Snuffysmith .....

From you ...

"Sorry" is neither needed ...

Nor required .....

And so ......

And the piece was excellent ....

And timely ....

And since "politics" is a part of "LIFE" here in OUR America .....

Well ......

And since the "Snuf" has got us over onto "politics" .....

Here is the sleazy REPUBLICAN version of it ...

As practiced up here in REPUBLICAN George Pataki's ......

Corrupt REPUBLICAN EMPIRE .....

Of New York .....

Where the REPUBLICANS just cannot seem ....

To rise themselves up ....

From the lowest depths .....

At the bottom of the barrel ....

That they seem to have claimed ....

As their permanent DOMAIN ....

And so ....

"McFarland aide attacks rival candidate's ethics and morals"

By MARC HUMBERT, Associated Press
Last updated: 5:37 p.m., Wednesday, May 3, 2006

ALBANY -- Ed Rollins, the veteran Republican operative orchestrating a Senate campaign in New York, contends that a rival candidate for the GOP nomination has moral and ethical problems that would be exploited by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"People will pay attention to those kinds of issues in a statewide race," Rollins said Tuesday during an interview with a New York City cable news channel.

Rollins, a top adviser to political novice Kathleen Troia "KT" McFarland, went on to talk about former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer's "illegitimate children" and "nepotism" while Spencer was mayor.

Spencer had a long-running affair with his chief of staff while he was mayor and while he was married.

The chief of staff gave birth to two children before Spencer divorced his first wife and married his top aide.

The details of his personal life have been previously reported by many news organizations.

Spencer, in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Wednesday, said Rollins' "vicious personal attacks" were "desperation tactics of behalf of the failing candidacy of McFarland.

"They are pathetic, and they should be ashamed of themselves."

McFarland appeared repentant.

"I have made it clear from the start that I don't like mudslinging and attack politics."

"In fact, it is one of the reasons I decided to run," she said in a statement sent to the AP.

"Mr. Spencer's personal life is of zero interest to me and I don't expect it to come up again."

"Questions about his mayoralty are relevant, but how he conducts his personal life is his own business."

Spencer adviser John McLaughlin called Rollins' comments "sleazy."

"Voters get sick of people attacking people for their personal lives."

"He was in a marriage that fell apart."

"He ended up remarrying," said McLaughlin.

"If the McFarland campaign is going to stoop that low that they're going to attack somebody for their personal life, it's just an embarrassment."

"I guess Rollins is trying to justify his large fees."

"He hasn't delivered on anything else," added Spencer campaign manager Kevin Collins.

"I've had one of the best detective firms in New York looking at this," Rollins told New York 1.

"He runs around saying `I'm a good Catholic.'"

" ... That's bigamy where I come from," Rollins said, adding "that's just the tip of the iceberg in the sense that he thinks he can live a double life."

McFarland has repeatedly vowed she will run a positive campaign that does not attack her rivals, but Rollins has been derisively dismissive of Spencer for weeks.

In a March interview with the AP, Rollins said Spencer "wouldn't know (on) which side of the Capitol the U.S. Senate meets."

In a telephone interview with the AP on Wednesday, Rollins laughed when asked if his comments were part of a "good cop-bad cop" campaign strategy with McFarland taking the high road.

"We're in a very competitive challenge here."

"Part of his whole mantra is, `I'm the guy who can stand up against Hillary Clinton; I'm the one she fears; I'm tough; I'm the one she fears,'" Rollins said.

"I'm just simply saying that our campaign also has that ability to be aggressive and be tough."

Polls have shown Clinton far ahead of both Spencer and McFarland, a former Reagan-era Pentagon official who has been out of public service since 1985.

Spencer and McFarland could face each other in a September primary.

end quotes

"I'm just simply saying that our campaign also has that ability to be aggressive and be tough?"

Well, Slick ......

Up here ...

Where I am .....

Your "big city tough guy" talk .....

Has you sounding like an ******* ......

And not much more ....

And so ...

In my estimation .....

The best thing Ms. McFarland could do ....

Is to very publicly ...

Toss you .....

And your REPUBLICAN drivel ....

Right into the ****-can .....

And so ...

Does anyone out there remember this Donald Rumsfeld character?

George W. Bush's ....

Perhaps senile ....

Minister of War ....

And Death ...

And Destruction ....

And Perversion, too ....

When you factor in Abu Ghraib ....

Which happened on his watch ....

And for which ...

He took responsibility ....

And so ....

"Rumsfeld Heckled by Former CIA Analyst"

By SHANNON McCAFFREY, Associated Press Writer

1 minute ago

ATLANTA - Protesters repeatedly interrupted Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld during a speech Thursday and one man, a former CIA analyst, accused him of lying about Iraq prewar intelligence in an unusually vociferous display of anti-war sentiment.

"Why did you lie to get us into a war that caused these kind of casualties and was not necessary?" asked Ray McGovern, the former analyst, during a question-and-answer session.

"I did not lie," shot back Rumsfeld, who waved off security guards ready to remove McGovern from the hall at the Southern Center for International Studies.

With Iraq war support remaining low, it is not unusual for top Bush administration officials to encounter protests and hostile questions.

But the outbursts Rumsfeld confronted on Thursday seemed beyond the usual.

Three protesters were escorted away by security as each interrupted Rumsfeld's speech by jumping up and shouting anti-war messages.

Throughout the speech, a fourth protester stood in the middle of the room with his back to Rumsfeld in silent protest.

Officials reported no arrests.

Rumsfeld also faced tough questions from a woman identifying herself as Patricia Roberts of Lithonia, Ga., who said her son, 22-year-old Spc. Jamaal Addison, was killed in Iraq.

Roberts said she is now raising her young grandson and asked whether the government could provide any help.

Rumsfeld referred her to a Web site listing aid organizations.

President Bush seldom faces such challenges.

Demonstrators usually are kept far from him when he delivers public remarks.

Rumsfeld has been interrupted by anti-war demonstrators in congressional hearing rooms as he has delivered testimony to lawmakers in recent months, and at some speeches around the country.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has had direct confrontations overseas.

These include demonstrators who called her a murderer and war criminal in Australia in March, and throngs of anti-war protesters who dogged her every move in northern England in April.

Demonstrators were kept far away from Rice during a visit last week to Greece, where riot police confronted a violent street mob that smashed shop windows in protest of U.S. policies and Rice's role in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

More than half of Americans say the war in Iraq was not worth the cost financially or in loss of life, recent public polling has found.

Just over one-third of those surveyed say they approve of Bush's handing of the war.

Public sentiment about the war has been at those low levels since fall.

Just over one-third of the public says Rumsfeld is doing an excellent or pretty good job, according to polling in March, while six in 10 said fair or poor.

In the run-up to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration repeatedly spoke of evidence that Saddam Hussein had acquired weapons of mass destruction.

No such armaments have been found.

Officials also spoke about connections between Saddam and al-Qaida that critics say remain unproven.

In recent weeks, at least a half dozen retired generals have called for Rumsfeld's resignation, saying he has ignored advice offered by military officers and made strategic errors in the Iraq war, including committing too few troops.

But he has received strong backing by Bush, who repeatedly has indicated he will keep Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.

When security guards tried removing McGovern, the analyst, during his persistent questions of Rumsfeld, the defense secretary told them to let him stay.

The two continued to spar.

"You're getting plenty of play," Rumsfeld told McGovern, who is an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq.

Responding to another protester who also accused Rumsfeld of lying, the secretary said such accusations are "so wrong, so unfair and so destructive."

At one point, Rumsfeld was praised by an audience member who said he had followed Rumsfeld's career and wondered what in his upbringing had shaped his positive outlook on life.

"I guess one thing I'd say is that my mom was a school teacher and my dad read history voraciously."

"And I guess I adopted some of those patterns of reading history," Rumsfeld replied.

Rumsfeld focused his speech on a U.S. need to increase its emphasis on more flexible partnerships with foreign militaries and rethinking of the role of long-established alliances like NATO.

He called such changes "necessary adjustments, based on the new realities and the new threats that have emerged since the end of the Cold War."

He also said, "We need ways to make sure we're better understood in the world than we are."

Rumsfeld also likened the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan to the Cold War.

"There is no question our country is facing difficulties in Iraq and difficulties in Afghanistan," he said

As Clinton might have said, "it depends on how lies lies."

http://select.nytimes.com/2006/05/05/opini...1&hp&oref=login

As Energy Prices Rise, It's All Downhill for Democracy
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: May 5, 2006
In case you haven't noticed, all the oil-rich bad guys seem to be having a fine and dandy time these days.

Iran, awash in oil money, thumbs its nose at U.N. demands for it to desist in its nuclear adventures and daily threatens to wipe Israel off the map. President Vladimir Putin of Russia, awash in oil money, jails his opponents at home and cozies up to America's opponents, like Iran and Hamas, abroad. Sudan, awash in oil money, ignores the world's pleas to halt its genocide in Darfur. Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez, awash in oil money, regularly tells America and his domestic opponents to take a hike.

And Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Angola, Saudi Arabia, Chad and Syria, all flush with oil or gas, are comfortably retreating from even baby steps of democratization.

There is a pattern here. Many people assumed that with the fall of the Berlin Wall, we were going to see an unstoppable wave of free elections and free markets slowly spread across the globe. For a decade that wave seemed, indeed, to be real and powerful.

But as the world has moved from an oil price range of $20 to $40 per barrel to a range of $40 to $70 a barrel, a very negative counterwave has arisen.

What I would call "petro-ist" states — highly dependent on oil or gas for their G.D.P. and having either weak institutions or outright authoritarian systems — have started asserting themselves. And they are weakening, for now at least, the global democratization trend.

Economists have long taught us about the negative effects that an overabundance of natural resources can have on political and economic reform in any country: the "resource curse." But when it comes to oil, it seems that you can take this resource curse argument a step further: there appears to be a specific correlation between the price of oil and the pace of freedom.

I call it the "First Law of Petropolitics," and it posits the following: The price of oil and the pace of freedom always move in opposite directions in petro-ist states.

According to the First Law of Petropolitics, the higher the price of global crude oil, the more erosion we see in petro-ist nations in the right to free speech, a free press, free elections, freedom of assembly, government transparency, an independent judiciary and the rule of law, and in the freedom to form independent political parties and nongovernmental organizations. Such erosion does not occur in healthy democracies with oil.

Conversely, according to the First Law of Petropolitics, the lower the price of oil, the more the petro-ist countries are forced to move toward a politics that is more transparent, more sensitive to opposition voices, more open to a broad set of interactions with the outside world and more focused on building the legal and educational structures that will maximize the ability of their citizens, both men and women, to compete, start new companies and attract investments from abroad. (For an elaboration of this argument, see the current issue of Foreign Policy magazine, www.foreignpolicy.com.)

Yes, many factors are involved in shaping the politics of a country. But is it an accident that when oil was $20 to $40 a barrel, Iran was calling for a "dialogue of civilizations," and when it hit $70 a barrel, Iran was calling for the destruction of Israel?

When a barrel was $20 to $40, we had "Putin I." That's when President Bush looked Mr. Putin in the eye in 2001 and said he'd found "a sense of his soul." If Mr. Bush tried to get a sense of Mr. Putin's soul today — the soul of "Putin II," the Putin of $70-a-barrel oil — he would see down there the huge Russian energy company Gazprom. Mr. Putin's regime has swallowed Gazprom, along with a variety of once-independent Russian media outlets and institutions.

While these increasingly bold petro-authoritarians don't represent the sort of strategic or ideological threat that communism once posed to the West, their impact on global politics is still quite corrosive. Some of the worst regimes now have more oil money than ever to do bad things for a long time — and many decent, democratic countries have to kowtow to them to get oil and gas.

Given the inverse relationship between the price of oil and the pace of freedom in petro-ist states, any U.S. strategy for promoting democracy in these countries is doomed to fail unless it includes a credible plan for finding alternatives to oil and bringing down the global price of crude.

The price of oil should now be a daily preoccupation of the secretary of state, not just the secretary of energy. Today, you cannot be an effective democracy-promoting idealist without also being an effective energy-conscious environmentalist.

"Well, Rummy," I would have said, "If you did not lie ..."

"Just what version of the apparently innumerable versions of the 'truth' that you BUSHCOS seemed to be possessed of, did you tell us?"

"Since your version does not seem to be connected to any 'reality" that is perceivable to a majority of the American public, and most especially, your own crowd of Conservatives, here in OUR America, who are apparently deserting you, and YOUR MASTER, in droves!"

And of course .....

That would have gotten Rummy off the hook ....

Since having a whole passel of different "truths" that you can tell people, depending on the day of the week, or even the minute of the day, in the case of the BUSHCOS .....

Is not exactly the same ...

According to Rummy ...

And the BUSHCOS .....

As telling a whole passel of lies ....

And so .....

Say, jeffmoskin ....

When you look up ....

Does it look like a rabbit hole above your head too?

Can this be Kansas, anymore, when there is a big cat with a funny grin ....

Sitting on the branch of a tree ....

Talking to me ....

In a version of GIBBERISH ....

That is very reminiscent of the speech patterns of George W. Bush?

Can someone please lower me down a rope?

I want out of here ....

"Hey Tweedle Dee, can you give me a hand here, please?"

And speaking of the "love affair" ....

That appears to be over ....

Between the FABULOUS FLYING BUSHCOS ....

Who never lie, of course ...

While at the same time ...

Never seem to tell the same "truth" over again .....

Even in the same sentence ....

And the CONSERVATIVES ....

Who apparently ...

Are not finding the "truth" they want ....

In the whole passel of apparent lies ...

That spew forth from the "HUNKER AND BUNKER" BUSHCOS ....

By the minute ....

Here in OUR America ....

Where I am deemed a CENTRIST, myself ....

We have ....

"Poll: Conservatives cutting approval rates"

By RON FOURNIER, Associated Press
Last updated: 6:16 a.m., Friday, May 5, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Angry conservatives are driving the approval ratings of President Bush and the GOP-led Congress to dismal new lows, according to an AP-Ipsos poll that underscores why Republicans fear an Election Day massacre.

Six months out, the intensity of opposition to Bush and Congress has risen sharply, along with the percentage of Americans who believe the nation is on the wrong track.

The AP-Ipsos poll also suggests that Democratic voters are far more motivated than Republicans.

Elections in the middle of a president's term traditionally favor the party whose core supporters are the most energized.

This week's survey of 1,000 adults, including 865 registered voters, found:

-- Just 33 percent of the public approves of Bush's job performance, the lowest of his presidency.

That compares with 36 percent approval in early April.

Forty-five percent of self-described conservatives now disapprove of the president.

-- Just one-fourth of the public approves of the job Congress is doing, a new low in AP-Ipsos polling and down 5 percentage points since last month.

A whopping 65 percent of conservatives disapprove of Congress.

-- A majority of Americans say they want Democrats rather than Republicans to control Congress (51 percent to 34 percent).

That's the largest gap recorded by AP-Ipsos since Bush took office.

Even 31 percent of conservatives want Republicans out of power.

-- The souring of the nation's mood has accelerated the past three months, with the percentage of people describing the nation on the wrong track rising 12 points to a new high of 73 percent.

Six of 10 conservatives say America is headed in the wrong direction.

Republican strategists said the party stands to lose control of Congress unless the environment changes unexpectedly.

"It's going to take some events of significance to turn this around," GOP pollster Whit Ayres said.

"I don't think at this point you can talk your way back from those sorts of ratings."

He said the party needs concrete progress in Iraq and action in Congress on immigration, lobbying reform and tax cuts.

"Those things would give the country a sense that Washington has heard the people and is responding in a way that will give conservatives a sense that their concerns are being addressed," Ayres said.

Conservative voters blame the White House and Congress for runaway government spending, illegal immigration and lack of action on social issues such as a constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage.

Those concerns come on top of public worries about Iraq, the economy and gasoline prices.

Candice Strong, a conservative from Cincinnati, said she backed Bush in 2004, "but I don't agree with the way he's handling the war and the way he's handling the economy."

"I think he should have pulled our troops out of Iraq."

