did the President Know and When Did He Know It?

Says Rich:

It is about the president of the United States. It is about a plot that was hatched at the top of the administration and in which everyone else, Mr. Rove included, are at most secondary players.
...
This case is about Iraq, not Niger. The real victims are the American people, not the Wilsons. The real culprit - the big enchilada, to borrow a 1973 John Ehrlichman phrase from the Nixon tapes - is not Mr. Rove but the gang that sent American sons and daughters to war on trumped-up grounds and in so doing diverted finite resources, human and otherwise, from fighting the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. That's why the stakes are so high: this scandal is about the unmasking of an ill-conceived war, not the unmasking of a C.I.A. operative who posed for Vanity Fair.

Rich is precisely correct here, and makes a damning case for it. On the pages of the Pro-War, Pro-Bush New York Times nonetheless. Read it. If only so that you'll know what happened when the house of cards quickly tumbles any moment...or when it doesn't because the evil genius Karl Rove is once again able to amass his dark, hateful, whispering armies to overcome the voices of truth.

When you play clean against those who play dirty --- and who have gained an alarming body of professional experience in doing so as they've slimed their way to the very pinnacle of world power in the process --- one should never "misunderestimate" the ability of these sorts of charlatans to retain that power. No matter how many decent human beings, public servants, innocent civilians and patriots need to be destroyed along the way.

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BRAD SHOW Open Thread for Saturday July 16th

Blog Along With Us if you please

We're Being The Media --- because somebody's got to!

By Winter Patriot on 7/16/2005 3:58pm PT

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 an excellent show.

Tonight's scheduled guests include:

GREG PALAST: Author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy on "Mr. Rove and the Access of Evil"!

DAVID SWANSON: Co-Founder of AfterDowningStreet.org on the 7/23 'Downing Street' events and Comcast deleting AfterDowningStreet's Email!

ERIC BREWER: BTCNews' White House Correspondent/Blogger on Scottie McClellan's WH Press Room shenanigans!

MIKE ROGERS: Managing Editor of PageOneQ.com with another action packed BRAD SHOW Big Gay Hour!

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

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BRAD SHOW Open Thread for Saturday July 16th

Blog Along With Us if you please

We're Being The Media --- because somebody's got to!

By Winter Patriot on 7/16/2005 3:48pm PT

a href="https://BradBlog.com/BradShow/" target="_blank">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 an excellent show.

Scheduled guests include:

GREG PALAST: Author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy on "Mr. Rove and the Access of Evil"!

DAVID SWANSON: Co-Founder of AfterDowningStreet.org on the 7/23 'Downing Street' events and Comcast deleting AfterDowningStreet's Email!

ERIC BREWER: BTCNews' White House Correspondent/Blogger on Scottie McClellan's WH Press Room shenanigans!

MIKE ROGERS: Managing Editor of PageOneQ.com with another action packed BRAD SHOW Big Gay Hour!

And Lord Knows What Other Suprises!

Listen LIVE via the Web! Saturday from 7p-11p ET (4p-8p PT)!
Repeating Sunday 12noon-4p ET (9a-1p PT)
Quick and easy access to LIVE listening links, archives, upcoming guests,
donation links and ad info (it's not to late to advertise!)
and more via www.BradShow.com!

Direct streaming links via RAW STORY!
Donate here to help defray costs!
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 supported (for now) by listener donations! 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!

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Franklin County, OH Election Official 'Accepts Bribe' from Diebold Lobbyist

We're shocked...shocked!

Board of Elections' Matt Damschroder Continues his impressive 'bi-partisan' record in Ohio.

By Brad Friedman on 7/16/2005 10:50am PT

From Cleveland Plain Dealer this morning...

A member of the Franklin County election board said Friday that prosecutors are investigating whether a GOP political consultant tried to bribe the board's director to buy voting equipment made by his client, Diebold Inc.

The director, Matthew Damschroder, has told prosecutors that the consultant, Pat Gallina, came to his office in early 2004, offering him $10,000.

"Pat Gallina came into my office at the Board of Elections and said, 'I'm here to give you $10,000. Who should I direct it to?' " Damschroder recalled. "I said, 'Certainly not to me. But I'm sure the Franklin County Republican Party would appreciate a voluntary donation. That was my first mistake."

The law prohibits Damschroder from accepting political contributions on county property. He said he took the check home and mailed it to the party, where he had just completed a stint as executive director.
...
Damschroder told prosecutor O'Brien of Gallina's visit after his testimony was sought in a civil suit filed by one of Diebold's competitors, Election Systems and Software.

ES&S charges in that suit that Secretary of State Ken Blackwell improperly favored Diebold in selecting electronic voting machines for use statewide.
...
Gallina told him that he and Cummings agreed on the cut-rate price Diebold would charge the state for its machines, and that Gallina promised in return to give $50,000 to "Blackwell interests."

