Oooops!!

State Deparment. “Rewards for Justice” web page. $5 million bounty. Picture of the wrong guy. MSNBC (01.26.06), via Laura Rozen:

“United States intelligence agencies have been hunting for one of al-Qaida’s most notorious members – an expert in poisons and lethal chemicals.

But NBC News has learned they have been trying to find him by using a photo of the wrong man on his wanted poster.”

U.S. posts wrong photo of ‘al-Qaida operative’

“For a year and a half, the U.S. government has been asking for the public’s help in finding Midhat Mursi al-Sayid ‘Umar, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, a dangerous al-Qaida operative.”

“But now intelligence officials admit to NBC News they were using a photo of a different man.”

Boom

Closing out 2005 with a whimper. We’d like to say we regret having to beat on John Snow so much, but it gets pretty hard to resist sometimes. Reuters (01.27.06):

“U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter to the weakest pace in three years as consumers spent less robustly, growth in homebuilding eased and businesses were less eager to boost investments, a government report on Friday showed.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity within U.S. borders, advanced at a surprisingly weak 1.1 percent annual rate in the October-December period – little more than a quarter of the third quarter’s 4.1 percent rate and the weakest for any three months since 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2002.”

GDP growth slowdown unexpectedly steep

“Consumer spending, which fuels two-thirds of national economic activity, slowed to a 1.1 percent rate of growth, sharply below the third-quarter rate and the weakest since a 1 percent gain in second quarter of 2001.”

“Fourth-quarter growth was far weaker than the 2.8 percent rate that Wall Street economists had forecast and reflected widespread softness.”

“In 2005, GDP expanded by 3.5 percent, slowing from 4.2 percent growth in 2004.

Sounds like the US consumer has finally tapped out.

Given the fading, dipping and roosting real estate market, we could be in for a real shitstorm this Summer. Bloomberg (12.29.05):

“The housing industry accounts for only about 5 percent of the U.S. economy and yet generated half of the growth in [2005’s] first six months and more than half of the private jobs added since 2001, Merrill Lynch & Co. said in an August report.”

U.S. Economy: Home Resales Fall to Lowest in 8 Months

What A Difference A Year Makes

“Bush’s weakening support puts him ‘in Rodney Dangerfield territory,’ said Charlie Cook, editor of the Washington-based Cook Political Report, referring to the late ‘no-respect’ comedian.” Bloomberg (01.27.06):

“A Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll taken this week as Bush prepares to deliver his annual State of the Union speech shows that the president wins the approval of only 43 percent of the public, a 7-point drop from a year ago.

Three out of five say America is seriously off course, and by 62 to 31 percent those surveyed want to move in a different direction than the one Bush has set forth.”

Bush Support Weak as Americans Favor New Direction, Poll Finds

“The president has lost public support across a broad swath of issues, including most of the ones that especially concern Americans, as well as on matters of personal trust and leadership, according to the survey.”

Since last year, disapproval has increased 5% (to 48%) among men, and 10% among women (to 60%!). Approval has decreased 6% (to 43%) among married women (“a group that has historically been a source of strength for Bush”), and 11% among independents (to 39%).

Ouch. But here’s the real killer. “In the past year Bush’s approval rating dropped 6 points among Republicans to 79 percent. Self-described moderate Republicans accounted for the erosion, with Bush’s rating dropping from 79 to 65 percent among this group”. His rating among “self-defined conservative Republicans” has “stayed constant.”

Take my President; please?

Not much good news from the latest CBS/NYTimes polling either. Despite what John Snow and others have been saying about deficit reduction, for some reason, John and Jane Q. Public are just a little more skeptical. AP (01.27.06):

“Seven in 10 said in the poll released Friday that they expect the deficit to grow larger by the end of his presidency. Four in 10 said they think health care will be worse, while half said they expect it will be about the same.”

Poll: Public Worried About Federal Deficit

Now this is where the reporting gets weird. The version of the AP story we’re reading says “Bush is viewed unfavorably by 48 percent and viewed favorably by 37 percent as he prepares for his sixth State of the Union address next week.”