Hardline conservatives are not likely to vote Democratic in the fall, but it would be just as devastating to the Republicans if conservatives lose their enthusiasm and stay home on Election Day.

AP-Ipsos polling suggests that Democrats may be winning the motivation game.

Fewer voters today than in 2004 call themselves Republicans or Republican-leaning.

In addition, 27 percent of registered voters were strong Republicans just before the 2004 election, while only 15 percent fit that description today.

Democratic numbers are the same or better since 2004.

"This tells us we've got our work cut out for us," said Sen. Sam Brownback, a conservative Republican from Kansas who may run for president in 2008.

"The key for us is to show restraint on spending and on dealing with immigration."

Bush's strong suit continues to be his handling of foreign policy and terrorism, an area in which he modestly improved his ratings since April.

Still, a majority of Americans disapprove of his performance on both fronts.

It gets worse.

Only 23 percent of the public approve of the way the president is handling gasoline prices, the lowest in AP-Ipsos polling.

Those who strongly disapprove outnumber those who strongly approve by an extraordinary 55 percent to 8 percent.

As for his overall job performance, history suggests that Bush's paltry 33 percent spells trouble for Republicans in the fall.

In the past six decades, only one president had a lower job approval rating six months before a midterm election -- Richard Nixon in May 1974, the year in which Watergate-scarred Republicans lost 48 seats in the House and four in the Senate.

By November, Nixon was out of a job too, having resigned the presidency in August.

Nearly half of the public strongly disapproves of Bush, a huge jump from his 5 percent strong disapproval rating in 2002.

The poll has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Of all Republicans, nearly 30 percent disapprove of the job Bush is doing, including 13 percent who feel strongly about it.

"Hopefully this is a wakeup call for my party to get out of its bunker and hunker mentality," said Republican strategist Greg Mueller, whose firm specializes in conservative politics.

He urged his party to start criticizing Democratic positions on the Iraq war, immigration and the economy.

"We've been like a punching bag," Mueller said.

Democrats need to gain 15 seats in the House and six in the Senate for control of Congress, no easy task in an era that favors incumbents.

"What we have to do is earn the public approval of our right to govern again," said Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean.

The Democratic strategy is to nationalize the elections around a throw-the-bums-out theme.

Republicans counter that they will do better than polls suggest when voters are forced on Election Day to choose between candidates in their particular House and Senate races.

"But," Ayres said, "we better get in gear."

And from the PASSEL OF LIES .....

That the BUSHCOS spew forth constantly ....

Even when we are asleep ....

To the truth that nature can dish up ....

Whether we are awake ...

Or not ....

We have ....

As an alternate "reality" ....

To the "BIZARRO-WORLD" that the BUSHCOS have created ....

Out of nothing but hot air ...

And toxic sludge ....

As follows .....

"Caribbean in for another bad hurricane season"

By Anthony Boadle
Thu May 4, 9:02 AM ET

HAVANA (Reuters) - Small Caribbean and Central American countries have suffered devastation and thousands of deaths from increasingly frequent hurricanes, and forecasters predict another rough season this year for the region and its tourist resorts.

International relief agencies warn poor countries are not prepared to cope with the disasters and say deaths will continue to rise.

A record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season brought 28 tropical storms, 15 of which became full-blown hurricanes.

Cuba's National Weather Institute predicted on Tuesday that there will be an above-average 15 tropical storms this year, and at least nine are expected to become hurricanes.

That's because water temperatures in the Atlantic-Caribbean basin remain warm and there is no sign of a counteracting El Nino phenomenon in the Pacific, said Cuban forecaster Maritza Ballester.

The first storm will form in late June or early July, she predicted, with three arising in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Everything points to an active season," said Ballester, developer of a mathematical model for predicting hurricanes.

Hurricane Katrina, which wrecked New Orleans and killed about 1,300 people in August, brought home to Americans a scenario of devastation familiar to inhabitants of the Caribbean and Central America.

Mudslides buried entire villages and floods washed away homes and roads in Central America when Hurricane Stan drenched the region for a week in October.

More than 2,000 people died, mainly in Guatemala.

Hurricane Wilma briefly became the most intense Atlantic hurricane ever observed before hovering over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula for two days, causing heavy damage to Cancun and Cozumel resorts where tourists were trapped in their hotels.

Haiti, the hemisphere's poorest country, is by far the most vulnerable.

It has been virtually stripped of trees, which are cut down for charcoal, allowing for erosion and devastating flash floods and mudslides.

Two years ago, 3,000 people died in its third-largest city Gonaives when Tropical Storm Jeanne triggered flash floods.

Barren, parched, brown hillsides loom on the outskirts of the port city on Haiti's west coast.

Jeanne's heavy rains saturated the hills, sending torrents of mud into Gonaives in September 2004.

Muddy water reached the roof of the two-story Chachou Hotel in the center of the city.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

U.N. experts say environmental degradation, the lack of governability and acute poverty make Haiti the most complicated case, and loss of life is lower in other Caribbean states.

English-speaking Caribbean nations have decreased hurricane casualties through preparedness and early-warning systems, but the economic impact on their small economies grows larger.

"While the deaths are decreasing, the economic losses are increasing," said Jeremy Collymore, head of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency, a CARICOM initiative set up in 1991 to handle disaster management from Barbados.

In 2004, Hurricane Ivan damaged 90 percent of Grenada's housing and caused $2.2 billion in destruction, more than double its annual economic output.

Grenada officials said it would take the island 10 years to recover.

Wealthier Caribbean nations, such as the Cayman Islands, an off-shore financial haven, have not escaped the wrath of storms but can get back on their feet faster.

Ivan damaged or destroyed 93 percent of the housing on the Cayman Islands, ranked fifth in the world in per capita income ($35,000 a year).

The real estate market has since bounced back, fueling a construction boom.

But higher rates for homeowner insurance have pushed up the cost of living.

MANDATORY EVACUATION

Some countries, such as Jamaica and Belize, have tried to beef up their evacuation plans for hurricanes, taking a cue from Cuba, which has the best record in avoiding fatalities.

Countries focus on getting residents out of precarious buildings.

A recent U.N. Development Program study concluded that the risk of dying in a hurricane in the United States was 15 times higher than in communist-run Cuba.

Cuba has been hit by 14 major storms in the last 20 years, but fewer than 40 deaths have been reported.

President Fidel Castro's government has reduced hurricane deaths to a minimum through mandatory evacuations.

Some 2 million of Cuba's 11 million people were evacuated before Ivan passed by, skirting the western tip of the island.

Western diplomats in Havana said this was only possible in a one-party state, but no democratically elected government could resort to such drastic steps.

According to Angeles Arenas, a UNDP advisor on regional disaster reduction, evacuation is fine but very costly, and few poor nations can afford to do the same.

Moreover, the run-down state of 43 percent of its housing makes Cuba vulnerable to a disaster, said Arenas, who works for the UNDP's Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery.

"You don't need a category 5 hurricane, just a category 2 and intense rains..."

"Losses would be much greater," she said.

(Additional reporting by Alan Markoff in Gran Cayman)

And from all the silly chatter of the "air-heads" on FOX NEWS FAIR AND BALANCED YOU DECIDE this morning ....

As broadcast on CLEAR CHANNELS WORLD-WIDE .....

It appears that George W. Bush's SYCOPHANT over there in Jolly Olde .....

The "very pretty" Tony Blair .....

Is having some problems ....

And so ...

Has sent the "STRAW MAN" packing ....

SO ....

Let's "jump" across the pond ourselves ...

To see what exactly is going on over there ....

And so ....

"Tony Blair fires foreign secretary"

By BETH GARDINER, Associated Press
Last updated: 7:16 a.m., Friday, May 5, 2006

LONDON -- Prime Minister Tony Blair fired his law and order chief Friday and chose a new foreign secretary in a wide-ranging Cabinet shuffle a day after his party took a pounding in local elections.

The Labour Party pulled 26 percent of the vote to the Conservatives 40 percent, a result that renewed calls from some quarters for the prime minister to step down.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke, embroiled in a politically damaging furor over the failure to deport foreign criminals, confirmed that Blair had removed him from office.

Defense Secretary John Reid was moved to the Home Office, and Des Browne was promoted from chief secretary at the Treasury to secretary of defense.

Blair removed Jack Straw as foreign secretary, replacing him with Margaret Beckett, who had headed the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

She becomes the first woman to hold the job.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who admitted an affair with a secretary, will keep his title but was stripped of the responsibilities of his department, which include housing and planning.

"I felt that it was very difficult, given the level of genuine public concern, for Charles to continue" as home secretary, said Blair, who days earlier had defended Clarke as the right man to deal with the prisoner issue.

Clarke said he had turned down offers of other government posts.

"I do not think it would be appropriate to remain in this government in these circumstances," Clarke said in a statement.

The shake-up appeared aimed at demonstrating Blair still holds a firm grip on his beleaguered government after weeks of negative headlines and scandal.

"It'll take far more than a reshuffle," Conservative Party leader David Cameron said.

"What we need in this country is a replacement of the government."

"I think what we have seen over the last few hours is that while the Labour Party is collapsing, the Conservative Party is building," Cameron said as he toured London to celebrate his party's gains in the local elections.

Glenda Jackson, a former Labour government minister who has been a persistent critic of Blair, joined the calls for him to go.

"The problem for the party and its government is its leader," she said.

Thursday's vote was widely seen as a referendum on Blair's government, and Cameron emerged as the main winner.

"I'm a happy man this morning," said Cameron, who took over the party in December.

Labour took 1,065 seats in incomplete counting, down 251 seats compared with the results of the last election.

The Conservatives won 1,567 seats, a gain of 249.

Labour lost control of 16 local councils -- including some boroughs in London -- and the Tories gained eight.

The far-right British National Party won 13 seats.

Labour also did badly in the 2004 local vote but that didn't stop Blair from leading the party to its third straight national election victory a year later -- albeit with a reduced majority in the House of Commons.

Treasury chief Gordon Brown, the man expected to succeed Blair, said voters were concerned about issues of crime, terrorism and their financial and job security.

"We've got to show in the next few days, not just in the next few weeks, that we are sorting these problems out," he told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Voters in Thursday's elections chose representatives to fill 4,360 seats in 176 local authorities across England, a little less than half of all English councils.

London was the biggest battleground, with elections in all 32 boroughs.

Labour's poor showing was likely to embolden those calling for Blair to step down soon or at least offer a timeline as to when he may leave office.

Most Labour members of Parliament "are saying now that we've got to get the party under new management."

"It ought to happen fairly soon," said Frank Dobson, who was health secretary in Blair's first Cabinet.

The government's acknowledgment last week that officials had failed to screen 1,023 foreign criminals for deportation before freeing them from prison over the past seven years was particularly damaging.

------

Associated Press writers Beth Gardiner and Daniel Woolls contributed to this story.

And from the "very pretty" Tony Blair .....

Over there in England .....

Being apparently ....

Not pretty enough anymore ....

We come back to here ....

And .....

"Consumer confidence hits 7-month low"

By JEANNINE AVERSA, Associated Press
Last updated: 7:46 a.m., Friday, May 5, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Consumer confidence sank to a seven-month low as sticker shock from rising gasoline prices made Americans anxious about the economy's prospects and the strain on their own budgets.

The RBC CASH Index, based on results from the international polling firm Ipsos, showed confidence at 67.1 in early May.

That marked a big deterioration from 89.4 in April.

The new confidence reading was the lowest since October, when the country was still reeling from the devastation and fallout wrought by the Gulf Coast hurricanes, including high energy prices.

"Whenever we get big spikes in oil and gasoline prices it takes a toll on consumer confidence," observed economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics.

The latest confidence snapshot came as high energy prices have touched off fresh debate on Capitol Hill, at the White House and elsewhere about what can be done to help the situation.

Oil prices topped $75 a barrel, a record high in late April.

The confidence reading for April was taken before that run up.

Oil prices, which have been gyrating since then, were hovering below $70 a barrel on Thursday.

Gasoline prices at the pump have marched higher and are above $3 a gallon in some areas.

President Bush's job-approval rating, meanwhile, is now at 33 percent, the lowest in AP-Ipsos polling.

The confidence index is benchmarked to a reading of 100 on January 2002, when Ipsos started the gauge.

One of the areas where consumers expressed the most angst in May involved their expectations about the next six months -- including conditions where they live or work and their own financial positions.

This expectations measure cratered to 6.3 in May -- a steep slide from April's reading of 56.9.

It was the worst showing since October, when the expectations gauge posted a tiny increase after falling into negative territory for the first time ever in September.

Economists blamed most of the drop in the May expectations measure to concern that energy prices could move even higher.

"People think, `Oh my God, I'm paying $3 a gallon now.'"

"Then when they look out into the future and they think it may be $4 a gallon."

"It is particularly depressing," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services.

Concerns about the direction of the housing market, which is cooling after setting record-high sales five years running, may be another factor weighing on consumer confidence, economists said.

Analysts track consumer confidence for clues about consumers' willingness to spend, an important force shaping overall economic activity.

So far, high energy prices haven't daunted shoppers.

Major retailers reported strong sales figures for April on Thursday.

The economy is expected to log growth in the 3 percent range in the April-to-June quarter, which would still be healthy but would be a moderation from the brisk 4.8 percent pace registered in the January-to-March period.

Economists believe consumers will be more cautious in the second quarter but they don't foresee them dramatically scaling back.

"There will be a certain amount of economizing," said Mayland.

"But history teaches us that consumers would sooner cut back on their savings rather than cut back significantly on their spending to sustain their lifestyles."

Consumers' feelings about current economic conditions dipped to 90.3 in May, from 98 in April.

Another measure tracking consumers' sentiments about making a purchase, saving and other investment decisions dropped to 79.9 in May, compared with 86.7 in April.

And, peoples' confidence in the job climate came in at 110.3 in May.

While that is down compared with April's reading of 124.5, it is still a good showing.

The RBC consumer confidence index was based on responses of 1,000 adults surveyed Monday through Wednesday about their attitudes on personal finance and the economy.

Results of the survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

And apparently ....

With consumer confidence low ....

Not only Jack Straw ....

But Porter Goss, as well ....

Had to go .....

And so .....

The SHAKE-UP of BUSHCO CENTRALE .....

Continues BIG TIME ....

As George W. Bush becomes .....

More and more .....

Just an ICON .....

For a small, right-wing FRINGE GROUP .....

Here in OUR America ......

And so ....

"CIA chief Goss leaves CIA in latest change"

By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press
Last updated: 6:47 p.m., Friday, May 5, 2006

WASHINGTON -- CIA Director Porter Goss resigned suddenly Friday, nudged out after a turmoil-filled 18 months at the spy agency as it struggled to forge a new identity in an era of intelligence blunders and government overhauls.

Goss offered little explanation in a brief appearance with President Bush and a televised address to agency personnel.

"CIA remains the gold standard," he said.

"When I came to CIA in September of 2004, I wanted to accomplish some very specific things, and we have made great strides on all fronts."

But the agency, as well as the Bush administration, has been far from peaceful.

Goss' departure was the White House's third major personnel move in just over a month, aimed at reinvigorating Bush's second term.

Among those talked about as possible replacements are Bush's homeland security adviser, Frances Fragos Townsend; David Shedd, chief of staff to National Intelligence Director John Negroponte, and Mary Margaret Graham, Negroponte's deputy for intelligence collection.

Goss said he was willing to stay awhile for a smooth transition, but there also was talk that an acting chief could be named.

Making Friday afternoon's announcement from the Oval Office, Bush said Goss' tenure had been one of transition.

The director, a former CIA agent and then Florida congressman, had been given the job only a little over a year and a half ago.

The president said, with Goss at his side, "He's instilled a sense of professionalism."

"He honors the proud history of the CIA, an organization that is known for its secrecy and accountability."

It was not entirely clear why Goss resigned so unexpectedly.

An intelligence official, speaking only on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his position, said Goss had stood up for the agency when there were differences with National Intelligence Director John Negroponte's office, which was created about a year ago.

