Earlier this week, in an attempt to shift attention away from Vice President Cheney’s hunting accident, the right wing attacked former Vice President Al Gore for calling attention to the round-up of Arabs and Muslims that occurred in the days after 9/11. Labeling him “seditious,” Michelle Malkin said Gore “slandered“ America for stating that Arabs had been “indiscriminately rounded up” after 9/11.
On Tuesday, Karl Rove’s White House deputy, Peter Wehner, emailed Gore’s comments on background to reporters urging them to editorialize on the issue. On NBC’s Meet the Press, Tim Russert gave airtime to Paul Gigot, editor of the Wall Street Journal, so he could say this:
I think the remarks were notable. Because I think when you go to a country like that, particularly in the heart of Wahhabi Islam, and say we have indiscriminately rounded up Arabs in this country after 9/11 — first of all, I don’t think that’s true. I don’t remember us doing that.
While the right has been quick to politicize Gore’s remarks, they havenâ’t had the time to do a fact-check. Gore was merely stating what has been reported and well-documented over the past few years:
Even some government officials are worried. In a secret meeting of top Justice Department officials hours after the attacks, then-immigration chief James Ziglar rebuked those in the room for proposing a “roundup” of Arabs and Muslims. “I’m not going to be part of this if we’re going to do things that blatantly violate the law,” Ziglar declared, according to people there. [Knight Ridder, 6/15/03]
The Census Bureau’s decision to give to the Department of Homeland Security data that identified populations of Arab-Americans was the modern-day equivalent of its pinpointing Japanese-American communities when internment camps were opened during World War II, members of an advisory board told the agency’s top officials Tuesday. “This for the Arab-American community is 1942,” said Barry Steinhardt, a civil liberties lawyer and member of the panel, the Decennial Census Advisory Committee. “Thousands of Arab-Americans have been rounded up and deported.” [New York Times, 11/10/04]
83,310: Number of foreign visitors from 24 predominantly Muslim nations who registered with the government after U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft required them to do so. (North Koreans also required to register.)
13,740: Number of those 83,310 who were ordered into deportation proceedings.
0: Number who were publicly charged with terrorism, although officials say a few have terrorism connections. [Chicago Tribune, 11/16/03]
[T]he United States was cited for detaining more than 1,100 people, mostly Arab or Muslim men, as part of an effort to round up potential terrorists. “Only a small number of those in custody were believed to have links to terrorism,” the [Human Rights Watch] report said. [AP, 1/17/02]
More than 1,000 people have already been rounded up for questioning and Attorney General John Ashcroft has made no apology for the aggressive tactics. … But none of the people detained since the attack have been indicted for terrorism. [CBS, 1/8/02]
Al Gore rocks
February 19th, 2006 at 8:03 pmAh, hypocrisy from the GOP? Who would have
February 19th, 2006 at 8:04 pmexpected that?
hear no evil, see no evil — right wallace
February 19th, 2006 at 8:17 pmAny Story that has Rove in it, you know is a LIE.
Friends dont let friends watch Faux
February 19th, 2006 at 8:18 pmit’s not my fault you didn’t read the research provided in the post
February 19th, 2006 at 8:22 pmOn Tuesday, Karl Rove’s White House deputy, Peter Wehner, emailed Gore’s comments on background to reporters urging them to editorialize on the issue. On NBC’s Meet the Press, Tim Russert gave airtime to Paul Gigot, editor of the Wall Street Journal, so he could say this:
WhiteHouse; editoralize this!
MSM Media; YES SIR!
How so is that Journalism? Rove is handing out Job assignments to the press?
HEY PRESS PEOPLE GROW SOME NADS!
February 19th, 2006 at 8:23 pmYou know whats Funny?
Wwallace using the Word Fact.
February 19th, 2006 at 8:24 pmhey wallace you catch any internet terrurists yet?
February 19th, 2006 at 8:25 pmwwallace is a fascist pig who hates America.
February 19th, 2006 at 8:26 pmThere is something about Al Gore that really turns the right on. They must realize their slander worked in the 2000 election, and they love that feeling. And they want to do it again and again. And the press, fully in their lap wanking away, goes along.
February 19th, 2006 at 8:27 pmLook, you believe Your VP and I’ll believe Mine and we’ll all go to work even, OK?
February 19th, 2006 at 8:29 pmI think it is fun to see how mad Gore makes
February 19th, 2006 at 8:32 pmthe wing-nuts.
More power to him.
Oh, and Gore makes great speeches these days.
Thank you! This is extremely important. Gore tells the truth, apologies for America and the wingers call him a traitor.
February 19th, 2006 at 8:34 pmnlacey, I thought apologies were classified.
February 19th, 2006 at 8:35 pmhttp://www.adc.org/index.php?id=2258
February 19th, 2006 at 8:37 pmclearly, wallace is tapped into the Arab American sentiment in the US and knows more about this issue than we all do. I’m guessing he’s from Egypt.
February 19th, 2006 at 8:38 pmWallace Bush LIED all the WAY thru the lat four years.
he has Slandered the Office of President.
Looks, by wallace logic, that Bush has scored about 100 Slanders to Gores 1.
Wallace how many people watched the POTUS? So Bush slandered Himself and the US in front of Millions.
‘
but then again Reagan Called Osama a ‘Freedom Fighter’ Coming from a lying neo-con, if one is called a Slanderer, then in reality they are NOT.
Where are your Freedom Fighters Today wallace? killing Americans?
Isnt what Reagan said then Slanderous of the United States to arm Terrorists then call them Freedom Fighters?
wasnt that JUST really a BIG OLD LIE Wwallace the FREEDOM fighters? So They are republican Terrorists.Right Wwallace?
February 19th, 2006 at 8:40 pmWallace it says Deportation Proceedings.
February 19th, 2006 at 8:42 pmsorry im an idiot.
February 19th, 2006 at 8:43 pmHey Wwallace heres on of yours calling you a Brownshirt.
Are you gonna take that Wwallace?
You better run over to the conservative blogs and start Trolling son, because YOU have alot of Work, in your own party that is.
http://www.counterpunch.com/roberts02182006.html
From Conservatives to Brownshirts
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
Last week’s annual Conservative Political Action Conference signaled the transformation of American conservatism into brownshirtism. A former Justice Department official named Viet Dinh got a standing ovation when he told the CPAC audience that the rule of law mustn’t get in the way of President Bush protecting Americans from Osama bin Laden.
Former Republican congressman Bob Barr, who led the House impeachment of President Bill Clinton, reminded the CPAC audience that our first loyalty is to the US Constitution, not to a leader. The question, Barr said, is not one of disloyalty to Bush, but whether America “will remain a nation subject to, and governed by, the rule of law or the whim of men.”
The CPAC audience answered that they preferred to be governed by Bush. According to Dana Milbanks, a member of the CPAC audience named Richard Sorcinelli loudly booed Barr, declaring: “I can’t believe I’m in a conservative hall listening to him say Bush is off course trying to defend the United States.” A woman in the audience told Barr that the Constitution placed Bush above the law and above non-elected federal judges.
