Speaking of wing-nuts lying, 9/11 workers outraged by new Rudy claim
“This is not a mayor or a governor or a President who’s sitting in an ivory tower,” Giuliani said. “I was at Ground Zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers. I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I’m one of them.”
His statement rang false to Queens paramedic Marvin Bethea, who said he suffered a stroke, posttraumatic stress disorder and breathing problems after responding to the attacks.
“I personally find that very, very insulting,” he said.
Giuliani’s Ground Zero Claim: ‘I’m One of Them’
Reacting even more strongly, Fire Captain James Riches, whose firefighter son lost his life in the attacks, called Giuliani “a liar” and said he was “living in a dreamland.”
But hey don’t pay attention to Rudy’s fabrications, the New Republic/Scott Beauchamp story is what’s important. When a prominent Republican tells the most blatant and in this case insulting and immoral lies and the right-wing bloggers are strangely silent and not in the least determined to get the truth out. Not a strange phenomenon at all, just another day.
Are GOP leaders leaking secrets to America’s enemies?
In an opinion article published in the New York Post Thursday, Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., reported the top-secret budget for human spying had decreased — the type of detail normally kept under wraps for national security reasons.
Indeed, Hoekstra’s penchant for openness appears to be selective. He has aggressively attacked unnamed opponents guilty of such leaking, accusing them of “recklessly and illegally” disclosing secrets “for political or other motives” in reports published by his committee.
This would be the same Hoekstra that falsely accused a Democratic aid of leaks. For which if we had a government that operated in the best interests of the people and rule of law Hoekstra would have been booted out of office. Then of course there was House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio who was blabbing secrets to Neil Cavuto on Faux just recently. When a Republican leaks it smells like roses. One set of rules for the elite and one set for the rest of us. The CarpetBagger points out that the financial/manpower information Hoekstra leaked was in the classified portion of the legislation – Another illegal GOP leak?
Another day another Scott Beauchamp update, The New Republic here, A Scott Beauchamp Update
Here’s what we know: On July 26, Beauchamp told us that he signed several statements under what he described as pressure from the Army. He told us that these statements did not contradict his articles. Moreover, on the same day he signed these statements for the Army, he gave us a statement standing behind his articles, which we published at tnr.com. Goldfarb has written, “It’s pretty clear the New Republic is standing by a story that even the author does not stand by.” In fact, it is our understanding that Beauchamp continues to stand by his stories and insists that he has not recanted them. The Army, meanwhile, has refused our requests to see copies of the statements it obtained from Beauchamp–or even to publicly acknowledge that they exist.
The Democratic Daily, who has been following this story closely here, Sadists On Parade. Just a couple points: Phil Carter is someone who I admire and was disappointed that he rushed to such a sloppy judgment. The Rightie blogs are still lying about what is known about Beauchamp’s stories. So the idea that they are genuinely interested in the truth dies another death at the keyboard warrior’s blistered pinkies. Talking Point Memo writes the post I would have written if I was a better writer, Beauchamp Update
If you’ve been following the Scott Thomas Beauchamp Affair, I strongly recommend reading the latest update from The New Republic. The short version is that the Army’s investigation of the case appears to be confined to a) releasing no information about their investigation or details of its findings, b) leaking alleged details to the Weekly Standard, which no one will confirm on the record and c) keeping Beauchamp himself in communications lockdown where no one but family members in monitored conversations can communicate with him.
Perhaps Beauchamp made this stuff up. And that’s not a throwaway line; I freely concede it may turn out to be the case. There’s no getting around the fact that the legacy of the Glass Affair puts an extra hurdle of credibility in TNR’s way.
The Beauchamp story is riddled with the kind of subtle details the Righties hate. They want to reduce the whole thing to he lied, end of story. What we know so far just doesn’t boil down to a story that simplistic. Conservatives are above things like lying and sleaze that’s why they’re so attuned to stories like Beauchamps, RNC Voter “Audit” Letter Raises Questions
What 83 year-old William Sidwell of Queen City, Missouri found in his mailbox last week scared him. It was a letter from the Republican National Committee, but it seemed to bear grave news: “Our records show that you registered as a member of our Party in Schuyler County, MO,” the letter said. “But a recent audit of your Party affiliation turned up some irregularities.”
Audit? Irregularities? Was he in trouble? Were they threatening him? Sidwell went immediately to his ask his son, Dennis, a licensed public accountant, for advice. You can see the letter, and the accompanying “Voter Registration Verification and Audit Form,” right here. Particularly puzzling to the both of them, Dennis told me, is that his father is a life-long Democrat.
Not to worry the mighty Rightie bloggers will get to the bottom of this scam to shake down a 83 year old voter because like the truth matters dude.
“I don’t know jokes; I just watch the government and report the facts.” – Will Rogers
08/10/07 DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Cpl. Reynold Armand, 21, of Rochester, N.Y., died Aug. 7 in Balad, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
08/10/07 WaPo: In the Land of the Blood Feuds
“We are in the land of the blood feuds,” said Maj. Rick Williams, a liaison to tribes in the area. “It’s very difficult to tell a tribal fight from a sectarian fight because interests are pretty mixed. You can’t just put up a fence.”
08/10/07 iol: Car bomb claims 11 lives (update)
A car bomb killed 11 people and wounded 45 others near a market in a Kurdish district of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday, police said.
08/10/07 MoD Identifies Army Casualties
Lance Sergeant Casey and Lance Corporal Redpath were killed when their Snatch Armoured Land Rover was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device during an operation to the north of the Rumaylah oilfields, which is to the west of Basra City.
08/10/07 Reuters: 3 bodies found in Rutba
Police said they found the bodies of three people in the western Iraqi town of Rutba, near the Jordanian border.
The Long Goodbye 