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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
 Posted - 05/16/2007 : 02:18:23
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Monday, May 14th, 2007; Investigative Journalist Greg Palast Reports on the Firing of New Mexico Attorney David IglesiasGREG PALAST: Iglesias believes the real reasons for the firings are in what are called the missing emails, emails sent by the Rove team using Republican Party campaign computers, which Rove claims can't be retrieved. But not all the missing emails are missing. We have 500 of them. Apparently the Rove team misaddressed their emails, and late one night they all ended up in our inboxes in our offices in New York City....
...GREG PALAST: What is it that was so obviously illegal that law professor Kennedy thought they deserved prison time? The evidence that shook him was attached to fifty of the secret emails, something that GOP party chiefs called caging lists, thousands of names of voters. Notably, the majority were African American. Kennedy explained how caging worked.
ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.: Caging is an illegal way of getting rid of black votes. You get a list of all the black voters. Then you send a letter to their homes. And if the person doesn't sign it at the homes, the letter then is returned to the Republican National Committee. They then direct the state attorney general, who is friendly to them, who's Republican, to remove that voter from the list on the alleged basis that that voter does not live in the address that they designated as their address on the voting application form.
GREG PALAST: In all, the Republican Party challenged nearly three million voters, a mass attack on minority voting rights virtually unreported in the US press.
ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.: So they disenfranchised millions of black voters who don't even know that they've been disenfranchised.
GREG PALAST: Page after page of voters with this address, Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, hundreds, thousands of soldiers and sailors targeted to lose their vote. Go to Baghdad, lose your vote.
And what does this have to do with the prosecutor firings? Take a look at the name at the top of the secret missing email: Tim Griffin. This is the man in charge of the allegedly illegal caging operation. He is research director for the Republican National Committee, special assistant to Karl Rove, and as of December 7 Karl Rove's personal pick for US attorney for the state of Arkansas. Is this a case of the perpetrator becomes the prosecutor? For Democracy Now! this is Greg Palast. |
So here's the conspiracy, some or all of the federal attorney firings Attorney General Gonzales can't explain and the relevant emails are supposedly missing (like the infamous Nixon tape 18 minutes), are all tied to a plot to disenfranchise large numbers of Democratic voters in key states in 2008.
Democracy Now is not inclined to put unconfirmed nonsense on as news. But 500 emails seems like a lot to be mis-mailed.
In this state (WA), McKay, the attorney fired, reported he felt pressured to go after small time voter fraud or people who had errors on their voter registration. We had a governor who won by less than 200 votes. The thing was, there was no evidence for any single conspiracy that McKay felt should be investigated. So wasting time on a few voters who registered when they shouldn't have didn't make sense to McKay. Remember, McKay is a Republican, appointed by Bush in the first place. So if he thought there was a case, you would think he would have pursued it.
Prosecuting individuals who either voted when they shouldn't have or cheated in some other way would be important if there was evidence such things were truly widespread.|
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Edited by - beskeptigal on 05/18/2007 23:44:28
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2007 : 02:36:41 [Permalink]
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This definitely stinks of Karl Rove. And not all conspiracy theories are false, particularly in politics, which is to a large extent the art of conspiracy.
Just look at Karl Rove's bio at Wiki to get the flavor (or odor) of the man's methods. He's spent all his adult life and some of his childhood committing political dirty tricks and organizing conspiracies. Real conspiracies eventually are exposed with evidence. As it appears the evidence is starting to unravel from this one.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 05/16/2007 15:34:03 |
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Original_Intent
SFN Regular
USA
609 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2007 : 05:32:55 [Permalink]
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Though not a fan of prison for non-violent offenders (I like indentured servitude).
Plast: let's see those emails (complete with all headers/routing) already so we can get the show on the road.
Peace
Joe |
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JEROME DA GNOME
BANNED
2418 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2007 : 06:40:23 [Permalink]
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Cheating in elections has been part of the electoral process for a long time. (Bush v Gore, Kennedy v Nixon)
That said, with the electronic voting machines and zero paper trail it is a certainty that those with control of the machines control the vote and therefore the outcomes of elections.
I have a feeling the last days of Rome felt something like this.
