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The NY Post reports that "a top White House aide resigned today for his role in Air Force One's $328,835 photo-op flyover above New York City that sparked panic and flashbacks to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. His resignation was made public at the same time the photo of the flyover was released by the White House. Louis Caldera said the controversy had made it impossible for him to effectively lead the White House Military Office." A White House review of the incident said that "when asked why he failed to do so, he did not offer a coherent explanation. He stated that it was not a conscious decision -- he did not intend not to notify them. Instead, he suggested that it may have been an oversight."
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Friday, May 8, 2009
Robert Gates On NYC Flyover: “I Am Concerned That This Highly Public And Visible Mission Did Not Include An Appropriate Public Affairs Plan"
Costumed Dan Rather Helps Daily Show Mock MSNBC Coverage Of Obama-Biden Trip To Burger King
First watch MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell narrating the lunch order, literally saying "this just in," so that you can understand the context of the Daily Show spoof below:
Now, here is Jon Stewart and Dan Rather:The Daily Show With Jon Stewart M - Th 11p / 10c Nixon Has a Burrito Daily Show
Full EpisodesEconomic Crisis Political Humor
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Dick Cheney On GOP: "It Would Be A Mistake For Us To Moderate"
Cheney discusses the legal memos on interrogation in the interview as well. Link: 
Thursday, May 7, 2009
CIA Says Pelosi Was Briefed On Use Of Enhanced Interrogations And Pelosi Is Therefore A Liar Feigning Outrage For Political Gain
The Washington Post Reports that "intelligence officials released documents this evening saying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was briefed in September 2002 about the use of harsh interrogation tactics against al-Qaeda prisoners, seemingly contradicting her repeated statements over the past 18 months that she was never told that these techniques were actually being used. In a 10-page memo outlining an almost seven-year history of classified briefings, intelligence officials said that Pelosi and then-Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.) were the first two members of Congress ever briefed on the interrogation tactics. Then the ranking member and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, respectively, Pelosi and Goss were briefed Sept. 4, 2002, one week before the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The memo, issued by the Director of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency to Capitol Hill, notes the Pelosi-Goss briefing covered 'EITs including the use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah.' EIT is an acronym for enhanced interrogation technique. Zubaydah was one of the earliest valuable al-Qaeda members captured and the first to have the controversial tactic known as water boarding used against him. The issue of what Pelosi knew and when she knew it has become a matter of heated debate on Capitol Hill. Republicans have accused her of knowing for many years precisely the techniques CIA agents were using in interrogations, and only protesting the tactics when they became public and liberal antiwar activists protested."
Pelosi's office issued a statement saying the document shows "the Speaker was briefed only once, in September 2002. The briefers described these techniques, said they were legal, but said that waterboarding had not yet been used." This carefully worded lie directly contradicts what the Washington Post reports is in this CIA memo concerning meeting with Pelosi. The CIA memo clearly states that "EITs including the use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah" were discussed with Pelosi. The memo clearly shows that Pelosi is a bold-faced liar who has decided to lie about what she was told for political cover. They demonstrate that Pelosi is more concerned with playing politics than integrity. Years before the recent controversy over released legal memos she was informed that waterboarding was being used and had failed to register objections.
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Anti-Israel "Boycott" Against French Grocery Store By Uniformed Thugs Stealing Israeli-Made Products
These people are truly deranged. Thugs march around uniformed in stupid green t-shirts denouncing Israeli crimes as they miss the irony that they are conspiring to steal and actively stealing from a grocery store. I further doubt that green is a coincidence as green is the color that represents Hamas. It's madness. French police should have marched in and thrown the whole lot of them in a sanitarium. This is not a boycott at all. A boycott is refusing to buy from a source, not marching around with a massive mob and shoving groceries made in Israel into garbage bags. Just another sample of Eurabia in action.
