India tests a nuclear-capable Agni-III intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM).

Where is the international condemnation and calls for the UN Security Council to debate repercussions?

This is in no way trying to equate the governments or intentions of India and North Korea, but to point out the hypocrisy of international and US response as well as differences reported by the media. Recall that Iran is a party of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while India is not. Also, India has a history of war with it neighbors and been closer more recently to such a war (Pakistan in 2001) than Iran.

Ann Coulter arrived in Chicago on the evening of July 5, 2006 to prepare for what would be one of her most memorable major public appearances, but tragically, her last. She had left Fox News Channel against the wishes of studio executives while filming "Hannity & Colmes", for a show that was never completed, to perform at the Republican Party fundraiser and birthday salute for President George W. Bush. Reportedly, Ann was paid $100,000 for the event.

Senator Joe McCarthy (R-WI), chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Operations and its Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Congressman Peter King (R-NY), chairman of House Homeland Security Committee, announce the formation of their Congressional Joint Committee on Un-American Activities (JUAC).

Previously, I asked, "how long before we discover cooperation by individual financial institutions about transactions on individual accounts -- not just between financial institutions?"

Well, it didn't take long for an answer. It took less than a day to discover that BushCo has been tracking most, if not all, credit card transactions and all Western Union wires transfers. The story has been largely ignored by the media hidden behind the zeal to portray Democrats as "cut and run" cowards and to promote fear by building up the credibility of a group of misfits and their plot to blow up the Sears Tower.

"First Data Corp., the world's largest processor of credit-card transactions and wire transfers, gave the FBI and CIA unfettered access to data on millions of customers..." (Denver Post, June 21)

I haven't seen this addressed by anyone yet: Bank Data Sifted in Secret by U.S. to Block Terror (NYT) .

Under a secret Bush administration program initiated weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, counterterrorism officials have gained access to financial records from a vast international database and examined banking transactions involving thousands of Americans and others in the United States, according to government and industry officials.

The program is limited, government officials say, to tracing transactions of people suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda by reviewing records from the nerve center of the global banking industry, a Belgian cooperative that routes about $6 trillion daily between banks, brokerages, stock exchanges and other institutions. The records mostly involve wire transfers and other methods of moving money overseas and into and out of the United States. Most routine financial transactions confined to this country are not in the database.

Don't you feel secure that "government officials" of the Cheney Misadministration say this is limited to people of suspected ties to Al Qaeda just like the NSA spying with the assistance of the telecoms.

Some of the bloviating blowhard Bush supporting cable pundits are finally facing the reality that Bush is not a popular President.
Chris "Tweety" Matthews was incredulous and "amazed" by the results of the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, from the March 15 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews (via Media Matters):

MATTHEWS: I always thought Bush was more popular than his policies. I keep saying it, and I keep being wrong on this. Bush is not popular. I'm amazed when 50 percent of the people don't like him -- just don't like this guy. Thirty-nine percent like him. Are you surprised? Does that fit with the world you walk in?

CBS Evening News just reported that they have found out from Pentagon officials that the US is INCREASING the troop levels in Iraq in response to the current security situation.

I'm sure General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will point to this as further evidence that things are 'going very, very well' in Iraq.


(crossposted at MLW and DKos)

impeachment proceedings against Clinton.  Two Republican Congressman, John Shadegg (R-AZ) and Bob Schaffer (R-CO) circulated a letter among their colleagues calling on them to boycott the State of the Union Address.

A CNN All Politics report from January 19, 1999 states:

In a "Dear Republican Colleague" letter, the congressmen write, "While some argue that attending the address is a matter of respect for the OFFICE of the presidency, it is difficult to accept in the current context.

(excerpt and diary continue below the fold)

Hollywood, in a follow up to the smash comedy hit, Throw Tommy From The Train, is now preparing an intense drama about the recent Abramoff scandal and plea bargain entitled, BushFellas.  I have the inside scoop on the film and am presenting the movie poster and sure to be memorable quotes from the film.

Jack Abramoff narrating the introduction:

You know, we always called each other Bush fellas. Like you said to, uh, somebody, "You're gonna like this guy. He's all right. He's a Bush fella. He's one of us." You understand? We were Bush fellas. GOPguys. But Tommy and I could never be made because we had Democratic blood. It didn't even matter that my mother voted for Reagan. To become a member of a crew you've got to be one hundred per cent Republican so they can trace all your relatives back to the old country. See, it's the highest honor they can give you. It means you belong to a family and crew. It means that nobody can fuck around with you. It also means you could fuck around with anybody just as long as they aren't also a member. It's like a license to steal. It's a license to do anything. As far as George was concerned with Tommy being made, it was like we were all being made. We would now have one of our own as a member.

BushCo AKA The Bush Misadministration represented by (from left to right): Dick "dick" Cheney, Don "The Rummie" Rumsfeld, Condi "Liesalot" Rice, George "Brainless Nixon" Bush.

No, that's not a typo in the title, although they may all be bad villians, too. This is a look at the alter egos of BushCo the villainous enemies of Batman! Don't let their feeble appearance or inept ability to govern lull you into a false sense of security. They are extremely dangerous!