Carlo LoParo, a spokesman for Blackwell, called the claim "absolutely ridiculous," and that Cummings has not negotiated any part of the state's voting machine contracts.
...
Diebold executives had ceased contributing directly to political campaigns in October 2003, after the company president sparked an uproar by saying he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes" to secure President Bush's re-election.

Spokesman Mike Jacobsen said the firm pays Gallina - through Celebrezze & Associates - to work as a liaison on state and county government contracts.

"It's a separate company," he said. "Just because we contract with a lobbyist and they make a contribution doesn't mean, in any way, that we use them as some sort of political back door to curry political favor."

(Hat-tip BRAD BLOG commenter, KestrelBrighteyes for the catch via RAW STORY)

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This Week's BRAD SHOW!

Saturday Night LIVE! 7p-11p ET (4p-8p PT)

By Brad Friedman on 7/15/2005 4:54pm PT

If the Democracy and Radio (and IBC Network) Gods are with us...we're back Saturday Night with an all-new LIVE BRAD SHOW via RAW RADIO!

Guests to include...

GREG PALAST: The author of "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" on "Mr. Rove and the Access of Evil"!

DAVID SWANSON: The AfterDowningStreet.org Co-Founder on the 7/23 'Downing Street' events and Internet giant Comcast deleting AfterDowningStreet's Email!

ERIC BREWER: The White House Correspondent/Blogger on Scottie McClellan's Press Room shenanigans!

MIKE ROGERS: Managing Editor of PageOneQ with another BRAD SHOW Big Gay Hour!

Saturday Night 7p-11p ET (4p-8p PT)! Join us at BRAD BLOG for the LIVE Open Thread and listen up via BRAD SHOW.

Your DONATIONS are greatly appreciated, defray the costs of studio time and help us stay on the air! And be sure to buy some kewl stuff in The BRAD STORE!

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COMCAST KILLS EMAIL FROM 'AFTERDOWNINGSTREET' COALITION!

Advocacy Group, Internet Host Charge 'Political Motivation' Behind Filtering of Email by Country's Largest Net Services Provider!

*** BRAD BLOG EXCLUSIVE *** [UPDATED AGAIN!]

By Brad Friedman on 7/15/2005 3:10pm PT

[Ed Note: Good news! Not long after this item was originally published, the issue was finally attended to and corrected by both Comcast and Symantec! See the bottom of this article for details on what happened! Thank you for making noise!]

The BRAD BLOG has learned that cable company and Internet service provider, Comcast Corporation has been automatically deleting email sent to Comcast customers with the text "www.afterdowningstreet.org" in the body of the email.

AfterDowningStreet.org ("ADS") is the citizen's coalition advocacy group organized to raise awareness of the leaked British memos and minutes referred to as the "Downing Street Documents". Those documents, first reported by Michael Smith of the Sunday Times suggest that the Bush Administration had determined to topple Saddam Hussein by military means and planned to "fix" the facts and intelligence around the policy" at least eight months prior to receiving authorization of the U.S. Congress to wage war in Iraq. At the same time, George W. Bush and administration officials were routinely telling both Congress and the American people that no tactical decisions had yet been made regarding regime change in Iraq.

(DISCLOSURE: The BRAD BLOG and an advocacy group co-founded by us, VelvetRevolution.us are members of the ADS coalition.)

The discovery that email was being secretly filtered was made after an investigation conducted by ADS co-founder, David Swanson who reported that many coalition members did not seem to be receiving email alerts and others messages being sent by the group.

"Over the past week we have been having problems reaching our members," Swanson said. "Yesterday we had a conference call scheduled that we'd announced by email and two thirds of the people didn't even know about it."

Eventually Swanson was able to determine that it was only those members of the group who receive email via the cable monolith's Comcast.net domain who were not receiving such notices.

According to a study released in January of this year by TNS Telecoms, Comcast Corporation is the nation's largest single provider of both Cable/Satellite and Internet related services in the country.

The BRAD BLOG has been able to independently confirm that email sent to two different Comcast customers with the text "www.afterdowningstreet.org" in the body of the mail, is not currently reaching those customers as expected. Though messages with only "afterdowningstreet.org" are, in fact, able to get through to those same customers without a problem.

In a statement released by People-Link.org, the Internet host for the AfterDowningStreet.org domain, the directors of the "progressive" firm charge that the filtering is politically motivated and both they and Swanson have requested people contact Comcast to complain. (Contact information at the bottom of this article.)...

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

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Frank, Conyers Inquire Into Impeachment of 'Senior White House Officials'!