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What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index into his desires -- desires of which he himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way. - Bertrand Russell |
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Chippewa
SFN Regular
USA
1496 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2007 : 11:49:57 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by HalfMooner
This definitely stinks of Karl Rove... |
Yup. It has a Rove smell about it. I get the feeling news sources aren't jumping on this any more than other Palast reports, but the momentum might keep rolling for a while. Bush's Paraguay land grab is also a somewhat under-reported scandal.
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Diversity, independence, innovation and imagination are progressive concepts ultimately alien to the conservative mind.
"TAX AND SPEND" IS GOOD! (TAX: Wealthy corporations who won't go poor even after taxes. SPEND: On public works programs, education, the environment, improvements.) |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 05/17/2007 : 19:17:32 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Chippewa
Originally posted by HalfMooner
This definitely stinks of Karl Rove... |
Yup. It has a Rove smell about it. I get the feeling news sources aren't jumping on this any more than other Palast reports, but the momentum might keep rolling for a while. Bush's Paraguay land grab is also a somewhat under-reported scandal.
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According to The US Embassy in Paraguay, the Bush land grab is a false rumor.
The Google translated page:The FALSE Rumor:
Stay of Bush
In October of 2006 the rumors began that ex- President George H.W. Bush has 70,000 hectares (173,000 acres) in the Chaco, which present president George W. Bush has 40,000 hectares (98,842 acres) and that a American ambassador (Timothy Towell, ex- American ambassador in Paraguay in period 1988-1991) was contracted to administer the property of Bush.
In addition, people say that Jenna Bush, daughter of the president came to Paraguay to verify the cattle property.
THE TRUTH:
President Bush does not have a stay in Paraguay
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Nor the ex- president, as well as either present President Bush, does not have property some in the Chaco or any other part of Paraguay.
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Ex- Towell Ambassador has confirmed who he does not administer to property some in Paraguay to name of ex- President George H.W. Bush or of present president George W. Bush.
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Jenna Bush briefly visited Paraguay under the UNICEF auspices. |
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| Edited by - beskeptigal on 05/17/2007 19:18:14 |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2007 : 15:50:45 [Permalink]
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I am waiting for the emails to be verified. But I don't put it past Rove to have sent something like them. Another possibility is they were leaked or hacked by someone then ended up in Palast's hands and the mis-mailed story is to cover the trail.
On Palast's web site (same link from Pardalis' in JREF) he covers the email topic in an interview with Dollars and Sense. On their web site, they published part of the interview but left out the part on the emails, unless it is on a page I didn't find.
Despite the validity of the emails, the voter fraud prosecution theme is emerging without them. U.S. Attorneys Investigation; Voter-Fraud Complaints by GOP Drove DismissalsBy Dan Eggen and Amy Goldstein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, May 14, 2007; Page A04
Nearly half the U.S. attorneys slated for removal by the administration last year were targets of Republican complaints that they were lax on voter fraud, including efforts by presidential adviser Karl Rove to encourage more prosecutions of election- law violations, according to new documents and interviews.
Of the 12 U.S. attorneys known to have been dismissed or considered for removal last year, five were identified by Rove or other administration officials as working in districts that were trouble spots for voter fraud -- Kansas City, Mo.; Milwaukee; New Mexico; Nevada; and Washington state. Four of the five prosecutors in those districts were dismissed.
It has been clear for months that the administration's eagerness to launch voter-fraud prosecutions played a role in some of the firings, but recent testimony, documents and interviews show the issue was more central than previously known. The new details include the names of additional prosecutors who were targeted and other districts that were of concern, as well as previously unknown information about the White House's role.... |
Source Watch, Congresspedia on the fired attorney matterShifting explanations by White House and Gonzales
On March 14, the White House responded to increasing criticism by offering an additional reason for the forced resignations, namely, "Lax Voter-Fraud Investigations". Counselor to the President Dan Bartlett, cited complaints about U.S. Attorneys in New Mexico, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. [6]
[snip]
Voter-fraud complaints
According to a May 14, 2007, report by the Washington Post based off of newly released Department of Justice documents and interviews, nearly half of the attorneys who were slated for removal were targets of Republican complaints that they were lax on voter fraud, including efforts by presidential adviser Karl Rove to encourage more prosecutions of election. [76] |
It's obvious there is more than meets the eye here.