That is not correct. Both CBS and the NYTimes say George’s favorability rating is 42%.

In the “Contrasting Headline Department”, CBS’ is “Poll: Bush’s Approval Remains Low”, and the very first paragraph jumps on this (“stuck at a dismal 42 percent). Guess they’re still pissed off about Dan Rather.

On the other hand, the Times headline is “New Poll Finds Mixed Support for Wiretaps”, and its mention of Geaorge’s approval rating is way, way down in the story, something like the 23rd paragraph.

Go figure, eh?

Trent Lott’s Porch

The money is for Katrina, Rita and Wilma. AP (01.26.06):

“At issue is previously announced $11.5 billion in community grants that the Bush administration said Wednesday would be divided among five states.

In doing so, the White House rejected a $30 billion redevelopment plan for Louisiana that state officials considered the cornerstone of their hopes for rebuilding.”

Texas Joins in Recovery-Funding Complaint

They’re not very happy in Louisiana. “‘My dad used to tell me, ‘Cheer up, things could be worse,” said Rep. Richard Baker (R – LA6), the architect of the $30 billion plan to jump-start his state. ‘So I cheered up and things got worse.'”

“Louisiana would get $6.2 billion, the bulk of the $11.5 billion. But that still falls short of what state officials said was necessary to help an estimated 200,000 [as in $31,000 per] homeowners return and rebuild their communities.”

On the other hand, they’re happy as hell in Mississippi. “[L]awmakers are pleased with $5 billion that can help up to an estimated 50,000 [as in $100,000 per] households walloped by storm-related flooding last year.”

“‘It’s huge,’ said Rep. Gene Taylor (D – MS4), who has worked closely with Louisiana lawmakers over the last four months to ensure that Congress continues sending assistance to the region.”

Reminds us of the time the President promised that “(o)ut of the rubble of Trent Lott’s (R – MS) house — he lost his entire house — there’s going to be a fantastic house. And I’m looking forward to sitting on the porch.'”

Could be quite a porch, eh?

Note: The Credulity You Strain May Be Your Own

Bloomberg covers the press conference (01.26.06):

“‘I, frankly, don’t even remember having my picture taken with the guy,’ Bush said today in response to a question at a news conference in Washington. ‘I don’t know him.'”

Bush, Asked About Abramoff, Says `I Don’t Know Him’

Bloomberg also goes on to note that:

1. Jack raised at least $100,000 for Cheney/Bush 2004, making him one of only 327 Bush Pioneers.
2. Jack “was on Bush’s 2000 transition team for the Interior Department, making personnel recommendations for the Cabinet agency that oversaw some of his key clients, including casino-owning Indian tribes and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.”
3. An associate of Jack’s, Patrick Pizzella is the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management at the Department of Labor.
4. Another associate of Jack’s, David Safavian, was the head of GSA’s Federal Procurement Policy Office. At least until he was arrested and charged last September with making false statements to investigators about his participation in Jack’s acquistion of two parcels of government-owned real estate.
5. Jack’s former secretary, Susan Ralston, is presently secretary to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove.

Other than that, we wouldn’t remember either.

This Is Gonna Give Someone The Vapors

And we don’t mean these guys. But then again, that’s that damned democracy stuff for ya. Never know what’s gonna happen. AP (01.26.06):

“The Islamic militant Hamas won a landslide victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections, winning 76 seats in the 132-member legislature, election officials said Thursday.

The rival Fatah Party, which controlled Palestinian politics for four decades, won 43 seats.”

Hamas Wins Landslide 76 Seats

This would be a 58% majority.

AP (01.26.06):

“World leaders, uneasy at the prospect of a Hamas-led Palestinian government, immediately exerted pressure on the Islamic militants Thursday to recognize Israel and renounce violence as a precondition for support.

That a group listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States won seemingly fair-and-square at the ballot box compounded the dilemma for foreign governments.”

Foreign Leaders Shocked at Hamas Win

Fat chance of this happening. NYTimes (01.26.06):

“President Bush today called on Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to stay in office despite the apparent victory of the rival faction Hamas in parliamentary elections.

