"Oh what a tangled web we weave ..."

Yes, I would hope we see a lot more of Comey as he may flesh out, not just the famous hospital episode, but the darker stuff about this OLC and its muscle within DOJ.

As for Whitehouse, it is encouraging as I recall how some of the legislators back in Nixon's time took the floor of the Senate or the House occasionally and started working the edges of the problem then.

We can hope a Sam Ervin or a Peter Rodino rises to the occasion, eventually.

As for the OLC, which I have never heard of, but understand now as the White House "opinion mill" (my words); there is a guy named Jack something-or-other who used to work there. He's at Hahhh-vud writing a book. We can hope some nuggets come from him that will push things along.

Also, this guy Addington, Cheney's "enforcer" (my word), has said rather gleefully that he recommends pushing the envelope on executive power until someone says stop.

STOP !!!

Which one do you think we should strive to be like?

-- shooter242

Venezuela.

“We’re Number 2!” And Other Stories You’ll Never Read About Venezuela

Every year, the Chilean polling firm Latinobarómetro releases a giant report on what the Latin Americans are thinking, and every year this report confuses the crap out of the English language press, who can’t seem to understand why it contradicts everything they’ve ever written about the region. The fun part comes in watching them twist some fairly straightforward numbers into bizarre and complex algorithms to make them line up with the worldview they helped create.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves; that’s next weeks’ parlor game. These numbers are hot off the press, so we have a rare opportunity to look at them before they turn into sideshow freaks. You can check them out for yourself if you are proficient in Spanish and Adobe Acrobat. Everyone else, join us after the jump.

First of all, guess who loves “democracy” better than everyone else? Ok, it’s actually the good people of Uruguay. But Venezuelans run a close second in just about every democracy-hugging category, even as other countries are showing an unnerving openness to the idea of “dictatorship” if it gets the job done.

• Uruguayans and Venezuelans are far more likely to say they are “satisfied” with their democracy (66% and 59% respectively) than everyone else in the region. No other nationality hits the 50% mark.

• Venezuela ties with Argentina for second place in believing that democracy “is the best form of government” (83% each, compared with 86% for Uruguay at the top and 49% for Panama at the bottom).

• Responding to the weirdly-phrased “Do you trust in democracy?” question, Venezuela and Uruguay tie for the top spot, with 77% of the population avowing their “trust,” followed by Argentina and Bolivia (67% and 63%). Peru and Panama have some trust issues, with 39% and 34%, respectively.

If Venezuelans are content with their democratic system, they are downright ecstatic over the state of their economy—which, for the record, is “socialist.” Ok, it probably helps to have oil, but:

• 52% of Venezuelans say they are satisfied with the country’s “recent economic condition,” which may sound a little weak until you read that the second slot is a three-way tie between Brazil, Ecuador, and the Dominican republic for 26%, or exactly half that figure.

• Venezuelans are far more hopeful about their future economic sitch, with 60% believing it will get even better in the year ahead, compared with second place Uruguay (37%), ninth place Colombia (31%) fifteenth place Colombia (24%) and last place Paraguay (16%).

Wait sorry, did I say that Venezuelans gushed hardest about the state of their economy? I meant to say “their government in general.” Here are some stats that will obviously never see print outside of this blog posting:

• When asked whether their government works for the well-being of the people, Venezuelans top the list with 70%, followed by Uruguay (67%), Bolivia (64%) and Nicaragua (63%). Most Central American countries pull up the rear. Oh and of course Paraguay, who reports in with 24%. Poor Paraguay : (

• Asked if they “trust their government,” Venezuelans head the pack, with 66% trust ranking. Compare this with Colombians (41%), Brazilians (35%), Peruvians (22%) and—and I totally hate to pick on them—Paraguayans, with a sad little 15%.

• Asked if they trust their President in particular, Venezuelans come in second to Uruguay (61% vs. 60%). I won’t even mention who hates their president most, but it rhymes with “Laraguay,” at 13%. Double : (

Fascinating, no? Even better: you can play along at home! Just file these numbers away in your head, and like a demented game of Telephone, see if you recognize them when the come back at you in your local newspaper later this week. Be sure to send the most outlandish sightings to BoRevNet (at) Gmail (dot) Com.

http://www.borev.net/2007/11/were_number_2_and_other_storie.html

Shooter, the tragedy here is that I could pick dozens of countries with better records on human rights than the United States, particularly since the Neocons took over.

Why don't you try comparing us to a civilized country?

Is it because there aren't any who torture, disappear, and invade other countries?

It's amazing that you criticize other countries for abuses you applaud when your own country commits them, but I guess that's what xenophobia does to the brain.

If some countries are gravitating towards China these days, there are a number of reasons for that at this particular time and it is far more complex than your simplistically glib answer of "money and military might," but I suspect even you are aware of that. You really have been slipping lately. Just barely "phoning it in".

Perhaps a Democrat who truly values the Constitution and the will of the people should run against Harman in the primary. Given Bush's low approval ratings and Harman's history of enabling his scandalous policies, a grassroots candidate could unseat her.

NYT says a whole lot of people, from the White Houe on down, told the CIA NOT to destroy "hundreds of hours" of videotapes.

http://tinyurl.com/369gjw

The disclosures provide new details about what Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the C.I.A. director, has said was a decision “made within C.I.A. itself” to destroy the videotapes. In interviews, members of Congress and former intelligence officials also questioned some aspects of the account General Hayden provided Thursday about when Congress was notified that the tapes had been destroyed.