Abortion decline poses problems for Roberts foes
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Yahoo Chat Stuff

Abortion rates have been falling for 25 years. As the pro-abortion movement loses some its religious zeal, activists are finding less fuel with which to oppose the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Roberts.

As abortions fall, activism wanes
But the issue may be key for high court confirmation panels.

WASHINGTON - Abortion may flare up as the most emotional issue for senators and activists when confirmation hearings begin in September for President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, John Roberts. But statistically, it is becoming less and less of a factor for American women.

The national abortion rate has been declining for more than two decades. It is now at its lowest since 1974, the year after the court's Roe v. Wade decision overturned states' abortion bans by ruling that a woman's decision to terminate pregnancy through surgery is a matter of privacy protected by the Constitution.

Activists on both sides of the fight say abortion rights supporters have been less passionate about their beliefs in recent years than abortion opponents - perhaps partly because women who are now of peak childbearing age were born after Roe. Some may take legal abortion for granted. Others may be influenced by mothers, siblings or friends who had negative experiences with abortion, or who had regrets years later.

"It's a very different way that 20-and 30-year-olds are seeing this (nowadays)," said Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life of America, an anti-abortion group for which Roberts' wife, Jane Sullivan Roberts, serves as legal counsel. "It's not about criminalizing it. They just don't want to see it happen."

To an extent, abortion rights advocates agree.

"The major thing you're seeing is the increased intensity around prevention," said Celinda Lake, a Democratic strategist and pollster for NARAL Pro-Choice America. "People want to reduce the need for abortions."

But Lake said past court fights have shown that women who support abortion rights will snap to attention when they feel their right to choose is vulnerable. "People worry about things when they need to," she said.

Over the years, religious conservatives who believe life begins at conception have sought justices who would chip away at or throw out the Roe decision. While Roberts has given them nothing concrete to go on, some are hopeful he would tip a divided court in that direction.

Meanwhile, data released last month by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, reported that fewer than 21 of every 1,000 women between 15 and 44 had an abortion in 2002, the most recent year for which data was available. That compares with a rate of more than 29 per 1,000 at abortion's peak in the United States, in 1980 and 1981. If the trend continues, abortion could soon recede to its 1974 rate, about 19 per 1,000 per women of childbearing age.

A decline in the number of abortions has coincided with a number of trends. Over the past three decades, birth-control methods have become more widely available, socially acceptable and finely tuned, including longer-acting hormonal contraceptives, such as implants and patches.

In 1995, just 0.8 percent of women said they had used so-called emergency contraception such as the "morning-after pill," or a concentrated dose of birth-control pills, to increase the chance of blocking pregnancy after unprotected intercourse; by 2002, 4.2 percent of women said they had used emergency contraception.

Other trends coinciding with the decline in abortions include:

♣ More women attend college and pursue careers, achievements that researchers say correlate with lower rates of unintended pregnancy.

♣ The number of abortion providers has been declining, and providers are scarce in many areas of the country.

♣ Teen pregnancy is down, and the number of states that require parental notification for teen abortions is up. Abstinence programs in schools and involvement in organized religion are more prevalent in some parts of the country, since religious conservatism has found a greater voice over the past decade in Congress, and, more recently, the White House.

Some Democratic lawmakers, assessing last year's election losses, are urging their party to recast its image to attract more voters who are religious, and who are ambivalent about or opposed to abortion.

The overall decline in the abortion rate, however, obscures a socioeconomic dichotomy that could be politically telling as Democrats plot how strongly to press Roberts for his views.

While abortions have plummeted among wealthier women, they actually rose among poor women during the second half of the 1990s. This pattern played out as the U.S. economy flourished, and as welfare reform legislation ushered poor, single mothers out of the home and into generally low-paying work.

Comparing demographic subsets from 1994 and 2000, researchers found that the abortion rate among middle-and upper-income women dropped in those years, from 16 per 1,000 to 10 per 1,000. Poor women, who tend to vote less, turned more often to abortion - from 36 per 1,000 in 1994 to 44 per 1,000 in 2000.

Overall, Americans still strongly support the Roe decision, even if they wouldn't favor abortion for themselves or their sexual partners.

