Nancy Pelosi Lied About Knowledge Of Waterboarding

WaPo.com:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) today said congressional leaders were never briefed about the use of an enhanced interrogation practice, rejecting GOP claims that leadership was aware of the controversial tactics by late 2002.

Pelosi said the select few lawmakers who were briefed about handling of detainees from the war on terror, were then forbidden from discussing what they had learned with their colleagues. This produced an environment in which the top lawmakers were told of the existence of legal opinions supporting the rationale for waterboarding detainees, but never told that it was actually being used, according to Pelosi.

"Flat out, they never briefed us that this was happening," she said.

In late 2002, Pelosi was the ranking member of the House intelligence committee, while Porter Goss (R-Fla.) was chairman, when they first learned of the general nature of the interrogation techniques that were under consideration by the CIA's top officials. They were part of the so-called "Gang of Four" briefings given to the top members of the intelligence panels in the House and Senate. Pelosi continued receiving highly classified briefings when she became Democratic leader in 2003, as is custom to brief the top Democrat and Republican in each of the two chambers.

Republicans have repeatedly cited these briefings to reject calls from Pelosi and many congressional Democrats to create a "truth commission" to investigate alleged abuses in interrogations. Those calls grew louder after last week's release of the legal memos that the Bush administration used, from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, to explain what was allowed and what would break international anti-torture laws.

"All of this information was downloaded to congressional leaders of both parties with no objections being raised," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters today, specifically citing Pelosi as someone who received the briefings. "Not a word was raised at the time, not one word."

Nancy's just playing to her Bay Area, leftwing loon base. She knows full well that she was briefed on waterboarding in the past, no way the GOP would put themselves out there and just make that stuff up. If Nancy had any balls she'd get her idiot constituents together and show them the facts so they can see that most of America doesn't agree with them on the use of torture and tell 'em to get a life as their still so intent on getting back at President Bush. But she won't because Nancy Pelosi doesn't have any guts.

Keith Olbermann: 'Reagan's Dead and He Was a Lousy President'

Newsmax.com:

On Wednesday’s Countdown show, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann mocked Ronald Reagan as "dead," and called him a "lousy President." After reading a quote from Warren County, Ohio, commissioner Mike Kilburn proclaiming his intention not to use any of the federal stimulus money, citing Reagan’s famous line that "government is the problem," Olbermann shot back: "Uh, Commissioner Kilburn, Reagan's dead and he was a lousy President."

The MSNBC host also slammed moderate Democratic Senator Ben Nelson as the day’s "Worst Person in the World" because the Nebraska Democrat dared to lump Olbermann and fellow MSNBC liberal Rachel Maddow in with conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, as Nelson charged that both conservative and liberal hosts spread misinformation to their viewers.

Olbermann, who has a history of repeating incorrect or distorted information on his show, and who also once depicted an image of Rush Limbaugh as a target of gunfire, charged that Limbaugh "supports racism and encourages violence," and that FNC’s Glenn Beck "makes up stuff," as the MSNBC host indignantly answered Nelson: "Thanks for the opportunity to tell you you don't know what the hell you're talking about. I am fed up with this equating of what we do here to circus performers like Limbaugh and the Fox crowd. We don't make up stuff like Beck does, we don't stalk people like O'Reilly does, we don't support racism and encourage violence like Limbaugh does, we don't recite talking points like Hannity does."

Referring to his recent criticism – from the left – of President Obama for announcing his administration would not try to prosecute CIA interrogators who used waterboarding against terrorists, Olbermann claimed that his show does not really have a left-wing slant: "Rachel caught you out to lunch on the stimulus, and she called you on it, and I slammed a Democratic President last week. We believe first, Senator, in right and wrong over here, not right and left. Let me know when you start believing in something besides re-election."

This idious fool doesn't have to look too far when he wonders why his ratings remain an utter FAIL.

Wishing Meghan McCain Would Just Go Away Already

HuffPo:

Meghan McCain, serving as a co-host of "The View" today, wasted little time before getting in a shot at former Vice President Dick Cheney and Karl Rove. McCain, who had previously written about how she found Karl Rove following her on Twitter "creepy," complained that Cheney and Rove are still trying to be seen as the face of the Republican Party. Last week McCain observed that the GOP leadership is "scared shitless" of the changing political landscape.

