Mood:  caffeinated

Menendez questions timing of subpoena

ATLANTIC CITY -- Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez suggested Friday that the state's chief federal prosecutor is part of a Republican plot to tarnish his character in the middle of a competitive campaign.

Menendez and other top Democrats implied that the Republican U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Christopher Christie, had partisan motives in subpoenaing records related to Menendez's lease deal with a federally funded non-profit group. The development had Menendez's fellow Democrats worrying about the potential damage to his deadlocked contest with his Republican challenger, state Sen. Tom Kean Jr.

A knowledgeable source said the subpoena delivered Wednesday sought lease agreements, canceled checks, correspondence and other records related to the arrangement dating from 1993, the year before the North Hudson Community Action Corp. began renting Menendez's two-story brick building in Union City. The source said the office is also seeking records related to the agency's federal grants, which Menendez's office touted and in some cases helped to acquire.

Menendez said he has not seen the subpoena and had not been served with one.

But Menendez, who sold the building three years ago, said the timing of the subpoena and the publicity that followed raises "serious questions."

"Suddenly, 61 days before an election, a prosecutor appointed by George Bush decides to take an interest and, not coincidentally, leaks to the press follow immediately," he said.

He said the events fit a pattern of dirty campaigning by Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser.

"We have seen an orchestrated series of leaks, bogus ethics complaints and outright fabrications since the beginning of this campaign," Menendez told a crowd of Democrats gathered for the state party convention at Bally's Atlantic City.

"Tom Kean Jr.'s entire campaign has been straight out of the Bush-Rove playbook, and now he's even got the U.S. attorney involved."

A spokesman for Christie declined to comment on Menendez's remarks or the subpoena. Christie was an avid Bush fund-raiser whose brash style has drawn accusations of partisanship before.

However, Christie's high-profile public corruption prosecutions have been bipartisan and widely praised.

'Serious concerns'
Governor Corzine, who in January appointed Menendez to serve the last year of his U.S. Senate term, said he respects Christie but also harbors "serious concerns about the timing" of the subpoena and leaks to the press about it.

"It has the appearance of being less than objective," said Corzine, also attending the convention in Atlantic City.

Corzine and the state's Democratic members of Congress, some of whom aggressively sought Corzine's seat, publicly rallied around the senator while heaping abuse on Kean and other Republicans.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg said Kean, the son of former Gov. Thomas H. Kean, "comes to the table with nothing."

Menendez effectively called his opponent a "trust fund baby."

Asked about the investigation at a press conference Friday, Kean said it would be "inappropriate" to comment.

Thursday night, however, he had issued a statement saying the investigation showed "the need to clean up the corruption and scandal that has plagued Washington, D.C., and our state, so we can finally restore the public's faith in government."

Menendez reiterated Friday that he had informally cleared the lease with the House ethics committee, and for the first time named a committee aide, Mark Davis, who he thought had reviewed the matter.

But after a Capitol Hill newspaper reported that the staffer had already left the ethics committee by 1994, spokesman Matt Miller said Menendez had remembered incorrectly because it was so long ago.

He did not offer another name.

Over the course of nine years while he represented Hudson County in the House, Menendez collected more than $300,000 from the non-profit group for its preschool program's offices.

At the same time, the organization's employees gave Menendez tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and named a facility after him.

The Kean campaign has charged that Menendez was effectively profiting from federal funds over which he had influence.

Representatives of the agency were not available for comment Friday.

Craig Holman, a campaign finance lobbyist with the ethics advocacy group Public Citizen, said the lease appears to have violated ethics rules, but he found the involvement of law enforcement "surprising."

To be guilty of a crime, Menendez would have had to have realized a financial benefit that could be attributed directly to his office, such as unusually high rent from the federally subsidized agency.

"It sounded like it was just a rules violation," Holman said. "It would have to be inflated rent. If the rent is anything in the ballpark of what space is going for in the area, that would be market rate.

"It could be the U.S. Attorney's Office is trying to make sure nothing happened here," Holman added.

"They could be on a fishing expedition."

'Big financial advantage'
Political experts expected the investigation to be harmful but not fatal to Menendez's prospects for a full term.

Cook Political Report analyst Jennifer Duffy, who had changed her New Jersey forecast from "leans Democratic" to "tossup" just before news of the federal probe broke, said Menendez still has natural advantages.

"It's still New Jersey, it's still a blue state and he still has a big financial advantage," she said. "But what this might do is let Kean run this race on his own terms because fundamentally, if he can keep this race about ethics, he's got a shot. If Menendez succeeds in making it about Bush and Iraq and homeland security, Kean's got a problem."

It's difficult to judge how much of an impression the latest developments will make in scandal-inured New Jersey, said Rutgers University political science Professor Ross Baker.

