This is one of those issues that John McCain regularly gets a pass for in the media. Yet, it so reeks with greed and hypocrisy that it makes me want to knock my head against the wall a few times every time I hear it.

Last year, Republican presumptive nominee Senator John McCain earned a total of $23,157 from Social Security benefits, or approximately $1,930 per month. The amount is near the maximum benefit allowed under the federal program. (benefits are determined by age at retirement)

Even after calling the program "a disgrace," McCain reportedly accepts and cashes each and every one of his monthly checks; despite having the option to refuse all benefits. (according to B.J. Jarrett from the Social Security Administration)

Never mind the torture. No apology could ever mitigate that unconscionable behavior. But, if the evidence that the expert witnesses for the defense of Canadian Omar Khadr say killed U.S. Sgt. Chris Speer, bears out; the U.S. government owes Mr. Khadr formal apologies and substantial reparations.

First, a bit of back story courtesy of the German online news site Welt Online:

The son of an alleged al-Qaida financier, Khadr is accused of throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. Special Forces soldier during a 2002 firefight in Afghanistan in which he was badly wounded. He was 15 when he was captured and could face life in prison if convicted.

OK, I know Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner, his sidekick, Minority Whip Rep. Roy Blunt and others of their ilk (including the Blue Dog Democrats) are probably having a good, long laugh over this. But, if the Democrats in Congress are really serious, and it sounds as if they are indeed serious – I’m all for it. In fact, considering the dismal state of affairs in this country right now; I think it could be just what the doctor ordered.

Sixty-nine House Democrats are sponsoring HR 808; the proposed legislation drafted by the most peaceful, democratically-minded congressman I know of, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio. The bill would fund and create a new, cabinet-level government agency in Washington.

And, just for good measure, HR 808 or The United States Department of Peace and Nonviolence Act (DPN) now has bipartisan support in the House.

Glen L. Carle knows about the threat America faces from Islamic extremism. He should; during his stellar 23-year career as a member of the CIA’s Clandestine Service he’s personally drafted many of the government’s most senior assessments of the threats we’ve faced by al-Qaeda and just about every other Muslim extremist organization in the world over the past two-decades.

Mr. Carle devoted his entire career to understanding and combating the jihadist threat. Perhaps that’s why he's taking such exception to the constant fear mongering promulgated by both the Bush administration and the campaign of the presumptive Republican nominee for president, John McCain. He felt the need to speak out now and he has done so in a very heartfelt and eloquent way.

If they haven’t already, Mr. Bush’s secret army of snoops & snitches may soon be infiltrating a neighborhood near you-- and you may never even know it.

Of course, right now it’s only happening in a finite number of states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C. But chances are, it’s only a matter of time until this super-secret army comes a’ huntin’ terrorists dissidents at your neighborhood hangout, wherever you live in America. So, who are these sleuthhounds? That’s just it. We may never know who they are. They could be a store clerk at K-Mart; a latte barista at Starbucks or even a cable-tv installer from Comcast -- all no doubt someone's neighbor -- but all recruited by the government to be so-called "terrorism liaison officers."

The altruistic paramedic responding to your neighbor’s frantic 911 call might just be a TLO. That bearded utility worker huggin’ the top of the telephone pole down the block could be one too. In Bush’s Orwellian world you can never tell. You’re either a spy or a suspect. (the domesticated version of "You're either with us or ag'in us.")

There’s a movement afoot, folks. Insurance companies are itching to jump into America’s nascent surveillance society and their insidious efforts to do so are about to infringe upon one of your last bastions of privacy... your car.

It had to happen. I knew it was coming as far back as the late eighties when I found out that the car companies were installing those blasted black boxes under the hood. That was bad enough. But, this... this is going too far, in my opinion. I’ll be dammed if I want to become some blip on a computer screen monitored by some idiot with a sandwich in one hand and a playboy magazine in the other, paid to keep tabs on my movements from the time I pull out of my driveway to the time I make it back home.

Will it be that bad? I don't know but to me, it’s the equivalent of slappin’ one of those detention bracelets on your ankle axle.

The same CIA operative that tried to warn the agency about faulty intelligence on Iraq before the runup to the March 2003 invasion has now come out to say the agency is doing the same thing with Iran. A National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) in late 2007 said Iran had suspended its nuclear weapons program back in 2003.

