The Diane Rehm Show today will have   Douglas Feith discussing his new novel.. er... memoir.. "War and Decision" (Harper).

I am thinking it would be good to have polite knowledgeable listeners  call in.

If you have the time, know your facts and call the show: 1-800-433-8850 (drshow@wamu.org). I apologize for  less than substantive diary entry.

More on faith based intelligence Doug on the flip

The Absentee Ballots  must be received by the Main Office of the Supervisor of Elections by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted.  Branch offices close at 5:00 p.m. on Election Day. until Tuesday. Voted Absentee Ballots cannot be turned in at the polls.  These instructions are from the  Palm Beach Supervisor of Elections. As to the headline see flip side.

"I was a Republican until they lost their minds," he said. "The word 'conservative' means 'discriminatory,' practically. It's a form of political discrimination. What do the Republicans run on? Against gay marriage and for a war that makes no sense. A war that was based on faulty intelligence. That's all they ever talk about. That and immigration. Another discriminatory argument for political gain."

Keep in mind this is what we can look forward to and apparantly truth alone is not enough to counter it. Keep this in mind when the GOP tells you the NY Times commits treason everytime it publishes an article exposing erosions of civil liberties, or when someone asks why Lamont over Joe "we criticize the president at our peril" Lieberman. The ground work is being laid.  

If I am not mistaken, Shelley Moore Capito, Don Young and Steven LaTourette are new additions to the roll call or if you prefer the Grand Ole Docket. Highlights from the AP article below the fold.

At Discourse.net Professor Froomkin reports that 20 students have taken over the Ashe Administration Building at the University of Miami and asks why is Donna Shalala afraid of Father Frank Corbishley?

The SEIU led strikers are demanding better pay, healthcare benefits and union representation.  God knows UM charges enough for tuition.

Below the fold are some of the new stories and what little info I posses. After you read it, go visit Professor Froomkin's blog for the on site play by play. He has several entries on the strike.

When engaged in a illegal actvities, it usually not considered smart to put things in writing. For a Brandeis graduate, Abramoff doesn't seem very bright.

Keep repeating: THIS is a GOP bribery scandal!

:"Luskin said Rove had been assured by prosecutors that he was not a target of the investigation. "We were advised recently that his status has not changed," he added".

As I recall if you are the target of a federal grand jury investigation you get a "Target Letter"  

Starting Friday, most Medicaid recipients in Mississippi will be limited to five prescription drugs at a time, with no process for appeal. The cap appears to be the most restrictive in the nation, but is just one of many measures being taken by states seeking to rein in soaring Medicaid costs.

Nevertheless, F.B.I. information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York.

The F.B.I. is conducting approximately 70 full field investigations throughout the U.S. that it considers bin Laden-related. C.I.A. and the F.B.I. are investigating a call to our embassy in the U.A.E. in May saying that a group of bin Laden supporters was in the U.S. planning attacks with explosives.

It is reasonable to ask what did the administration do with this information? Unfortunately, if Condi Rice is any guide..."In the memorandum that Dick Clarke sent me on January 25th, he mentions sleeper cells. There is no mention or recommendation of anything that needs to be done about them" ... its clear they were clueless. It is unfathomable to me that Condi Rice could be told there were sleeper cells in the US and then go on to indicate because she was not told what to do, she did nothing. Condi, if you hair is on fire do I have to tell you to put it out? In a similar vein, the Bushies now tell us because the threat information was not not specific the PDB was insufficient for them to take action. Bush, himself, is quoted by Bob Woodward as saying "I didn't feel that sense of urgency, and my blood was not nearly as boiling."

Feel safer knowing Bush is at the helm? Here is former Senator Bob Kerrey

Two things about that failure are clear to me at this point in our investigation. The first is that 9/11 could have been prevented, and the second is that our current strategy against terrorism is deeply flawed. In particular, our military and political tactics in Iraq are creating the conditions for civil war there and giving Al Qaeda a powerful rationale to recruit young people to declare jihad on the United States.

Molly Bloom

Today a new set of powerful presidential advisors have a new theory, a reverse domino theory. If we democratize Iraq, other middle eastern countries will become democracies. James Mann in his Rise of the Vulcans takes up the Halberstam mantle and tells the tale. The NY Times reviews it here.

DUBAI (Reuters) - A letter purporting to come from Osama bin Laden's militant Islamist al Qaeda network said a big attack on the United States was in the final stages of preparation, a london-based Arabic newspaper said on Thursday.

"We bring the good news to Muslims of the world that the expected 'Winds of Black Death' strike against America is now in its final stage...90 percent (ready) and God willing near," the letter said.

The letter, signed by the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades which said it is part of al Qaeda, was sent to the London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper. A copy of the letter was faxed to Reuters in Dubai.

It was not possible to independently authenticate the letter.

Its a given, if this were to occur, that Bush would exploit it. The two questions I have are:

1. In what specific ways will Bush exploit it?

2. How should Kerry respond to both to the attack and to Bush's exploitation?

SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS

Iraq WMD Was Not An Immediate Threat

· Iraq's nuclear program had been suspended for many years; Iraq focused on preserving a latent, dual-use chemical and probably biological weapons capability, not weapons production.

Iraqi nerve agents had lost most of their lethality as early as 1991.

· Operations Desert Storm and Desert Fox, and UN inspections and sanctions effectively destroyed Iraq's large-scale chemical weapon production capabilities.

Inspections Were Working

· Post-war searches suggest the UN inspections were on track to find what was there.

· International constraints, sanctions, procurement, investigations, and the export/import control mechanism appear to have been considerably more effective than was thought.

Intelligence Failed and Was Misrepresented

· Intelligence community overestimated the chemical and biological weapons in Iraq.

· Intelligence community appears to have been unduly influenced by policymakers' views.

· Officials misrepresented threat from Iraq's WMD and ballistic missiles programs over and above intelligence findings.

Terrorist Connection Missing

· No solid evidence of cooperative relationship between Saddam's government and Al Qaeda.

· No evidence that Iraq would have transferred WMD to terrorists-and much evidence to counter it.

· No evidence to suggest that deterrence was no longer operable.

Post-War WMD Search Ignored Key Resources

· Past relationships with Iraqi scientists and officials, and credibility of UNMOVIC experts represent a vital resource that has been ignored when it should be being fully exploited.

· Data from the seven years of UNSCOM/IAEA inspections are absolutely essential. Direct involvement of those who compiled the more-than-30-million- page record is needed.

War Was Not the Best-Or Only-Option

· There were at least two options preferable to a war undertaken without international support: allowing the UNMOVIC/IAEA inspections to continue until obstructed or completed, or imposing a tougher program of "coercive inspections."

Today 9 Americans died when a Black Hawk Helicopter was downed near Fallujah , Iraq. A witness  said the helicopter was hit in the tail by a rocket.  People died.

To date 591British or Americans have died in Iraq.  Bush lied, people died. And there were no WMD's.  May Bush rot in hell.