Just a reminder that this cool customer is still out there in the world. And that he has plans. Big plans.

We have heard from Eric Holder that Obama is getting ready to reenter the world of politics: 

“It’s coming. He’s coming,” Holder said, speaking to reporters at a briefing for the new group. “And he’s ready to roll.”

We also know that he and Michelle might have the most lucrative book deal in the history of lucrative book deals.

Another thing that we know is that he is still haunting the dreams of the current resident of the White House:

Even though top Republicans on Capitol Hill have provided little support for President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claim that former President Barack Obama broke the law to spy on his campaign, Trump reportedly remains committed to attacking his political arch nemesis because he is “somewhat haunted” by “President Obama’s first term.” 

Sources close to the president reportedly chalk up his latest set of wild allegations as part of a larger obsession with his predecessor. 

And this is before the former President has even reentered the world fully after his long overdue vacation.

One has to wonder how Trump will respond once  President "So Much Cooler Than Thou" returns to the national stage?

Night Two of the Democratic Convention Open Thread. Update!

I thought I better post this thread earlier today and a whole lot of interesting stuff happened before last night's open thread.

Here are some of the featured speakers for tonight: 

President Bill Clinton headlines the convention Tuesday.. 

Other featured speakers include mothers who lost their children to gun violence such as Eric Garner's mother, Gwen Carr; Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton; and Michael Brown's mother, Lezley McSpadden. 

Other speakers will include former Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who will speak about the Americans with Disabilities Act, which he helped craft and pass in Congress. 

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe will also address the convention. He served as chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 reelection campaign and chairman of Hillary Clinton's first presidential campaign in 2008. 

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, will be speaking as well as Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, who served with Clinton in the Senate and who's expected to succeed Harry Reid as the Democrats' next leader in the Senate. 

Former Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to speak as well as Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards and actors Tony Goldwyn, America Ferrara, and Lena Dunham. 

Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as secretary of state, will speak and former President Jimmy Carter is expected to make an appearance in a video message to the convention.

Damn! So you see why we need to post this early.

As promised here is my second favorite speech from last night:

I love Al Franken as a Senator, but Al Franken the comedian is pretty damn awesome as well.

There is also a rumor that Bernie Sanders will officially nominate Hillary Clinton tonight, so I imagine we will see more of this:

Oh joy.

Update: Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential candidate to represent a major party, has just officially hit the magic number of delegates to become the nominee.  Another history making day for the Democratic party.

Update 2: Sanders just officially named Hillary Clinton the nominee by acclimation.

And THAT makes it really official.

Update 3: Apparently this happened earlier tonight as well.

Bernie delegates have stormed media row and it's now locked down by police https://t.co/1CkTq8sX8P #DNCWalkOut pic.twitter.com/e48v9KhfkJ

— Cassandra Fairbanks (@CassandraRules) July 27, 2016

Didn't Frankenstein have to chase his creation into the farthest reaches of the north to finally end its existence?

President Obama uses Weekly Address to shame Republicans for refusing to vote on the confirmation of Loretta Lynch.

Courtesy of Mediaite:  

Obama lauded Lynch, the current U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, as a “tough, independent, and fair” lawyer who has a distinguished career. The president nominated Lynch four months ago, but Senate Republicans are currently delaying her confirmation vote until the Senate passes a human trafficking bill, which has been held up while Democrats and Republicans argue over an abortion provision in the bill. 

Obama said the holdup is simply about politics, and that senators from both parties support her nomination. 

“Republicans promised that Congress would function smoothly with them in charge,” Obama continued. “Here’s a small chance for them to prove it. Congress should stop playing politics with law enforcement and national security.”

It is beyond obvious that the Republicans are delaying this confirmation purely for political reasons, and it looks like one of them is that the NRA is adamantly opposed and is applying pressure: 

As the Nations’ top law enforcement officer, Lynch would almost certainly have an impact on our Second Amendment rights. We know Lynch supports the Obama administration’s position to ban “assault weapons.” And, we know that the general-purpose rifles that gun control supporters call “assault weapons”--such as the AR-15--are the most popular rifles in the United States. We also know that the President’s previous choice for Attorney General--Eric Holder--clearly demonstrated the damage an Obama-appointed, agenda-driven, anti-gun Attorney General can do to our rights and freedoms as Americans. 

