Over the past 48 hours I have heard right wing commentator after right wing commentator, as well as just about every single news outlet in general wet their pants over the latest nationwide polling numbers which show John McCain ahead of Barack Obama. The glee in their voices, and contrived aloofness (“how can this be?”) promptly followed by over analyzing every aspect the shows time slot allows them to are both annoying and petty. Unfortunately for these so called “political experts” the polls they are clamoring over are flawed in more ways then just one.

So you may be asking yourself what is it that makes the latest polls, the ones showing McCain up by a handful of points invalid? And too that my answer is simple – the pollsters conducting these lopsided studies are simply sampling a larger republican population in a way that leaves the results numerically impossible to show anything less then a McCain lead.

Earlier today Seth Colter Walls published a piece over at the Huffington Post which sheds some light on the tampering going on in regards to the pollsters overall sampling sizes which of course hinges (in a macro sense) on ones Party Identification. The pollsters (for reasons unknown by myself) are flat out oversampling Republican voters, and in some cases, are doing so at an obnoxious rate. Walls explains this phenomenon in great detail, stating:

“In a year in which Democrats have a lead of 11 million registered voters over Republicans, and have been adding to that advantage through a robust field operation, are pollsters over-sampling Republicans?

Despite a raft of advantages in the electorate for Democrats, in September’s first Gallup tracking poll, an equal number of Republicans and Democrats were surveyed (including “leaners”) from Sept. 3-5, compared to a 10-point Democratic identification advantage two weeks ago. That partisan makeup of the polling pool resulted in a 5-point lead for McCain in Sept. 5 tracking poll. Meanwhile, the new CBS poll features a 6-point swing in partisan composition toward Republicans, which plays some role in the poll’s two-point lead for McCain. Finally, the latest USA Today poll, which claims a four-point edge for McCain, was arrived at after a 10-point swing in partisan makeup toward GOP respondents.”

This practice is not new to electoral politics, however it is arguably receiving more attention, or in this case scrutiny, due to the fact people can look into the raw data taken into account for whatever specific poll is in question. The reasons they do this are simple – to create a “close race” with the dramatic “ups and downs” which subsequently leads to a peaked interest in the weekly/daily numbers which then spikes the overall demand for their product – the polls:

Norman admitted that the GOP identification in the latest survey has spiked. “The party ID in our most recent poll does show a shift away from what Gallup has been getting in earlier polls, going all the way back to 2005,” Norman said. “But previous conventions — the Republican one in 1988, the Democratic one in 1992, the Democratic one in 2000 — have also shown shifts in party ID toward the party that had the convention, and those shifts seemed to last, to greater or lesser degrees, though the election. Further, I’ve been told by Gallup that their tracking poll has shown a similar shift in party ID since the Republican convention. … I guarantee you we will be watching closely in all of our polls between now and election day to see whether there are further shifts in party ID in either direction.”

Still not convinced? Well don’t just take my word on it, here is what Adam Abramowitz, a world renound political scientist who is currently a professor at Emory University has to say about the latest gaggle of polls we saw released over the past two days:

Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz is highly skeptical of the new Gallup, USA Today and CBS polls. About the latter, which showed a statistically insignificant two point lead for McCain, Abramowitz said: “One reason for the dramatic difference between the two recent CBS polls is that the two samples differed fairly dramatically in terms of partisan composition. The first sample was 35.2% Democratic, 26.2 percent Republicans, and 38.6 percent independent. The second sample was 34.9% Democratic, 31.1% Republican, and 34.0% independent. That’s a change from a 9 point Democratic advantage to a 3.8 point Democratic advantage. That alone would probably explain about half of the difference in candidate preferences between the two [CBS] polls.”

So with the argument laid out quite clearly, I think it is important that we look at a handful of other polls, which are being released by major publications. Granted they don’t offer the same “excitement” factor the other trumped up ones do, they seem nonetheless to be a tad more accurate – at least in the sense of their sampling ratios:

• American Research Group (ARG):

• Rasmussen Daily Tracking Poll:

• NBC/Wall Street Journal:

It is clear that John McCain has made up some ground in the polls, I am in no way refuting that. I am however pointing out that the grossly negligent numbers that showed McCain leading by as many as 10 points were in fact doctored to appear how they did.

So before you (and by you I am talking to the Republicans who have had a nonstop orgasm the past 2 days) go on with your gloating please take into account the fact that the polls in which you are bragging about simply overloaded the sampling with GOP voters.

Technorati Tags: barack obama, Battleground, Breaking news, Cbs Poll, doctoring the polls, ELECTION, Gallup Poll, joe biden, john mccain, John McCain ahead in polls, john mccain leads in the polls, new polls, new presidential polls, obama ahead in the polls, Politics News, Poll Madness Mccain Takes Lead, polls, President, Presidential Polls, Sarah Palin, unfair polls, USA Today Poll, Vote, ]

We are making a policy of giving credit when credit is due, and this will be implemented across the board – regardless of who, or what is causing a stir for the right reasons. With that we are going to go ahead and tip our hat to FOX NEWS Sunday’s Chris Wallace for his interview with McCain campaign manager Rick Davis on his program which aired yesterday. Wallace did what so many of his coworkers on FOX simply refuse to do — break from the usual “script” of coddling anything on the “right”, while lambasting without regard anything coming from the “left”.