Justice Official Says He Was Directed To Call Fired ProsecutorsBy Murray Waas, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
The chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty has told congressional investigators that phone calls he placed to four fired U.S. attorneys -- calls that three of the prosecutors say involved threats about testifying before Congress -- were made at McNulty's direction.
Michael Elston, the chief of staff, told congressional investigators in a closed-door session on March 30 that McNulty specifically instructed him to make the phone calls after the Justice Department's No. 2 official learned that the fired prosecutors might testify before Congress about their dismissals.
A transcript of Elston's confidential interview with the congressional investigators was made available to National Journal.
The U.S. attorneys have said that Elston, in effect, told them that if they kept quiet about their dismissals, the Justice Department would not suggest that they had been forced to resign because of poor performance.
At least one member of Congress has questioned whether the phone calls might constitute obstruction of justice. |
So on the one hand there are specious emails, on the other, there's clearly obstruction of 'coming clean' about the reason for wanting to fire the attorneys and who was involved.
So if not the Rove '08 election influence plan, what other possibilities make more sense? And I am keeping in mind there could have been different reasons for each or some of the firings.
Gonzales hearing long on theatricsMiss Sanchez asked Mr. Gonzales why Debra Yang resigned from her U.S. attorney post in Los Angeles while her office reportedly was investigating Mr. Lewis on reports of political corruption. Miss Yang reportedly took a $1.5 million signing bonus to join Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, the same private law firm that is representing Mr. Lewis.
Mr. Gonzales said nothing untoward happened, as cases do not end when a U.S. attorney resigns. He added that he "is not confirming that Mr. Lewis is a target," a formal legal term for a person who has been officially notified that prosecutors are investigating him.
But that wasn't enough for Rep. Dan Lungren, California Republican, who talked heatedly with four other Republicans and then objected to Miss Sanchez's words, which he said "besmirched" Mr. Lewis.
"As anybody knows, there's a huge difference between an investigation and a target," said Mr. Lungren, a former attorney general of California.
Miss Sanchez withdrew her use of the word "target" to apply to Mr. Lewis.
Less than an hour later, Rep. Chris Cannon, Utah Republican, approached Mr. Lewis in a hallway, put his arm around his shoulder and informed him of what had happened.
"Thank you," Mr. Lewis said repeatedly, before declining to speak about the matter with The Washington Times. |
There's some kind of conspiracy going on here. How can anyone not think that?
_______________
Glory hallelujah!"I will be the first to admit I am not perfect and I make mistakes," Gonzales told the committee after being asked if any mistakes involving him were made in the war on terror.
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the committee, then exclaimed, "Glory hallelujah, you're the first one in the administration that's said that." |
I couldn't resist.  This is from the 2005 confirmation hearing, BTW. |
| Edited by - beskeptigal on 05/18/2007 21:11:42 |
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Chippewa
SFN Regular
USA
1496 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2007 : 17:09:25 [Permalink]
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Probably is since its currently found in a bunch of blogs but no official news reports. (Just Google "Paraguay Bush",) though I like the ironic parallel with Bush fleeing and Nazi's exiled to South America. Greg Palast's insights into the attorney firings are more compelling.
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2007 : 23:43:49 [Permalink]
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More:
Then there is the Tim Griffin affair I haven't posted much about yet. Here's an NPR story on him and this particular case. ...Their scathing chorus of opinion is especially striking when one considers that all of the federal prosecutors were appointed by President Bush.
Some of the most vivid stories come from Bud Cummins of Arkansas. Cummins describes his replacement, former White House aide Tim Griffin, bragging, "They are going to use the Patriot Act to appoint me."
Cummins wrote, "He said that there was a provision in the Patriot Act that nobody knew about that would enable them to appoint him in a way he could stay in place throughout President Bush's administration with or without Senate confirmation." ...
...To the question "Did you ever receive a warning from the Justice Department that your office's priorities would result in your being asked to resign?" all of the six replied, "No."