In a CBS News poll this month, 59 percent saw the ruling as a "good thing," while 32 percent felt it was a "bad thing." A Gallup poll in late June found 65 percent of respondents want the next Supreme Court justice to be someone who would uphold Roe, while 29 percent would want the justice to side with overturning it.

The only justice on the court at the time of Roe who is still seated is Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who has undergone treatment for thyroid cancer. The National Right to Life Committee, an anti-abortion group, has said the current court would uphold Roe 6-3. Under that assessment, even if Roberts, nominated to replace a retiring swing vote, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, were to favor striking down part or all of Roe, an additional change on the bench would be needed to undo the court's own landmark decision. But on narrower issues, including late-term procedures known as "partial-birth abortions" and parental notification cases, the court appears divided 5-4, and the legal interpretations of Roberts could be decisive.

Roberts took positions against the Roe decision and federally funded abortion services on behalf of his client when he worked for the federal government, under the administration of President Bush's father. But the nominee, who is Catholic, has not divulged his own feelings about the validity of Roe, whose legal reasoning is considered shaky by many scholars.

Roberts' supporters are advising him not to reveal more once the hearings begin after Labor Day.

"We talked about the abortion issue," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a lawyer, who sat down recently with Roberts to talk about the coming hearings. "He kind of said there's two camps when it comes to Roe v. Wade's legal reasoning," Graham said, "and he went through how each camp viewed the decision, but was adamant that it would not be proper or appropriate for him as a potential sitting judge to comment on fact patterns or to comment on how he might decide a particular issue in the future."

(Origional story requires registration)
The Sacramento Bee ~ Margaret Talev ** As abortions fall, activism wanes

Brit cops must remove shoes before terror raids
Mood:  silly
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Political Correctness gone awry. POLICE have been told they must show respect by taking their SHOES OFF before raiding the homes of Muslim terror suspects. It was one of 18 rules laid down in new guidelines for officers in Luton — a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism. How long until terrorists start lining their doorways with broken glass and nails?

Police to raid in socks

Sock it to them ... cops must remove shoes according to memo

POLICE have been told they must show respect by taking their SHOES OFF before raiding the homes of Muslim terror suspects.

It was one of 18 rules laid down in new guidelines for officers in Luton — a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism.

The Sun Online ~ Virginia Wheeler ** Police to raid in socks

Past Presidential Recess Appointments
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Yahoo Chat Stuff

A Look at Presidential Recess Appointments

♣ Presidents since George Washington have made appointments during congressional recesses to fill positions in the executive and judicial branches. Under the Constitution, the president can make temporary appointments while the Senate is in recess, without Senate approval. The appointment lasts through the end of the following one-year session of Congress.

Following are some of the more notable recess appointments:

♠ President Bush: 106 recess appointments, including Bolton, mostly to minor posts. Among them:

_Anthony J. Principi, chairman of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, April 2005. Bush used the recess to also appoint the panel's other eight members, circumventing a move by Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., to delay the base closings.

_William Pryor, 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, February 2004. The Alabama judge's re-nomination and Senate approval this June was part of a deal struck by centrist senators to avoid a judicial filibuster battle.

_Charles Pickering, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, January 2004. First nominated in 2001, he was blocked by Senate Democrats. He retired when his temporary appointment expired last December.

_Eugene Scalia, Labor Department solicitor, January 2002. Bush extended Scalia's term by naming him acting solicitor in November 2002, with the intent of re-nominating him before a GOP-controlled Senate. But Scalia, son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, resigned in January 2003.

_Otto Reich, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere, January 2002. The former Reagan White House aide left when his recess term expired the following November.

♠ President Clinton: 140 recess appointments over two terms. Among them:

_Former Sen. Wyche Fowler, D-Ga., ambassador to Saudi Arabia, August 1996. Put in the post two months after a bombing that killed 19 American soldiers stationed there, he received Senate confirmation in October 1997 and served until March 2001.

_Mickey Kantor, commerce secretary, April 1996. He replaced Ron Brown, who died in a plane crash, but left in January 1997 before his nomination went before the Senate.

_Roger Gregory, 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, December 2000. He was later re-nominated by Bush and confirmed by the Senate.

_Bill Lann Lee, assistant attorney general for civil rights, August 2000. Blocked by Senate Republicans, he was appointed acting assistant attorney general in 1997, then received the recess appointment to serve out Clinton's term.

