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Bolton Didn't Testify in Plame Case

John Bolton, the nominee for U.N. ambassador, has not testified to a grand jury or been interviewed by prosecutors about the leak of a CIA officer's identity, the State Department said Thursday in reply to a Democratic critic.

In paperwork filed with the Senate earlier this year in connection with his nomination, Bolton denied a role in any investigation over the past five years. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., who opposes the nomination, questioned the veracity of that response, prompting the State Department reply.

"That answer is truthful then and it remains the case now," spokesman Sean McCormack said. But after McCormack's statement, Biden, sent a new letter to the State Department asserting Bolton was interviewed by State Department internal investigators in July 2003 on a related matter. He did not say how he knew this and the State Department had no immediate response.

A federal grand jury is investigating who leaked the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame to the news media. Biden's initial request followed a report that Bolton was among State Department undersecretaries who "gave testimony" about a classified memo that has become an important piece of evidence in the leak investigation.

It is unknown whether Novak has cooperated with investigators, but prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has said in court papers that his investigation was complete as far back as October 2004, except for the testimony of two reporters - Cooper and the Times' Judith Miller.

Cooper testified to the grand jury this month following a protracted legal battle over whether the reporters should be compelled to reveal their confidential sources. Miller was jailed July 6 for contempt of court because she refused to cooperate with Fitzgerald.

Bush political aide Karl Rove and vice presidential chief of staff Lewis "Scotter" Libby were among Cooper's sources, he reported following his grand jury appearance. They are among several high-ranking administration officials who have given grand jury testimony.

While Rove has not disputed that he told Cooper that Wilson's wife worked for the agency, he has insisted through his lawyer that he did not mention her by name.

Among the many mysteries in this case is that there was apparently at least one other government official who disclosed to a reporter that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA. Walter Pincus, a Washington Post reporter, wrote in the summer edition of the Nieman Foundation publication Nieman Reports that the official talked to him two days before Novak published his column.

Pincus did not disclose his source. But he said he has cooperated with prosecutors and that his source also has been interviewed.

Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University professor and criminal defense lawyer, said he continues to believe that, based on reports of what the grand jury has been told, Fitzgerald's focus is more on the veracity of witnesses than on the initial disclosure of Plame's name.

"Historically, people are indicted for how they respond to investigations more than the original cause of the investigations," Turley said.

'No Profiling'?

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was challenged on Friday over his random stop-and-search policy in the city's subways, which forbids police from using profiling to identify likely terrorists.

"I'm very puzzled - what are you thinking?" caller Victoria asked on Bloomberg's weekly WABC Radio program.

"Profiling is done by advertisers all the time to get a certain group of people that they're targeting," she complained.

"When you have 99 percent of the people that are committing these atrocities, blowing up buildings, being young Arab men, why - for Pete's sake - would you not examine the bag of every single Arab? I think even the Arab people would feel safer if you did that."

Bloomberg replied:

"Victoria, number one ... the law prohibits you from profiling. Period, end of story. So no matter what you think, the courts will not permit you to do that.

"More importantly," he continued, "I think that what this country is founded on is the belief that everybody is innocent until proven guilty and we should not go and profile based on ethnicity or gender or the color of your eyes or whatever.

"The police do have the right to stop people with what's called reasonable suspicion. You know, if somebody's walking down the street with a backpack with wires sticking out of them and a sign saying 'bomb,' of course they stop them."

Bloomberg then explained that even those who refused to have their bags inspected would not attract extra attention from police.

"They can leave, and we will not follow them," he pledged.

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Judicial Cannon

Late-Night Jokes

Leno

The White House has now changed their slogan from the War on Terror, to the Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism. And that just rolls off the tongue, huh?

Yeah, that’s a good idea, giving President Bush more syllables to pronounce.

The White House today instituted a new "don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The bad news, it’s for Supreme Court nominees.

There are now rumors that embattled White House aide, Karl Rove, who's made a career out of spreading rumors about his political opponents, has a girlfriend on the side. Gee, let's hope nobody leaks her name. That would be terrible.

A Washington think tank has concluded that the job of finding and removing all illegal immigrants from the United States would cost over 200 billion dollars, and take over five years. That is, unless we hire illegal immigrants to do it, then it would cost us a tenth of the normal price.

Did you see John Kerry in France? He was over there to meet with Lance Armstrong after his victory. Do you know why? John Kerry at one point, John Kerry wanted to be a professional bike rider but they could never find a helmet that would fit his head.

Cadillac announced today that they are coming out with a line of Cadillac bicycles. Now that’s when you know the price of gas is getting too high. When Cadillac starts making bicycles!

Wal-Mart plans to open 90 stores in China, one of will be a superstore called the Great Wal-Mart of China.

I’d like to say hello to O.J. Simpson, who is watching us in Miami on his illegal satellite dish.

Did you hear about this? A federal judge has ordered O.J. Simpson to pay $25,000 in damages for pirating satellite television signals from Direct TV. What’s next? Are we going to get Robert Blake for downloading music?!

O.J. insists he’s innocent and said he will continue to look for the real pirates

Ricky Williams report the dolphins training camp nearly a year after he said he was retiring to smoke marijuana. That’s when you know you smoke a lot of weed okay. When you just show up a year late for the job you just quit.

Sixty-three year old Harrison Ford told the British press he’s going to do his own stunts in "Indiana Jones 4”. I don’t want to say Indiana is getting old, but I understand in this sequel Indiana raids his own tomb.

Late-Night Jokes

Leno

Welcome to Burbank, or as we call it God’s Lean Mean Grilling Machine. What was it 102?

Another here today in Los Angeles. I tell you, I was sweatin’ like Jessica Simpson trying to put a CD into her iPod.

It was so hot, Hillary Clinton just stayed inside today and played "Grand Theft Auto”.

The Shuttle Discovery took off today from Florida. Although, you may have heard, it was then diverted to Bangor, Maine when the Middle Eastern astronaut began acting suspiciously.

The launch was successful although NASA is reporting an unidentified piece of debris flew off the side of the space shuttle during lift-off from Florida. Did you see that? It just flew off the side of the shuttle. Turns out, it was just a couple of really lost Cubans. They grab onto anything.

According to the "New York Post”, Osama bin Laden had a plot to poison cocaine and sell it here in America. This is part of Osama’s plan to destroy show business. You can bet Hollywood’s behind Bush now.

The Colombian drug lords Osama approached, however, decided against it. Boy, it’s pretty bad when we have to rely on the kindness of Colombian drug lords to ensure our safety. That God for the Escobar family.

On this date in 1990, President Bush signed into law the Americans With Disabilities Act. Which allowed his son George W. to become President of the United States.

Some Democrats are very worried about President Bush’s Supreme Court nominee, John Roberts. Seems like a nice man. They think he may be a threat to the endangered species list. See Democrats have been worried about the endangered species list ever since they found they were on it.

Another big celebrity breakup – the AFL-CIO.

This is a huge story - the Service Employees and the Teamsters want to leave the AFL-CIO. This is the biggest setback to the American workers since the nation of India.

There’s been a lot of talk that "The Dukes of Hazard” movie strays from the original TV series. That’s what they say, it strays from the original. You know what that means, apparently it has a plot.

Huge drug bust in Florida yesterday. Nine hundred pounds discovered inside a gym locker. Then they realized, it’s just Ricky Williams rejoining the Dolphins.

Happy Birthday to Barry Bonds. Barry Bonds is 41. He celebrated quietly with a bottle of clean urine.

Today is Mick Jagger’s birthday. Well, at least that’s according to archaeologists.