 NRA opposes the confirmation of Obama nominee Loretta Lynch for Attorney General of the United States. 

As we await Loretta Lynch’s confirmation vote in the Senate, it is important that you immediately contact your Senators and ask them to OPPOSE her confirmation as U.S. Attorney General.

I swear to the gods that these people would let the whole world burn, just so long and nobody took their metallic binkies away from them. 

I think that Eric Holder should announce on Monday that he wants to launch an investigation into gun shows, and watch Lynch get confirmed so fast it will make your head spin.

Eric Holder's remarks about the DOJ's Ferguson investigation.

Here is a summary of Holder's remarks by The Guardian:

• Attorney general Eric Holder said a “searing” justice department report on racial discrimination by Ferguson police contained “deeply alarming” documentation of “abusive and dangerous” behaviour. 
• Holder defended a justice department decision not to bring charges against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the killing last August of Michael Brown. ““I urge you to read this report in full,” he said, addressing skeptics. 
• Holder said the justice department was ready “to force compliance and implement basic change” to fix routine civil liberties violations in Ferguson. 
• The feds are not done with Ferguson, Holder said, calling for a “court-enforceable remedial process that includes involvement from community stakeholders as well as independent oversight.” 
• The department of justice will engage not just Ferguson, but “surrounding municipalities – to reform their law enforcement practices,” Holder said. 
• A justice department report exposed a pattern of racist and abusive behaviour on the part of Ferguson police and city employees. 
• The report found that apart from fatal incidents such as the killing of Michael Brown, Ferguson police systematically harassed, over-ticketed, insulted, wrongfully arrested and physically abused African-American residents, with sometimes shattering implications for the lives of the abuse victims. 
• The report said police dogs were only used against black people and Tasers were over-used. It published racist emails passed among city employees. 
• Holder called the Ferguson police department a “collection agency” for the city instead of a law enforcement agency.

Here are some of the racist e-mails uncovered by the investigation, courtesy of AATTP:

A November 2008 email stated that President Barack Obama would not be President for very long because “what black man holds a steady job for four years.” 

A March 2010 email mocked African Americans through speech and familial stereotypes, using a story involving child support. One line from the email read: “I be so glad that dis be my last child support payment! Month after month, year after year, all dose payments!” 

An April 2011 email depicted President Barack Obama as a chimpanzee. A May 2011 email stated: “An African-American woman in New Orleans was admitted into the hospital for a pregnancy termination. Two weeks later she received a check for $5,000. She phoned the hospital to ask who it was from. The hospital said, ‘Crimestoppers.’” 

A June 2011 email described a man seeking to obtain “welfare” for his dogs because they are “mixed in color, unemployed, lazy, can’t speak English and have no frigging clue who their Daddies are.” 

An October 2011 email included a photo of a bare-chested group of dancing women, apparently in Africa, with the caption, “Michelle Obama’s High School Reunion.” 

A December 2011 email included jokes that are based on offensive stereotypes about Muslims.

Yeah, no racism there.

Nevada rancher and infamous scofflaw Cliven Bundy appears in perhaps the most awkward political ad of the year.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Anti-government rancher Cliven Bundy resurfaced this week in a bizarre campaign ad for a far-right Black Nevada congressional candidate, with both men challenging Attorney General Eric Holder to a debate about racial issues in America. 

“This is one white man who’s not scared to talk about race,” Bundy says in the ad for Independent American Party candidate Kamau Bakari. “I dare you to come to Las Vegas and talk to us.” 

“And don’t give us that ‘you’re too busy’ stuff,” Bakari says. “You weren’t too busy to go to Ferguson, Missouri.” Bakari is running to represent the state’s 1st Congressional District. 

Bundy and his wife registered as voters with the Independent American Party this past May, following an event celebrating his “courage in standing up for state sovereignty” by refusing to pay grazing fees for his cows’ use of federally-owned land.