Goss was taking a stand against "micromanagement," the official said and wanted the agency to "remain what its name says, the 'Central' Intelligence Agency."

With the backing of the White House, Negroponte recently raised with Goss the prospect that he should leave, and the two talked about that possibility, a senior administration official said.

That official also spoke on condition of anonymity, in order to give a fuller account of events.

Agency officials dismissed suggestions that the resignation was tied to controversy surrounding the CIA's executive director, Dusty Foggo.

The FBI is investigating whether Foggo's longtime friend, defense contractor Brent Wilkes, provided prostitutes, limousines and hotel suites to a California congressman who pleaded guilty to taking bribes from Wilkes and others in exchange for government contracts.

CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said Goss' resignation also was not related to the recent firing of a CIA officer the director said had unauthorized contacts with the press -- a firing that found support within the agency and the White House.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., an Intelligence Committee member, said many in Washington want to know the full story.

"I suspect that his decision could be based on any number of things that weren't stated, including a strong desire just to get on with his personal life after many years of public service," Issa said.

Bush nominated Goss in 2004, in the midst of a re-election campaign that was riddled with accusations about the botched prewar intelligence on Iraq. Bush said he would rely on the advice of Goss on the sensitive issue of intelligence reform.

Goss, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, came under fire almost immediately, in part because he brought with him several top aides from Congress who were considered highly political for the CIA.

They developed particularly poor relations with segments of the agency's clandestine service.

By December, Congress passed the most sweeping intelligence overhaul in 50 years.

One result: The CIA that took pride in being the premier element of the spy community found itself relegated to a crowded second tier of 15 other agencies.

California Rep. Jane Harman, the Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, said CIA employees with a combined 300 years of experience have left or been pushed out.

"This has left the agency in free fall," she said.

Goss also had some public missteps.

In March 2005, just before Negroponte took over, he told an audience at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library that he was overwhelmed by the duties of his job.

"The jobs I'm being asked to do, the five hats that I wear, are too much for this mortal," Goss said.

"I'm a little amazed at the workload."

A number of former congressional colleagues released statements praising Goss on Friday, but not all were kind.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said his concerns about Goss, whose nomination he opposed, were never resolved.

"Mr. Goss resisted efforts to lift the veil of secrecy around the intelligence failures of 9/11," he said, urging public release of the CIA inspector general's report on the Sept. 11 attacks.

Bush aides have been looking for ways to rescue his presidency from sagging poll ratings and difficulties with the Iraq war and his agenda in Congress.

The shake-up began with the resignation of Andrew Card as chief of staff and his replacement by Joshua Bolten.

Other changes have included the replacement of press secretary Scott McClellan with Fox News commentator Tony Snow.

It wasn't immediately clear what's next for Goss, 67.

He was supposed to retire after representing a Republican district on Florida's West Coast for 16 years, but he became CIA director when Bush called in 2004.

Many former directors take consulting positions on various corporate boards.

Goss and his wife own a central Virginia farm, where they raise cattle, sheep and chickens.

------

Associated Press writer Jennifer Loven contributed to this report.

Shades of the Viet Nam times ....

All over again .....

Here in OUR America ....

Thanks to the BUSHCOS .....

And so ....

"'West Point' Off Limits to Anti-War Alums"

By WILLIAM KATES, Associated Press Writer

2 hours, 11 minutes ago

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Army warned an anti-war group of former U.S. Military Academy cadets to stop using the words "West Point" in its name, saying they are trademarked.

A co-founder of West Point Graduates Against the War countered Friday that his organization is simply following the cadets' code.

"At West Point, we were taught that cadets do not lie, cheat or steal — and to oppose those who do," said William Cross, a 1962 West Point graduate.

"We are a positive organization."

"We are not anti-West Point or anti-military."

"We are just trying to uphold what we were taught."

The group, open to West Point graduates, spouses and children, claims about 50 members.

West Point spokesman Lt. Col. Kent Cassella said the academy sent the April 12 warning letter because the group failed to go through a licensing process to get permission to use the term "West Point."

The group's anti-war stance is irrelevant, he said.

"This is not a political issue."

"They did not ask for permission."

"We are doing what any college or university would do to enforce its trademarks," Cassella said.

The Army registered the words "West Point" — as well as "United States Military Academy," "USMA," and "U.S. Army" — as trademarks in 2000 to control their use on educational material and commercial goods.

An attorney hired by Cross and his colleagues said the warning raises questions of First Amendment speech protection and selective enforcement.

Joseph Heath said he noted the concerns in a response sent to the Army on Monday; he has not yet received a reply, he said.

"I would hope that the Army would be proud of these men and their willingness to promote democracy and freedom of speech," wrote Heath, a Navy veteran who also opposes the war.

Heath also noted widespread commercial use of the words "West Point."

Cassella said the Army has negotiated agreements with local businesses allowing them to use the phrase in their names.
___

On the Net:

Group: http://www.westpointgradsagainstthewar.org

Academy: http://www.usma.edu

And while this next story may not directly affect us ...

Perhaps it stands to show .....

How far into the future ....

Our own actions may carry forward ...

And so ....

"2,000-year-old Roman road excavated"

By MARIE ZARKA, Associated Press
Last updated: 7:05 a.m., Saturday, May 6, 2006

PARIS -- Deep beneath pavement pounded by tourists on Paris' Left Bank lies an ancient path -- a 2,000-year-old Roman road recently excavated during construction work.

Remnants of private houses rigged with baths and ingeniously heated floors were among the findings, now on view in a stunning dig.

Over the next few weeks, however, archaeologists will rip up the ruins to make way for a research center.

The archeologists gradually remove every layer of ruins until they reach the geological stratum -- the original ground -- and eventually draw a chronological diagram.

"Excavating is destroying."

"We dig into historic layer after historic layer," said Didier Busson, scientific supervisor of the archaeological site.

The discovery, during construction work on the Pierre and Marie Curie University near the famed Sorbonne, offers a window onto one of the many layers of history underpinning this bustling capital.

Archaeologists said it was the first such site discovered in the city -- known as Lutetia in pre-Roman and Roman Gaul -- from the reign of Roman emperor Augustus (63 B.C.-14 A.D.).

Items from daily life such as flowerpots, ceramics, bronze chains and drawer handles were dug out and will soon be exhibited in museums.

"We are trying to find out about the foundation and founders of the city," Busson said, adding,

"It is exceptional that a Parisian site be so well-preserved."

Archeologists are divided over the background of this neighborhood's builders.

Most contend that a Gallic aristocracy, recruited by the Roman army to fight in their civil wars, probably came back from the battlefield and settled in the area.

The Romanized returnees built the city according to Roman norms, but used local materials.

They were wealthy enough to own a private Roman bath -- the jacuzzi of the era -- found in one of the houses discovered beneath the university.

The archaeologists identified the various historical layers they uncovered according to the various types of houses they excavated.

The first houses were made of clay and straw.

Masonry appeared only later and so did tiled roofs -- "a major chronological milestone," according to Busson.

This urban compound was built in the first decade of the 1st century, at the end of emperor Augustus's reign, away from the administrative center of the Roman city.

The neighborhood stands on the old "cardo maximus," the Roman main street, which was originally paved for the Romans to cross the nearby Seine River and is today the Rue St. Jacques in Paris' chic 5th arrondissement, or district.

Every excavated layer corresponds to a historic period.

"Paradoxically, a conservation of the sites would prevent us from learning more about ancient Paris," Busson said.

Remnants of the Convent of the Visitation, built on the site in 1632, and a 20th century sewer were found before the Roman ruins were reached, indicating that the site was abandoned between Roman times and the 17th century.

"It's like a mille-feuilles cake," said Francois Renel, Busson's assistant and an archaeologist specialized in antiquities, referring to a pastry with many layers.

The National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research, known by its French acronym INRAP, has been watching out for construction work in the neighborhood since they realized some 25 years ago that the Roman city of Lutetia was much larger than earlier believed.

Whenever construction work in central Paris is planned, archaeologists review the building permits and ask for INRAP's opinion if the site is of interest.

An excavation permit is then issued.

Busson's INRAP team started digging at the beginning of March and must be finished by June 30, when the construction work on a new research building starts again.

And from then ...

We come back ....

To now ....

Where the much vaunted BUSHCO MILITARY MACHINE ....

Is out there ....

Floundering around ...

Which happens when you have an incompetent in charge ...

As Commander-in-Chief ....

And as it flounders ...

It burns up thousands of pounds of fuel a day .....

FOR NO PURPOSE WHATSOEVER ...

Other than the salving of the massive ego ...

Of George W. Bush ....

The alleged LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD .....

Which is a laughable proposition .....

When you think on it ....

And so ....

89-octane up here in the State of New York was $3.20 per gallon, just the other day ....

"Poll: Gas pinch weighs on Americans"

By WILL LESTER, Associated Press
Last updated: 6:36 a.m., Saturday, May 6, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Americans are driving less, trimming vacations and cutting back on heating and air conditioning, according to an AP-Ipsos poll taken as gasoline prices in many areas have topped $3 a gallon.

Seven in 10 say gas prices are causing a financial pinch.

And that pressure is being felt increasingly by middle-income and higher-income families.

"Now, I'm just going to work and coming home -- not doing anything else," said Kathleen Roberts, who makes a daily, 100-mile round trip from York, Pa., to her teaching job in Baltimore.

Like many Americans, Roberts is trying to adjust to gas prices that have risen steadily over the last five months.

The price of a gallon of regular-grade gas is now almost what it was soon after Hurricane Katrina battered domestic refineries along the Gulf Coast last August.

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $2.92 on Friday, according to AAA, the motorists' club.

The all-time high came last year on Labor Day, according to AAA, when that same gallon cost $3.05.

"These days, I'm just traveling, period," Roberts said.

"Instead of going to the market as often, if I don't have it, I just make do."

"In our neighborhood, we just borrow from each other."

When asked what would be a fair price for gasoline, many of those surveyed said $2-a-gallon on average -- a price not seen consistently in the U.S. for more than a year, according to AAA.

Energy analysts blame the higher prices on a tight supply internationally, unstable politics in oil-producing countries and fast-growing economies in places like China and India.

Other factors include an inadequate number of U.S. refineries and delays in the switchover to summer blends of fuel, the analysts say.

Whatever the reasons, soaring gas prices are affecting behavior.

Two-thirds of people said they have cut back on driving and have reduced the use of heating and air conditioning.

Half now say they have trimmed their vacation plans.

Hearing talk about vacation cutbacks upsets Susan Morang, a psychiatric counselor from Washington, Maine.

She helps clients deliver antiques for sale during the summer tourism season.

"Each summer, you have to make the majority of your money to live on the whole rest of the year," said Morang, who has cut her own driving to the minimum.

Morang's GMC truck guzzles gas, but she said she needs it to help clients haul their belongings.

"A lady paid me 40 dollars yesterday," she said.

"I used it to fill my gas tank halfway."

Gas prices have affected some behaviors more than others.

The number of people who say gas prices are causing them money problems has risen from half to two-thirds in the last year, the poll found.

Just over six in 10 of those who make between $50,000 and $75,000 a year now say gas prices are a hardship -- up from four in 10 a year ago.

And more people say they will reduce driving, travel and utility use.

But the price spike hasn't influenced people's views on buying more fuel-efficient cars.

A year ago, four in 10 said they were considering getting a car with better mileage -- the same number who say that now, according to the AP-Ipsos poll of 1,000 adults taken Monday through Wednesday.

The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Auto industry watcher Erich Merkle said gas prices would have to top $4 a gallon in the next six to nine months to significantly affect sales of SUVs and light trucks.

Jerry Taylor, an energy analyst at the Cato Institute, which favors limited government and free markets, said the price of gasoline as a share of a worker's earnings is not that high when compared with the share of earnings 50 years ago.

But reports about "skyrocketing gas prices" have an influence because "there's a big market for fist-shaking and red-faced conniption in the media."

Don't try to tell Max Paredes, an engineer in Rogers, Ark., that gas prices aren't that high.

"I used to pick up my kids from football."

"Now they need to get rides from other people," he said.

------

AP manager of news surveys Trevor Tompson and news survey specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this story.

------

On the Net:

Associated Press/Ipsos poll: http://www.ap-ipsosresults.com

When I started driving ....

In 1964 ....

Gas was around $.20 a gallon .....

And a dollar was easy to come by ....

And it went a whole lot further than it does now ...

And so ....

And as we do our Porter Goss "retrospective" in here this morning .....

The man who made it clear ...

Back then ...

That he was not qualified to lead the CIA .....

Which did not faze George W. Bush ...

Who nominated him, anyway ....

Because he was a loyal REPUBLICAN ....

Or the United States Senate ....

Which alleged "august body" ....

As they would have us call them ....

Despite his admitted lack of qualification ....

Simply "RUBBER-STAMPED" George W. Bush's choice .....

And so ....

"Hayden favored to get CIA post; Goss out"

By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press
Last updated: 6:36 a.m., Saturday, May 6, 2006

WASHINGTON -- The White House planned to quickly nominate a new CIA director to replace outgoing Porter Goss, who offered little explanation in announcing his resignation from the embattled agency.

The leading candidate to replace him is Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, top deputy to National Intelligence Director John Negroponte, said a senior administration official.

An announcement could come as early as Monday.

Hayden was National Security Agency director until becoming the nation's No. 2 intelligence official a year ago.

Since December, he has aggressively defended the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program.

He was one of its chief architects.

Goss was scheduled to deliver a commencement speech Saturday at Ohio's Tiffin University, one of a growing number of schools to offer national security studies programs.

Goss spent 40 years in federal and local government, including 16 years as a congressman and 10 years as a CIA operative in the 1960s and '70s.

He stepped down as the agency's director after 19 tumultuous months, as the agency struggled to forge a new identity in an era of government overhauls stemming from Sept. 11 and the flawed prewar intelligence on Iraq.

He offered little publicly to explain his decision.

"CIA remains the gold standard," he said in a statement.

"When I came to CIA in September of 2004, I wanted to accomplish some very specific things, and we have made great strides on all fronts."

But the agency, like the Bush administration, has been far from peaceful.

Goss' departure was the White House's third major personnel move in just over a month, aimed at reinvigorating President Bush's second term.

Knowledgeable Republicans said Friday night that Hayden was thought to top Bush's short list of candidates to replace Goss.

Among others mentioned were Bush's homeland security adviser, Frances Fragos Townsend; David Shedd, Negroponte's chief of staff; and Mary Margaret Graham, Negroponte's deputy for intelligence collection.

It was not clear why Goss resigned so unexpectedly.

An intelligence official, speaking only on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his position, said Goss had stood up for the agency when there were differences with Negroponte's office, which was created about a year ago.

Goss was taking a stand against "micromanagement," the official said, and wanted the agency to "remain what its name says, the 'Central' Intelligence Agency."

With the backing of the White House, Negroponte recently raised with Goss the prospect that he should leave, and the two talked about that possibility, a senior administration official said.

That official also spoke on condition of anonymity, in order to give a fuller account of events.

Negroponte, Goss' classmate at Yale University, said in a statement that Goss worked tirelessly during a CIA transition period.

"As my friend for almost 50 years, I will miss Porter's day-to-day counsel," he said.

Agency officials dismissed suggestions that the resignation was tied to controversy surrounding the CIA's executive director, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo.

The FBI is investigating whether Foggo's longtime friend, defense contractor Brent Wilkes, provided prostitutes, limousines and hotel suites to a California congressman who pleaded guilty to taking bribes from Wilkes and others in exchange for government contracts.

CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said Goss' resignation also was not related to the recent firing of a CIA officer the director said had unauthorized contacts with the press -- a firing that found support within the agency and the White House.

Bush nominated Goss in 2004, in the midst of a re-election campaign that was riddled with accusations about the botched prewar intelligence on Iraq.

Bush said he would rely on the advice of Goss on the sensitive issue of intelligence reform.

Goss, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, came under fire almost immediately, in part because he brought with him several top aides from Congress who were considered highly political for the CIA.

They developed particularly poor relations with segments of the agency's clandestine service.