"There's a lot of cynicism in New Jersey voters," Baker said. "It's almost as if this stuff is to be expected. ... It's harmful, no doubt about it. It's the kind of thing every candidate dreads. But I wish I could be more convinced that there was not a political motivation behind this and the timing of it. It's just too neat."

Staff writer William Lamb contributed to this article. E-mail: gohlke@northjersey.com
North Jersey.com ~
The Herald - Josh Gohlke, Herb Jackson, Peter Sampson ** Menendez questions timing of subpoena

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 5:32 PM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 9 September 2006 5:44 PM EDT

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AP Photo: The home where court records allege an 11-year old girl was the victim of repeated sexual assaults by as many as 15 boys as a 16-year old girl watched and told her what sex acts to perform, is seen Thursday, Sept. 7, 2006, in Milwaukee. Criminal complaints filed Wednesday in Milwaukee County Children's Court said the alleged attack took place Monday at the home of the older girl, who is 16.

Wisconsin Alderman Says Girl, 11, Has HIV

MILWAUKEE -- An 11-year-old girl who allegedly had sex with as many as 20 people as a 16-year-old girl watched and coached her has had HIV since birth, an alderman who met with the family said Friday. Alderman Mike McGee Jr. told The Associated Press that he met with the girl Thursday and described her as distraught.

"You can't expect her to be doing well," he said Friday.

McGee said the girl feels like she was misled by the 16-year-old.

"She now is trying to sort out who to trust and who not to," he said.

Her mother died of AIDS and the girl lives with family members, he said.

Also Friday, the 16-year-old's uncle, Freeman Gurley, 40, and Darnell Chaney, 17, were charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child in the incident, which authorities said took place Monday in a house on the city's north side.

The 16-year-old girl was charged Wednesday in juvenile court with four counts of being a party to first-degree sexual assault of a child. A 15-year-old boy was charged with two counts in juvenile court.

Court records say as many as 20 men and boys took part in the sex acts.

Police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz said Friday they were still seeking five others in the case.

No child can give legal consent for sex, District Attorney E. Michael McCann said in a statement Friday.

"Whether the 11-year-old child consented or not is utterly irrelevant," he said.

As of this summer, 338 Wisconsin residents under the age of 19 had reported having the AIDS virus since 1983, according to the state health Web site.

The likelihood of someone spreading the AIDS virus through a single sex act is not well known. A key factor is how much virus is in the infected person's blood, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers who have studied this topic. Treatment with AIDS drugs greatly reduces the amount of virus in the blood.

HIV is spread through blood, semen and vaginal fluids — not saliva. Cases of an infected woman passing HIV to a male partner solely through oral sex have been reported, but these are very rare. If the woman had bleeding gums or mouth sores, that could expose the recipient to her blood and increase the potential risk, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's web site.

As for vaginal sex between an infected female and an uninfected male, studies suggest the probability of getting HIV from a single act is far less than 1 percent.

According to the complaint filed Friday in adult court against Gurley and Chaney, the 11-year-old said the 16-year-old told her she should perform various sex acts on a number of young men at the house Monday and she agreed.

She was in a bedroom and began performing sex acts on a number of males, the complaint said.

When the uncle, Freeman Gurley, came home from work the teenage girl encouraged the 11-year-old to have sex with him, the complaint said. Initially, the 11-year-old refused but then gave in, the complaint said.

At one point the 11-year-old was performing oral sex on Chaney while Gurley was having intercourse with her, the complaint said.

Gurley admitted he had unprotected intercourse with the girl on the bed, the complaint said. In the juvenile court documents, Gurley said his niece coached the 11-year-old.

Chaney admitted the girl performed oral sex on him. He also told police the 16-year-old was directing the 11-year-old girl, the complaint said.

According to court records from the juvenile court case, the 11-year-old told police after the incident in the bedroom she went to the basement, where there were about 15 males and "began to choose who she wanted to perform oral sex on."

The 16-year-old denied encouraging her, court records said.

McGee said he handed out fliers Friday, letting people know about a reward for anyone who had information that would lead to an arrest in the case. Residents had donated $2,000, he said.

AP Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione contributed to this report.
Yahoo News ~ Associated Press - Carrie Antlfinger ** Wis. Alderman says girl, 11, has HIV

Well, it seems that the devil has a (sick) sense of humor.

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 4:47 PM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 9 September 2006 4:55 PM EDT

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Retailers peddle padded bras for girls

Breast-enhancing padded bras for girls as young as six are being sold in Victorian shops.

Childhood experts have warned parents they could be baiting pedophiles by dressing their young girls as raunchy women.

Tiny matching lingerie sets of lacy bras and knickers in many children's brands including Bratz, Saddle Club and Barbie, have hit the shelves aimed at girls who are barely old enough for school.

