Tuesday News; More Iraqi Blues

Red text is the"real" headline buried in the news.
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.

BUSH WARS
Blast at Heavily Guarded Baghdad Hotel Kills Sunni Sheiks
Five sheiks and a political official supporting the arming of Sunni Arab tribes to fight against Al Qaeda in Iraq were among 12 people killed Monday in a massive bomb blast at a heavily guarded (apparently not heavy enough) Baghdad hotel. The early afternoon attack risked derailing an emerging alliance between Sunni Muslim tribal leaders (who had been promised a chance to purchase some of Carlisle's overstock of AK47's and other small arms) in long-restive Al Anbar province and the country's Shiite Muslim majority (who have been favored heavily over the Sunnis since the sacking of Baghdad) the day after a key round of negotiations to formalize their relationship with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's government. (...that bomber, likely a Shi'ite not wishing to see the Sunnis armed again, sure seemed to know right where there was a top-level gathering to attack. Like Viet Nam, in Iraq we have no idea who is REALLY on our side. And sometimes that is quite fluid, some Iraqis support us until we make friends with their sectarian enemies, then they consider us their enemy again, and devise revenge and destruction against us. No doubt, this latest incident will spark off a series of revenge murders and bombings, at least one for each Sheik left dead on the floor.)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq26jun26,0,493554.story

How about a new category?

"The Separation of Cult and State"

(Here's some early proof that Bush's new additions to The Supremes are not planning to be Constitutional Protectors. )
A divided Supreme Court yesterday stopped an atheist group's lawsuit against President Bush's faith-based initiative, ruling that the plaintiffs do not have standing in the case and thus enabling Bush to continue a program he created by executive order without congressional approval. (When Bush first announced this devious taxmoney giveaway, he was in Freedom Hall in Philadelphia, July 4, 2001. It was at that moment I realized just how pernicious his term in office would be to our basic Constitutional premises, this was Bush's "abomination of desolation" moment. And now the Supreme Court enables the deception.) The decision was made on a day when the high court showed its increasingly conservative tilt, approving restrictions on student speech, loosening limits on corporate- and union-paid advertising close to Election Day, and siding with developers in an environmental suit. (which describes the primary reason these particular judges were selected by Bush, all the social issue talk was a cover for corporate puppetry) All four cases were decided by 5 -to- 4 votes, with both of Bush's picks -- Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who replaced the late William Rehnquist, and Justice Samuel Alito, who was confirmed after Sandra Day O'Connor retired -- siding with the majority. (So the ultimate Pelican Brief Court now sits enthroned, acting out their role as corporate protectors, not defenders of The People or our Constitution. They live not by The Rule of Written Law, but by the unwritten laws of the corporate-controlled DC political jungle; survival of the meanest, sneakiest, and most spiritually bereft. And of the wealthiest... the perpetual dominance of politics by the non-partisan cocktail-weenie crowd is their one abiding, and most paramount concern.)
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/06/26/court_bars_suit_on_faith_based_plan/

US Attorney Firings, Voter Suppression, "Voter Fraud" Fraud;
Just parts of a much larger, devious Republican power-grab;
Blog Quote of the Day Thanx to
Katrina Vanden Heuval at "The Nation" ;
Thanks to rigorous work by the Brennan Center for Justice and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, it is clear that the US. Attorney scandal – as outrageous as it is on its own – is part of a much broader effort by the Bush Administration to use government institutions for partisan gain. In their report – Using Justice to Suppress the Vote – the two pro-democracy, pro-civil rights organizations demonstrate that the Administration used federal agencies charged with protecting voters' rights to promote voter suppression, influence voting rules, and gain advantage in battleground states. This was achieved through a four-pronged strategy: dismantling the infrastructure at the Department of Justice; fomenting a fear of rampant voter fraud (which has subsequently been disproved – it actually occurs "statistically…about as often as death by lightning strike"); politically motivated prosecutions; and restricting registration and voting. (The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place...)
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?pid=207819