In what Roger Ailes (Murdoch’s number one over at FOX) will undoubtedly take as an act of defiance, Wallace opened a relentless series of questions focusing on McCain’s latest attacks on Obama – the vast majority of which happen to be completely baseless, and downright inaccurate in their message.

Needless to say Wallace exhibited that he does in fact have the traits of a first class journalist, and here is the video accompanied by partial transcript to prove it:

“this morning Chris Wallace called out the McCain campaign on their latest but most egregious (and potentially effective) lies. He began his interview of Rick Davis, McCain’s campaign manager, by playing McCain’s scandalously false commercial, which accuses Obama of seeking to raise taxes on the middle class. Of course, Obama’s proposed tax cuts for the middle class are almost nine times greater than McCain’s, but facts be damned.”

“NARRATOR: Life in the spotlight must be grand. But for the rest of us, times are tough. Obama voted to raise taxes on people making just $42,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Mr. Davis, especially that last sentence, isn’t that misleading?

DAVIS: Nothing misleading about it. Barack Obama voted for a budget resolution that would have increased taxes on people, families, making $42,000. What’s misleading about that?

WALLACE: Well, in fact, it only would be single people making $42,000. It would be families making over $60,000. But Obama — as you say, he voted for a non-binding budget resolution that overall talked about doing away with the Bush tax cuts. In fact, he says, that’s not his tax plan, that he supports a middle-class tax cut. And I want to put something up on the screen. The non-partisan Tax Policy Center says someone making $37,000 a year under Obama’s plan would get a tax cut of $892. Under McCain’s plan, they get a tax cut of $113.”

Here are a couple video clip that manage to capture some of the interviews highlights, including the exchange documented above. It also manages to offer up a better feel for the underlying “tone” of the interview, one which has Rick Davis cringing somewhere as he watches the replay:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OthxP4MVLHQ

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Wallace was trying to paint McCain as a fourth Bush term! Drunk with the power of the first amendment and not content with commiting two acts of journalism in a single interview, Chris Wallace then hits Davis squarely on the chin for his DHL lobby ties”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYp0FB6HvN4

Wow, this interview is more telling then anything CNN or MSNBC have done combined in terms of pressing McCain and/or his representatives for answers to their blatant lies as of late. This is not the first time Chris Wallace has broken from FOX’s script. If you remember back a couple months ago Wallace took the cast of FOX and Friends to task over their relentless Obama bashing – a “live on the air” dressing down that left many speechless, but with a smile on their face none the less.

Will this trend continue? I don’t know. I definitely wouldn’t bet on it – but hey, maybe I’m wrong. Heck, I hope I’m wrong. And if I am you can count on us documenting every second of it here on HyerStandard.

Technorati Tags: 95% With Bush, Airborne, breaking campaign news, breaking election news, Breaking political news, Breaking political video, Chris Wallace, chris wallace slams mccain, DHL, FOX news for the left, FOX news slams mccain, Fox News Sunday, john mccain, Lobbyist, Rick Davis, video of fox slamming mccain, Voting Record

It has been well documented that George W. Bush and his cronies that include VP Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Duncan Keith, Richard Pearle, and many others knowingly lied to the American public regarding why we were going to invade the sovereign nation of Iraq. Whether it be the Pentagon releasing hard documents showing that the Bush administration knowingly lied 935 times about various facets of the invasion, or whistle blowers like Scott McClellan going public with admissions of knowingly lying on behalf of the President regarding Iraq.

Unfortunately though many people in this country – and don’t ask me why, because I really don’t know – are still under the belief that both a) Iraq was in fact a threat to America, and/or b) Saddam Hussein had some connection with the murderous thugs who attacked us on 9/11. Both of which are easily debunked 100 times over by tangible evidence – however many American’s still won’t have it, and remain clinging to the notion that this war was necessary and just.

“A forged letter linking Saddam Hussein to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks was ordered on White House stationery and probably came from the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a new transcript of a conversation with the Central Intelligence Agency’s former Deputy Chief of Clandestine Operations Robert Richer.

The transcript was posted Friday by author Ron Suskind of an interview conducted in June. It comes on the heels of denials by both the White House and Richer of a claim Suskind made in his new book, The Way of The World. The book was leaked to Politico’s Mike Allen on Monday, and released Tuesday.”

Since the initial bombshell of a story broke (which due to the priorities of our media has been put on the back burner in lieu of 24/7 Edwards coverage) Richter had released a statement – or should I say the White House released a statement on behalf of Richter in which a complete denial that any conversation with Ron Suskind took place regarding any “forged documents” pertaining to the Iraq War.

Well no surprise here but they were lying. Yes folks I too couldn’t believe it when I first read it – the White House has told a lie – who would of thunk.

