Friday, April 21, 2006
Friday Soaked Stuff
Gov. Mike Huckabee and other state leaders from across the country will tour the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp in Cuba today, his office announced late Thursday. The camp houses prisoners the U.S. government suspects have ties to al-Qaida. The U.S. Department of Defense invited the officials in an attempt to help department policy-makers in Cuba become better informed about “the intricacies of state prison systems,” the announcement said.
The Arkansas Legislature returns to the state Capitol today to attempt to override a gubernatorial veto and to officially end a special session on education.
An Arkansas State Police board convened Thursday to investigate the March 7 actions of a trooper who shot and killed a disabled man confused for an armed fugitive.
Ten farmers in Oklahoma will have their farms tested for pollution in Oklahoma's lawsuit against eight poultry companies. Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson sued the poultry companies in June over pollution of the Illinois River watershed.
Four state law-enforcement agencies will receive $427,000 from a class-action lawsuit over their purchase of defective police body armor vests, the state attorney general's office said Thursday.
A prison psychologist, an unnamed 54 year old woman from North Little Rock, has been fired after being found having sex with an inmate in her office at the Cummins Unit,. The psychologist had been working at the maximum-security prison in Lincoln County for about a month when prison officials say she had sex with an inmate in her office on Monday evening.
Cynthia Howell reports in the Democrat-Gazette that civil-rights lawyer John Walker urged legislators Thursday to audit how the three Pulaski County school districts spent nearly $1 billion from the state in a 23-year-old school desegregation lawsuit. Members of the Litigation Reports Oversight Subcommittee of the Legislative Council, in turn, pressed Walker to provide a list by next month of what he believes needs to be done to bring the desegregation lawsuit to an end.
A report comparing prices of new textbooks at the state’s universities and a legislator’s criticism of certain textbooks used at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville led lawmakers Thursday to raise the prospect of enacting a law to govern textbook selection. At some colleges, the same text book can cost more than double what is charged at another.
Africanized honeybees, commonly known as killer bees, have been reported in Arkansas and could be in nearly one-fourth of the state's 75 counties by the end of the year, lawmakers heard Thursday.
With less than a month left to sign up for the Medicare prescription-drug benefit, more than 83 percent of those eligible have drug coverage, and Medicare officials announced Thursday that they have met their goal for enrollment.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit Wednesday, making Greers Ferry Lake the first Corps-owned lake in the country to feature powerboat races, said John Gray, executive director of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce. The State Parks and Recreaction Commission has put off making a $25,000 grant to organizers of the event tentatively set for April 2007. Opponents, who urged the commission not to give away the grant money, fear the boat races will disturb the area’s environment and tranquility.
Tyson Foods Inc. closed its Pine Bluff poultry processing plant Thursday after an employee shot a co-worker before being shot himself by police officers inside the facility Wednesday night.
A 20 year old Little Rock man, Brandy Alexander, may be the city’s 20th homicide, if authorities conclude that he was killed inside the city limits. Alexander had erroneously been named at a suspect in a Sunday afternoon shooting at a local park.
Steve Jones, A former Van Buren teacher has amended his class-action lawsuit against the School District over uncompensated duties and filed additional claims alleging that he was unfairly dismissed from his position for making critical statements about the school district in violation of his civil rights. Jones is the father of Jacksonville Jaguars player Matt Jones. The district is seeking dismissal of the suit.
According to the Russellville Courier, the Russellville school district will receive an additional $691,200 before the end of the 2005-06 school year and an additional $1.4 million for the 2006-07 school year.
Entergy Corp. announced Thursday that its corporate headquarters, displaced eight months ago by Hurricane Katrina, will reopen in New Orleans next week. In addition, Entergy said it would establish new primary corporate locations in Little Rock and Hammond, La. The Little Rock office will serve as the utility's information technology operations center and the Hammond office will serve at the company's billing center.
An Indianapolis-based company plans on to build in Mississippi County -- just hours after the Quorum Court approved an incentive package. Justices gave the OK to the incentives at a special meeting, and officials with Roll Coater Inc. responded with plans to construct a 220,000-square foot steel-related facility in the Armorel area that will reportedly bring 100 new jobs.