By December, Congress passed the most sweeping intelligence overhaul in 50 years.

One result: The CIA that took pride in being the premier element of the spy community found itself relegated to a crowded second tier of 15 other agencies.

Hayden, the highest ranking military intelligence officer, has been brought into management challenges before.

In 1999, he was tapped to shake up the National Security Agency, as the Internet and new communications tools were frustrating the agency's eavesdroppers.

With a Hayden nomination, Democrats would be sure to seize on his intimate connection to Bush's anti-terrorist surveillance program, which has drawn the ire of even some Republicans.

Bush aides have been looking for ways to rescue his presidency from sagging poll ratings and difficulties with the Iraq war and his agenda in Congress.

The shake-up began with the resignation of Andrew Card as chief of staff and his replacement by Joshua Bolten.

Other changes have included the replacement of press secretary Scott McClellan with Fox News commentator Tony Snow.

It wasn't immediately clear what's next for Goss, 67.

He was supposed to retire after representing a Republican district on Florida's West Coast for 16 years, but he became CIA director when Bush called in 2004.

Many former directors take consulting positions on corporate boards. Goss and his wife own a central Virginia farm, where they raise cattle, sheep and chickens.

------

Associated Press writers Terence Hunt and Jennifer Loven contributed to this report.

It's amazing ....

How far down ...

George W. Bush ....

Has been able ...

To pull .....

OUR America ...

In such a short time ...

With his lack of vision .....

And just general ignorance ...

And incompetence .....

It is said ....

That before he finally latched onto George W. Bush as his "candidate" .....

That Karl Rove had made a bet with one of his fellow "political operatives" .....

That he was so good ...

This being Karl, of course ....

And the American people so stupid .....

That Karl Rove could get a dead dog elected president of America .....

And so ...

Apparently, the bet was made ...

And Karl set off to find an appropriate dead dog somewhere to run as a candidate for the American presidency ...

And during that search ....

He came across George, first ....

Which they considered same-same to a dead dog ...

And so ...

Karl won the bet, of course .....

And as they say ....

The rest is now history ...

And so ....

And then ....

There is Ms. Hillary ....

Who is giving the REPUBLICANS conniption fits .....

Up here in the corrupt REPUBLICAN EMPIRE of New York .....

Where they are all running around ...

Hissing like a bunch of cats .....

Or a nest of vipers ...

Because Ms. Hillary might run for president .....

And win .....

"Conservative authors target Clinton - Prospect of run for presidency inspires new batch of books"

By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press
First published: Saturday, May 6, 2006

NEW YORK -- For someone who insists she is only thinking about her re-election campaign this year, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has attracted the attention of conservative authors offering a host of new books aiming to slow her path to the White House.

Clinton has been the focus of some 40 tomes already -- mostly conservative, with titles like "American Evita" and "The Hillary Trap."

And while most of those culled their material from her eight years as first lady, the latest batch is being marketed with an eye to 2008.

Publishers' interest in Clinton is part political, part economic: Several books about the New York Democrat have become best-sellers, and her own memoir, "Living History," has sold over 3 million copies.

But her presumed presidential run has invigorated a market that seems almost oversaturated with Clinton titles.

"There's a market interest in her, and the fact that she's positioning herself to run for the presidency really fuels that," said Eric Jackson, president of World Ahead Publishing.

World Ahead just released a biting collection of Clinton quotes -- the authenticity of some vehemently disputed -- titled "I've Always Been a Yankees Fan: Hillary Clinton in Her Own Words."

The company's also publishing a new children's Christmas book that features Clinton as a Grinch.

Analysts say they offer fresh material to conservative media outlets and others eager to derail a potential presidential candidacy.

Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines declined to comment on any of the new titles, suggesting interested readers sample the books Clinton has penned herself.

"For those who are truly interested in reading her own words on many important issues, there are no better books than 'It Takes a Village' and 'Living History,"' Reines said.

The company's also publishing a new children's Christmas book that features Clinton as a Grinch.

Now ...

There is a statement ....

Right above here ...

About this CONSERVATIVE children's book ....

That teaches children to begin to hate ...

While they are still children ....

That really serves to define this CONSERVATIVE FRINGE GROUP ....

Here in OUR America ...

More than anything else that I have seen lately ...

This thing of teaching children to hate ...

As children ....

And so ....

Whereas ...

To me ...

Anyway ....

An older American ...

Who is a CENTRIST .....

According to the political polls of today anyway ....

What differentiates the alleged LIBERALS ....

And me as a CENTRIST, as well ...

From these CONSERVATIVES .....

Is that we are against teaching children hate ...

At any age ...

And so ....

I wonder what kind of person would buy this book depicting Hillary Clinton, an elected United States Senator, whether anyone likes that ...

Or not ...

As a GRINCH ....

FOR A CHILD?

Who out there would actually begin to pour poison down a child's mind like that ....

While the child was still a child ....

Other than a CONSERVATIVE .....

And so ....

And I myself am not a real fan of Ms. Hillary ....

Although I would never poison a child's mind about her ....

Or anything, for that matter ....

And so ....

I have included the web addresses for the World Ahead Publishing Company ....

If anyone out there might be interested in hate literature designed and intended for children .....

And so .....

And while we are on the subject ...

Of the HATE which the CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS ....

Have already sown out there in the world ....

And the "fruits" that SOWING OF DISCORD ....

By these CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS ...

Has already borne ....

And is bearing today ...

As the "vines" ....

And "tendrils" ....

Continue to spread ....

Through this world of ours ....

Like some kind of fungal growth ....

We have ....

From George W. Bush's COLONY OF IRAQINAM ....

As follows ....

"Iraqis, British troops spar after crash"

By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press
Last updated: 3:55 p.m., Saturday, May 6, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A British military helicopter apparently was hit by a missile Saturday and crashed in Basra, triggering a confrontation in which jubilant Iraqis pelted British troops with stones, hurled firebombs and shouted slogans in support of a radical Shiite Muslim cleric.

Iraqi police said four British crew members died in the crash in the southern city, and four Iraqi adults and a child were reported killed during the ensuing melee when Shiite gunmen exchanged fire with British soldiers who hurried to the scene.

About 30 civilians were injured.

Reminiscent of other outbursts of Iraqis cheering the deaths of foreigners, the chaotic scene was widely shown on Iraqi state television and on the Al-Jazeera satellite station.

The violence underscored that discontent over the presence of foreign soldiers has been growing among Iraq's majority Shiites even though they have generally steered clear of the Sunni Arab-dominated insurgency.

Police Capt. Mushtaq Khazim said the helicopter went down in a vacant lot between two houses after it was struck by a shoulder-fired missile -- a weapon widely available among insurgent groups and armed militias in Iraq.

He said the four crew members were killed.

with armored vehicles rushed to the site and were met by a hail of stones from a crowd of at least 250 people, many of them teenagers, who jumped for joy and raised their fists as thick smoke rose from the wreckage.

As many as three armored vehicles were set on fire, apparently with gasoline bombs and a rocket-propelled grenade, but the troops inside escaped unhurt, witnesses said.

The crowd chanted "we are all soldiers of al-Sayed," a reference to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, an ardent foe of foreign troops being in Iraq.

Calm returned by nightfall as Iraqi authorities imposed a curfew and hundreds of Iraqi police and soldiers set up checkpoints and patrolled the streets, residents said.

Sporadic rocket fire could be heard throughout Basra, Iraq's second largest city.

The British Defense Ministry confirmed only that there were "casualties" in the afternoon crash but refused to give a figure or discuss the cause.

A British spokeswoman, Capt. Kelly Goodall, said British soldiers who responded came "under attack by a variety of weapons, including small arms fire, petrol bombs, as well as blast bombs and stone."

She said the soldiers fired "a small number of live rounds" in self defense.

She said there was some minor injuries among the troops on the ground, but gave no details.

In London, Britain's newly appointed defense secretary, Des Browne, said he was "deeply saddened" by the death of British soldiers, "which reminds us of the risks our servicemen and women face every day" in Iraq.

The crash came at a tough time for British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who angered many Britons, including members of his own Labour Party, by his support for the war.

On Friday, Blair carried out a sweeping overhaul of his Cabinet after Labour suffered a drubbing in local elections, drawing calls for the prime minister to set a firm timetable for leaving office.

Tensions have been worsening in southern Iraq, where Britain has about 8,000 soldiers and other countries also have troops.

Three Polish soldiers were wounded by a bomb Saturday in the mostly Shiite city of Diwaniyah.

On April 27, a roadside bomb killed three Italian soldiers and one Romanian near Nasiriyah, another Shiite city in the south.

Trouble in the largely Shiite region is due in part to the growing influence of al-Sadr, who led two armed uprisings against U.S.-led forces in 2004 and who has been an outspoken critic of the U.S.-led foreign military mission.

Last September, British troops battled Shiite gunmen in Basra after two British undercover soldiers were seized by police, whose ranks have been infiltrated by Shiite militiamen.

British forces staged a raid that freed the men.

Tensions boiled again in February when the London newspaper News of the World published video images that appeared to show British soldiers beating Iraqi civilians during a riot in Amarah in 2004.

Shiite anger has also been stoked by a perceived shift in U.S. policy since the arrival of U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, a Sunni Muslim who has criticized the Shiite-led Interior Ministry for human rights abuses and made overtures to Sunni insurgents in hopes of getting them to lay down their arms.

In violence elsewhere, a suicide bomber wearing an Iraqi army uniform entered an Iraqi base in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit and detonated an explosives belt, killing three officers, said the Iraqi Defense Ministry's spokesman, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed Jassim.

The attack appeared to be part of an insurgent campaign to discourage Sunni Arabs from joining the government army and police.

The U.S. command also announced that an American soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad on Friday.

At least 2,417 U.S. military personnel have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003.

In other developments Saturday, according to police:

-- Two Iraqi soldiers and three insurgents were killed in a firefight near Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad.

-- A car bomb killed two policemen and an Iraqi soldier about 30 miles north of Baqouba.

-- One policeman was killed and eight people injured by roadside bombings in the capital.

A drive-by shooting killed two brothers in the city.

-- Police in Baghdad found the bodies of 18 Iraqi men who had been kidnapped and brutally killed by sectarian death squads.

Meanwhile, seven Iraqis, including three paramilitary policemen, were kidnapped south of Baghdad.

-- A roadside bomb in the northern city of Mosul wounded two Iraqi policemen.

Police also found the bullet-ridden bodies a father and son who had been kidnapped earlier in the day.

And then ....

There is always Porter Goss ....

"White House Denies Bush Lost Faith in Goss"

By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer

1 hour, 1 minute ago

WASHINGTON - The White House on Saturday denied that President Bush had lost confidence in just-resigned CIA Director Porter Goss, saying there was a "collective agreement" the agency needed a new leader now.

Bush planned to act quickly, perhaps as early as Monday, to nominate Goss' successor.

The leading candidate was Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, the top deputy to National Intelligence Director John Negroponte, a senior administration official said.

Goss played an important role in the fight against terrorism and "helped transform the agency to meet the challenging times we're living in," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters Saturday as Bush flew to Oklahoma State University for a commencement address.

She said Goss "made significant steps in order to put all those transitional pieces in place and there was a collective agreement that now would be a time that we could have a new CIA director come in and take the ball and move the agency forward."

Goss, who met with Bush on Friday to tender his resignation, has offered little explanation for quitting after just 19 months.

Goss was to deliver a commencement speech Saturday at Ohio's Tiffin University, one of a growing number of schools that offers programs in national security studies.

Negroponte, with the backing of the White House, recently raised with Goss the prospect that he should leave, and the two men talked about that possibility, a senior administration official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to give a fuller account of events.

"Reports that the president had lost confidence in Porter Goss are categorically untrue," Perino said.
___

Associated Press writers Terence Hunt, Jennifer Loven and Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.

And as we do our Porter Goss "retrospective" in here this morning .....

"The man who made it clear ...

Back then ...

That he was not qualified to lead the CIA ....."


hahahahahahahhhaaa....I remember that as if it were yesterday. thank you.

She has just about as much credibility ....

As Scottie "BOY" McClellan did ....

Which is to say ...

NONE .....

"Goss Forced Out as CIA Director; Gen. Hayden Is Likely Successor"

By Dafna Linzer and Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, May 6, 2006; Page A01

Porter J. Goss was forced to step down yesterday as CIA director, ending a turbulent 18-month tenure marked by an exodus of some of the agency's top talent and growing White House dissatisfaction with his leadership during a time of war.

The likely successor to Goss is Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the former director of the National Security Agency and now deputy to Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte, senior administration officials said.

He could be named as soon as Monday.

Seated next to President Bush in the Oval Office, Goss, a Republican congressman from Florida before he took over the CIA, said he was "stepping aside" but gave no reason for the departure.

Bush, who did not name a successor, said he had accepted the resignation and thanked Goss for his service.

"Porter's tenure at the CIA was one of transition, where he's helped this agency become integrated into . . . the intelligence community," Bush said.

"That was a tough job, and he's led ably." Bush said he had developed a "very close personal relationship" with Goss, who succeeded George J. Tenet in September 2004.

But senior administration officials said Bush had lost confidence in Goss, 67, almost from the beginning and decided months ago to replace him.

In what was described as a difficult meeting in April with Negroponte, Goss was told to prepare to leave by May, according to several officials with knowledge of the conversation.

"There has been an open conversation for a few weeks, through Negroponte, with the acknowledgment of the president" about replacing Goss, said a senior White House official who discussed the internal deliberations on the condition of anonymity.

Another senior White House official said Goss had always been viewed as a "transitional figure" who would leave by year's end.

His departure was accelerated when Bush shook up his White House staff in hopes of beginning a political turnaround.

Members of Congress privately predicted that Hayden, who once enjoyed tremendous support on the Hill, would face a contentious confirmation process over the Bush administration's domestic spying program.

Other sensitive issues, such as the existence of secret prisons abroad for terrorism suspects, also are likely to arise.

"The calculus is that would be true about anybody at this point."

"Given all the other stuff, like secret prisons, the confirmation is going to be tough for anybody," a senior administration official said.

Another candidate mentioned along with Hayden is Mary Margaret Graham, who was transferred from CIA headquarters after clashing with Goss's staff.

She now coordinates intelligence collection for Negroponte.

Homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend, a rumored potential candidate, is not in the running, officials said.

Negroponte became intelligence czar last year in a job created by Congress when it overhauled the nation's intelligence agencies in response to their failure to prevent the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Negroponte's role as the government's senior coordinator overseeing a web of intelligence agencies diminished Goss's job.

Goss was stripped of the title of director of central intelligence, which had been held by his predecessors in addition to the title of CIA director, and many of the duties were taken over by Negroponte.

But Negroponte, a career ambassador whose last two posts were at the United Nations and in Iraq, has been under pressure from Congress in recent weeks to demonstrate that he is in charge of the intelligence community and able to make tough decisions.

Goss and Negroponte had been friends for years and were fraternity brothers at Yale, where they graduated in 1960.

But turf battles erupted as Negroponte's operation grew and Goss was embattled within his own agency, where some officers viewed him as staunchly partisan and politically weak.

Negroponte replaced Goss in presiding over the president's daily intelligence briefing, and he worked to bring CIA personnel and some of its analytical functions into his growing operations.

Those steps quickly put him at odds with his friend.

Privately, Goss's associates said the two men clashed with increasing frequency in recent months, and they blamed Negroponte for hurting Goss's reputation with the president.

But administration officials said Goss never forged a strong relationship with Bush.

"It just didn't click," one official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Goss's reserved personality and inability to master details of intelligence activities dampened the atmosphere of the president's morning intelligence briefing, which had been a central feature of the close relationship between Bush and Tenet.

In one of his early interviews, Goss complained that he was spending hours preparing for the Oval Office sessions.

"Once Negroponte came in and Porter was no longer doing the president's daily briefings, he lost the opportunity to build the kind of relationship with the president that other directors had," said Mark Lowenthal, who was a senior adviser to Tenet and briefly to Goss before leaving the agency in March 2005.