While visiting Kenya, former President Clinton was offered 40 goats and 20 cows for his daughter, Chelsea, by a love struck government official. Bill said, "No way!” How does that make Hillary feel? Bill almost gave her up for one cow.

Letterman

It’s hot out! It’s so hot out that I stopped at Ben and Jerry’s for a scoop of ice cream and the guy at the counter asked if I wanted that in a cup, cone, or in my pants.

It’s so hot in D.C. that Dick Cheney replaced his pacemaker with an icemaker.

The Teamsters have split from the AFL-CIO. The blame has been put on Angelina Jolie.

We’re learning more and more about John Roberts, the nominee for Supreme Court. He’s from Indiana. He was captain of his high school football team. He graduated from Harvard in three years. It’s like I have a twin!

Lance Armstrong has won his seventh Tour de France. Now he’s going to retire. He’s going to start his own bicycle messenger service.

NASA had a successful launch today. This is an ambitious time for NASA. By 2015 they hope to put a man on Janet Reno.

Catholic League Blasts Durbin Duplicity

Today, Catholic League president William Donohue criticized Sen. Dick Durbin's attack on Supreme Court nominee John Roberts:

"After Senator John Cornyn laid to rest on Monday any concerns that Judge Roberts would allow his religious views to affect his rulings on the bench, we thought this matter was closed. We were wrong: Senator Durbin told a CNN correspondent yesterday that he 'needs to look at everything, including the nominee's faith... .' Now match this up with what Durbin has said previously:

Speaking about questions regarding the religious beliefs of a nominee for the federal bench, Durbin said on April 15, 2005, 'By the Constitution and by law, we cannot even ask that question, nor would I.'

On June 11, 2003, Durbin took umbrage at Circuit Court nominee William Pryor when Pryor merely noted the historical relationship between Christianity and the nation's founding: 'Do you not understand,' he said, that this 'raises concerns of those who don't happen to be Christian that you are asserting an agenda of your own, religious belief of your own inconsistent with separation of church and state?'

After taking flack for his remark, Durbin said on July 23, 2003 that members of the Senate Judiciary Committee ought 'to expunge references to religion from this point forward.' He added, hypocritically, 'This is beneath the dignity of the committee.'

The very next day, July 24, he reversed himself, saying, 'If Senator [Jeff] Sessions is suggesting that anyone who has a religious belief should never be questioned about it, even if it has political implications, I just think [that] is wrong-headed.'

On July 31, he reversed himself again, this time having the audacity to co-sponsor a resolution saying, 'It shall not be in order to ask any question of the nominee relating to the religious affiliation of the nominee.'

"Durbin's duplicity is mind-boggling. But of greater concern is his determination to force Roberts to submit to a religious test."

Bill Clinton Pardoned Nat'l. Security Leaker

No wonder 2008 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has been silent as a churchmouse about Karl Rove while her Democratic colleagues call for his prosecution for leaking classified information about CIA employee Valerie Plame.

Turns out - in the only case in U.S. history of a person successfully prosecuted for leaking classified information to the press - Hillary's husband pardoned the guilty party.

On January 20, 2001, President Clinton pardoned Samuel Loring Morison, a civilian analyst with the Office of Naval Intelligence. In 1984, Morison had been convicted of providing classified satellite photos of an under-construction Soviet nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to Britain's Jane's Defence Weekly. He received a two-year jail sentence.

In pardoning Morison, Clinton dismissed the advice of the CIA.

"We said we were obviously opposed - it was a vigorous 'Hell, no,'" one senior intelligence official told the Washington Post at the time. "We think ... giving pardons to people who are convicted of doing that sends the wrong signal to people who are currently entrusted with classified information."

Morison is the only person ever successfully prosecuted under the 1917 Espionage Act, the law invoked by Democrats who want to nail Rove after it became clear that he didn't violate the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act.

But it's going to be difficult for Dems to feign national security outrage over Plame's outing when the husband of their party's presidential front-runner let an actual convicted leaker off the hook.

Last week, when Sen. John Kerry called for Mr. Rove to be fired, with Hillary standing by his side, she nodded silently. When reporters asked her what she thought of the alleged Rove outrage, she offered only, "I'm nodding."

No doubt while remembering her husband's pardon of Mr. Morison.

Some of Roberts' Docs Will Be Withheld

John Roberts worked for two Republican administrations, offering private legal assessments that have yet to be opened to historians or the public. Now that Roberts is President Bush's choice to join the Supreme Court, some Senate Democrats want to see the documents he produced - all of them.

No, responded one White House representative. We'll see, said another.

Roberts worked in the Reagan White House counsel's office from 1982-1986. He also was principal deputy solicitor general, a political appointment in the administration of the first President Bush.

Some records already are available to the public at the presidential libraries of Ronald Reagan, in Simi Valley, Calif., and George H.W. Bush, in College Station, Texas. Others have yet to be cleared for security and personal privacy by archivists and, under law, by representatives of the former administrations and the current president.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to ask for such material for its hearings. But some Democrats, including Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, have urged the White House to release "in their entirety" any documents written by Roberts.

Citing privacy and precedent, Fred D. Thompson, the former Tennessee senator guiding Roberts through the process on behalf of the White House, said Sunday the Bush administration does not intend to release everything.

Material that would come under attorney-client privilege would be withheld, Thompson said, calling it a principle followed by previous presidents of both political parties.

"We hope we don't get into a situation where documents are asked for that folks know will not be forthcoming and we get all hung up on that," Thompson told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Democratic senators sounded skeptical if not dismissive of the privacy claims.

"It's a total red herring to say, 'Oh, we can't show this,"' Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont told ABC's "This Week."

Leahy, senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said material written in confidence at the Justice Department by other nominees has been provided in the past - for instance by President Ronald Reagan when he nominated William H. Rehnquist for chief justice.

"I want to ask him full and fair questions," Leahy said. "It's a standard I would have for any nominee to the Supreme Court."

Documents could be important to the process when little is known about a nominee, Durbin said. "A lot has to do with whether or not you can fill in the empty vessel with the information that tells you about this person."

Another Judiciary Committee Democrat, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, said the goal is to learn about Roberts' judicial philosophy and legal reasoning.

"This is not a game of 'gotcha,"' Schumer said. "Document requests ... are a means to simply determining Justice Roberts' judicial views."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., thought some documents from Roberts' work for the solicitor general probably could be turned over, but not material from his time as a lawyer for the first President Bush.

If communications between presidential aides and the president "are some day going to be made public, I think it could have a real chilling effect on the kind of candor in communications that people would have with the president," McCain said.

Justice Department Probing Durbin, Rockefeller CIA Leak

The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into whether Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, Jay Rockefeller and Ron Wyden leaked details about a secret "black ops" CIA satellite program last December in a move that may have seriously compromised national security, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Jed Babbin said on Saturday.

"The CIA made a request to the Justice Department to investigate and possibly bring criminal charges against these three [senators]," Babbin told WABC Radio host Monica Crowley. "My information is that investigation is ongoing."

Rockefeller is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and Durbin is the No. 2-ranking Democrat in the Senate.

Media reports on the satellite leak last December indicated that the Bush administration was concerned about public comments by Durbin, Rockefeller and Wyden and that the CIA had requested a Justice Department probe.

"The formal request for a leaks investigation would target people who described sensitive details about a new generation of spy satellites to The Washington Post, which published a page-one story about the espionage program Saturday [Dec. 11, 2004]," a Justice Department official told The Associated Press at the time.

But the same official told the AP that Justice "has not decided whether to investigate."

Former Deputy Undersecretary Babbin's comments on Saturday were the first indication that such a probe was actually launched and is ongoing.