The Arkansas Legislature returns to the state Capitol today to attempt to override a gubernatorial veto and to officially end a special session on education.
An Arkansas State Police board convened Thursday to investigate the March 7 actions of a trooper who shot and killed a disabled man confused for an armed fugitive.
Ten farmers in Oklahoma will have their farms tested for pollution in Oklahoma's lawsuit against eight poultry companies. Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson sued the poultry companies in June over pollution of the Illinois River watershed.
Four state law-enforcement agencies will receive $427,000 from a class-action lawsuit over their purchase of defective police body armor vests, the state attorney general's office said Thursday.
A prison psychologist, an unnamed 54 year old woman from North Little Rock, has been fired after being found having sex with an inmate in her office at the Cummins Unit,. The psychologist had been working at the maximum-security prison in Lincoln County for about a month when prison officials say she had sex with an inmate in her office on Monday evening.
Cynthia Howell reports in the Democrat-Gazette that civil-rights lawyer John Walker urged legislators Thursday to audit how the three Pulaski County school districts spent nearly $1 billion from the state in a 23-year-old school desegregation lawsuit. Members of the Litigation Reports Oversight Subcommittee of the Legislative Council, in turn, pressed Walker to provide a list by next month of what he believes needs to be done to bring the desegregation lawsuit to an end.
A report comparing prices of new textbooks at the state’s universities and a legislator’s criticism of certain textbooks used at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville led lawmakers Thursday to raise the prospect of enacting a law to govern textbook selection. At some colleges, the same text book can cost more than double what is charged at another.
Africanized honeybees, commonly known as killer bees, have been reported in Arkansas and could be in nearly one-fourth of the state's 75 counties by the end of the year, lawmakers heard Thursday.
With less than a month left to sign up for the Medicare prescription-drug benefit, more than 83 percent of those eligible have drug coverage, and Medicare officials announced Thursday that they have met their goal for enrollment.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit Wednesday, making Greers Ferry Lake the first Corps-owned lake in the country to feature powerboat races, said John Gray, executive director of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce. The State Parks and Recreaction Commission has put off making a $25,000 grant to organizers of the event tentatively set for April 2007. Opponents, who urged the commission not to give away the grant money, fear the boat races will disturb the area’s environment and tranquility.
Tyson Foods Inc. closed its Pine Bluff poultry processing plant Thursday after an employee shot a co-worker before being shot himself by police officers inside the facility Wednesday night.
A 20 year old Little Rock man, Brandy Alexander, may be the city’s 20th homicide, if authorities conclude that he was killed inside the city limits. Alexander had erroneously been named at a suspect in a Sunday afternoon shooting at a local park.
Steve Jones, A former Van Buren teacher has amended his class-action lawsuit against the School District over uncompensated duties and filed additional claims alleging that he was unfairly dismissed from his position for making critical statements about the school district in violation of his civil rights. Jones is the father of Jacksonville Jaguars player Matt Jones. The district is seeking dismissal of the suit.
According to the Russellville Courier, the Russellville school district will receive an additional $691,200 before the end of the 2005-06 school year and an additional $1.4 million for the 2006-07 school year.
Entergy Corp. announced Thursday that its corporate headquarters, displaced eight months ago by Hurricane Katrina, will reopen in New Orleans next week. In addition, Entergy said it would establish new primary corporate locations in Little Rock and Hammond, La. The Little Rock office will serve as the utility's information technology operations center and the Hammond office will serve at the company's billing center.
An Indianapolis-based company plans on to build in Mississippi County -- just hours after the Quorum Court approved an incentive package. Justices gave the OK to the incentives at a special meeting, and officials with Roll Coater Inc. responded with plans to construct a 220,000-square foot steel-related facility in the Armorel area that will reportedly bring 100 new jobs.
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More Lies From Scumbag Tony Snow
Even more Tony Snow falsehoods
http://mediamatters.org/items/200604220001
Speculation that the Bush administration will tap Fox News' Tony Snow to succeed Scott McClellan as White House press secretary has intensified in recent days. The New York Daily News reported on April 20 that Snow "is emerging as the front-runner to replace McClellan," and an April 21 New York Times article disclosed that he is "in negotiations for the job." Snow is a syndicated columnist, host of Fox News Radio's The Tony Snow Show, and co-hosts Fox News' Weekend Live with Brian Wilson.
