Holiday Hiatus

Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year

--LynZee

Happy Thanksgiving

Holiday preparations have been very time consuming.

The whole gang is coming this year.......for that, I am truly thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

--LynZee

Plame Wilson: Bob Woodward Testifies

Bob Woodward has testified that a WH official told him that Plame Wilson was a CIA officer BEFORE Scooter Libby told Judith Miller.

Woodward Testimony a 'Bombshell' for CIA Leak Case

Woodward's testimony "shows that Libby was not the first government official to tell a reporter the secret identity of a CIA operative".

"Woodward and editors at the Post refused to identify the official to reporters other than to say it was not Libby."

"Woodward's account undermines Fitzgerald's argument that Libby was involved in a scheme to discredit Plame Wilson by leaking her name and identity to the press".

Fitz has asserted that Libby started a chain of phone calls to disclose the info to a reporter.

"For the last two years, every reader and reporter in America has been adjusting his Valerie Plame timetable, trying to figure out who in the government leaked her name to whom and in what order."

"Meanwhile, Woodward was sitting mum in the catbird seat, the scoop trapped in his bill. The information would still be there if Woodward's source—unnamed in the Post account and unnamed by Woodward in his "statement"—hadn't told Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald about the conversation on Nov. 3."

"Fitzgerald, as the Post reported, only learned of Woodward's conversation with the source because the source … burned Woodward."

"Bob Woodward apologized today to The Washington Post's executive editor for failing to tell him for more than two years that a senior Bush administration official had told him about CIA operative Valerie Plame, even as an investigation of those leaks mushroomed into a national scandal."

"I didn't want anything out there that was going to get me subpoenaed."

"I told Walter Pincus, a reporter at The Post, without naming my source, that I understood Wilson's wife worked at the CIA as a WMD analyst. Pincus does not recall that I passed this information on."

"He asked me to keep him out of the reporting and I agreed to do that," Pincus said today.

Ben Bradlee Defends Woodward.

Is Woodward the only reporter who "knew about a Wilson and wife connection and kept quiet"?

Larry King show Oct 27, 2005:

ISIKOFF: I talked to a source at the White House late this afternoon who told me that Bob is going to have a bombshell in tomorrow's paper identifying the Mr. X source who is behind the whole thing.

WOODWARD: I wish I did have a bombshell. I don't even have a firecracker.

Sure, Bob.

Text of Woodward's statement.

--LynZee

Cheney Speaks Out

Vice President's Remarks at the Frontiers of Freedom Institute 2005 Ronald Reagan Gala:

"It's a pleasure to see all of you. I'm sorry that we couldn't be joined by Senators Harry Reid, John Kerry, or Jay Rockefeller. They were unable to attend due to a prior lack of commitment."

"And the suggestion that's been made by some U. S. senators that the President of the United States or any member of this Administration purposely misled the American people on pre-war intelligence is one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired in this city."

"What we're hearing now is some politicians contradicting their own statements and making a play for political advantage in the middle of a war."

"The President and I cannot prevent certain politicians from losing their memory, or their backbone - but we're not going to sit by and let them rewrite history."

"We're going to continue throwing their own words back at them."

Setting The Record Straight

"Did Bush Lie? Just Google It" via Michelle Malkin.

The White House is setting the record straight:

Setting the Record Straight: Sen. Kennedy On Iraq

Setting the Record Straight: The Washington Post On Pre-War Intelligence

Setting the Record Straight: Sen. Levin On Iraq

Setting the Record Straight: The New York Times Editorial on Pre-War Intelligence

Gateway Pundit via Instapundit.

How about Rockefeller's Confession via Power Line.

Or, Bush lays wood to Dems, terrorists:
"Bush needs to keep giving this kind of speech every couple of days for the foreseeable future. There is a limit to the MSM's ability to censor his message by not reporting his speeches, as they have so often done throughout his Presidency. Sooner or later, if he keeps pounding away, the message will get through."


--LynZee

This Headline Makes Me Nuts !!

Associated Press:
"Bush Escalates Bitter Iraq War Debate"

Since when is defending oneself against critics "escalation"?

So, the Dems can mouth off 24/7 but if Bush starts taking them down a notch by throwing Dems' own statements back in their faces, then that's "escalation"?

Typical for the AP, but it still makes me nuts.

Liberal media probably won't put up a transcript, so go here, or here. White House has a transcript.

"Reasonable people can disagree about the conduct of the war –­ but it is irresponsible for Democrats to now claim that we misled them and the American people. Leaders in my Administration and members of Congress from both parties looked at the same intelligence on Iraq –­ and reached the conclusion that Saddam Hussein was a threat."

"The truth is that investigations of the intelligence on Iraq have concluded that only one person manipulated evidence and misled the world –­ and that person was Saddam Hussein."