"The fact of the matter is that [Durbin, Rockefeller and Wyden] divulged something that was above and beyond top secret and frankly, they probably blew the strategy and the hundreds of millions of dollars that were being spent to pursue it," Babbin told Crowley.

"The acknowledgement of [the "black ops" program's] existence is not even proper and the acknowledgement of them and the details of them can very well damage national security," Babbin added.

Asked if he thought the three Senate Democrats should have their security clearances revoked for the duration of the leak probe, the former Defense Department official said: "Absolutely and forthwith. I mean, they should have been revoked at the time of the leak."

"There's really not much doubt about the leak having occurred," Babbin told Crowley. "It's in the press records, it's in the Congressional record. We know what they did."

"The only question," he explained, "is how much damage was done by the leak. And that's part of the criminal investigation right now - to do a damage assessment, to figure out how much this is going to cost us strategically and militarily."

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Donkini

Schumer's 'Dumbass Questions'

Sen. Charles Schumer's questioning of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts was so hostile during Roberts' 2003 appellate court confirmation hearings that Sen. Orrin Hatch blasted his New York colleague for asking "dumbass questions."

In a audioclip of the exchange unearthed Wednesday by ABC Radio host Sean Hannity, the normally mild-mannered Utah Republican complained:

"Some [of Schumer’s questions] I totally disagree with. Some I think are dumbass questions, between you and me."

"I am not kidding you," Hatch continued. "I mean, as much as I love and respect [Schumer], I just think that’s true."

Taken aback, the New York Democrat asked if Hatch would like to "revise and extend his remark" - i.e., offer a retraction for the congressional record.

But Hatch refused to back down, telling Schumer:

"No, I am going to keep it exactly the way it is. I mean, I hate to say it. I mean, I feel badly saying it between you and me. But I do know dumbass questions when I see dumbass questions."

Late-Night Jokes

Leno

Thank you once again for coming out on another hot day. It was so hot Michael Jackson walked up to a boy selling lemonade and just got the lemonade.

It was so hot McDonald’s employees were keeping cool by putting the frozen meat patties under their arms.

I was sweating like Jude Law watching an episode of "Cheaters”!

Did you all feel the ground shake last night? Did you feel that? It wasn’t an earthquake just the Supreme Court shifting another five feet to the right.

Last night President Bush picked Judge John Roberts to be his nominee for the Supreme Court. The name was actually leaked to the press a couple of hours earlier. Boy that Karl Rove is unbelievable isn’t he?

President Bush said the job of the Supreme Court is extremely important because as you know these are the people who choose the president of the United States.

He’s only 50 years old. He could serve. President Bush’s Supreme Court nominee, John Roberts, is only fifty years old. That means if he serves for thirty years he could still be on the court when we finally pull out of Iraq.

Earlier this week, President Bush held a state dinner last night for the Prime Minister of India. Did you see them together? They made kind of an odd couple. I think it was the first time ever in the White House they ever had a cowboy and an Indian together.

Al Gore announced he is starting his own TV cable network. He's billing it as the first network for 18 to 34-year-olds. Apparently al has never heard of MTV.

The trial of Saddam Hussein is beginning. They say the evidence against Saddam Hussein is so strong that even a California jury might convict him.

Did you know it was ride your motorcycle to work day? Not to be confused with Bill Clinton’s favorite day. That’s ride your hog at work day. That’s a whole other thing.

Late-Night Jokes

Leno

Thank you for coming out on the hottest day of the year so far. It was 107 today. People are sweating like Michael Jackson looking at pictures of Harry Potter.

It was so hot illegal aliens were passing through California and heading straight to Canada.

It was so hot interrogators at Guantanamo Bay were letting inmates go braless.

President Bush did not name a Supreme Court nominee over the weekend. Well sure between "Harry Potter” and "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory”. Where do we find the time?

Chief Justice William Rehnquist denied reports that he’s going to retire for health reasons. He said that during an interview on the show "crossing over.”

President Bush welcomed the Prime Minister of India to the White House today. Bush said, "While you’re here can you look at my computer for a second?”

I thought this was nice – earlier today Martha Stewart showed Karl Rove how to slip off an ankle monitor.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has called for an investigation of the video game Grand Theft Auto after finding hidden sex in the game. I don’t know, is Hillary the best one to go looking for hidden sex? If Hillary was any good at finding it, her husband wouldn't have been impeached.

According to a new poll, Americans said they waste two hours a day at work. Or as the Dodgers call that…a game.

As you know the Dodgers are not looking good. In fact they are doing so bad congress is demanding they start using steroids.

I read this story today. Down in Hollywood, they’re about to open a "gay retirement center”. You know, I didn’t even know you could retire from being gay. Are the guys going, "Whew, I did it for 40 years…enough!”

In Germany, a woman that won a beauty contest admitted that she used to be a man. So congratulations to Camilla Parker Bowles.

Schumer Reveals Liberal View of Court

SCHUMER: I hope Judge Roberts, understanding how important this nomination is, particularly when replacing a swing vote on the court will decide to answer questions about his views.

Now that he is nominated for a position where he can overturn precedent and make law, it's even more important that he fully answers a broad range of questions.

RUSH: Here from last night, Senator Schumer in his press conference here, with Senator Leahy. This is the bite where Schumer is fearful of the kind of law that Judge Roberts will be able to "make."

Yeah you're going to give him the questions in an envelope before he shows up and hope he "opens" them honestly. So, here we have this reference, once again, to the "swing vote." See, Chuck Schumer wants you to believe that the Supreme Court is made up of four conservatives and four liberals, and then a fifth swing vote who is actually a liberal but we don't call him that -- and Justice O'Connor was the swing vote always voting with the libs.

SCHUMER: The burden is on a nominee to the Supreme Court to prove that he is worthy, not on the Senate to prove that he is unworthy.

I voted against Judge Roberts for the DC Court of Appeals because he didn't answer questions fully and openly when he appeared before the committee. For instance, when I asked him a question that others have answered, to identify three Supreme Court cases of which he was critical, he refused. But now, it's a whole new ballgame. For those of us who voted against him, for those of us who voted for him -- and for Judge Roberts.

RUSH: So, you might have heard that he was approved by unanimous consent. He was. I think there were two or three Democrats voted against him on the committee, but he got out of committee. But they didn't have the guts to vote against him on the floor... So they didn't vote. Just used unanimous consent and sailed him on to the court. So there was no actual floor vote; they just agreed by unanimous consent.

GOP Wants To Kill Us

"I was driving past the Pentagon when that plane hit" on Sept. 11, 2001. "I had friends on that plane; this is deadly serious to me," Begala said.

"They want to kill me and my children if they can. But if they just kill me and not my children, they want my children to be comforted – that while they didn't protect me because they cut my taxes, my children won't have to pay any money on the money they inherit," Begala said. "That is bulls*** national defense, and we should say that."

Young liberals this week flocked to the nation's capital to hear, among other things, liberal television pundit and Democrat political strategist Paul Begala accuse Republicans of wanting to kill him and his children to preserve tax cuts for the rich.

Begala's presence on the panel created a stir when he declared that Republicans had "done a p***-poor job of defending" the U.S.

Republicans, he said, "want to kill us."

Rush: Now, I tell you, folks, there's a crackup going on. Don't ask me to make sense of this. It's like asking me to make sense of the mainstream press in this whole Karl Rove case or Rathergate or whatever.

They're a lying sack of weeds. These people are just nothing more than a political party and an agenda and they're losing and they're hysterical and they are unhinged and they cannot tell the truth to save their lives.

