Hit Parade

Cheney's hit squad. American Conservative (07.14.09), via BalloonJuice:

"The first hit attempt was in Kenya, was botched, and the deltas had to be bailed out by the Ambassador who had not been briefed on what was going on under his nose. The program was suspended after that but never quite terminated."

CIA Hit Teams

"The assassins were to be drawn from CIA’s own special ops group and also from delta force. They would enter the target countries as businessmen on false passports...."

Good plan, yes? Well, maybe no. The CIA "quickly discovered that white boys born in the American south sporting crewcuts and speaking no foreign language had difficulties in blending in as foreign businessmen."

Ya think?

Sigh

Who put all these things in his head? American Family News Network (08.08.07), via Kos:

"Last month, the U.S. Senate was opened for the first time ever with a Hindu prayer. Although the event generated little outrage on Capitol Hill, Representative Bill Sali (R - ID1) is one member of Congress who believes the prayer should have never been allowed.

'We have not only a Hindu prayer being offered in the Senate, we have a Muslim member of the House of Representatives now, Keith Ellison from Minnesota. Those are changes -- and they are not what was envisioned by the Founding Fathers,' asserts Sali."

Idaho congressman disturbed by Hindu prayer in Senate, election of Muslim to House

"Sali says America was built on Christian principles that were derived from scripture. He also says the only way the United States has been allowed to exist in a world that is so hostile to Christian principles is through 'the protective hand of God.'"

"According to Congressman Sali, the only way the U.S. can continue to survive is under that protective hand of God. He states when a Hindu prayer is offered, 'that's a different god' and that it 'creates problems for the longevity of this country.'"

Not that it matters much to Bill, but by some estimates, Christianity has more believers worldwide than any other religion.

I Spy

NYTimes (07.29.07):

"A 2004 dispute over the National Security Agency’s secret surveillance program that led top Justice Department officials to threaten resignation involved computer searches through massive electronic databases, according to current and former officials briefed on the program.

It is not known precisely why searching the databases, or data mining, raised such a furious legal debate."

Mining of Data Prompted Fight Over Spying

Why such a furious debate? How about this, from Eschaton (07.28.07):

"Look, all the parsing of statements is a waste of time. [The Bush Administration was] eavesdropping on whoever they wanted to without any warrants or oversight.

Whether or not 'whoever they wanted to' included, say, the John Kerry campaign or Markos Moulitsas is still an open question. They obviously claimed the power to do so, it just isn't clear if they did it."

Whoever the Hell They Wanted To Without Warrants

An observation from Josh Marshall (07.28.07):

"As you can see, we now have the first hint of what was at the center of the Ashcroft hospital room showdown. According to the New York Times, what the White House calls the 'terrorist surveillance [i.e., warrantless wiretap] program' originally included some sort of largescale data mining.

Data Mining

"I don't doubt that this is true as far as it goes. But this must only scratch the surface because, frankly, at least as presented, this just doesn't account for the depth of the controversy or the fact that so many law-and-order DOJ types were willing to resign over what was happening. Something's missing."

...

"To put this into perspective, remember that the White House has been willing to go to the public and make a positive argument for certain surveillance procedures (notably evasion of the FISA Court strictures) which appear to be illegal on their face."

"This must be much more serious and apparently something all but the most ravenous Bush authoritarians would never accept. It is supposedly no longer even happening and hasn't been for a few years. So disclosing it could not jeopardize a program. The only reason that suggests itself is that the political and legal consequences of disclosure are too grave to allow."

Know Your Legislator

Lest he come to know you. KELO (05.18.07), via Hullabaloo:

"A former South Dakota lawmaker is accused of molesting his own foster children and legislative pages.

Ted Klaudt, 49, a Republican rancher from Walker, faces a long list of charges: eight counts of rape, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of witness tampering, sexual contact with a person under 16, and stalking."

Former SD Legislator Arrested On Sex Charges

"Court documents mention five possible victims. Three were foster children between the ages of 15 and 19 who lived with Klaudt's family. One is a cousin of one of those girls, and the fifth is a friend of Klaudt's daughter."

"In the most disturbing accusation, the girls say Klaudt had them convinced they could earn up to $20,000 by donating their eggs to a fertility clinic. And even though he has no medical training, the girls say Klaudt did all the supposed 'exams' and 'procedures' himself."

Some of his legislative accomplishments.

This Ought To Be A Good One

Brian Ross, ABC World News (04.28.07), via ThinkProgress:

"There are thousands of names, tens of thousands of phone numbers, and there are people there at the Pentagon, lobbyists, others at the White House, prominent lawyers — a long, long list, and as well, the women who work for the service, David, include university professors, legal secretaries, scientists, military officers."

DC Madam’s List Includes White House & Pentagon Officials, Prominent Lawyers

Ahhh yes. Thousands of names. Tens of thousands of phone numbers.

Yoiks.

More From Deborah Jeane

In reference to this. ABCNews (04.27.07):

"'I'm sure as heck not going to be going to federal prison for one day, let alone, four to eight years, because I'm shy about bringing in the deputy secretary of whatever,' Palfrey told ABC News.

Palfrey maintains she ran a sexual fantasy business that was legal and that if any of the women who were working for her had sex, they did so in violation of her rules and without her knowledge."

Senior Official Linked to Escort Service Resigns

"She says there are a number of other prominent Washington, D.C. men who will be on her witness list. 'I'll bring every last one of them in if necessary,' Palfrey said."

Now that's the spirit!