Holy crap on a stick, what did I just watch?

Actually I saw this for the first time last week on, I think, the Chris Hayes Show. However I could not find it online anywhere to post.

Now that I have found it, thanks to Raw Story, I am once again gobsmocked that anybody thought this was something that should see the light of day.

I don't know who I feel worse for, Cliven Bundy for being perhaps the worst actor this country has produced since Nicholas Cage? This Kamau Bakari for being such an embarrassment to his race, his state, and the country as a whole? Or us for having watched this atrocity? (Never mind, it us.)

As I am sure I do not have to tell you this Bakari guy is trailing WAY behind his opponent in the polls, and I imagine after voters get a load of this ad his political career will essentially be road kill.

Cliven Bundy on the other hand, I think he has a real future in "I am not a racist" videos. 

Ted Nugent continues working toward the day when he will have NO venues willing to allow him onstage ever again.

Courtesy of the You Tube page:  

Conservative rock star Ted Nugent was deputized by local law enforcement at a Tea Party event in Wyoming in which he complained about America’s alleged post-World War II decline and women who do not enjoy hunting, Media Matters reported. “We have bent over since World War II because we couldn’t believe that the universally celebrated good of America crushed the universally understood evil of J*ps and Nazis,” Nugent said during a 30-minute speech to members of the Big Horn Basin Tea Party. “We couldn’t believe that that government that represented us in good over evil could turn on us. They’ve turned on us.” 

Nugent also accused hunters in Colorado of allowing “bureaucrats” to limit their Second Amendment rights, and challenged members of his audience to each “fix” 100 people and get them to vote for conservatives. “If I hear another hunter tell me, ‘Man, I wish I could get my wife to support hunting,’ fix your wife,” Nugent said. “Fix her or replace her.”

Okay who calls people "Japs" these days?

And as for men "fixing" their wives or replacing them, well buddy that goes both ways.

Media Matters also reported this: 

Returning to his usual attacks on elected Democrats, Nugent called Attorney General Eric Holder a "racist" and a "felon," called for the arrest of Holder and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and said that Obama "doesn't have the credentials to drive my tour bus"

What was it that the editor-in-chief of Pollster USA said again?

That soon Nugent will be limited to gigs playing at NRA conventions and Fox News events?

Yeah well that day is certainly sped up by this kind of racist and sexist bullshit.  

Attorney General Eric Holder brushes off Sarah Palin's talk of impeachment. Quick somebody tell Facebook shit's about to go down. Update!

Courtesy of TPM:  

Attorney General Eric Holder brushed off Sarah Palin's call to impeach President Obama, taking a dig at the former Alaska governor's credentials. 

"She wasn't a particularly good vice presidential candidate. She's an even worse judge of who ought to be impeached and why," Holder said about Palin in an interview with ABC's "This Week" aired on Sunday.

Oh shit!

You just know Palin is screaming some incoherent tirade into a phone right now while throwing canned goods at every appliance she owns. 

Well she wanted to be noticed.

Update: Bill Krystal, the man who discovered Palin in the wilds of Juneau, is also among those who  are dismissing any talk of impeachment.

Courtesy of Mediaite: 

“No responsible elected official has called for impeachment,” Kristol said. “The Republican task is to elect a Republican Senate and elect a Republican president in 2016, not create a phony issue which allows Democrats to make Republicans look extreme.” 

“Nobody of responsibility, nobody in leadership, nobody of relevance has talked about impeachment,” (Ana) Navarro said. “The lawsuit is about constitutional powers and separation of powers. So can we stick to talking about what people who actually can make something happen say, as opposed to what what folks who want to make headlines say?”

Did you notice that nobody even bothered to mention Palin by name, before completely dismissing her as being irresponsible and of having no relevance?

Ouch!

The Right Wing misunderstands a statement by Attorney General Eric Holder and goes on the attack. When there is an anti-Obama administration dog pile, how could Sarah Palin resist throwing her bony body onto the top?

Here is the full post from Harlot Cheston's Facebook page:

Attorney General Eric Holder thinks government should force gun owners to wear special “identifying” bracelets? 