Mr. Bush declined to state flatly whether he would deal with a government that Hamas participated in.”

Bush Wants Abbas to Remain Palestinian Leader

“Overall, Mr. Bush took a positive view of the elections, saying they ‘remind us of the power of democracy’ .”

There was no mention, however, as to whether or not he was gritting his teeth when he said it.

Stretched Or Unstretched

You make the call! AP (01.25.06):

“Stretched by frequent troop rotations to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army has become a ‘thin green line’ that could snap unless relief comes soon, according to a study for the Pentagon.

Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer who wrote the report under a Pentagon contract, concluded that the Army cannot sustain the pace of troop deployments to Iraq long enough to break the back of the insurgency.”

Deployments Stretching Army, Study Finds

In his study, Andrew said that “the Army is ‘in a race against time’ to adjust to the demands of war ‘or risk ‘breaking’ the force in the form of a catastrophic decline’ in recruitment and re-enlistment.”

Andrew “also suggested that the Pentagon’s decision, announced in December, to begin reducing the force in Iraq this year was driven in part by a realization that the Army was overextended.”

Big Don (The Army You Have) Rumsfeld disagree. Washington Post (01.26.06):”

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld yesterday strongly rejected warnings in a Pentagon-contracted study that the Iraq war risks ‘breaking’ the U.S. Army, and he said a recent decision to scale back U.S. troop levels in Iraq did not grow out of a need to relieve the strain on American ground forces.

‘The force is not broken,’ Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon press briefing yesterday. ‘I just can’t imagine someone looking at the United States armed forces today and suggesting that they’re close to breaking.'”

Rumsfeld: Army Not ‘Broken’

On the other hand, General Casey might not have read the whole memo. AP (01.26.06):

“The top U.S. general in Iraq acknowledged Thursday that American forces in this country are ‘stretched,’ but he said he will recommend withdrawals based only on operational needs.

‘The forces are stretched … and I don’t think there’s any question of that,’ Casey said. ‘But the Army has been for the last several years going through a modernization strategy that will produce more units and more ready units.'”

Top U.S. General Says Army ‘Stretched’

Worst Nightmare?

Knight-Ridder (01.24.06):

“The word ‘impeachment’ is popping up increasingly these days and not just off the lips of liberal activists spouting predictable bumper-sticker slogans.

After the unfounded claims about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and recent news of domestic spying without warrants, mainstream politicians and ordinary voters are talking openly about the possibility that President Bush could be impeached.”

Some activists, politicians speaking openly about impeachment

“[A] poll released last week by Zogby International showed 52 percent of American adults thought Congress should consider impeaching Bush if he wiretapped U.S. citizens without court approval”. Not only do 59% of independents say this, but 23% of Republicans do as well.

“With numbers like that, impeachment could become an issue in this fall’s congressional elections – and dramatically raise the stakes. If Democrats win control of the House of Representatives, a leading proponent of starting an official impeachment inquiry, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., would become chairman of the House committee that could pursue it.”

Gotta believe a lot of folks are still worked up about this. Zogby (06.30.05):

“[In] a sign of continuing polarization, more than two-in-five voters (42%) say they would favor impeachment proceedings if it is found the President misled the nation about his reasons for going to war with Iraq.”

Question on Impeachment Shows Polarization of Nation

Karma. Not just for breakfast anymore.

Caught Again

George has some more ‘splainin’ to do. Knight-Ridder (01.25.06):

“A July 2002 Justice Department statement to a Senate committee appears to contradict several key arguments that the Bush administration is making to defend its eavesdropping on U.S. citizens without court warrants.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the law governing such operations, was working well, the department said in 2002.”

In 2002, Justice Department said eavesdropping law working well

“In its 2002 statement, the Justice Department said it opposed a legislative proposal to change FISA to make it easier to obtain warrants that would allow the super-secret National Security Agency to listen in on communications involving non-U.S. citizens inside the United States.”

“Today, senior U.S. officials complain that FISA prevents them from doing that.”

