Month: October 2005

Miers, Dubya & Bin Laden Determined to Strike

Posted by | Oct 4, 2005 |

[From the diaries by susanhu w minor edits.]

This fairly mundane picture of aide to the president Miers poring over papers with George W Bush was circulated yesterday, after Miers’ nomination for the SCOTUS.

Turns out the date on this photo is Aug 6, 2001. In Crawford, Texas. That’s right.

Does that date sound familiar? Indeed, that was the date, a little over a month before 9/11, that President Bush was briefed on the now-famous “PDB” that declared that Osama Bin Laden was “determined” to attack the U.S. homeland, perhaps with hijacked planes. But does that mean that Miers had anything to do with that briefing?

As it turns out, yes, according to Tuesday’s Los Angeles Times [which] observes that early in the Bush presidency “Miers assumed such an insider role that in 2001 it was she who handed Bush the crucial ‘presidential daily briefing’ hinting at terrorist plots against America just a month before the Sept. 11 attacks.” Editor & Publisher

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Tallking about Race: My GOP Uncle and Me

Posted by | Oct 4, 2005 |

As some of you may know, my wife is nisei, a Japanese-American whose parents immigrated to the US after the WW2.  We have two beautiful bi-racial children, my 16 year old son and his 10 year old sister.  They are one of the centers of my life, and I would do anything to protect them.

Before I met my wife, I confess I had an only abstract understanding of the difficulties that minorities face in a white dominated America.  That has changed significantly since we began our relationship, and particualrly so since we had our children.  We probably haven’t faced as many racial incidents as other mixed race couples (Asians being seen as a more acceptable minority to most whites), but we have encountered enough of them to radically change my view on the importance of ending racial discrimination and promoting racial equality.

My oldest uncle (let’s call him “D” for short) is a WW2 veteran who fought at the Battle of the Bulge.  He’s a great guy, but he has this one significant blindspot.

(More after the break . . . )

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Mehlman Reassures the Base: ‘She’s a Solid Fascist’

Posted by | Oct 4, 2005 |

Mehlman is pushing Meirs’s credentials as an apologist for torture, renditions, and the indefinite detention of American citizens. Never mind her position on abortion he says, she won’t micromanage the war on terror. From The Hill:

White House and Republican Party officials are scrambling to rein in conservative activists critical of President Bush’s nomination of White House counsel Harriet Miers to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, yesterday held a conference call with conservative leaders to address their concerns about Miers. He stressed Bush’s close relationship with Miers and the need to confirm a justice who will not interfere with the administration’s management of the war on terrorism, according to a person who attended the teleconference.

And this past weekend, Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff, sought to persuade conservative leaders that Miers was a nominee they could trust if confirmed to the high court. In particular, Rove “worked over” Dr. James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, who is one of the most influential conservatives in the country, according to one conservative leader…

Conservatives began expressing their anxiety about Miers soon after Bush announced her nomination early yesterday morning.

One member of the Senate Judiciary Committee closely allied with the conservative base, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), declined to state his reaction to Miers yesterday…

Mehlman yesterday unveiled a politically powerful argument linking Bush’s nomination to the war on terrorism. He said that as a former White House counsel Miers would know the importance of not letting the courts or the legislative branch “micromanage” the war on terrorism.

But Mehlman deflected questions about Miers’s political contributions and Reid’s endorsement of her, saying that he was not fully aware of what Reid said about her and that the party would conduct further research about her.

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CA-48th:Today’s the Day for The Primary

Posted by | Oct 4, 2005 |

After a very short runup, more internal trouble from Democrats than we ever got from Republicans, the Open Ballot Primary for the CA-48th opened the polling places at 7 am this morning. They will close at 8pm tonight. 15 people on the ballot.

Expected turnout? Around 22-25%

Expected Democratic Nominee: Steve Young
Expected Republican Nominee: John Campbell
Expected A.I.P.     Nominee: Jim GilChrist
and other minor players

General Election is Dec 6th.

CA-48 has one election a month for three months.
Today OCT 4= CA-48 Primary
State NOV 8= State Special Election
Then  DEC 6= CA-48 General

It’s possible that the Dec 6th turnout could be lower than today’s. Amazing but true.

Please keep up the support. With Gilchrist in the race and Campbell with some wacko positions we have a real chance here.

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