_James Hormel, ambassador to Luxembourg, June 1999. A gay philanthropist whose nomination was blocked by Senate Republicans, he remained ambassador until near the end of Clinton's term.

♠ The first President Bush made 77 recess appointments over one term, and President Reagan made 243 over two terms.

Other recess appointments of note:

♠ President John F. Kennedy appointed Thurgood Marshall to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October 1961, getting around opposition from Southern senators. Their resistance had weakened by the following September, and the Senate approved him 54-16.

♠ President Dwight Eisenhower made three recess appointments to the Supreme Court: Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953) and Associate Justices William Brennan (1956) and Potter Stewart (1958). Each later received Senate confirmation.

♠ President George Washington appointed John Rutledge of South Carolina as chief justice during a 1795 recess. The Senate rejected the nomination and his appointment expired after he served one term.

Sources: AP archives; Congressional Research Service; Senate Historian's Office.

Washington Post ~ Associated Press ** A Look at Presidential Recess Appointments

Bush sends Bolton to UN... Dems pissing lava
Mood:  party time!
Topic: News

President Bush stands with John Bolton, left, as he announces Bolton's installation as United States ambassador to the United Nations Monday, Aug. 1, 2005 in Washington, D.C. Frustrated by Democrats, Bush sidestepped the Senate and installed Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations. \/

Bush Appoints Bolton As U.N. Ambassador

WASHINGTON - President Bush sidestepped the Senate and installed embattled nominee John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations on Monday, ending a five-month impasse with Democrats who accused Bolton of abusing subordinates and twisting intelligence to fit his conservative ideology.

"This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about UN reform," Bush said. He said Bolton had his complete confidence.

Bush put Bolton on the job in a recess appointment - an avenue available to the president when the Congress is in recess. Under the Constitution, a recess appointment during the lawmakers' August break would last until a newly elected Congress takes office in January 2007.

Bolton was to be sworn in later Monday and go immediately to U.N. headquarters in New York to begin work, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

President Bush, center, stands with John Bolton, left and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as he announces Bolton's installation as United States ambassador to the United Nations Monday, Aug. 1, 2005 in Washington, D.C. Frustrated by Democrats, Bush sidestepped the Senate and installed Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations. \/

Bolton joined Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the announcement ceremony and said he was honored and humbled by the president's appointment. "It will be a distinct privilege to be an advocate for America's values and interests at the U.N. and, in the words of the U.N. charter, to help maintain international peace and security," he said.

Bush said that Bolton's nomination had been supported by a majority of the Senate but that "because of partisan delaying tactics by a handful of senators, John was unfairly denied the up-or-down vote that he deserves."

Bush had refused to give up on Bolton even though the Senate had voted twice to sustain a filibuster against his nominee. Democrats and some Republicans had raised questions about Bolton's fitness for the job, particularly in view of his harsh criticism of the United Nations.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed Bolton's appointment and steered clear of the controversy over whether Bolton would be weakened by the recess appointment. "We look forward to working with him as I do with the other 190 ambassadors, and we will welcome him at a time when we are in the midst of major reform," Annan said. He said the manner of Bolton's appointment was Bush's prerogative.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Bolton was a "seriously flawed and weakened candidate." He charged that Bush "chose to stonewall the Senate" by using a recess appointment.

John Bolton appears before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill Monday, April 11, 2005, on his nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations. President Bush intends to announce next week that he is going around Congress to install embattled nominee John Bolton as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, senior administration officials said Friday, July 29, 2005. \/

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said, "The president did the right thing by sending Mr. Bolton to the U. N. He is a smart, principled and straightforward candidate, and will represent the president and America well on the world stage."

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., sharply criticized the move.

"It's a devious maneuver that evades the constitutional requirement of Senate consent and only further darkens the cloud over Mr. Bolton's credibility at the U.N," Kennedy said."

Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, a senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, "The president has done a real disservice to our nation by appointing an individual who lacks to the credibility to further U.S. interests at the United Nations."

Republican Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio also said he was disappointed.

"I am truly concerned that a recess appointment will only add to John Bolton's baggage and his lack of credibility with the United Nations," Voinovich said.

Bolton's appointment ends a five-month impasse between the administration and Senate Democrats.