Ron Suskind who is both an amazing author as well as political analyst reacted to the White House statement in a manner only a professional of his caliber could – Suskind simply released the transcripts of his little chat with Richter with a brief statement explaining why he was doing this. Here is Suskind’s explanation as well as the transcript of him and Richter discussing the forgery. Game, Set and Match:

A note to readers:
“I’ve decided to post a partial transcript of one of a number of taped conversations in which Rob Richer and I discussed, on the record, the Habbush letter. We discussed it many times through the spring of 2008. Rob Richer received a copy of The Way of the World on Monday night, August 4, the day before publication. On Tuesday, he said he had read key portions of the book and was comfortable with what they contained. Later that day, though, he issued the following the statement:

“I never received direction from George Tenet or anyone else in my chain of command to fabricate a document from Habbash as outlined in Mr Suskind’s book.” The conversation below took place in June 2008. As in all of our conversations, it shows Rob pressing to get at truth and embrace probity.

This posting is contrary to my practice across 25 years as a journalist. But the issues, in this matter, are simply too important to stand as discredited in any way.”
–Ron Suskind

And then for the main course. The most damning evidence – at least in my opinion – released to date that proves Bush and his hired guns lied us into the war with Iraq. Here is the transcript of Suskind’s conversation with Robert Richter which has Richter admitting to the forged letter contrived by our “leadership”, carried out by the CIA, and passed off to the public as reality:

. . . Ron Suskind: I know we’ve talked through these things eight ways to Sunday, and hour after hour, but here’s what I want you to ask yourself. Prior to me jogging your memory, okay–forget Habbush part one, okay.

Rob Richer: Okay.

Ron: You know, the prewar stuff, cause there’s zillions of people in on that part. And there’s people in on the second part, too. But here’s my question to you: before I, as I said, before I jog your memory on this stuff, what do you–and I think I have a good idea, cause I’ve asked you this seven different ways, but I just want to make absolutely sure–what do you remember? If I just grabbed you on the street and said what do you remember of the second part, okay–with the letter and all the rest–what would be the high marks in terms of what you–memory’s the best editor I think’s a line from Tennyson–

Rob: Exactly.

Ron: What were the parts that you remember most vividly?

Rob: You’re talking about Habbush himself, correct?

Ron: No, I’m talking about the second part, with the letter being passed from–through George [Tenet] and down the ranks. Cause at one point–and I know we have recollections at the top and that’s fine–you have recollections, not from me but from your own memory on that–

Rob: Let me tell you what I know, just so before you color any of it. Is that when you first asked me about it I remember just really telling you that it was a non-event, and if you were to ask me today I would tell you it was a non-event. It came down from the seventh floor. It was part of–as I remember it, it wasn’t so much to influence America–that’s illegal–but it was kinda like a covert, a way to influence Iraqis.

Rob: To characterize it right, I would say, right: it came to us, George had a raised eyebrow, and basically we passed it on–it was to–and passed this on into the organization. You know, it was: ‘Okay, we gotta do this, but make it go away.’ To be honest with you, I don’t want to make it sound–I for sure don’t want to portray this as George jumping: ‘Okay, this has gotta happen.’ As I remember it–and, again, it’s still vague, so I’ll be very straight with you on this–is it wasn’t that important. It was: ‘This is unbelievable. This is just like all the other garbage we get about . . . I mean Mohammad Atta and links to al Qaeda. ‘Rob,’ you know, ‘do something with this.’ I think it was more like that than: ‘Get this done.’

Ron: Do something with this, right. Get this, this is like–

Rob: It died a natural death as you know.

Ron: ‘This thing stinks, take it.’

Rob: Yeah, kinda like that, yeah. But, you know, we got so much garbage that first year.

Ron: Were there other things like this where we were creating product?

Rob: You know, I don’t remember that.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Ron: The intent–the basic raison d’etre of this product is to get, is to create, here’s a letter with what’s in it. Okay, here’s what we want on the letter, we want it to be released as essentially a representation of something Habbush says. That’s all it says, that’s the one paragraph. And then you pass it to whomever to do it. To get it done.

Rob: It probably passed through five or six people. George probably showed it to me, but then passed it probably to Jim Pavitt, the DDO, who then passed it down to his chief of staff who passed it to me. Cause that’s how–you know, so I saw the original. I got a copy of it. But it was, there probably was–

Ron: Right. You saw the original with the White House stationery, but you didn’t–down the ranks, then it creates other paper.

Rob: Yeah, no, exactly. But I couldn’t tell you–again: I remember it happening, I remember a terrible brief kinda joking dialogue about it, but that was it.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ron: Now this is from the Vice President’s Office is how you remembered it–not from the president?

Rob: No, no, no. What I remember is George saying, ‘we got this from’–basically, from what George said was ‘downtown.’

Ron: Which is the White House?

Rob: Yes. But he did not–in my memory–never said president, vice president, or NSC. Okay? But now–he may have hinted–just by the way he said it, it would have–cause almost all that stuff came from one place only: Scooter Libby and the shop around the vice president.

Ron: Yeah, right.

Rob: But he didn’t say that specifically. I would naturally–I would probably stand on my, basically, my reputation and say it came from the vice president. Too read the rest of the transcript you can do so here.

What else needs to be said? I mean really – this is clear, unarguable proof that the entire war, from the get go, was nothing more then a perverted fantasy of a small group of neo conservative chicken hawks that would literally stop at nothing to get “their war.”

