Senators voting records on Hispanic issues

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The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda has awarded Senator Biden an award for his record in the Senate of supporting Latino's in legislation for their quest of the American dream. The NHLA compiled the legislative scorecard to inform Latino voters about the performance of federal legislators on issues of importance to Hispanic communities. Senator Biden’s perfect score of 100% durng this session reflects his ongoing commitment to addressing the needs of Latino families and his dedication to protecting communities.

I'm not a Latino, but I decided to look at the entire report for the 1st and 2nd session of the 108th Congress and the years 2001-2002 and those who may be Presidential candidates in 2008. Here's what I found as far as their scores:

The first % is scorecard from 108th Congress and the second % is from scorecard of 2000-2002

• John McCain (R) 67% 38%
• Sam Brownback (R) 50% 13%
• Elizabeth Dole (R) 33%
• Rick Santorum (R) 17% 13%
• George Allen (R) 17% 25%
• Bill Frist (R) 13% 33%

• Joe Biden (D) 100% 88%
• Hillary Clinton (D) 100% 88%
• John Kerry (D) 100% 81%
• J. Rockefeller (D) 100% 88%
• J. Lieberman (D) 100% 88%


They say people vote their interests only. I guess the vote by the Latino community for Bush in the last election must have had National Security as the main concern, as the voting record of Republicans is dismal on Latino matters. If you are interested in reading the report in its entirety, you may click here for 2001-2002 report card and here for 108th Congress scorecard.

Muslim Clerics and Scholars are speaking out

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I have been stating that in order to solve the terrorist problem we need more help from the Muslim scholars and clerics. I wish to publicize the help when I see it. Well, in my local area, Imam Mehdi Khorasani, who leads the Islamic Society of California's center in Fairfax California, located within Marin County, has organized a series of meeting recently to condemn the use of terrorism under any circumstances. According to our local paper, the Marin IJ, the meetings were held in conjunction with the 18-member Figh Council of North America decree that Muslims were barred from helping "any individual or group that is involved in any act of terrorism or violence." More excerpts are cited below.

"In the Figh Council's edict, called a fatwa, the scholars wrote, 'There is no justification in Islam for extremism or terrorism. Targeting civilians' life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is harem - or forbidden.'

...While the Muslim world does not look to America as a center of Islamic thinking, U.S. Muslims wanted to send a message about their faith. Muslim leaders lament that their repeated condemnations of terrorism since 9/11 /01 attacks have been ignored."

Well I hope that many more bloggers will look in their communities fro the voice of the Muslims that also denounce these acts of terrorism and post some excerpts if the media won't. My thanks to my local paper the Marin IJ, for doing so.

Well I hope that many more bloggers will look in their communities for the voice of the Muslims that also denounce these acts of terrorism and post some excerpts. My thanks to my local paper, the Marin IJ, for doing so.

Hats off to the Brits

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Difficult to do, but the Brits have done it. They have captured at least 3 and maybe 4, of the failed bombers. They did it with the help of extensive use of cameras placed all over the city of London. We need to do the same here and I encourage you to ask our government to consider doing it sooner rather than later.

They are setting a high bar for competence in the apprehension of these terrorists. Thanks to the Italians for there help in apprehending the 4th in Rome. Thanks to the Muslim community there for any help they provided to officials. The world is grateful.

Our Department of Homeland Security can learn a lot from the Brits but so can we. We need to embrace the use of hidden cameras everywhere and stop the ACLU from worrying about our rights. It is premature for the ACLU to be concerned at this point.

Goss, head of the CIA has said recently he knows exactly where Osama Bin Laden is. Well, maybe it's time to outsource the job to the Brits to find him. We've had plenty of time and have been unsuccessful.

Biden: Did Bolton testify on the CIA leak to the Grand Jury?

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Senator Biden again shows why he is a man to reckon with. Yesterday he sent a letter to Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, requesting information as to whether Bolton has testified before a Grand Jury in the investigation of the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame. The heat gets back on the Bolton nomination again and the timing couldn't be more perfect, as the Senate is poised for their recess and the President contemplates making a recess appointment of Bolton. The escape hatch for Bolton may be that his testimony to the Grand Jury came well AFTER his testimony before the Senate. He testified before the Senate in March and the Special Prosecutor. Fitzpatrick, might not have asked for Bolton's testimony until May or June, which would imply that Bolton did nothing wrong at the time of his testimony before the Senate as he had not yet been asked to testify. The questions for Bolton may come down to the usual ones: What did he know and When did he know it?