The Herald Sun last week revealed the latest Bratz Babyz range included sexually provocative baby dolls dressed in leather and lingerie.

The padded Bratz "bralettes" were among more than 30 different junior bra styles starting at size six on sale at a city Target store visited by the Herald Sun yesterday.

The Australian Family Association warned parents against sexualising their children. "We have a growing problem with pedophilia and people viewing children as sex objects," spokeswoman Angela Conway said.

"Children do not need these products and I am appalled. It is more than bad taste. The sexual portrayal of children in this country is illegal and these products are pandering to just that."

Australian Childhood Foundation CEO Dr Joe Tucci said padded bras were "the most ridiculous piece of clothing a parent could buy".

Bratz distributor Funtastic defended the range.

"The idea of the padding is for girls to be discreet as they develop," a spokeswoman said.

"It is more about hiding what you have got than showing it off. It is certainly not there to make children look like they have breasts."

Target also stood by the underwear range. It provided "fashionable items that give girls modesty and style as they go through development changes", a spokeswoman said.

Herald Sun AU ~ Jane Metlikovec ** Retailers peddle padded bras for girls

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 3:56 PM EDT

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Matthews: Plame Story Too Complicated to Cover Now

By Matthew Sheffield

Since the revelation that Richard Armitage, a former high-ranking official in the State Department, was the source of the much-ballyhooed Valerie Plame "leak," many in the media have refused to touch the story with a ten-foot pole. This was quite a turnaround since before the Armitage involvement was known, many journalists believed the CIA leak story was one worth pursuing on a daily basis. Some even believed it could bring down the Bush White House, or at least end the careers of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney.

One of the biggest media figures boycotting the Plame story has been MSNBC host Chris Matthews who has yet to mention the scandal at all since the Armitage report broke, a dramatic contrast to the 27 times he mentioned the "scandal" in the five months leading up to it.

Like P.J. Gladnick, I couldn't help but notice Matthews's strange flip. So I decided to ask him about it. His answer revealed an animus toward Vice President Dick Cheney and a fear of being asked to answer tough questions himself.

Last night, I went to a press conference/party held by MSNBC and National Journal celebrating a new venture the two media outlets are launching together. Quite a few NBCers were there, including Chris Matthews. I struck up a conversation with the host about the topic of Plame and why he hadn't talked about the story at all. Here's a rough transcript of our discussion which I wrote down shortly thereafter:

Q: So I've noticed you haven't done anything on the whole Valerie Plame story since the Armitage story broke. Why not invite Joe Wilson on the show to defend himself?

A: Because he'd say basically the same thing he always says. 'My wife had no involvement in getting me the mission.' He'd just repeat it over and over.

Q: Maybe, but isn't it at least worth showing your viewers that this guy has no credibility considering how much you talked about the story before? Shouldn't he be held accountable for wasting all our time? Why not invite one of his representatives or defenders on the show?

A: Well, the story's just gotten so complicated. I mean, it's just such a mess. Because what if it's true that Armitage was the source, but those other guys [presumably Rove and Scooter Libby], also were leakers, what then?

Q: Isn't that a question worth exploring on your show?

A: It could be but the problem is that Dick Cheney has so many apologists it's ridiculous. So many journalists like Bob Woodward will say or do anything just to get access to him. And then all the people in the administration too.

Q: I don't see why this is stopping you from mentioning the story at all. The viewers at least need some sort of closure don't they?

A: Hey listen I need to get out of here. I have to get back home.

After that remark, Matthews left the conversation. He stuck around for about 15 minutes before leaving.

Update 13:40. Matt Drudge has picked up this story.

Update 16:29. Nathan Goulding: "Now that there isn't a story, Matthews drops it -- not because it's a non-story, but because it's too confusing. In reality, it couldn't be any simpler. Richard Armitage told Robert Novak. Rove confirmed this to Novak. There was no conspiracy to 'punish' a Bush critic -- only an effort to refute his lies. What's so 'complicated' about that?"

Update 16:46. Ace: "Bush Derangement Syndrome. Catch the swamp-fever!"

Update 18:10. Tom Maguire has a post on some of the other Matthews aspects in the Plame story, including an accusation from former Cheney aide Scooter Libby that the MSNBC host is anti-semitic.

Update 23:12. On Friday's edition of "Hardball," Matthews, prompted by this post being picked up by the Drudge Report, ended his boycott of the Plame story with a strange conspiracy theory: Armitage was set up to be a patsy by Bush White House staff because they "knew he was a blabbermouth."

Matthews posed his bizarre idea to Newsweek reporter Michael Isikoff and Nation writer David Corn. Isikoff flatly denied it.

