In a mindboggling move of shocking arrogance and defiance of our tri-cameral system of checks and balances, the National Security Agency is trying to block famous whistleblower, Russel Tice, from testifying to the House Government Reform National Security Subcommittee. NSA Blocking Whistleblower From Telling Committee About Shocking, Illegal Activities  

Last month, ThinkProgress reported that NSA whistleblower Russell Tice would meet with members of the Senate Armed Services Committee to discuss undisclosed unlawful activity that the Agency has engaged in. "I think the people I talk to next week are going to be shocked when I tell them what I have to tell them," Tice said.

Since that time, little has been reported of Tice's meeting. CongressDaily (sub. req'd) follows-up today, "Tice met last month in a closed session with senior staff from the Senate Armed Services Committee. Tice said he told the staffers everything he knew. But he said the aides did not say how, or if, they would follow up on his allegations."

Julian E. Barnes reports that the Pentagon and State Department are fighting over the Army's intent to drop a ban of "prisoner humuliation" from the Code of Conduct.  Army Manual to Skip Geneva Detainee Rule

The Pentagon has decided to omit from new detainee policies a key tenet of the Geneva Convention that explicitly bans "humiliating and degrading treatment," according to knowledgeable military officials, a step that would mark a further, potentially permanent, shift away from strict adherence to international human rights standards.

What the heck?

Jonathan Turley finally voiced the question many of us have been wondering for months.  Given the substantial accumulation of evidence of Vice President Dick Cheney's significant involvement in this case, why is he not being pursued as a subject or target as a co-conspirator in the cover-up of the CIA-NIE leaks? The answer may just be that Fitzgerald's modus operandi is to start from the bottom and take his his own sweet time fliping underlings to nail the top culprits.

Raw Story reports MSNBC coverage tonight on Hardball. MSNBC: Rove sources confirm Novak conversation; Fitzgerald turns toward Cheney

In Hardball's daily dish on the CIA leak trial Thursday, MSNBC's David Shuster said the latest filings raise new questions about Vice President Cheney's potential role in the outing of a CIA agent, and that sources close to Karl Rove confirm that Rove did have a followup conversation about his calling conservative columnist Robert Novak. A report in the National Journal today suggests Novak considered 'covering' for Rove in the case.

MSNBC' Keith Olbermman of Countdown broadcasts tonight a report that arch-conservative Richard Viguerie has gone on the warpath against President Bush accusing him of betraying conservatives with a number of liberal  big spending programs.  Richard Viguerie joins William Buckley, Francios Fukuyama, and James Dobbson on the list of conservatives recently critical of President George Bush.  

And in a further sign that Bush is suffering from a significant cracking of his until recently sold conservative base in polls, Olbermman reports that half of conservatives think the country is on the wrong track.  Countdown replayed the interview in which Bush brushes off observations that his ratings are similar to Richard Nixon's before he resigned.  

Insight On The News reports that First couple splits over constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Karl Rove and Senator Frist have encountered unexpected opposition to their proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.  

The issue of gay marriage is causing divisions within the Republican Party, including the highest reaches of the White House.  

The split has been so pronounced that President Bush faces strong opposition within his own administration to a constitutional amendment that would outlaw gay marriage. The split has pitted Mr. Bush against his own wife, first lady Laura Bush.

Mrs. Bush has warned that promoting the amendment could backfire against the GOP in congressional races in November. She has suggested that a constitutional amendment would hamper any constructive debate over gay marriage.

"Well, I don't think it should be used as a campaign tool, obviously," Mrs. Bush said. "But I do think it's something that people in the United States want to debate. And it requires a lot of sensitivity to talk about the issue, a lot of sensitivity."

Will Bunch of Attyood reports that Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) was the number 1 recipient of contributions from lobbyists.  Lobbyist money...he's No. 1, he's No. 1!

The folks over at the Congress Watch of Public Citizen have put out a report on the lobbyists who bankroll Congress. It features a list of the 20 biggest givers among lobbyists...[and getters too.]

And guess who was number 1?  That's right, the man who helped found the very K Street Project and then tried to deny its existence, our own junior senator from right here in Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum. Looking at those four election cycles from 1998 through 2004, Public Citizen found that the Pa. Republican had raked in $1,163,560 from registered lobbyists -- $838,133 from individuals, and $325,427 from their political action committees.