This should be an interesting story to watch over the next few weeks.

To read Senator Biden's actual letter click

here.

Grounded Shuttles. Now what?

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Today NASA grounded future shuttle flights because of tile damage during takeoff. These tiles become loose when struck by debris during launch.

Since I mentioned I had worked on Apollo and the Heat Shield development, I have not been surprised by this discovery. These tiles are the shape of small squares and not very thick by comparison to what was used during Apollo. If you have ever visited the Smithsonian Institute's Space and Missile exhibit, you could see that during Apollo the Heat Shield was more than 12 inches thick, made of special materials, resins, etc. and infused into honeycomb lattice with injection molding techniques. We never worried if the Heat Shield was going to fall off in pieces, and it is obvious that they came back in excellent shape as can be seen today at the exhibit.

Engineers may have to go back to the drawing board on this one. They may also need to go forward with their plans for a future space craft more actively and bring in a new craft in the 2010-2012 timeframe.

They should be able to repair any damaged tiles in Space if they need to. But considering the cost of this program and investment, there is a limited time for experiments to be conducted and any time spent on repairs takes time away from the mission.

This is a setback.

Great reporting from Iraq on a disillusioned Jihadist

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Great reporting on the front lines in Iraq by Michael Yon, author of "Danger Close", who reports about a Libyan jihadist who crossed the border from Syria into Iraq to fight against America and was disillusioned. Worth reading. Here's an excerpt:

" The Libyan, like so many "jihadists" who come to Iraq itching for action in the holy war, found himself treated as expendable bomb casing. He started confessing everything. In fact, he had no sooner sat down at the table in the detention facility here on base than he had filled three pages with his detailed handwritten confessions. He had crossed the border from Syria into Iraq on foot, intent on fighting a holy war, as an infantryman engaged in direct combat with American soldiers. He did not want to be a martyr, merely a jihadist. He did not want to die in Iraq. His Iraqis "hosts" had threatened to kill him if he refused to wear and detonate the explosive vest while mingling into a crowd of Iraqi police. But the Libyan did not like that plan and now was angry at the Iraqis who were trying to force a holy jihadist to become an unwilling bomb, and he was telling everything. Another cascade."

Visit Michael's Blog here.

Discovery crew, we are proud!

> Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
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Congratulations to NASA on a successful launch this morning. Having worked in the 60's on the development of the Heat Shield for the Apollo space program, I still get goose bumps watching a successful launch. As I said on a comment on Chargingrino blogspot this morning, it is the face of America we are most proud of showing to the rest of the world. It makes us all uplifted by the challenge and success of the mission, as President Kennedy knew it would. Those were the days where we're all just proud of the competence of those that shared the risks and rewards of a successful Moon landing. And today I feel proud and thrilled that NASA has had a successful launch. The new director of NASA, Michael Griffin, who has only been in his job since March, and the previous leader, Sean O'Keefe, are to be commended.

Now let's have a successful mission and safe return. God speed.

The Media: Most get no respect because they don't deserve it!

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I watched many of the Sunday talk shows today and came away with the following thought. The media has become more irrelevant and that's sad. They aren't questioning our governemnt officials and this President with the same intensity they did years ago during the Watergate scandal. They give a token effort in challenging positions taken, strategies embarked upon that have proven to be faulty, any words uttered by any member of the governing party loyal is asked politely a soft ball with little challenge of their response to the question. And to tell you the truth, I am getting quite sick of it. The lies we hear from government officials are obvious, as anyone conscious knows and yet very few media reps or TV show hosts call them on it to make it stick. The Republicans did a much better job of it when Clinton was President and invited the questioning when he said, "Well, it depends on what the meaning of the word 'Is' is." I saw glimpses of truth when Scott McClellan, White House Press Secretary, was put on the spot by the likes of TV reporter David Gregory when he kept asking about Rove and Scott's statement back in time when he said he spoke to Rove and he wasn't involved.

It doesn't make sense that Novak is free and Miller is in jail. In this one case, I wish Miller revealed her source to the media, so we could get clearer, as to what really happened. But I can understand her reasons for not divulging sources. I've come to the conclusion that the media is afraid of this Bush Administration. It's the only explanation of why there's a free pass on most things. The media started swallowing the bait back in 2000 and now that the hook is set so deep in, it's hard to spit it out. I'm afraid it's now up to the bloggers to keep speaking whatever truth you experience and whether anyone is listening or not. I am against "Renditions" by our government in secret, which I feel is wrong and not befitting a great democracy. I don't like my government lying to us, as if we can't handle the truth. I don't like the manipulation, deception and righteousness in the name of all of us, by our leaders. We need a nation to come together again, as it once was and can be again. But now we need the help of the media (until Blogging becomes the only source people rely on to keep the media straight). Bloggers, keep calling the media when they aren't.