McCain mentioned disapprovingly Cheney's repeated public criticisms of Obama--which he voiced again on Fox News this week--and referred to the DNC ad released this week portraying Cheney, Rove and Gingrich as the 'new face of the GOP.' She pointed out that it's "very unprecedented for someone like Karl Rove or Dick Cheney to be criticizing the President." Her advice to them: "Go away."

At first I liked Meghan McCain. I was totally supportive of her outspokenness and I defended her when conservatives who made disparaging remarks about her weight. But now that she's disrespectfully told off Dick Cheney and Karl Rove, come out for gay marriage and allowed herself to be pimped and used by liberals who only tolerate her because she publicly disses other Republicans, I'm going to call her what she is: a dumb, naive, condescending prick who doesn't know a thing about politics. And here's wishing one day that she falls flat on her face, wakes up and comes out as the liberal she really is. Dumbass.

Marsha Blackburn Exposes Al Gore's Global Warming Charade

"30 years"?!? He is so full of tsih, global warming was nowhere near the top of his agenda when he ran for President in 2000. And notice how huffy and defensive he gets once Blackburn exposes how rich he's gotten off his global warning scam. Ed Markey can STFU too, like winning a Nobel Prize means anything nowadays, especially when you consider that Gandhi never won one.

Gay Misogynist Perez Hilton Continues To Smear Carrie Prejean

CNSNews.com:

After Hilton asked the lovely and talented Miss California whether “every state” should legalize “same-sex marriage,” Prejean responded: “In my country, in my family … I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised and that's how I think it should be – between a man and a woman.”

Oh the humanity!

Evidently this was not the rooty-tooty-fresh-n’-fruity answer Hilton – the creepy valley girl wannabe with a five o’clock shadow – had hoped for. He promptly marked Prejean’s score card with a zero, plopped down in front of the television cameras and began blubbering away like a fussy little snot with a dirty diaper.

Having already publicly called Prejean a “dumb b----,” he then yammered to a sympathetic Norah O’Donnell on MSNBC that, not only was he refusing to apologize, he was actually “thinking the C-word.” This, of course, one of the vilest things anyone can call a woman. Yet, rather than taking Hilton to task for the boy lover’s girl-hating poison, O’Donnell joined in on the bash-fest, criticizing Prejean for her traditional view.

But Hilton wasn’t done yet. Ramping up his vicious attack on the Christian California bombshell, our lispy-wispy lil’ cupcake dove headlong into the annals of dirt-baggery lore. He defaced a photo of Prejean on his weblog scribbling, below her chin, a crude depiction of a male phallus ejaculating in her mouth.

How did Prejean react?

While talking to Matt Lauer on NBC’s Today Show she said, “I knew at that moment after I answered the question, I knew, I was not going to win because of my answer, because I had spoken from my heart, from my beliefs and for my God. … I wouldn't have answered it differently. The way I answered may have been offensive. With that question specifically, it's not about being politically correct. For me it was being biblically correct.”

What's extra disturbing about this incident is the lack of outcry from the conservative press in defending Prejean, who not only lost any chance of winning the title because of her moral beliefs, but is now being demonized by a very popular, gay blogger. Indeed, some on the Right have even taken to mocking Prejean for what they perceive as a lack of smarts. It's a problem with conservatives in general--afraid to take on real bigots like Hilton (who never should've been allowed to judge this contest), and refusing to stand up for folks like Prejean because they don't meet their standards of mental acumen. Any wonder they're winning.

George Soros, King of all Liberals, Demands Bush Torture Probe

Newsmax.com:

A fund-raising letter has revealed one of the leading figures pushing for an investigation of alleged U.S. torture of terror suspects following 9/11: leftist billionaire-financier George Soros.

Officials at the Open Society Institute, which was founded by Soros in 1993 to promote progressive causes around the globe and which bills itself as “a Soros Foundation Network,” issued an e-mail to supporters yesterday announcing the creation of a new organization called the Commission on Accountability.

On its Web site, the Commission on Accountability demands an “independent, non-partisan” investigation of “torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees.”

The Commission on Accountability asks for signatures on a petition to President Obama.

The petititon reads: “We call on the president of the United States to establish an independent, non-partisan commission to examine and report publicly on torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of detainees in the period since September 11, 2001.