These statements gallop beyond the merely partisan. They express the sentiments of brownshirtism. Our leader uber alles.
Only a few years ago this same group saw Barr as a conservative hero for obtaining Clinton’s impeachment in the House. Obviously, CPAC’s praise for Barr did not derive from Barr’s stand on conservative principle that a president must be held accountable if he violates the law. In Clinton’s case Barr’s principles did not conflict with the blind emotions of the politically partisan conservatives demanding Clinton’s impeachment.
February 19th, 2006 at 8:50 pmcmon wwallace go show them Conservatives your FACTS!
February 19th, 2006 at 8:52 pmSeems as if they need your help.
*me that is
February 19th, 2006 at 8:53 pmIsn’t it obvious that Al Gore scares the crap out of the White House?
February 19th, 2006 at 8:54 pmWhy I could never Impersonate that what cant be identified
February 19th, 2006 at 8:54 pmFact checking the right has become a growth industry…
February 19th, 2006 at 8:56 pmSpeaking of BAR Wwallace Bush never passed the Exam did he?
Actually I think him and Cheney have drunk themselves UNDER the bar
2 DWI BUSH
2 DWI Cheney
yeah thats raising the Bar allright
February 19th, 2006 at 8:56 pmNot to mention Bushs Drunk daughters caught on film..
Hey Wwallace what was that about some Bush kid, peeling out in some girls front yard and breaking into her house after she spurned him?
is that what you mean by raising a Bar?
Or do you mean Jebs Daughter and Rehab? or Jebs Wife?
How about that Wwaallce
yes lets get back to Bush and the Arabs. Wwallace.
Bush and Rummy speak of the Caliphate like some kind of Conspiracy Theory (Muslim Brotherhood) of course thats just to scare people like wallace.
BTW wallace Im a Conservative so you must be a neo-con brownshirt because you DO NOT speak as a Conservative.
February 19th, 2006 at 9:03 pmWall-ass, didn’t I respond to your query, #17? Well?
February 19th, 2006 at 9:05 pmIsn’t wwallace’s blindness interesting?
He sees this:
But he can’t see this:
13,740: Number of those 83,310 who were ordered into deportation proceedings. [Chicago Tribune, 11/16/03]
You could see that he has some form of blindness. Color blindness. Everything is a shade of red to that poor sad little unwanted troll.
February 19th, 2006 at 9:15 pmWallace do you ever use your computer to search the Internet or clink on any links whatsoever?
I wonder if you have ever downloaded and used PDF files. I wonder if you even KNOW about the DOD GAO and other Govt Sites.
Do you ever take a moment to DIG out these reports and READ them for yourself Wallace?
It appears you like to STAY uninformed, intentionally.
February 19th, 2006 at 9:19 pmagreed Spudge, he only sees what he wants.
February 19th, 2006 at 9:20 pmWall-ass here you go.http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/13364132.htm
February 19th, 2006 at 9:27 pmThis is gossipy.
How about some illegal spying from Greenwald:
Ultimately, though, the entire legal debate in the NSA scandal comes down to these few, very clear and straightforward facts: Congress passed a law in 1978 making it a criminal offense to eavesdrop on Americans without judicial oversight. Nobody of any significance ever claimed that that law was unconstitutional. The Administration not only never claimed it was unconstitutional, but Bush expressly asked for changes to the law in the aftermath of 9/11, thereafter praised the law, and misled Congress and the American people into believing that they were complying with the law. In reality, the Administration was secretly breaking the law, and then pleaded with The New York Times not to reveal this. Once caught, the Administration claimed it has the right to break the law and will continue to do so.
February 19th, 2006 at 9:40 pmAn Egyptian cleric arrested during a high- profile federal raid last year on his East Frankford mosque has finally been deported…. Well, Wall -ass?
February 19th, 2006 at 9:43 pmthis is from the Tribune article Spudge referecenced
A plane filled with deportees provides a glimpse into an initiative aimed at men from Islamic nations. Justified in the name of security, it hasn’t yielded a single public charge of terrorism.
wwalace clearly hates America. wwalace is a LYING fascist
February 19th, 2006 at 9:45 pmPIG
Hay, does any one here know about the so called internment camps this bunch has built all over our country.? Will tell you about this source later but just got this conspirecy thing today. If that’s what it is. Supost be enough of them to house and dispose of up to 50 million U.S. citizens. Close to rail lines. Equiped with tanks and sealed buildings.??????? I get some weird stuff sometimes and then again sometimes it pans out to be the truth..Let’s see Martial law.???? How many poor, old and actively against Bushco are there.?….Blessings..Sorry to be off point. On point, Gore is a good man, said before I have met him, smarter than the entire bunch in the white house now.
February 19th, 2006 at 9:47 pm“daDonk is obviously another slow learner, like fly-man and Spudgeboy. LOL”
February 19th, 2006 at 9:49 pmwwalace is a fascist LYING pig who cannot read or refuses to accept FACTS when placed right on his moronic face.
Statements like his above make me beleive he is a 10 year
old - or all right wingers this stupid?
my apologies to 10 year olds everywhere.
February 19th, 2006 at 9:50 pmWhen all else fails the Republicans blame something on Bill Clinton and Al Gore! They need to notice that George Bush and Dick Cheney have been in power for over 5 years now, and all problems belong to them now!
February 19th, 2006 at 9:50 pmYeah #45, I like Gore too, but saying
February 19th, 2006 at 9:51 pmhe is smarter than the entire bunch in
the WH is not a compliment.
I think a colony of slime mold is smarter than the entire
bunch in the WH.
Last time I checked, Al Gore seemed vocal enough (and reasonable enough too) to defend himself from the outlandish insults and slanders hurled by the Republican Noise machine in it’s (their) time of need.
Should Mr. Gore be somehow unwilling or unable to defend himself (ala Mr. Daschle), then I see no reason why We the People would do so.
E Gads! Wasn’t it time wasted enough, supporting men who couldn’t even count the very votes cast to elect them President?
STOP THE MADNESS OF SUPPORTING WET NOODLES TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE!
Start bringing the People’s Democratic Party into the fight against Evil!
PEOPLE I SAY!
February 19th, 2006 at 9:54 pmWhoa, what just happened to all the comments?
February 19th, 2006 at 9:55 pmI see wall ace spins away in here > lol. Bush Junior was given the MBA from Harvard but he NEVER earned it! Dubya is as dumb as block of wood!
February 19th, 2006 at 9:55 pmGood point, afterthought. You’r right. Wall ace since when is it treason to tell the truth. Bush is the one who lies. Don’t know about the degree or lack there of, only know Bush’s daddy baught him his education and he got a c-. daddys still buying his education but he get’s a failing grade now….Blessings and good night.
February 19th, 2006 at 10:02 pmAl Gore reminded the public of what, sadly, happened after 9/11.
Apparently, bringing up what happened, specifically something that the MSM actually spent a good deal of time on, is ’seditious’.
Most of the people were held for awhile and then deported. About zero were terrorists or had ties to terrorists.