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Senator Judd Gregg Discussing Obama's $17 Billion Budget Cuts In Context Of Federal Budget
The Washington Times reports that "President Obama announced fewer budget cuts and for a lesser dollar amount than President George W. Bush did in his final budget - and is counting on being able to eliminate some programs that his predecessor repeatedly tried, but failed, to slash. Obama administration officials said they're convinced they'll have more luck eliminating programs such as Even Start, an early childhood education program that Mr. Bush put on the chopping block year after year but which both Democrats and Republicans in Congress refused to cut" (emphasis added).
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Chris Matthews Asks Republican Congressmen Tom Tancredo And Mike Pence If They "Believe In Evolution"
Watch Chris Matthews and Tom Tancredo discussing the issue. Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Mike Pence came on "Hardball" with Chris Matthews thinking he was going to discuss global warming, but Matthews directed the discussion to whether Republicans believe in evolution. Pence was not able to articulate his position as well as Tom Tancredo.
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Highlights From Speeches Delivered To 2009 AIPAC Policy Conference
Here is Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu's address via satellite to AIPAC:
Vice President Joe Biden spoke at the conference. Amid expressing general pro-Israel sentiments he also said that "Israel has to work toward a two-state solution. You're not gonna like my saying this, but not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts, and allow the Palestinians freedom of movement based on their first actions." The following are highlights of Biden's speech:
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich also spoke at the conference. Here are some highlights:
Here are a few highlights from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer at the policy conference:
The following are some highlights from House Republican Whip Eric Cantor's remarks at AIPAC:
Highlights of remarks from Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl:
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin from Illinois also addressed the conference. Here are some of his remarks:
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Disgusting Attacks On Miss California Carie Prejean From MSNBC's Keith Olbermann And His Gay Columnist Guest Michael Musto
If Miss North Carolina had gotten the gay marriage question at the Miss America competition and answered that she supports same-sex marriage, can anyone imagine any right-leaning cable news show, such as "Hannity" or "The O'reilly Factor," stooping to these depths and launching these ugly attacks? There is something very demented about the way these kinds of leftists are attacking Miss California. I think the message is being sent that if anyone dares to vocalize an opinion in favor of traditional marriage in the public square, that person will do so at the risk of personal attacks and humiliation from a left-wing media mob.
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Washington Times: Obama "Threatens To Expose And Derail A 40-Year-Old Secret U.S. Agreement To Shield Israel’s Nuclear Weapons" From Scrutiny
The Washington Times reports that "President Obama’s efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons threaten to expose and derail a 40-year-old secret U.S. agreement to shield Israel’s nuclear weapons from international scrutiny, former and current U.S. and Israeli officials and nuclear specialists say. The issue will likely come to a head when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Mr. Obama on May 18 in Washington. Mr. Netanyahu is expected to seek assurances from Mr. Obama that he will uphold the U.S. commitment and will not trade Israeli nuclear concessions for Iranian ones. Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller, speaking Tuesday at a U.N. meeting on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), said Israel should join the treaty, which would require Israel to declare and relinquish its nuclear arsenal."
Gottemoeller endorsed the concept of a nuclear-free Middle East in a 2005 paper that she co-authored, “Universal Compliance: A Strategy for Nuclear Security” in which she wrote: “Instead of defensively trying to ignore Israels nuclear status, the United States and Israel should proactively call for regional dialogue to specify the conditions necessary to achieve a zone free of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons."
In contrast, Elliott Abrams, deputy national security adviser for the George W. Bush administration, said that the Bush administration resisted any international efforts to pressure Israel on the nuclear front. "We did not want to accept any operational language that would put Israel at a disadvantage and raise the question of whether Israel was a nuclear power," he said. "That was not a discussion that we thought was helpful. We allowed very general statements about the goal of a nuclear-free Middle East as long that language was hortatory."