This is what passes for informative educational inspiring rhetoric to a bunch of liberal college students who are being gathered to be told how to go out and start winning elections again and convert the country back to liberalism. Now, if you can make sense of this...? It's bordering on insane is what it is.

It literally is bordering on sheer insanity born of a seething rage the likes of which I don't think I even understand how deep it must be.

It's all coming home to roost. I've always maintained: As the frustrations mount and as the pressure builds these people are going to more readily and more often remove the camouflage and the masks that they're wearing to hide who they really are, and they're going to let it be known who they really are and it's happening. It's happening throughout the Democratic Party and the American left.

Hussein had 500 tons of yellowcake uranium

The Uranium Joe Wilson Didn't Mention

By April 2003, when the U.S. invaded Iraq, Saddam Hussein had stockpiled 500 tons of yellowcake uranium at his al Tuwaitha nuclear weapons development plant south of Baghdad.

That intriguing little detail is almost never mentioned by the big media, who prefer to chant the mantra "Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction" while echoing Joseph Wilson's claim that "Bush lied" about Iraq seeking more of the nuclear material in Niger.

One more detail that Mr. Wilson and his media backers don't like to discuss: There's a reason Niger was such a likely candidate for Saddam's uranium shopping spree.

Responding to the firestorm that erupted after Wilson's July 2003 column, Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters:

"In case people should think that the whole idea of a link between Iraq and Niger was some invention, in the 1980s we know for sure that Iraq purchased round about 270 tons of uranium from Niger."

The media's decision to put the Wilson-Plame affair back on the front burner, however, may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for President Bush - giving his administration a chance to resurrect an important debate they conceded far too easily about the weapons of mass destruction threat posed by Saddam Hussein.

First, the facts - from a reliable critic of the White House, the New York Times, which covered the story long after the paper announced it was tightening its standards on WMD news out of Iraq.

"The United States has informed an international agency that oversees nuclear materials that it intends to move hundreds of tons of uranium from a sealed repository south of Baghdad to a more secure place outside Iraq," the paper announced in a little-noticed May 2004 report.

"The repository, at Tuwaitha, a centerpiece of Saddam Hussein's nuclear weapons program until it was largely shut down after the first Persian Gulf war in 1991, holds more than 500 tons of uranium," the paper revealed, before insisting: "None of it [is] enriched enough to be used directly in a nuclear weapon."

Well, almost none.

The Times went on to report that amidst Saddam's yellowcake stockpile, U.S. weapons inspectors found "some 1.8 tons" that they "classified as low-enriched uranium."

The paper conceded that while Saddam's nearly 2 tons of partially enriched uranium was "a more potent form" of the nuclear fuel, it was "still not sufficient for a weapon."

Consulted about the low-enriched uranium discovery, however, Ivan Oelrich, a physicist at the Federation of American Scientists, told the Associated Press that if it was of the 3 percent to 5 percent level of enrichment common in fuel for commercial power reactors, the 1.8 tons could be used to produce enough highly enriched uranium to make a single nuclear bomb.

Luckily, Iraq didn't have even the small number of centrifuges necessary to get the job done.

Or did it?

The physicist tapped by Saddam to run his centrifuge program says that after the first Gulf War, the program was largely dismantled. But it wasn't destroyed.

In fact, according to what he wrote in his 2004 book, "The Bomb in My Garden," Dr. Mahdi Obeidi told U.S. interrogators: "Saddam kept funding the IAEC [Iraq Atomic Energy Commission] from 1991 ... until the war in 2003."

"I was developing the centrifuge for the weapons" right through 1997, he revealed.

And after that, Dr. Obeidi said, Saddam ordered him under penalty of death to keep the technology available to resume Iraq's nuke program at a moment's notice.

Dr. Obeidi said he buried "the full set of blueprints, designs - everything to restart the centrifuge program - along with some critical components of the centrifuge" under the garden of his Baghdad home.

"I had to maintain the program to the bitter end," he explained. All the while the Iraqi physicist was aware that he held the key to Saddam's continuing nuclear ambitions.

"The centrifuge is the single most dangerous piece of nuclear technology," Dr. Obeidi says in his book. "With advances in centrifuge technology, it is now possible to conceal a uranium enrichment program inside a single warehouse."

Consider: 500 tons of yellowcake stored at Saddam's old nuclear weapons plant, where he'd managed to partially enrich 1.8 tons. And the equipment and blueprints that could enrich enough uranium to make a bomb stored away for safekeeping. And all of it at the Iraqi dictator's disposal.

If the average American were aware of these undisputed facts, the debate over Iraq's weapons of mass destruction would have been decided long ago - in President Bush's favor.

Late-Night Jokes

Leno

Another 100 degree day here in Los Angeles. In fact, it was so hot I went down to see the Dodgers play just to be near a cold streak.

It was so hot in New York, Bill got in bed with Hillary just to cool off!

It was 130 degrees in Baghdad. In fact it was so hot in Baghdad Saddam Hussein was walking around in just a thong.

There are now hints that President Bush may be backing away from Karl Rove. Like today he gave him a new job, Ambassador to Iraq.

This whole Karl Rove thing is just like the Clinton scandal – it involves a pudgy person in the oval office who can’t keep their mouth shut.

Some good news — Chief Justice William Rehnquist has left the hospital. Doctors described his condition as stable and leaning to the far right.

A new study has found that walking on cobblestones can lead to better health and lower blood pressure. Which is great news for anyone born in 1785.

Sylvester Stallone announced he wants to do "Rocky 6”. He’s getting a little up there in years. In this movie he spends two hours trying to remember where he parked his car in "Rocky 5”.

U.N. Plans How to Take Control of the Internet

A U.N. panel created to recommend how the Internet should be run in the future has failed to reach consensus but did agree that no single country should dominate.

The United States stated two weeks ago that it intended to maintain control over the computers that serve as the Internet's principal traffic cops.

In a report released Thursday, the U.N. panel outlined four possible options for the future of Internet governance for world leaders to consider at a November "Information Society" summit.

One option would largely keep the current system intact, with a U.S.-based non-profit organization, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, continuing to handle basic policies over Internet addresses.

At the other end, ICANN would be revamped and new international agencies formed under the auspices of the United Nations.

"In the end it will be up to governments, if at all, to decide if there will be any change," said Markus Kummer, executive director of the U.N. Working Group on Internet Governance, which issued the report.

The 40 members of the panel hailed from around the world and included representatives from business, academia and government.

World leaders who convened in December 2003 for the U.N. World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva couldn't agree on a structure for Internet governance.

Some countries were satisfied with the current arrangement, while others, particularly developing ones, wanted to wrest control from ICANN and place it with an intergovernmental group, possibly under the United Nations.

Though the group could not agree on a single model, it does recommend the creation of a new global forum for governments, industry and others to discuss key issues such as spam and cybercrime - areas not currently handled by ICANN.

The panel recommended a larger international role for "governance arrangements," Kummer said, and participants felt no one country should dominate.

He stressed the sentiment dates back to the Geneva summit and was not meant as an attack on the United States or a direct response to the U.S. Department of Commerce statement two weeks ago that it intends to keep ultimate authority for authorizing changes to the list of Internet suffixes, such as ".com."

The United States historically has played that role because it funded much of the Internet's early development.

"The group as a whole recognizes that it is clear the U.S. has played a beneficial role," Kummer said.

ICANN chief executive Paul Twomey said the report confirmed his organization's role.

"If the Internet was a postal system, what we ensure is that the addresses on the letters work," he said. "We don't think we're a regulator. We think we're a technical co-ordinator."

Others have expressed concerns that ICANN remains too close to the U.S. government, which gave ICANN its authority in 1998 but retains veto power.

