Dems find that Bush Broke 26 Statutes

rom TPM Muckracker

The Bush administration may have broken over two dozen federal laws and regulations -- some of them multiple times -- according to an unreleased report from the House Judiciary Committee Democrats.

"The misconduct I have found is not only serious, but widespread," reads a draft summary of the report by Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI):

From the Report:

The laws implicated by the Administration's actions include federal laws against making false statements to congress [sic]; federal laws and international treaties prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; federal laws concerning retaliating against witnesses and other government employees; Executive Orders concerning leaking and other misuse of intelligence; federal regulations and ethical requirements governing conflicts of interest; the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act; communications privacy laws; the National Security Act; and the Fourth Amendment.

TPM goes on to point out that a report of this type may have been ignored in the past, but with the rising probability of a Democratic take over of the House this November - accusations such as this coming from a report generated by the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee (aka the Impeachment Committee) could mean a great deal of trouble for the end of the Bush Presidency.

It is fair to note that although Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has called for the hearings on the Mahar Torture Case, for the GAO to investigate Bush's prepackaged propoganda news, asked Patrick Fitzgerald to subpeona Jeff Gannon/Guckert's notes on Valerie Plame's ID and sought a full investigation of the Downing Street Minutes, but he has not yet called for the impeachment of George W. Bush

Some may feel that making the statement that Bush may have broken over 26 Federal Laws, but not calling for his immediate impeachment is a mistake.

But there are certainly realities we need to face not just as Democrats, but as Americans. The last thing we can afford to do, is to create the feeling of a purely partisan witch-hunt against at sitting President. I believe strongly that the many and numerous illegal activities of this administration - from 750 quasi-legal signing statements to War Crimes - need to be addressed forcifully and seriously or else the likelyhood of future Presidents repeating or even surpassing the totalitarian bent of this Admnistration will remain a sword dangling precariously over the tender vulerable neck of our Democracy.

Something has to be done - soon - but it has to be handled in the correct manner. Republicans and Conservatives - even some of the 23 Percenters - may have to be brought kicking and screaming back into the Reality Based World, but there's no other way to begin truly healing this nation from the damage George W. Bush has wrought unless it is done in a bi-partisan manner.

Now is not the time to call for Impeachment formally, now is the time to gather the documentation, gather the evidence -- but that time coming, and it won't be long now.

Vyan

Idol Worship in the Oval

From Thinkprogress:

Bush Works for Lasting Peace in the Middle East:

This afternoon at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Bush said he would “make every effort to achieve a lasting peace” in the Middle East. He got started right away. Here are some photos from the Oval Office immediately after the event:

Strangley absent from the photo-op was Idol finalist Elliot Yamin.

This of course could be a mere coincidence, Yamin probaby figured he could visit the President the next time the Idol's are invited. (Never mind the fact that this is the first time in five seasons this has occured, and apparently only happened this time because one of Idol Winner Taylor Hicks' Grade school teachers is now Laura Bush's Press Secretary).

Now, I'm not one to speculate - (yeah, right) but maybe Elliot was just sick and didn't want to give the President something he had. Yeah - that's the ticket. It probably had nothing what-so-ever to do with the current conflicts in the middle-east in Israel or Iraq. I mean, it's not like Elliot has any particular interest in those countries - except for the fact that his father Shaoul Yamin is of Iraqi descent, while his mother Claudette Goldberg-Yamin is Jewish-American.

Imagine that, an Iraqi and a Jew, married and having children (at least until their divorce when Elliot was 14) and then having one of those children become a finalist on American Idol. And better yet, that child having a chance to speak directly to the President of the United States - while both Iraq and Israel are at War - and missing it?

Methinks there's a big fat pink elephant in the Oval Office. Or rather - missing from the Oval Office. Elliot Yamin.

But then again, maybe I'm completely offbase. Maybe this has nothing to do with Elliot's choice, maybe he didn't decide to be left out - and that decision was made for him. Maybe it was the Secret Service, or White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten - or Turdblossom - they do have to protect the President from any undesirable persons, don't they?

Y'know - people with like bumper-stickers and stuff.