Letter Sent to 'Neutral Legal Authority' at Library of Congress for Clarification of Constitutional Impeachment Clause

Congressmen Express Belief that Clause 'Clearly Applies to High-Ranking Officials'!

By Brad Friedman on 7/15/2005 1:57pm PT

The BRAD BLOG has learned that Congressmen John Conyers (D-MI) and Barney Frank (D-MA) have inquired with officials at the Library of Congress' Congressional Research Service this afternoon into whether impeachment proceedings would be appropriate for Senior White House Officials.

The release of a letter by the two congressmen was accompanied by a press release from the office of the ranking minority House Judiciary Committee member, John Conyers. In the letter, the two seek clarification from "a neutral authority" of whether the U.S. Constitution's Article II, regarding impeachment of a sitting President and Vice-President and "all civil officers", would apply to Deputy Chief of Staff, Karl Rove who is currently embroiled in the on-going criminal investigation into who leaked classified information concerning the outting of covert CIA agent, Valerie Plame.

Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution speaks to impeachment, but is not completely clear about which "civil officers" would fall under its jurisdiction.

Art II, Sec. 4: "The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors"

The letter from Frank and Conyers attempts to seek clarification of the term "civil officers of the United States" and whether the clause would be applicable to Rove as a "high-ranking official in the White House and Executive Branch," according to their news release.

Here is the letter sent today, followed by the Press Release issued by both Conyers and Frank.

July 14, 2005

Ms. Elizabeth Bazan
Mr. Charles Doyle
American Law Division
Congressional Research Service
The Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20540

Dear Ms. Bazan and Mr. Doyle,

We write to request your opinion as to whether or not very high- ranking members of the President's staff are subject to the Congressional impeachment process. The Constitution in its discussion of impeachment does not spell out with any specificity which federal officials are impeachable. We believe that the rationale for impeachment clearly applies to high-ranking officials who wield presidential authority in many cases with even more impact than some cabinet officers. And we do not see any Constitutional language that would exclude such officials from the impeachment process. But because this appears to be a question of first impression, and because of the grave importance of this matter, we write to ask your opinion as to whether or not it is Constitutionally permissible to initiate impeachment proceedings against the President's Deputy Chief of Staff, or other similarly highly placed officials.

Rep. Barney Frank
Rep. John Conyers

The following news release from Conyres and Frank was released at the same time as the above letter to officials at the Library of Congress.

Congress of the United States
Washington, DC

For Immediate Release

Friday, July 15, 2005

REPS. CONYERS AND FRANK ASK WHETHER SENIOR WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS CAN BE IMPEACHED BY THE HOUSE

Letter to Library of Congress seeks clarification of who in the government can be impeached by Congress

Washington, DC-House Judiciary Committee Ranking Democrat John Conyers (D-MI) and House Financial Services Ranking Democratic Member Barney Frank (D-MA) today asked the American Law Division of the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress whether it is Constitutionally permissible to begin impeachment proceedings against high-ranking federal officials. This would include members of the President's staff such as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove.

"We write to request your opinion as to whether high-ranking members of the President's staff are subject to the Congressional impeachment process. The Constitution in its discussion of impeachment does not spell out with any specificity which federal officials are impeachable. We believe that the rationale for impeachment clearly applies to high-ranking officials who wield presidential authority in many cases with even more impact than some cabinet officers," Frank and Conyers write in their letter.

"We share the grave concern felt by many Americans about the revelation that the President's Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Political Advisor, Karl Rove, improperly identified a CIA undercover operative to journalists as part of a campaign to discredit her husband, who is a critic of some aspects of administration policy," said Mr. Frank.

Mr. Conyers continued: "Mr. Rove continues to occupy this high position, which means that he continues to have access to the full range of the most secret information available to the federal government, with apparently no compunctions about misusing that information for political purposes. We believe that the impeachment power of Congress is in fact intended to cover precisely this sort of situation - that is, a high-ranking official who has not only abused his power, but appears ready to continue such abuse in the future, and subject to no apparent effective check within the executive branch itself."

Historically, impeachments have been launched against presidents and other officials who have been confirmed by the Senate. However, Conyers and Frank noted the language of the constitution--Art. II, Sec. 4: The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors-does not explicitly impost such a requirement. The question Frank and Conyers are asking is what constitutes "civil officers" and does it include high-ranking officials in the White House and Executive Branch.

Given the importance of this issue, the grave abuse of power and unethical manner in which Mr. Rove has been engaged, impeachment may well be an appropriate response. This issue could be relevant in cases where there may be some uncertainty about the willingness of the Executive Branch, in which the criminal prosecution power lies, fully to use that power against someone so close to the President.

"We have asked a neutral legal authority whose function it is to advise Congress to give us the best judgment of its experts on this question, and we will speak with our colleagues about proceeding accordingly after we have received this advice," concluded Frank.