That said, I am not quite sure why the wingnuts get so worked up about Al. Al doesn’t have too much of a following anymore (which is too bad).
I think it might be because Al has been finding common ground with Libertarians and Republicans who care about RIGHTS.
I think it was lovely that Barr and Gore were in the same room agreeing on the same - big - thing recently. It shows how alienated Bush is.
It also shows that the Repubs who back this crap don’t care about civil liberteries. I’d imagine part of it is because the victims were muslims - the ‘It won’t happen to me’ excuse. It can and through the recent NSA revelations it apparently does.
Al is a great guy. I really, really wish he had won in 2000 (won as in avoided the Florida fraud). It’s unfortunate that he’s a thinker and Bush - well -isn’t much of one.
Does anyone else find it amusing that Bush looks to Churchill and Wilson for role models? He’s nowhere near Churchill or Wilson. Wilson couldn’t get the UN passed through Congress - Bush couldn’t get Bolton passed through Congress.
Yes, Katy, I post on other threads when I feel like it. I’m not just a Dubai Ports World poster:)
February 19th, 2006 at 10:11 pmSpudge or others:
Which alias is wwallace using now? Or was his comment deleted? I’m not seeing what was referenced.
Seeing that he finds zero common ground it’s difficult to understand why he tries so hard. I tried a little on DPW just because I like TP enough to post heavily in a thread that interests me. That interest had nothing to do with some immature desire to be TP’s best troll.
Oh, KATY: The reason I post on TP is because C and L, Eschaton, and - to a degree - ameriblog, have sort of weak discussions. And they’re a bit too overcrowded.
February 19th, 2006 at 10:17 pmPost # 17
Here you go Wallace, I couldn’t find just one, how about 511 and don’t let the facts confuse you….
Check out the link if you dare
Shortly after September 11, 2001, the “Ashcroft Raids†occured, the secret detention and deportation of up a thousand or more Arab or Muslim men. Some were held for months, even as long as one year, without access to lawyers and in some cases, to families. Ashcroft stated he intended to jail every terrorist he could find, and that net included thousands of Muslim noncitizens. What were the results of this dragnet? Not a single person charged with involvement in the September 11 attacks, and four indicted on charges of support for terrorism, with none of the indictments including any specific violent acts. The Justice Department now admits that at least 766 persons were detained on “special interest†charges after September 11 and held incommunicado; of these, 511 have been deported. The Justice Department claims that among those deported were some who could have been—but have not been—charged with terrorism offenses. This in turn has led to reported speculation that one purpose of the mass detention policy was the recruitment of intelligence agents (www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1052440755868).
February 19th, 2006 at 10:21 pmJames,
He was posting as “wal lace.” I no longer see the posts, so I am happy.
February 19th, 2006 at 10:29 pmSpudge:
Thought I wasn’t seeing very well - which I’m not thanks to a lovely piece of road debris a car shot into my eye.
It seems like Faiz, Judd, Amanda, etc are doing a good job keeping the threads on topic.
Remember when wallace was really going?:) Yah, he basically derailed the entire thread.
I know this might seem a little weird, but does anyone else think that when you click on the author’s name, say ‘Judd’ that you should get a bio - at least - instead of just the author’s posts? I don’t know, it’d be nice to know the people who do the posting in a less abstract way.
February 19th, 2006 at 10:42 pmHey James,
If you click on the “About Think Progress” bar on the right, you’ll see a little more about each author. The page is a work in progress. Our bios need work and I’m not a huge fan of the pictures. But anyway, it’s something.
February 19th, 2006 at 10:52 pmI am glad that Judd removed the new “wall ace” but mean I-Right-I is far worse on here at times! Best not to let silly words upset everybody, so take it like “water off a duck’s back”! Words cannot harm you!
February 19th, 2006 at 10:53 pmMatalin is growing more defensive (as well as offensive) as her leader is more offensive (he has no defense).
February 19th, 2006 at 11:00 pmGigot was in his usual lying bastard mode. To claim that we never did what we all KNOW was done is disingenuous, and he took advantage of the short-term memory of the public, many of whom cannot recall the news of last week much less the stories in the weeks following 9/11.
As usual, no challenge from Russert. He doesn’t have a lot of trouble challenging on matters that don’t have a lot of national significance, but on serious matters, matters of policy et al, he simply carries water for the White House.
Bottom line. Gore should not have made any speech of this kind outside of the U.S.
It only gives the rigth-wing the means to attack him and us.
It was a bad idea politically. That is why Rove is so successful, we have politicians who do stupid things like this, or call for a filibuster when on Alps slopes skiing.
Dumb-ass moves. Why didn’t Gore go to Detriot to give the speech? Why didn’t Kerry ask for a filibuster on the Senate floor? Dumb and dumber.
February 19th, 2006 at 11:20 pmhttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/2/19/231055/508
February 19th, 2006 at 11:36 pmYou know this is all wag the dog bs that we all fall for over and over again.Read the article about the extra fifty million bush signed for faith based projects on BuzzFlash. Meanwhile uninjured cheney was twisting arms to cover up the snoop investigation over at the Senate.They’re sneaky bastards and you can’t take your eyes off them for a minute. Al Gore does rock,he needs more exposure but the wimpy Dems in office are far too something to back him. I couldn’t think of an apporpriate word for them but it’s not public minded.They have turned their backs on Woodward’s empty chair.
February 20th, 2006 at 12:34 amjust catching up, after watching “my shows”, walking the dog,
February 20th, 2006 at 12:39 amgathering up garbage for pickup in a.m…….
g’nite all…g’nite james…later…
I’m sorry it was five hundred million.
February 20th, 2006 at 12:39 amCaimpaigners ask courts to rule Iraq war a ‘crime of agression’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ news/ main.jhtml?xml=/ news/ 2006/ 02/ 20/ nirq20.xml&sSheet=/ news/ 2006/ 02/ 20/ ixhome.html
This might make Tony Blair a wee bit nervous, wonder what international implications it might have. Maybe we could get George Bush to take his next six week vacation in jolly old England, its so nice this time of year.
February 20th, 2006 at 12:52 amRove has been telling Republicans that he has declared war on the press, so the press needs to declare war on him too!
February 20th, 2006 at 1:02 amSenior Lawyer at Pentagon Broke Ranks on Detainees
http://www.nytimes.com/ 2006/ 02/ 20/ politics/ 20mora.html?hp&ex=1140498000&en=d26f27ea5c675f64&ei=5094&partner=homepage
One of the Pentagon’s top civilian lawyers repeatedly challenged the Bush administration’s policy on the coercive interrogation of terror suspects, arguing that such practices violated the law, verged on torture and could ultimately expose senior officials to prosecution, a newly disclosed document shows.
It just keeps coming and coming and this is not Al Gore but Alberto J. Mora, a Republican appointee who retired last month after more than four years as general counsel of the Navy, time for the swiftboating to begin.
February 20th, 2006 at 1:17 amJudd,
Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn’t noticed it.
TP’s the place to be for sure. Actually I really like the work you all do.