Or people who might ask embarrising or probing questions. People like Cindy Sheehan who just decided to buy a house in Bush's hometown, Crawford Texas. And rest assured that southern hospitality is already blooming.

"I wish she'd stay away. Crawford's a Republican town, and she's a dumb Democrat," Westerfield, a lifelong Crawford resident, said Friday while sitting on a bench outside a gas station on Main Street.

Heartwarming isn't it? She's only been camped outside President Bush's doorstep for months to ask one question "What Noble Cause did my Son Die For?" - and George has been ducking her the entire time. Brave man, that George.

If you or I were one of the "safe" Idol's who actually did meet the President, would you or wouldn't you feel the urge to ask Cindy's question for her?

Or maybe instead ask one of a half million other possible questions like "Mr. President...

• How could you endorse and allow torture by attempting to dodge the Geneva Conventions, don't you realize how that endangers our own troops? (Troops like Menchaka and Tucker)
  
  
• How could you authorize the Iraq War when all legitimate information pointed to Saddam already being disarmed?
  
  
• Even if you yourself disputed of the facts and intelligence data at the time (and have since been shown to be completely wrong), shouldn't you have erred on the side of caution and let the inspectors finish doing their jobs, rather than destroying the infrastruction of Iraq and causing the deaths of over 50,000 people?
  
  
• Is "Just Wait" really what you'd call an effective long term foreign policy?
  
  
• Is it a Civil War Yet when people start talking about a Coup against the Prime Minister?
  
  
• What happened to our 8.8 Billion dollars and can we have a refund since we obviously failed to buy Maliki's loyality away from his fellow Shia's in Hezbollah with it?
  
  
• Just how big was the federal deficit when you came into office again? Oh yeah, that's right - we didn't have one.
  
  
• Why's New Orleans still so fucked up - uh - a total disaster?
  
  
• Why do Donald Rumsfeld and Micheal Chertoff still have jobs? Do they have copies of compromising pictures of somebody? Did they forge the Killian Memos or the Niger-Uranium Document or something?
  
  
• How's that Social Security Reform Plan coming along?
  
  
• So, do you plan to wait to act until Israel has killed every living thing in Southern Lebanon - or just most of the children?
  
  
• Now that your Vice President's Chief of Staff has been indicted for perjury, your head of Domestic Procurement prosecuted for bribery and corruption and your Chief Domestic Policy Advisor arrested for shoplifting - do you still think you've brought "honor and integrity" back to the White House?
  
  
• Just what kind of shoes did Condi buy while the people of New Orleans were drowning?
  
  
• If the New York Times should be prosecuted for revealing (already public) information about the Bank Data program, what exactly should happen to columnist Robert Novak for revealing an undercover CIA agent and her entire operation which was working to prevent Iran from obtaining a Nuclear Bomb?
  
  
• Why haven't we caught or killed Osama Bin Laden yet? I thought we were gonna "Smoke 'em out"!
  
  
• So do you think the Rapture has already started, or we still have a couple more years for our stocks to mature?
  
  
• Isn't it great, now that Zarqawi is dead - our troops can start coming home (as long as they call "home" Baghdad, that is) ?
  
  
• Hey, I forgot this phone number of this girl I called once on Saturday, November 21st 2004 at 1:37 am Pacific Standard Time - could have the NSA get that back for me?

Do you think maybe the reason he did meet with Idol's, besides doing a big favor for Laura, is the fact he had assurances that they wouldn't ask those kinds of questions?

But how could you not? How could let an oppurtunity to get an answer, any answer - even one of Bush's typical bullshit answers like "Freedom is on the March" - slip away?

I don't know if Elliot had a cold that day, if he had strong enough feelings that he didn't want to be in the proximity of George Bush, or the reverse - members of the Bush Adminstration felt he couldn't be trusted not to pressure or embarass the President - I just don't know.

I'm just saying, whether you approve or disagree with George Bush's Presidency, if you had a chance to speak your mind directly to the man - even in the middle of a photo-op of this type - would you pass it up?

I know I wouldn't.

What would you ask him?

