The Hollywood Liberal

South Carolina Congressman Threatens Utility Workers, Fires Gun

Gun Guys
Excerpt:It appears a South Carolina lawmaker (and we assume, formerly “law-abiding gun owner” of the NRA) got a little hot under the collar Saturday evening. Unfortunately, he had his gun with him.

A South Carolina lawmaker was arrested after his pistol fired when he went to investigate utility workers checking for storm damage in the backyard of his parents’ home.

Rep. Wallace Scarborough, R-Charleston, was charged with two counts of assault with intent to kill after the 47-year-old brandished and pointed a pistol at utility workers and then fired his gun about 9:45 p.m. Saturday, according to an affidavit.

Defiant Blair says: I’m staying put and police inquiry will clear me of any corruption

Scotsman.com
Excerpt:
Key quote
“It is absurd to say that if someone supports a political party financially… that they should be debarred from being party supporters for those places reserved specifically for party supporters.” – TONY BLAIR

Story in full A DEFIANT Tony Blair yesterday predicted that he will be cleared by a police investigation into Labour’s finances and signalled he wants to stay on as Prime Minister for at least another year.

Mr Blair’s robust defence of the £14 million the Labour Party raised in secret loans last year follows the arrest last week of his chief fundraiser, Lord Levy. Downing Street nominated four of the lenders for seats in the House of Lords

Democracy in Crisis – An Exclusive BRAD BLOG Interview with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr..

Brad Blog
“The Republican Party, the Republican National Committee, has been using old-fashioned, Jim Crowe, apartheid-type maneuvers to steal the last two national elections.”
Excerpt:
Recently, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.wrote the article: “Was the 2004 Election Stolen” where he examined the election fraud in Ohio that took place during the last Presidential Election. He also has written a book “Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush & His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking our Democracy”. Mr. Kennedy, along with Mike Papantonio have filed a “qui tam” lawsuit against some of the voting machines companies, in an effort to save our Democracy

AP
Bush got caught in front of an open mic again. This time the genius was heard to say “See the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this s— and it’s over,” Bush told Blair as he stuffed his face with food. Fun with the simple minded. Ooh Ok George if thats all its going to take. Here’s the video, (There is a 30 second commercial first but if you put your cursor on the slide bar you zip right to the end.)

Here’s The Video: Bush curses Hezbollah during G-8 luncheon

VIDEO: How to Reach 100,000 People for 1 Dollar by The Freeway Blogger

Check out the video

3 American soldiers killed in Iraq

AP
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Three American soldiers were killed Monday in separate attacks, two in the Baghdad area and one in western Iraq, the U.S. military said. A U.S. statement said one soldier was hit by small arms fire early in western Baghdad.

Another soldier died from injuries suffered in an explosion south of the capital, the military said in a separate statement.

The third soldier, assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, died “due to enemy action” in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, the military said.

At least 2,553 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war in 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians.

Gunmen kill 50 in Iraqi market attack

AP
Excerpt:
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Gunmen sprayed grenades and automatic weapons fire in a market south of Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 50 people, mostly Shiites. The sectarian attack drew an angry protest from lawmakers who accused Iraqi forces of standing idly by during the rampage.

Women and children were among the dead and wounded in the assault in Mahmoudiya, hospital officials said.

Several witnesses, including municipal council members, said the attack began when gunmen — presumed to be Sunnis — fired on the funeral of a member of the Mahdi Army, a Shiite militia, killing nine mourners.

Gingrich Says America In World War III. Bush Does Nothing.

Seattle Times
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich says America is in World War III and President Bush should say so. In an interview in Bellevue this morning Gingrich said Bush should call a joint session of Congress the first week of September and talk about global military conflicts in much starker terms than have been heard from the president.

“We need to have the militancy that says ‘We’re not going to lose a city,’ ” Gingrich said. He talks about the need to recognize World War III as important for military strategy and political strategy.

Gingrich said he is “very worried” about Republicans facing fall elections and says the party must have the “nerve” to nationalize the elections and make the 2006 campaigns about a liberal Democratic agenda rather than about President Bush’s record.

H.L.s Take“In an interview in Bellevue this morning???” Isn’t that the Mental Hospital in NY? Glad you finally acknowledged your problem Newt.

Paper: Military experts see US Iraq exit in 2016

Washington Times
The conservative Washington Times is reporting that American military leaders don’t see a US exit from Iraq until 2016.
An excerpt from the registration-restricted Times story follows:
U.S. war commanders think some level of American forces will be needed in Iraq until 2016 and those forces will receive continued support from the vast majority of Iraqis.

Israel softens conditions for cease-fire

AP
Excerpt JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that the fighting in Lebanon would end when two Israeli soldiers were freed, rocket attacks stopped and the Lebanese army deployed along the border. But he appeared to scale back from previous demands for Hezbollah to be dismantled. Delivering an impassioned speech to Israel’s parliament after six days of fierce fighting, Olmert said Israel would have no mercy on militants who attacked its cities with rockets.