Hey Eric, these are my identifying bracelets: 
One honors our military; 
One honors independent Americans who have a healthy distrust of Washington's permanent political class and who will fight against elitists hell-bent on fundamentally transforming the USA; 
And one celebrates the year 1791 – that glorious year our Bill of Rights came to be, with the cross and bones symbol representing our Founders’ "Death to Tyranny" commitment, and on each side you'll see symbols of my faith. Complete with Swarovski crystals, I might add. 

Eric, you can replace my identifying bracelets with your government marker when you pry them off my cold, dead wrists. 

And, Eric, "You don't want to go there, buddy." 

- Sarah Palin

First off let me say that I think those "cold, dead wrists" are part of the reason that the Toad doesn't let her near his two tone tiny feller anymore.

Second Eric Holder NEVER said that gun owners should wear "identifying bracelets."

What he said, as explained in this article is the following: 

Only Holder never spoke about any "gun tracking bracelets." Instead, he talked about ideas for gun safety technology including finger print identification and a bracelet that "talks to" a gun, to allow use only by the lawful owner. 

In other words he was exploring various options for how to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, part of which was to render the weapon inoperable if it was not in the possession of its rightful owner.

Many fatal shootings occur when a gun is picked up by a child, or stolen from a home, or wrested away from its owner during a violent confrontation.

Technology like a bracelet that must be worn to activate the firing mechanism, or fingerprint recognition software, would dramatically alleviate that problem.

It is an intelligent solution to a difficult problem.

Of course the still existing problem is that it requires intelligence to understand it.

P.S. That last little dig in her diatribe, is from this confrontation between Eric Holder and batshit crazy Louis Gohmert.

In Gohmert's defense it really IS frustrating when people cast aspersions on my asparagus as well.

The Federal Government to extend the same privileges enjoyed by heterosexual marriages to gay marriages. Let the Religious Right freakout begin.

Courtesy of The New York Times:  

The federal government will soon treat married same-sex couples the same as heterosexual couples when they file for bankruptcy, testify in court or visit family in prison. 

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was preparing to issue policies aimed at eliminating the distinction between same-sex and opposite-sex married couples in the federal criminal justice system, according to excerpts from a speech prepared for a Saturday event organized by a prominent gay-rights group. 

“In every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections and rights as opposite-sex marriages,” Mr. Holder’s prepared remarks said, according to the excerpts circulated by the Justice Department. 

The changes were set in motion last year when the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional to refuse federal benefits to married same-sex couples, a ruling that Mr. Holder supported.

Slowly, slowly move the wheels of change.

But move they do, despite the attempts of those who want preserve the old fashioned ideals of discrimination, homophobia, and religious intolerance to stop them.

Utah may be in quandary over same sex marriage, but the federal government recognizes as legitimate those that have already taken place.

Courtesy of New York Times:

The Obama administration on Friday said that it would recognize as lawful the marriages of 1,300 same-sex couples in Utah, even though the state government is refusing to do so. 

Wading into the fast-moving legal battle over same-sex marriage rights in one of America’s most socially conservative states, the administration posted a video on the Justice Department’s website making the announcement. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said that the federal government would grant federal marriage benefits to the same-sex couples who rushed to obtain marriage licenses after a federal judge last month unexpectedly struck down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage. 

“I am confirming today that, for purposes of federal law, these marriages will be recognized as lawful and considered eligible for all relevant federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages,” Mr. Holder said in the video. “These families should not be asked to endure uncertainty regarding their status as the litigation unfolds.”

Well that is good news for those who were concerned that their marriages may be in legal limbo until Utah gets its act together.

And once again let me say that Utah may be in the throes of some kind of inner turmoil, but ultimately we all know that they will, like every other state at some point in time, allow marriage equality in their state.

Progress may get interrupted, but ultimately it arrives, whether people are ready to accept it or not.

Here is an Edward Snowden Timeline which might give you pause.