Internally, Goss struggled to articulate a vision for an agency reeling from the intelligence failures of 9/11 and Iraq before the March 2003 invasion, current and former colleagues said.

And Goss could not overcome a reputation as a partisan politician who worked congressional hours and appeared disinterested in his overseas intelligence counterparts.

Goss also caused waves at the agency in dealing with complaints about his chief of staff, Patrick Murray.

During a tense staff meeting, Goss told agency employees he did not handle personnel matters, according to people who attended.

In Goss's first days in office, his appointment of Michael Kostiw as executive director ended after it became public that Kostiw had been forced to leave the CIA under a cloud 20 years earlier.

The subsequent search at the agency to find who leaked the information about Kostiw's past led the top two officers in the agency's clandestine service to resign in protest.

Kostiw's replacement, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, is the subject of a review by the CIA's inspector general.

The agency is examining whether Foggo arranged for any contracts to be granted to companies associated with Brent R. Wilkes, a contractor and longtime friend of Foggo's who had connections to Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.).

Cunningham left Congress and was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for corruption.

Foggo has said he has done nothing improper, and the agency has said the review is standard practice in such situations, not an indication of any wrongdoing.

After Goss's announcement yesterday, Foggo told colleagues that he will resign next week.

Last week, the agency confirmed that Foggo attended private poker games with Wilkes at a Washington hotel.

Over Goss's 18 months, more than a dozen senior officials -- several of whom were promoted under Goss -- resigned, retired early or requested reassignment.

Robert Richer, who was head of the Near East division, served less than a year as the No. 2 official in the clandestine service before quitting in frustration over Goss's leadership last November.

Richer then spent several days privately sharing his concerns with senior congressional leaders and Negroponte.

In the clandestine service alone, Goss lost one director, two deputy directors and at least a dozen department heads, station chiefs and division directors, many with the key language skills and experience he has said the agency needs.

The agency is on its third counterterrorism chief since Goss arrived.

Goss was a young CIA case officer in the 1960s before entering Republican politics in the wealthy Florida community of Sanibel.

He was elected to Congress and eventually became the chairman of the House intelligence panel.

He had been preparing to retire from public service and spend more time on a family farm in Virginia when he was asked by Vice President Cheney to stay as chairman after the 2001 attacks.

When Tenet resigned in mid-2004, Goss was nominated to succeed him.

Republicans joined Bush yesterday in thanking Goss but did not praise his tenure.

Democrats said his leadership had been a failure.

"Regrettably, Porter Goss's tenure as director of the CIA was a tumultuous one," said Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (W.Va.), senior Democrat on the intelligence panel.

"We must have a leader with strong credentials, a demonstrated track record of independence and objectivity, and the ability to bring much needed harmony within the ranks."

Staff writers Dana Priest, Peter Baker and Jim VandeHei and researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.

And if anyone out there ....

Has children ...

Or even grandchildren ....

Who are thinking of "getting into science" ....

Here is some very valuable advice on the subject ....

From none other than the man ...

Who would know ....

And so ...

"Bush warns graduates on technology dangers"

By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press
Last updated: 4:56 p.m., Saturday, May 6, 2006

STILLWATER, Okla. -- President Bush advised college graduates on Saturday to use technology but not become enslaved by it.

"Science offers the prospect of eventual cures for terrible diseases -- and temptations to manipulate life and violate human dignity," Bush said during commencement exercises at Oklahoma State University.

"With the Internet, you can communicate instantly with someone halfway across the world -- and isolate yourself from your family and your neighbors."

The nation's young generation will wrestle to resolve these dilemmas, he said.

"My advice: Harness the promise of technology without becoming slaves to technology."

"My advice is that science serves the cause of humanity and not the other way around," the president said.

After the speech, some graduates said they couldn't make out clearly what Bush said because of an echo in the audio system at Boone Pickens Stadium.

"I couldn't really hear it because the sound was so bad," said Michelle Ward, who earned a degree in biomedical sciences.

Bush highlighted recent economic gains and told the graduates that an improving job market is giving them more job opportunities.

"The job market for college graduates is the best it has been in years," he said.

"This economy of ours is strong and so you'll have more jobs to choose from than previous classes and your starting salaries will be higher."

"And the opportunities beyond are only limited by the size of your dreams."

Those in the 2,700-member class that gathered in Boone Pickens Stadium wore plastic slickers to keep their gowns dry from drizzle.

Bush spoke from a covered platform to a crowd of about 20,000 people, many of whom wore orange raincoats made available to those in the stadium.

Protesters staged a peaceful demonstration outside.

Laughter and applause greeted Bush's reference to the university's cowboy mascot: "If you read the papers, you know that when some want to criticize me, they call me a cowboy."

"... This cowboy is proud to be standing amidst of a lot of other cowboys."

Bush urged the graduates not to become isolationists but, instead, to help enhance education and foster technological advances the United States needs to compete with the world's economic powers.

"We are also seeing the rise of new competitors like China and India, and this competition creates uncertainty," he said.

"Some look at the changes taking place all around us, and they worry about our future."

"Their reaction is to wall America off from the world, and to retreat into protectionism."

"This is a sure path to stagnation and decline," he said.

"I ask you to reject this kind of pessimism," he said.

"We should welcome competition because it makes our country stronger and more prosperous."

Noting that 27 lieutenants were receiving their Army and Air Force commissions along with their degrees, Bush recalled Oklahoma State graduate Luke James.

After he earned his commission in 2004, James was deployed to Iraq as a member of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division and died shortly after arriving there.

The husband and father of one was awarded the Bronze Star and buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

"While no soldier wants war, he understood the necessity of war -- that it can ensure the freedoms we enjoy in America," Bush said.

"Luke James is part of a generation who are every bit as selfless and dedicated to liberty as any that has come before, and our future is better because of the character of young Americans like Luke James."

The speech was one of four Bush is delivering this commencement season.

He will speak on Thursday at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, which was hit by Hurricane Katrina; on May 27 at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.; and on June 19 at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

About 250 protesters held signs and chanted anti-Bush slogans a block from the OSU stadium.

One protester held a sign that read, "Worst President Ever."

"If he's coming to my town, I'm going to let him know he's not welcome here and that Oklahomans are not as bright as they think," said Laurie Keeley, 25, a protester from Tulsa.

In Washington after the trip to Oklahoma, Bush joined his wife, Laura, for the wedding of Alexander Ellis IV and Sarah Aker at St. John's Episcopal Church, across the street from the White House.

Ellis' father is the president's first cousin.

------

Associated Press writers Murray Evans and Kelly Kurt in Stillwater and Larry Margasak in Washington contributed to this report.

And shades of the Viet Nam times ...

All over again ...

Here in OUR America ....

"Kerry accuses White House of intolerance"

By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press
Last updated: 4:26 p.m., Saturday, May 6, 2006

GRINNELL, Iowa -- Sen. John Kerry accused the Bush administration on Saturday of stirring up a "spirit of intolerance" to suppress dissent over the war in Iraq.

Kerry said the Bush administration is targeting opponents of the Iraq war in much the same way he was attacked for protesting failed policies in Vietnam in the 1970s.

"Dismissing dissent is not only wrong but dangerous when America's leadership is unwilling to admit mistakes, unwilling to engage in honest discussion and unwilling to hold itself accountable for the consequences of decisions made without genuine disclosure or genuine debate," said Kerry, D-Mass.

"Although no one is being jailed today for speaking out against the war in Iraq, the spirit of intolerance for dissent has risen steadily, and the habit of labeling dissenters as unpatriotic has become the common currency of the politicians currently running our country," he said.

Kerry, the Democratic nominee for president in 2004, spoke at Grinnell College.

During his visit to Iowa he repeated his call for a deadline for American troops to be pulled out of Iraq by the end of the year.

"The Iraqis have shown they only respond to deadlines," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"I think you've got to be tough here."

Kerry first drew public attention 35 years ago when, as a decorated Navy veteran, he testified to Congress in opposition to the Vietnam war.

Some fellow veterans criticized him then, and his opposition to the war has been a point of controversy throughout his political career.

"Once again, we are imprisoned in a failed policy," he said.

"And once again we are being told that admitting mistakes, not the mistakes themselves, will provide our enemies with an intolerable propaganda victory."

And here's Tommy ....

"DeLay office knew Abramoff arranged trip"

By JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press
Last updated: 4:56 p.m., Saturday, May 6, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Prosecutors have e-mails showing Rep. Tom DeLay's office knew lobbyist Jack Abramoff had arranged the financing for the GOP leader's controversial European golfing trip in 2000 and was concerned "if someone starts asking questions."

House ethics rules bar lawmakers from accepting free trips from lobbyists.

DeLay, R-Texas, reported to Congress that a Republican advocacy group had paid for the spring 2000 trip that DeLay, his wife and top aides took to Scotland and England.

The e-mails obtained by The Associated Press show DeLay's staff asked Abramoff -- not the advocacy group -- to account for the costs that had to be legally disclosed on congressional travel forms.

DeLay's office was worried the group being cited as paying the costs might not even know about them, the e-mails state.

Abramoff's team sought to low-ball the cost estimates and DeLay's office ultimately reported to Congress a total that was a few thousand dollars lower than the one the lobbyist provided, the documents show.

"We should give them the most minimal numbers for cost of the hotel (do not include golf), food and plays," Abramoff wrote two assistants at his Preston Gates lobbying firm in an e-mail from June 29, 2000.

One of those assistants, Susan Ralston, now works for top White House adviser Karl Rove.

In a follow-up e-mail to Abramoff, Ralston reported she talked to DeLay's then-deputy chief of staff, Tony Rudy, who suggested numbers that could be used as cost figures on the congressional travel report.

Rudy had gone on the trip with his boss.

"Tony said: $6,800 for flights per person."

"$300 per night for hotel, $120 per day per person for meals, $500 per day for transportation," Ralston wrote Abramoff.

Abramoff's credit card bill shows some costs were higher.

Federal prosecutors have secured the cooperation of Abramoff and Rudy, and are investigating whether DeLay filed false public reports to disguise the source and size of political donations, travel and other gifts he received from special interests.

Several witnesses have been questioned in recent months about the Scotland trip e-mails.

DeLay's lawyer said Friday he believes the congressman's office asked Abramoff, instead of the GOP group, for the trip costs because the group's top executive was on maternity leave.

He noted Abramoff served as director for the group listed as paying for the trip.

"The way I read this was that staff was trying to get it right," lawyer Richard Cullen said of the e-mails.

"His (DeLay's) goal and his marching orders to his staff was to do it correctly."

"And I think staff tried to do it correctly."

An expert on federal disclosure reports said the e-mails raise serious questions about whether DeLay's office filed a false report.

"It clearly shows some members live in a dream world of high-class living and fictional accounting."

"DeLay's office was part of the public deception."

"It makes you wonder if there are more filings as fictional as this one is turning out to be," said Kent Cooper, the former chief of public disclosure for the Federal Election Commission.

It was first disclosed more than a year ago that Abramoff arranged for two clients to pick up most of the costs for the trip and to route the money to the National Center for Public Policy Research listed in the travel reports as the sponsor.

Abramoff's credit card bills show the lobbyist initially charged tens of thousands of dollars in air fare for DeLay's trip to his American Express card.

Cullen said he believes the lobbyist consulted with an ethics expert before making the payments.

The trip, which included golf at the famous St. Andrew's professional course, and others like it have become symbols of Abramoff's largesse to lawmakers and a focal point of the criminal investigation into influence peddling on Capitol Hill.

DeLay has steadfastly maintained he believed that the center paid for the trip as he reported.

The e-mails show that when DeLay's office began preparing the required disclosure reports for the free trip, his aides asked Abramoff's lobbying firm for the cost figures instead of the GOP group.

"Our financial disclosure forms from the England/Scotland trip are due tomorrow afternoon."

"... I would appreciate if you would send me your information," a DeLay aide wrote Abramoff's firm.

The e-mails show Abramoff's team provided then-DeLay chief of staff Susan Hirschmann a final cost figure of $75,600 for the weeklong European trip taken by DeLay; his wife, Christine; Hirschmann; Hirschmann's husband; and Rudy.

The e-mails stated DeLay's office could attribute the figures to "the final bookkeeping efforts" by the GOP group.

Despite the figure from Abramoff, DeLay's report to Congress put the cost lower, at just over $70,000.

Ralston wrote she had a follow-up conversation with DeLay's office.

Hirschmann wanted "a name" of someone at the GOP group who would attest to paying for the trip and was concerned whether the center's executive director, Amy Ridenour, knew about the costs.

"She (Hirschmann) just wants to make sure that if someone starts asking questions that Amy Ridenour knows about these," Ralston wrote.

Hirschmann did not return a call to her office Friday and an e-mail message seeking comment.

The documents show Abramoff initially put the airfare for the DeLay trip on his American Express credit card and arranged for two clients -- the Mississippi Choctaw tribe and eLottery -- to route money to Ridenour's GOP policy group to cover the cost.

DeLay's lawyer said despite the discrepancy in cost figures and the evidence Abramoff initially paid for the airfare on his credit card, DeLay has no plans to change his travel report to Congress.

"I think the report was made in good faith," the lawyer said.

end quotes

Boy ...

Can these lawyers ever sling some **** ........

Like a machine .....

40 acres in five minutes flat, and a full six inches deep, to boot ....

Would be my bet .....

For Tommy DeLay's fancy MOUTHPIECE here .....

And so .....

And then ...

There is George W. Bush's other war ....

Or one of them, anyway ....

"10 U.S. soldiers killed in copter crash"

By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press
Last updated: 4:56 p.m., Saturday, May 6, 2006

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Ten U.S. soldiers died when their helicopter crashed during combat operations aimed at flushing out militants from remote mountains in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Saturday.

News of the crash came the same day a top U.S. official called parts of Pakistan's mountainous border region a "safe haven" for militants and said Osama bin Laden was more likely to be hiding there than in Afghanistan.

The crash of the CH-47 Chinook Friday afternoon was the deadliest for U.S. forces here in a year and comes at a time of increasing militant attacks, though U.S. officials ruled out hostile fire as a cause.

"There is no indication that the helicopter came down due to some enemy action," Lt. Tamara D. Lawrence, a coalition spokeswoman, told The Associated Press.

Some 2,500 Afghan and U.S. soldiers are conducting a joint military campaign, dubbed Operation Mountain Lion, in Kunar province near the border with Pakistan.

It is one of the biggest offensives since the ouster of the hard-line Taliban regime by U.S.-led forces in late 2001 for hosting al-Qaida.

The transport helicopter was conducting "operations on a mountaintop landing zone" when it crashed near Asadabad in Kunar, about 150 miles east of the capital, Kabul, the military said.

The terrain surrounding Asadabad -- where the U.S. military has a large base -- is extremely rugged.

The police chief of Kunar province, Gen. Abdul Ghafar, said the helicopter crashed about 10 miles northwest of the base at a remote spot a day's walk from any passable road.

"The area of the crash is a mountainous area and it is difficult to reach," Ghafar said.

Recovery operations did not begin until daybreak Saturday.

The military did not say what unit the U.S. troops were from, only specifying that they were soldiers.

Attacks have been on the rise in Afghanistan's southern and eastern provinces, where militants have been using suicide and roadside bombs more than ever.

The 10 deaths brought to at least 25 the number of U.S. military personnel killed in Afghanistan this year, according to the Web site icasualties.org, which relies on Defense Department information.

At least 234 U.S. military personnel, including those killed Friday, have died in Afghanistan as well as neighboring Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the conflict, according to the Defense Department.

Also Saturday, a top U.S. counterterrorism official said that bin Laden was more likely to be hiding in Pakistan than in Afghanistan.

Henry Crumpton, the U.S. ambassador in charge of counterterrorism, lauded Pakistan for arresting "hundreds and hundreds" of al-Qaida figures but said it needed to do more.

The chief spokesman for Pakistan's army, Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, dismissed Crumpton's assertions as "absurd."

Pakistan has launched repeated counterterrorism operations in its lawless tribal regions over the past two years and hundreds of militants and soldiers have been killed.

"Our expectation is that they will continue to make progress, and we know that it's difficult," Crumpton said.