Technorati Tags: breaking iraq news, Breaking news, Breaking political news, CIA forged letter from Iraq, CIA lies about Iraq, Dick Cheney, forgery, forgery letter about Iraq, iraq, Proof Iraq war was false, propaganda, robert richter, Ron Suskind, White House

Well it seems as though the flood gates have opened on good ‘ole John Edwards, and lets just say it would be in both his and his families best interest if he did his best to stay out of the public eye for a very – very long time. Since his admission to an extra marital affair, story after story of Edwards lies over the past couple of years have surfaced, or in this case, resurfaced – with the only difference being that this time people are taking them to heart.

Andrew Sullivan over at the DailyDish.com writes about a story recanted by longtime Democrat operative, and veteran campaign director (Kerry ’04, Gore ’00, etc) Bob Shrum which revolves around John Kerry’s VP selection in 2004 and the unease Kerry felt with Edwards after their initial meetings regarding the VP slot:

“Kerry talked with several potential picks, including Gephardt and Edwards. He was comfortable after his conversations with Gephardt, but even queasier about Edwards after they met. Edwards had told Kerry he was going to share a story with him that he’d never told anyone else—that after his son Wade had been killed, he climbed onto the slab at the funeral home, laid there and hugged his body, and promised that he’d do all he could to make life better for people, to live up to Wade’s ideals of service. Kerry was stunned, not moved, because, as he told me later, Edwards had recounted the same exact story to him, almost in the exact same words, a year or two before—and with the same preface, that he’d never shared the memory with anyone else. Kerry said he found it chilling, and he decided he couldn’t pick Edwards unless he met with him again.

When they did, Kerry tried to get a better personal feel for his potential number two; as rivals for national office since 2000, shortly after Edwards had entered the Senate, the two men hadn’t spent a lot of time together. Kerry also wanted a specific reassurance. He asked Edwards for a commitment that if he was chosen and the ticket lost, Edwards wouldn’t run against him in 2008. Edwards agreed “absolutely,” as Kerry recalled him saying. If Kerry had shared this at the time, I would have told him what I did later: it was naive to think he could rely on a promise like that.”

This doesn’t come as a real big surprise – it’s fair to call the disconnect between Edwards and Kerry “common knowledge”, as they had a number of disputes, disagreements, and misc conflicts throughout the ’04 race that culminated with the disagreement over whether or not Kerry should conceded – which as we all know, he ultimately followed through with.

However this story is really quite telling as to just what kind of person John Edwards is. Any man who would use his son Wade and his tragic death as a “pitch” to get something, or in this case the VP position, is disgusting – let alone telling the story in such a uniformed and regular manner that he cannot even keep track of whom he told it too.

“To the end of their disappointing run, the two men were unable to agree on the script, whether for slogans or more substantive matters. And like so many political marriages, the one between Mr. Kerry and Mr. Edwards — Senate colleagues who became rivals then running mates but never really friends — ended in recrimination and regrets.

Kerry aides complain that Mr. Edwards never stopped running for president — a Democratic Party official recalled some aides wearing “Edwards for President” pins at a fund-raiser long after they were working for the Kerry-Edwards ticket. Kerry supporters say Mr. Edwards refused to play the traditional vice-presidential role of attack dog even going up against a purebred, Dick Cheney. And Mr. Kerry had barely conceded the race, they say, before Mr. Edwards was aiming for 2008 and embarking on what one campaign aide called the “it wasn’t my fault tour” around his home state to distance himself from the lost.

The former running mates have spoken little since that day in Faneuil Hall. In March, Mr. Kerry telephoned the Edwardses after Mr. Edwards announced that his wife’s cancer had returned and was incurable, and that he was still running for president. A spokesman for Mr. Kerry said they had had a nice conversation. A spokesman for Mr. Edwards, however, said Mr. Kerry had spoken only with Elizabeth.”

This continues to reinforce the notion that it is in fact Elizabeth Edwards who is the real champion in the relationship. Time and time again you hear about Elizabeth Edwards taking meetings, discussing issues, etc, etc. However it seems that she has always been viewed as simply “John’s wife”, rather then the respected political force she rightfully deserves.

What does all of this mean? I don’t know. I suppose it is up to you to draw your own conclusions. Personally all of this rehashing of old Edwards stories strikes me much differently then it initially did – and know as unfortunate as it is to say, I really have no respect for Edwards, his work, or his arguments simply because I do not believe any of it was genuine.

Technorati Tags: 2004 edwards VP, 2004 election, bob schrum, Breaking news, democrats furious with edwards, edwards disliked, edwards lies, edwards on iraq war, edwards past, edwards snake, edwards son wade killed, edwards vp horror story, Iraq war, john edwards, John Kerry, kerry edwards relationship, political news, wade edwards killed

Last night John Edwards appeared on ABC’s “Nightline Friday” and discussed the revelations surrounding his extra affair with Miss Rielle Hunter. During the interview Edwards spoke about how the relationship began, what drove him to adultery, its effect on his political future, and whether or not he was the father of Hunter’s child which many have dubbed as Edwards “love child.” Watch the entire interview here – the video is inside.

Since the interview took up the entire show, it has been broken down into two separate sections, both of which are attached below. If you didn’t catch the interview as it aired then this is something you should take a gander at.

I don’t know how the majority of America views this, but personally I have lost a lot of respect for Edwards – and to be frank, kind of think he’s some what of a hypocritical, smooth talking, attention addict.