"Some of our elected leaders have opposed this war all along. I disagree with them, but I respect their willingness to take a consistent stand. Yet some Democrats who voted to authorize the use of force are now rewriting the past. They are playing politics with this issue and sending mixed signals to our troops and the enemy. That is irresponsible."

"Let me give you quotes from three senior Democrats: First, quote, “There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons.” End quote. (Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.)

Here’s another one, quote, “The war against terrorism will not be finished as long as [Saddam Hussein] is in power.” End quote. (Sen. Carl Levin D-Mich)

And here’s the way another Democratic leader summed it up, quote, “Saddam Hussein, in effect, has thumbed his nose at the world community. And I think that the President's approaching this in the right fashion.”

""They spoke the truth then and they're speaking politics now," Bush charged.

Terence Hunt, AP: "President Bush escalated the bitter debate over the Iraq war on Monday, hurling back at Democratic critics the worries they once expressed that Saddam Hussein was a grave threat to the world."

Well, the Dems can hurl, but don't like it when it's hurled back at them. They're the ones who escalated "Bush lied" ad nauseum. It's the only agenda they have -- bash Bush.

Howard Dean is too chicken to go one on one with Ken Mehlman.

"Bush went on the attack", and it's high time.

John McCain: "But I want to say I think it's a lie to say that the president lied to the American people."

WaPo: "The administration's overarching point is true: Intelligence agencies overwhelmingly believed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and very few members of Congress from either party were skeptical about this belief before the war began in 2003. Indeed, top lawmakers in both parties were emphatic and certain in their public statements."

Milbank and Pincus suggest and imply the intell was "exaggerated", and that the PDB had the "most sensitive intelligence".

Here's Bush "Setting the Record Straight: The Washington Post On Pre-War Intelligence"

Who Is Lying About Iraq?

The Dems can't handle the truth.

--LynZee

Bush BLASTS Critics of Iraq War

"Some Democrats and antiwar critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people about why we went to war."

"it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began."

"These baseless attacks send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America's will."

Bush painted his critics as hypocrites.

--LynZee
A must read: Who Is Lying About Iraq?

"Burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!"

"Three terror bombings that killed at least 56 people in Jordan's capital sparked furious protests against al Qaeda on Thursday after a Web site carried a claim that the group was behind the attacks."

"Jordanians flooded Amman blaring car horns and waving the nation's flag to protest the suicide attacks at three hotels with Western connections."

"Hundreds of angry Jordanians rallied, shouting, "Burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!" after the claim of responsibility was posted."

--LynZee

Virginia Is NOT A Repudiation Of Bush

Democrat Timothy Kaine was elected Governor of Virginia.

His "success owed less to dissatisfaction with Bush and more to satisfaction with Mark Warner's tenure as governor." Kaine rode in on Warner's coattails.

"Republicans lost New Jersey and Virginia four years ago when the president's approval rating was at 87 percent."

"Off-year gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey have proved to be unreliable predictors of elections."

I don't see the Virginia governor's race as an ominous foreshadowing of huge Republican losses in 2006.

Still, Republicans must remain unified -- "It creates an environment where individual members start looking out for themselves rather than the whole team."

"if Republicans in Congress now start to splinter and look out only for themselves--instead of fighting for the ideas that won them power--the same could happen next year."

Some blame Bush for Virginia, but I doubt Virginians decided their vote for governor based on Bush's poll numbers.

So, this bit about "Bush sank the GOP in Virginia" is over the top.

"Every man for himself" running scared will only help the Dems in 2006.

The Dems have no ideas and one agenda -- bash Bush. The Republicans shouldn't help them.

--LynZee

Who Is Lying About Iraq?

Not Bush. The charge that Bush misled us into Iraq has been refuted and discredited over and over again by evidence and argument alike.

The article comprehensively takes apart all of the charges against the Bush administration. Read it all.

Meanwhile, "Investigate the CIA".
"An "outing" was the result of either incompetence or an effort to undermine the White House."

Another CIA Dirty Trick?
".....the agency keeps getting the big things wrong....But the CIA also.....has a history of covering its butt by coming up with "revisionist rumbles".....and looking for someone else to blame"

--LynZee

Terror Attacks

Explosions Rock Three Hotels in Jordan

Australia thwarts terror attacks

France burns for two weeks

Muslims!

Judith Miller's Farewell

"Lawyers for Ms. Miller and the paper negotiated a severance package whose details they would not disclose. Under the agreement, Ms. Miller will retire from the newspaper, and The Times will print a letter she wrote to the editor explaining her position.