Tom Friedman wrote a good piece asking more Moderate Muslims to be more engaged. That a way Tom, finally some ideas.

There is some peace in speaking one's truth.

Profiling Terrorists: The cart before the horse?

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Lots of conversation on profiling of terrorists and concerns by some groups, like the ACLU, on racial profiling. I personally think it is a bit premature to be putting this topic front and center. We better start considering how, as a government, we engage in a constructive dialogue with moderate Muslim clerics and leaders of the Muslim community, here and abroad. I can tell you why we haven't done this and may never do it. It's because, as a government, we don't want to hear what they have to say. Why don't we want to hear what they have to say? Because we know they will say our policies have got to be changed. And this Administration has no interest in being proven wrong about Iraq. It's that simple. There are too many dots that are easily connected to come to this conclusion, for even the most uneducated of us. And my concern is that, even with another Administration in 2008, whether Republican or Democratic, we won't change. That's what this is all about. We all need to start speaking up and letting those who consider elected offices, especially the House and Senate, know they need to heed our collective voices. Yes we will have to deal with prevention of attacks here. And yes, we must be ruthless in our prevention tactics. But we need new strategies for prevention and new strategies for engagement with the Muslim community at least here and hopefully abroad. The Brits and the rest of Europe especially need to do this, because their Muslim community is not as integrated and many feel disenfranchised.

Distinctions: Suicide bombers and Radical Clerics

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We need to make distinctions in our approach to solving our problem of terrorism in the world. Yes we have a problem with suicide bombers who are willing to die to scare us and harm us across the globe. We have been reacting to the terrorists. Even this morning several major cities including New York and Boston, new security measures are being implemented in their Mass Transit systems as a reaction to the bombings and attempted bombings yesterday in London. It appears the only strategy we have as a country is one of reacting to it. Another alternative is being proactive and taking actions before we see new examples of places terrorists attack. An example is that so much attention has been given in the media to protecting Chemical Plants and our sea ports with all the containers coming into the U.S., and yet, not much has been done. Do we need an attack to take actions? The 9/11 Commission outlined many actions that should be taken and so far, many recommendations are falling on deaf ears, especially within the Bush Administration.

Getting back to distinctions: We must develop proactive strategies to engage moderate and even radical Muslim clerics in a dialogue to search for solutions for the world to have more peace. I implore other bloggers to promote some reaching out to the Muslim community to engage in dialogue and discussions to stop this cancer before there is no turning back.

Judge John Roberts nomination- confirm or deny?

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Being a centrist, I do have an opinion on this nomination of Judge John Roberts. The President deserves to have this candidate as a Supreme Court Judge. He won the last election. Those that object and didn't vote in November of 2004, be quiet and reflect on why you didn't vote. This is the consequence of that choice. Maybe if we have more consequences that upset folks, voting will become more important to more people. Now is not the time to complain. You had your chance to voice your concern then. It was clear during the election that the next Supreme Court nominations that would affect us all, would be made by the next President. So the people have spoken, at least those that voted. You'll get a chance to vote again in 2006 and again in 2008. So in the mean time take responsibility for your efforts in 2004 and the result of that effort. Find and support more centrist candidates that will be elected from all political parties in the meantime. It's your country so take some accountability for the outcomes, especially the ones you don't like, and see how you can be more involved in positive change. If you don't want to get involved and rather complain, go watch TV.

Terrorism and Suicide bombers

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As many may know, I have asked for creative ideas to stop terrorism. I don't want to blame people for them, I don't want to talk about who is right and who is wrong. I just want creative solutions. So I watched a program discussion on suicide bombers. It was a discussion on Tucker Carlson's MSNBC show with guest author Robert Pape who recently wrote "Dying to Win" on apparent motives of suicide bombers. Here's a sample of the dialogue: "Over 95 percent of all suicide terrorist attacks around the world since 1980 have in common not religion, but a clear strategic purpose, to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their homeland or prize greatly."

..."We have advisers in over 100 countries. But if you look around the world and you try identifying where we have combat troops stationed, that is, large combat troops, tanks, fighter aircraft, you’ll see that they’re heavily concentrated in the Persian Gulf. And I’m not saying that foreign occupation is the only condition. That’s a necessary condition."