Media Matters for America documented a number of Snow's false or misleading claims when it was reported that he was on the shortlist. Following are numerous additional claims advanced by Snow in print and on the air.
Warrantless domestic surveillance
Suggested Democrats objected to Bush's warrantless spying because they think the "government should not be able to listen to Al Qaeda": While speaking to Fox News political analyst Bob Beckel, Snow suggested that "Democratic opposition" to the warrantless domestic surveillance program arose from the belief that "the government should not be able to listen to Al Qaeda people talking to American citizens." Further, Snow claimed that the lack of additional domestic terrorist attacks was "a sign of [the program's] success." As Media Matters has noted, this false claim was first made by White House senior adviser Karl Rove during an address to the Republican National Committee at its winter meeting and was quickly spread as a talking point by numerous conservatives. But, contrary to Rove and Snow's assertion, no national Democratic figure -- member of the Democratic leadership in Congress, Democratic governor, or Democratic Party official -- has said that the United States should not be intercepting calls suspected to involve Al Qaeda. Moreover, Snow's claims about the program's effectiveness are not supported by the evidence.
Claimed that Carter and Bush both authorized warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens: Snow asserted that former President Jimmy Carter had "signed an executive order that authorized the attorney general to approve electronic surveillance to acquire foreign intelligence information." Snow went on to claim that this represented "exactly what the president is doing." But Snow ignored a crucial difference: Carter, unlike Bush, prohibited such surveillance of U.S. citizens. Indeed, Carter's order specifically required the attorney general to certify that the surveillance will not contain "the contents of any communication to which a United States person is a party." [Fox News' Weekend Live, 12/24/05]
Claimed that the FISA probable cause standard kept the FBI from inspecting Moussaoui's laptop: Snow said that FBI agents in possession of Zacarias Moussaoui's laptop "decided not to go ahead and look at the contents because they ... had no definite proof that the guy was a terrorist" and, therefore, couldn't meet the probable cause standard necessary for a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). But Snow ignored the bipartisan finding by the Senate Judiciary Committee that the investigators had possessed sufficient evidence but that FBI attorneys had applied a too-stringent standard for establishing probable, preventing the investigators from petitioning the court for authorization. [Fox News' Weekend Live, 12/24/05]
Claimed that 2002 FISA review court opinion allowed for warrantless domestic surveillance: Snow stated that a 2002 opinion (In re: Sealed Case No. 02-001) by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review "says the president's inherent authority allows him" to eavesdrop on the international communications of U.S. residents. But the claim misrepresents the 2002 decision, in which the court said only that the president has inherent authority to conduct foreign intelligence surveillance without a warrant. The court did not rule on the question of whether a president has the constitutional authority to spy on people in the United States without a warrant, in apparent violation of FISA.
CIA leak investigation
Falsely claimed that Wilson said Cheney had sent him to Niger: Snow claimed in his July 15, 2005, column that former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV said he "had been dispatched by [Vice President] Dick Cheney to conduct a secret mission to Niger." In fact, Wilson never claimed that Cheney sent him on the trip. To the contrary, he wrote in his July 6, 2003, op-ed in The New York Times that the CIA requested he go on the mission "so they could provide a response" to questions raised by Cheney regarding allegations that Iraq had attempted to purchase uranium from the African country.
Claimed that Intel Committee "discovered" that Plame recommended Wilson for the Niger mission: In his July 15, 2005, column, Snow further claimed that the Senate Intelligence Committee, in its 2004 "Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq," "discovered that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, did indeed recommend him for the trip" to Niger. But the committee did not officially conclude that she had been responsible for Wilson's assignment. Media Matters previously noted that Snow had falsely asserted that Wilson said his wife "wasn't covert for six years" before she was exposed as a CIA operative by syndicated columnist Robert Novak.