MATTHEWS: You guys broke the story that the real leaker in the CIA leak case was Richard Armitage. Michael?

ISIKOFF: Correct, and it's, you know, it was one of the ironies of the Plame investigation that the guy who was the primary source for Novak, who was the primary source, and it was the sole source for Bob Woodward, was a member of the administration's moderate cell who actually had misgivings about march to war--

MATTHEWS: Do you think he might have been used by the people like Scooter, they put it in front of him knowing he was a blabbermouth?

ISIKOFF: No.

Video available at NRO.

News Busters ~ Matthew Sheffield ** Matthews: Plame Story Too Complicated to Cover Now

Related: PMSNBC Runs Telethon for Democrats
Chris Matthews to Green Candidate Calling for Bush Execution:, 'I Like You Already'

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 3:46 PM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 9 September 2006 4:07 PM EDT

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AP Photo: Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., talks during a campaign stop at an AMVETS hall in Tacoma, Wash., Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2006. Cantwell, a Democrat who is in a tight re-election race, has reported for years that former campaign manager Ron Dotzauer owes her between $15,000 and $50,000 for a personal loan predating her first Senate election in 2000. Since last fall, Cantwell has helped persuade Senate appropriators to set aside $9.6 million -- known as 'earmarks' in congressional parlance -- for a dam project benefiting two clients of Dotzauer's firm and $2 million more for the biotechnology company Inologic also represented by his firm. Cantwell's spokesman said Thursday Sept. 7, 2006 the senator's efforts to secure the money had nothing to do with Dotzauer or his personal loan, and were driven by the fact that the projects benefited her home state.

Sen. Cantwell helped lobbyist's clients

WASHINGTON -- A soon-to-be U.S. senator lends money to a lobbyist. The lobbyist never pays it back. The lawmaker then uses her Senate position to help direct more than $11 million in government money to projects benefiting the lobbyist's clients.

It's the story of Sen. Maria Cantwell (news, bio, voting record), D-Wash., a former technology executive, and her former campaign manager Ron Dotzauer, who founded a lobbying firm and still owes the senator an unpaid personal loan from 2000.

Cantwell's spokesman says she sees nothing wrong with the relationship. Ethics experts have a different take.

Senate ethics rules require lawmakers to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest when making official acts that benefit people in whom they have a personal financial relationship.

"It is clear that this financial relationship web between the senator and the lobbyist creates a huge conflict of interest," said Ellen Miller, head of the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation, which is working to highlight how lawmakers use legislative earmarks to reward special interests.

"At the end of the day, there is a private lobbyist who is making a lot of money off her public actions. And it certainly appears, with the loan, to give her a stake in his financial success," she said.

Cantwell's spokesman said the senator's efforts to secure the money had nothing to do with Dotzauer or his personal loan, and were driven by the fact that the projects benefited her home state.

"She believes a senator from Washington state should fight for the people and companies of the state when it comes to matters before the federal government. That's part of her job," said spokesman Michael Meehan.

Cantwell, a Democrat who is in a tight re-election race, has reported for years that Dotzauer owes her between $15,000 and $50,000 for a personal loan predating her first Senate election in 2000. Dotzauer ran that campaign and is an unpaid, informal adviser to her current re-election bid even as he runs his lobbying business.

The loan was still listed as outstanding on the financial disclosure report Cantwell filed in May.

Since last fall, Cantwell has helped persuade Senate appropriators to set aside $9.6 million for a dam project benefiting two clients of Dotzauer's firm and $2 million more for the biotechnology company Inologic, which is also represented by his firm.

Melanie Sloan, a former federal prosecutor who runs Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which studies lawmakers' ethical conduct, said she doubts Cantwell, a millionaire, acted because of the loan.

Nonetheless, Sloan said, Cantwell was obligated under the ethics rules to either forbid her office from dealing with Dotzauer's firm or to make sure the loan was paid back before doing so.

In a phone interview from his Seattle office, Dotzauer said he couldn't recall the details about the loan he owes Cantwell.

The lobbyist, 59, said he did not personally lobby Cantwell for the dam or biotechnology money, leaving that work instead to his firm's two full-time lobbyists in Washington, D.C.

"I haven't been to D.C. in a year and a half. I'm too old to fly to D.C," he said. "I don't lobby myself. I don't have the patience for it."

Last year, Cantwell helped secure $1.5 million for a dam project in her home state that is at the center of a deal between Puget Sound Energy Corp. and the Cascade Water Alliance.

Cantwell and fellow Sen. Patty Murray (news, bio, voting record), D-Wash., also asked Senate appropriators to set aside $8.1 million more for the same dam and a passageway around the dam for fish this summer.