“I think this President has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter. It is breathtaking to me the level to which that disrespect has risen,” -John Edwards, on Bill Clinton, 1999

• Part 1:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCc7x4z52o0

• Part 2:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbL-vj-RKxQ

What do you guys think about all of this? I am really interested to see how bad he is hung out to dry by both the right wing (who you know is absolutely loving this) as well as the left side of the aisle – Edwards old friends, advisers, political opponents as well as the current Presidential candidates.

Technorati Tags: Edwards Affair, Elizabeth Edwards Video, John Edwards ABC, John Edwards Affair Statement, John Edwards Discusses Affair, John Edwards interview, John Edwards Nightline, John Edwards' Statement On Affair, Politics News, Rielle Hunter, Rielle Hunter And John Edwards, Rielle Hunter Videos, video

The John Edwards extramarital affair story has blown up faster, and larger then any news story in recent memory – and rightfully so, this tragic narrative takes the all too familiar “politician cheats on wife” scandal to the next level of shock and awe. We have put together a collection that includes initial reports, statements from both John and Elizabeth Edwards as well as video of the highly anticipated ABC interview between John Edwards and Bob Woodruff. We also have put together some information dealing with the who, what, where and why of Edwards mystery lady, Miss Rielle Hunter.

The Associated Press is reporting that former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Friday admitted to an extramarital affair while his wife was battling cancer. He denied fathering the woman’s daughter.

Edwards told ABC News that he lied repeatedly about the affair with a 42-year-old woman but said that he didn’t love her. He said he has not taken a paternity test but knows he isn’t the father because of the timing of the affair and the birth.

ABC said a former Edwards campaign staffer claims he is the father, not Edwards.

Edwards was a top contender for the Democratic nomination for president, pursuing his party’s nod even after announcing that his wife, Elizabeth, had a deadly form of cancer.

He placed second in the Iowa caucuses last January but dropped out of the race a few weeks later. He has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential choice for Barack Obama. The former North Carolina senator was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004.

In 2006, Edwards’ political action committee paid $100,000 in a four-month span to a newly formed firm run by Rielle Hunter, who directed the production of just four Web videos, one a mere 2 1/2 minutes long.

Hunter’s daughter, Frances Quinn Hunter, was born on Feb. 27, 2008, and no father’s name is given on the birth certificate filed in California.

The payments from Edwards’ One America Committee to Midline Groove Productions LLC started on July 5, 2006, five days after Hunter incorporated the firm in Delaware.

Midline provided “Website/Internet services,” according to reports that Edwards’ PAC filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Midline’s work product consists of four YouTube videos showing Edwards in informal settings as he prepares to make speeches in Storm Lake, Iowa, and Pittsburgh, Pa., prepares for an appearance on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” and travels in Uganda in 2006.

Edwards’ PAC paid Midline $100,000 in a four-month span in 2006, and followed that up with two smaller payments totaling $14,461, the last on April 1, 2007.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vscvAt0orWU

*UPDATED*

Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of the former North Carolina Senator has since issued a statement via a blog post over at the DailyKos in which she asks that both the public and the media grant her and her family privacy and continues on to reaffirm the notion that her husband had in fact come clean about the affair back in 2006:

“Our family has been through a lot. Some caused by nature, some caused by human weakness, and some – most recently – caused by the desire for sensationalism and profit without any regard for the human consequences. None of these has been easy. But we have stood with one another through them all. Although John believes he should stand alone and take the consequences of his action now, when the door closes behind him, he has his family waiting for him.

John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well. Because of a recent string of hurtful and absurd lies in a tabloid publication, because of a picture falsely suggesting that John was spending time with a child it wrongly alleged he had fathered outside our marriage, our private matter could no longer be wholly private.”

To continue reading the statement in its entirety you can do so here.

As far as Rielle Hunter goes (the mistress) her story is quite interesting. She was hired by the Edwards campaign to do videographer work with John, a striking decision seeing as though Hunter had absolutely no experience in this field. None the less she got the job, and went to work – which we all know now included “work” in more ways then one.

• Episode #1: “Plane Truths”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDjxDL00mvg

• Episode #2: “Golden Rule”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECWwDSRF1_4

• Episode #3: “Plight of Uganda”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnr2IGCFoOU

• Episode #4: “Plugs”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCFv0yuD_2M

All things aside, the videos are actually pretty interesting to watch. If you are a political junkie and love seeing what goes on “behind the scenes” then this little mini series is right up your alley.

That said, the situation still stands for what it is – a tragic tale of a man who rose to power, inspired people across this country, appealed to people who up until Edwards hadn’t found a politician that spoke for “them”. However personal desire, and undoubtedly a series of events and situations that neither you nor I know of unfolded causing Edwards to act – well – human.

Edwards ABC interview aired earlier tonight and be sure to check back periodically for the sit down in its entirety. We plan on having it up the second it is made available.