For a full transcript on the show go to: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8572027/

Now the obvious non creative solution: Withdraw all of our forces in the Middle east, especially Iraq and Afghanistan, and any remaining in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Quater and other neighboring countries. Not going to happen in my lifetime or yours, is it? So here we are. Are there any creative suggestions from my readers?

Do we understand the Muslim world? Nope!

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On MSNBC Connected show today were guests, Dr. Azzam Tamini, and Abrahim Cooper. I thought the best part of the program and most interesting statements came from Dr. Tamini (to paraphrase him) when he said, we do not understand the Muslim world, how since 9/11 they have denounced terrorist attacks in the name of Islam and what the Qur'an states on the matter of violence. I would agree with Dr. Tamini. What is truly needed here is a world conference of Islamic leaders, scholars and clerics that would be televised in part, but accessible by transcripts, of topics of interest to non-Muslim people. There could be a Q & A session where questions were asked of panelists. It is time to take our heads out of the sand and stop pretending like we know what "they" think and stop acting like we know best for the world. Ignorance is part of the problem and education is part of the solution. It's not the only part of the solution for making a commitment to being responsible to learn something about this, is another part. I will look for transcripts on Monday and see if I can provide a more accurate accounting of the program.

I found a web site which has a lot on the topic for those who want to start. See IslamOnline.net by going to
http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/Violence/index.shtml

I found the site quite informative.

Military investigator testifies Rumsfeld approved coercive techniques

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Air Force Lt. Gen. Randall M. Schmidt testified before the Senate today regarding his investigation of the interrogation of Mohamed al-Kahtani, the confessed 5th hijacker that didn't make United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed into Pennsylvania. Schmidt tesified before the Senate Armed Services Committee today in the first public airing of Schmidt's probe into FBI complaints and the first in which U.S. officials discussed the results of Kahtani's interrogation. Schmidt said the interrogation conformed broadly to methods specified in the Army's 1987 interrogation manual or to more coercive techniques later approved by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. Still, he concluded that Kahtani was subjected to "abusive and degrading treatment" because of "the cumulative effect of creative, persistent and lengthy interrogations" and recommended that Major Gen. Geoffrey Miller, deputy commander for detainee operations in Iraq, be reprimanded.

Wait a minute here. Is it just me or shouldn't Rumsfeld be the one at least reprimanded? Finally someone in the Military has named Rumsfeld. But what is the media covering today? The Karl Rove story for one thing, with former Ambassador, Joe Wilson, on several news shows. And that story is pure speculation because we don't know what the Grand Jury has heard. The other story taking much news today is the Space Shuttle cancelled liftoff for technical reasons. (Shouldn't they label it Space Odessey? A Shuttle is something that flies all the time. This one hasn't flown much as was expecterd.) But back on point, where is the media on this story? Come on guys, get with it! This testimony is the kindest the Military could be, as I am sure they tried as much positive spin as allowable. But finally someone has had the courage to name Rumsfeld in testimony. Whew, one step at a time I guess is all we can hope for.

Karl Rove: Watch for the Clintonesque move.

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I said this on July 3rd but thought based upon today's events I should repeat it for those who hadn't seen it back then. Here it is:

Regarding Karl Rove, "sources involved previously told CNN that while Rove acknowledged talking to reporters about the issue, he said he never knowingly disclosed classified information." If this is something to be believed, does that mean that Karl is pulling a Bill Clinton when he says, "never knowingly disclosed classified information?" Studying the phrase leads to many questions on my part. Does it mean he may have disclosed the information but he didn't know it was classified, or does it mean he thought it was already disclosed and therefore couldn't be classified, or does it mean he disclosed it but was unaware of what he was doing? I need an expert here to decipher the possible meaning. Is Bill available?"

Watch this twist in meaning over the next few weeks. Oh and congrats to the CNN reporter who put Scott McClellan. on the hot seat today. It's about time!

Terrorism: "It needs a Muslim solution", by Tom Friedman

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On Friday morning I had written a posting titled, "What to do about terrorists?" where I said basically that this problem must be resolved by the Muslim community. Little did I know that Thomas Friedman of the NY Times wrote an OpEd piece titled, "If it's a Muslim problem, it needs a Muslim solution." I am thrilled he wrote the article, but it doesn't go far enough to call on the Muslim community to step up to the plate, as I did. Yes, he sees the problem for Muslims coming from the fallout of these attacks. But to wonder where the condemnation by clerics of the fatwa that was pronounced for Salman Rushdie, is distracting. Tom, you need to write clearer and provide some solutions to engage the Muslim community in serious commitment and accountability before it is too late. We need more ideas to bridge the divide and gain a more active involvement

What to do about terrorists?