Terrorism
Falsely accused Clinton of rejecting bin Laden offer: Snow advanced the discredited claim that Sudan had offered to "hand over" Osama bin Laden to the United States in the 1990s, but that the Clinton administration responded, "Nah, don't want to do it." But this claim is derived from an August 11, 2002, article on right-wing news website NewsMax that distorted a speech Clinton made in 2002. Indeed, the bipartisan 9-11 Commission found (page 3) "no reliable evidence to support" the claim that Sudan offered bin Laden to the United States and determined that, based on Clinton's testimony, in "wrongly recounting a number of press stories he had read," Clinton had "misspoken" in his 2002 speech. [Fox News' Weekend Live, 2/25/06]
Claimed botched CIA attack on Ayman Al-Zawahiri "was a success": Snow claimed the January 13 CIA drone attack in western Pakistan targeting top Al Qaeda official al-Zawahiri "was a success." Further, Snow and guest Richard Miniter both claimed the attack "knocked off four to five key Al Qaeda" figures. In fact, the strike reportedly killed at least 18 civilians, sparking widespread Pakistani condemnation and protests. Initially, U.S. officials claimed that, at minimum, some high level Al Qaeda officials were among those killed in the attacks, but this claim was never officially confirmed. A January 20 Financial Times report (subscription required) noted: "Pakistani intelligence official confirmed the identities [of alleged Al Qaeda officals] were made on the basis of intelligence information and not 'facts gathered through DNA tests or any other means.' " [Fox News' Weekend Live, 1/21/06]
Deemed Gitmo "the most humane prisoner-of-war facility in history": In a June 15, 2005, column, Snow wrote that the Pentagon's military detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, "may be the most humane prisoner-of-war facility in history."
Immigration
Called immigrants rights protestors "idiots": In response to Republican strategist Linda Chavez's claim that the flying of Mexican flags by Mexican-Americans at a 1994 protest led to the passage of California's controversial Proposition 187, Snow said, "So, to quote the famous movie Napoleon Dynamite --'idiots.' " [Fox News' Weekend Live, 4/1/06]
Post a Comment
Even more Tony Snow falsehoods
http://mediamatters.org/items/200604220001
Speculation that the Bush administration will tap Fox News' Tony Snow to succeed Scott McClellan as White House press secretary has intensified in recent days. The New York Daily News reported on April 20 that Snow "is emerging as the front-runner to replace McClellan," and an April 21 New York Times article disclosed that he is "in negotiations for the job." Snow is a syndicated columnist, host of Fox News Radio's The Tony Snow Show, and co-hosts Fox News' Weekend Live with Brian Wilson.
Media Matters for America documented a number of Snow's false or misleading claims when it was reported that he was on the shortlist. Following are numerous additional claims advanced by Snow in print and on the air.
Warrantless domestic surveillance
Suggested Democrats objected to Bush's warrantless spying because they think the "government should not be able to listen to Al Qaeda": While speaking to Fox News political analyst Bob Beckel, Snow suggested that "Democratic opposition" to the warrantless domestic surveillance program arose from the belief that "the government should not be able to listen to Al Qaeda people talking to American citizens." Further, Snow claimed that the lack of additional domestic terrorist attacks was "a sign of [the program's] success." As Media Matters has noted, this false claim was first made by White House senior adviser Karl Rove during an address to the Republican National Committee at its winter meeting and was quickly spread as a talking point by numerous conservatives. But, contrary to Rove and Snow's assertion, no national Democratic figure -- member of the Democratic leadership in Congress, Democratic governor, or Democratic Party official -- has said that the United States should not be intercepting calls suspected to involve Al Qaeda. Moreover, Snow's claims about the program's effectiveness are not supported by the evidence.