Edward Snowden in Moscow Airports, sitting next to Sarah Harrison of Wikileaks

Courtesy of Joshua Foust:  

July 18, 2012: Wikileaks is reported to be nearing bankruptcy due to a freeze-out by banks. 

December 2012: Freedom of the Press Foundation, which has Glenn Greenwald and documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras on their board of directors, announces their launch with the explicit purpose of funneling money to Wikileaks. 

December 2012: According to Glenn Greenwald, Edward Snowden first emailed him, anonymously. In an interview with Harpers, Greenwald says he initially ignored the emails. 

January, 2013: Edward Snowden contacted documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, according to an interview in Salon. Poitras notes her familiarity with encryption methods thanks to her close contact with Wikileaks for a previous film, and her involvement with TOR developer and hacker Jacob Appelbaum (who was investigated for his ties to Wikileaks in 2011). 

February-May 2013: Snowden exchanges emails with Greenwald and Poitras, according to the Washington Post, but does not reveal his identity. 

March, 2013: Snowden takes “infrastructure analyst” job at Booz Allen Hamilton for the explicit purpose of stealing documents from the NSA, according to an interview he gave the South China Morning Post. 

April, 2013: Jacob Appelbaum goes on vacation in Hawaii, according to a June 25 talk he gave in Berlin (approximately 25:30 into the video). He does not report having any contact with Snowden. 

May 1, 2013: A real estate agent in Hawaii says Snowden and his girlfriend moved out of their house, but did not know where they went afterward. 

May, 2013: Poitras and Appelbaum conduct an interview via encrypted email with Snowden, asking detailed technical questions to ensure Snowden possessed the skills and knowledge he claimed. Appelbaum says in an interview in Der Spiegel that he did not know Snowden’s identity. Appelbaum does not release any further details about the content of the technical discussion. 

Early May, 2013: Snowden “indirectly” contacts Barton Gellman (the meaning of “indirectly” is unclear), who begins working on the PRISM story at the Washington Post. 

May 16, 2013: Snowden directly communicates with Gellman for the first time (the meanings of “direct” and “indirect” are unclear). 

May 20, 2013: Snowden flees Hawaii for Hong Kong, winding up in the Mira Hotel. 

May 24, 2013: Snowden tells Gellman of his desire to apply for asylum in Iceland, then asks Gellman to “publish — within 72 hours — the full text of a PowerPoint presentation describing PRISM.” When Gellman balks, Snowden apparently contacts Greenwald. 

June 6, 2013: The Guardian publishes the first in its ongoing cache of documents provided by Snowden. 

June 9, 2013: The Guardian reveals Edward Snowden as the source of the leaks and publishes the first of two video interviews with him. Snowden says of his leaking: “I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong.” 

June 10, 2013: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange praises Snowden as a hero from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. 

June 10, 2013: Snowden checks out of the Mira Hotel in Hong Kong, whereabouts unknown. 

June 19, 2013: Assange says Wikileaks is giving Snowden legal counsel and helping him “broker” asylum. 

June 22, 2013: A New York Times story included “a person familiar with the case” saying Snowden was staying at an apartment under Hong Kong police protection. It is removed within 24 hours.

 June 23, 2013: Snowden leaves for Moscow. The Wall Street Journal reports that Wikileaks advised Snowden to leave Hong Kong; fearing a loss of internet access, he does. A source tells the WSJ no Chinese officials were involved in his departure; a New York Times report disagrees. Izvestia, a state-owned Russian newspaper, writes that the Kremlin and its intelligence services collaborated with Wikileaks to help Snowden escape from Hong Kong (Wikileaks did not mention any official involvement in Snowden’s departure from Hong Kong in their press statements). 

June 28, 2013: The AP reports that the transit hotel where Snowden is staying costs $300 per night. 

July 4, 2013: Israel Shamir, a Wikileaks spokesman (Wikileaks denies this, but former Wikileaks employees insist he worked closely with Julian Assange. Shamir had earlier helped Belarussian dictator Alexandr Lukashenka oppress dissidents with Wikileaks data, and was placed in charge of editing Russian-language cables), praises Snowden to Zavtra, an anti-Semitic Russian-nationalist magazine edited by Alexander Prokhanov (whose own background of communism and anti-Semitism is worth noting). Shamir favorably compares Snowden to renowned British defector Kim Philby. 

