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Sunday, August 26, 2007

The Articles They Don't Want You to See 3

Two weeks ago I started something without even realizing it. I posted my second ever recommended diary on Daily Kos called "The Articles They Don't Want You to See." The success led me to even start it as a new blog, as well as a regular Daily Kos article.

The response was good enough that it is clear I should try and make this a weekly thing. The idea is to highlight articles/infromation/videos, new or old, that are important, under-reported and/or forgotten. And to provide YOU to post articles that YOU think need more attention. This week I will review last week's articles, YOUR suggestions from last week, and present a new set of articles that I think deserve more attention. And if you think I forgot anything, please post in the comments! New articles come first, last week's articles are at the end.


Mitt Romney:
aka Hezbollah Mitt

Something is DEEPLY wrong with Mitt Romney. I already highlighted how Mitt Romney is either an abusive or at least abyssmally stupid pet owner. But he also appears to be a fan of Hezbollah! Mitt Romney has said the United States should emulate Hezbollah. If he wanted an example of civic activism, he could have looked to practically any church, synagogue, mosque, Buddhist temple, etc. in America. Instead he looks to Hezbollah for inspiration.

And let's not forget Mitt Romney's flip flopping on abortion. I can't find a good YouTube of Romney's incomprehensible flip-flopping comments on abortion from the Des Moines debate, but I heard it on NPR and wondered what kind of idiot couldn't get his own stand on abortion straight. If anyone has a link to footage of Romney's abortion babble from Des Moines, please let me know! THIS is a man you cannot trust.

Here's an old article I dug up that deserves more attention. From 2005 there is a report that Mitt Romney illegally used corporate funds to pay a political operative. Can't find a follow up to the story, but definitely is one that should not be buried now that Mitt is running for President.


How about actually LISTENING to our soldiers, something Republicans never actually do:

We always hear crap from right wing chickenhawks about supporting the troops. Trouble is, when the right wing nuts aren't outright cutting veterans benefits, they are STILL ignoring the troops. I prefer paying attention to what our troops and veterans actually have to say.

The View from Iraq, by seven returning soldiers

Reminds me of something I heard on the Henry Rollins show which bears more attention: Chasing Ghosts, by 1st Lieutenant Paul Rieckhoff.


But rather than LISTEN to our Veterans, Republicans outright run away from Americans when the subject of Iraq comes up...sometimes literally.

The following come from Americans Against Escalation in Iraq:

PA: Rep. Tim Murphy Locks Door in Constituents’ Faces:

IL: Congressman Mark Kirk Runs Away from Iraq Vet, War.

VA: Rep. Thelma Drake Runs From Iraq Question.

MI: Rep. Vernon Ehlers Ducks Out on Iraq.

IA: Mother of Iraq Veteran Confronts Rep. Tom Latham on the war.

NY: Invitation to Take a Stand Day delivered to Rep. Randy Kuhl (in protective vests), but are shut out.

VA: Rep. Thelma Drake seeks "protection" from "unexpected questions.

NH: Sen. Sununu (R-NH) Refuses to Take A Stand

Remember. It is time to get right in the face of every Congressman, Republican OR Democrat, and confront them over Civil Liberties, Iraq and Impeachment. Call to make an appointment with your Rep today.


Now we turn to what I consider a PARTICULARLY interesting story. This is all about how bloggers are the real investigative journalists of the 21st century. I mentioned last week the very strange battle going on in NY State that the MSM has largely been showing only one side of. The MSM told a story that Governor Eliot Spitzer has abused his power to have Republican Joe Bruno followed by state troopers. But it turns out that this may be another Whitewater fraud. The troopers were there at Bruno's request and there is a suspicious campaign by a particular pair, Michael Caputo and Roger Stone, to smear Spitzer. The question that the Albany Project and Daily Gotham is raising is whether Joe Bruno is behind this campaign. Michael Caputo, the frontman of the smear campaign, swore up and down that he had no ties to Roger Stone and Joe Bruno. Roger Stone, who was once a Nixon operative, worked for Joe Bruno. Turns out that Roger Stone is INDEED behind Michael Caputo in a scandal called "emailgate". Here are the stories I posted last week which now are background to the REAL story that broke since then on The Albany Project and Daily Gothm:

The Strange Case of Michael Caputo

Bruno, Stone and Caputo: Emailgate

Caputo Responds

Caputo Speaks

Caputo's comment in response to a posting on Daily Gotham

And a related story.