Vyan

Update: People Magazine (not a News source I generally frequent) has a report up that indicates that Yamin simply overslept and only missed the photo session.

Elliott Yamin missed the first part of the visit with the President. About five minutes after it started, he was seen racing down the hall toward the Oval Office, wiping his brow and saying, "Phew!" "He was sleeping!" Young explains, adding that the Idols - who have been on the "American Idols Live" tour since July 6 - arrived in Washington, D.C., at 5:30 a.m., and that some of them have been having a hard time sleeping on the bus that takes them from city to city.

Leave it to AI to be banal to the end - that is if you believe this "story" from People. /snark.

Welcome to the Police State: New Bush Terrorism Bill

Via Dkos there is a new AP Report detailing the Bush Administrations plans to end-run the Hamdan decision by making it possible to indefinately detain any U.S. Citizen Suspected of ties to terrorism

WASHINGTON - U.S. citizens suspected of terror ties might be detained indefinitely and barred from access to civilian courts under legislation proposed by the Bush administration, say legal experts reviewing an early version of the bill.

According to the draft, the military would be allowed to detain all "enemy combatants" until hostilities cease. The bill defines enemy combatants as anyone "engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners who has committed an act that violates the law of war and this statute."

Legal experts said Friday that such language is dangerously broad and could authorize the military to detain indefinitely U.S. citizens who had only tenuous ties to terror networks like al Qaeda.

"That's the big question ... the definition of who can be detained," said Martin Lederman, a law professor at Georgetown University who posted a copy of the bill to a Web blog.

Lets put this in perspective and suppose that instead of being arrested by the FBI, the Liberty Seven (the set of ne'er-do-wells from Florida who were about the blow up the Sears Tower on the orders and by the direction of undercover government agents - just as soon as they hitchhiked their way to it) were instead shipped directly off to Gitmo. No Court Order. No Warrant. No possibility of Bail. No Trial. No attorneys. Nothing. Boom. Zip. Gone.

Poof!

Hello people, we're just about to enter the land of the Disappeared - something that only used to occur in jungles of hot sweaty Central American Countries like Bolivia during the 80's drug and Contra Wars.

Don't think it can happen here? It already has been happening. Last year in Italy 14 U.S. Intelligence Agents were indicted for kidnapping an Egyptian Imam named Abu Omar (aka Osama Nasr Mostafa Hassan) who was then "rended" to Egypt in a Gulfstream jet and (according to him) brutally tortured. He's since been released and filed a lawsuit, because it turns out he diddn't have actual ties to terrorism - they were merely suspected - and wrong.

There is also the case of a German citizen of Lebanese decent named Khalid el-Masri, who was arrested and held for five months in Afghanistan because his name was the same as someone else who was "suspected" of having ties to terrorism.

And just how would such a policy dovetail with the Terrorist Surveillance Program?

After this program was revealed President Bush stated:

After September the 11th, I vowed to the American people that our government would do everything within the law to protect them against another terrorist attack. As part of this effort, I authorized the National Security Agency to intercept the international communications of people with known links to al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations. In other words, if al Qaeda or their associates are making calls into the United States or out of the United States, we want to know what they're saying.

First, our international activities strictly target al Qaeda and their known affiliates. Al Qaeda is our enemy, and we want to know their plans. Second, the government does not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval. Third, the intelligence activities I authorized are lawful and have been briefed to appropriate members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat. Fourth, the privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities.

We're not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans. Our efforts are focused on links to al Qaeda and their known affiliates. So far we've been very successful in preventing another attack on our soil.

Since these statements were made back in May, it's become clear that this program is far more extensive than then President revealed. As revealed by Business Week, the GAO has discovered that not only is the NSA tracking tens of millions of American phone calls - they've also been buying personal data about millions of Americans.

The Departments of Justice, State, and Homeland Security spend millions annually to buy commercial databases that track Americans' finances, phone numbers, and biographical information, according to a report last month by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. Often, the agencies and their contractors don't ensure the data's accuracy, the GAO found.

We now know thanks to the New York Times - although we'd already been told over and over and over again - that the U.S. government has been tracking the financial transactions of "suspected" terrorists.