“Glenn Greenwald, an Internet blogger, first connected the earlier Justice Department statement to the Bush administration’s current arguments on his Web log, called Unclaimed Territory.”

Don’t you just love the internets?

The LATimes is running with this too.

Sure You Can Afford It?

Bloomberg (01.26.06);

“About 420 Iraqi detainees will be released by the U.S. Army today and tomorrow, including five women, the American military said.

The Combined Review and Release Board, a panel that includes officials from U.S. and Iraqi armed forces and Iraq’s human rights, justice and interior ministries ‘reviewed the detainee’s cases and decided they were no longer a threat to the security of Iraq,’ Lieutenant Colonel Guy Rudisill, spokesman for the U.S. detention system in Iraq, said.

U.S. to Release 420 Iraq Detainees, Including 5 Women

“On their release, the detainees will be given 25 U.S. dollars, Rudisill said in a telephone interview from Baghdad. They’ll then be transported back to the place where they were captured, or their home, he added.”

The Lieutenant Colonel “denied the decision to release the Iraqis is linked to the Jan. 7 kidnapping of American journalist Jill Carroll, whose captors said they’d kill her on Jan. 20 unless the U.S. freed all females prisoners in Iraq.”

“‘This has nothing to do with that,’ Rudisill said.” On the other hand. AP (01.26.06):

“[Deputy justice minister Busho Ibrahim] Ali said the women would be brought to the heavily fortified Green Zone, where the Iraqi government and U.S. Embassy are based in Baghdad, and handed over to a senior Sunni Arab political leader and received by their families.

Detainees are usually transported from detention centers to a Baghdad bus station or to towns near their homes and let go.”

U.S. Military to Release Five Iraqi Women

One can only pray that something has been arranged, and Jill will be released unharmed.

Gee. What A Surprise

First, the context. NYTimes (01.23.06), via The Washington Monthly:

“The White House was told in the hours before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans that the city would probably soon be inundated with floodwater, forcing the long-term relocation of hundreds of thousands of people, documents to be released Tuesday by Senate investigators show.

The internal department documents, which were forwarded to the White House, contradict statements by President Bush and the homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, that no one expected the storm protection system in New Orleans to be breached.”

White House Was Told Hurricane Posed Danger

“‘I don’t think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees,’ Mr. Bush said in a television interview on Sept. 1.”

And now this. NYTimes (01.24.06):

“The Bush administration, citing the confidentiality of executive branch communications, said Tuesday that it did not plan to turn over certain documents about Hurricane Katrina or make senior White House officials available for sworn testimony before two Congressional committees investigating the storm response.”

White House Declines to Provide Storm Papers

“‘The White House and the administration are cooperating with both the House and Senate,’ [White House spokesman Trent ] Duffy said. ‘But we have also maintained the president’s ability to get advice and have conversations with his top advisers that remain confidential.'”

What are they covering up this time?

Oh and by the way, earlier this week, the White House “formally notified Representative Richard H. Baker, Republican of Louisiana, that it would not support his legislation creating a federally financed reconstruction program for the state that would bail out homeowners and mortgage lenders. Many Louisiana officials consider the bill crucial to recovery, but administration officials said the state would have to use community development money appropriated by Congress.”

Foobarama

Bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East. We suppose they could have just stacked the money up in a parking lot somewhere. NYTimes (01.25.05), via TheCarpetbagger:

“A new audit of American financial practices in Iraq has uncovered irregularities including millions of reconstruction dollars stuffed casually into footlockers and filing cabinets, an American soldier in the Philippines who gambled away cash belonging to Iraq, and three Iraqis who plunged to their deaths in a rebuilt hospital elevator that had been improperly certified as safe.

The audit, released yesterday by the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, expands on its previous findings of fraud, incompetence and confusion as the American occupation poured money into training and rebuilding programs in 2003 and 2004.”

Audit Describes Misuse of Funds in Iraq Projects

Well it probably was just in a few limited areas, right?

“The audit uncovers problems in an area that includes half the land mass in Iraq, with new findings in the southern and central provinces of Anbar, Karbala, Najaf, Wasit, Babil, and Qadisiya.”