Technorati Tags: Breaking news, Breaking political news, breaking political scandal, edwards admits guilt, Edwards Affair, Edwards dateline, Elizabeth Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards Video, john edwards, John Edwards Affair Statement, John Edwards Affair With Rielle Hunter, John Edwards Discusses Affair, John Edwards Mistress, John Edwards Mistress Photos, John Edwards Mistress Video, John Edwards' Statement On Affair, new John edwards video, personal, politics, Politics News, Recommended, Rielle Hunter, Rielle Hunter And John Edwards, Rielle Hunter Photos, Rielle Hunter Pictures, Rielle Hunter Video, Rielle Hunter Videos, Rielle Hunter Webisodes, Thanks, video, Video of edwards on dateline, Webisodes

DETROIT – The AP is reporting that a judge ordered Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to jail Thursday for violating the terms of his bond in his perjury case, a decision the judge said he would have made for any “John Six-Pack” defendant before him.

The mayor, who is accused of lying under oath in a civil case and faces eight felony counts, made a trip across the Detroit river to Windsor, Ontario, on city business last month without informing the court in advance, leading the county prosecutor’s office to request Kilpatrick be punished.

But Giles sent the mayor to jail anyway, telling him he would have given any defendant the same treatment.

“What matters to me though is how the court overall is perceived and how if it was not Kwame Kilpatrick sitting in that seat, if it was John Six-Pack sitting in that seat, what would I do? And that answer is simple,” he said.

Circuit Court Judge Thomas E. Jackson said he wouldn’t hear an appeal by Kilpatrick’s lawyers until 9 a.m. Friday, meaning the mayor was to spend the night in jail.

The Detroit mayor’s chief of staff, Kandia Milton _ who was appointed deputy mayor six days ago _ will run the city of 900,000 in Kilpatrick’s absence, the mayor’s office said in a statement.

City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. agreed Kilpatrick could designate a member of his staff as acting mayor while he was in jail. Cockrel would succeed Kilpatrick if the mayor resigns or is forced from office.

Earlier Thursday, Kilpatrick waived his right to a preliminary hearing and will head to trial on perjury and other criminal charges that could land him in prison for up to 15 years.

Lawyers for the mayor and ex-Chief of Staff Christine Beatty asked Giles to waive next month’s preliminary hearing. The criminal case now heads to Wayne County Circuit Court for trial.

Kilpatrick and Beatty are charged with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice. They are accused of lying about having an intimate relationship and their roles in the firing of a police official.

Both deny the charges.

Controversy has surrounded Kilpatrick since his 2001 election. Embraced by many Detroit residents for his boldness and confidence, Kilpatrick, then 31, embodied the new black politician and wore a diamond stud earring that helped earn him the unofficial title as the “Hip-Hop Mayor.”

Kilpatrick and Beatty denied under oath during a civil trial last year that they had a romantic relationship in 2002 and 2003.

But excerpts of sexually explicit text messages recovered from Beatty’s city-issued pager and first published in January by the Free Press contradicted their testimony.

Giles asked the defendants during Thursday morning’s hearing if they freely agreed to waive their rights to a preliminary exam and both said they did.

The judge then set a circuit court arraignment date of Aug. 14.

After the issue of the preliminary examination was concluded, Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Moran then asked Giles to punish Kilpatrick over the trip to Canada.

The mayor went across the border last month to push the sale of the city’s half of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.

Kilpatrick was required to alert the court of all travel plans.

Moran asked Giles to modify Kilpatrick’s bond because of what he called a “flagrant” violation.

After a short recess, Kilpatrick stood and apologized to Giles, saying it wouldn’t happen again.

The judge then ordered a recess and came back with his decision. Kilpatrick stared directly at the judge with his hands clasped near his face as Giles announced his decision.

Kilpatrick then stood up and, accompanied by a courtroom deputy, walked through a doorway behind the judge’s chair. He was not handcuffed.

Wayne County sheriff’s spokesman John Roach said the mayor would have his own cell “because he’s a high-profile inmate. He will not be in the general population.”

“I think it’s the most extreme measure he can take,” defense lawyer James Thomas said of Giles’ ruling. “I don’t agree with him.”

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy praised the decision.

“I think it was most appropriate for Judge Giles to take action regarding Defendant Kilpatrick’s bond considering his most recent behavior,” she said in a written statement. “Judge Giles treated this defendant as any other defendant would have been treated.”

Worthy charged Kilpatrick and Beatty less than two months after the Free Press published excerpts of the text messages. Fingerprinted with their booking photos broadcast across the country, the pair were accused of lying under oath about their relationship and about their roles in the firing of a police official.

More text messages released in April revealed the evolution of flirty and sexually explicit exchanges to professions of love and promises of marriage.

Kilpatrick and his high-priced team of attorneys have questioned the authenticity of those and other text messages, while fighting battles on several legal and political fronts.

A split city council voted in February to ask Kilpatrick to step down. The nine-member group later asked Gov. Jennifer Granholm to remove the mayor for misconduct and plans to hold forfeiture of office proceedings against him.

Shortly after Kilpatrick was ordered to jail, Gov. Jennifer Granholm postponed two Thursday afternoon events in Grand Rapids to hold “internal meetings.”

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The AP is reporting that a gun-control activist who championed the cause for more than a decade and served on the boards of two anti-violence groups is suspected of working as a paid spy for the National Rifle Association, and now those organizations are expelling her and sweeping their offices for bugs.

The suggestion that Mary Lou McFate was a double agent is contained in a deposition filed as part of a contract dispute involving a security firm. The muckraking magazine Mother Jones, in a story last week, was the first to report on McFate’s alleged dual identity.

