October 31, 2007 – Capitol Hill Blue

Another name for mercenary is ‘murderer’

October 31, 2007

Erik Prince, owner of the “shoot first and make excuses later” group of mercenaries called Blackwater Worldwide (formerly known as Blackwater USA) claims calling his collection of hired killers “mercenaries” is a “slanderous term.”

I don’t know if it is possible to slander a slimeball like Erik Prince. A soldier of fortune who built his empire with his daddy’s money, Prince is just another killer for hire.

He’s also dumb as a stump when it comes to American history.

Waterboarding? What’s that?

October 31, 2007

Attorney General wannabe Michael Mukasey told the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday that his is “not sure” if waterboarding torture is legal or not.

Not sure? And this guy wants to be the top law enforcement official in the land?

Ron Paul is on the air

October 31, 2007

GOP Presidential long-shot Ron Paul is putting his first television ads on the air in New Hampshire.

Stay tuned.

Republican Ron Paul Airs First Ads – WASHINGTON (AP) — Underdog Ron Paul is airing the first TV ads of his presidential campaign, hoping to capitalize on a fundraising surge and promote his blend of anti-war, anti-spending libertarianism in New Hampshire…. [Political news from The Associated Press]

Ralph Nader strikes again

October 31, 2007

Ralph Nader is suing the Democratic party, claiming a conspiracy to keep him from taking votes from John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election.

Let’s see. Democrats claim Republicans conspired to steal votes from Kerry in Ohio. Now Nader says Democrats conspired to prevent him from taking votes from Kerry.

Call Oliver Stone. This many conspiracies merits a film.

Apology for getting caught

October 31, 2007

John Tanner, the shoot-from-the-lip chief of the Justice Department’s voting rights section, apologized Tuesday for saying minority voters “die first.”

Tanner admits his comments were “hurtful” and clumsy.”

He forgot to add “stupid.”

In search of…a conscience

October 31, 2007

A new book by former White House aide Michael Gerson suggests conservatism has lost its conscience.

Gerson is wrong.

You can’t lose what you never had.

Firestorm over immunity deal

October 31, 2007

The US State Department faced tough questions Tuesday over reports that it offered immunity to Blackwater security firm employees in the wake of a Baghdad shooting that left 17 civilians dead.

Top Democratic lawmakers sent letters to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanding answers over reports that Blackwater, which protects US diplomats in Baghdad, had been offered protection from prosecution when the State Department investigated the September 16 shooting.

The ‘Nail Hillary’ debate

October 31, 2007

Democrats Barack Obama and John Edwards sharply challenged Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s candor, consistency and judgment Tuesday in a televised debate that underscored her front-runner status two months before the first presidential primary votes.

Obama, the Illinois senator, began immediately, saying Clinton has changed her positions on the North American Free Trade Agreement, torture policies and the Iraq war. Leadership, he said, does not mean “changing positions whenever it’s politically convenient.”

Rudy never met a war he didn’t like

October 31, 2007

In some circles, it’s pretty much taken for granted that the war in Iraq is an unmitigated disaster with no possible gain for all the pain, and that you can make this observation over and over with no one objecting. Only someone is. Rudolph Giuliani.

“Do I think the mission overall in Iraq is the correct one?” he asked the other day, following up with a quick answer. “I think without a doubt it is.”

Help wanted: Must be willing to die

October 31, 2007

White House assurances that Iraq in general and Baghdad in particular have become safer thanks to President Bush’s “surge” strategy are apparently not resonating at certain levels of the U.S. State Department.

The department has been unable to attract enough volunteers from among its diplomatic corps to fully staff the huge Baghdad embassy, the United States’ largest, so it is resorting to its first mandatory call-up of Foreign Service officers since the Vietnam War.