A recent statement from the McCain campaign asserted McCain’s often-criticized view that Bush’s warrantless-wiretapping was lawful, bringing the hopeful President even closer to Bush’s executive power grabs.

The advisor, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, posted in the National Review that Bush’s authorization of NSA international and email monitoring was within the bounds of the Constitution. “Neither the administration nor the telecoms need apologize for actions that most people, except for the A.C.L.U. and trial lawyers, understand were constitutional and appropriate in the wake of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.”

The criticism has compounded because in a Boston Globe interview six months ago, McCain stated he would obey the 1978 statute requiring a warrant for spying.

NY Times

Democrats may back down on FISA

House Democrats may be ready to compromise on last year’s controversial FISA bill. A version including retroactive immunity for telecom companies managed to pass in the Senate but was stalled until winter recess by the House.

Recently House Intelligence Committee chair Silvestre Reyes said he was “fine” with the wording proposed by Senate Republicans that allows immunity.

The ACLU has responded quickly, stating “Congress should remember that the majority of Americans are against unwarranted and warrantless surveillance.”

Raw Story

Congress passed $3 trillion budget

Congress passed a $3 trillion budget yesterday, which included modest increases in domestic programs but was criticized for piling on the national debt. It’s the first budget passed in an election year since 2000, Democrat Steny Hower proclaims the first budget passed in an election year since 2000 “a demonstration of our ability to govern effectively.”

Republicans attacked the Democrats for loading onto Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. “We shouldn’t be doing this to our children” says Rep. Paul Ryan.

Budget Committee Chairman John M. Spratt defended the budget. “President Bush told the country we could have it all: guns, butter and tax cuts, too, and never mind the deficits. It takes a long time to turn this battleship around, but that’s what we do in this budget.”

Washington Post

New poll reveals Iran diplomacy is favorable

A recent Public Agenda poll reports that nearly 50% of Americans say diplomacy with Iran is the best solution to the “current situation.” That’s a nearly 15% increase since last fall. The poll also reports that a mere 7% favor military action.

Think Progress

Fraud: “deceit, trickery or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.”

The HBO movie “Recount” tells the story from the Democratic Party point of view that the 2000 presidential election was improperly won by George W. Bush because of the trickery of his fellow Republicans and the Supreme Court. That has been shown to be untrue by no less a source than the reliably liberal and pro-Democratic New York Times, but facts rarely influence propaganda.

Here’s a better example of fraud straight from the donkey’s mouth that you can bet will never be told on film. It comes courtesy of 12-term Congressman Paul Kanjorski. During a town meeting last August in his Pennsylvania district, Rep. Kanjorski made a remarkable statement about the 2006 election in which Democrats recaptured the majority. Rep. Kanjorski acknowledged that he and his fellow Democrats “sort of stretched the facts” about their intention to end the war in Iraq and bring American troops home.

A video of his remarks, now on YouTube, shows Kanjorski explaining that Democrats pushed the rhetoric about the war “as far as we can to the end of the fleet – didn’t say it, but we implied it – that if we won the congressional elections we could stop the war.” Democrats also promised to bring down gas prices if they won a majority. That worked out well, didn’t it?

“Now anybody who’s a good student of government,” continued Kanjorski in a condescending manner, “would know it wasn’t true.” I wonder how non-students of government felt about that insult? “But you know,” he said, “the temptation to want to win back the Congress – we sort of stretched the facts.”

Many politicians “stretch the facts” at some point in their careers, but this was more than that. While Republicans do the same thing on another level – like campaigning for spending cuts and then outspending Democrats when they become a majority – what Kanjorski has admitted to is outright fraud. Those who don’t believe in the war, which includes some Republicans, had a right to believe that if they cast their votes for Democrats in the 2006 election, a Democratic congressional majority would end the war. Instead, while huffing and puffing about it, Democrats have continued to approve funds for Iraq and Afghanistan, attaching numerous pet pork projects. Pork covers a multitude of sins.

Some Democrats have made their careers by lying about Republicans and their attempts at necessary reforms of Social Security. My Democratic friend, Bob Beckel, likes to tell the story of his mother who lived in Florida and called him after seeing campaign commercials, which he produced, that claimed Republicans were about to eliminate Social Security. Beckel says he told her, “Mom, don’t worry about it. You vote for Democrats on Tuesday and come Wednesday your Social Security will be back.”

Kanjorski has taken cynicism about Washington and politicians to a new and lower level.
No wonder the disapproval rating of Congress is higher than it is for President Bush.

In cases of fraud, the victim usually has redress in the courts. With political fraud, voters must seek redress at the polls. They should start – but not stop – with Rep. Kanjorski, who is faced with his first competitive race since 2002. But he has a lot of co-conspirators and even one who is not a “good student of government” ought to know when they’ve been duped by fraudulent political practices.

Cal Thomas attacks the Democrats for not living up to their election promise. The Democrats have the President fighting them, who vetoes every bill that tries to fulfill their election promise of getting out.

By attacking Democrats for lying, Thomas ignores the bigger, more fraudulent elephant in the room. Does Bush saying “The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons” (9/26/02) sound familiar? Or maybe McCain’s claim that “We will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” (9/4/02) or Rumsfeld’s infamous “I can’t tell you if the use of force in Iraq today would last five days, or five weeks or five months. But it certainly isn’t going to last any longer than that.” (11/14/02)

Kanjorski honestly admits his party lied. Bush lies about lying by blaming faulty intelligence. “Intelligence communities all across the world shared the same assessment. And so I was disappointed to see how flawed our intelligence was.” (5/13/08) This contradicts a late September CIA testimony that found “no credible information that Baghdad had foreknowledge of the 11 September attacks or any other al-Qaeda strike.” Is that double fraud?

Yesterday the Senate ignored Bush’s pledge to veto extra provisions on the Iraq spending bill and added $10 billion more in domestic programs. 25 Senate Republicans broke ranks to provide veto-proof funding for fighting wildfires, heating for the poor and infrastructure repair. The Senate also voted 70-26 for Bush’s military operations bill while adding extensive G.I. benefits.

The House recently rejected an earlier spending bill but has endorsed the veteran and unemployed benefits in the new bill. However, its version omitted most domestic programs and included a slight upper-class tax increase to fund the GI bill. However, the House vote lacked a 2/3 majority and its bill will have to be compromised with the Senate version which, if the GI benefits are included, Bush will veto.

Myanmar to allow aid workers

According to U.N. officials, Myanmar’s military junta will admit foreign aid workers to harder-hit areas of the region. A cyclone three weeks ago left 2.4 million destitute and foreign aid has been trickling in. The government has also asked for 11.7 billion and will allow its Yangon airport to distribute aid packages.

McCain rejects Hagee’s comments, endorsement

John McCain told CNN’s Brian Todd Thursday that he rejected the comments and endorsement of the controversial Reverend John Hagee after Todd brought to McCain’s attention Hagee’s claim that Hitler was fulfilling God’s will by trying to exterminate them.

“Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them. I did not know of them before Rev. Hagee’s endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well.” said McCain in a statement to CNN. Hagee soon withdrew his endorsement and pledged to abstain from the 2008 presidential election.

FBI includes Guantanamo Bay in war crimes report

The FBI Inspector General released a 370-page report this week which included a “War Crimes” file regarding the torture the FBI witnessed at Guantanamo Bay prison. The administration ordered the FBI to stop writing the reports but a government official’s confirmation of what many already suspect adds to the war crime firestorm brewing over Guantanamo.

Spending bill

Myanmar

Hagee

War crimes