But what if some of those "suspected" terrorists are innocent like Masri and Hassan?

There's an old saying about data collection : Garbage in - Garbage out.

Back in January the New York Times revealed that virtually all of the leads generated by the NSA which had been referred to the FBI led to dead-ends. Instead of finding and investigating would-be terrorist or terror sympathisers - the FBI instead found that the NSA surveillance had led them to school teachers, community activists and - gasp - War Protestors.

But the results of the program looked very different to some officials charged with tracking terrorism in the United States. More than a dozen current and former law enforcement and counterterrorism officials, including some in the small circle who knew of the secret eavesdropping program and how it played out at the F.B.I., said the torrent of tips led them to few potential terrorists inside the country they did not know of from other sources and diverted agents from counterterrorism work they viewed as more productive.

"We'd chase a number, find it's a school teacher with no indication they've ever been involved in international terrorism - case closed," said one former FBI official, who was aware of the program and the data it generated for the bureau. "After you get a thousand numbers and not one is turning up anything, you get some frustration."

There are still about 450 people being held at Gitmo, and estimates have varied that between 70%-90% of them have no ties to terrorism what-so-ever and were only sent there because of bounty hunters from rival tribes who sold them to U.S. forces after claiming they were linked to Al Qaeda or the Taliban.

And you wonder why we haven't come close to catching Zawahiri or Bin Laden yet?

So if Bush has his way, instead of winding up with a big fat FBI file -- (which of course, can still be mined by political operatives - or used to scrub voter roles) -- some of those thousands school teachers, veterans, activists and protestors who popped up on the NSA's radar - or whose neighbor just might be hard-up for rent money - just might find themselves on a one way trip to Gitmo for a little hard bargining session (as they used to call it on The X-Files).

Lovely.

Perhaps all this is why Alberto Gonzales seems to hell-bent on creating a exception to the War Crimes Act for actions taken as part of the War On Terror. A crime isn't a crime - if it's legal, is it?

Welcome to the Police State People, hope you brought a helmet.

Vyan

Abu Says - When in doubt, make War Crimes Legal!

That's the new mantra coming from Alberto Gonzales and some Republicans on the hill as a result of the Hamdan (pdf) Decision which clearly laid reestablished the groundwork for soldiers, Pentagon Officials and even the President to be held accountable for violations of the War Crimes Act of 1996.

In 2002, fearing that the President policies might run afoul of this law, as White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales recommended that "Enemy Combatants" be exempted from Geneva Protections.

Now that this view has been obliterated by the SCOTUS - Abu has taken a different tact. Create an immunity from War Crime prosecution for those fighting the "War on Terror".

<> Which of course would cover - um - everyone in the Government since we don't have any other types of impending Wars right now.

Over a year ago Amnesty International called for the investigation, arrest and prosecution of George W. Bush and many of his senior staff including Gonzales and Rumsfeld for War Crimes Violations.

It's clear from Gonzales actions that the threat posed by Amnesty's allegations aren't something he considered to be simply "idle". And it's also clear from the 26 Detainee deaths-in-custody that have already been determined to be homocide due to cruel treatment - that this issue is not going away anytime soon.

From the Washington Post.

An obscure law approved by a Republican-controlled Congress a decade ago has made the Bush administration nervous that officials and troops involved in handling detainee matters might be accused of committing war crimes, and prosecuted at some point in U.S. courts.

Senior officials have responded by drafting legislation that would grant U.S. personnel involved in the terrorism fight new protections against prosecution for past violations of the War Crimes Act of 1996. That law criminalizes violations of the Geneva Conventions governing conduct in war and threatens the death penalty if U.S.-held detainees die in custody from abusive treatment.

In light of a recent Supreme Court ruling that the international Conventions apply to the treatment of detainees in the terrorism fight, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has spoken privately with Republican lawmakers about the need for such "protections," according to someone who heard his remarks last week.