Pakistan "can't remain a safe haven for enemy forces, and right now parts of Pakistan are indeed that."

A U.S. military statement said that other aircraft and crews were near the landing zone during Friday's crash.

A purported Taliban spokesman, Mohammed Hanif, called AP to claim that Taliban militants had shot down the helicopter using a "new weapon" that he refused to specify.

The phone call did not come until after news of the crash was made public, and Lawrence dismissed the claim.

"The Taliban have made those claims before and they have turned out to be completely false, and there's absolutely no indication that hostile action caused this crash," Lawrence said.

Last June, all 16 troops on board a Chinook died in Kunar when it was hit by a militant's rocket-propelled grenade -- the deadliest attack against American forces in Afghanistan.

In September, a Chinook helicopter crashed in a mountainous area in southeastern province of Zabul, killing all five American crew members.

------

Associated Press reporters Rahim Faiez in Kabul and Munir Ahmad in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

And here is some "truth in advertising", alright ....

"Pataki not 'Mr. Popularity' on the homefront"

By MARC HUMBERT, Associated Press
Last updated: 11:25 a.m., Saturday, May 6, 2006

ALBANY -- Gov. George Pataki, less than eight months from the end of his 12-year tenure as governor and eyeing a possible 2008 presidential run, is far from being "Mr. Popularity" when it comes to New York voters.

In fact, a well-regarded national strategist has advised New York's Republican state senators to keep their distance from the three-term governor this fall as they seek re-election, according to GOP officials.

That can't be a particularly welcome turn of events for a governor who after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks saw his job approval rating soar to 81 percent in one poll and who coasted to a third-term win in 2002.

But by May of last year, Pataki's approval rating had been more than cut in half and he announced in July he would not seek a fourth term in 2006.

While the governor's approval rating inched back up, he began frequenting Iowa, New Hampshire and other key presidential battleground states.

He also became embroiled this spring in yet another major budget battle with the freer-spending state Legislature and their political allies.

It has not been pretty.

In April, Pataki vetoed almost $3 billion in spending from what he said was a more than $115 billion budget adopted by the Legislature.

The Republican-led Senate and Democratic-controlled Assembly then overrode most of Pataki's vetoes, only to be told by the governor that two-thirds of the overrides didn't mean anything and wouldn't be honored.

Almost $2 billion of the disputed spending had been adopted illegally by lawmakers, Pataki argued.

The governor said he expected to be sued.

Meanwhile, allies of the legislative leaders, looking to restore disputed spending for the health care industry, launched an emotional TV advertising campaign basically accusing Pataki of pushing fiscal policies that could kill babies.

As if that weren't enough, Pataki was felled by a ruptured appendix on Feb. 16 and didn't return to the state Capitol until March 21.

A statewide poll released Thursday by Siena College's Research Institute found Pataki's 53 percent favorable rating from March had fallen back to mid-2005 levels, at 38 percent.

His unfavorable rating had climbed to 55 percent, an all-time high in the Siena poll, and up from a 40 percent unfavorable rating in the March poll.

"Whether it's the result of his position on the budget, the constant drumbeat of negative commercials, or his increased visibility on the presidential campaign circuit, New Yorkers are liking George Pataki less and less," said Joseph Caruso, Siena's polling director.

"Even among Republicans, the governor has only a 49 percent to 45 percent favorability rating."

It could, of course, also reflect that New Yorkers, a notoriously tough lot, are sympathetic for only so long to a governor with a sore abdomen.

Caruso noted, however, that New York voters didn't think much of legislative leaders either.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's favorable rating was 24 percent while Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's was 21 percent.

The poll surfaced just two days after GOP strategist Frank Luntz came to Albany with his own private polling to discuss how GOP state senators should position themselves for the November elections.

Far away from Pataki, was Luntz's advice, according to two Republicans who were there.

They spoke only on condition of anonymity because they said the briefing was supposed to be confidential.

Luntz, who has served as a political adviser to former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, didn't return a telephone call for comment.

Giuliani is also eyeing a run for president,

Pataki spokesman David Catalfamo noted the governor's poll standing often takes a nosedive when he gets in budget battles with the Legislature and their well-funded allies, but then recovers once the fiscal dust has settled.

"It's become the annual budget bounce when Albany's special interests spend millions distorting the governor's record with phony scare tactics," the Pataki aide said.

"The governor will continue to do the right thing for hardworking New Yorkers and leave the polls to the pundits and the other so-called consultants."

Pataki is still welcomed by some Republicans.

He was spending Friday and Saturday in Kentucky, attending the Kentucky Derby and raising money for the Republican Governors' Association.

------

Marc Humbert has covered New York state politics for The Associated Press for more than 25 years. He can be reached, vie e-mail, at mhumbert(at)ap.org.

Right Wing Talk show hosts admits being wrong about Bush -
C&L
http://images.radcity.net/5147/1424125.wma

Hhhhmmm .....

Some honesty still exists out there, it seems ...

And there is absolutely nothing wrong ...

At least in my book ...

With waking up one day ...

As this "radio personality" has done in this case .....

Realizing that one was wrong in the past ...

Realizing that one was a huge fool ...

Because one allowed oneself ...

To get sucked in ...

By this absolute transparent crap ....

The BUSHCO MACHINE was out there spewing ....

In order to make George W. Bush ....

Into a second-term president ....

So that he could beat his father's dismal one-term record .....

Which probably paints me as some kind of liberal ...

Not condemning this "radio personality" in this link above here for changing his mind about George W. Bush ....

But so what, actually .....

That is worth listening to, that link above ....

And I agree ...

George W. Bush is the worst president that I have experienced in my lifetime ....

And you really have to dig through history .....

To find many others ...

Anywhere in the world ....

At any time in the history of the world ...

Who are in a class ...

With America's George ....

And that is a fact .....

Up here in the country where I am ....

Where you have to remember things ...

In order to survive from year to year ....

Because life is not "automatic" ....

We remain amazed at all these "big city" newspapers ....

How short their memories seem to be .....

Or do they even have any?

Memories, that is?

Porter Goss was , in fact, quoted in the news back then as saying that he was unqualified to lead the CIA .....

It wasn't esoteric ...

Or hard to comprehend ...

Or understand, in any way ....

The man seemed to be sincere ...

SO ...

What's the big surprise now, we wonder?

Other than that these "big city" news editors ....

Don't even know ...

What news ...

Their rags are printing that day ...

Even as they edit it .....

And so ....

Michael Moore: "Porter Goss Admits He's Unqualified to Head CIA"

When collecting footage for Fahrenheit 9/11, Moore's team filmed Florida Rep. and Bush's choice to head the CIA admitting he was unqualified for the job.

"I couldn't get a job with CIA today."

"I am not qualified," the Florida Republican told documentary-maker Michael Moore's production company during the filming of the anti-Bush movie "Fahrenheit 9/11."

"I don't have the language skills."

"I, you know, my language skills were romance languages and stuff."

"We're looking for Arabists today."

"I don't have the cultural background probably," Goss is quoted in an interview transcript.

"And I certainly don't have the technical skills, uh, as my children remind me every day: 'Dad you got to get better on your computer.'"

"Uh, so, the things that you need to have, I don't have."

end quotes

Well, Porter, you did tell it like it apparently was ....

And some of us, at least, not only heard you .....

But took your words at face value ....

About your lack of qualifications to run the CIA .....

But it's all political, Porter .....

As you and "BROWNIE" .....

And a host of other political HACKS in this BUSHIAN GUMMINT make clear ...

You were a good REPUBLICAN, Porter .....

And that was all that George W. Bush wanted from you ...

Since he don't have the slightest idea of what your job was, either ...

So outside of your being a REPUBLICAN ...

George would not have had a clue ...

As to whether you were qualified, or not ....

And so ....

I was play-acting at being president ....

In Washington, D.C. ....

And I took a little risk .....

By going down to Florida .....

To read a school book with some kids ....

Send lawyers, guns and money ....

Dad, get me out of this ....

I'm the innocent bystander ....

Somehow I got stuck ....

I didn't know the book would be about a G-O-A-T ....

Whatever that is ....

Now, daddy ....

As you can see from the picture of me above ...

I am stuck ...

Between the rock and the hard place ....

And I'm down on my luck ....

And I'm down on my luck ....

And I'm down on my luck ....

Now I'm trying to hide in this classroom .......

Trying to look like just some more blackboard ....

I'm a desperate man .....

Send lawyers, guns and money ....

The **** has hit the fan .....

Send lawyers, guns and money ...

Daddy, get me out of this!

WAH! WAH! WAH!

"BP Refinery in Texas Called Biggest Polluter"

Sun May 7, 1:21 PM ET

HOUSTON - The nation's worst polluting plant is the BP PLC oil refinery where 15 workers died in an explosion last year, raising questions about whether the company has been underreporting toxic emissions.

BP's Texas City refinery released three times as much pollution in 2004 as it did in 2003, according to the most recent data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The increase at BP was so large that it accounted for the bulk of a 15 percent increase in refinery emissions nationwide in 2004, the highest level since 2000.

The company is investigating whether it has been accurately documenting pollution, the Houston Chronicle reported on Sunday.

There could be more federal fines levied against the energy giant if mistakes are found.

BP already faces a record $21.3 million fine from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 300 safety and health violations found at the Texas City refinery after the deadly explosion in March 2005 that also injured 170 workers.

The company reported that it released 10.25 million pounds of pollution in 2004, up from 3.3 million pounds the year before, according to EPA's Toxics Release Inventory, which tracks nearly 650 toxic chemicals released into the air, water and land.

BP cautioned that its latest pollution estimates might not be correct because of a recent change in how the plant calculates emissions.

"These were on-paper calculations — not based on real measurements through valves or stacks," spokesman Neil Geary told the newspaper.

According to the EPA, the Texas City plant had more than three times the toxic pollutants as the nation's second most-polluted plant, an Exxon Mobil Corp. refinery in Baton Rouge, La.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said it was too early to speculate about the accuracy of BP's reported figures.

A spokesman said the difference might have been in reported emissions, not actual emissions.

But the Environmental Integrity Project, a Washington-D.C. based advocacy group, said the increase shouldn't be dismissed as merely an increase on paper.

"It's real; it just never got reported before," said Eric Shaeffer, a former EPA staffer and the organization's founder.

"You can argue that it's not an increase, but the next sentence has to be, 'We've always been bad.'"

Most of the increase in pollution was from formaldehyde and ammonia, which can form smog and soot and irritate the eyes, nose and throat.

BP says that when all pollution is taken into account, emissions from its Texas City plant have dropped 40 percent since 2000.

Before last year's explosion, the refinery processed up to 460,000 barrels of crude oil a day and 3 percent of the nation's gasoline.

BP still faces criticism for management lapses that may have contributed to last year's explosion.

The company faces a possible Justice Department investigation and is dealing with victims' lawsuits.

"Drug cutoff brings plight - Seniors who fail to sign up for Medicare benefit by May 15 face big risks, including penalties to join and higher premiums"

By MATT PACENZA, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Sunday, May 7, 2006

Ever since it became law in 2003, the new Medicare drug benefit has been the stuff of big claims.

Its backers called it an elixir for struggling seniors, while opponents decried it as a massively flawed plan.

Today, with only eight days left for seniors to sign up for coverage, rhetoric is again heating up.

"For people who have nothing, this bus is leaving the station, and it's leaving thousands of seniors behind," said Sen. Charles Schumer, warning at a news conference last week that New Yorkers who aren't signing up for Part D face "serious consequences."

If seniors miss the May 15 deadline and try to join the plan later, they'll face substantial penalties, including premiums that are at least 6 percent higher.

But polling data shows that the situation for seniors may not be so dismal.

About 350,000 New Yorkers -- including roughly 40,000 in the Capital Region have Medicare coverage but have not signed up for Part D.

Surveys suggest that about half of those seniors know plenty about the new Medicare drug benefit, but decided to go without it.

"People do have very rational reasons for deciding they don't want it," said Mark David Richards of KRC Research, which surveyed almost 900 seniors on Medicare.

"Some people have really evaluated their choices and have made a conscious decision to sit on the sidelines for now," added Juliette Cubanski, a policy analyst with the Kaiser Family Foundation, a leading health care research organization.

choices

About 20 million Americans now get their prescription drug coverage from Medicare Part D.

Officials had hoped that up to another 10 million seniors and people with disabilities would sign up.

The looming deadline has prompted consternation, according to the advocates who handle Part D questions.

Calls to hot lines have picked up substantially over recent weeks.

"Our phones won't stop ringing," said Jennifer McCarron, the help line coordinator for StateWide Senior Action, an Albany-based group that advocates for aging New Yorkers.

Both anecdotal evidence and polls show there are plenty of seniors who might miss the deadline not because they've made an educated choice, but because they don't know about it or are overwhelmed by Part D's complexity.

One factor is the sheer number of choices: 47 insurers in New Yorkers alone offer coverage.

"The fact that there are so many plans to choose from has people baffled," said Leo Torrey, an outreach coordinator with StateWide Senior Action.

Seniors have also been influenced by the tales of woe that made news when the drug benefit began on Jan. 1.

Some didn't get drugs, others erroneously paid high co-pays, and countless seniors spent hours battling bureaucracy.

Like Ralph William Shields of Albany, who fought to overcome "oblivion by automaton" earlier this year when he couldn't get state and federal bureaucracies to correctly identify him as someone who gets both Medicare and Medicaid, the health care program for low-income Americans.

Shields, 53, is a Medicare beneficiary because he was disabled by a traumatic brain injury he received in a car crash in 1987.

Finally, after months of phone calls and paperwork, the government figured out who Shields was.

He's now signed up for Part D.

Patricia Cox of Wyoming County also fought to get her Medicare drug benefit.

The 70-year-old testified at a public forum in Albany last week that she called no fewer than 40 different public and private agencies when she was fighting to correct a errant co-pay and to be shipped the right drug.

"There has been one error after another," said Cox.

The surveys done so far show that those tales aren't representative of most seniors on Medicare.

About 80 percent have told pollsters that the program is working well for them.

At least two-thirds of enrollees say they're saving money on their prescriptions.

But that still leaves 2 million Americans who had some problems, according to the most recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Those difficulties have undoubtedly scared off some seniors who might otherwise have signed up for Part D.

Some may have modest drug costs and decided it was just as easy to pay for medicine on their own rather than going through Part D hell.

But many of those seniors should sign up anyway, advocates say.

They recommend picking a no-frills Part D plan.

Some cost as little as $8 a month.

That way, if your health worsens and you need additional medications, you won't have to pay penalties for late enrollment.

"You may need just one drug today," said Cubanski.

"But next year, you may need five."

Some in Congress are looking for ways to put off the firm deadline.

The Medicare Informed Choice Act, which has 30 co-sponsors including Schumer and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, would eliminate the penalties and delay the enrollment deadline until Dec. 31.

upheaval likely

Some Medicare observers are predicting that the biggest frenzy is yet to come.

Later this year, those insurers that choose to offer Part D will have the option of pulling out of the program.

So far, a few big companies have captured most of the drug benefit market, leaving several dozen insurers with relatively few seniors signed up.

Some if not most of those companies will drop out.

When they do roughly in October seniors in New York and across the country will be told they need to again pick a new Part D plan.

Those letters probably won't go over well, said Mike Burgess, executive director of the New York State Alliance for Retired Americans.

"You'll get all of these people, conceivably tens of thousands, right before election time, who will get a notice saying they're being dropped," he said.

"That's a potential firestorm."

Pacenza can be reached at 454-5533 or by e-mail at mpacenza@timesunion.com.

Missing out

The percentage of residents with Medicare in the congressional districts of Reps. John Sweeney and Michael McNulty who are getting Part D benefits is less than the state and national averages.

With Medicare With Part D Percent

Area residents 215,052 131,715 61

New York state 2,788,968 1,861,126 67

United States 42,370,128 30,040,451 71

Of those people in the area now getting drug benefits from Medicare Part D, only about 16 percent signed up.

The others were automatically enrolled.