Well it probably wasn’t that much money, right?

“Agents from the inspector general’s office found that the living and working quarters of American occupation officials were awash in shrink-wrapped stacks of $100 bills, colloquially known as bricks.”

They had so much cash, they didn’t know what to do with it. “One official kept $2 million in a bathroom safe, another more than half a million dollars in an unlocked footlocker.”

Didn’t have to work to hard to get paid, either. “One contractor received more than $100,000 to completely refurbish an Olympic pool but only polished the pumps; even so, local American officials certified the work as completed.”

“More than 2,000 contracts ranging in value from a few thousand dollars to more than half a million, some $88 million in all, were examined by agents from the inspector general’s office. The report says that in some cases the agents found clear indications of potential fraud and that investigations into those cases are continuing.”

Let us repeat that: clear indications of fraud and investigations are continuing.”

Once the top is popped off of this stuff, old Jack Abramoff’s scams will pale in comparison.

Barrett’s Incompetence Is Just Another Clinton Conspiracy

David Barrett now has to find a real job. Considering how well he did on this investigation, he might be looking for a while. Washington Post (01.23.06):

“An independent counsel has issued a report claiming that officials of the Clinton administration blocked his investigation into allegations of tax violations by former housing secretary Henry Cisneros.

Although these sensational charges have been trumpeted by partisans as evidence of Democratic corruption, they are completely false.”

A Fake Cisneros Scandal

To summarize, during the early ’90s, Henry Cisneros, Clinton’s former HUD secretary, paid hush money to a woman with whom he previously had an affair. He subsequently lied to the FBI about it, and got caught.

Back in May, 1995, Dave was appointed independent counsel to investigate. In December, 1997, Dave indicted Henry on 18 felony counts. Four million dollars later, in September, 1999, Dave agreed to let Henry plead to a misdemeanor and pay a $10,000 fine.

End of story? No way!! Dave kept it up for another six years and $17 million. The U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit finally ordered him to stop.

Some of those who lean a bit more to the right than we do perceive this as another Clintonian conspiracy and cover-up.

Fact of the matter? Dave was essentially a bumbling, incompetent, paranoic.

Nudge, Nudge

Wink, wink! And you wonder why the cost of health care keeps rising. Washington Post (01.24.06), via AmericaBlog:

“House and Senate GOP negotiators, meeting behind closed doors last month to complete a major budget-cutting bill, agreed on a change to Senate-passed Medicare legislation that would save the health insurance industry $22 billion over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.”

Closed-Door Deal Makes $22 Billion Difference

The Senate passed legislation which would have cut HMO Medicare reimbursement by about $26 billion over the next ten years.

That didn’t sit very well with the health insurance industry. After lobbying like hell, Congressional Republican leaders got together in a conference committee and put back all but $4 billion of the reimbursements.

That they did it is one thing. Hell, for all we know, it was bad legislation, and should have been changed.

But how they did it is another matter altogether.

“That change was made in mid-December during private negotiations involving House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and the staffs of those committees as well as the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

In the spirit of bipartisan ship, “House and Senate Democrats were excluded from the meeting.”

And we get the bill! Funny how that works, eh?

By the way, who you been voting for lately?

Enquiring Minds Want To Know

NYTimes (01.24.06):

“The White House opened a weeklong media blitz Monday in defense of the National Security Agency’s eavesdropping program, with President Bush saying he found it ‘amazing’ to be accused of breaking the law by ordering a secret program to intercept international calls and e-mail messages.”

Administration Starts Weeklong Blitz in Defense of Eavesdropping Program

The President may be amazed, but a lot of us aren’t amused. USAToday (01.23.06), via Eschaton:

“Fifty-one percent of Americans said the administration was wrong to intercept conversations involving a party inside the USA without a warrant.

In response to another question, 58% of Americans said they support the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the program.”

Surveillance program protects country, Bush says

“Both questions were asked of about 500 adults Friday through Sunday and have a margin of error of +/-5 percentage points.”

The poll results are here.