Ms. Miller originally demanded that she be able to write an essay for the paper's Op-Ed page refuting the allegations against her, the lawyers said. The Times refused that demand - Gail Collins, editor of the editorial page, said, "We don't use the Op-Ed page for back and forth between one part of the paper and another" - but agreed to let her to write the letter."

--LynZee

Texas Approves Ban On Same Sex Marriage

"A state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage championed by Republican Gov. Rick Perry and social conservatives won overwhelming voter approval Tuesday"

"With 472,553 votes counted, 74 percent favored the ban while 26 percent were against it"

"Same-sex marriage already is prohibited under state law. Those who supported Prop 2 said a constitutional ban was needed to ensure that a judge doesn't decide to allow gays to marry."

More here.

--LynZee

Sudoku

Play Sudoku online.

No math -- just logic.

--LynZee

Alito Confirmation Hearings

Senate hearings for Alito will begin Jan. 9, 2006 --
committee vote Jan. 17 --
full Senate vote Jan. 20.

Bush needs this confirmation victory by the time he delivers the State of the Union address.

Git R Done -- nuclear or otherwise.

The Dems are sure to be digging up anything that can be construed as "dirt" on Alito.

--LynZee

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire

Joe Wilson lying through his nose.

--LynZee

Steel Curtain

"U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a major military offensive along a key part of the Syrian border Saturday to combat smuggling of foreign fighters and materials into Iraq and to lay the ground for national elections in six weeks, the U.S. military announced."

"About 2,500 U.S. and 1,000 Iraqi troops were involved in the so-called Steel Curtain offensive in and around Husaybah, a town of about 30,000 people on the Syrian border about 200 miles west of Baghdad. The U.S. military says the town is a critical transit point and staging area for al Qaeda in Iraq, the radical insurgent group of Jordanian Abu Musab Zarqawi."

--LynZee

Rue de Muslim Explodes

"By daybreak Saturday, 897 vehicles were destroyed — a sharp rise from the 500 burned a night earlier"

"Top government officials — Prime Minister Dominic de Villepin in particular — have been cowering in their offices in fear as rioting mobs spread a climate of fear and mayhem through Paris' Western suburbs"

"Now France finds itself on the verge of a civil war."

"French leaders don't know what to do when confronted by terrorism within their borders"

The French never act unilaterally, evidently not even in their own country.

They'll probably mosey over to the UN and try to round up a multi-national force since it's their own rear end in a sling this time -- unlike their opposition to Iraqi Freedom (sarcasm).

--LynZee

Summit Of The Americas

Blustering blowhard Hugo Chavez brought his shovel to Argentina's Americas Summit, supposedly to bury free trade, but mostly he just shovelled poo-poo.

Oh, Chavez got the mob worked up with his anti-Bush, anti-U.S. rhetoric. Afterwards, these geniuses took to the street to protest Bush some more by setting fires, looting, and battling riot police.

That's the ticket -- destroy your own neighborhood -- that'll show Bush!

Maybe it's someone else's neighborhood: "...they are largely the same goofballs that show up wherever people meet to talk about free trade."

Bush left the summit unscathed.

Now on to Brazil, where more of the same is expected.

O.K. protest all you want -- loot, burn, get
violent -- but the security of The American President should be guaranteed.

--LynZee

Muslim Youths Torch Paris

Nine days of rioting.

"The violence started Oct. 27 after the accidental electrocution of two teenagers who believed police were chasing them.....Since then riots have swelled into a broader challenge against the French state and its security forces."

"Within hours, the original cause of the incidents was forgotten and the issue jelled around a demand by the representatives of the rioters that the French police leave the "occupied territories."

So, the real cause of the "unrest" (hah) is French police entering the "occupied territories" where "radical Islamists propagate their message of religious
and cultural apartheid".

The apologists for this criminal behavior cite immigrant alienation and disenfranchisement. But, it looks to me like the French Muslims WANT apartheid -- not integration.

And to keep authorities out of their little "occupied territories", the wave of violence included setting fire to over 500 vehicles, and deliberately dousing a handicapped woman with flammable liquid and setting her on fire.

The French should do whatever necessary to quell the violence, and not play the "surrender monkey" card.

--LynZee

Peanuts!

More delusions from the peanut gallery.

Could it be senility?

--LynZee

DeLay Wins New Judge

Score one for Tom DeLay:

"The ruling to recuse Travis County District Judge Bob Perkins was made by District Judge C.W. Duncan after a four-hour hearing. DeLay's lawyers argued that Perkins's impartiality appears to be compromised by his contributing money to national and local Democratic candidates, as well as to MoveOn.org, a group that has targeted DeLay's defeat in national fundraising efforts."

Ronnie Earle castigates, spits, mutters, fumes, and rambles on about Shiites and Sunnis.