“The commission, comparable in stature to the 9/11 Commission, should look into the facts and circumstances of such abuses, report on lessons learned, and recommend measures that would prevent any future abuses.

The petition continues: “We believe that the commission is necessary to reaffirm America’s commitment to the Constitution, international treaty obligations, and human rights. The report issued by the commission will strengthen U.S. national security and help to re-establish America’s standing in the world.”

No surprise there, but it's funny that even Harry Reid is fessing up to the rank partisanship by liberals regarding this issue--another ploy by leftist loons to exact vengeance on former President Bush, at the expense of the safety of our country. If the GOP listens and jumps on the bandwagon of Dick Cheney's demands that all the torture memos be declassified, Barack Obama will end up looking really stupid for making this an issue to begin with.

Rachel Maddow Ratings Now An Utter FAIL

Newsbusters.org:

Apparently viewers are getting tired of the cutsey, smugness that is Rachel Maddow, and not just a few of them either. Ratings for the already low rated Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC have shown a steep decline recently, falling from a high of 1.9 million viewers to "slightly over 1.1 million."

Naturally, MSNBC President Phil Grifin is putting on the brave face calling Maddow a "rock star" and that Maddow is a "great success." He told the L. A. Times, "We've never had success anywhere near that in our 12-year history at 9 p.m. right out of the gate."

Apparently after barreling out of that "gate," Maddow took a harsh fall as her ratings took a dive.

Guess the shine has come off Krazy Keith Olbermann Jr.

Obama Shakes Hands With Venezuelan Tyrant Hugo Chavez

Somewhere Jimmy Carter continues to smile broadly as his unexpected 2nd term continues to flourish:

Defending his brand of world politics, President Barack Obama said Sunday that he "strengthens our hand" by reaching out to enemies of the United States and making sure that the nation is a leader, not a lecturer, of democracy.

Obama's foreign doctrine emerged across his four-day trip to Latin America, his first extended venture to a region of the world where resentment of U.S. power still lingers. He got a smile, handshakes and even a gift from incendiary leftist leader Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and embraced overtures of new relations from isolated Cuban President Raul Castro.

"The whole notion was that if we showed courtesy or opened up dialogue with governments that had previously been hostile to us, that that somehow would be a sign of weakness," Obama said, recalling his race for the White House and challenging his critics today.

"The American people didn't buy it," Obama said. "And there's a good reason the American people didn't buy it — because it doesn't make sense."

Still, Obama made sure to inject some go-it-slow caution and clear expectations for U.S. foes as he capped his trip to twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago with a steamy outdoor news conference.

On Cuba, he said Castro should release political prisoners, embrace democratic freedoms and cut fees on the money that Cuban-Americans send back to their families. Obama has lifted some restrictions on Cuba, and Castro responded with a broad, conciliatory overture.

"The fact that you had Raul Castro say he's willing to have his government discuss with ours not just issues of lifting the embargo, but issues of human rights, political prisoners, that's a sign of progress," Obama said. "And so we're going to explore and see if we can make some further steps."

He did not, though, offer any sign of lifting the crushing U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, as many Latin American and U.S. leaders want. Obama acknowledged that the U.S. policy in Cuba for the last 50 years "hasn't worked" but said change will be gradual.

In Washington, both Democrats and Republicans said Sunday that they wanted to see actions, not just rhetoric, from Cuba.

"Release the prisoners and we'll talk to you. ... Put up or shut up," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

"I think we're taking the right steps, and I think the ball is now clearly in Cuba's court," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. "They need to respond and say what they're willing to do."

As for Venezuela, Obama's friendly encounters with Chavez at the summit drew intense publicity — partly, Obama said, because Chavez is good at getting in front of TV cameras. Chavez's anti-American rhetoric has, in the past, led Obama to call him a demagogue.

Obama returned to Washington early Sunday evening. But even before he got back, Obama was facing condemnation from some Republicans about how he dealt with Chavez. "I think it was irresponsible for the president to be seen kind of laughing and joking with Hugo Chavez," said Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.

The president brushed that aside, noting that Venezuela has a defense budget about one-six hundredth the size of the United States' and owns the oil company Citgo.

"It's unlikely that as a consequence of me shaking hands or having a polite conversation with Mr. Chavez that we are endangering the strategic interests of the United States," Obama said.

Liberal Media Clearly Biased In Covering Tea Parties

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