NOW we come to the meat of it. Michael Bouldin and Liza Sabater of the Daily Gotham traced the precise connections that link Michael Caputo and Roger Stone, showing both of them are liars. Read through it...it really shows how blogging works at its best and what the MSM SHOULD have caught.

Very soon after the Roger Stone/Michael Caputo connection broke on The Albany Project and Daily Gotham, Roger Stone apparently went into a rage. And who did he take it out on? Eliot Spizter's elderly father. Stone called Spitzer's father and threatened him viciously. Stone then claimed that he had not been home at the time but rather had been at a play. Problem is, the play he claimed to be seeing was closed that night, showing him to be not just a liar...but a really, really bad liar. Some think that once his link to emailgate was revealed, Roger Stone may be losing it.

Roger Stone was subsequently fired by Joe Bruno...though this leaves unanswered the question as to whether Bruno knew what Stone was doing. There are also some legal issues that may soon be raised by all of this...but more of that later.

So three cheers for the people who uncovered this! Now, for those familiar with my work, I do write for Daily Gotham, but I wasn't involved very much in this story. But my collegues at DG did!


And speaking of Republican corruption, did you hear the one about the Bush Administration's use of YOUR tax money to elect Republicans? Needless to say, Karl Rove was behind the scam. In some ways it is business as usual for Washington, in that every administration use Federal appointees to go to districts where candidates need help...but Rove took it further than any administration ever has. It may be the ultimate in government corruption.

Finally, a bit of history for those too young to remember: The Tragedy of Bhopal Continues 23 Years Later. It is one of the most disgusting moments in the history of capitalism.


ARTICLES FROM LAST WEEK: (with minimal comment)

My reminder that although there are good Republicans out there, it seems like Bush might just be the death of the Republican Party.

Last week I focused on the Taliban Twins, two right wing religious fanatics, Sam Brownback and Mike Huckabee.

Rolling Stone has run an article showing what a fundamentalist Christian fanatic Sam Brownback is. He is NOT mainstream Christianity.

The extreme anti-choice stand of Sam Brownback, forcing women to bear the child of their rapist even at the risk of her own life, is particularly disturbing.

Equally disturbing is how eagerly Mike Huckabee lets rapists off the hook...letting them rape again. Taliban Huckabee seems soft on crime!

Mike Huckabee's Family Values are also quite disturbing.

Mike Huckabee is calling for religious jihad right in America.

His jihad also extends to Iraq where Mike Huckabee wants even MORE escalation, more American soldiers and money sent into the Iraq quagmire.

And here is a good summary of "what's wrong with Mike Huckabee"

Then I cover again the NY-13 Congressional race between Bagdhad Vito (also called Bush's Lap Dog) and Steve Harrison.

Daily Gotham broke the news that Steve Harrison is our man to defeat Bagdhad Vito.

This led to Vito Fossella, Freaking Out.

Vito Fossella is already in debt from last time around. By contrast, Harrison has some money left over, though not much yet.

A little on Vito Fossella breaking campaign finance laws.

But if you really want to know how bad Vito Fossella is, you can read my article titled
Vito Fossella: Bush Lap Dog, Social Security Flip Flopper, and Friend to Criminals
.

And I will end this week's Vito Fossella/Steve Harrison Rematch segment with a quote from Steve Harrison on Iraq

What are we doing in Iraq? Saddam is dead, we found no weapons of mass destruction, and we know that Iraq didn't attack us — we need to get out.

— Steve Harrison, Democratic Candidate for Congress


I also covered emailgate last week, but since I cover it again above in more detail I won't repeat the links.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

The Articles They Don't Want You to See 2

Last week I started something without even realizing it. I posted my second ever recommended diary on Daily Kos called "The Articles They Don't Want You to See." The success led me to even start it as a new blog, as well as a regular Daily Kos article.

The response was good enough that it is clear I should try and make this a weekly thing. The idea is to highlight articles/infromation/videos, new or old, that are important, under-reported and/or forgotten. And to provide YOU to post articles that YOU think need more attention. Last week I focued on Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain as well as a Republican Congressman named Vito Fossella (also called Bagdhad Vito or Bush's Lap Dog) in NYC and his challenger, Steve Harrison. This week I will review last week's articles, YOUR suggestions from last week, and present a new set of articles that I think deserve more attention. And if you think I forgot anything, please post in the comments! New articles come first, last week's articles are at the end.