The battle grabbed headlines last spring amid accusations that Bolton abused subordinates and twisted intelligence to shape his conservative ideology, and as White House and GOP leadership efforts to ram the nomination through the Senate fell short.

In recent weeks, it faded into the background as the Senate prepared to begin a nomination battle over John Roberts, the federal appeals judge that Bush chose to replace the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at the Supreme Court.

At Bolton's April confirmation hearing, Democrats raised additional questions about his demeanor and attitude toward lower-level government officials. Those questions came to dominate Bolton's confirmation battle, growing into numerous allegations that he had abused underlings or tried to browbeat intelligence analysts whose views differed from his own.

Despite lengthy investigations, it was never clear that Bolton did anything improper. Witnesses told the committee that Bolton lost his temper, tried to engineer the ouster of at least two intelligence analysts and otherwise threw his weight around. But Democrats were never able to establish that his actions crossed the line to out-and-out harassment or improper intimidation.

Separately, Democrats and the White House deadlocked over Bolton's acknowledged request for names of U.S officials whose communications were secretly picked up by the National Security Agency. Democrats said the material might show that Bolton conducted a witch hunt for analysts or others who disagreed with him.

The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee received a limited briefing on the contents of the messages Bolton saw, but were not told the names.

Democrats said that was not good enough, but later offered a compromise. After much back and forth, with the White House claiming Democrats had moved the goal posts, no other senator saw any of the material.

Last week, the administration telegraphed Bush's intention to put Bolton on the job.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the vacancy needed to be filled before the U.N. General Assembly's annual meeting in mid-September. Former Sen. John Danforth left the post in January.

In a letter released Friday, 35 Democratic senators and one independent, Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont, urged Bush not to give Bolton a recess appointment.

"There's just too much unanswered about Bolton, and I think the president would make a truly serious mistake if he makes a recess appointment," Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview.

My Way News ~ Associated Press - Terence Hunt ** Bush Appoints Bolton As U.N. Ambassador

Sandy Burglar Blasts Bush for Security Failure
Mood:  silly
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Sandy Berger Blasts Bush for Security Failure

Convicted 9/11 Commission document thief Sandy Berger is blasting the Bush administration for failing to bring security to Iraq after toppling Saddam Hussein.

As co-chair of a Council on Foreign Relations task force on the Iraq war, Berger and his colleagues are complaining that the U.S.'s failure to prepare for the period after the war had given "early impetus for the insurgency," according to quotes picked up by Reuters.

Despite pleading guilty in April to destroying top secret terrorism documents related to the 9/11 investigation, the former Clinton administration national security advisor was tapped to head up the CFR panel along with former Bush 41 National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft.

In a written report released last week, the Berger-Scowcroft panel concluded:

"The critical miscalculation of Iraq war-planning was that the stabilization and reconstruction mission would require no more forces than the invasion itself."

Berger and his colleagues cited the Bush administration's "inattention" and "misjudgments" as key reasons for the post-war security failure.

"Pre-war inattention to post-war requirements – or simply misjudgments about them – left the United States ill-equipped to address public security, governance and economic demands in the immediate aftermath of the conflict, seriously undermining key U.S. foreign policy goals."

Despite the seriousness of his crime, Justice Department prosecutors have recommended that Berger serve no jail time, and instead pay only a $10,000 fine and surrender his security clearance for three years.

His sentence is scheduled to be set by D.C. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson in September.

News Max.com ~ Carl Limbacher ** Sandy Berger Blasts Bush for Security Failure

Pelosi Backs Alcee Hastings (impeached and removed in 1989 for perjury and conspiracy to obstruct justice) for Intel Cmte.
Mood:  silly
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Nancy Pelosi Backs Alcee Hastings to Head Intel Committee

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi wants Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings, who was impeached as a federal judge in 1989, to be vice chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Time magazine's Joe Klein reported on Sunday.

"There's an ugly fight brewing in the House among Democrats about the House Intelligence Committee, which may have larger implications about the Democrats and national security," Klein told NBC's "Chris Matthews Show."

"Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader, wants to dump Jane Harman, the ranking Democrat who is a moderate, and replace her with Alcee Hastings," Klein said. Appointed to the bench by President Carter in 1979, Hastings was impeached and removed from office in 1989 on two counts, perjury and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

The Florida Democrat, an African-American, blamed "institutional racism" for the charges lodged against him.