Developing countries have been frustrated that Western countries that got on the Internet first gobbled up most of the available addresses required for computers to connect, leaving developing nations to share a limited supply.

And some countries want faster approval of domain names in non-English characters - China even threatened a few years ago to split the Internet in two and set up its own naming system for Chinese.

Late-Night Jokes

Leno

It was hot today! Whew! Like 104 out. The hottest day of the year. It was so hot that Angelina Jolie was adopting an Eskimo baby.

It was so hot in D.C. that Dick Cheney’s pacemaker was replaced with an ice maker.

Karl Rove was under fire once again today. This time for leaking the plot of the new Harry Potter book to President Bush.

The space shuttle launch was cancelled today. That’s when you know the price of gasoline is too high!

Gas is now so expensive that I saw two guys shooting at each other in the carpool lane and they were in the same car!

I also someone being towed. Not because there was a problem with the car but because it was cheaper. The mileage was actually better being towed.

Cell phones are now the number one distraction to California drivers. That’s pretty amazing considering the other distractions – like fake boobs and drive-bys.

The Major League Baseball All Star Game was last night. Several Dodger players were there. They were selling hot dogs, parking cars – but they were there.

In a new survey it was found that roughly 30% of Americans believe in ghosts. It was also found that liberals are more likely to believe in ghosts that conservatives. Which explains why liberals are so against the death penalty. They’re scared they might piss the guy off and he’ll come back.

John Kerry Outed Undercover CIA Agent

Sen. John Kerry, who called for Karl Rove to be fired over allegations that he revealed the identity of CIA employee Valerie Plame, outed a genuine undercover CIA agent just this past April - even after the agency asked that his identity be kept secret.

Kerry blew the cover of CIA secret operative Fulton Armstrong during confirmation hearings for U.N. ambassador nominee John Bolton.

Questioning Bolton, Kerry asked: "Did Otto Reich share his belief that Fulton Armstrong should be removed for his position?" - according to a transcript excerpted by the New York Times. "The answer is yes," the top Democrat continued.

In his response to Kerry, Mr. Bolton did his best to maintain the agent's confidentiality, reverting to Armstrong's pseudonym.

"As I said," he told Kerry, "I had lost confidence in Mr. Smith, and I conveyed that."

Two years earlier, Armstrong had been identified in news reports on his dispute with other officials over intelligence involving Cuba. But he was operating in a different capacity and his identity wasn't secret at the time.

"When the Bolton nomination resurrected the old accounts, however, the C.I.A. asked news organizations to withhold his name," the Times said.

Apparently the CIA directive wasn't good enough for Sen. Kerry - who outed Armstrong anyway and later defended the move by saying his Republican colleague, Senator Richard Lugar, had also mentioned the name.

And besides, said Kerry, the secret agent's name "had already been in the press."

Pictures Of The Day

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Iraq's Connection

Late-Night Jokes

Leno

The weather here is beautiful, but the mop-up continues after Hurricane Dennis. This is the biggest disaster to hit Florida since Social Security reform.

I was watching hurricane coverage all weekend. They had reports from Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Actually, it was the same reporter - he was being blown around from state to state.

It has been a week of disasters – wildfires, hurricanes, the Dodgers.

The big rumor is that Chief Justice William Rehnquist is going to resign from the Supreme Court this week. I’m not going to believe it until it’s leaked to the "New York Times” by Karl Rove.

Chief Justice Rehnquist can’t decide whether to stay on the court or retire. That’s kind of scary, isn’t it? A justice who chief can’t make up his mind.

It was reported that nearly two out of ten men and four out of ten women of recruiting age are too fat for the military. To meet goals, the Army may change its slogans. An Army of one - the size of two

Hillary Clinton also gave a speech in Aspen, Colorado and accused President Bush of damaging the economy by catering to the rich. Why was Hillary in Aspen, Colorado? Because she was catering to the rich.

Condoleezza Rice is on a6 day trip to Japan. I never thought I’d see the day when we’re sending "Rice” to Japan.

A high school in Vail, Colorado has become the 1st paperless wireless and textbook free school in America. Everything in the school is done electronic. Like even when the teachers have sex with the students they do it on the Internet with a webcam.

The 10th annual Redneck Games were held this weekend in East Dublin, Georgia. I think it's sponsored by the "Jerry Springer Show”. The events include bobbing for pigs feet, the hubcap hurl…and my personal favorite, the "name one tattoo on the last relative you slept with”. That’s my favorite.

Sylvester Stallone is going to make "Rocky: 6”...I believe in this one he’s going to fight Angela Lansbury.

Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha

America now knows that Rove told a reporter that former ambassador Wilson, an official in the Clinton administration, was sent to Niger to investigate reports that Iraq had tried to obtain uranium for nuclear weapons -- and on the recommendation of his wife, who worked for the CIA. After Wilson wrote an op-ed for The New York Times about his mission, Rove questioned his credibility.

Rush: Let me just tell you who Matt Cooper is married to just so we can connect all the dots here. Matt Cooper is married to Mandy Grunwald, and Mandy Grunwald is one of these high ranking Democratic Party operatives, and she currently is on Hillary's staff.

A popularity contest between the president and the press, or a popularity contest between Karl Rove and the press, the press is going to lose every time -- and this is also, by the way, Michael Goodwin's point, that no matter what the press does here, they're going to lose.

"It's a war the media can't win and shouldn't wage," he says. "The intense grilling that White House reporters inflicted on Scott McClellan Monday was no ordinary give-and-take. It was a hostile hectoring that revealed much of the mainstream press for what it's become: the opposition party.

Debra Saunders: That Times editors saw the Quran story as top-of-the-page material is a sign of pure hysteria. Torture at Abu Ghraib was front-page news; a damp Quran is not.

Here’s an example of how tone-deaf the Times has become: Its magazine wanted a photographer to depict the abuse of prisoners at Iraqi facilities and Gitmo, so the editors hired Andres Serrano, the photographer who angered America with his photograph of a crucifix in urine.

Call the Quran and Rove stories examples of a new trend: We-told-you-so journalism. Gotcha journalism has a new name: Gotcha this time. No, gotcha this time. No, really, gotcha this time.

If a new story reinforces an old story that the public didn’t care about before, it lands on page one.

Guaranteed.

Plame Leak Not Illegal

The former prosecutor who helped draft the law that Democrats say was violated when someone in the Bush administration leaked a CIA worker's name to columnist Robert Novak now says that no laws were broken in the case.

Writing with First Amendment lawyer Bruce Sanford in the Washington Post recently, former Assistant Deputy Attorney General Victoria Toensing explained that she helped draft the law in question, the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act.

Says Toensing, "The Novak column and the surrounding facts do not support evidence of criminal conduct."

For Plame's outing to have been illegal, the one-time deputy AG says, "her status as undercover must be classified." Also, Plame "must have been assigned to duty outside the United States currently or in the past five years."

Since in neither case does Plame qualify, Toensing says: "There is a serious legal question as to whether she qualifies as 'covert.'"

The law also requires that the celebrated non-spy's outing take place by someone who knew the government had taken "affirmative measures to conceal [the agent's] relationship" to the U.S., a prospect Toensing says is unlikely.

Other signs that no laws were broken include the fact that after Plame was outted, the CIA's general counsel took no steps to prosecute Novak, as has been done to other reporters under similar circumstances.

Neither did then-CIA Director George Tenet or his deputy pick up the phone to tell Novak that the publication of her name would threaten national security and her safety, as is also routinely done when the CIA is serious about prohibiting publication.

In fact, the myth that laws were violated in the Plame case began to unravel in October 2003, in a column by New York Times scribe Nicholas Kristof, who explained that Valerie Plame had abandoned her covert role a full nine years before.