Both utility interests were clients of Dotzauer's Strategies 360 lobbying firm, and they reported paying his firm specifically to lobby for federal money for the dam project at Lake Tapps, located in Seattle's fast-growing and politically important eastern suburbs.

Puget Sound Energy is selling the dam to the alliance, a coalition of eight municipal utilities. The federal money was designed to help convert the dam from producing electricity to supplying drinking water for the burgeoning suburban population.

Just a week after Dotzauer's firm registered to lobby for Puget Sound Energy in February 2005, Cantwell reimbursed the company $2,285 on Feb. 9, 2005, for catering an event for her re-election campaign, Federal Election Commission records show. Meehan said the event occurred in December 2004 and Cantwell was slow to reimburse it.

Company executives have contributed $19,850 to Cantwell's re-election.

By November 2005, Cantwell had succeeded in securing the initial money for the dam project that Puget Sound wanted, boasting about it in a news release after the project was included in a larger energy and water spending bill.

"These funds will help develop sustainable water management at Lake Tapps, protect salmon habitat, and address the drinking water needs of growing eastside suburban populations," Cantwell said. In June, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved more money -- $8.1 million -- for the dam project.

Strategies 360 reported collecting $20,000 in 2005 from Puget Sound Energy for lobbying work described as "Seeking Funding For Lake Tapps." The Cascade Water Alliance, meanwhile, paid Dotzauer's firm $220,000 over several years for the same work, lobbying records show.

Meehan, Cantwell's spokesman, said the senator began working on the Lake Tapps project shortly after taking office in 2001, "long before the alliance was formed or anybody else lobbied for it," including Dotzauer.

Last October, Cantwell and Murray issued a joint announcement taking credit for securing $2 million in the 2006 defense spending bill to help a Seattle area company develop an anti-radiation drug.

The money will help Inologic Inc. of Bellevue, Wash., develop "a new drug that can be administered orally and be used to treat civilian and military victims of radiation exposure," Murray and Cantwell said. Murray is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Inologic said on its lobbying reports that it paid at least $150,000 to Dotzauer's firm for lobbying work through 2005 to help it win federal money to develop an anti-radiation drug. Dotzauer said, however, the company hasn't paid that money and still owes his firm.

Yahoo News ~ Associated Press - Matthew Daly ** Sen. Cantwell helped lobbyist's clients

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 3:29 PM EDT

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Senate Dems: Cancel ABC 9/11 Movie

Urging him to cancel the grossly inaccurate upcoming miniseries "The Path to 9/11," the Senate Democratic Leadership on Thursday sent the following letter to Disney President and CEO Robert Iger. Disney’s subsidiary ABC erroneously claims the misleading miniseries is based on 9/11 Commission report and is planning to air it on Sept. 10 and 11. Shockingly, the network is also planning to use the program as a teaching tool through Scholastic, potentially misinforming thousands of children about the most important event in recent American history.

The text of the letter, signed by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin, and Senators Debbie Stabenow, Charles Schumer, and Byron Dorgan, is below.

September 7, 2006
Mr. Robert A. Iger
President and CEO
The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank CA 91521

Dear Mr. Iger,
We write with serious concerns about the planned upcoming broadcast of The Path to 9/11 mini-series on September 10 and 11. Countless reports from experts on 9/11 who have viewed the program indicate numerous and serious inaccuracies that will undoubtedly serve to misinform the American people about the tragic events surrounding the terrible attacks of that day. Furthermore, the manner in which this program has been developed, funded, and advertised suggests a partisan bent unbecoming of a major company like Disney and a major and well respected news organization like ABC. We therefore urge you to cancel this broadcast to cease Disney’s plans to use it as a teaching tool in schools across America through Scholastic. Presenting such deeply flawed and factually inaccurate misinformation to the American public and to children would be a gross miscarriage of your corporate and civic responsibility to the law, to your shareholders, and to the nation.

The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airwaves in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events.

Disney and ABC claim this program to be based on the 9/11 Commission Report and are using that assertion as part of the promotional campaign for it. The 9/11 Commission is the most respected American authority on the 9/11 attacks, and association with it carries a special responsibility. Indeed, the very events themselves on 9/11, so tragic as they were, demand extreme care by any who attempt to use those events as part of an entertainment or educational program. To quote Steve McPhereson, president of ABC Entertainment, "When you take on the responsibility of telling the story behind such an important event, it is absolutely critical that you get it right.”

Unfortunately, it appears Disney and ABC got it totally wrong.

Despite claims by your network’s representatives that The Path to 9/11 is based on the report of the 9/11 Commission, 9/11 Commissioners themselves, as well as other experts on the issues, disagree.