Hastings was elected to the House in 1992.

News Max.com ~ Carl Limbacher ** Nancy Pelosi Backs Alcee Hastings to Head Intel Committee

Gore TV Launches
Mood:  silly
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

LOOKS LIKE CRAP

Al Gore Debuting TV for Web Generation

NEW YORK - Much of the talk around Al Gore's new Current TV network has been broadly philosophical, like the former vice president's statement that "we want to be the television home page for the Internet generation." With its debut Monday, Current TV will be judged by the same mundane standards as other networks — on whether its programming can hold a viewer's interest.

Gore and his fellow investors envision Current as a sounding board for young people, a step beyond traditional notions of interactivity. They want viewers to contribute much of the network's content now that quality video equipment is widely available.

Based on material previewed on its Web site, Current at first glance seems like a hipper, more irreverent version of traditional television newsmagazines.

Most of its programming will be in "pods," roughly two to seven minutes long, covering topics like jobs, technology, spirituality and current events. An Internet-like on-screen progress bar will show the pod's length.

Its short films include a profile of a hang glider and a piece on working in a fish market. One contributor talked about what it was like to have his phone number on a hacked Internet list of Paris Hilton's cell phone contacts, saying that dealing with curiosity seekers was like "hosting your own radio call-in show."

Every half-hour, Current promises a news update using data from Google on news stories most frequently searched for on the Web.

"We have no illusions about the fact that our product has to be compelling," said David Neuman, Current's programming director. "We also believe it has to be unique. Who wants to watch the seventh clone of a different network?"

Despite suspicions created by his former profession, Gore promises the network won't be advancing a political point of view.

"I think the reality of the network will speak for itself," he told reporters in Los Angeles two weeks ago. "It's not intended to be partisan in any way and not intended to be ideological."

Gore's name may help attract the curious, at least initially.

"People may not have heard of Current TV, but they will have heard that Al Gore has a television station," said J.D. Lasica, co-founder of Ourmedia.org and an expert on digital media.

Gore's team bought the former Newsworld International channel to ensure it has at least some initial distribution. About 20 million homes (out of about 110 million nationally) will get Current TV right away. Success depends on more than doubling that within a couple of years, said analyst Mark Mackenzie of Sanford Bernstein.

Former Vice President Al Gore, chairman of the board and co-founder of Current TV, an independent cable television network, takes questions from television critics during a preview presentation of Current at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., July 18, 2005. >>>>>

To do that, Current must successfully straddle the rapidly changing worlds of television and the Web.

"Current TV is important not for what it is today as for what it heralds tomorrow," Lasica said. "What is important about Current TV is that it's opening up the world a crack to Internet television becoming mainstream."

Current's relationships with cutting-edge content providers haven't been completely smooth.

The initial enthusiasm that Josh Wolf, a 23-year-old filmmaker from San Francisco, felt for Current has cooled. Last year Current said it was going to hire 200 video journalists and give them low-cost equipment. Some 2,000 people applied, but Current abandoned the plan, causing some bad blood, he said.

Neuman said Gore decided the approach wasn't democratic enough; if he truly wanted to open Current up to everyone, it didn't make sense to create an elite 200.

Current is also requiring its filmmakers to sign an agreement giving the network three months' exclusive use of material it has accepted for air. Leaders of the rapidly growing video blogging community have resisted, Wolf said. Those filmmakers most likely to fill Current's stable of independent contributors don't want to be told they can't use their best material on their own Web sites.

The network, which had initially sought six months' exclusivity but softened after the complaints surfaced, is trying to balance satisfying these potential contributors while being able to give viewers something they can't see anywhere else, Neuman said.

"We can't apologize for doing what we need to do to get this business off the ground," he said.

Only about 25 percent of Current's initial material is truly audience-generated; the rest has been done by staff members or solicited from professionals. That's disappointingly small to some people who bought into Current's utopian visions; Neuman said he expects more amateur contributions once the network is established.

Wolf remains interested in what Current is doing. It won't be his television home page, however — just one button he programs on his remote.

"I have this sense that Current is not really looking for content that does not go in line with what their advertisers and investors are interested in seeing," he said. "It's still television that you can zone off to."