"The C.I.A. suspected that Aldrich Ames had given [Plame's] name [along with those of other spies] to the Russians before his espionage arrest in 1994. So her undercover security was undermined at that time, and she was brought back to Washington for safety reasons."

Kristof also noted that Plame had begun making the transition to CIA "management" even before she was outted, explaining that "she was moving away from 'noc' – which means non-official cover ... to a new cover as a State Department official, affording her diplomatic protection without having 'C.I.A.' stamped on her forehead."

Noted the Timesman: "All in all, I think the Democrats are engaging in hyperbole when they describe the White House as having put [Plame's] life in danger and destroyed her career; her days skulking along the back alleys of cities like Beirut and Algiers were already mostly over."

So why – with a special prosecutor now threatening to toss Time magazine's Matthew Cooper and New York Times reporter Judith Miller in jail if they don't give up their sources in the Plame case – aren't their lawyers invoking the "no laws were broken" defense?

Explains the National Review's Rich Lowry: The Miller-Cooper defense hasn't made this argument because it would be too embarrassing to admit that the Bush administration's "crime of the century" wasn't really a crime at all, especially after a year and a half of media chest-beating to the contrary.

"It was just a Washington flap played for all it was worth by the same news organizations now about to watch their employees go to prison over it," says Lowry.

"That's the truth that the media will go to any length to avoid."

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Kerry Re-Botoxed

GOP Blasts Hillary Clinton for Her President Bush Comments

ALBANY, N.Y. – Republicans took aim at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday for comparing President Bush to Mad magazine's freckle-faced "What, me worry?" kid, Alfred E. Neuman.

"I sometimes feel that Alfred E. Neuman is in charge in Washington," Clinton said during the inaugural Aspen Ideas Festival, organized by the Aspen Institute, a non-partisan think tank.

The former first lady drew a laugh from the crowd when she described Bush's attitude toward tough issues with Neuman's catchphrase, "What, me worry?"

A Republican National Committee official said the former first lady was "part of today's angry and adrift Democrat Party," while a spokesman for one of her potential 2006 Senate rivals said she was guilty of "insulting the president."

"At a time when President Bush and most elected officials are focused on the security of our nation, Mrs. Clinton seems focused on taking partisan jabs and promoting her presidential campaign," added New York's GOP chairman, Stephen Minarik. "Her priorities are clearly out of whack." Clinton's attack on the president came Sunday during a speech in Colorado.

As Clinton gears up for a Senate re-election race in New York next year and a possible White House presidential bid in 2008, her attacks on Bush have become sharper.

In her speech Sunday, she accused the president of damaging the economy by overspending while giving tax cuts to the rich, depriving U.S. soldiers of equipment needed to fight the war in Iraq and cutting funds for scientific research.

"Hillary Clinton's opportunistic attempt to market herself as a centrist is like a wolf dressing up in sheep's clothing," said RNC spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt. "Such thinly veiled rhetoric doesn't change the fact she is part of today's angry and adrift Democrat Party."

Thomas Basile, a spokesman for potential Senate challenger Edward Cox, a son-in-law of the late President Nixon, said while Clinton was "busy insulting the president across the country, she is failing to produce the homeland security and transportation funding" the state needs.

Clinton has been accusing the Bush administration of providing inadequate funding for New York's security needs.

While national polls show the former first lady to be leading the pack among potential 2008 Democratic presidential contenders, Clinton has said she is too wrapped up in her Senate work and re-election effort to think about that.

Late-Night Jokes

Leno

How many folks here from out of town? How many just blew in from Florida?

Whew! Did you all see that footage of Hurricane Dennis over the weekend? It hit Florida with winds of over 100 miles an hour. In fact, the wind was so strong, Cubans were arriving in Florida an hour before their inner tube.

In fact, the winds are so strong, some of the balls hit by Tampa Bay Devil Rays players could actually go out of the infield.

I saw pictures from one area in Mississippi - they showed this guy’s front yard: there were some blocks on top of a car.

How ‘bout the price of gas? Oh my God! Oil is now over $62 a barrel. In fact, it is so high, I today I saw the sierra club drilling in Alaska.

President Bush is down to two choices for picking a Supreme Court judge. Yahoo and Goggle.

A judge in Mobile, Alabama has put a 90 year old woman in jail for selling drugs. Here’s my question – where are the parents?

Willie Nelson did an album with reggae musicians. Did you hear about this? How much smoke poured out of that studio? It must have looked like they were electing a new pope.

You all remember Leonard Nimoy from "Star Trek”? A New York City art gallery is exhibiting fine art photographs Leonard Nimoy took of nude over weight women. So far, Bill Clinton has seen the exhibit 82 times.

Happy Birthday to Jessica Simpson who turned 25 years old on Sunday. Jessica threw a surprise party for herself… and it worked. She had no idea!

On Saturday, professional skateboarder Danny way successfully jumped over the Great Wall of China on a skateboard! He cleared the Great Wall of China! In a related story, thousands of skateboard ramps have been set up along the U.S. - Mexican border.

"ESPN” magazine said that Lance Armstrong is considering running for governor of Texas. Well finally Texas would have a governor who knows how to ride a bicycle.

Late-Night Jokes

Leno

Today in Washington D.C., Vice President Dick Cheney went in for his annual "heart checkup” with doctors. Actually, he doesn’t even need to go in personally. He just drops his heart off, then comes back for it in the afternoon.

The White House announced today that next month Vice President Dick Cheney will get a colonoscopy. It’s important that you get these on a regular basis. You know, the last time he had one, they found one polyp and three oil company executives up there.

President Bush has named former Senator Fred Thompson, who’s now starring on NBC’s "Law and Order,” to oversee the selection process for his Supreme Court nominee. President Bush chose an actor. In fact, he originally tried to get Screech from "Saved by The Bell,” apparently he was busy.

The British people are standing tough after yesterday’s terrible bombings. The Olympics will still go on…London buses were up and running today. So God bless them. And London will recover because the British are tough. They put up with the Nazis, they put up with al Qaeda, they even put up with Madonna, these people can handle anything.

In an article in "USA Today”, Senator Olympia Snowe from Maine says that terrorists will try to take advantage of our coast guard’s aging fleet once they find out its weaknesses. How will they find out about our weaknesses? By an article in "USA Today”!

In fact, many in Washington say that if the coast guard’s ships aren’t replaced soon, they will be unable to keep out drugs and illegal aliens from entering our country. God forbid that should ever happen – imagine what this place would be like if they illegal aliens and drugs were able to get in here?

The Governor of Missouri has announced the state will no longer pay for Viagra for poor and low income people. Well you thought Branson was depressing before. Now there’s nothing to do after a night at the Tony Orlando Theater.

On the bright side. The poor people said today they won’t have any hard feelings about this.

There’s been a lot of shark attacks lately especially in Florida. In fact, the sharks are getting more and more brazen. Did you see what happened today? Two sharks held up a 7/11 in Barstow, pistol-whipped the clerk.

Here’s something odd - according to "Maxim” magazine, the best way to clean your toilet is to drop 2 vitamin c tablets into it, wait 2 hours and then flush. Do you really need to drop vitamins into a toilet? Couldn’t you just drink a couple glasses of orange juice and come back two hours later?

Angelina Jolie is in Ethiopia to adopt an orphaned baby girl. Didn’t see just adopt a kid last month? What was his name? Oh, Brad Pitt.

As you know rapper, Lil’ Kim is going to prison. So move over Saddam Hussein. Finally a prisoner we want to see in their underwear.