Richard Ben-Veniste, speaking for himself and fellow 9/11 Commissioners who recently viewed the program, said, "As we were watching, we were trying to think how they could have misinterpreted the 9/11 Commission’s findings the way that they had.” ["9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]

Richard Clarke, the former counter-terrorism czar, and a national security advisor to ABC has described the program as "deeply flawed” and said of the program’s depiction of a Clinton official hanging up on an intelligence agent, "It’s 180 degrees from what happened.” ["9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]

Reports suggest that an FBI agent who worked on 9/11 and served as a consultant to ABC on this program quit halfway through because, "he thought they were making things up.” [MSNBC, September 7, 2006]

Even Thomas Kean, who serves as a paid consultant to the miniseries, has admitted that scenes in the film are fictionalized. ["9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]

That Disney would seek to broadcast an admittedly and proven false recounting of the events of 9/11 raises serious questions about the motivations of its creators and those who approved the deeply flawed program. Finally, that Disney plans to air commercial-free a program that reportedly cost it $40 million to produce serves to add fuel to these concerns.

These concerns are made all the more pressing by the political leaning of and the public statements made by the writer/producer of this miniseries, Mr. Cyrus Nowrasteh, in promoting this miniseries across conservative blogs and talk shows.

Frankly, that ABC and Disney would consider airing a program that could be construed as right-wing political propaganda on such a grave and important event involving the security of our nation is a discredit both to the Disney brand and to the legacy of honesty built at ABC by honorable individuals from David Brinkley to Peter Jennings. Furthermore, that Disney would seek to use Scholastic to promote this misguided programming to American children as a substitute for factual information is a disgrace.

As 9/11 Commission member Jamie Gorelick said, "It is critically important to the safety of our nation that our citizens, and particularly our school children, understand what actually happened and why – so that we can proceed from a common understanding of what went wrong and act with unity to make our country safer.”

Should Disney allow this programming to proceed as planned, the factual record, millions of viewers, countless schoolchildren, and the reputation of Disney as a corporation worthy of the trust of the American people and the United States Congress will be deeply damaged. We urge you, after full consideration of the facts, to uphold your responsibilities as a respected member of American society and as a beneficiary of the free use of the public airwaves to cancel this factually inaccurate and deeply misguided program. We look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Sincerely,
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid
Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin
Senator Debbie Stabenow
Senator Charles Schumer
Senator Byron Dorgan

News Max.com ** Senate Dems: Cancel ABC 9/11 Movie
Related:
Scholastic Replaces 'Path to 9/11' School Guide
ABC: We're Still Editing 9/11 Movie
Missed Opportunities to Capture Osama bin Laden
Bill Clinton Demands ABC Fix 9/11 Movie
ABC to Air Controversial 9/11 Docudrama
Bozell: A Compelling 'Path to 9/11'
Hirsen: Clintonistas Angry With 9/11 Series
Retracing 'The Path to 9/11'
Flashback: Clinton Admits Passing Up bin Laden
Flashback: Posner: Clinton’s Negligence Led to 9/11
Flashback: Aide: Clinton Unleashed bin Laden
Flashback: Clinton: bin Laden Confession 'Inappropriate'
Flashback: CIA Was Emasculated Before 9/11
Bush Administration Vows to Aid Sick 9/11 Workers
Florida Schoolchildren Recall 9/11 With Pres. Bush
World Trade Center Towers Designs Revealed

Dick Morris claims that President Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, and the president himself 'were both responsible for failing to catch or kill Osama bin Laden on several different occasions.'
Dick Morris Slams Clinton 9/11 Movie Claims

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:51 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 8 September 2006 1:27 AM EDT

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The 9/11 consriracy theory libtards all across "higher" academia must be pissing lava right now, the truth is getting in their way.
Turns out that pesky video included the last wills and testaments of 9/11 hijackers, so the libtards either have to admit no "Bush conspiracy," or they gotta make up a whole new world of babbling bullshit.

Al-Jazeera Airs Pre-9/11 Bin Laden Tape

CAIRO, Egypt -- Al-Jazeera broadcast Thursday a previously unshown video of the preparations for the Sept. 11 attacks, in which al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden is seen meeting with some of the planners in an Afghan mountain camp.

The station said that bin Laden also is shown greeting some of the hijackers, although their faces were not clear and it was not immediately known which are purportedly shown.

The video included the last wills and testaments of hijackers Wail al-Shehri and Hamza al-Ghamdi.

Al-Jazeera did not say how it obtained the video, which was produced by As-Sahab, al-Qaida's media branch. Islamic militant Web forums said the entire video would be posted soon on the Internet. Such advertisements in the past have come a day or two before the video appears on the Web.

Thursday's was the fourth in a series of long videos that al-Qaida has put out to memorialize the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, said Ben Venzke, head of IntelCenter, a private U.S. company that monitors militant message traffic and provides counterterrorism intelligence services for the American government.