July 9, 2013: Bernd Fix, a fundraiser for Wikileaks, says the group has gone from raising €2,000 a month in 2012 to €1,000 a day, still below the group’s high of €20,000 a month in 2010.

There's  more, a lot more, and all of it backed up with links, but you get the idea.

So the question, besides Snowden's motives, is WHO has been helping Snowden, and what are THEIR motives?

It also should be noted that Russia has not officially given Snowden asylum, and that Eric Holder issued a letter to Russia saying that if returned Snowden would not be executed, nor face torture.

Which may mean that he is in no way out of the woods yet. In fact the Russian woods may be much worse for him in the long run than anything he might face in the United States.

Sarah Palin once again tears the scabs off of old wounds and blames the McCain campaign for not allowing her to rip President Obama's jugular out back in 2008.Update!

Here is a preview of the lunacy that will pour out of Palin's mouth tonight on Greta's show:

"You saw what happened back in 2008, I believe that's when it started, when the media decided to just go along, to get along with Obama. Ingratiating themselves with him and vice versa. What we saw was uh..uh..these attempts to destroy the whistle blowers, those who were telling the truth even in the campaign, those who were bringing up the name Jeremiah Wright, and the racist church he leads, that Obama was a member of for over twenty years. Though I was...during the campaign...running for VP, I was banned from talking about Jeremiah Wright and Obama's friend Bill Ayers, who is the character he befriended, and kicked off his political campaign in the guy's living room. Couldn't talk about that, couldn't talk about Obama's lack of knowledge and um...job experience, and the things that he said like uh..America had fifty seven states, things like that. In a campaign, Greta this is important for Americans to understand. I was not allowed to talk about things like that because those 'elitists,' those who are the 'brainiacs' in the GOP machine running John McCain's campaign said at the time that the media would eat us alive if we brought up these things. So what did that get us though? That got us this...um..kind of complacency and self censoring of a campaign, where we were not allowed to tell the truth about who this candidate was, Barack Obama. What it got us was (Holds up the back of manila envelope with a list showing Benghazi, Fast and Furious, Solyndra, GSA, Holder perjury, IRS, and so on.) a list of these scandals. This is kind of the redneck version of one of those "elitist" tactics of Karl Rove. How he uses his whiteboard, This is the redneck version of a whiteboard. And on this lists the scandals that are destroying America Greta."

Holy shit!

Okay clearly somebody pissed in her cornflakes today!

So let's see, Palin was just like the whistle blowers of today back in 2008, the "elitists" would not let her win the campaign for McCain though of course she could have, and the so-called "scandals" being pimped by the Right Wing are "destroying America."

Did I forget anything? Oh yeah, BENGHAZI!!!! BENGHAZI!!!!BENGHAZI!!!!!

(P.S. If you think I am exaggerating, or need to hear it for yourself, just click the link at the top to watch the video.)

Update: Here is the entire interview. Might want to have a barf bag handy.

Attorney General Eric Holder moves to protect voting rights in Texas in wake of recent Supreme Court decision.

Courtesy of the AP:  

Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday the Justice Department is opening a new front in the battle for voting rights in response to a Supreme Court ruling that dealt a major setback to voter protections. 

In a speech to the Urban League in Philadelphia, the attorney general said the Justice Department is asking a federal court in San Antonio to require the state of Texas to obtain approval in advance before putting future voting changes in place. 

This requirement to obtain "pre-approval" from either the Justice Department or a federal court before making changes to voting laws is available when intentional voting discrimination is found. 

It is the department's first action to protect voting rights following the Supreme Court's decision on June 25, "but it will not be our last," Holder said in prepared remarks. 

"Even as Congress considers updates to the Voting Rights Act in light of the court's ruling, we plan, in the meantime, to fully utilize the law's remaining sections to ensure that the voting rights of all American citizens are protected." 