Late-Night Jokes

Leno

The president of CBS News has commissioned his staff to come up with an evening news format that favors more of a "storytelling” style over the traditional news format. Storytelling? So it sounds like they’re bringing back Dan Rather, huh?

Earlier tonight on the Travel Channel was a special called "Vegas Turns 100”. The special was the special was hosted by Donny Osmond. Because what says "Vegas” more than a church-going Mormon from Utah?

You want someone showing you around Vegas you want Colin Farrel or maybe a Kennedy, not Donny Osmond.

The world series of poker is being shown on ESPN. This raises the question - are poker players really athletes? Even bowlers are going, "Shut up! Get out of here!"

Hopefully ending the gay rumors that have plagued him for years, Prince Albert of Monaco announced he has a 2 year old son with a flight attendant. The flight attendant’s name...Bob.

In a special "Tour de France” edition of "Sports Illustrated” Lance Armstrong who’s just doing great, reveals that he relieves himself during a race by simply pulling down his shorts and going, so, occasionally, Lance hits spectators and he feels horrible because sometimes they aren’t French.

"Dancing With The Stars” is over, they had the finale last night. It was a big hit. In fact, "Dancing With The Stars” did so well in the ratings this summer that next season on the show they may have actual stars on it.

"War of The Worlds” continuing to do huge business. You know the H.G. Wells classic where the earth is invaded by aliens and they can’t be stopped. They went from city to city vaporizing everything in their path. And California still voted to give them driver’s licenses.

Paris Hilton has confirmed that she wrote a letter to Prince Charles asking permission to get married in Westminster Abby. Isn’t that amazing? Paris Hilton knows how to write a letter.

Statement made by the Prime Minister Tony Blair

This has been a most terrible and tragic atrocity that has cost many innocent lives.

I would like again to express my profound condolences to the families of the victims, and to those who are casualties of this terrorist act. There will of course now be the most intense police and security service action to make sure that we bring those responsible to justice. I would also pay tribute to the stoicism and resilience of the people of London, who have responded in a way typical of them.

It is through terrorism that the people that have committed this terrible act express their values, and it is right at this moment that we demonstrate ours.

I think we all know what they are trying to do - they are trying to use the slaughter of innocent people to cower us, to frighten us out of doing the things that we want to do, of trying to stop us going about our business as normal, as we are entitled to do, and they should not, and they must not, succeed.

When they try to intimidate us, we will not be intimidated. When they seek to change our country or our way of life by these methods, we will not be changed. When they try to divide our people or weaken our resolve, we will not be divided and our resolve will hold firm.

We will show, by our spirit and dignity, and by our quiet but true strength that there is in the British people, that our values will long outlast theirs. The purpose of terrorism is just that, it is to terrorise people, and we will not be terrorised.

I would like once again to express my sympathy and my sorrow to those families who will be grieving, so unexpectedly and tragically, tonight. This is a very sad day for the British people, but we will hold true to the British way of life.

Thank you.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I spent some time recently with the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and had an opportunity to express our heartfelt condolences to the people of London, people who lost lives.

I appreciate Prime Minister Blair's steadfast determination and his strength. He's on his way now to London here from the G8 to speak directly to the people of London. He'll carry a message of solidarity with him.

The contrast between what we've seen on the TV screens here, what's taken place in London and what's taking place here is incredibly vivid to me. On the one hand, we have people here who are working to alleviate poverty, to help rid the world of the pandemic of AIDS, working on ways to have a clean environment.

And on the other hand, you've got people killing innocent people. And the contrast couldn't be clearer between the intentions and the hearts of those of us who care deeply about human rights and human liberty, and those who kill -- those who have got such evil in their heart that they will take the lives of innocent folks.

The war on terror goes on. I was most impressed by the resolve of all the leaders in the room. Their resolve is as strong as my resolve. And that is we will not yield to these people, will not yield to the terrorists.

We will find them, we will bring them to justice, and at the same time, we will spread an ideology of hope and compassion that will overwhelm their ideology of hate.

Thank you very much.

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President Bush's Statement

Judge Tosses Out Slave Reparations Suit

An effort by slave descendants to gain reparations from corporations that allegedly benefited from slavery was dismissed Wednesday by a federal judge.

Judge Charles R. Norgle characterized the issue as basically political, and said it should be decided by the legislative or executive branch.

He added that the plaintiffs have failed to show a link between themselves and the 17 corporations named as defendants, and that the statute of limitations rules out damages for wrongs committed before slavery was abolished in 1868.

It was the second time Norgle dismissed a version of the slave reparations suit and this time he did it with prejudice – meaning that any hopes of reviving it at the district court level most likely are dead.

Norgle based his decision partly on "the long-standing" doctrine that political issues should be resolved in the Congress or the executive branch, and noted that slavery reparations issues historically have been fought there rather than in the courts.

Attorney Benjamin Obi Nwoye said he and other lawyers who have worked on the suit planned to appeal.

"We don't agree with his reasoning," he said. "We are hopeful that we will get justices who are fair-minded so the descendants of slaves can be repaid for the work of their forefathers."

Attorneys for the slave descendants say they want to use any damages to create a fund to help correct problems in the black community.

The Supreme Court Circus Is Coming To Town

The Supreme Court bans television cameras from its public sessions on the ground that it does not want its proceedings to become a “circus.” Whether the august Court likes it or not, the struggle over the replacement to be nominated for retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will be a circus beyond the wildest dreams of American showman P.T. Barnum.

Barnum is best remembered for supposedly saying, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” The biggest immediate political question raised by the forthcoming hearings is which political party will play the role of the sucker.

Thomas Lifson: The financing of campaigns for and against the confirmation of Supreme Court appointees has become a virtual industry. An estimated $100 million dollars will be spent by left wing activist groups seeking to critique, besmirch, and discredit any Bush appointee, and by their conservative opponents seeking to burnish, defend, and support the nominee.

The public has repeatedly shown that it doesn’t like it when either party becomes shrill or nasty or is perceived to be breaking the implicit rules of conduct.

This means that the Democrats must be wary of being seen as a caricature, reflexively opposing any Bush nominee. But they have no choice. This is exactly what they must do, to keep their fundraising base from turning against them with a vengeance.

The "progressive" core well understands that its only hope of maintaining a permissive abortion regime, driving religion out of the public square, and maintaining a robust social engineering role for the government is via Supreme Court fiat. Any move to turn the Court toward enforcing the actual wording of the Constitution threatens their last redoubt of government power. Like cornered rats, they will lash out with all their force at any provocation.

So the Democrats are being forced onto a path which will alienate the swing voters it needs to win presidential elections and Senate seats in those states not firmly in the blue camp. The only question is whether or not the Republicans, long called Stupid Party for their lack of political wiles, will have the wit to get out of their way.

Because the Democrats will attack anyone he sends to them, there is no advantage to the President attempting to placate the Democrats with a moderate nominee. Instead, he should search for someone of utter integrity and of a sound conservative judicial philosophy. It is all the better if the Democrats are driven to paroxysms of strident outrage. They would be bathing themselves in voter repellant.

Now that’s one circus I don’t want to miss.

John Kerry's Independence Day

John Kerry's Email:

Dear Charles: The Fourth of July is a time for family, fun and fireworks. But something happened today that ought to remind everybody what this holiday really symbolizes: the freedom that makes America great. That's exactly what hangs in the balance now that Sandra Day O'Connor has resigned from the Supreme Court.

This is no small deal. Over and over she was the justice who cast the critical vote in 5-4 cases deciding the most important issues in our nation. Here's our bottom line for the JohnKerry.com community heading into the holiday weekend: We can never let her be replaced by a justice who does not respect the right to privacy in Roe vs. Wade."