February 20th, 2006 at 1:34 amHey everybody, Marie posted this link in another thread, but this is potentially huge news, so I am reposting it here.
Washington Post
February 20, 2006
White House Working to Avoid Wiretap Probe
[Sen. Olympia J.] Snowe contacted fellow committee epublican
Chuck Hagel (Neb.), who also had voiced concerns about the program. They arranged a three-way phone conversation with Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.).
Until then, Roberts apparently thought he had the votes to defeat Rockefeller’s motion in the committee, which Republicans control nine to seven, the sources said. But Snowe and Hagel told the chairman that if [John D. Rockefeller] called up the motion, they would support it, assuring its passage, the sources said.
Rockefeller Wiretap Inquiry Motion May Pass
February 20th, 2006 at 1:40 amEasyRider
Why didn’t Gore go to Detriot to give the speech?
Gore gave a much more detailed speech about this issue here at home.
I guess you didn’t listen.
The right-wingers ignored it. And now they pretend these things didn’t even happen.
—
And the treatment of immigrants was probably the worst example. This mass mistreatment actually hurt our security in a number of important ways.
But first, let’s be clear about what happened: this was little more than a cheap and cruel political stunt by John Ashcroft. More than 99% of the mostly Arab-background men who were rounded up had merely overstayed their visas or committed some other minor offense as they tried to pursue the American dream just like most immigrants. But they were used as extras in the Administration’s effort to give the impression that they had caught a large number of bad guys. And many of them were treated horribly and abusively.
Consider this example reported in depth by Anthony Lewis:
“Anser Mehmood, a Pakistani who had overstayed his visa, was arrested in New York on October 3, 2001. The next day he was briefly questioned by FBI agents, who said they had no further interest in him. Then he was shackled in handcuffs, leg irons, and a belly chain and taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Guards there put two more sets of handcuffs on him and another set of leg irons. One threw Mehmood against a wall. The guards forced him to run down a long ramp, the irons cutting into his wrists and ankles. The physical abuse was mixed with verbal taunts.
“After two weeks Mehmood was allowed to make a telephone call to his wife. She was not at home and Mehmood was told that he would have to wait six weeks to try again. He first saw her, on a visit, three months after his arrest. All that time he was kept in a windowless cell, in solitary confinement, with two overhead fluorescent lights on all the time. In the end he was charged with using an invalid Social Security card. He was deported in May 2002, nearly eight months after his arrest.
The faith tradition I share with Ashcroft includes this teaching from Jesus: “whatsoever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me.”
And make no mistake: the disgraceful treatment suffered by many of these vulnerable immigrants at the hands of the administration has created deep resentments and hurt the cooperation desperately needed from immigrant communities in the U.S.and from the Security Services of other countries.
Second, these gross violations of their rights have seriously damaged U.S. moral authority and goodwill around the world, and delegitimized U.S.efforts to continue promoting Human Rights around the world. As one analyst put it, “We used to set the standard; now we have lowered the bar.” And our moral authority is, after all, our greatest source of enduring strength in the world.
February 20th, 2006 at 4:12 am—
Source
Well Big Al can atleast go to the Middle east and open a dialogue as the anti-bush, someone has to begin doing that somewhere and it seems to me he’s the guy,the white House is insular and has a siege mentality. Its not easy to be them now I am sure of it, everything that they touch turns to sand and blows in the wind.
February 20th, 2006 at 5:57 amAl Gore talked about the lock box he would make of Social Security.
Bush wnated it looted during Enron and the scandals the ensued.
Al gore spoke of global warming and the environmnet
Bushies boo-hooed it, two days ago the ice in Greenland was reported to be melting much faster than anyone calculated before, as NYC had its largets blizzard ever.
The other differneces between Al gore and the Bush Cheney crowd?
Al Gore went to viet nam.
When Gore was the veep?
the economy was in surplus.
Bush economy? Watch us re-evalute the dollar or raise the debt limit?
The world would shudder if the dollar were to be re-valued, that aint gonna happen, so it will be to raise the debt limit.
Whats that spell? More borrowing our way out of debt for this and generations yet to come to shoulder the yoke of mismanagement by this republican crowd who are damge control 24-7?
the blind arrogance and constant propoganda coming out of the republican machine is so far out of the real world its stunning, could the seaman in the crows nest of the Titanic have seen the looming disaster any clearer than Gore?
If they’re going to lock people up cuz they think(!) these Arab-Americans may be ‘terrorists’, maybe they should also give a lethal injection to the thief-in-chief George W. Bush. I think(!!!) he’s done more than he needed to deserve it. I also think Rove, Cheney, Bush, Rice and the whole shady bunch are liars so lock ‘m up, far far away! We’ll release them when we’re sure they haven’t lied!
February 20th, 2006 at 6:40 amWell I am glad someone isnt forgetting…
R2K
February 20th, 2006 at 7:55 am#63
February 20th, 2006 at 8:58 amThat whole comment shouldn’t have been blockquoted — only the first sentence.
February 20th, 2006 at 8:59 am#62 Spudgeboy
February 20th, 2006 at 9:01 amThanks for doing the follow up post.
#
Hay, does any one here know about the so called internment camps this bunch has built all over our country.? Will tell you about this source later but just got this conspirecy thing today. If that’s what it is. Supost be enough of them to house and dispose of up to 50 million U.S. citizens. Close to rail lines. Equiped with tanks and sealed buildings.??????? I get some weird stuff sometimes and then again sometimes it pans out to be the truth..Let’s see Martial law.???? How many poor, old and actively against Bushco are there.?….Blessings..Sorry to be off point. On point, Gore is a good man, said before I have met him, smarter than the entire bunch in the white house now.
Comment by Sharon Cox — February 19, 2006 @ 9:47 pm
Yes Sharon it can be found under the ‘REX84′
February 20th, 2006 at 9:02 amhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex_84
#70 mr ho
February 20th, 2006 at 9:17 amI thought the link was going to reference Orwell’s 1984, but I see it was the actual year of this program.
A few years ago, I read a novel based on fact about internment camps set up in Maine where we kept Germans during and post WWII.
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides/brothers_blood.asp
My memory of the story is vague now, but the fact that these camps existed remains firmly in my memory bank.
I think most Americans are aware of the Japanese camps.
To learn that this was continuing to be planned in 1984 is chilling. When Bush declares martial law, they will be all set.
Hey everybody, I’m back. My agent, George Bush, just released another one of my tapes.
See y’all in the funny papers.
http://tinyurl.com/qy4r6
February 20th, 2006 at 9:18 am#
#70 mr ho
I thought the link was going to reference Orwell’s 1984, but I see it was the actual year of this program.
A few years ago, I read a novel based on fact about internment camps set up in Maine where we kept Germans during and post WWII.
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides/brothers_blood.asp
My memory of the story is vague now, but the fact that these camps existed remains firmly in my memory bank.
I think most Americans are aware of the Japanese camps.
To learn that this was continuing to be planned in 1984 is chilling. When Bush declares martial law, they will be all set.