The correspondence came out from the House Judiciary Committee, which asked the fired prosecutors written questions after their live testimony earlier this year.
Also Wednesday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy sent out a subpoena demanding that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales hand over any e-mails from White House political adviser Karl Rove about the U.S. attorney firings.
The White House says some of those e-mails may have been deleted, but the Justice Department might have them from an earlier investigation of White House aide Lewis "scooter" Libby.
The subpoena, the first that Leahy has issued in the controversy, gives the attorney general two weeks to deliver the documents. |
That was May 2nd and they haven't been turned over.
But the NPR story led me to this page, with the emails that were turned over in March. They don't help the Bush admin case.
Scroll down to "The Email Trail" for links to all of the ones which were released. You have to read them to believe them, they are that incriminating. And these are mostly the ones talking about what excuses can they make up for the firings. The missing emails are the ones that were illegally routed through the Republican Party website.
These attorneys were fired for some reason the Bush admin won't come clean about. I'd like to know what the reason was. Palast's explanation, like it or not, believe the email story or not, is still plausible and there really aren't many other, if any, explanations being offered.
Of course on May 23rd, we get to hear Monica Goodling testify. For those of you who don't know, she's the born again lawyer from Pat Robertson's Regent School of Law who plead the 5th when asked what she knew about everything. She was then given immunity from prosecution and required to testify. She was one of the 150 attorneys from Robertson's law school with less than stellar qualifications who replaced career prosecutors in Gonzales' department. That all came to light when Goodling was called to testify. Not many had heard of Pat's lawyers for God until then.
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| Edited by - beskeptigal on 05/18/2007 23:45:18 |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 05/19/2007 : 00:08:20 [Permalink]
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There's elections and then again, there's elections! Have Gun, Will Vote
1880s Laredo, Texas weathers election riot between combatants armed with guns and a cannon.
Threats over contested election results are nothing new. In 1880s Laredo, Texas, a local election made two groups hopping mad. How mad? They pulled out guns and started shooting. One group fired a cannon at the other across the town square in the middle of a parade in broad daylight. Read about how voter loyalty was purchased with booze at the Mexican border a century ago, and sigh with relief because Palm Beach octogenarians won't do the same.
Certain persons have and are now threatening the peace of the city... life and property will be insecure on the day of the election... it is the duty of the Council to preserve order at all times within the city limits -Corpus Christi Ranchero, February, 1863
Laredo, Texas, a modest border city by any standard, was a quiet place in the mid-nineteenth century. Citizens were banned from dumping dead animals in public lots. Only one dog per household was allowed. Letting one's hogs run wild in the streets was an offense punishable by a twelve and one-half cent fine. All things considered, it was a dusty, hot, miserable, bucolic place.
That is, except for town elections. Laredo had a venerable tradition of fraudulent democracy solidly in place by the end of the 1800s. In an effort to stuff the ballot boxes and ensure a tidy election, unseemly politicians illegally imported Mexicans across town and across the border for an afternoon of free beer and clandestine voting. Occasionally, members of this fleeting electorate were caught. For example, one hapless Teodoro Gaitlan arrived in town only to be taken aside by a local candidate:
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They were pretty fulsome about it: One of the Benavides brothers' house got shot, narrowly missing the man's wife. He later told a reporter,
We picked up a number of bullets in the house. Here is one which struck within a few inches of her head. I am keeping it and will remold it and return it, through my pistol, to the man who fired it at her.[6] |
And that's one way to get corruption out of public office: Blow the bitch away!
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 05/19/2007 : 09:26:36 [Permalink]
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"Here is one which struck within a few inches of her head. I am keeping it and will remold it and return it, through my pistol, to the man who fired it at her." Or: "I am Reynaldo Benavides. You shot at my wife. Prepare to die."
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 05/19/2007 : 11:21:15 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by HalfMooner
"Here is one which struck within a few inches of her head. I am keeping it and will remold it and return it, through my pistol, to the man who fired it at her." Or: "I am Reynaldo Benavides. You shot at my wife. Prepare to die."
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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| Edited by - filthy on 05/19/2007 11:21:48 |
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Conspiracy to steal 2008 election, (once again)