Holder said that based on evidence of intentional racial discrimination presented last year in the redistricting case in Texas, "we believe that the state of Texas should be required to go through a preclearance process whenever it changes its voting laws and practices." 

In Texas, there is a history of "pervasive voting-related discrimination against racial minorities," Holder added.

Gee, ya think?

Of course this kind of aggressive move by the AG is only going to inflame the Teabaggers who will proclaim big government interference and overreach.

But considering the fact that the Supreme Court has arbitrarily decided that racism is dead, and has overturned critical aspects of the Voting Rights Act, it is unclear what choice the administration has at this point.

I swear that it seems there are forces attempting to divide us along racial lines and move us closer to another civil war every day.

Attorney General gives Rep. Darell Issa a good bitch slapping, calling his conduct "unacceptable, and it’s shameful."

Here is the transcript provided by Politicususa:

Issa: Mr. Attorney General, our investigators have seen thirty four of the thirty five admitted emails that violate the Federal Records Act. They’ve only seen the to and from. They’ve not seen the deliberative contents, and they have not seen the remainder of the 1,200 emails. Mr. Cummings, my ranking member joined in a letter requesting that we have the full contents pursuant to our subpoena of all 1,200. Will make them available to the committee based on our bipartisan request? 

Holder: I will certainly look at the request. It’s not something that I have been personally been involved in, but I’ll look at the request and try to be as responsive as we can. I’m sure there must have been a good reason why the to and from parts were…. 

Issa: Yes, you didn’t want us to see the details. Mr. Attorney General, knowing the to and from… 

Holder: No, No. That’s what you do. I’m not going to stop talking now. You characterized as something those…of the people in the Justice Department. That is inappropriate and is too consistent with the way in which you conduct yourself as a member of Congress. It’s unacceptable, and it’s shameful.

I found that exchange especially satisfying and I think that Darrell Issa is an arrogant pretentious asshole, who has used his position as the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to attack the Obama administration non-stop.

Of course as entertaining as that was (And it really was!), it almost pales in comparison to the blow up between Holder and Texas Representative, and Elmer Fudd lookalike, Louie Gohmert, which culminated in Gohmert accusing Holder of "casting aspersions on my asparagus."

Which I believe is a hanging offense in Texas.

(Video courtesy of TPM.)

Happening now: Democrats walk out in reaction to Holder contempt charge. Update!

Attorney General Eric Holder

I am watching it now, as it happen on MSNBC.

Will update as more information comes in.

You can learn more about what a bullshit contempt charge this is by clicking here.

Update: Apparently the vote to hold the Attorney General in contempt passed, and that is why the Dems walked out.  Holder is the FIRST Attorney General to ever be held in contempt by Congress, and the only reason it received any support by some Blue Dog Democrats is because the NRA threatened to go after them and essentially place their reelections in jeopardy.

Cowards!

Update: Here is video of the Democrats after they walked out courtesy of MSNBC:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Truth about Fast and Furious. Update!

 Courtesy of Fortune:

Quite simply, there's a fundamental misconception at the heart of the Fast and Furious scandal. Nobody disputes that suspected straw purchasers under surveillance by the ATF repeatedly bought guns that eventually fell into criminal hands. Issa and others charge that the ATF intentionally allowed guns to walk as an operational tactic. But five law-enforcement agents directly involved in Fast and Furious tell Fortune that the ATF had no such tactic. They insist they never purposefully allowed guns to be illegally trafficked. Just the opposite: They say they seized weapons whenever they could but were hamstrung by prosecutors and weak laws, which stymied them at every turn. 

Indeed, a six-month Fortune investigation reveals that the public case alleging that Voth and his colleagues walked guns is replete with distortions, errors, partial truths, and even some outright lies. Fortune reviewed more than 2,000 pages of confidential ATF documents and interviewed 39 people, including seven law-enforcement agents with direct knowledge of the case. Several, including Voth, are speaking out for the first time. 

