Begins at 4:51.

Q: If you were to go back and change anything from your political career, what would it be?

A: Well, of course, the biggest disappointment for me is that we are still in this war in Iraq, and, ah, I had always thought at the time that, that, ah, people knew the truth they would not vote for this war and, I don't know what else, er, not have been supportive of this, I don't know what else we could have done, ah, but this has been the most damaging to us:

Arkansas State Democratic Chairman, Bill Gwatney, died this afternoon at the hospital where he was taken after a gunman entered the Democratic Party Headquarters in Little Rock this morning and opened fire, then fled. According to police Lt. Terry Hastings, the gunman fired several shots, "He came in and went into this office and started shooting." The gunman, a white male in his 40s, lead police on a high speed chase which ended in a hail of bullets between the police and the suspect, who was injured. The suspected gunman died.

Gwatney was a state legislator for 10 years, and owned 3 GM car dealerships. He was a superdelegate to the Democratic Convention. ABCNews.com reported that workers at the Republican State Party office were sent home as a precautionary measure.

Bill Clinton, Arkansas' former governor and former first lady, Hillary, called Gwatney a strong state party chairman and "a cherished friend and confidante. We are deeply saddened by the news that Bill Gwatney has passed away," the former governor and first lady of Arkansas said in a joint statement. "His leadership and commitment to Arkansas and this country have always inspired us and those who had the opportunity to know him."

So many diversions, so little time! That is part of the strategy, of course. Impoverish people so they must work harder to maintain their daily lives, while simultaneously overwhelming them with info overload and ersatz news. Decentralize the crimes themselves through a network of events and operatives over a time continuum, and choke off government scrutiny and regulation by reduced funding. Buy off the people's government. Throw in classic disinformation methods, and wrap it all in the cross (invoking religious endorsement) and the flag (inferring without actualizing authentic patriotism).

Blend, at a moderate but continuously increasing pace, with intermittent but increasingly harrowing instances of terror.

Rep. Robert Wexler (FL19) is leading the charge to push the House Judiciary Committee to begin impeachment hearings. He has already collected more than 185,000 signatures on his online petition and is now gathering signatures among his colleagues on a letter he has written to Rep. John Conyers, chair of the Judiciary Committee, which asks the committee begin impeachment hearings forthwith.

In support of this action, PDA is asking that you make a phone call to your member of Congress on Wednesday, January 16 especially if your representative is a member of the House Judiciary Committee). Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and ask to speak to your Congress member (find your representative here). Tell them it is high time to hold Cheney accountable for his high crimes and misdemeanors.

Harper's Scott Horton just dropped da turd in da tank. Seems as though a few "movement conservatives" got some "private time" with the "independently minded" Judge Mukasey. They made two offers he couldn't refuse. First, don't appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the US Attorneys scandal - that's essential to protect the Bush toadies Rove and Miers. Secondly, they wanted Mukasey's assurance that he would continue the protection of the authors of the waterboarding torture program.

Welcome, folks, to the world of Alice in Wonderland, as we peer down into the rabbit's hole, reading Senator Schumer's (ir)rationalization for endorsing Mukasey:

"...the job will not be finished until we get a strong and independent attorney general. I believe Judge Mukasey is that type of person. Should we reject him, it is almost certain that an acting, caretaker attorney general will take office without the advice and consent of the Senate. Inevitably, that would enable those in this administration, who do not believe in the rule of law, and have done things that caused even former Attorney General Ashcroft to threaten resignation, to have the complete upper hand.

In a sudden, unexpected move, Russian president Vladimir Putin (of Bush soul-sensor fame) fired his prime minister, effectively dissolving the Russian government, and quickly replaced him with Victor Zubkov, a little-known bureaucrat in charge of investigating money-laundering. President Putin explained the shakeup was required to "prepare the country" for forthcoming elections.

Putin’s selection of Victor Zubkov, with whom he worked while in St. Petersburg’s city administration, may have been influenced by his recent agreements to boost economic links with the United Arab Emirates, focusing on fighting crime and money-laundering, political consultation, astronomy cooperation and banking.

In comments to Russian reporters before leaving, Putin said that Russia and the United States still had a chance to reach agreement on the vexed question of Washington's missile defence plans...Putin was accompanied to the UAE by the director of Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport, as well as those of the airline Aeroflot and space agency Roskosmos. Putin and his Emirati counterpart discussed developments in the Middle East peace process and war-torn Iraq...

Just in from Senator Feingold:

Over the last week, I've held Listening Sessions across Wisconsin and heard the same sort of comments that thousands of people like you have emailed my way over the last week - it's time to hold the President, and his administration, accountable.

Become A Citizen Co-Sponsor of Censure

The President and Vice President led our nation into an unwise war, under false pretenses, without adequate planning, and have mismanaged the situation that continues today. The President and Attorney General have time and time again thumbed their noses at the Constitution and the rule of law - on everything from warrantless wiretapping to undermining Congress' role to conduct adequate oversight.

Hard Rain Journal 8-5-07: Lessons from Soviet-Style Show Trial of Don Siegelman -- Learned or Unlearned?
By Richard Power

Like most of you, I want to see Bush and Cheney impeached.