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AMERICABLOG: Team Bush Bungles it Again!

Another Covert Asset Blown by Administration, Leads to 50 Dead in London!

By Brad Friedman on 7/15/2005 10:32am PT

John Aravosis at AMERICAblog has the skinny based on ABC's report last night of how the inept and irresponsible Bush clan seems to have helped to blow our only mole inside of al-Qaeda. An act, which Aravosis contends, helped lead directly to the London Bombings last week.

No, he's not suggesting that Bush was behind the bombings. Just that his arrogance, and desperate need to do and say anything to retain power in this country prior to the election last year, seems to have helped lose an asset by British law enforcement officials which might have avoided the deaths of 53 Brits and the injuries of hundreds more in those attacks.

Given how many deaths Bush's arrogance has led directly to in Iraq, we suspect England should consider themselves lucky. So far.

Aravosis has done a superb job of connecting the dots.

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Republicans Against National Security...

As Frist Makes Yet Another Jackass of Himself...

By Brad Friedman on 7/15/2005 10:20am PT

Yesterday, Sen. Harry Reid and the Dems attempted to add a fairly reasonable (one would think) amendment to a Homeland Security appropriations bill. David Corn of The Nation commented in a late-night blog article, that the amendment could well have been called "the Karl Rove Memorial Act". Here's what it said:

No federal employee who discloses, or has disclosed, classified information, including the identity of a covert agent of the Central Intelligence Agency, to a person not authorized to receive such information shall be permitted to hold a security clearance for access to such information.

Fair enough. But since Republicans don't care for National Security, nor about outting covert CIA assetts apparently, the amendment failed. Corn explained...

It failed on a 44-53 vote. Not one Republican voted for it. Apparently, the Repubs believe that a government official who leaks classified information --- such as the identity of an undercover intelligence official --- should not be denied access to classified information. Not even during a war. Protecting Karl Rove (and future Karl Roves) trumps national security for these patriots.

That's the sad part. The funny part, however, --- wherein Majority Leader Bill Frist made yet another "doofus" of himself --- we'll leave to Corn's piece from last night, "Rove Scandal Drives Frist Bonkers". Enjoy.

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Your Daily Show Moment...

Or, People Like Bernie Goldberg are Screwing Up America...

By Brad Friedman on 7/14/2005 5:48pm PT

If you missed The Daily Show last night, you missed a lot. This time, not because it was funny, but because Jon Stewart nailed the hard truth again as he did so brilliantly with the phonies at Crossfire last year.

This time, it was former CBS anchor cum raving wingnut opportunist Bernie Goldberg who fell dumber than a donut once confronted with an intelligent (non-Hannity-approved) challenge to the hateful premise of his hate-mongering book, "100 Americans Who are Screwing Up America (and Al Franken is #37)".

As you may have guessed by now, 97 of the 100 just happened to be identified with the left. No word from Goldberg on whether outing covert CIA agents or creating endless world wars for trumped up reasons screws up America in any way. We'll just suppose those things are great for America!

On the other hand, apparently Barbra Streisand and Michael Jackson are really a great concern of Goldberg's, and apparently America's.

As usual, Stewart --- who simply "gets it" --- cut straight to the heart of the matter after giving Goldberg ample time to make his completely hollow, morally bankrupt, intellectually dishonest, ethically challenged and apparently unsupported case...

JON STEWART: I guess my point is that there is a larger issue of --- most everybody in your book is powerless, and I think there is a much larger issue of people in power creating problems --- not Barbra Streisand, on her blog.

[then after the break, Goldberg got two segments to make his case]

STEWART: I guess my point is that so much focus is on culture and so little is on government and the real seats of power...

BERNARD GOLDBERG: And you don't think culture is an important force out there?

STEWART: Not nearly as much as government. I think that yes, "Friends" was a powerful program for many years --- but my guess is, what's going on in the Pentagon is slightly...But in Washington they actually do have power --- I think in washington, transparency is the real issue, and I wish more smart guys like you spent more time --- not worrying about Barbra Streisand --- but worrying about, you know, Richard Perle, Karl Rove, or whoever the Democrats would have had in that position in the Clinton years.

If only Stewart would spend less time telling the truth and more time lying this country into wars, he might just be eligible for the Medal of Freedom.

If you didn't catch this segment, it's a must-see. And Crooks and Liars has it, natch.

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Poll of the Moment...

How Low Will He Go?

By Brad Friedman on 7/14/2005 3:05pm PT

Perhaps an even more remarkable number: Just 41% of the nation believe that Bush is "honest and straightforward."

(A cynic might say that the "remarkable" part is that there is still 41% in this country who find him either "honest" or "straightforward"!...But we'd never be cynical here at The BRAD BLOG.)

Hardball has more...

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