The previous ones were issued in April and September 2002 and September 2003, each showing video from the planning of the suicide hijackings and farewell statements from some of the hijackers, Venzke said.

In the latest video, bin Laden is shown sitting outside with his former lieutenant Mohammed Atef and Ramzi Binalshibh, another suspected planner of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Venzke said the scenes had not been previously broadcast.

Atef, also known as Abu Hafs al-Masri, was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan in 2001. Binalshibh was captured four years ago in Pakistan and is in U.S. custody. President Bush announced plans to put him on military trial.

The video shows bin Laden in a dark robe and white headgear, strolling through the camp and greeting dozens of followers, some masked, and many carrying automatic weapons. A voice-over narration praises the fighters and refers to the camp being "on the soil of Kandahar" - a city in southern Afghanistan.

The footage shows scenes of training at the camp. Masked militants perform martial-arts kicks or learn how to break the hold of someone who grabs them from behind. Several militants are shown practicing with fold-out knives.

Venzke said the footage was part of a video he expected would be more than an hour long, based on previous releases.

He said the full version of the video was believed to include a message from Azzam al-Amriki, the nom de guerre of Adam Yehiye Gadahn, an American who the FBI says has associated with al-Qaida. Gadahn appeared in an al-Qaida video released last week, in which he called on Americans to convert to Islam.

The full video also likely includes messages from bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, though they may not be new, Venzke said, without elaborating on why he believed that.

"They produce long videos like these not just for 9/11, but for any significant events they feel warrant their attention," Venzke said.

One aim is to boost recruitment, but such videos have other purposes - "to speak to their supporters, to raise morale within their own group, to facilitate fundraising, and to serve as a psychological attack," he said.

The footage also shows glimpses of daily life in the camp, with men chopping wood and cutting up vegetables for dinner.

Al-Shehri and al-Ghamdi are each shown speaking to the camera, their images superimposed over pictures of the crumbling World Trade Center towers and the burning Pentagon, as well as a model of a passenger jet.

They both say Muslims must stand up and fight the West.

"If jihad now is not an obligation (on Muslims), when will it be?" said al-Shehri, pointing to attacks on Muslims in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Chechnya.

"If we are content with being humiliated and inclined to comfort, the tooth of the enemy will stretch from Jerusalem to Mecca, and then everyone will regret on a day when regret is of no use," al-Ghamdi said.

My Way News ~ Associated Press - Bassem Mroue ** Al-Jazeera Airs Pre-9/11 Bin Laden Tape

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:01 AM EDT

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Mood:  chillin'

Ski instructors brave cold for naked calendar

Austrian ski-instructors have finally responded to demands from their students and released a naked calendar.

Twenty-four male and female instructors braved the Alpine cold over 6,000 feet above sea level in Austria's stunning Arlberg region to pose for the Ski Instructors Calendar.

Each calendar has both male and female photos and can be flipped over depending on preference.

According to a company spokesman, the idea for the calendar came when a drunken British ski-school member tried to persuade a group of ski and snowboard instructors to strip off.

He said: "We often get men staring at the female instructors and many women seem to sign up just to flirt with their teachers, so we thought, why not give them what they want?"

Snowboard teacher Kiki, 28, said she loved being a model. She said: "I never had any idea it would be so much fun."

Calendar boss Gerhard Lucian said he originally thought it might be hard to persuade enough people to strip off but was pleasantly surprised.

He said: "In the end we had so many people sign up, and they were all gorgeous, it was actually very hard to choose. It's such a pity the year only has 12 months."

Ananova.com UK ** Ski instructors brave cold for naked calendar

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 11:07 PM EDT

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Mood:  bright

Jobless claims fell 9,000 last week

WASHINGTON -- The number of U.S. workers applying for initial jobless benefits fell by a steeper-than -expected 9,000 last week to the lowest level in more than a month, the government said Thursday in a report that still showed a steady labor market.

First-time claims for state unemployment benefits, an early reading on the resilience of the job market, dropped to a seasonally adjusted 310,000 in the week ended September 2 from an upwardly revised 319,000 in the previous week the Labor Department said. It was the lowest level since July 22, the Labor Department said.

The level of claims came in somewhat below forecasts of Wall Street economists who were expecting claims to inch down to 315,000 in the week ended September 2 from originally reading of 316,000 in the prior week. However, new claims have been stuck in a narrow range for much of the year indicating the pace of layoffs has stabilized.

Still, the drop in new claims pulled the four-week moving average, which irons out weekly fluctuations to give a better indication of jobless trends, down to 315,250 from 318,250 in the previous week.