I think one of the things that is really important to remember is that there ARE sane Republicans out there. Problem is, the Republican Party has gotten so extremist that those sane Republicans are fleeing the Party as fast as they can. So last week I brought up in the comments my article on how Bush might just be the death of the Republican Party.

Now let's look at some of the absolutely terrible Republican presidential candidates. What a bunch of extremist losers, aren't they? Last week I covered Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain (see the bottom of diary for a review). This week let me add Brownback (Senator Taliban) and Huckabee (Always willing to lend a hand to rapists).

Sam Brownback:
aka Taliban Brownback

Brownback has a name that just CAN'T win the Presidency. I find it hard to believe people will vote for "President Brownback." Too much like "President Skidmark" or something.

But someone clued me in to a particularly scary article from Rolling Stone showing what a damned Christian fundamentalist nut case Sam Brownback really is. This guy is NOT mainstream Christian. He is the American Christian equivalent of the Taliban.

In particular Sam Brownback believes a woman should be forced to have a baby, even in the case of rape or a danger to the mother's life. Sounds like Brownback believes a woman should die for a rapist's right to choose who has his baby.


Mike Huckabee:
aka Soft on Crime Huckabee

It seems Mike Huckabee will go out of his way to get a rapist off the hook. Which then allowed that rapist a chance to rape someone else. Mike Huckabee: Soft on Crime.

Huckabee also seems to be raising something of a sociopath for a son. Huckabee Family Values!

And this from a man who may be more of a fundamentalist fanatic than Brownback! Mike Huckabee, or is that "Taliban Mike," wants to declare jihad on fellow Americans. Taliban Mike wants to throw out the Constitution and create an Christian version of an Iran-style theocracy.

What's with these Republicans?? The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution for a purpose. Throwing it away and establishing a theocracy goes against everything America has ever stood for. The Taliban Twins Huckabee and Brownback should just move to Iran and let America stay free.

As to Iraq, the war nobody wants that has no purpose and no exit strategy...Huckabee has decided to go John McCain one better. McCain was the engineer who gave us the current escalation that has mired us even deeper in the Iraq civil war. But Huckabee wants more. Mike Huckabee wants a FURTHER escalation of American troops and money into Iraq. Bush fails. McCain multiplies that failure. Huckabee wants an even LARGER failure.

Here is a good summary of "what's wrong with Mike Huckabee" (from the National Jewish Democratic Council).


How about a little more on the Vito Fossella (aka Bagdhad Vito)/Steve Harrison rematch for 2008:

Let me just say that Daily Gotham got the scoop on Steve Harrison entering the race against Vito.

And Vito is running scared already. Seems he was so spooked by Harrison last time, he came out nasty and brutish within a day of Harrison declaring, leading a Daily Gotham blogger to declare that Vito Fossella, aka Bagdhad Vito is Freaking Out. Problem is, Vito Fossella is already in debt from last time around. Sounds like Harrison was softening up Vito last time around, leaving him weak and in debt for 2008. By contrast, I have heard from the inside that Harrison had some money left over from last time (donated at the very last minute, so not able to spend it).

Here's an article on Vito Fossella breaking campaign finance laws.

But if you really want to know how bad Vito Fossella is, you can read my article titled
Vito Fossella: Bush Lap Dog, Social Security Flip Flopper, and Friend to Criminals
.

And I will end this week's Vito Fossella/Steve Harrison Rematch segment with a quote from Steve Harrison on Iraq

What are we doing in Iraq? Saddam is dead, we found no weapons of mass destruction, and we know that Iraq didn't attack us — we need to get out.

— Steve Harrison, Democratic Candidate for Congress


Finally, there is a very strange battle going on in NY State that the MSM has largely been showing only one side of. You will read in the MSM that Governor Eliot Spitzer has abused his power to have Republican Joe Bruno followed by state troopers. But it turns out that this may be another Whitewater fraud. The troopers were there by Bruno's request and there is a suspicious campaign by a particular pair, Michael Caputo and Roger Stone, to smear Spitzer. The question that the Albany Project and Daily Gotham is raising is whether Joe Bruno is behind this campaign. The torturous scandal of Emailgate may hit Bruno in the face if this story spreads. Here are the relavent stories:

The Strange Case of Michael Caputo

Bruno, Stone and Caputo: Emailgate

Caputo Responds

Caputo Speaks

Caputo's comment in response to a posting on Daily Gotham

And a related story.

Curiouser and curiouser.