RUSH: You know the question "If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there, does it make a noise?" If John Kerry speaks and a hundred people hear it, has he said anything?

So here we are on the Fourth of July; John Kerry sends out in most important e-mail to his buddies and it's about protecting Roe vs. Wade. That's what Independence Day meant to John Kerry. (Vietnam Veteran John Kerry impression) "Sooooo this weekeeeeend, as you enjooooooy the 4th, take a minuuuuute to think about what it meeeeeeeans and come back on Tuesday morning, ready to fight for our freedom [like I did in Vietnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam and Cambooooooodia and Laos and at the Battle of the Buuuuuuuulge -- and I was at Omaha Beach and Pointe-Du-Hooooooc] It's all at stake nooooooow. We need to come together more than eeeeever. Get ready, Joooohn Keeeerry," and the nation yawned just as you are yawning now. The Fourth of July, Independence Day message to John Kerry's supporters, on Roe vs. Wade!

Canada's Ambassador Declares War on Fox News

Canada's ambassador to the United States has launched an all-out war on Fox News Channel.

Ambassador Frank McKenna has undertaken a public relations effort to reach the more than 1 million Canadians living in the United States, a group he calls the "Canadian diaspora."

McKenna says the effort is to boost support for Canada here, and to counter what he says is the "Fox factor," referring to the Fox News Channel, America's most popular cable news network, and its most highly rated show, "The O'Reilly Factor."

McKenna told the Toronto Star that he wants to arm Canadians with facts that will enable them to debate Americans and to lobby when Washington makes decisions that can hurt Canadians.

But most importantly, he says, Canadians in the U.S. should counteract Fox News, alleging that the network often spreads disinformation and creates a false picture of his homeland.

"We know we're a bit of prey for the Fox News type of shows," he told the Star.

The ambassador said he has sent out 6,000 pieces of literature to Canadians in his battle with Fox, and plans to mail to some 100,000 Canadians in the weeks ahead.

McKenna said he launched this campaign because "having dinner every month or two with some interesting people is not enough to move" Washington.

The ambassador hopes that his new network of Canadians "will be in the millions."

"Then all of a sudden we've multiplied our efforts exponentially and we have a lot more people out there armed with information," he said.

Calling on Canadians wintering in Florida, retirees in Arizona, Hollywood comedians and actors, investment bankers in New York and professors and students at universities across the United States, McKenna said they should carry these messages to Americans:

Canada is the largest source of imported crude oil in the U.S., bigger than Saudi Arabia or the yet untested reserves of Iraq.

None of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists entered the U.S. from Canada.

Canada-U.S. trade supports more than 5 million American jobs.
Said McKenna: "We have to be very careful about overblown rhetoric. We don't get a lot of attention here, but we can get attention here for the wrong reasons.

"So we shouldn't be so judgmental about a country that has chosen to play that role."

But as far as Fox News is concerned, that seems to be a different story.

Late-Night Jokes

Letterman

It’s hot outside. Just lousy hot. I had a dilemma this morning on my way to work in the cab. Do I roll up the window to keep the air conditioning in, or roll the window down to air out the driver?

It’s muggy and sticky. So sticky out that over at Flashdancers they had to peel a girl off of the pole!

The crime rate in New York City is down. It’s never been lower. You know what I think it is? Things have been better since we’ve switched to the honor system.

Letterman's Top Ten

Top Ten Things You Don't Want To Hear At A July Fourth Barbecue

1. "I don't think that's mayonnaise in the cole slaw."

2. "My hot dog has a knuckle!"

3. "I'm afraid the only fireworks tonight are between me and your wife."

4. "All right, detainees, line up over here for your gitmo-style powdered baked beans."

5. "Hey look, it's Earnest Borgnine - oh, sorry lady."

6. "I'd like to tell you why scientology is so important to me."

7. "Oh God, Letterman's shirtless again!"

8. "To give it a little 'kick,' I put charcoal starter in the punch!"

9. "Take a photo of me lighting this cigar with an M-80."

10."Beef is great, but squirrel's so much cheaper."

Conan

Britney Spears is pregnant. She just confirmed this today, though she says she doesn’t know what the sex of the baby is. What we do know is that the baby will most likely be named after a character from the "Dukes of Hazard”.

Today President Bush met with the American Association of Newspaper Editors. He thanked everyone for Marmaduke.

Late-Night Jokes

Letterman's Top Ten

Top Ten Surprises In President Bush's Prime-Time Address

1. Finished up by asking if Kerry still wanted the gig.

2. Midway through, he got engaged to Tom Cruise.

3. Revealed he'll soon be giving uncensored weekly addresses on Sirius satellite radio.

4. Most of speech was devoted to his Fourth of July deviled egg recipe.

5. Spent 15 minutes looking at himself in the monitor.

6. It was basically a 50-minute infomercial for new George Bush Grill.

7. Imploring all Americans to support Joey McIntyre in the next episode of "Dancing with the Stars".

8. Ten minutes of policy, 20 minutes of Karaoke.

9. Kept talking about how Scientology changed his life.

10.Claimed he had plan to win war, then switched on the bat signal.

Letterman

It’s been hot and muggy out. Here’s a little tip I do when it’s like this outside. Right now in my pants I have a box of baking soda.

Good news, the crime rate in New York City is down. All I can say is, thank you Batman!

The crime rate is down and I think it’s true because it’s been weeks since my date at the subway had to say, "Are you just going to sit there and take this?!”

On Sunday in Washington the White House lawn tee ball season got under way. In tee ball there is no pitching – just like the New York Yankees.

Tonight President Bush gave an address on the War in Iraq. To my surprise I found out the war is going quite well.

President Bush talked about the good things going on, the Iraqi elections, Homeland Security, and the capture of Russell Crowe.

The war is dragging on, the economy is down, and gas prices are up – and then President Bush left for his two month vacation.

Starting tomorrow to improve his popularity President Bush is going to jump up and down on Oprah’s couch.

O'Connor Will Retire From Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) - Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court and a key swing vote on issues such as abortion and the death penalty, will announce Friday she is retiring.

O'Connor, 75, said she expects to leave before the start of the court's next term in October, or whenever the Senate confirms her successor.

It's been 11 years since the last opening on the court, one of the longest uninterrupted stretches in history. O'Connor's decision gives Bush his first opportunity to appoint a justice.

O'Connor's appointment came amid speculation that the aging court would soon have a vacancy. But speculation has most recently focused on Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, 80, and suffering from thyroid cancer. Rehnquist has offered no public clue as to his plans.

Possible replacements include Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and federal courts of appeals judges J. Michael Luttig, John Roberts, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Michael McConnell, Emilio Garza and James Harvie Wilkinson III. Others mentioned are former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, lawyer Miguel Estrada and former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson, but Bush's pick could be a surprise choice not well known in legal circles.

Another prospective candidate is Edith Hollan Jones, a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who was also considered for a Supreme Court vacancy by President Bush's father.

O'Connor's appointment in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan, quickly confirmed by the Senate, ended 191 years of male exclusivity on the high court.

She wasted little time building a reputation as a hard-working moderate conservative who emerged as a crucial power broker on the nine-member court.

O'Connor often lines up with the court's conservative bloc, as she did in 2000 when the court voted to stop Florida presidential ballot recounts sought by Al Gore, and effectively called the election for President Bush.

As a "swing voter," however, O'Connor sometimes votes with more liberal colleagues.

Perhaps the best example of her influence is the court's evolving stance on abortion. She distanced herself both from her three most conservative colleagues, who say there is no constitutional underpinning for a right to abortion, and from more liberal justices for whom the right is a given.