How Fast and Furious reached the headlines is a strange and unsettling saga, one that reveals a lot about politics and media today. It's a story that starts with a grudge, specifically Dodson's anger at Voth. After the terrible murder of agent Terry, Dodson made complaints that were then amplified, first by right-wing bloggers, then by CBS. Rep. Issa and other politicians then seized those elements to score points against the Obama administration, which, for its part, has capitulated in an apparent effort to avoid a rhetorical battle over gun control in the run-up to the presidential election. (A Justice Department spokesperson denies this and asserts that the department is not drawing conclusions until the inspector general's report is submitted.) 

"Republican senators are whipping up the country into a psychotic frenzy with these reports that are patently false," says Linda Wallace, a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation unit who was assigned to the Fast and Furious team (and recently retired from the IRS). A self-described gun-rights supporter, Wallace has not been criticized by Issa's committee. 

The ATF's accusers seem untroubled by evidence that the policy they have pilloried didn't actually exist. "It gets back to something basic for me," says Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). "Terry was murdered, and guns from this operation were found at his murder site." A spokesman for Issa denies that politics has played a role in the congressman's actions and says "multiple individuals across the Justice Department's component agencies share responsibility for the failure that occurred in Operation Fast and Furious." Issa's spokesman asserts that even if ATF agents followed prosecutors' directives, "the practice is nonetheless gun walking." Attorneys for Dodson declined to comment on the record. 

For its part, the ATF would not answer specific questions, citing ongoing investigations. But a spokesperson for the agency provided a written statement noting that the "ATF did not exercise proper oversight, planning or judgment in executing this case. We at ATF have accepted responsibility and have taken appropriate and decisive action to insure that these errors in oversight and judgment never occur again." The statement asserted that the "ATF has clarified its firearms transfer policy to focus on interdiction or early intervention to prevent the criminal acquisition, trafficking and misuse of firearms," and it cited changes in coordination and oversight at the ATF. 

Irony abounds when it comes to the Fast and Furious scandal. But the ultimate irony is this: Republicans who support the National Rifle Association and its attempts to weaken gun laws are lambasting ATF agents for not seizing enough weapons—ones that, in this case, prosecutors deemed to be legal.

 As has been mentioned numerous times before, by news agencies that are NOT Fox New, this is nothing more than a witch hunt, and yet another attempt by the rabid Right Wing to create a conspiracy out of virtual thin air in as they desperately try hang a scandal around the neck of President Obama, because in their black little hearts they just "know" that one must exist.

By the way I encourage you to read the entire article as it does an incredible job of revealing to what depths these Republican assholes will go to in order to smear this President.

Update: As usual Rachel Maddow has done an exemplary job of explaining this case in very simple  language.  If you want to understand this issue better then click here for further clarification.

Eric Holder suggests that terrorist suspect NOT be read their Miranda rights.

On Meet the Press this Sunday Attorney General Eric Holder made the following comments concerning whether a terrorist suspect should be read their Miranda rights in a timely manner.

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Honestly I am stunned that any Attorney General, who is NOT Alberto Gonzales, would even suggest such a thing! And I am not the only one that is disheartened by this news.

Donna Marsh O’Connor, spokesperson for September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, had this to say:

Last week law enforcement agencies including the FBI and the NYPD successfully aborted an attempt to kill Americans by following the rule of law. According to Attorney General Holder the suspect Faisal Shazad was apprehended, read his Miranda rights, and began to proffer information vital to US interests, continuing to speak to this day. There is already room in Miranda for postponing the reading of rights in the interests of public safety and this was, indeed, invoked. Surprisingly, in the face of this success, Holder now maintains that we should "revisit" Miranda laws for those apprehended for alleged terrorist activities. We urge caution and we invoke reason: we have laws that work to protect our citizens and our security. We should not proceed down a road that may become a slippery slope towards the curtailment of fundamental due process rights that have served this nation well.

My question is what happens when the federal prosecutors bring their suspect to trial and the judge tells them that ALL of the information that they got out of him before he was Mirandized is inadmissible?  What does America do then?  Do they simply lock him up with no conviction and send a message to the world that America is no longer a country governed by the rule of law?

How do we stand on our soapbox and preach to other nations about democracy then?

What is it Benjamin Franklin said again?

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.