SPARKY: THE GOOD NANCY!
ROVE RAGE! AND THE HORSE
RACE! AND THEN THE NEWS


First the Good Nancy shares:

"What we expected to achieve was never realistic given the timetable or what unfolded on the ground ... We are in the process of ... shedding the unreality that dominated at the beginning."

If you want the truth, help elect Democrats NOW.

Unfortunately, this statement didn't come from President Bush or Defense Secretary Rumsfeld or Tom DeLay or any Republican in Congress, but an anonymous, senior official.

The truth is despite the rosy pronouncements by the President and the Republican majority, the situation in Iraq is not improving and the insurgency is not in its "last throes."

And American soldiers, newly-recruited Iraqi security forces, and Iraqi civilians continue to be killed at an alarming rate.

Meanwhile, Tom DeLay and the Republicans in the House just continue to give the President all the money he asks for without demanding a plan to get out or an explanation of why so little progress is being made.
Only with a Democratic majority will this Administration be held accountable and be forced to answer the tough questions, such as:

• Who's responsible for the faulty intelligence that claimed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction?
  
• What's the standard for success and how will we achieve it?
  
• How long will American troops be in Iraq and what's the plan to bring them home?
  

Despite what the Republicans want us to believe, it is patriotic to ask questions and expect our government to be honest with the American people. Holding open, honest Congressional hearings will help America support our troops by demanding the accountability they deserve. Lives have been lost, billions have been spent and the American people deserve answers now.


If you want the truth, click here to elect a Democratic majority to demand accountability.

Democrats are committed to actually making our country safer instead of just saying it. Right now, Democrats are on the forefront of the legislative fights to protect our troops and care for our veterans as Republicans refuse to provide adequate health care for our National Guard and Reserve and won't provide the resources necessary to help our troops when they return home. In recent polls, more and more Americans are expressing growing concern over the situation on the ground in Iraq and saying they disagree with the Bush Administration's claims that everything is fine.

In fact, it seems like the only people who aren't worried are the Bush Administration and Republicans in Congress.

We applaud the Iraqi government that was elected to write a new constitution and the Iraqis who are joining the security forces and working to re-build their country. But the lives of too many Iraqis are full of water shortages, electrical outages, bombs and news of assassinations.

It's clear that the Bush Administration planning underestimated the resistance and problems that American troops and Iraqis would face. What is not clear is why our plans haven't changed and why President Bush and the Republican majority in Congress refuse to acknowledge the current reality in Iraq.

Sincerely,

Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader
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Village Voice: Murray Waas: What Now Karl? Rove and Ashcroft face new allegations in the Valerie Plame affair

“Justice Department officials made the crucial decision in late 2003 to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the leak of the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame in large part because investigators had begun to specifically question the veracity of accounts provided to them by White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, according to senior law enforcement officials.

Several of the federal investigators were also deeply concerned that then attorney general John Ashcroft was personally briefed regarding the details of at least one FBI interview with Rove, despite Ashcroft's own longstanding personal and political ties to Rove, the Voice has also learned. The same sources said Ashcroft was also told that investigators firmly believed that Rove had withheld important information from them during that FBI interview. ...”

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TPM Cafe:Fitzgerald Leak Indictments: The Horserace:
"or those keeping up with news of the Plame-Novak-Fitzgerald investigation, I offer a superficial diversion: once for the record, predict who Fitzgerald will indict. (Grand jury insiders excluded). Contest rules are below. The reward is the publicity of being proved right!"
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News that's out there:

• Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson calls for assassination of Venezuela's president
• Venezuela blasts televangelist's Chavez remarks
• Update: U.S. Army intelligence had detected 9/11 terrorists year before, says officer
• Space shuttle Discovery back in Florida
• US government proposes new SUV fuel standards - Remember who is full of it?

Thanks for the eyeballs - Sparky