Because America Online's widely praised coverage of the Live 8 concerts less than a month ago proved a landmark in the acceptance of Internet television, Current runs one risk it could not have anticipated: potentially becoming obsolete just as it's starting. Unlike television, the Internet allows consumers to hunt specifically for material it wants to see, and skip through it at their leisure, Mackenzie said.

But Lasica said lying on a couch still beats sitting at a desktop.

"Most people still want to watch television in the living room or the family room," he said, "and that's where Current TV has an advantage over any of the Internet startups."

Years of planning, of anticipating what its target audience wants, is now about to be tested on millions of screens. Current is set up to reflect how its operators believe young viewers experience TV, in short bursts with an eye always on what's next.

"We're not relying on what we think is cool or interesting or happening," Neuman said. "We're holding up a mirror to our audience. That, to me, is our insurance policy."

On the Net: Current TV

Yahoo News ~ Associated Press - David Bauder ** Al Gore Debuting TV for Web Generation

Helen Thomas anger after 'kill self' over Cheney comments published
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

HELEN THOMAS ANGRY AFTER 'KILL SELF' OVER CHENEY COMMENTS PUBLISHED

White House press doyenne Helen Thomas is plenty peeved at her longtime friend Albert Eisele, editor of THE HILL newspaper in Washington, D.C.

In a column this week headlined "Reporter: Cheney's Not Presidential Material," Eisele quoted Thomas as saying "The day Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself. All we need is one more liar."

Thomas also said: "I think he'd like to run, but it would be a sad day for the country if he does," according to Eisele's column.

But Thomas said yesterday at the White House that her comments to Eisele were for his ears only. "I'll never talk to a reporter again!" Thomas was overheard saying.

"We were just talking -- I was ranting -- and he wrote about it. That isn't right. We all say stuff we don't want printed," Thomas said.

But Eisele said that when he called Thomas, "I assume she knew that we were on the record."

"She's obviously very upset about it, but it was a small item -- until Drudge picked it up and broadcast it across the universe," Eisele said.

Still, he noted that reporters aren't that happy when the tables are turned. "Nobody has thinner skin than reporters," Eisele said with a laugh.

Drudge Report Exclusive ** Helen Thomas anger after 'kill self' over Cheney comments published

For years, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Betty B. Fletcher has been ILLEGALLY REGISTERED to vote in Seattle
Mood:  surprised
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Check Out This Illegal Voter

The past Governors election in Washington State pointed out several flaws in the state's system, one of which is the amount of illegal voters on the rolls. Well it seems that legal action has been taken against one of those illegal voters. It just so happens that this illegal voter has a day job on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

EFF files challenge to federal judge’s voter registration

(Olympia) – For years, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Betty B. Fletcher has been illegally registered to vote in Seattle. The Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) yesterday filed a challenge to her registration and that of her husband, Robert L. Fletcher. Under the law, King County elections officials must send notices of the registration challenge, calling for a hearing in ten days. The Fletchers have until three days before the hearing to reregister in person at the elections office.

The Fletchers claim their residence is the King County Administration Building and that their mailing address is 1010 5th Ave. in Seattle, which is an United States Courthouse Building. Providing false registration application information is a Class C felony.

"This is not a trivial matter," said Bob Edelman, election reform project manager at EFF who filed the complaints. "Apparently she registered with a false address for privacy reasons, but that is no excuse for breaking the law. She could have applied for address confidentiality, but she chose to ignore the law instead.

"What this also means is that the Fletchers have been casting illegal votes because their true residence is in a different legislative district," he said.

Judge Fletcher was appointed to the 9th Circuit by President Jimmy Carter in 1979.

"State law makes it clear that no registration application is complete unless it contains a valid residential address, and King County officials, as well as some other auditors, refuse to do their jobs by checking out the validity of applications," Edelman said. "This shows once again why we have to have a complete voter registration update here in Washington to correct the rolls after years of official neglect."

Evergreen Freedom Foundation ** EFF files challenge to federal judge’s voter registration

RELATED WASHINGTON STATE DEMOCRAP CORRUPTION...

