The Big Partisan Smokescreen

The Republicans don't understand that torture is not a partisan issue. Take that old Newt Gingrich for example. Does he honestly believe that if he can prove that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi knew about torture, then everybody will forget about George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Alberto Gonzales, Douglas Feith, David Addington, John Yoo, Jay S. Bybee, and William Haynes?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is engaging in a "despicable, dishonest and vicious political effort" to withhold what she knew about the CIA's harsh interrogation techniques, former Speaker Newt Gingrich said Friday.

Gingrich said Pelosi "lied to the House" when she earlier claimed that the CIA had never briefed her about the Bush administration's use of interrogation methods like waterboarding, which is considered torture by the current administration.

"I think that the House has an absolute obligation to open an inquiry, and I hope there will be a resolution to investigate her. And I think this is a big deal. I don't think the speaker of the House can lie to the country on national security matters," the Republican leader said in an interview with ABC Radio.

Pelosi has been under fire from critics who say she was fully briefed on the techniques in 2002 and 2003. On Thursday, the California Democrat accused CIA officials of misleading her, reiterating a claim that she was briefed on such techniques only once -- in September 2002 -- and that she was told at the time that the techniques were not being used.

I know torture is abhorrent and illegal, and this is not about politics. You can't fool me, persuade me, calm me, or dazzle me with your smokescreens or a million "provocative" editorials. Even if Pelosi did know about torture (and I doubt she did), then we, the torture opponents, do not lose the argument! This is not like Clinton and blow jobs. This is not about getting even with the Republicans. This is about pursuing justice even if it's our highest officials who are guilty.

So yes, Mr. Gingrich. Let's gather up everybody who has lied to the House and the American public about torture and war and weapons of mass destruction. Let's investigate all of them.

Now Is The Time...

Hey, I thought American Idol would be on tonight? I turned on the TV and all I got was speeches. Well, I wasn't really in the mood, so I only half listened and watched. I watched the amusing game of simon-says going on with Pelosi trying to be the first to jump up and applaud...

But President Obama's speech was worthy of applause. He didn't present any new policy, but I have to say I felt a tiny bit more optimistic by the end. And despite all the devotion to bipartisanship, Obama stuck it to the Republicans:

In other words, we have lived through an era where too often, short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election. A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn’t afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day.

I've recently learned that the looting of a company's wealth is called a "bust-out" con, and it accurately describes eight years of the Bush administration: "...fraudsters pretending to take an interest in running a business use a down payment to gain access to the company’s credit lines and assets, then max out all the credit lines, sell off assets at fire sale prices, then clear out just before the deposit check bounces, leaving a bankrupted company hollowed out by unpayable debt." I'm assuming that's against the law.

After Obama's speech, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal stepped out to give the Republican boilerplate response. Oh God. First of all, why the rebuttal speech? I guess it's automatically assumed that the other party will be opposed to everything the President says. But obviously, if you want the public to ever trust Republicans again, don't remind them about Hurricane Katrina! Don't go there Jindal! No! Anyway, my response to Jindal's response: "a star was not born tonight."

Worse Than Watergate?

If the video doesn't show, click here. Also, watch the follow-up exclusive with Ron Suskind.

Another new scandal, and if the charges are true, this is impeachable.

And in response to this news, I have a question for Nancy Pelosi. How do you do it? How do you stand up there in front of the U.S. House of Representatives? I mean, I heard that it's impossible to walk or even stand if you're spineless!

Pardonoia

So I heard that Still-President Bush is being inundated with requests for pardons. Why bother with pardons when an Obama legal adviser recently stated that "only the most egregious Bush administration crimes should or would be prosecuted"?



Egregious, huh? I agree with Jonathan Turley that "all crimes committed by the government, particularly the President, are egregious."

But did Obama and his advisers read the news today? Salon has uncovered new evidence of post-9/11 spying on Americans. Obtained documents point to a potential investigation of the White House that could rival Watergate.

One of the key allegations against the Bush administration is the use of a secret database called "Main Core" which reportedly collects and stores -- without warrants or court orders -- the names and detailed data of an estimated 8 million Americans considered to be threats to national security.

A recent article in Radar Magazine described how such a database would be utilized during an emergency:

With the population gripped by fear and anger, authorities undertake unprecedented actions in the name of public safety. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security begin actively scrutinizing people who—for a tremendously broad set of reasons—have been flagged in Main Core as potential domestic threats. Some of these individuals might receive a letter or a phone call, others a request to register with local authorities. Still others might hear a knock on the door and find police or armed soldiers outside. In some instances, the authorities might just ask a few questions. Other suspects might be arrested and escorted to federal holding facilities, where they could be detained without counsel until the state of emergency is no longer in effect.

I'm not sure if this roundup would go down before or after the President suspends the Constitution. (And don't go thinking that he can't.)

So now Washington lawmakers are talking about an investigation modeled after the Church Committee.

Key issues to investigate, those involved say, would include the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance activities; the Central Intelligence Agency's use of extraordinary rendition and torture against terrorist suspects; and the U.S. government's extensive use of military assets -- including satellites, Pentagon intelligence agencies and U2 surveillance planes -- for a vast spying apparatus that could be used against the American people.

As you may know, I'm very cynical. Congress might investigate this and they might investigate that, and oh by the way, no lawmaker has openly endorsed a proposal for a new Church Committee-style investigation.

And as we all know, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has taken impeachment off the proverbial table.

Don't count on the Democrats to green-light an investigation. They have mostly been complicit in approving these crimes.