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Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Talk Show Host Michael Savage Banned From UK For "Fomenting Hatred" And Savage Is Considering Legal Action In Response
WND reports that "talk radio host Michael Savage is considering legal action against Britain's top homeland security official after she released today a list grouping him with terrorists and neo-Nazi murderers banned from entry because the government believes their views might provoke violence... Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she decided to publicize the list of 16 people banned since October to show the type of behavior Britain will not tolerate, according to U.K. news reports... Savage's immediate reaction upon hearing the news was typically wry. 'Darn! And I was just planning a trip to England for their superior dental work and cuisin,' he recalled thinking."
"Then it sank in," he told WND, "and I said, 'She said this is the kind of behavior we won't tolerate? She's linking me with mass murderers who are in prison for killing Jewish children on buses? For my speech? The country where the Magna Carta was created?'"
WND further quotes Savage as saying he wants top First Amendment attorneys to represent him "in a major international case."
"I want to sue the British home secretary for defamation," he said, "for linking me up with murderers because of my opinions, my writings, my speaking – none of which have advocated any violence, ever."
Here is some of what Michael Savage had to say today on his radio show in response:
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Monday, May 4, 2009
Israeli TV Reports That Rahm Emanuel Said In Closed-Door AIPAC Meeting That Thwarting Iran Nukes Is Conditional On Israeli-Palestinian Talks
The Jerusalem Post reports that "thwarting Iran's nuclear program is conditional on progress in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, according to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Israeli TV reports said Monday that Emanuel made the comments in a closed-door meeting the previous day with 300 major AIPAC donors... Meanwhile, in an interview with the Jerusalem Post Sunday, former US House speaker Newt Gingrich blasted the Obama administration for setting itself on a collision course with Israel and endangering the Jewish state. He called US President Barack Obama's program of engagement on Iran a 'fantasy,' and his Middle East policies 'very dangerous for Israel.' He summed up Obama's approach as 'the clearest adoption of weakness since Jimmy Carter.'"
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White House Advisor Kareem Dale: "At The White House...We Love MSNBC"
Kareem Dale also said that "for far too long in this country, arts has been the program in this country that is cut when things get difficult. For far too long in this country, arts have been an afterthought. For far too long in this country, arts have been treated as second class. … And for far too long, the arts have not been considered integral to building a prosperous and viable society." This is a load of hooey. Let me translate what Kareem is actually saying. He is actually saying that Obama is expanding federal government funding of artists who cannot, despite government copyright and other protections of their work, succeed on the merits. Arts are not an afterthought in America. America is the world's leader in cinema, television, music, and so forth. However, those arts are not federally funded so of course Dale would not consider those arts. To qualify as an art apparently you need to produce works that have no value in an economy and that can only exist if taxpayer money is spent to support them.
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Senator Jim Demint: "Big Tent" Republican Party Must Be Supported By The "Strongest Pole" Of "Freedom"
Republican Senator Jim Demint had the following to say regarding those calling for the Republican party to moderate it's position and create a "bigger tent":
"Despite notable successes at both ends of Pennsylvania Ave., it seems to me that Republicans in Congress and in the Bush administration forgot a simple truth. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, if you aim for principled reform, you win elections in the bargain; if you just aim for elections, you get neither. No Child Left Behind didn’t win us 'soccer moms,' but it did cost us our credibility on locally controlled education. Medicare prescription drugs didn’t win us a 'permanent majority,' but it cost us our credibility on entitlement reform. Every year, another Republican quality was tainted: managerial competence, fiscal discipline and personal ethics. To win back the trust of the American people, we must be a 'big tent' party. But big tents need strong poles, and the strongest pole of our party — the organizing principle and the crucial alternative to the Democrats — must be freedom. The federal government is too big, takes too much of our money, and makes too many of our decisions. If Republicans can’t agree on that, elections are the least of our problems. If the American people want a European-style social democracy, the Democratic Party will give it to them. We can’t win a bidding war with Democrats. Freedom will mean different things to different Republicans, but it can tether a diverse coalition to inalienable principles. Republicans can welcome a vigorous debate about legalized abortion or same-sex marriage; but we should be able to agree that social policies should be set through a democratic process, not by unelected judges. Our party benefits from national-security debates; but Republicans can start from the premise that the U.S. is an exceptional nation and force for good in history. We can argue about how to rein in the federal Leviathan; but we should agree that centralized government infringes on individual liberty and that problems are best solved by the people or the government closest to them."