Ed O'Keefe of ABC news reports that John Edwards says President Bush is the worst president ever and worse than Richard Nixon. 2004 Vice Presidential Contender Blasts Bush and Readies to Run Again

May 21, 2006 -- - Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., says George W. Bush is the "worst president of our lifetime," and "absolutely" worse than Watergate-tainted President Richard M. Nixon.

In an exclusive appearance on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," the former presidential and vice presidential contender said of Bush, "He's done a variety of things -- things which are going to take us forever to recover from.

"You have to give Bush and Cheney and gang credit for being good at politics -- you know, good at political campaigns," Edwards added. "They're very good at dividing the country and taking advantage of it. What they're not good at is governing, and it shows every single day in this administration. And the country is paying a huge price for that."

Ron Fournier asks, Is Al Gore Running for President Again?

Al Gore is running to California, New York, Utah, Washington, France and points in between to promote "An Inconvenient Truth," a film chronicling his elaborate slide shows to educate people about global warming.

But is the former vice president running for president again? The answer, he says, is no. Some Democrats are not so sure.

"I'm a recovering politician on about Step 9," Gore told The Associated Press. "But I'm on a different kind of campaign now -- to persuade people to take action to solve the climate crisis, and it's always easier when you're focused on one thing."

David D. Kirkpatrick, of the New York Times, reports that Conservative Christians Criticize Republicans.

Some of President Bush's most influential conservative Christian allies are becoming openly critical of the White House and Republicans in Congress, warning that they will withhold their support in the midterm elections unless Congress does more to oppose same-sex marriage, obscenity and abortion.
"There is a growing feeling among conservatives that the only way to cure the problem is for Republicans to lose the Congressional elections this fall," said Richard Viguerie, a conservative direct-mail pioneer.

Mr. Viguerie also cited dissatisfaction with government spending, the war in Iraq and the immigration-policy debate, which Mr. Bush is scheduled to address in a televised speech on Monday night.

Matthew Cooper, of Time, asks if the latest NSA revelations of a much more widespread campaign of apparently warrantless and therefore illegal spying on Americans will be enough to push us past a tipping point on the eavesdropping issue? A Tipping Point on Eavesdropping: Are the latest NSA spying revelations enough to turn the public against the program?

Are we at a tipping point yet? What author Malcolm Gladwell described as small things that make a big difference seems like an apt metaphor for the latest developments on civil liberties and the Bush administration. First was Thursday morning's USA Today story, declaring, "NSA Has Massive Database of Americans' Phone Calls." The story dominated the morning news shows and drove the day's events, with the President racing to the microphones in the Diplomatic Room of the White House before departing on a trip to Mississippi. Bush didn't get into the specifics of the USA Today story, but he did defend the program, saying the federal government is not "mining or trolling through the personal lives of innocent Americans."

 
Joshua Lynsen reports Dean slams gay marriage on '700 Club'
DNC issues clarification as HRC joins gay groups' condemnations  

Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean has contradicted his party's platform and infuriated gay rights advocates by saying the party's platform states "marriage is between a man and a woman."

"The Democratic Party platform from 2004 says marriage is between a man and a woman," Dean said May 10 during a "700 Club" program hosted by conservative Christian leader Pat Robertson on his Christian Broadcasting Network.

PageOneQ reports the sad news that Howard Dean misrepresented the 2004 Democratic Party Platform position on marriage equality in a speech to the Christian Broadcasting Network 700 Club prompting the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to return a $5000 gift from the DNC.  National Gay and Lesbian Task Force slams Howard Dean, Returns $5,000 gift from DNC

After it was reported that Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean misrepresented the portions of the party platform relating to marriage, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force returned a $5,000 contribution to the party, PageOneQ has learned.

In a release issued by the Task Force, a quote from Chairman Dean was reported as:

"The Democratic Party platform from 2004 says that marriage is between a man and a woman. That's what it says. I think where we may take exception with some religious leaders is that we believe in inclusion, that everybody deserves to live with dignity and respect, and that equal rights under the law are important."

Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon calls our attention to the Medical Research News reports research of Janet Rosenbaum showing that the majority of adolescents who sign a "virginity" pledge recant within year.   Analysis of 'virginity pledges'

Adolescents who sign a "virginity pledge" and then go on to have premarital sex are likely to disavow having signed such a pledge, according to an analysis of survey data by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researcher Janet Rosenbaum published in the advance online edition of the American Journal of Public Health's June 2006 issue.
Conversely, adolescents who have had premarital sex and then decide to make a virginity pledge are likely to misreport their earlier sexual history. This misreporting of sexual experience will make it difficult to accurately assess virginity pledges' effects on early sexual intercourse, according to the author.

Jackie Calmes writes in the Wall Street Journal Online on May 8, 2006 Al Gore Might Yet Join 2008 Contender: Former Vice President Keeps Mum As His Movie Sparks Talk of a White House Run Raising the tantalizing prospect of a Gore versus Clinton battle in 2008.

For former Vice President Al Gore, a rash of favorable publicity surrounding this month's opening of his movie "An Inconvenient Truth," and the growing political resonance of its subject -- global warming -- are stoking the most serious speculation about a Gore political comeback since his loss in the 2000 U.S. presidential election.

In 2008, that could mean a once-unimaginable battle for Democrats' nomination between Bill Clinton's former vice president and his wife, Hillary Clinton. To some pro-Gore Democrats, worried about Mrs. Clinton's electability, that is part of the appeal.

Charles Lane of the Washington Post reports Court Dubious on Libby's Document Request: Records on Wilson Trip Irrelevant, Judge Says

A federal judge dealt a setback to I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's defense in the CIA leak case yesterday, telling the former vice presidential aide's attorneys that he is likely to deny their request for a vast trove of government documents.  At a hearing, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton did not formally deny Libby's request for all records related to a 2002 trip by former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV to Niger. But he said the material is not directly relevant to the case and could only distract the jury.
"I'm just not going to let this case turn into a judicial resolution of the legitimacy of the war or the accuracy of the president's State of the Union address," Walton said.

 

Sam Enriquez,  from the LA Times write that  Mexico to Allow Use of Drugs.

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican President Vicente Fox will sign a bill that would legalize the use of nearly every drug and narcotic sold by the same Mexican cartels he's vowed to fight during his five years in office, a spokesman said Tuesday.

And the per-person amounts approved for possession by anyone 18 or older could easily turn any college party into an all-nighter: half a gram of coke, a couple of Ecstasy pills, several doses of LSD, a few marijuana joints, a spoonful of heroin, 5 grams of opium and more than 2 pounds of peyote, the hallucinogenic cactus.

All joking aside, Mexico's bold new approach to the management of his growing drug problem. However, I'm concerned that rather than decriminal personal use in the context of a comprehensive total physical, mental, and public health program, this seems to be an ad hoc piecemal approach.

Raw Story reports that  ABC is reporting that Tom Ridge pressured the Homeland Security Inspector to "tone down" criticism of President Bush before the 2004 elections.  Although, this is not surprising to Cossacks, this report verifies the Bush Administrations frequent abuse of the raw power of it's government position to inappropriately influence elections.   ABC: Homeland Inspector General says he was pressured to 'tone down' criticism of Bush before election

The former inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security says he was pressured to tone down criticism of security failures in the months before the 2004 Presidential election, ABC NEWS is reporting.The following came as a release from ABC NEWS:

Clark Kent Ervin says he was confronted personally by then Secretary Tom Ridge "to intimidate me, to stare me down, to force me to back off, to not look into these areas that would be controversial, not to issue critical reports."

Ervin will appear this evening on ABC News' Nightline in advance of the publication of his memoirs, "Open Target: Where America is Vulnerable to Attack."

The U.S. Army has charged Lt.-Col. Steven Jordan with 12 counts of violation of the the Uniform Code of Military Justice for offenses related to the Abu Ghraib torture scandel, making him the highest ranking officer yet charged.  CNEWS reports Former interrogation boss at Abu Ghraib highest-ranking U.S. officer charged.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. army charged the former head of the interrogation centre at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq with cruelty and maltreatment, dereliction of duty and other criminal offences Friday for his alleged involvement in the abuse of detainees at the notorious prison in 2003.

Lt.-Col. Steven Jordan, was charged with 12 counts under the Uniform Code of Military Justice covering seven separate offences. He is the highest-ranking U.S. officer at Abu Ghraib to face criminal charges.