Comment by Marie — February 20, 2006 @ 9:17 am
The parallels are still interesting Given Orwells Stature within the Elitist Society of the Martinists. Orwell likely had inside knowledge
Oranges and lemons
February 20th, 2006 at 9:37 amsay the bells of St Clemens
The wingnuts want to know if Gore was paid by the sponsors to give that speech.
February 20th, 2006 at 9:52 amLet see here, from what I’ve read the people who were deported were all in violation of immigration law. How does that compare to WWII internment camps? This editorial doesn’t even touch on immigration violations. It seems to assume that if you’re not proven a terrorist, you can overstay your visa. That’s the way it used to be. Remember what happened?
Then you think that any reporting of Gore’s speech is a distraction from Cheney’s accident this weekend? If Gore really did incite additional hatred against the U.S., how many people are potentially affected? Compare that to the number affected by Cheney’s hunting accident. If anything, the Cheney story is a distraction from the Gore story. Really people, get some perspective! Your hatred (self-documented here in the comments) is blinding!
February 20th, 2006 at 10:02 amIf they don’t remember then they should do a little fact-checking before shooting off their mouths about whether or not it is true.
February 20th, 2006 at 10:05 amIf they don’t remember then they should do a little fact-checking before shooting off their mouths about whether or not it is true.
Comment by Rosencrantz
It doesn’t matter if it’s true. The idea of Al Gore gong to a volatile nation of head choppers shooting off his mouth about the alleged mistreatment of their fellow throat slitters is a slimy craven thing for any American to do let alone a once presidential candidate.
February 20th, 2006 at 10:21 amThe wingnuts want to know if Gore was paid by the sponsors to give that speech.
Comment by skinnyfreak
He was paid by someone wasn’t he?
February 20th, 2006 at 10:23 am“Karl Rove’s White House deputy, Peter Wehner, emailed Gore’s comments on background to reporters urging them to editorialize on the issue. On NBC’s Meet the Press, Tim Russert”
Karl Rove gives reporters background and they just regurgitate them without any fact checking… !
And this is independent professional journalism?
Why do we even bother to watch them, Russert and those guys are killing their own profession.
February 20th, 2006 at 10:24 amKarl Rove gives reporters background and they just regurgitate them without any fact checking… !
Jack, have you been reading? I haven’t read much at all about Gore. I’ve read almost non-stop about Cheney! Your favored story WON in the media, and you’re claiming right-wing bias?!?! Must the media carry ONLY stories from your side before you’re satisfied?
February 20th, 2006 at 10:42 amTo me, the Cheney story rates right up there with Clinton’s BJ. It’s a whole lot of ado about very little. So Cheney got drunk and damned near shot someone to death–in the grand scheme of things, it’s merely a blip. Same with Clinton’s BJ–only in this case, the right wing made sure the story kept going (and going, and going) while spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars investigating it.
February 20th, 2006 at 10:50 amHOW MUCH BLOODY LONGER IS THIS WAR ON TERROR GOING ON THERS ABSOLUTELY NO NEED FOR IT..
February 20th, 2006 at 11:21 amrelease Gauntamamo inmates
get out of Iraq
STAY AT HOME AND LEAVE THE WORLD TO GET ON WITHOUT YOU ARSEHOLES
Faiz was fact checked and shown to be a liar just like Al Gore.
February 20th, 2006 at 11:43 amThe Las Vegas Review Journal ran an editorial which said essentially we agree with what Al Gore said, but are horrified that Al Gore said it.
This is nothing but an irrational hate of “liberals” it doesn’t matter what the reason. Al Gore could say the sky is blue and they would react with shock and horror that he would slander America that way.
February 20th, 2006 at 11:45 amI hope the wing nuts do go into full smear mode. If we’re not ready for it by now, we never will be.
February 20th, 2006 at 11:47 am#81
Any evidence that Cheney was drunk?
February 20th, 2006 at 12:45 pmThank’s Mr Ho, I had not seen that page. Remember the Iran Contra stuff now. What I got was from a group about what’s going on now and all the states affected…..Blessings
February 20th, 2006 at 12:50 pmComon’ people,can’t you see thst this is outright instigation, to haul out a story that is four years old to compare the current vp to the vp from better days?Al was honest,the Saudis are our “friends”.Sure he was using the truth to smear the reactions of the White House to the 911 attacks after the US proclaimed that seventeen of the nineteen were Saudis,how much time was spent trying to identify Arab DNA from body parts in the wreckage?How sucessful was that?How expensive was that?This whole bush/neocon adventure has been nothing but lies from the outset.Don’t lose focus,keep working to impeach and convict this regieme who have screwed with my childrens futures.The forest is the trees.
February 20th, 2006 at 12:55 pm#86 Any evidence of WMD’s
February 20th, 2006 at 1:04 pmAl Gore won the election in 2000, but the press wanted Dubya to be president, so they spun for him! WE are all suffering now for allowing criminals to take over in DC!
February 20th, 2006 at 1:21 pm#89
The CIA, MI6, and the U.N. said there was.
February 20th, 2006 at 1:30 pm#90 - Jay Randal,
February 20th, 2006 at 1:31 pmAl Gore won the vote in 2000, but George Bush won the election by a margin of 5 to 4 in a court decision.
#91 - Tracy,
February 20th, 2006 at 1:33 pmWhat are you smoking today? It must be pretty potent stuff!
Judd, this is clearly a post from wwallace can you delete it? Thanks.
February 20th, 2006 at 1:47 pmYes WaltTheMan the Supreme Court got the call from Bush Senior to give the presidency to his son or those 5 justices would sleep with the fishes! Bush clan knew that 5 justices were on their side and the other 4 did NOT matter!
February 20th, 2006 at 1:48 pmBush mafia I should say > lol.
February 20th, 2006 at 1:49 pm““Thousands of Arab-Americans have been rounded up and deported.—
If you get deported you are not an “Arab-American”….correct? Who is Barry Steinhardt trying to fool?
February 20th, 2006 at 1:56 pm#91 Isn’t evidence fact-based? Or do you still believe in Powell’s Aluminum rods, attempted Niger Uranium purchases and ties between Iraq and Al-Qaida?
February 20th, 2006 at 1:58 pmNo one is surprised Spudgeboy is an opponent of free speech. Fascist.
February 20th, 2006 at 1:59 pmThis is all after the fact. If action is taken based upon the evidence presented at the time by your intelligence sources, then….
February 20th, 2006 at 2:07 pmSpudge_Boy just doesn’t think that our forum should be prowled by a stalker. Everybody else is free to post whatever they like.
February 20th, 2006 at 2:18 pmfrom Rolling Stone 2001
the lies and deception from the right goes on and on and on and on…
February 20th, 2006 at 2:21 pmace the wwallace > Judd will notice soon that you are back on here posting!