A Washington State Supreme Court Justice ram a car while drunk in 2003. She tried to escape but her car was trapped and wouldn't move. But when caught she was real sorry. Did I mention she was a vocal Democrat prior to getting on the court? WA State has the market cornered in criminal judges and guess what, they're Democrats.

'I Know My Behavior Was Inexcusable'

SEATTLE - Washington Supreme Court Justice Bobbe Bridge was cited for drunken driving and hit and run after she reportedly ran her car into a parked vehicle Friday night.

Bridge allegedly ran into another vehicle around 9:15 p.m. Friday in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood, then tried to drive away, police said.

Blood tests reportedly showed Bridge's blood alcohol level to be 0.21 percent, nearly three times the state intoxication threshold of 0.08.

Bridge was elected to the state's high court in November after running unopposed.

On Sunday, Bridge released a statement through her attorney. It reads as follows:

On Friday evening I made an extremely poor decision and drove my car after having too much to drink. As a result I was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and failing to stop immediately after striking an unoccupied vehicle. I know my behavior was inexcusable. I apologize to the people of the State of Washington, to my fellow members of the State Supreme Court and to my family and friends. There are not words to describe how deeply remorseful I am. I thank God no one was hurt.

This incident has caused me to take a serious look at my use of alcohol. It is not an issue to be taken lightly, and I pledge to take every step necessary to address it. I am going to seek a professional alcohol evaluation and will diligently pursue any recommended treatment. The people of this State have a right to expect that their public officials will admit their errors and deal with the consequences with integrity and honesty. The events of Friday evening were my fault, and I accept full responsibility. No one is more disappointed in me than I am.

I have devoted my professional career and much of my personal life as well to serving the public. It has been a privilege to do so and I hope to continue to serve the people of our State on the Supreme Court for many years to come. I have always dealt with challenges in my life in a direct and forthright way. I will deal with this too as honestly and openly as I can. Again, I offer my deepest apology.

Thank you.

KOMO 4 News ~ ABC Seattle WA ** 'I Know My Behavior Was Inexcusable'

al-Qaeda websites are wiped out ~ Finger points to British intelligence
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: News

Finger points to British intelligence as al-Qaeda websites are wiped out

Over the past fortnight Israeli intelligence agents have noticed something distinctly odd happening on the internet. One by one, Al-Qaeda's affiliated websites have vanished until only a handful remain, write Uzi Mahnaimi and Alex Pell.

Someone has cut the line of communication between the spiritual leaders of international terrorism and their supporters. Since 9/11 the websites have been the main links to disseminate propaganda and information.

The Israelis detect the hand of British intelligence, determined to torpedo the websites after the London attacks of July 7.

The web has become the new battleground of terrorism, permitting a freedom of communication denied to such organisations as the IRA a couple of decades ago.

One global jihad site terminated recently was an inflammatory Pakistani site, www.mojihedun.com, in which a section entitled How to Strike a European City gave full technical instructions. Tens of similar sites, some offering detailed information on how to build and use biological weapons, have also been shut down. However, Islamic sites believed to be "moderate", remain.

One belongs to the London-based Syrian cleric Abu Basir al-Tartusi, whose www.abubaseer.bizland.com remained operative after he condemned the London bombings.

However, the scales remain weighted in favour of global jihad, the first virtual terror organisation. For all the vaunted spying advances such as tracking mobile phones and isolating key phrases in telephone conversations, experts believe current technologies actually play into the hands of those who would harm us.

"Modern technology puts most of the advantages in the hands of the terrorists. That is the bottom line," says Professor Michael Clarke, of King's College London, who is director of the International Policy Institute.

Government-sponsored monitoring systems, such as Echelon, can track vast amounts of data but have so far proved of minimal benefit in preventing, or even warning, of attacks. And such systems are vulnerable to manipulation: low-ranking volunteers in terrorist organisations can create background chatter that ties up resources and maintains a threshold of anxiety. There are many tricks of the trade that give terrorists secure digital communication and leave no trace on the host computer.

Ironically, the most readily available sources of accurate online information on bomb-making are the websites of the radical American militia. "I have not seen any Al-Qaeda manuals that look like genuine terrorist training," claims Clarke.

However, the sobering message of many security experts is that the terrorists are unlikely ever to lose a war waged with technology.

The Sunday Times - Britain ** Finger points to British intelligence as al-Qaeda websites are wiped out