ARTICLES FROM LAST WEEK: (with minimal comment)

Rudy Giuliani:

Firefighters hateRudy Giulianai

Firefighters REALLY hate Rudy Giulianai

And, it also seems like he wasn't all that great of a leader (from dKos), according to his own former emergency management director, and Bush's 2002 choice to plan for preparedness for WMD attacks.

And let's not forget Rudy Giulianai is a typical Republican Chickenhawk.


John McCain:

My own summary of what's wrong with John McCain


Mitt Romney:

Mitt Romney: abortion flip flopper

Mitt Romney is as big a Chickenhawk as Rudy,

Mitt Romney: Abusive Pet Owner.


Vito Fossella:

Vito Fossella: Part of the Bush/Abramoff culture of corruption,

Really Corrupt!

What the NY Times has to say about Vito Fossella.

And, for comparison, here is what the NY Times said about Steve Harrison, Vito's 2006 and 2008 opponant.


YOUR ARTICLES FROM LAST WEEK:


Rudy Giuliani:

Rudy Giuliania's Five Big Lies,

Harper's Expose on Rudy the Egomaniac (subscription required...but also recommended!)

Rudy Giulianai: AWOL from Iraq panel,

Rolling Stone says Rudy Giuliani is worse than Bush

Rudy's Abusive Approach to Crime

Rudy Raw

Rudy Wants MORE War

Giuliani's Homeless Policy Rejected by the Courts

Rudy Ignores the Courts on his Homeless Policy


John McCain:

All you need to know about John McCain


Vito Fossella:

Vito Just Doesn't Get it


Sorry if I missed anyone!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

The Articles They Don't Want You to See 1

This first post made it onto the Recommended List on Daily Kos. Wasn't expecting that! If it is interesting to dKos people, maybe I am filling a need that people want.

Being a New Yorker, I have realized that many people don't know what Rudy Giuliani is really like. It is amazing how few people realize what a dick he is and how our first responders DETEST him. So I wanted to find some articles (including my own...) that highlight how he really is.

Which then made me realize that I already have some articles on some other Republicans that should get more attention. So, here is what might be a regular thing I do: highlighting the articles that Republicans DON'T want you to see. Please feel free to add more in the comments. I may pick up on some of them for my own blogging. And feel free to spread the word on these articles.

Rudy Giuliani:
So few people realize what a self-centered control freak this guy is and how much he is despised by the REAL heroes of 9/11. So here are a few articles that highlight the side of Rudy he doesn't want you to know:

Firefighters hate Rudy Giuliani

I mean, they REALLY hateRudy Giuliani

And, it also seems like Rudy Giuliani wasn't all that great of a leader, according to his own former emergency management director, and Bush's 2002 choice to plan for preparedness for WMD attacks.

And let's not forget what a Chickenhawk he is.

Now I know many Republicans don't mind Chickenhawks, but independents might hate it and I think EVERYONE will look askance at Rudy's treatment of first responders.


John McCain:

No Republican seems to be falling faster than McCain. So I will just highlight one of my own summaries of what is wrong with John McCain. I think I cover most of his weak points in that article. One thing I will say for him, though, is at least he isn't a Chickenhawk like Rudy.

Speaking of Chickenhawks...


Mitt Romney:

Mitt just might pull off the Republican nomination. At least that is increasingly my gut feeling as McCain crashes and burns and Giuliani's own personality starts to sour voters. Romney will probably get Iowa and that will boost him in many people's eyes.

But...Mitt Romney's abortion flip flopping will please no one.

And Mitt Romney is as big a Chickenhawk as Rudy,

And Mitt Romney was an abusive, or at least criminally negligent, pet owner,


Finally, if I may indulge in highlighting a Congressional race in my area (NYC)...

Vito Fossella:

This guy is the only Republican Congressional Rep in NYC. He had a rough re-election time in 2006 when faced with a shoe-string, grassroots challenger who only had $100,000. Fossella was left in debt by that and in 2008 there will be a rematch. And his opponent, Steve Harrison, is starting earlier and the DNC and DCCC are already considering helping him. So who is this Vito Fossella?

Well, Vito Fossella is a part of the Bush/Abramoff culture of corruption,

I also discuss Vito Fossella in my Target the Corrupt Republican blog,

And here is what the NY Times had to say about Vito Fossella back in 2006.

And, for comparison, here is what the NY times says about Steve Harrison, Vito's 2006 and 2008 opponant.

That's what I have amassed over the last week in my own research. Thought people might be interested. Please add your own articles they don't want us to see in the comments. Next week I will make use of any suggestions people make and add new ones of my own.