February 20th, 2006 at 2:37 pm#86–no direct evidence that the Dick was drunk, but the fact that they did everything in their power to keep any law enforcement officials away from the Dick for a day after the event just makes it mighty suspicious–as did the conflicting statements about whether there was “a beer” or not during lunch before the shooting…
But whatever the case, Cheney shooting some rich old codger during a “hunting” event at a republican retreat is on the same order as Clinton’s BJ–ie., not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But I’ll bet my old pair of roller skates that we’re not going to spend tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money investigating The Dick’s crappy shooting.
February 20th, 2006 at 2:52 pmany evidence cheney was NOT drunk?
February 20th, 2006 at 3:23 pmthe lies and deception from the right goes on and on and on and on…
Comment by Nat
But not as deep and the lies and deception from the right goes on and on and on and on…
Comment by Nat
But not as deep and extravigantly treasonous as the lies and deception of the Filthy Left.
February 20th, 2006 at 3:36 pmextravagantly treasonous as the lies and deception of the Filthy Left.
You who hate Republicans seem to be throwing anything to see if it sticks. Election 2000, WMDs, unqualified charges of “lies and deception”, etc. The issue of this editorial is Gore’s and Cheney’s exploits last weekend. Focus! You’re muddling the current issue with everything else you hate so much.
Why is Gore’s speech so mundane to you, while Cheney’s hunting accident should be FRONT PAGE NEWS for the SECOND WEEK now?
February 20th, 2006 at 3:54 pm#104
“no direct evidence that the Dick was drunk…”
The is no evidence…direct OR indirect. There is only speculation and wishful thinking on behalf of those who hoped Cheney was drunk and Whittington would have died.
“But I’ll bet my old pair of roller skates that we’re not going to spend tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money investigating The Dick’s crappy shooting.”
But they are spending millions of dollars trying to implicate Rove and Cheney about a irrelevant agent named Valerie Plame who posed with her husband in Vanity Fair.
February 20th, 2006 at 4:15 pmTracy, you mean the irrelevant CIA agent who was working on irrelevant Iran at the time?
Please remind me again–how many millions of our hard-earned money was spent on investigating Bill Clinton’s zipper?
February 20th, 2006 at 4:24 pm107 - “You who hate Republicans…” = YOUR meme…
what we hate is neoCON policies that kill and destroy.
“…everything else you hate so much.”
it’s mind boggling that EVERYONE doesn’t hate what those policies have done to our country…
besides, it seems YOU, seth, are the one who brings up the cheney “exploit” more times that anyone, except maybe tracy…
February 20th, 2006 at 4:50 pmYou can dismiss most of Clinton’s escapades with a big so what(except when the intelligence community pushed their radical agenda) but the current crop of issues goes way beyond any other plot or corrupt deal in recent memory.We will be back,very soon,deja vu, to it’s the economy,stupid! Much less the horrors this administration has unleashed on the world in your names.Those who support such vile policy have no morals,values or brains.
February 20th, 2006 at 4:55 pmBut we won’t know that ever, because the sheriff was called at 6:30Pm on Saturday and told to go interview Cheney at 8:00AM on Sunday.
Not “investigate”, “interview”.
If you or I shot somebody we would be talking to the cops the minute it happened and don’t pretend that we wouldn’t.
And nobody here wanted Whittingotn to die. You have a sick mind.
February 20th, 2006 at 5:04 pmNot only was Valerie Plame under cover, but she was also investigating Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Get your facts straight.
February 20th, 2006 at 5:07 pmBesides, wasn’t it Kenneth Starr who spent $60 million on a blow job? All the while turning Washington into a three ring circus.
Yeah you got your priorities straight.
February 20th, 2006 at 5:10 pmI think some people owe him an apology.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/ regions/ americas…5256D39006ABEC4
http://web.amnesty.org/ library/ Index/ engAM…NTRIES\USA
Excerpt:
AI Index: AMR 51/044/2002 14 March 2002
United States of America
Amnesty International’s concerns regarding post September 11 detentions in the USA
1. INTRODUCTION: SUMMARY OF AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL’S CONCERNS
In the two months following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, more than 1,200 non-US nationals were taken into custody in the USA, in nationwide sweeps for possible suspects. Partial data released by the government last November revealed that most were men of Arab or South Asian origin detained for immigration violations. Another 100 or so were charged with criminal offences, none directly relating to the events of 11 September.
Six months on, some 300 people arrested in the post September 11 (post 9.11) sweeps are believed to remain in the custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS);(1) an unknown number of others have been deported or released on bail, sometimes after months in custody. This report examines the circumstances of these detentions, following an earlier Memorandum Amnesty International (AI) submitted to the US Government in November 2001 in which AI raised concern about reports of incommunicado detention, harsh custody conditions and a lack of public information on those held.(2)
There continues to be a disturbing level of secrecy surrounding the detentions, which has made it difficult to monitor the situation. To date, the government has provided only limited data, which includes neither the names nor the places of detention of those held in post 9.11 INS custody, and immigration proceedings in many such cases have been ordered closed to public scrutiny. However, AI has gathered information from various sources, including a recent visit to two jails identified as housing detainees and extensive interviews with attorneys, detainees, relatives and former detainees.
Amnesty International’s findings confirm many of the organization’s earlier concerns and suggest that a significant number of detainees continue to be deprived of certain basic rights guaranteed under international law. These include the right to humane treatment, as well as rights which are essential to protection from arbitrary detention, such as the right of anyone deprived of their liberty to be informed of the reasons for the detention; to be able to challenge the lawfulness of the detention; to have prompt access to and assistance from a lawyer; and to the presumption of innocence.
According to immigration attorneys, many post 9.11 detainees have been charged with routine visa violations for which they would not normally be detained. While technically in INS custody, some have been held for weeks or months pending security ”clearance” by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a process shrouded in secrecy. Lack of information given to detainees or their attorneys as to why they are being held has made it difficult for them effectively to challenge their detention.
February 20th, 2006 at 5:20 pm~~~~~~~
The Rw hatemongers are also doing overtime in lying about why he was there. They are trying to make people believe he just decided one day to pack his bags and go to Saudi Arabia to badmouth America. It is misrepresentative and basically hateful. He was there as a speaker in an international economic forum with over twenty five other Americans and businessmen and political speakers from all over the world, including former German Chancellor Shroeder, and the current President of Ireland. The fact aht they need to lie about it and are all falling over themselves to still push this is actually embarrassing, because none of them more than likely even know what was said or the context in which was said. Of course, that never stopped a RW mouthpiece from making an a** of themselves.
#109
Thanks for proving my point! The fact that we now know that Plame was part of an operation tracking the distribution and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction technology to and from Iran, according to current and former intelligence officials, proves that what SHE was working on couldn’t have been that important, or the CIA officials wouldn’t have revealed WHAT she was working on. That would have further potentially dangerous consequences in exposing other “agents”, even after her identity was revealed. I think that the CIA bosses would have told everyone to “be quiet”, especially when it came to tracking nuclear technology proliferation and after one of their own was outed…don’t you?
http://rawstory.com/ news/ 2005/ Outed_CIA_officer_was_working_on_0213.html
February 20th, 2006 at 5:30 pm#115
Are you an American? If so, Gore ignorantly bad mouthing your own country on foreign soil doesn’t bother you especially when he didn’t present any collaborated facts?