The NRA refused to comment to the magazine and did not respond to calls Tuesday from The Associated Press. Nor did McFate.

The 62-year-old former flight attendant and sex counselor from Sarasota, Fla., is not new to the world of informants. She infiltrated an animal-rights group in the late 1980s at the request of U.S. Surgical, and befriended an activist who was later convicted in a pipe bomb attack against the medical-supply business, U.S. Surgical acknowledged in news reports at the time. U.S. Surgical had come under fire for using dogs for research and training.

“It raises some real concerns with the tactics of the NRA. If they’ve got one person, maybe they have more. If they’ve done this dirty trick, what else have they done?” said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign, which planned to search its offices for listening devices and computer spyware.

The Brady Campaign and other groups said they are also researching whether McFate’s alleged spying constituted a crime.

“Under some circumstances, it could be trespass,” said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and a former prosecutor. But “if they’re open meetings, it may be underhanded and sneaky; it may not be illegal.”

At States United, McFate served as federal legislation director, meeting with members of Congress on Capitol Hill and writing letters. Over the years, she also stuffed envelopes, attended rallies and took part in conference calls and strategy sessions.

In retrospect, Helmke said, he now realizes McFate stopped by the Washington office for meetings and conference calls that could have been handled by phone, and perhaps pushed too hard to join the board or lobby Congress.

But as for any secrets she might have been privy to, the gun-control groups said they have little to hide, since they put their message and information about their budgets on the Web.

The allegations against McFate stem from a lawsuit brought against officials with Beckett Brown International, a now-defunct security firm based in Maryland. A former beer distributor who bankrolled the firm accused them of defrauding him.

Boxes of documents filed in the dispute reveal that McFate worked as a subcontractor for Beckett Brown and that the firm’s clients included the NRA. And they show that McFate billed the firm for unspecified intelligence-gathering services, submitting among other things a request for a $4,500-a-month retainer in 1999.

The documents also reveal that McFate — that is her maiden name; her married name is Mary Lou Sapone — tried to get daughter-in-law Montgomery Sapone hired by Beckett Brown. Montgomery Sapone worked as an intern at Brady Campaign headquarters in 2003, the gun-control group said.

John Dodd III, the Maryland beer distributor who bankrolled Beckett Brown, told the AP that he did not condone the infiltration of activist groups.

Bryan Miller, executive director of Ceasefire NJ, said he feels betrayed by McFate. Miller’s brother, an FBI agent, was shot to death in 1994.

“To have somebody that I consider a friend, have been with dozens of times, shared meals with, treated as a friend, to have her be an employee, a subcontracted spy for the NRA, is just mind-boggling. It’s so venal,” Miller said. “In the battle of ideas with the gun lobby, we’re at a constant disadvantage because we’re honest.”

Timothy Ward, a former Beckett Brown principal who said in a sworn statement that McFate worked for the firm, declined comment Tuesday through a person who answered the phone at his new company, Chesapeake Strategies Group. The NRA now uses that firm for intelligence-gathering, another Chesapeake official said in a deposition.

The CeaseFirePA leadership plans a vote Friday on whether to expel McFate, a board member for seven years.

“I feel flattered that the NRA would feel that they would have to infiltrate Ceasefire of PA. Obviously, they’re hearing our footsteps,” said Phil Goldsmith, the group’s president. “Frankly, I think it’s a waste of their money. We don’t deal in state secrets.”

Below you will see that I have gone ahead and attached video of MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann anointing Mary Lou McFate their “Worst Person of the World” honors:

Oh, but there’s more – Here is a clip detailing McFate’s outting as a NRA spy. The segment also includes some footage of the sneakster in action:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v76T58nk92s

CeaseFire PA and the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence were not the only anti-gun groups affected by Mrs. McFate’s operation. The NRA also used her to penetrate the Freedom States Alliance by joining the board as a chairperson – in addition to McFate also spent a number of years infiltrating the Violence Policy Center, another massive anti-gun conglomerate who is well known by both advocates and opponents of restricting the availability of firearms.

Whether or not you agree with gun control or not I think two major narratives come from this tale of treachery. First – the NRA is in fact as ruthless as they are perceived to be, it is no ploy, or front – whatever they think will give them an upper hand on the opposition, they will carry out with no hesitation. Second, Mary “McFate”, aka Mary Lou Sapone, the subject of this article whom the NRA paid to spy on gun violence survivors and advocacy organizations is very good at what she does.

In conclusion all I am going to have to say is that if you see the lady in the picture above at a political meeting, rally, or hell, even a birthday party – I think it’s safe to say you should go ahead and assume the absolute worst. She isn’t their for cake and cookies.

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NEW YORK — The Associated Press is reporting that the Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it had charged 11 people in connection with the hacking of nine major U.S. retailers and the theft and sale of more than 41 million credit and debit card numbers.

It is believed to be the largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice. The charges include conspiracy, computer intrusion, fraud and identity theft.

“While technology has made our lives much easier it has also created new vulnerabilities,” U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan said in a statement. “This case clearly shows how strokes on a keyboard with a criminal purpose can have costly results.”

The indictment alleges that the hackers installed programs to capture card numbers, passwords and account information, and then concealed the data in computer servers that they controlled in the U.S. and Eastern Europe.