County Signed Up Auto enrolled

Albany 4,939 25,048

Rensselaer 2,538 12,206

Saratoga 3,287 14,863

Schenectady 2,395 15,883

Source: Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services

And getting away from the usual suspects in here for a moment .....

We have a touch of American history .....

To start out our day .....

And so ....

"Revolutionary War site offers few battle artifacts - Native American items found, but little evidence of British uncovered at Victory Woods"

By LEIGH HORNBECK, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Friday, May 5, 2006

VICTORY MILLS -- Native American artifacts used thousands of years ago were found by archaeologists who examined the Victory Woods battlefield where British soldiers suffered their most decisive defeat in the American Revolution.

Among the finds was a 6,000-year-old roasting pit used to cook acorns located just a few feet beneath the surface of the forest floor.

The dig also turned up darts and spear points that date from 1500 B.C. and 500 A.D.

The National Park Service commissioned an archaeological study of Victory Woods, which lies about one-third of a mile southeast of the Saratoga Monument, in anticipation of opening the land to the public.

The site, which is where British soldiers retreated after they were defeated in what is called the turning point of the Revolution, will feature a trail and interpretive signs similar to those in the Saratoga National Historical Park nearby.

Archaeologists were surprised and disappointed by what they found.

The 22-acre site has never been developed, so earthen fortifications the soldiers built are still visible and one cannon battery is distinct.

"It is truly exceptional that despite some development efforts during the early industrial period that many of the fortification features are intact," said Chris Stephens, who gave a presentation on the study of Victory Woods Thursday to 30 people.

But other battlefield artifacts, including musket balls, cannon balls, belt buckles and buttons, were not found.

They were likely picked clean years ago by scavengers with metal detectors.

Most of the researchers' 22 dig sites were concentrated near the monument and around a small pond.

The roasting pit is a collection of scattered stones, probably used to cook acorns by Mohican Indians.

Maps drawn at the time of the American Revolution showed the staff from Hartgen Archaeology Associates where to look for fortifications and war artifacts, explained Stephens.

Trying to soften the blow of not finding much evidence of the British army, Stephens called the fortifications the most valuable aspect of Victory Woods.

Once six to seven feet tall, they sheltered a dwindling army of 4,000 to 5,000 defeated men and their general, John Burgoyne, for seven days in October.

He surrendered Oct. 14, 1777.

After opening Victory Woods, park rangers look forward to a 2.75 mile trail connecting the Saratoga Monument, the house where American general Philip Schuyler lived and the battlefield.

And talk about "political statements", alright .....

There was one right there .....

Where old "Jack Brag" Burgoyne was going to come marching down from Canada ....

In 1777 ....

Bringing death and destruction with him .....

Or so he thought, anyway ....

To end the REBELLION in OUR America .....

Against his King ....

And so .....

But that was then, of course ....

And once made ...

Like all "political statements" ....

That one could not be "undone" ....

And so .....

OUR American history ...

What we have inheritied in OUR America today ...

Comes to us ...

In some part, anyway ....

As a result of that "political statement" by Burgoyne ...

And the British ....

And so .....

And since we are back to "today" .....

Here is another "political statement" of interest to us up here in the same corrupt EMPIRE of New York where "Jackie Brag" got his *** kicked so many years ago ...

And so .....

"Spitzer cancels speech to union"

Associated Press
First published: Monday, May 8, 2006

ALBANY -- State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer canceled his speech to the state's largest teachers union because he is investigating its leadership, union officials said Sunday.

Spitzer, a Democratic candidate for governor, had been scheduled to address the New York State United Teachers in Rochester on Friday.

Had Spitzer made the appearance, the union would have issued its endorsement of him at the time, said NYSUT spokesman Dennis Tompkins.

The union will now endorse a candidate in the race for governor in August, when it typically makes endorsements in statewide races, Tompkins said.

"In light of the ongoing review, both the attorney general and NYSUT felt it would be inappropriate for him to speak at this time," he said.

Spitzer is investigating the union's practice of accepting cash from an investment company that is then allowed to try to sell retirement plans to union members.

The New York Post on Saturday was the first to report Spitzer's decision not to address the union.

A Spitzer spokesman didn't respond to a request for comment.

NYSUT gets $3 million a year from ING, a Dutch investment company, for recommending its members enroll in retirement plans with high fees that often eat into returns.

And of course he is .....

Having "pretty" songs written about him .....

Our Eliot, up here ....

Which is the "nature" of politics, after all .....

Especially in this day and age of the ARCHITECT ......

The POLITICAL GURU OF GURUS ....

Karl Rove .....

Whose pretty songs got George W. Bush elected ....

To a high office in OUR land ...

Which he is not really competent to fill ....

But what the heck .....

The point in American politics today ...

Is not whether someone is qualified to fill the office that they are seeking ...

No one here in OUR America seems to really demand that of any politician anymore .....

If they ever did ......

Just tell us a lot of pretty lies .....

And like a fish .....

Eventually ...

We'll bite ....

To get that hook firmly embedded in our mouths ...

And so ......

Here's Eliot .....

All over again .....

And so ....

"Spitzer blames Bush for gas prices - Candidate for governor says he's investigating oil companies"

Associated Press
First published: Tuesday, April 25, 2006

ALBANY -- Democrat Eliot Spitzer on Monday said he's investigating whether oil producers are price-gouging and blamed Republican President Bush for rising prices at the pump.

"This is, once again, demonstrative of the complete failure of energy policy that we have seen out of Washington over the last five years and, frankly, it goes back farther than that," said Spitzer, a candidate for governor.

Spitzer said he is investigating recent price increases by the complicated "vertically integrated" oil companies that drill, refine, distribute and sell gas retail.

"We have to go through that analysis to see whether increased costs are any rationale for those increased prices," he said.

Spitzer already is suing three gas stations in New York, accusing them of price-gouging after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast last year.

In December, he settled with 15 gas stations statewide that paid $63,000 for marking up profits 25 percent or more immediately after Katrina.

One of his GOP opponents for governor, John Faso, said Spitzer is using Bush and the issue to avoid talking about his own platform of "platitudes and vapors."

"It's surprising he wants to take pot shots at George Bush when Spitzer is avoiding the issues that will concern New York's next governor," said Faso, an attorney and former minority leader of the state Assembly.

Faso said the state should make sure price-gouging laws are enforced, but also said Albany could waive the state's gasoline tax on the price per gallon above $2.

He said, however, that the issue is mostly a federal problem influenced by world demand and political unrest.

Also Monday, Republican attorney general candidate Jeanine Pirro said the state should be investigating whether oil companies are colluding to inflate profits.

"When you have competing companies that are engaging in the raising of prices in lock step with each other, you have to question whether or not this is coincidence or price-fixing," said Pirro, former Westchester County district attorney.

"With the merger of Exxon and Mobil and Chevron and Texaco, we have very little competition among the energy companies."

The American Petroleum Institute maintains that refinery capacity is still low from hurricanes Katrina and Rita last summer.

end quotes

It sounds like before Old Oncle Eliot runs his mouth too far out ahead of himself .....

Telling us now ...

What an investigation he hasn't even conducted yet ...

Is going to turn up .....

Maybe ...

He ought to get some facts first .....

And so ....

But, of course ...

Old Oncle Eliot is a consummate politician .....

And he knows ...

That he can ladle out large dollops of pure BULL **** .......

On a daily basis .....

To the news media up here ...

Which will never be questioned .....

By anyone, as a rule ...

And so ...

We have ....

Pretty songs ...

But no substance ...

And so ...

"IT'S SAIGON ALL OVER AGAIN."

--An awe-struck British journalist, gazing at the scene of soldiers taking off their shirts to play volleyball, State Department contractors having a party on the lawn, and bikini-clad embassy workers splashing in the swimming pool, inside the temporary U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad's Green Zone; cited in Iason Athanasiadis, ?Party on at Saddam's Palace (Asia Times, May 6) (see below item 56)
http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HE06Ak03.html

REMEMBER THE EDSEL! - WILLIAM FISHER (TRUTH OUT, MAY 7): Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes's enemy is the very US foreign policy she was brought on board to sell.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050706X.shtml

THE GAO POINTS OUT KAREN HUGHES'S SKILL GAP: IT'S THE VISION THING - KEN HOUGHTON (MARGINAL UTILITY, MAY 5): Karen Hughes's move to the State Department was a dubious idea.
http://atbozzo.blogspot.com/2006/05/gao-po...-skill-gap.html

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/05/0...tergategate.php
Crashing WatergateGate
Russ Baker
May 08, 2006


Investigative reporter and essayist Russ Baker is a longtime contributor to TomPaine.com. He is also the founder of the Real News Project , a new not-for-profit investigative journalism outlet. He can be reached at russ@russbaker.com.

We knew this was big back in March, when a court sent ex-Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif.—convicted of taking $2.4 million in bribes from military contractors—off to serve eight years in prison, the most severe sentence ever handed out to a member of Congress. From then on, the sleaze chain has been metastasizing. More members of the House might be implicated—and even top CIA officials. Now it is being described as the largest federal corruption scandal in a century. With stories of prostitutes and all-night poker games at the Watergate hotel, it is one scandal that truly is deserving of the "-gate" suffix that has become such a dreary journalistic cliché.

No matter how big the affair grows, though, it is likely to follow in the path of so many of its predecessors—distracting public attention from a larger and more important reality: Today, “the largest corruption scandal in a century” is not WatergateGate—it is the everyday performance of the U.S. government. The worst sleaze in Washington is mainly legal, as the old saying goes; and that includes the sorry state of the entire intelligence apparatus—beyond whether the #3 CIA official improperly participated in those late-night, high-stakes card games.

Too many in the media treat a juicy mess like the Cunningham Affair as a shocking aberration. Consider the wording in a New York Times article on Sunday, which described “a growing suspicion among some lawmakers that corrupt practices may have influenced decision-making in Congress and at executive-branch agencies.”

Who would have thought? Don’t the editors read their own paper? It’s been clear for some time that corruption in the Bush administration has exceeded a Washington standard that already was pretty tawdry. Some of the stories are known already, especially to TomPaine.com readers: White House procurement chief taken out in handcuffs in connection with a sprawling lobbying corruption investigation; the vice president’s chief of staff indicted for perjury; the unseemly setup between Bush’s first FEMA director and Brownie, the incompetent neophyte who replaced him.

But many of the larger misdeeds have gone unreported, in part because—technically illegal or not—they represent business as usual in Republican Washington today. Virtually every federal agency is now captive to the corporate interests it is supposed to regulate. The reach of corporate influence has even compromised the science agencies on whose fact-finding and truth-telling crucial questions of national safety and even survival depend.

And then there is Congress. A quick comparison of committee activity and floor votes with campaign finance reports tells the story. Never mind the now-controversial “earmarks,” in which legislators secretly slip goodies at the last minute into larger bill packages. The real scandal is going on in plain sight. The entities that give the most get the most—and the goodies keep on coming. That outfits like Halliburton can survive a never-ending series of contracting horror shows with their federal contacts intact says a lot about Congress’s willful abrogation of fiduciary duty on behalf of the taxpayer.

The main mistake Randy Cunningham made was accepting the goodies while he was still in Congress. There is no crime involved in doing the exact same favors for government contractors, and later joining the company’s board or getting hired as a highly-paid lobbyist, or getting payback on a more indirect basis. That’s the deal all over town, and some of the most “well-respected” names in America have such arrangements—and not all of them are Republicans. The whole thing stinks, but what to do about it? That’s the rub.

Speaking of a rub, besides the careless greed, in the Cunningham Caper we are blessed by the emergence of a sexual angle worthy of a British tabloid, with the congressman alleged to have enjoyed the favors of big-league prostitutes in return for military contracts. Sexual peccadilloes always get the public’s attention in a way that other misdeeds, like accepting bribes from defense contractors, cannot. That Cunningham and his buddies may have preferred presumably-discreet professional company over out-of-wedlock friends of the Gennifer Flowers ilk, makes perfect sense in an atmosphere where holier-than-thou sanctimony cannot bear scrutiny. That might take the story to a new level, since these sins would have been committed by the staunchest defenders of the "sanctity of marriage."

Those who care about the ever more brazen sellout of the public interest over the last five years have no choice but to take these revelations in whatever garb they come—and if they’re scantily clad, so be it. Meanwhile, consorting with prostitutes—the thing that will get perhaps get the most attention—is the one thing that matters least to the future of our body politic.

With this new WatergateGate, we must at all costs beware the Woodward Fallacy—that sanitation is a substitute for politics and ideas. It is the conceit of the reigning elite. But in fact we can get rid of Cunningham and his cronies and the rot will continue, unless change goes much deeper to the root.

And apropos nothing ....

I suppose ...

Other than that history ....

Continues to interest me ....

As I grow older ...

And so ....

"Tombs Found at China Olympic Site"

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer

47 minutes ago

BEIJING - Work on a shooting range for the 2008 Beijing Olympics has been suspended after the discovery of imperial-era tombs on the site, newspapers and an antiquities official said Monday.

The tombs, found in mid-April, are believed to date back five to six centuries to the Ming dynasty, and may be those of eunuchs serving at the imperial court, the Beijing Morning Post said.

Beijing has been the site of imperial and other capitals for more than 1,000 years, and many major building projects unearth gravesites or relics.

Most are removed or destroyed before experts can examine them.

A spokeswoman for the Beijing Olympic organizers, Zhu Jing, said the find accounted for only a small part of the construction site and "shouldn't affect the work too seriously."

"We'll let everyone know if there is a major discovery," Zhu said.

An official of the Beijing Cultural Relics Department, Liu Baoshan, declined to give an age for the tombs and said no details would be released until a final report is drawn up.

Archaeologists have found coins, ceramics and jade in the tombs at the shooting range on the Chinese capital's western outskirts, the Post and other papers said.

An Associated Press photographer who visited the site Monday saw antiquities officials at work on several pits dug into an area on the edge of the construction site, where work otherwise appeared to have halted.

Workers refused to answer questions and demanded the photographer leave the area.

Olympics organizers broke ground in July 2004 for the shooting range.

The main Olympic facilities are on Beijing's north side, while other facilities are scattered around the city.

Beijing has been racing ahead with construction of venues for the games.

Most have proceeded smoothly, although there have been some protests by people whose homes have been destroyed to make way for new stadiums and gymnasiums.

And so ....

People are finally beginning to understand .....

What it is all about ....

And so .....

And as we continue to hear all of this crap and blather about America being the WORLD'S ONLY SUPERPOWER .....

And how it is our job as a nation ...

To teach all these other nations on the face of the earth how to live .....

What is so very SUPER ...

About this?

"U.S. newborn survival rate ranks low"

By LINDSEY TANNER, Associated Press
Last updated: 4:22 a.m., Tuesday, May 9, 2006

CHICAGO -- America may be the world's superpower, but its survival rate for newborn babies ranks near the bottom among modern nations, better only than Latvia.

Among 33 industrialized nations, the United States is tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with a death rate of nearly 5 per 1,000 babies, according to a new report.

Latvia's rate is 6 per 1,000.

"We are the wealthiest country in the world, but there are still pockets of our population who are not getting the health care they need," said Mary Beth Powers, a reproductive health adviser for the U.S.-based Save the Children, which compiled the rankings based on health data from countries and agencies worldwide.

The U.S. ranking is driven partly by racial and income health care disparities.

Among U.S. blacks, there are 9 deaths per 1,000 live births, closer to rates in developing nations than to those in the industrialized world.

"Every time I see these kinds of statistics, I'm always amazed to see where the United States is because we are a country that prides itself on having such advanced medical care and developing new technology ... and new approaches to treating illness."

"But at the same time not everybody has access to those new technologies," said Dr. Mark Schuster, a Rand Co. researcher and pediatrician with the University of California, Los Angeles.

The Save the Children report, released Monday, comes just a week after publication of another report humbling to the American health care system.

That study showed that white, middle-aged Americans are far less healthy than their peers in England, despite U.S. health care spending that is double that in England.

In the analysis of global infant mortality, Japan had the lowest newborn death rate, 1.8 per 1,000 and four countries tied for second place with 2 per 1,000 -- the Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland and Norway.