Claimed that Carter and Bush both authorized warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens: Snow asserted that former President Jimmy Carter had "signed an executive order that authorized the attorney general to approve electronic surveillance to acquire foreign intelligence information." Snow went on to claim that this represented "exactly what the president is doing." But Snow ignored a crucial difference: Carter, unlike Bush, prohibited such surveillance of U.S. citizens. Indeed, Carter's order specifically required the attorney general to certify that the surveillance will not contain "the contents of any communication to which a United States person is a party." [Fox News' Weekend Live, 12/24/05]
Claimed that the FISA probable cause standard kept the FBI from inspecting Moussaoui's laptop: Snow said that FBI agents in possession of Zacarias Moussaoui's laptop "decided not to go ahead and look at the contents because they ... had no definite proof that the guy was a terrorist" and, therefore, couldn't meet the probable cause standard necessary for a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). But Snow ignored the bipartisan finding by the Senate Judiciary Committee that the investigators had possessed sufficient evidence but that FBI attorneys had applied a too-stringent standard for establishing probable, preventing the investigators from petitioning the court for authorization. [Fox News' Weekend Live, 12/24/05]
Claimed that 2002 FISA review court opinion allowed for warrantless domestic surveillance: Snow stated that a 2002 opinion (In re: Sealed Case No. 02-001) by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review "says the president's inherent authority allows him" to eavesdrop on the international communications of U.S. residents. But the claim misrepresents the 2002 decision, in which the court said only that the president has inherent authority to conduct foreign intelligence surveillance without a warrant. The court did not rule on the question of whether a president has the constitutional authority to spy on people in the United States without a warrant, in apparent violation of FISA.
CIA leak investigation
Falsely claimed that Wilson said Cheney had sent him to Niger: Snow claimed in his July 15, 2005, column that former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV said he "had been dispatched by [Vice President] Dick Cheney to conduct a secret mission to Niger." In fact, Wilson never claimed that Cheney sent him on the trip. To the contrary, he wrote in his July 6, 2003, op-ed in The New York Times that the CIA requested he go on the mission "so they could provide a response" to questions raised by Cheney regarding allegations that Iraq had attempted to purchase uranium from the African country.
Claimed that Intel Committee "discovered" that Plame recommended Wilson for the Niger mission: In his July 15, 2005, column, Snow further claimed that the Senate Intelligence Committee, in its 2004 "Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq," "discovered that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, did indeed recommend him for the trip" to Niger. But the committee did not officially conclude that she had been responsible for Wilson's assignment. Media Matters previously noted that Snow had falsely asserted that Wilson said his wife "wasn't covert for six years" before she was exposed as a CIA operative by syndicated columnist Robert Novak.
Terrorism
Falsely accused Clinton of rejecting bin Laden offer: Snow advanced the discredited claim that Sudan had offered to "hand over" Osama bin Laden to the United States in the 1990s, but that the Clinton administration responded, "Nah, don't want to do it." But this claim is derived from an August 11, 2002, article on right-wing news website NewsMax that distorted a speech Clinton made in 2002. Indeed, the bipartisan 9-11 Commission found (page 3) "no reliable evidence to support" the claim that Sudan offered bin Laden to the United States and determined that, based on Clinton's testimony, in "wrongly recounting a number of press stories he had read," Clinton had "misspoken" in his 2002 speech. [Fox News' Weekend Live, 2/25/06]
Claimed botched CIA attack on Ayman Al-Zawahiri "was a success": Snow claimed the January 13 CIA drone attack in western Pakistan targeting top Al Qaeda official al-Zawahiri "was a success." Further, Snow and guest Richard Miniter both claimed the attack "knocked off four to five key Al Qaeda" figures. In fact, the strike reportedly killed at least 18 civilians, sparking widespread Pakistani condemnation and protests. Initially, U.S. officials claimed that, at minimum, some high level Al Qaeda officials were among those killed in the attacks, but this claim was never officially confirmed. A January 20 Financial Times report (subscription required) noted: "Pakistani intelligence official confirmed the identities [of alleged Al Qaeda officals] were made on the basis of intelligence information and not 'facts gathered through DNA tests or any other means.' " [Fox News' Weekend Live, 1/21/06]
Deemed Gitmo "the most humane prisoner-of-war facility in history": In a June 15, 2005, column, Snow wrote that the Pentagon's military detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, "may be the most humane prisoner-of-war facility in history."
Immigration
Called immigrants rights protestors "idiots": In response to Republican strategist Linda Chavez's claim that the flying of Mexican flags by Mexican-Americans at a 1994 protest led to the passage of California's controversial Proposition 187, Snow said, "So, to quote the famous movie Napoleon Dynamite --'idiots.' " [Fox News' Weekend Live, 4/1/06]
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