“They used sophisticated computer hacking techniques, that would allow them to breach security systems and install programs that gathered enormous quantities of personal financial data, which they then allegedly either sold to others or used themselves,” said Attorney General Michael Mukasey in a press conference. “And in total, they caused widespread loses by banks, retailers, and consumers.”

Mukasey said the total dollar amount of the alleged theft is “impossible to quantify at this point.” Sullivan said officials still haven’t identified all the victims who had a credit or debit card number stolen.

“I suspect that a lot of people are unaware that their identifying information has been compromised,” he said.

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Don’t look know but the United States “terrorist” watch list has surpassed the one million mark. The idea behind the whole “terrorist watch list” is put together by the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), which was born out of the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 6 back in December of 2003. The most recent audit released by TSC officials shows that the “terrorist watch list” has been growing steadily at about 20,000 plus new names added per month – an extreme growth rate by any standard.

The official name for “the terrorist watch list” is the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB), and is supposedly a “end all, be all” database of information about all known or suspected terrorists, and makes this information available to a number of different government agencies such as the State Department, Immigration Services, etc. Back in June of 2004 the TSDB had 158,000 records (names) in its “database” and by May of 2007 it had reached a whopping 755,000 records (names). The database finally reached 1 million sometime late last month, and there are no signs that the additions of individuals to the database is going to slow up any time soon.

As of today there are a total of twelve databases incorporated into Terrorist Screening Center (TSC). They include the office of Homeland Securities “No Fly List”, the National Counterterrorism Center’s “Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment”, the Department of Justice’s “Violent Gang and Terrorist Organization File”, among a gaggle of others.

Now that the general makeup of the “list” and the entity behind it are laid out, we can move onto the arguments many are taking up against a database or “list” per se, that is currently filled with over 1 million names, many of which have proven to be innocent, non threatening (to say the least individuals.)

For example; Nelson Mandela, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and a household name all over the world, nonetheless is listed on the U.S. watch list and needs special permission to enter the United States. Clearly a threat to national security huh? I mean any individual who Gandhi credits for being a major source of inspiration in his life, both for the philosophy of non-violence and for facing adversity with dignity is definitely a threat. The sad thing is this isn’t even the worst the list has to offer. The following individuals are also included in the TSC “terrorist watch list”:

U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy (D, Mass.): After repeated delays at airport security, the senator had trouble getting removed from the airline watch list despite calls to Homeland Security and eventually a personal conversation with the Secretary of DHS.

Representative John Lewis (D, Georgia): Being a hero of the Civil Rights Movement isn’t enough to keep off the aviation watch lists, apparently.

Akif Rahman: founder of a computer consulting company from suburban Chicago, was detained and questioned for more than two hours by U.S. customs officials on four separate occasions when crossing the Canadian border. On one occasion he was held for 5 ¬Ω hours, shackled to a chair, and physically searched. He was also separated from his wife and children (who were forced to wait in a small dirty public area without food or telephones). A U.S. citizen born in Springfield Illinois, Rahman is being represented by the ACLU of Illinois in a lawsuit over this treatment.

Marine Staff Sgt. Daniel Brown: Brown was blocked from flying while on his way home from an 8-month deployment in Iraq. He was listed as a suspected terrorist due to a previous incident in which gunpowder was detected on his boots, most likely a residue of a previous tour in Iraq.

Major General Vernon Lewis (Ret.): a recipient of the Army’s highest medal for service, the Distinguished Service Medal who served in the Korean and Vietnam wars, Lewis had problems flying.

John William Anderson: age 6; problems flying. Among those caught up by the no-fly list are many infants and small children.

So clearly this system is flawed, and who can be surprised. When ever you have 12 different agencies managing a database of over a million names (and growing) of course there is going to be a whole lot of mistakes, screw ups and miscommunication. That is why the process, the parameters, and the integration has got to be scaled down and re-vamped.

One of the main proponents behind a restructuring of the terrorist database is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and they have laid out quite a solid argument argument supporting their position – one which I think any common sensed individual would have a difficult time refuting. The following comes from the ACLU website:

“By those numbers, the list now has over one million names on it. Terrorist watch lists must be tightly focused on true terrorists who pose a genuine threat. Bloated lists are bad because, they ensnare many innocent travelers as suspected terrorists, and because they waste screeners’ time and divert their energies from looking for true terrorists.

Small, focused watch lists are better for civil liberties and for security.

The uncontroversial contention that Osama Bin Laden and a handful of other known terrorists should not be allowed on an aircraft is being used to create a monster that goes far beyond what ordinary Americans think of when they think about a “terrorist watch list.”

This is not just a problem of numbers. The numbers are merely a symptom. What’s needed is fairness. If the government is going to rely on these kinds of lists, they need checks and balances to ensure that innocent people are protected.”

I think they nail it on the head when they point out that for pure efficiency purposes the list needs to be brought down to a manageable number, a point that we surpassed quite a long time ago.

Until the appropriate agencies begin taking action and fixing this severely flawed program which is adding 6 year olds, Iraq war vets just back from fighting for Democracy and United States Senators it will for all theoretical purposes be as useful in protecting this country as a round trip ticket to Hawaii would be too a inmate sitting on death row.

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