The number of Americans already on unemployment benefit rolls who filed so-called continued claims rose to 2.49 million in the week ended August 26, the latest period for which figures are available, from 2.48 million the prior week.

Reuters ** Jobless claims fell 9,000 last week

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 4:13 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 7 September 2006 4:18 PM EDT

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Mood:  d'oh

Dems missing big donors

By Josephine Hearn

With their political prospects flying high, Democrats are turning their attention to mobilizing voters for the fall election and are worried that the deep-pocketed donors who helped them in 2004 will sit this election out.

“In 2004, there was significant support by large national donors on behalf of the Democratic ticket,” said Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), one of a handful of lawmakers highly active with the Democrats’ campaign operation. “That level of energy has not materialized to date, and that is disappointing considering the tremendous stakes and opportunities available to Democrats this cycle.”

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, has been more pointed.

“In the 2004 election there were some very active players who, as far as I can tell, have now decided they’re neither going to be involved in the field, advertising or anything,” Emanuel told the New York Daily News in August. “Do you know where they are?”

Democrats and their presidential nominee, John Kerry, received unprecedented support two years ago when donors pumped more than $200 million into liberal 527 organizations. Financier George Soros gave $24 million to 527s, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Microsoft co-founder Paul Lewis chipped in $23 million. Entertainment mogul Steve Bing contributed $14 million, savings and loan barons Herb and Marion Sandler $13 million, and hotel heiress Linda Pritzker, computer executive Ted Waitt and Alida Rockefeller Messinger all gave multiple millions.

These and other large donors bankrolled America Coming Together in 2004, a 527 organization devoted to turning out Democratic voters in 17 states. Although the group did make significant gains, it was outpaced by Republican organizing in key states like Ohio, leading some big donors to feel burned by the 2004 election, upset that they shelled out millions only to see Kerry lose, Democratic fundraisers said.

“There was a lot of questioning about where money went and was it spent properly,” said Andy Spahn, an advisor to Hollywood donors. “In some part that led to disillusionment and cynicism about 527s.”

This year, those well-heeled donors have yet to join the fray. Soros has given less than $2 million, Lewis a paltry $1.1 million, and the others even less. Some are eschewing election-year operations in favor of long-term efforts such as the Democracy Alliance, a group of more than 80 high net-worth individuals funding projects to amplify the liberal message, identify future leaders and conduct research.

For help with turnout efforts, congressional Democrats are instead looking to longtime allies such as the AFL-CIO. The labor group recently announced that it would pump $40 million into mobilizing voters. MoveOn.org Political Action has run ads in 11 congressional districts and has pledged $25 million to the election, about half of what it spent in 2004.

Those pledges have somewhat mitigated concerns of congressional Democrats that the big money won’t materialize.

Aside from those who thought their money was misspent in 2004, other wealthy individuals simply don’t take an interest in midterm elections no matter how bright the prospects.

“There are still a lot of people that don’t play 3.5 years out of four no matter how big the midterm is,” said a Democratic fundraiser experienced with large donors. “It’s not important enough for them. It’s always ‘What can I get out of this? Can I be close to the president of the United States? Can I have an ambassadorship?’”

Fundraising typically falls off across the board in mid-term elections, a trend that affects contributors large and small.

“Congressional work isn’t as sexy to these guys as presidential work,” said political consultant Alan Secrest. “[But] this is an historic opportunity. You probably won’t see one like this for another 20 years. Those who don’t have the vision or temerity to get involved this year ought to find another ambition.”

Democrats caution that the election season has only just begun and many wealthy backers may still decide to chip in.

“Because the majority is in reach, because of the momentum we have, that’s the best selling point for any big donor,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), one of Emanuel’s top lieutenants.  “If they care about winning the presidency, one of the major keys to enhancing the likelihood of success in ‘08 is to win one chamber back in ‘06.”

Spahn, the Hollywood consultant, said the Democratic donor base had “tremendous optimism,” but that many contributors were choosing to give smaller donations directly to the candidates and party committees. Campaign-finance law limits the amount of direct contributions an individual can give.

“This has been a very aggressive fundraising cycle. There have been Senate or party committee events almost weekly here,” Spahn added.

Indeed, the party committee coffers have broken records this year. The DCCC has banked 73 percent more this cycle than it did in 2004 and has remained unusually competitive with the National Republican Congressional Committee, raising $81 million to the NRCC’s $115 million.

Although multi-million dollar contributions have been scarce, Wasserman Schultz is confident that Democrats will excel in sending voters to the polls.

“We always have to begin again when it comes to [get-out-the-vote efforts],” she said. “Our effort to win back the House does not rise and fall on whether George Soros makes a contribution.”

The Hill ~ Josephine Hearn ** Dems missing big donors

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 3:57 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 7 September 2006 4:29 PM EDT

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