Still, it's the impoverished nations that feel the full brunt of infant mortality, since they account for 99 percent of the 4 million annual deaths of babies in their first month.

Only about 16,000 of those are in the United States, according to Save the Children.

The highest rates globally were in Africa and South Asia.

With a newborn death rate of 65 out of 1,000 live births, Liberia ranked the worst.

In the United States, researchers noted that the population is more racially and economically diverse than many other industrialized countries, making it more challenging to provide culturally appropriate health care.

About half a million U.S. babies are born prematurely each year, data show.

African-American babies are twice as likely as white infants to be premature, to have a low birth weight, and to die at birth, according to Save the Children.

The researchers also said lack of national health insurance and short maternity leaves likely contribute to the poor U.S. rankings.

Those factors can lead to poor health care before and during pregnancy, increasing risks for premature births and low birth weight, which are the leading causes of newborn death in industrialized countries.

Infections are the main culprit in developing nations, the report said.

Other possible factors in the U.S. include teen pregnancies and obesity rates, which both disproportionately affect African-American women and also increase risk for premature births and low birth weights.

In past reports by Save the Children -- released ahead of Mother's Day -- U.S. mothers' well-being has consistently ranked far ahead of those in developing countries but poorly among industrialized nations.

This year the United States tied for last place with the United Kingdom on indicators including mortality risks and contraception use.

While the gaps for infants and mothers contrast sharply with the nation's image as a world leader, Emory University health policy expert Kenneth Thorpe said the numbers are not surprising.

"Our health care system focuses on providing high-tech services for complicated cases."

"We do this very well," Thorpe said.

"What we do not do is provide basic primary and preventive health care services."

"We do not pay for these services, and do not have a delivery system that is designed to provide either primary prevention, or adequately treat patients with chronic diseases."

------

On the Net:

Save the Children: http://www.savethechildren.org

And then ....

There is always the economy ....

"A sense of running on empty - Energy costs blamed for rising unease about economy in New York"

By KEVIN HARLIN, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Higher energy prices sapped New Yorkers' confidence in the economy in April, bringing upstate down to its lowest level since the Siena Research Institute began the survey in 1999.

The institute on Monday reported consumer confidence fell 9.5 points from the previous month, to 73.8 in April.

That puts New Yorkers 13.6 points behind the nation.

And upstaters continued to be even more down on the economy, measuring a record low 69.1, down 7.7 points from March.

Within the metro New York City area, confidence was down 11.1 points, but was still higher than upstate, at 76.2.

"Everyone -- men, women, Democrats, Republicans, young, old, high and low income -- is feeling the effect of high energy prices," Douglas Lonnstrom, the institute's director, said in a statement.

As consumers were coming off of record high home heating costs this past winter, the price of gasoline has been rising.

Self-serve regular cost over $3 a gallon Monday, according to AAA.

The automobile club said it was about $2.74 a gallon a month ago and $2.27 a year ago.

The Siena College-affiliated institute surveyed 620 adult New Yorkers by phone during the month to compile the index, which has a baseline of 100.

High numbers indicate confidence in the economy, and lower figures show unease.

Lonnstrom said the confidence figures concur with a Siena survey from the previous week, which found that 52 percent of state voters thought the state was heading in the wrong direction -- the highest level since SRI began tracking it a year and a half ago.

But New Yorkers weren't planning to completely cinch their purse strings.

The number who reported plans to buy a car or truck, a computer, or who expected to make major home improvements was up slightly.

The percentage of respondents who said they planned to buy homes or furniture was down slightly.

Deborah Dorman, president of the Eastern New York Coalition of Automotive Dealers, an Albany-based trade group, said sales seemed to have picked up for her members in April.

"All of a sudden, they're selling some cars," she said.

"Incomes up most in energy states"

By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY

Thu May 4, 7:00 AM ET

Americans' personal income is growing dramatically in states that produce energy or have strong ties to the expanding federal government.

The five states enjoying fastest per-capita income growth since 2000 are major suppliers of oil, natural gas or coal, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal data.

Wyoming topped the list: Personal income rose an inflation-adjusted 13.9% from 2000 to 2005.

The state was well-positioned to take advantage of higher energy prices.

It ranks No. 1 in coal production, No. 4 in natural gas and No. 7 in oil - but No. 50 in population.

Not far behind the energy states were Virginia and Maryland, which experienced explosive growth in their Washington, D.C., suburbs.

"The engine driving growth here is federal spending, especially for technology related to military and homeland security," says economist Stephen Fuller of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

The federal spending boom - up 22% since 2000, after adjusting for inflation, to $2.5 trillion in 2005 - created a wealth of high-paying jobs for private contractors.

It also helped poorer states such as Mississippi by boosting health care spending.

No state could match the affluence of the nation's capital, which had average personal income of $54,985 in 2005, up 19.8% from 2000.

"The Washington, D.C., area is what Atlanta used to be - a place where corporations locate their headquarters or at least large regional offices," says SunTrust Banks economist Gregory Miller.

"Everyone wants to sell to the federal government, so you've got to be there."

Saying that George W. Bush could have been a great president ....

Is a lot like saying that had George W. Bush been a horse ...

He could have won the Kentucky Derby ....

George is like a gang leader, when you come right down to it ....

Because outside of his gang .....

He is nothing ....

And so ....

More "GANG WARFARE" is headed our way .....

Thanks to George W. Bush ...

Who simply has nothing else to offer us anymore .....

Himself being nothing more than the "product" ...

Of some expensive smoke ...

And mirrors .....

Jury-rigged by the ARCHITECT .....

For the sole purpose of grabbing more power here in OUR America ....

What the REPUBLICANS call "PLAY-BOOK POLITICS" ....

As though governing OUR America ..

Were nothing more than a silly game ...

Which for them ...

It is .....

And so ....

"Bush wants fight over CIA choice - President hopes debate over Hayden's role in warrantless wiretaps will hurt Democrats, but some Republicans who usually back White House are balking"

By PETER WALLSTEN and JANET HOOK, Los Angeles Times
First published: Tuesday, May 9, 2006

WASHINGTON -- By picking Gen. Michael Hayden as the next CIA director, President Bush faces another brawl over his controversial program to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists, including people on American soil, without court approval.

But far from fearing such a fight, the White House walked right into it by nominating the program's leading defender to head the CIA.

Administration allies said Monday that by reviving debate over the spy program, which Hayden oversaw when he led the National Security Agency, his nomination would provide a welcomed opportunity to reopen a tried-and-true election-year playbook in which Republicans portray Democrats as weak on national security.

"We welcome that debate," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, one of the White House's closest Capitol Hill allies, in a statement released Monday concerning the Hayden nomination.

"If the President's opponents hope to argue that we're doing too much to prevent terrorism, that the intelligence agencies are fighting too hard against terrorists around the world, then we look forward to taking that debate to the American people."

Still, there were signs Monday that the White House might have miscalculated.

Rather than Democrats leading the charge against Hayden, some of the most vocal opposition came from Republicans, including steadfast White House backers such as House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga. and Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., who is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., who will lead Hayden's confirmation hearings, has declined to endorse him.

Those unexpected turns of events further underscored how difficult Bush is finding it to govern with approval ratings that have dropped to the low 30s.

And they muddied the message being promoted by White House strategist Karl Rove, who recently predicted that the terrorist wiretapping program would portray Democrats as operating with a "pre-9/11 mind-set."

The political calculations over Hayden's nomination reflected the uneasy terrain facing Republicans just six months before voters decide whether to keep the GOP in control of Congress.

White House strategists are angling to exploit the party's traditional strength on national security issues, but some Republicans are wary of being tied to a President whose approval ratings seem to drop by the day.

A new Gallup survey for CNN and USA Today, released Monday, showed Bush's approval at an all-time low of 31 percent -- with the President winning approval from barely a majority of conservatives.

The NSA program emerged as a hot political issue in December, when The New York Times first revealed its existence.

Democrats and civil libertarians have attacked the program, under which the NSA, without court warrants, monitors phone conversations and e-mail of suspected terrorists communicating with people inside the United States.

Critics charged that the administration could use the program to illegally spy on U.S. citizens.

The program also has drawn fire from some Republicans, including Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who said the Hayden nomination might give him a renewed chance to investigate whether it violates constitutional protections of privacy.

But Republican strategists on Monday said the White House's decision to nominate Hayden, despite a certain fight over the program, reflected administration thinking that the fall elections will be won by motivating the traditional conservative base, using the same focus on national security that succeeded in 2002 and 2004.

Their formula, they said, included tagging Democrats as soft on terrorism and seizing on statements by liberals such as Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who proposed censuring Bush over the NSA program.

A mass e-mail sent in March by the Republican National Committee slamming Feingold received the highest response rate of any RNC message since the nomination of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

David Winston, a Republican pollster who works with congressional Republicans, said that Hayden's presence in the spotlight will emphasize the fact that the NSA program was specifically targeting suspected members of al-Qaida, undercutting Democratic opposition to the program.

"The thought there was that getting him up in front of people, constantly reiterating that this was targeting calls to and from al-Qaida, was a good debate" that would benefit Republicans, Winston said. .

Some Democrats worried their party might help the GOP by making an issue of the spy program.

The censure call by Feingold and the refusal over the weekend by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to rule out an impeachment vote against Bush risked galvanizing a conservative base that appears decidedly unenthusiastic.

Still, Monday's events underscored tensions among Republicans.

The White House faced complaints from GOP lawmakers they were not properly consulted on the Hayden nomination, raising questions about whether a recent staff shake-up at the White House was having any effect on warming chilly relations with lawmakers.

A spokesman for Hastert, for example, said the speaker was "informed" but not consulted.

In announcing his choice from the Oval Office, Bush declared that Hayden, who wore his Air Force uniform for the occasion, had "vast experience" and was "the right man to lead the CIA at this critical moment in our nation's history."

Porter J. Goss, the current CIA director, was forced out of the position on Friday.

Within 90 minutes of Bush's announcement, John D. Negroponte, the director of national intelligence and Hayden's immediate superior, told reporters in an unusual White House briefing that Hayden would be independent of the Pentagon and that the Navy admiral who was Goss' deputy would be moving aside, according to The New York Times.

Negroponte said that a civilian, Stephen R. Kappes, was under serious consideration for the deputy spot.

Kappes, who is highly regarded by CIA officials, left the agency in 2004 after clashing with Goss.

In another sign the White House was trying to make the change in CIA leadership politically palatable to Congress, the agency's No. 3 official, Kyle Foggo, told colleagues in an e-mail message on Monday that he, too, was stepping down.

Foggo, a longtime administrative officer at the agency, had been promoted by Goss.

end quotes

Plunk your magic twanger, Froggo ....

And see what HACK GUMMINT job ...

You can land next ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=710...id=aVreBEdY.5cg

Asia Is Getting Ready to Dump the Dollar Peg: Andy Mukherjee
May 8 (Bloomberg) -- Li Yong, China's vice minister for finance, said he had heard a ``rumor'' that the U.S. dollar was headed for a 25 percent drop. If the gossip was true, the consequences would be ``shocking,'' he said.

Li's comment, which he made at a discussion on global financial imbalances last week at the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in the Indian city of Hyderabad, was aimed directly at fellow panelist Tim Adams, the U.S. Treasury undersecretary of international affairs.

The unspoken message was: ``Don't try to talk the dollar down.'' And Adams knew better than to ask, ``Well, what are you going to do about it?'' The answer to that question has already begun taking shape: Asia may be getting ready to fix its currencies to a local anchor, dumping the region's unofficial dollar peg.

Even as they continue to pile up U.S. debt in their foreign- exchange reserves to keep their currencies stable against the dollar, Asian nations, China among them, are preparing for a scenario where the dollar does indeed collapse under the weight of a record U.S. current account deficit.

At the Hyderabad meeting, finance ministers of China, Japan and South Korea got together with their counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean. The 13-nation group said it would sponsor a research project, titled ``Toward greater financial stability in the Asian region: Exploring steps to create regional monetary units.''

Asian Currency Unit

This is no innocuous academic exercise. Regional monetary units are a euphemism for a parallel Asian currency, an idea that has been around since the 1997-98 financial crisis and is now, for the first time, entering the realm of policy making.

Both Japan and China are extremely serious about it and are vying to take ownership of the project.

An Asian Currency Unit, or ACU, will be an index that seeks to capture the value of a hypothetical Asian currency by taking a weighted average of several of them. The weight for a particular currency in the index may be determined by the size of the economy and the quantity of its total trade.

What's the big deal with the ACU? Given the data, anyone can set up an index. It isn't that Asia is talking about replacing its national currencies with the ACU. A European-style single currency in Asia is at least decades away. The ACU is an accounting unit; it won't change hands in the physical world.

The ACU will start making a difference when it becomes the fulcrum of exchange-rate management in Asia. There is some sign that Asian nations want to do just that.

A New Peg

Korea, Japan and China agreed in Hyderabad to ``immediately launch discussions on the road map for a system to coordinate foreign exchange policy.''

The ACU can help a lot in such coordination. It can become a basket peg against which any Asian nation can fix the value of its currency within a band. The ACU, itself, will float.

Why might the ACU work when the now-defunct European Currency Unit, on which the concept is modeled, didn't? One good reason, as noted by economist Barry Eichengreen of the University of California, Berkeley, is that Europe's need for a parallel currency was satisfied by the dollar.

The ACU may well emerge as a viable currency for denominating export invoices, bank loans and bond issuances if the dollar is no longer perceived as a safe storage of value.

So far, Japan has been driving the ACU concept. Haruhiko Kuroda, a former Japanese vice minister of finance and currently the president of the Asian Development Bank, was vigorously pursuing it. The ADB was going to start computing and publishing several ACUs sometime this year.

China in Control

One such ACU would have comprised 13 members, including the Japanese yen, the Chinese yuan, the Korean won and the currencies of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines. Another ACU would have included both the yuan and the Taiwan dollar -- and that would have been anathema to China. Nor would China have liked to peg the yuan to an ACU that was overly dominated by the yen.

Now China has taken control. While the research will still be conducted in Japan, Asean will take the decision on the composition of the ACU. While Japan is a member of this club, its influence is in decline. The association is now firmly under China's thumb.

While China continues to exhort the U.S. not to follow weak- dollar policies, it, like everyone else, can only guess about the longevity of the present global imbalances.

If there is a sudden collapse in the dollar, the U.S. appetite for imported goods may vanish. The Chinese export engine may seize up and its fragile banking system may collapse under a spate of new bad loans. The idea behind the ACU is to buy some insurance, however inadequate, against all of this.

Stalemate

With its ``my currency is your problem'' attitude, the U.S. has made a negotiated settlement of global imbalances a diplomatic non-starter. China isn't willing to consider the U.S. argument that quicker appreciation of the yuan may prevent a costly adjustment later.

Once again in Hyderabad, Undersecretary Adams tried valiantly to get this message across to Chinese Vice Finance Minister Li. He was wasting his breath.

Li, as Adams noted wryly, ``knows all my talking points.''



To contact the writer of this column:
Andy Mukherjee in Singapore amukherjee@bloomberg.net.

Click here:

http://www.merlehaggard.com/

http://www.middleeastforex.com/index.php?section=215

Iran: Euro to replace dollar as oil currency
In July Iran will ditch the dollar in favour of the euro as the currency in which it will accept payments for its oil and natural gas exports, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Friday.

The switch, first mooted months ago, was expected but Ahmadinejad's decision comes just as Washington is stepping up pressure on other United Nations Security Council members to act against Tehran for flouting agreements taken with the UN's nuclear watchdog.

Ahmadinejad's announcement, made in Baku, Azerbaijan where the Iranian leader is attending a regional economics conference, appears aimed at weakening the United States' resolve to seek sanctions against Iran if it does not comply with the UN International Agency for Atomic Energy's demands.

Some observers beleive the Iranian move could deal a severe blow the the American currency as many central banks from oil importing nations could choose to stock up their currency reserves with euros rather than dollars- AKI.