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The Daily Muck
The former employee of Cindy McCain's non-profit who was allegedly fired from his position over his knowledge of McCain's drug use, gave his first public interview in 15 years to the Washington Post. The employee, Tom Gosinski, reported McCain's addiction to the Drug Enforcement Administration in 1993, and later was charged by the McCains with extortion when he sued for wrongful termination. (Washington Post)
The recent investigation into the Interior Department's "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" could mean complications for law makers who vote next week on expanded offshore drilling. The investigation revealed that between 2002 and 2006, 19 government representatives received various gifts and gratuities from oil and gas companies and "frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and natural gas company representatives." (AP)
A military judge delayed the case of a Canadian detainee at Guantanamo Bay yesterday. The trial of Omar Khadr was originally set for Oct. 8 and a new trial date has not been set. Khadr is accused of throwing a grenade that killed U.S. soldier in the summer of 2002 during a firefight in Afghanistan. Conviction could result in a life sentence. (Miami Herald)
The grand jury transcripts in the case of Ethel Rosenberg, which were just recently released, indicate that the notorious espionage case might have been based on perjured testimony. Ruth Greenglass, a witness in the case and Ethel's sister-in-law, never mentioned to the grand jury that Rosenberg had typed up her stolen atomic secrets to give the the Russians -- a fact central to the trial that Greenglass had testified to -- and instead stated in grand jury testimony that she herself wrote out the notes in longhand. (AP)
The House Judiciary Committee postponed Harriet Miers testimony on Thursday, which was expected in the wake of the stay issued last week while the case pends appeal. The case, House Judiciary Committee v. Harriet Miers et al. has been ongoing after Miers refused to comply with the subpoena to testify, citing executive privilege. (CQ Politics)
The trial of a former Afghan tribal leader accused of smuggling $50 million of heroin into the U.S. began on Thursday. Prosecutors say that Bashir Noorazi was hugely influential in Afghanistan and used his influence to build a private army and work with the Taliban. Noorzai's lawyers dispute the claims. (AP)













Please list the oil and gas companies -- and thier lobbyists, and the campaign contributions of the oil and gas companies (well, their execs and members of their board members), and the fundraising efforts and contributions of their lobbyists.
September 12, 2008 11:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
mcSham Muck:
mcSham campaign in a nutshell:
1. They're lying.
2. They're crying ... wolf.
Everything they do fits into one of these two categories.
We need Lie Counters and Crying Wolf Counters.
Label and Count. Label and Count. That's our attack!
Meanwhile we let Obama and Biden lay out the issues.
September 12, 2008 11:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
"The recent investigation into the Interior Department's "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" could mean complications for law makers ...."
Sorry, but complications only occurred when we had honest politicians in office. These days, it is perfectly okay to disregard laws and ethics (notice the one employee who quit (probably retired) was not prosecuted).
What WILL happen is that the dems will blame the reps and then they will vote along party lines...
This isn't about common folk or the nation as a whole any more. It is solely about the folks in power remaining in power. If it weren't the lawbreakers would be standing trial and laws preventing this in the future would be passed...
September 12, 2008 11:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
I just read:
"Monitoring conversations between informants who agree to wear recording devices and subjects of investigations, which now requires the permission of an assistant U.S. attorney, could occur without a prosecutor's approval, except in sensitive cases involving state and federal officials and judges, as well as federal prisoners. "
in WAPO's piece on the FBI's new powers. Does this really mean federal prisoners have more expectation of privacy than the rest of us as far as the FBI is concerned?
Harrumph!
Where's that new administration we ordered?
Honey, call FedEx! Where's that damn tracking number?
September 12, 2008 12:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Washington Post confirmed today that Cindy McCain was a drug addict when she brought two very sick infants from Bangladesh in 1991.
You have to be an expert at reading the WaPo but the info is there. Note the reference to Bridget's date of birth.
The McCain campaign breached anyone's definition
of the dignity and privacy his daughter, Bridget, is entitled to when it used a photo of drug-addicted Cindy McCain carrying a dark-skinned baby with a Mother-Theresa-like woman seemingly walking beside her to promote McCain's anti-abortion stance.
Bridget has already been subjected to enough public humiliation at the hands of the GOP, imho. She doesn't need her father to make her life more miserable.
I read the other day that Bridget was not in a
recent McCain family photo. Bridget's decision?
I have the photo I am referring to somewhere in my notes and will post a link to it when I find it, time permitting. (I found it on the ABC News site awhile ago.)
September 12, 2008 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
If Cindy McCain took the two sick infants from Bangladesh to the US to deflect attention away from the Keating Five scandal, I wouldn't go after her. Drug addicts are reckless and irresponsible.
But if Senator McCain used those babies as p.r. props, that's another story. I recently asked around if anyone knew whether there were any stories w/ or wo/pix of Senator McCain meeting Cindy at the airport when she arrived in the US w/the babies.
Cindy McCain still tells fibs about bringing the babies home. In one fairly recent story, she claimed that she surprised her husband with the news about the babies via a phone call when she landed in the US.
That's silly. To get permission to bring the babies into the US for medical care within less than a month's time would have required the intercession of someone with clout in DC.
Wes Gullet, McCain's senate secretary at the time, knows whether McCain's office provided assistance to Cindy when she was in Bangladesh.
As Karl Rove went out of way to write about in the WSJ recently, Gullett adopted one of the babies that Cindy brought home. IIRC, Cindy supposedly called Gullett from a layover on the flight home and Gullett met her at LAX.
If Gullett met Cindy at LAX first and Senator McCain met her at the Phoenix airport, then I'd be pretty sure the adoption story was rigged.
But if there are any stories w/ or w/o photos of Cindy's arrival in the US with the babies, I'm sure they are locked up for the duration of my lifetime.
Amy Silverman of the Phoenix New Times would know the answer to my question but she is now friends with Deb Gullett, Wes's wife, and she might not have the stomach for this kind of story anymore.
September 12, 2008 2:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
abcnews.goDOTcom/images/Politics/SC%20Pro%20Life.pdf
Border:
ProLife:Layout 1 1/2/08 9:41 AM Page 1
ProLife:Layout 1 1/2/08 9:41 AM Page 2
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File: SC%20Pro%20Life.pdf
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Application QuarkXpress(R)7.3
On Page 2/2:
1600 Gervais Street
Columbia SC 29201
PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage Paid
Columbia SC
Mail Marketing Strategies
Paid for by John McCain 2008
September 12, 2008 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
You mis-spelled Gosinski.
September 12, 2008 1:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe she'll cite "Santa's Elves" while she's at it...
Give it a quick scan, if you haven't already:
Wikipedia article on so-called quote "executive privilege"
This administration crows "national security" and "executive privilege" at every opportunity -- high time the courts put a stop to these abuses.
September 15, 2008 1:05 PM | Reply | Permalink