“Gore told the largely Saudi audience, many of them educated at U.S. universities, that Arabs in the United States had been “indiscriminately rounded up, often on minor charges of overstaying a visa or not having a green card in proper order, and held in conditions that were just unforgivable.”
http://www.breitbart.com/ news/ 2006/ 02/ 12/ D8FNUKEO0.html
What conditions was he aware of when it came to holding these illegals aliens? Where is his evidence of the “unforgiveable” conditions in which these people were being held?
February 20th, 2006 at 6:22 pmKaty:
17. “Republican terrorists”
-wwallace
39. “When all else fails the Republicans blame something on Bill Clinton and Al Gore! They need to notice that George Bush and Dick Cheney have been in power for over 5 years now, and all problems belong to them now!”
-Jay Randal
41. “…Republican noise machine…”
-Dem02020
45. “It also shows that the Repubs who back this crap…”
-James
Those are quotes from the top less-than-half of these comments. Yours was the very first mention of neo-cons. This group hates Republicans…blindly.
You yourself asked, “any evidence cheney was NOT drunk?” Does this make sense under our rule of law? Does that matter to you? Does hatred supercede reason?
Want to know where Cheney was first referenced? THE FIRST SENTENCE OF THIS EDITORIAL! The argument of this editorial is that any mention of Gore’s speech is a distraction from the MUUUUUUUUCH more important issue of Cheney’s hunting accident. I’m trying to figure out how anybody justifies that. The editorial didn’t do it. The commenters here aren’t doing it. Maybe I should look elsewhere, because nobody is even trying here. This is mainly a playground for bashing Republicans. That’s not nearly what I would call “thinking progress”.
February 20th, 2006 at 6:40 pmFrom Jan:
“Detained for immigration violations” is far from being “rounded up indiscriminately”. Gore, at best, misrepresented the U.S.’s actions while visiting a land where his words would be used against us to inspire further terrorism. I’m not even questioning his motives here. I’m just pointing out the consequences of his actions and wondering how this isn’t newsworthy?
And Jan, I haven’t heard anybody lie about why Gore was there. Please give examples. Why he was there is immaterial to what he said. It was apparently a perfectly legit conference and he was a perfectly legit choice for speaker, but he used those few minutes of facetime to say things against this country that will harm us. That is the crux of the problem, and it’s a much bigger problem than Cheney shooting someone in a hunting accident.
February 20th, 2006 at 7:01 pm#118 - Seth,
February 20th, 2006 at 7:17 pmWe are discussing the difference between republicans and democrats. The difference is quite simple.
Republicans base their policies in the foundation of those we refer to as Tories from the Revolutionary period. Democrats are based on the ideals of the Founding Fathers.
I am so happy Al Gore was not allowed to steal the election. He is a terrible man and every person who supported him should hang their head in shame. To spread such harsh propoganda with so little factual basics is treason.
Gore pandering to the Muslims in Saudi Arabia should be a shock to NO ONE. Gore, like both Bush and Clinton is in bed with these fools. But most damning for the left, you hateful assholes are too dumb to realize how politically toxic these comments are.
February 20th, 2006 at 7:21 pmSeth - don’t talk sense to them. Gore could run in 2008 and with the help of the lunatics on this site, he could get the nomination!!! We already have a theme to swift boat him with - and in his own words….
February 20th, 2006 at 7:27 pmOh boy now Gore is in bed with Muslims according to the Bush lovers > lol. When will the Bushites notice that King George is in bed with Saudi trash and selling our ports to other Arabic pals of his?
February 20th, 2006 at 7:28 pm#123 - yes Jay and Gore is cut from the same cloth. Except Bush doesn’t have the tin ear Gore does on politics. Gore is a moron, but so are most of his enablers.
February 20th, 2006 at 7:34 pmseth - sounds like you are purposefully mistaking anger for hate;
damn right there’s anger here, justifiable anger…
” Does hatred supercede reason?”- seems to for you…
February 20th, 2006 at 7:43 pmhere you go seth:
February 20th, 2006 at 7:45 pmhttp://www.commondreams.org/views06/0219-20.htm
“What it Means to be a Republican”
OH, SO NOW THE SAUDIS ARE NOT OUR BEST BUDDIES. YOU BETTER TELL THAT TO GEORGE W BUSH.
February 20th, 2006 at 7:54 pmIn #124, Gore is a Liar said:
February 20th, 2006 at 8:06 pm#123 - yes Jay and Gore is cut from the same cloth. Except Bush doesn’t have the tin ear Gore does on politics. Gore is a moron, but so are most of his enablers.â€
Translated - Bush does not have an ear (tin or otherwise) on politics and Bush is a sub-moron since his intellect is to Gore’s is directly proportional as an amoeba is to Einstein’s.
What a stupid remark “Plame posed with her husband on Vanity Fair” — that was AFTER her cover was blown and she was of no value as an agent any more. You contrive your own theories in order to explain the treason by your people in power. Unless they destroy us all with their recklessness, they won’t be in power much longer - then you will lose some of your bluster.
February 20th, 2006 at 8:20 pmAnd how much did Ken Starr (Mr. Ethics, who recently faked letters to jurors) spend investigating Clinton’s zipper?
Talk about irrelevancy — you don’t have a leg to stand on; the moron in chief has set new records for lowest presidency.
Your people jeopardized the investigation of weapons proliferation, jeopardized an agent working on the question of WMD in Iran, jeopardized our security by selling six ports to a foreign government and you think you have a legitimate complaint here!
#120 - WaltTheMan
Not in these comments is such a difference being discussed. I’ve read all the comments and have seen very little of such insight. Since this is my first visit to this site, I understand that this editorial and it’s comments may be unrepresentative.
I disagree with your analysis of the party differences, but I would be interested in hearing concrete comparisons. Honestely, though, I don’t expect to get that from anyone here, with you as the most probable exception. Besides, that’s not my purpose for being here. I’m trying to understand the rationale behind the editorial.
February 20th, 2006 at 8:56 pmI know anger. I have anger. This is not anger.
How have I expressed hatred here? Your zinger is just immature if you can’t support it.
February 20th, 2006 at 9:07 pmI happen to like Al Gore, so if you think me and him are pals, then thanks for the compliment >I would vote for Gore again in 2008, but not Hillary Clinton since she and Bill hang out with Bush Senior a lot! Down with the Bush mafia!
February 20th, 2006 at 9:21 pmFirst day at the DoJ on the job trolling? How much you get paid?
First you have to pick a side. Are the Saudis our friends or enemies? Make a choice, stick to it and we will go from there.
February 20th, 2006 at 10:13 pmThe UN human rights director released the information that the US was still torturing to death 1000 Iraqis a month.How’s that for damaging this country’s image.All these Muslim riots are instigated by those who know that the high unemployment in those places will allow for a big turnout.Our foriegn policy is the only thing we have to blame for most of the world’s troubles.And don’t forget that this all started with the unconditional support of Israel over the Palestinians.Can you say USS Liberty?