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I had a thought yesterday about what to do about this problem of terrorism. If this continues, as it is suspected of doing so, it will have the effect of alienating the Muslim community away from the rest of the world. It seems to me this problem could be solved and must be solved within the Muslim community of people. It is in their interest to solve this problem, as it is for the rest of the world. Innocent lives taken have no cultural or ethnic boundaries.

On several British Blogs this morning it is reported that the train stations lie within heavily populated Muslim communities (Lebanese and Bangladesh communities). This has generated many comments about the message from the terrorists. Were they sending a message to moderate, wealthy Muslims there? Or were those stations picked, as they were within the Muslim community and easy access? Many questions need to be answered.

The Muslim community has helped since 9/11 here in the U.S., but a much more intensive commitment from them for assistance is now required. These terrorists live in the community of people where they blend in culturally. They probably attend mosques and are known within these communities. The world needs to enlist the real help and commitment of the Muslim world not to have their religion hijacked any more by these radicals. Otherwise the world will have no peace and security.

It is equally important for the Arab world to create opportunity for their people to live meaningful lives with opportunity for people to express their views to government leaders without fear of reprisal for their comments. And policies, which disenfranchise their populations to the benefit of a few of the powerful, must stop. The rest of the world community needs to provide incentives for the powerful leaders to consider changing their policies to the benefit of their people.

This may sound idealistic and not possible. But we must all work to creating new solution paths to solve these challenging problems, or there will be no more "peace on earth, good will towards man".

Now how about some other ideas from out there in Blog land in how to solve this problem.

London Blast- reflections

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The tragedy in London today reminds me of the fragility of life. It is indeed ironic that the British, who are the our strongest ally in Iraq and Afghanistan, and have also taken a leadership position in trying to eradicate poverty in Africa, have suffered a terrorist attack on their soil by many who also feel disenfranchised in this world. It is obvious the world has its share of angry people today that are trying to be heard. Please join me in praying today for peace in all the lives of those who suffer. This is the long struggle of mankind. Not much more to contemplate today.

Summary of Mini Poll on Bolton Nomination

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I decided to close the Mini Poll on the Bolton nomination for US Ambassador to the United Nations. Here are the results:

The question asked: How would you rate John Bolton for UN Ambassador?

Excellent to Good 21%
Poor to Terrible 72%
No Opinion 7%

Poll size 46 votes (hardly statistically significant).

Thanks for participating, if you did.

Reasons U.S. gets itself it trouble around the world.

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Before I get into the issues, I would like to put my remarks in context. First the scene: Imagine walking down a street in your town here in the US and you see a man and a woman engaged in a verbal fight that may turn into violence from the man hitting the woman. You decide to get involved and go over and try to stop the man from hitting her. Then as you get involved, the woman turns in support of the man she is having a fight with and against you for interfering. And you are shocked that you are being yelled at by the woman. In another country this would be understood as part of their culture and they would not get involved. I am not deciding here what is right and what is wrong or making a moral statement. I just want to set a scene.

This scene is all too common and I'm sure you have seen this before. Well this scene plays out on the world scene every day and between countries. The U.S. has played the "Rescuer" role now for most of its existence, as it sees many countries as "Victims" of their brutal dictators "Persecutors". When we get involved as Rescuers to save the Victims, the Victims often turn on us, the Rescuers, and often Persecute us. This role switch confuses us and we feel Victimized by them and we pull back on our effort. This switching of roles by all the parties involved is also familiar and they have given a name to this psychological drama. It is called the Karpman Triangle. To read more on this go to: http://www.mental-health-today.com/articles/drama.htm

I raise this comparison because we, as Americans, are always wanting to rescue countries in the world for the many excuses we use like the following: The dictator has brutally killed his own people, the oil is of strategic importance to us, they may be building weapons of mass destruction, etc. etc. These reasons give our government the hype for the justification to get the population to support the endeavor. But understand that we are clearly involved in a game of psychological drama with no good outcome for any of the involved parties. When we take these positions, we are coconspirators in the design and acting out of the scenes. The payoff for us is to always feel victimized. We did this in Vietnam and we are doing it again in Iraq. We are speaking of doing this with the rest of the Middle East (to bring them freedom). And we have indirectly created Osama Bin Laden, I'm sorry to say. These dramas play out over many years and are not seen by most of us. It allows us to see the rest of the world as less than us, since we are now the super power (above everyone else psychologically and physically in the world and we claim morally as well). Globalization in some ways contributes to this as well. I do not understand enough yet to comment on this but will study it further.