DeLay's next step -- get a change of venue out of Austin.

--LynZee

Chairman Roberts Issues Statement on Phase II of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's Review of Pre-war Intelligence on Iraq

Senator Pat Roberts, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence:

“The Democrats have said that today’s antics were all about whether the public statements of U.S. officials before the war concerning Iraq were substantiated by the intelligence. This is not the case"

"“Today’s stunt is because the special counsel in the Plame investigation has not delivered their desired result. We now see the lengths Democrats will resort to in order to obtain relevancy. "

"At the May 17 meeting, I made a number of attempts to begin evaluating nearly 500 statements made by Administration officials and Members of Congress, over 300 of which were provided by the Democrats. My friends across the aisle wouldn’t even let me get past the first statement. When they learned that I didn’t intend to identify the speakers in an effort to remove partisan bias, they wanted to talk about everything but public statements."

“You can reach your own conclusions on why the Committee’s Democrats didn’t want to proceed. I hope they weren’t trying to manipulate or misuse the information to reach a predetermined conclusion. As of today, the Vice Chairman’s position is that the members will not do this work. I believe this is not something that should be delegated to staff."

"Unfortunately, rather than working in a bipartisan manner to vote out a report on this issue, they obstructed our work back on May 17, 2005, and now, in an act of profound irony, they are engaging in a petty public stunt to attack me for not completing our work on Phase II. Truly amazing, especially since just yesterday we informed Democratic staff that I wanted to conclude our work. If my Democrat friends spent more time working on Phase II and less time grandstanding, we may actually get this done.”

--LynZee
Related:

Pat Roberts Responds To Harry Reid's Closed Senate Session Stunt

Cheap Trick

Pat Roberts Responds To Harry Reid's Closed Senate Session Stunt

Pat Roberts, Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee:

"It's interesting to me that when our staff told the Democrat staff just two days ago that, as of this next week, we are going to finish phase two, regardless of the circumstances, we're going to get done with it, then they pulled this stunt."

ROBERTS: We started this report in February. We had our first business meeting on May 17th. We started to go down the entire list of all the statements of public officials and the administration and in Congress and compare it with the intelligence. I tried to get the Democrat members to go down that entire list and vote as to whether or not that statement was credible or backed up by intelligence. That's the exact thing that we wanted to do, and they balked. And they said no, we don't want to do it that way. We want staff to do
it. We had the hearing already set up....they looked at
the Scooter Libby situation....they pull a stunt like this,
not letting anybody know they're going to go into a
secret session. Certainly not attack me, which is the
first time that that's happened and I take a personal
affront at that. And so I think it was more politics than anything else.

ROBERTS: There are a lot of public statements by members of Congress on the Democrat side that are more declarative and more aggressive than anything anybody ever said on the administration side. We're going to make those public statements public. And, now, the intelligence, we can't do that yet, because we got to go through phase two. As much as possible, I want to make this public, to prove to the American public that yesterday was a stunt

ROBERTS: We proved in the WMD report there was a worldwide intelligence failure. You look back at what somebody said.....Three or four years ago it might have made sense because you believe the intelligence...Now you prove the intelligence is wrong, what is relevant about bringing back all of these past statements? But if that's what the Democrats want, that's what they're going to get.

--LynZee
Related:
Pat Roberts Issues Statement
Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick

"Dirty Harry" Reid and toady Dick Durbin pulled a typically Democrat dirty trick, forcing the Senate into closed session.

It was a grandstanding, headline grabbing, political ploy of the lowest caliber.

"The United States Senate has been hijacked by the Democratic leadership," said Majority Leader Bill Frist. "They have no convictions, they have no principles, they have no ideas". Never, he said, have "I been slapped in the face with such an affront to the leadership of this grand institution."

"Hijacked" is apt: "The precautions were hardly necessary, because the senators -- rather than discussing sensitive information, as Rule 21 envisioned -- spent the next two hours bickering".

It was a brazen attempt to change the subject from the Bush "points scoring" nomination of
Samuel Alito to SCOTUS, and back to Scooter
Libby's indictment and how that figures into the pre-war intelligence on Iraq.

Nevermind Pat Fitzgerald's pronouncement that "This indictment is not about the war. This indictment's not about the propriety of the war."

That's not what the Dems want to hear. After Fitzmas flopped, Karl Rove wasn't indicted, and the Miers mess was resolved, the left suffered a cruel month.

How do they react? Send lying liar Joe Wilson to saturate the airwaves, and let Harry Reid throw a hissy fit: "That the Dems see throwing a temper tantrum as a way to regain momentum, rather than as reminder to the public that they are unfit to govern, speaks volumes."

--LynZee
Related:
Pat Roberts Issues Statement
Pat Roberts Responds