February 20th, 2006 at 10:15 pmParanoia doesn’t help your case either.
February 20th, 2006 at 11:11 pmThat’s a pretty astonishing claim. Do you have anything to back it up? I couldn’t find it on Google News.
If this truly was reported and turns out to be false (as I STRONGLY SUSPECT it would), would anybody here be able to say that the false report would cause immense harm to the U.S. WITHOUT blaming the Bush administration somehow?
February 20th, 2006 at 11:23 pm#130 - Seth,
February 20th, 2006 at 11:48 pmRead ‘Mein Kempf’. It’s an eye opener.
WaltTheMan, you’re not really going to compare Bush to Hitler, are you?
If we have to read all of each other’s recommended literature just to dialogue, then we really have no practical way to communicate. The barrier between our belief systems is impenetrable.
February 21st, 2006 at 12:01 am#138 - Seth,
February 21st, 2006 at 12:55 amNo, I would never want to insult Hitler! He was a kinder gentler man.
The wing nuts always count on the small brains and short memories of the indoctrinated, as well as the flow of the propaganda machine to keep the constant lies and disinformation going. They are very well aware of what they did to Muslims after 9/11; my guess is they are still doing it in one form or another. As for Al Gore, who was elected president, not appointed, they hate him because they know that: most Americans stil respect him as well as Bill Clinton; he has already beaten them and can do so again. I have wished more times than I can say that HE had run again in 2004 instead of Kerry; in a non-fixed election, he would have won hands down and the margin would have been high enough that they wouldn’t have been able to get away with fixing it. Republicans will always hate ANYONE who tells the truth, since that is one quality that they seem to lack almost to a man (and woman)! GO AL!!!
February 21st, 2006 at 1:26 amThe Times of Malta.Retiring dude is Maltese.Monday’s paper.
February 21st, 2006 at 8:54 amI’ve heard this EXACT same argument from the right about leftist “wing-nuts”. It’s elitist no matter which side it coms from.
In my opinion, Al Gore is now unelectable and has chosen to burn out rather than fade away. But there’s burning out with dignity, and then there’s what Gore is doing.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:43 amI couldn’t find it on their websitee. Are you sure you want to put as much faith in it as you are?
February 21st, 2006 at 9:47 am#129
Do you have a clue why she pose in Vanity Fair? D.C. stardom and spotlights. Even if Plame’s cover had been blown there is many reason’s that you, as a former CIA agent, STILL don’t catapult yourself into the public eye by giving a protracted interview to a pop culture magazine and you sure don’t ALLOW yourself to be photographed, even if you think you are fooling everyone by wearing super secret sungasses. Other agents in the field might be put at risk by you spilling your personal AND professional information.
http://www.jimgilliam.com/ 2004/ 01/ vanity_fairs_profile_on_joseph_wilson_and_valerie_plame.php
“Your people jeopardized the investigation of weapons proliferation, jeopardized an agent working on the question of WMD in Iran”
Like I said Plame’s work was obviously not that important, because even after her overt “cover” was blown former agents of the CIA spoke to the media about what she was working on. By doing this it’s very obvious that her particular job wasn’t that important to the Iran WMD questions.
February 21st, 2006 at 10:34 amBuried in the WaPo on Monday was an article by Chris Cillizza and Dan Balz. I posted in my diary on dKos the oddly reported column
February 21st, 2006 at 10:53 amhttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/2/20/171351/678
I’ sure like to know if Wehner has made the talkshow rounds with his assertions.
#140
“As for Al Gore, who was elected president, not appointed, they hate him because they know that: most Americans stil respect him as well as Bill Clinton”
Now that’s funny!
“in a non-fixed election, he would have won hands down and the margin would have been high enough that they wouldn’t have been able to get away with fixing it.”
Fixed election? After the glory years of the Clinton election, i.e. the 1990s, the 2000 election SHOULD have been a landslide for Gore. Any VAILD explanation about why it wasn’t?
I agree, GO AL!!!!!!
February 21st, 2006 at 10:57 amI’m just going to convince myself that you’re joking. Otherwise your knowledge of history and perception of current events are so far off that I shouldn’t even bother reading anything you recommend.
February 21st, 2006 at 2:21 pm#117 Are you an American? What an assinine question. Yes, I believe in the rule of law, so I am an American, not a partisan sheep. You are handed proof he was right and you bitch about semantics. Typical BS. Oh, and how do all you Bush lovers like their port deal with the UAE? What traitors they are, huh? Handing over security of our ports to the very country who supported the 9.11 hijackers. And you dare to bitch about Al Gore telling a truth about their behavior that would put Americans in danger as treasonous? Hypocrites. The Iraq war of lies has also made more terrorists than we could ever hope for. Now they even pissed off the Iraqi government there, and that will now only put our troops in more danger. No wonder this country is in the shape it is in, too many people with their heads up their asses playing political games with real lives at stake. Gore is not a traitor, and this is all just a political diversion from the crooks in the White House who are f****** us over more every day. I support Al Gore and always will. You don’t like that, tough. This is America. Suck it up.
~~
REPORT ON TREATMENT OF POST 9.11 DETAINEES ‘SHOULD BE APPLAUDED ‘ FOR ITS HONEST ASSESSMENT, SAYS AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Report Reinforces Findings Cited in AI’s March 02 Report on Abuses
(New York) – The Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) report on the treatment of post-9.11 detainees, though limited in its scope, is an important step in exposing the injustices that hundreds of men, detained on minor immigration violations, have suffered at the hands of the US government, Amnesty International said today. The human rights organization, which released the first comprehensive report on the detainees in March 2002, was one of several that provided the OIG with information before the OIG conducted its own investigation.
“The OIG should be applauded for releasing a report that isn’t just a whitewash of the government’s actions,” said Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). “In these times, merely speaking out against the US government can be seen as a breach of patriotism. In this case the government’s own internal investigatory body found that the US government deprived these men of their rights. The OIG has shown that democracy and the principles of our founding fathers can still work in a nation intensely focused on national security.”
The OIG findings on the handling of the detainees mirrored much of what Amnesty International and other human and civil rights organizations had documented since the mass detentions began. Among the many issues the OIG addressed were the considerable problems with how the FBI arrested, charged and assigned these men to detention facilities; patterns of physical and verbal abuse at New York’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC); restrictive and inconsistent policies regarding access to legal counsel; and detentions of some men even after final deportation papers had been issued.
Despite the important findings released in the report, AIUSA remains concerned about the level of secrecy surrounding the detentions and the resulting difficulties for watchdog organizations to ensure that the rights of detainees are respected. The organization continues to seek the reasons for the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) failure to release public information concerning the arrests, and clarification of the true number of those detained in the sweeps. The report fails to explain the discrepancy between the the OIG’s examination of 764 detained men, and the Justice Department’s previously reported round-up of approximately 1,200 detainees.
“After September 11, hundreds of Muslim and Arab men were denied attorneys, contact with their families, even daylight in the name of national security – and in the end, not one was charged with
–more–<