New legal documents, to be filed next week with Germany's top prosecutor, will seek a criminal investigation and prosecution of Rumsfeld, along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA director George Tenet and other senior U.S. civilian and military officers, for their alleged roles in abuses committed at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

It's called war crimes, and it's the hole in the bottom of George Bush's leaky boat that I don't see any way for him to plug.

TIME.com: Exclusive: Charges Sought Against Rumsfeld Over Prison Abuse -- Page 1

I think James Baker and Dick Cheney should take Bush out to the woods around Camp David. After 24 hours in a sweat lodge, he should be given only a loin cloth, a hunting knife and a canteen of water. Bush should then set out to track and kill a black bear, after which he should eat its still beating heart so he can absorb its spirit.

I think Jonah had too much to drink (or smoke, or snort, or something) trying to not think about the GOP "thumpin."

The Corner on National Review Online

"The American people have spoken out against the president's agenda on a number of fronts, and presumably one of those fronts is on foreign policy," Mr Chafee said.

"And at this late stage in my term, I'm not going to endorse something the American people have spoken out against."

This is both good for the country and a brilliant move by Lincoln Chafee. By coming out like this, he solidifys his position as a centrist who will follow where the voters say to go. If he wants to run for Governor, he's lined himself up well.

BBC NEWS | Americas | US envoy to UN 'set to lose job'

Another benefit of voting for Democrats that was overlooked this campaign season: you vote Democratic and you get someone who can actually sing (and know the words to) the National Anthem.

Worth a listen. They're much better than a lot of the hacks who do this at the ballpark.

Crooks and Liars � Colbert Welcomes Newly Elected Representative John Hall

Sixteen years after falling from power, Daniel Ortega, the former Marxist revolutionary who battled US-backed rebel forces in Nicaragua throughout the 1980s, appeared to emerge victorious in Sunday's presidential election, according to preliminary results and quick counts by two of the country's respected observer groups.

Sandanista!

Ollie North went down there to campaign for the guy the Bushies supported. It seems the Nicaraguans have long memories.

Ortega appears set for Nicaragua's presidency | csmonitor.com

The war games looked at "worst case" and "most likely" scenarios after a war that removed then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power. Some are similar to what actually occurred after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003:

•"A change in regimes does not guarantee stability," the 1999 seminar briefings said. "A number of factors including aggressive neighbors, fragmentation along religious and/or ethnic lines, and chaos created by rival forces bidding for power could adversely affect regional stability."

“I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.”

Well George, you were about as right about Katrina then as you were right about Iraq in general. Why don't you do us all a favor, go back to Crawford, take your party of schmucks with you and let the adults try to clean up your mess.

1999 war games foresaw problems in Iraq - USATODAY.com

Investigations led by a Republican lawyer named Stuart W. Bowen Jr. in Iraq have sent American occupation officials to jail on bribery and conspiracy charges, exposed disastrously poor construction work by well-connected companies like Halliburton and Parsons, and discovered that the military did not properly track hundreds of thousands of weapons it shipped to Iraqi security forces.

And tucked away in a huge military authorization bill that President Bush signed two weeks ago is what some of Mr. Bowen’s supporters believe is his reward for repeatedly embarrassing the administration: a pink slip.

This isn't a war about "security" or "democracy" or anything else the White House has spewed forth as a rationale for it. It has become instead about how to bilk us out of everything we have and hand it over to someone else what wants more. My grandmother, having lived through the Depression, used to turn purple at the sound of the name Hoover. When everything about this administration finally comes out, George Bush is going to wish he were that well liked.

Congress Tells Auditor in Iraq to Close Office - New York Times

Agree? Disagree? Who cares, great commercial.

Brilliant at Breakfast

Early voting runs through Friday, November 3rd.
KFDM continues to get complaints from Jefferson County voters who say the electronic voting machines are not registering their votes correctly.
Friday night, KFDM reported about people who had cast straight Democratic ticket ballots, but the touch-screen machines indicated they had voted a straight Republican ticket.

Gee, didn't see that coming...

KFDM-TV Channel Six News

Congressman Markey,

While I'm not one of your constituents, your statements and actions often have an impact that reaches beyond your district. Yesterday you were quoted in several news media outlets as having called for the arrest of Christopher Soghoian, a PHD candidate at the University of Indiana Bloomington, because he created a web page that generates phoney airline boarding passes. As you are likely aware, your call was answered by the FBI who reportedly broke into Soghoian's house last night and seized all of his computer equipment.

I am a professional computer security researcher. I work for one of the worlds largest IT companies. My job involves finding vulnerabilities in software systems and getting them fixed. Responsible vendors are usually very responsive and willing to work with my team when we contact them with information about problems with their products. Through this process we are able to locate and repair vulnerabilities in IT infrastructure before the bad guys can find them and exploit them. However, there are always a few unsophisticated people who seek to shoot the messenger instead of dealing with the flaw.

Christopher Soghoian is one of the good guys. He is not a criminal and he is not enabling criminals. He did not create the vulnerability in the boarding pass screening process. This problem has existed for years, and it has been noted in other quarters, most recently by Sen. Chuck Schumer. However, the problem hasn't been fixed. Soghoian's website was intended to demonstrate how simple this is, and he has clearly and repeatedly stated that his intent in creating the site was to raise awareness about the problem so that it will be fixed. His website does not make this much easier than standard desktop publishing software available on anyone's personal computer.

Your call for his arrest, and the subsiquent events that have unfolded over the past 24 hours, have done serious harm to the national security of the United States. You could have simply contacted him, informed him of the legal problems that one could face for operating such a website, and discussed shutting it down. By choosing instead to prosecute him you are sending a message to security professionals in this country that if you observe a problem with national security policies or practices and make people aware of those problems in good faith so that they might be fixed, the government will treat you as an enemy and will prosecute you if possible. The inevitable result will be that people will hold their tongues, and problems will persist until they are discovered by someone who has malicious intent.

I strongly urge you to reconsider your position on this matter. The current course of action is not in the best interests of this country.

Respectfully,
Tom Cross

Congressman Markey also go a letter from myself. Christopher Soghoian is a whistleblower. Any number of people have already blown it but sometimes it takes loud and clear for that blow to sound. I have no dobt this will get Mr. Markey to add some substantial additions to his message, but I have serious doubts about the status of Mr. Christopher Soghoian.

God help him in a counntry where waterboarding has been given a green light.

My Letter to Ed Markey