Or whatever the term for it is in this digital age. The text of the debt ceiling bill that the House just voted in is here, and its CBO score is here.
The best bottom-line description I've seen tonight is that this is a modest win for conservatives but a major loss for liberals.
13 comments:
TSB: You will love this post! gwb
Posted on 08/02/2011 by Juan
Newt Gingrich has ten times as many Twitter followers as Mitt Romney, but it is being alleged that most of them are dummy accounts or are actually paid for.
TSB: This may be a clue why nobody can catch "Chapo Guzman" of the Sinaloa Cartel???? He was one of our "Sources"... sound familiar?
http://www.diario.com.mx/notas.php?f=2011/08/02&id=88a9a34dc92416ac83ea8ff485d06ade
Note: The english editions do not mention any of these allegations. Once again "America's Prosecutor" Fitzgerald is involved. This fits the hx of the DEA in never being able to stop anything. gwb
I see Chapo's lawyer was given immunity in a deal with the USG, after which he dealt with the DEA, presumably with the knowledge of Chapo and associates.
The allegations of more than that are coming from one of the lower-level guys whom - I take it - the lawyer gave up, and who is now facing trial.
I don't know. It feeds into the popular Mexican assumption that their government is in cahoots with the Sinaloa cartel, which makes me reluctant to believe it without a lot more evidence.
On the Newt/Twitter thing, we should have seen this coming (and for all I know it is already a widespread practice). Inflating your Twitter or Facebook numbers is e-x-a-c-t-l-y the kind of thing a politician would do.
Fitzgerald also played an important role in the "Whitey Bulger" case that helped the FBI and some important politicians cover their crimes. In "Down By The River" it is pretty clear that DEA does what it is told by higher ups. As soon as we get all the facts we can discuss this further! Did you see how many lawyers are involved in the Mubarek trial? gwb
TSB: Keith Olbermann had a great interview tonite with the Navy Contractor detained at Camp Cropper for 9 months after becoming an FBI informant re:state dept offcls in Iraq assisting insurgents for profit.
I think his name is John Vance? His lawyer was on last nite. MSM blackout on this story of course. gwb
Was it Vance and Ertel?
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/world/middleeast/18justice.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin
Yes! This is the USG/NYT side of the story in detail. When you hear Vance and his attorney tell their side it is very straight, simple and believable. I interviewed a handful of Camp Cropper soldiers but all I ever got from them was "you don't want to know" about what went on there. gwb
TSB: BETTER LATE THAN NEVER! US SAYS GET OUT OF SYRIA YESTERDAY!
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/08/06/161052.html
So much for that "security problem". Reminds me of how the Russians handled Chechnya. gwb
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x606796
Here is the interview! gwb
Vance filed his suit back in 2008, and you can see a description here:
http://www.abajournal.com/files/show_public.pdf
He seems to have a good Habeas Corpus case against the government. I wish him well on that.
The torture part, I'm not so sure. He maintains he was tortured by the harsh conditions of the prison, rather than in the course of interrogation, i.e., water boarding:
"Doe [Vance] says they exposed him to extreme cold and continuous artificial light, blindfolded and
hooded him, woke him by banging on a door or slamming a window whenever they observed Doe trying to sleep, and blasted heavy metal or country music into his cell at what Doe calls “intolerably
loud volumes.”"
I've got to say that sounds just like many another prison. Torturous, no doubt. But his claim amounts to saying that those conditions were created just to facilitate his interrogation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. That, I don't think he can prove.
TSB: I understand that as a lawyer you wouldn't want to take the case. I would just like to see Rummie get his day in court...for anything! gwb
And I would love to see Condi called as a witness!
Thanks for the link to the case. I'll read it. gwb
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