There is only one way to stop these psychological games from being played out. That lies in not playing the games in the first place. We must stop trying to rescue the whole world. We must allow others to develop at their pace not our pace. We must only offer help when it is asked for and not give it freely when the help has not been asked for.

We have a chance right now to do it right. The G8 are meeting and Tony Blair of Great Britain has asked the US to help wipe out hunger in Africa. The Africans have asked for help from the G8. Blair has asked the G8 to forgive all debt, which is being done. But the US is not contributing enough to this effort. We claim we have given enough and that some money previously given went into the hand and coffers of some brutal dictators. Even though there have been some new ways to guarantee the money goes to the people and there are incentives given to countries who accept the conditions, we still haven't stepped up to the plate. Would we rather spend the money we spend on wars or peace. That is the fundamental question of our time. The now defunct Roman Empire chose war. Let us not make the same choice.

The benefits of making a change is that we will start to engage the rest of the world as equals and learn something from others to help our development as a nation. We are only a few hundred years old and yet we think we know what is best for everyone. How about we figure out what is best for our own people first. I'll give some ideas. How about healthcare for everyone, a job for everyone, a clean environment for everyone by participating in an effort to stop Global warming that 140 nations have signed up to do but we won't.

The future is in your hands if you are willing to create a new one. Change happens one mindset at a time. Where's yours? My mindset is focused in creating ideas, suggested solutions and actions to solve problems and by helping others to understand they can and do make a difference by their choices daily. And also I hope I can be clear in what I write and speak and honest in what I do, daily.

America vs. the World? Arrogance or Peace?

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I have decided to make this special posting because of the importance to me of this topic. Please take the time to read the entire posting below for the Post comments under Bush's Speech- Justifying the war or securing the peace? It will help better understand the totallity and context of Iraqigirl's comments. Thank you.

Iraqigirl added this comment today (selected segments taken):

And I would like to say “Happy Fourth” what ever that means to you. Not that I care or believe in its core issues but I just want to show my respect for those who deserve it and who I believe would return it back when needed.

Salemi, apology accepted. Thank you for not being stubborn. Well I don’t have much to say because everything is said. Charles has put it sooo….. Clearly “The problem is that we the United States think we know what is best for them” Yes this is totally what I wanted to say.

You guys should fight this arrogance your government is showing all over the world because this very thing would be the foundation for your destruction. It is innate behavior of any nation to fight back when there is so much disgracing intrusion by an outsider. I can guess how long it would take for every one of American’s to realize this because they believe (or made to believe) that they can do any thing because they are the super powers. Any ways there is never better way to listen to others comment and try to understand their points of view.

Peace

Thanks Iraqigirl. I wish you peace and good health.

The 4th of July here in America we celebrate the fact that many years ago we had fought for our freedom and won against the British, who were a Colonial power at that time, so that today we are free to express our views, like on this Blog and in public without fear of harm from those in power. Today you too can write on my Blog without fear, I hope and pray, but we know that many in the world do not have this freedom. Today I pray for them and for their deliverance through peaceful means.

Karl Rove: It depends on what the meaning of "knowingly" is!

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I was reading a report on Karl Rove's apparent testimony to a Grand Jury over the media outing of Valerie Plame, as a CIA operative. What's wrong with most of this story is that we can't believe anyone. First of all, Grand Jury testimony is supposed to be confidential and disclosing testimony is a serious breach of the law. So who is leaking this? Secondly, reporter Bob Novak who appears often on CNN, was the reporter who printed the information in his newspaper column and he is free and not under any investigation. Go figure.

And lastly to quote this from CNN's page on the story today, "Rove has testified at least twice as part of the inquiry, but sources involved previously told CNN that while Rove acknowledged talking to reporters about the issue, he said he never knowingly disclosed classified information." If this is something to be believed, does that mean that Karl is pulling a Bill Clinton when he says, "never knowingly disclosed classified information?" Studying the phrase leads to many questions on my part. Does it mean he may have disclosed the information but he didn't know it was classified, or does it mean he thought it was already disclosed and therefore couldn't be classified, or does it mean he disclosed it but was unaware of what he was doing? I need an expert here to decipher the possible meaning. Is Bill available?