Barred from using his real name, the onetime undercover agent, filed a motion in federal court late Friday requesting that the government declassify legal documents showing what he contends was a deliberate suppression of findings on Iran that were contrary to agency claims. He alleged in a 2004 suit that the CIA fired him after he repeatedly clashed with senior intelligence managers over his attempts to report direct challenges to the conventional wisdom at the time about weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. The CIA refuses to make the claims public because it deems the information top secret.

While on a twilight bike run on a lonely highway near Elko, Nevada back in 1979, myself and three other saddle tramps began seeing a semi-stationary formation of odd red lights in the clear, moonlit sky ahead. As we neared, we all watched as the bright lights (five in total) hovered in a quasi-triangular pattern over a small valley at the base of the Ruby Mountains.

Always looking for an excuse to crack a beer anyway, we stopped on the side of the road, pulled out a few not-so-cold-ones, rolled a couple, and then sat back and watched the sky; mesmerized by the lights as they seemed to perform a sort of coordinated, zigzagged dance right before us. The graceful movement of the lights against the backdrop of the pitch-black sky gave the scene a sort of scifi movie-surreality. From time to time the lights fully disappeared behind the mountain range, only to pop back out again a few seconds later, still in rigid formation.

The show lasted nearly a full hour until, suddenly -- with the lights still locked in the odd geometric pattern -- the ground shook and the entire formation shot clean out of sight overhead; the abruptness of which startling me so much I almost fell off my bike reaching for the beer that just dropped like a lead weight from my hand.

This could end up being the only redeeming part of this otherwise pernicious, democracy-killing legislation. But, just like most of the legislation coming out of Congress these days, the FISA bill is poorly written in general, and still could be considered ambiguous to all but the most erudite of government lawyers.

It is small concession then that the latest version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act actually contains within it a practical clarification of what’s been a perennial question and point of contention -- in particular since September 11, 2001 -– the definition of a WMD.

That’s right; amidst all the obligatory concessions and embarrassing capitulations to Mr. 28% contained in the new FISA bill, Congress offers a brand new definition of WMDS that’s actually a marked improvement over their past attempts.

But, despite their latest effort, did they just make it more difficult to define what a WMD is?

The verbatim headline from CBS affiliate WCBSTV’s website goes like this: "IAEA Chief: Iran Could Make Nuke In 6 Months" But, what the ominous title suggests is, at least in my mind, significantly different than what the IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei meant with his statement to Al-Arabiya television on June 20.

Of course, headlines like this automatically raise red flags in the minds of those people who normally just scan the headlines instead of stopping to read the whole articles. We’re all guilty of that, myself included. After all, it’s a busy world and time is valuable.

But, that’s what makes this type of sensational-hype-journalism so dangerous for those of us seeking the truth about the issues we face as Americans, especially war; while at the same time making it so politically expedient for those in the Bush administration trying their utmost to bolster their [trumped-up] road to war with Iran.

Unfortunately, most Americans just scan the headlines.

Nightmares must be the bane of Waxman’s nights lately. I think it's safe to say that he regrets not taking this scofflaw administration to account two-years ago instead of allowing enabling the Bush crime family to run roughshod over the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law for so long.

I suppose it really never was a fair fight though. With the impeachment tool foolishly taken "off the table" from the opening day of the 110th Congress, Waxman, Conyers, Leahy and Biden never really stood a chance of holding Bush and Cheney accountable for their eight-year, worldwide crime spree. You can bet every one of them are marking off each day on the calendar until the fascistic ones finally leave office for good.

But, you kinda have to hand it to Cheney. The man’s had the entire Congress tilted back on their collective heels. They've been reeling for almost two-years now; not knowing how to deal with the unprecedented level of stonewalling and mendacity doled out of the OVP on a daily basis. When they asked for documents and testimony, Cheney got creative and claimed he was neither in the executive branch nor the legislative branch. Whenever they issued STLs, Cheney ignored them altogether. And, when they issued subpoenas, Cheney's answer was, "So."

If Blackwater wasn’t such an abomination, I could almost admire the way they're able to manipulate the system and worm their way out of legal trouble like they do. Somehow, they've gotten away with profiteering and even multiple murders. Consequently, Blackwater has indeed become a cancer on this country, and as far as I'm concerned, there's a special place in hell just waiting for 'em.

Erik Prince has no soul. Yes, that is just a personal opinion but it's well-founded, and nothing demonstrates my point -- his dark spiritual void and lack of conscience -- better than the way he’s been able to circumvent the laws in Iraq; literally get away with murdering countless Iraqi citizens, and then turn around and use Shari’a Law in Afghanistan to get away with the deaths of three U.S. soldiers. The crash also killed the three man crew.

