The "Domino" Middle East Theory Didn't Work (either)

Wilson, Plame to Sue Cheney, and maybe Rove and Libby
Valerie Plame Wilson and Ambassador Joseph Wilson initiate a civil action against Vice President Cheney, Karl Rove, and Scooter Libby for violations of their constitutional and other legal rights. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060713/ap_on_go_ot/cia_leak_lawsuit

Hezbollah Rockets Hit Haifa, Israel Attacks Beirut Airport
Twice Hezbollah fired rockets deep into northern Israel today, with two rockets hitting the port of Haifa. In a second day of Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Israeli warplanes also struck two Lebanese Army bases and Hezbollah's Al Manar television station. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071306R.shtml

Beck: Bush alone fighting "World War III"
On the July 12 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck cited recent violence in the Middle East and India as evidence that "we've got World War III to fight," while also warning of the impending apocalypse. After Beck compared the current situation to 1938, World War II, former CIA case officer Robert Baer agreed that "this is like Hitler taking over Czechoslovakia." Beck added that President Bush is facing the threat "by himself," while former Vice President Al Gore is more concerned with the fact that "the ice is starting to melt in Greenland."

Sticking with his World War II analogy, Beck said: "Hollywood, clean your ears out and listen up. You are the first in line for the gas chambers if they ever win. You're the one who are producing a lot of the trash that's spilling out into their cave that's hacking them off." Beck and Baer finished the segment by listing countries and putting them in the category of "friend, foe, or ally." Both agreed that Belgium is a foe and Beck said: "I mean, they're putting something addictive in their waffles, I believe." http://mediamatters.org/items/200607130006 Does the democratically elected government of Pakistan fall into this category?

Conservative Ehthical Fabrication
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) drafted a fictional account of a supposed debate they had on the Senate floor and submitted it to the Supreme Court in an effort to convince the Court that it did not have jurisdiction over the recent Hamdan case. Hamdan's lawyers, however, spotted the hoax. They told the Court that the legislative history was entirely invented after-the-fact, and that it consisted of "a single scripted colloquy that never actually took place, but was instead inserted into the record after the legislation had passed." The brief noted that this Graham-Kyl colloquy was "simply an effort to achieve after passage of the Act precisely what [they] failed to achieve in the legislative process." The insertion of the added comments was noted and rejected by the court. Graham and Kyl attempted to make the dialogue -- added to the Dec. 21, 2005, record -- appear real. Kyl, is quoted at one point as saying, 'Mr. President, I see that we are nearing the end of our allotted time.' In another instance, Graham and Kyl inserted Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas in the fabricated Senate floor discussion, saying 'If I might interrupt,' according to published accounts of the comments. Graham was unapologetic over his efforts to deceive the Court. "I know what I've done. I've done it before and I'll do it again," he said.

Minimum Wage
Yesterday the House approved a non-binding motion to instruct that high-skilled and high-wage jobs should pay not less than $7.25 per hour as defined in the Fair Minimum Wage Act. Twenty-five Republicans also wrote a letter to House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) asking for a vote on the minimum wage before the summer recess. But these moves were largely symbolic and did nothing to actually raise the American worker's minimum wage. The New York Times notes today, "For a family of three, the minimum wage of $10,700, set in 1997, is now more than $5,000 below the federal definition of poverty. In that same time, a lawmaker's salary rose $31,600 -- better than 20 percent -- while the purchasing power of a minimum-wage earner deteriorated by 20 percent."

Conservative lawmakers and business groups have fought against a minimum wage increase over the past eight years, arguing that above normal market levels will cause employers to cut back on hiring the very low-wage workers an increase would be intended to benefit. But these groups are actually resisting increasing the minimum wage because it would cut into their profits. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities reports that low-wage workers have been left out of the overall growth of the economy and Senate Democrats note that the minimum wage has lagged far behind prices for gasoline, health care and college tuition. On the other hand, corporate profits receive a larger share of national income than at any time in 39 years.

Quickies!
Diplomatic efforts by China and South Korea to defuse the North Korean missile crisis have collapsed, AFP reports. "The failure set the stage for a showdown at the United Nations, where the United States and Japan are pushing for tough action."

During Ken Lay's funeral yesterday, the Reverend Dr. Bill Lawson compared Lay with civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus Christ, and said his name would eventually be cleared. Said Lawson: "History has a way of vindicating people who have been wronged."

Robert Novak's conversation with Karl Rove about Valerie Plame lasted 20 seconds. Novak said he told Rove, "I understand that [former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's] wife works at the CIA and she initiated the mission [to Niger]." Novak says that Rove responded, "Oh, you know that too."

Gen. George Casey, the senior American commander in Iraq , said yesterday that the Pentagon may move more American troops into Baghdad to combat the recent surge in sectarian killings.

As a former congressman, Randy "Duke" Cunningham will be honored next week by the U.S. Capitol Historical Society for his "hard work, service, time and the sacrifices made in upholding the office." Of course, The Hill reports, Cunningham won't make it "because he’s serving a prison term of eight-plus years for a bribery scandal you may have heard about." Ah screw it! Wgy not just give him the Medal Of Freedom as well!?