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911 Hangs Up On Emergency Call Because She Used The "F" Word
20-year veteran cop with commendations having a bad day, or reckless unprofessional officer that should be suspended or fired? Feel free to leave comments below.
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Newt Gingrich Blasts Obama For Endangering Israel
The Jerusalem Post reports:
"There's almost an eagerness to take on the Israeli government to make a point with the Arab world," Newt Gingrich said, speaking to the Jerusalem Post ahead of his speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference.
He called US President Barack Obama's program of engagement on Iran a "fantasy," and his Middle East policies "very dangerous for Israel." He summed up Obama's approach as "the clearest adoption of weakness since Jimmy Carter."
Instead, he maintained, the US should be sending the message to Israel that "we are for the survival of Israel" and that "we are not going to tolerate Iran getting nuclear weapons."
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Sunday, May 3, 2009
Arlen Specter Tells Meet The Press That He Switched Parties Because His "Chances To Be Elected On The Republican Ticket Were Bleak"
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Top Bankruptcy Attorney Thomas Lauria: White House Threatened To Use Press Corps To Destroy Firm's Reputation For Opposing Chrysler Bankruptcy Plan
Steve Rattner is the leader of the Obama administration's Auto Industry Task Force. Thomas Lauria is the Global Practice Head of the Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Group at White & Case.
ABC reporter Jake Tapper reports that "Lauria told ABC News that Rattner suggested to an official of the boutique investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners that officials of the Obama White House would embarrass the firm for opposing the Obama administration plan, which President Obama announced Thursday, and which requires creditors to accept roughly 29 cents on the dollar for an estimated $6.8 billion owed by Chrysler." Perella Weinberg Partners, which owned Chrysler debt through its Xerion Fund, "was one of Lauria's clients in this bankruptcy, but no longer is. Before the Thursday deadline, Joseph Perella and Peter Weinberg tried to join the larger creditors -- JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs -- who are owed roughly 70% of Chrysler's debt and had already agreed to participate with the administration's plan. All four financial institutions are recipients of up to $100 billion in federal government bailout funds, though the Obama administration insists the matters were kept completely separate."
Perella Weinberg Partners, Lauria said, "was directly threatened by the White House and in essence compelled to withdraw its opposition to the deal under the threat that the full force of the White House press corps would destroy its reputation if it continued to fight. That’s how hard it is to stand on this side of the fence."
Lauria has said his clients "are mainly fiduciaries for pension plans, college endowments, retirement plans and credit unions who invested in low yield supposedly very secure first lien debt" with Chrysler.
"The charge is completely untrue," said White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton, "and there's obviously no evidence to suggest that this happened in any way."
ABC News reporter Jake Tapper reports further that "President Obama singled out Lauria's clients for criticism when he announced the Chrysler plan on Thursday. 'While many stakeholders made sacrifices and worked constructively, I have to tell you some did not,' the president said. 'In particular, a group of investment firms and hedge funds decided to hold out for the prospect of an unjustified taxpayer-funded bailout. They were hoping that everybody else would make sacrifices, and they would have to make none.' Lauria said the president's assertion that his clients weren't willing to make any sacrifice is false. The clients were willing to take 50 cents on the dollar from Chrysler for their debt, he said. President Obama also said of Lauria's clients, 'I don't stand with them. I stand with Chrysler's employees and their families and communities. I stand with Chrysler's management, its dealers, and its suppliers. I stand with the millions of Americans who own and want to buy Chrysler cars. I don't stand with those who held out when everybody else is making sacrifices.'"
Lauria responded by saying that Obama "stands my clients up as basically the reason Chrysler is going into bankruptcy. He wrongly says they're not willing to make any sacrifice. And then he says he does not stand with us."
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