To escape culpability in the deaths due to a plane crash of one of its subsidiaries, Presidential Airways, Mr Prince has asked a federal court in Florida to use Islamic law to decide the case.

"This is not intended to be a mere discussion of violations of law that have occurred," said convener Lawrence Velvel, dean and cofounder of the school. "It is, rather, intended to be a planning conference at which plans will be laid and necessary organizational structures set up, to pursue the guilty as long as necessary and, if need be, to the ends of the Earth."

That doesn't sound like an empty threat, folks. And, it sure beats SWLs. (sternly worded letters)

The conference will be held on September 13-14 on the Andover campus.

"We must try to hold Bush administration leaders accountable in courts of justice," Velvel said. "And we must insist on appropriate punishments, including, if guilt is found, the hangings visited upon top German and Japanese war-criminals in the 1940s."

If you feel inclined to protest the Democratic National Convention in Denver this year, you might want to bring an extra set of underwear with you – and you may want to pack a bottle of Kaopectate™ as well.

The word is out. Political activists who’ve planned protests and rallies at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Denver are anticipating the use of a crowd control weapon known as the "crap cannon" that could be used against them. Also referred to as "Brown Note" the weapon is believed to emit an infrasound frequency capable of debilitating a person by making them defecate involuntarily.

I guess it was only a matter of time before they’d come up with a way to embarrass protesters who dare to exercise their First Amendment rights, but this is ridiculous. (if not unhealthy)

Through all the media and White House lies and obfuscation about whether or not the so-called "surge" is working; an essential, often ignored and sometimes intentionally obscured indicator of military and political success there has been the preeminent Shi'ite clerics who wield most of the political power in Iraq. The majority of those clerics, even the moderate ones, are growing increasingly restive over continued U.S. military presence.

Of the main Shi'ite clerics in Iraq, there can be no doubt that Moqtada al-Sadr is the most militant of the group. Over the past five plus years of the U.S. occupation of his country, Sadr and his army have clashed with coalition troops a number of times. Those clashes are over now. The Mahdi Army will not be engaging the occupying force anymore. Sadr’s army has officially been redeployed. But that redeployment isn’t nearly as auspicious as it sounds. In fact, Sadr's latest order could turn out to be the beginning of a very unfortunate if not unexpected turn of events.

I know this isn't the only impeachment diary in the last 24 hours, but I came upon this a couple of hours ago, and it comes from Conyers, where all impeachment proceedings must emanate from. Frankly, I’m kinda skeptical about Conyers being serious this time but as desperate as I am to exact some kind of accountability from the Bush crime family... I’ll take the chance that he’s indeed serious this time.

Actually, I think I’m still hyped up from watching Dennis Kucinich read off all 35 articles of impeachment on the House floor earlier. I figure it like this; if Dennis is still willing to spend 4 or 5 hours late into a Tuesday night to push this; why shouldn’t I support him?

Anyway...

Last Friday, Code Pink was granted a meeting with Chairman John Conyers, in which he challenged the intrepid, peace-lovin' protesters to explain to him why he should dismiss the five most common reasons indicating that impeachment is not possible.

The five reasons are below.

And, here we all (read: me) thought Obama was only in the Senate on Wednesday for a celebratory victory lap and a quick [righteous] smackdown of Joe Lieberman in front of his peers.

Hell, I have to admit; Obama’s a better man than I am. If I had just become the presumptive Democratic Nominee for POTUS the night before, I sure the hell wouldn't have been at work. I’d have been kickin’ back at home for a couple days with my wife and kids and a few bros; a big ol' Budweiser truck parked outside my house.

But, not Barack Obama

Fresh off the plane on Wednesday, the junior senator from the great state of Illinois sprinted to the U.S. Senate and introduced brand new legislation to further expand public access to information about government spending.

Here's how Obama described the bill on his website.

While the country has been deeply enthralled in this year's historic Democratic primary process, the Bush administration has embarked on a stealth mission to lock the Pentagon into multiple long-term contracts in Iraq; contracts that could prove troublesome for an incoming Obama administration, bound and determined to end the Iraqi occupation.

A handful of recent Defense Department contract signings in Iraq suggests that the Pentagon aims for a long U.S. military occupation of Iraq in perpetuity.

Unfortunately, the current prolonged election cycle has proven quite advantageous to the Bush administration's under-the-radar efforts to keep their corporate cronies' profiteering ventures scarfin' up gazillions of American taxpayer dollars for years to come. And, to those ends, the State Department has been working feverishly to indeed prolong the illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq for the foreseeable future.