There is sufficient evidence, already available in open source, on a range of issues, including Iraq, Katrina, Plame, the politicization of the DoJ, violations of the Geneva Accords, FISA, FOIA and the Bill of Rights, etc.

And if impeachment is politically unrealistic -- in our current circumstances, a Senate trial would almost certainly result in acquittal -- like most of you, I do not understand why censure, indeed multiple censures, are not aggressively pursued as a viable alternative.

Like most of you, I would be willing to support the cutting off of funding for military operations in Iraq, assuming there was enough money in the pipeline to bring the men and women of the US military home safely, and responsibly.

Like most of you, I do not understand why there was no filibuster of the Alito and/or Roberts appointments.

Like most of you, I am weary of making excuses for the Democratic leadership.

Congressional representatives from Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have sponsored H. Res. 589, a bill to impeach Alberto Gonzales. Will they also sign on to H. Res. 333, to sponsor Dick Cheney's impeachment? Why not thank them for sponsoring H. Res. 589, and ask them to sponsor H. Res. 333? Is YOUR rep listed? See the list here!

Yesterday, as a result of voting system reviews, Secretary of State Debra Bowen decertified for state use the voting systems of Diebold Election Systems, Inc., and Sequoia Voting Systems. A third vendor, Election Systems and Software (ES&S), declined to participate in the review process mandated by law, and so Secretary Bowen withdrew approval of their Inkavote Plus Precinct Ballot Counting System for use in California. A fourth firm, Hart InterCivic, Inc. chose not to submit the voting system previously used by California voters for examination and certification, and voluntarily withdrew from the certification process. Instead, the company plans to upgrade their county customers to a newer version and submit that version for review and certification by the Secretary of State.

Diebold was in the center of 2004 election controversies pitting its tabulation results against exit polls. Sequoia Voting Systems offers a product called "Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail" (VVPAT) that was reported by the review team to have a series of serious and often undetectable flaws. Their voting software was also found publicly available online in 2003, raising questions about future vote tampering. In 2006, during a Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review, the company, owned then by 3 Venezuelans, was allowed to withdraw from that review on news of its pending sale.

When California's Secretary of State Bowen was inaugurated January 7, 2007, she announced her intention to conduct a "Top to Bottom" review of voting systems used in California. "The review was designed to restore the public's confidence in the integrity of the electoral process and to ensure that California voters are being asked to cast their ballots on machines that are secure, accurate, reliable, and accessible." The review began two months later, in March, 2007.

Over time, I've been proud to call my senator, Russ Feingold, "Fearless." Well, I'm not so sure any more.

I'm considering replacing "Fearless" with "Fearful." He's proposed censure for the following high crimes and misdemeanors, as described directly from his office's press release. What's his motivation?

Is he dipping his toe in the water to test whether the country is ready to back impeachment as we finally convince the Honorable John Conyers to move forward in the House to do their Constitutionally mandated duty as we struggle to preserve the law of our land as a land of laws and not men?

The focus of Senator Feingold's first censure resolution intends to condemn the President, Vice President, and the administration for getting the United States into the Iraq war under false pretenses. Possibly including:

"In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, 58% say the two major parties are doing "such a poor job" that a third party is needed. Just a third say the established parties "do an adequate job of representing the American people."...

John Bibby, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and co-author of Two Parties — or More? The American Political System, is skeptical that a third party in general or Bloomberg in particular has any realistic chance of winning the White House in 2008. "American politics is structured against it," he says.

..."People know the system is broken," says Doug Bailey, co-founder of Unity08, a group that proposes to field a third-party ticket in 2008.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune that he has a "gut feeling" that the US has entered into a new period of increased risk of terrorism.

Let me get this straight - Chertoff has a "gut feeling" that the US is on the verge of another terrorism attack.

I'm getting a gut feeling that this is a impending Wag the Dog operation as Bush continues to feel the increasing public scorn for his commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence, the mounting public opinion against the war, the plummeting Bush-Cheney public approval ratings, the defection of Republican senators from the "all war, all the time" Bush war agenda, the backlash from claiming executive privilege for the RNC emails originating in the White House, the White House refusal to allow aides to testify before congress, the burgeoning congressional investigations...those are just a few of the high points from which it's important to distract the public's attention.

But there's more, and even more reason to be concerned about the Bush administration's handling of national security. ABCNews is reporting that an alQaeda cell is either in or en route to the US.

The career of Ambassador Joe Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, ended when her cover was blown as retribution for Ambassador Wilson's exposing the falsity of the Niger yellowcake story as a premise for the Iraqi war. Ambassador Wilson spoke tonight with MSNBC's Keith Olbermann about Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence. You can watch it here.

In giving the commutation, Bush said: "... a jury of citizens weighed all the evidence and listened to all the testimony and found Mr. Libby guilty of perjury and obstructing justice. They argue, correctly, that our entire system of justice relies on people telling the truth. And if a person does not tell the truth, particularly if he serves in government and holds the public trust, he must be held accountable. They say that had Mr. Libby only told the truth, he would have never been indicted in the first place...The Constitution gives the President the power of clemency to be used when he deems it to be warranted. It is my judgment that a commutation of the prison term in Mr. Libby's case is an appropriate exercise of this power."