You can click here to view the latest Iraq troop death count.
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N.Y. Times Reporter Judith Miller Released From Jail

New York Times reporter Judith Miller was released from jail late yesterday and is scheduled to testify this morning before a federal grand jury investigating whether any government officials illegally leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame to the media. Judith Miller was a Bush crime family cheerleader, she was the NY Times reported that wrote countless stories in which the lies about Iraq were spread to her unsuspecting readers. For that alone this woman needs to be in jail or at least needs to have her press pass taken away. We will see how honest her testimony is- perhaps she had some time to think, in jail, about how writing about lies to support a fascist regime was a bad idea. Miller had refused to testify about information she received from confidential sources. But she said she changed her mind after I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, chief of staff for Vice President Cheney, assured her in a telephone call last week that a waiver he gave prosecutors authorizing them to question reporters about their conversations with him was not coerced.

"It's good to be free," Miller said in a statement last night. "I went to jail to preserve the time-honored principle that a journalist must respect a promise not to reveal the identity of a confidential source. . . . I am leaving jail today because my source has now voluntarily and personally released me from my promise of confidentiality regarding our conversations relating to the Wilson-Plame matter."

So time will tell if Ms. Miller decides to finally tell the truth. There used to be a "time honored principle" that the press would report the facts...not the facts the way a controlling party wants them to be. Let's hope she realized that as well while she was spending time in the jailhouse.

It's been a hell of a week, hasn't it? First of all we heard Bush claiming we were making "progres" in Iraq, despite the fact that the troop death count increased by five or more US troops a day this week. The Pentagon got slapped on the wrist yesterday when a judge denied their claim that releasing the new Abu Gharib photos and videos may violate rights of the abused (whose rights were already volated!) and incense the "insurgency. The judge re-ordered the release of Abu Ghraib photos and videos.

We also were told that the troop levels were fabulous in Iraq, but yesterday I heard a story of an Army reserve guy that was called up to go to Louisiana to help with the hurricane aid. He never made it to Louisiana- he was told that instead he was being deployed to Iraq. The AP is reporting that the Army is facing the worst recruiting slump in years.

Perhaps that is because people don't want to sign up to die for oil and the power of the few. It really is a shame though, because the military used to offer young people some really good opportunities. Now, with the destruction of it and the rest of democracy, the Bush crime family is making us less safe, despite their assurances to the contrary. If something legitimate happens we may be virtually defenseless in a few years.

While Frist and DeLay were imploding we watched as 21 DEMOCRATS defied logic and progressives natiowide and voted for ultra-conservative Judge Roberts who was sworn in as Chief Justice yesterday. Bush is itching to release his next choice that will replaced O'Conner sometime next week I presume.

Meanwhile 2008 Democrat Presidential hopeful Sen. Russ Feingold has made an early appeal to anti-war activists and set himself apart from possible rivals by calling for a pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of next year Right-wing talkers are trying to paint O'Conner as a liberal judge- just like most of the crap they spew out, that is not so.

Speaking of right-wing radio liars, former Reagan era Education Secretary, Bill Bennett, pictured, who has a neo-con radio program, and he said to a caller, earlier in the week, that he thought that the best way to stop crime was to "abort all black babies". True to form Bennet claimed that his statement was mischaracterized as leading Democrats demanded an apology. I would personanally demand that the bastard be taken off the air. Well we can thank Clinton for passing a law in 1996, that allowed right-wing conglomerates, like Clear Channel, to own up to 8 radio stations in one market. Most of the radio stations you hear on your AM and FM dial are owned by one or two right wing companies. More on that later on when I post the new 91X story, my favorite FM station, in the bulletin section of my ModBlog mirror site. They are, according to one of the DJ's, escaping from the clutches of Clear Channel- the folks who put Rush Limbaugh and other fat, white, bigots on their stations. Despite their recent jaunt with Air America and progressive radio all is not that liberal at Clear Channel.

The worst crimes of the week are the virtual acceptence and blatant covering up by the press of Brownie's perjury in front of the select Congressional committee earlier this week. The other crime came yesterday as our California Governator vetoed the gay marriage bill. I really wish we would get that damn word marriage off of these bills- it has absolutely nothing to do with recreating the religious heterosexual rituals- it's about equal rights. My partner's brother, Speaker of the California Fabian Nunez, said that, "History will show that Gov. Schwarzenegger had a chance to end the last vestige of legal discrimination in our state, Instead of choosing the way of the future the governor has aligned himself with the enemies of equal rights for all." This was in response to Arnold's statement in which he said that he wants to, "leave the issue of same-sex marriage to voters and the courts".

Well that is all well and good Arnold, but remember folks, the ratio of gay to straight voters in California is at least 10 to 1. Any statewide vote is extremely unfair- of course the majority will win.

It is about time that we realize that the anti-gay marriage movement is an agenda that is fueled by homophobes and Christ-killing bastards, My partnership does not affect any heterosexual couples marriage on our block. So screw you Arnold- you want to claim that you will represent all the people in California and yet you just screwed a good portion of us. You are no more then another Republican shill that caters to big money and the Christian right. We can do better in Cali- let's hope we will terminate Arnold's political career in the next election.

So yes, it's been a hell of a week and now I am ready for a weekend that is politics free.

Have a nice weekend and by all means- watch your back folks!

See you Monday.
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