Israel’s path to total war

Asia Times
Excerpt: One of the most malignant aspects of the new chapter in the Arab-Israeli conflict is the myth of Israel as the assaulted party, lavishly propagated by the White House and the infinite pro-Israel pundits in the US media, including the editors of the New York Times, who have labeled Israel’s blatant aggression against the nation of Lebanon as “legally and morally justified”.

Never mind that the rest of the world, including the European Union, does not share this perception of who is mainly at fault for the deadly cycle of violence that has gripped the Middle East again. The irony is that one can detect greater voices of dissent and opposition to Israel’s massive, disproportionate response to the token kidnapping of a few of its soldiers than is the case in the “pluralistic” US media, nowadays sheepishly toeing the official line.

Hezbollah rejects ceasefire with Israel

Khaleej Times
Excerpt:BEIRUT – Hezbollah on Monday rejected a ceasefire on terms dictated by Israel, with a senior member of the Lebanese Shiite militia rejecting the conditions set by the Jewish state.

“We accept no conditions for a ceasefire, whatever the pressure,” Abdullah Kasir, a member of Hezbollah’s central committee, told AFP.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday said a ceasefire would only be considered on three conditions: that Hezbollah release two captured Israeli soldiers, the firing of Hezbollah rockets on Israeli towns cease, and that the militia be disarmed in line with a UN resolution.

That’s a demonstration: 1.1+ million in Mexico City

Daily Kos
Excerpt: A large number of Mexicans rallied yesterday to demand a recount in Mexico’s Presidential election. Obviously no one knows how many; it’s really difficult to estimate such a large crowd. But here’s a typical description, this from the Los Angeles Times:

Police officials subordinate to the PRD-led city government said 1.1 million people took part in the daylong protest. Notimex, the semiofficial news agency of the conservative-led federal government, estimated 700,000 were present.

H.L.s Take:
How much more will America have to put up with before we can demonstation of this size against Bush?

Bush Nominates General Who Oversaw Guantanamo Prison To Be Top NATO Commander

Think Progress
Excerpt:Last week President Bush nominated U.S. Army Gen. Bantz Craddock to be NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, the same position formerly held by Gen. Wesley Clark. Craddock currently oversees the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and was formerly chief military assistant to Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Think Progress

Putin Jabs Bush:We Certainly Would Not Want The Same Kind of Democracy As They Have in Iraq

During a press conference today at the G8 summit in Russia, President Bush told President Vladimir Putin that Americans want Russia to develop a free press and free religion like Iraq. To laughter and applause, Putin responded: We certainly would not want to have same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq, quite honestly. CNN& Ed Henry called it a tough jab. Watch it

The exchange underscores how the war in Iraq has damaged the standing of the United States, to the point where even modest encouragement for democratic reform is met with ridicule.

Ann Coulter was on Hardball on Friday, there is a video clip for this available but I am not putting it up here because this is not a horror movie site. Ann however had this exchange with the host.

Norah also asked if the Republicans are headed for complete disaster in November.

Coulter: I think this is probably going to be a good year for Democrats…

Nora: Alright, you heard it here first. Ann Coulter predicting the Democrats are going to retake Congress, huh..

H.L.s Take:
Sorry I don’t share your optimism Ann. But keep telling everyone that. Maybe Repubs will stay home on election day thinking that all knowing Ann just saved them a useless trip to the voting booth.

Foreign companies buy U.S. roads, bridges .

AP
WASHINGTON – Roads and bridges built by U.S. taxpayers are starting to be sold off, and so far foreign-owned companies are doing the buying.
On a single day in June, an Australian-Spanish partnership paid $3.8 billion to lease the Indiana Toll Road. An Australian company bought a 99-year lease on Virginia’s Pocahontas Parkway, and Texas officials decided to let a Spanish-American partnership build and run a toll road from Austin to Seguin for 50 years.
Few people know that the tolls from the U.S. side of the tunnel between Detroit and Windsor, Canada, go to a subsidiary of an Australian company — which also owns a bridge in Alabama….
Not everyone in Texas buys the idea. Harris County officials recently voted against selling three toll roads. Also, independent gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn opposes Perry’s toll road plan.
“Texas freeways belong to Texans, not foreign companies,” she said.

H.L.s Take:
Once again America being sold off to the highest bidder. First Bush wanted to let Dubai take over our ports, now states are selling off bridges and highways to foreingers. Part of the reason they have to do this is because they don’t get any more federal aid because Bush has to send that money off to his friends in the arms industry to they can make more weapons to blow up more civilians in Iraq. The whole infrastructure in this country is falling apart because Bush’s only concern is making money on war. Disgusting.

See the rest of the Strip Here