So Gonzales' previous attempts to end-run around Geneva have been thwarted by the Scotus and the War Crimes Act 18 USC § 2441 which documents War Crimes:

(1) as a grave breach in any of the international conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party;

(2) prohibited by Article 23, 25, 27, or 28 of the Annex to the Hague Convention IV, Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, signed 18 October 1907;

(3) which constitutes a violation of common Article 3 of the international conventions signed at Geneva, 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party and which deals with non-international armed conflict; or

(4) of a person who, in relation to an armed conflict and contrary to the provisions of the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices as amended at Geneva on 3 May 1996 (Protocol II as amended on 3 May 1996), when the United States is a party to such Protocol, willfully kills or causes serious injury to civilians.

It seems that this Law really worries Gonzales, and just why would that be? More from Wapo:

Gonzales told the lawmakers that a shield is needed for actions taken by U.S. personnel under a 2002 presidential order, which the Supreme Court declared illegal, and under Justice Department legal opinions that have been withdrawn under fire [such as the Bybee memos], the source said. A spokeswoman for Gonzales, Tasia Scolinos, declined to comment on Gonzales's remarks.

The Justice Department's top legal adviser, Steven G. Bradbury, separately testified two weeks ago that Congress must give new "definition and certainty" to captors' risk of prosecution for coercive interrogations that fall short of outright torture.

But why are we back to this yet again? Didn't the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 essentially ban all cruel and unusual treatment of Detainees? Then again, maybe it didn't since the Graham-Levin Amendment to that law essential created a barrier between detainees and their ability to fight against poor treatment via the courts - a barrier that Hamdan ripped down with a back-hoe.

No matter what - these guys want the ability to torture people. That's the bottom line. Even when using such techniques have only brought us bad information, such as the claims of links between Saddam and Al Qaeda that we received from Ibn Sheik al-Libi at Gitmo which turned out to be completely false.

They just keep trying snake around the law. Geneva in the way? -- deny it applies. Supreme Court says it does? Rewrite the law -- even if you still have those pesky ex-post facto issues to iron out. But they still have one hurdle they can't easily jump and that is the 8th Amendment to the Constitution:

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

The Constitutionality of a Law that is specifically designed to allow for violations of the 8th Amendment is a non-starter. It's crazy. Looney-tunes. Insane in the membrane.

But here we are, with serious discussion of this very thing happening on Capitol Hill. How do we get back to sanity again?

Vyan

Rock Star Supernova - Week 4 Elimination

Well it's the fourth elimination show, and for the third out of four times - I'm shocked.

I'm not quite ready to start calling out that there's a rat in the rabbit farm, but I'm getting close because this decision was just plain ridiculous.

During yesterdays performance show was pretty impressive and once I had the chance to hear them, I noticed that many of Supernova's comments matched my own. They felt that Magni's guitar was unneccesary, particularly for the song he was singing. There was a lot more back and forth between the band and Patrice than I'd previously been aware - especially Dave Navarro's "I have a job".

Storm getting the encore for "Anything Anything" was cool, and most excellent. She of course killed it - again.

And then we went into the new bottom three selections and I can't say I was surprised by any of those who at least temporarily joined their ranks except for Jill. She actually had a killer performance even without grinding on Gilby. It could be argued that she hasn't really shown her own personality on stage yet and has instead been regurgitating generic stage moves, but it can't be said that she hasn't sang her guts out.

Her one bit about "everything in rock being done already" certainly brought the SN boys to a dead stop - and I have to agree with them. Everything hasn't been done, and if you go into with that belief - you'll never find the next great thing, let alone invent it.

Patrice's performance of "My Iron Lung" by Radiohead was a ballsy choice - but a great one. I'm not a big Radiohead fan, but this song had the kind of drama and dynamics that Patrice needed to show. She's already proven she can sing, but can she stop and audience dead in it's tracks with just a look! Can she bring them to a fever pitch and drop them to their knees? That's what you get from someone like Eddie Vedder or Bono in their prime.

She definately took it up a notch, and then kept cranking. Once she was done I was absolutely sure she was staying.

Next up was ZaYEEda. Oh God. What's with the Silver Chun Li (Street Fighter II) outfit? Everytime this girl goes onstage I feel like we're in for another episode of Spooky Kabuki Theater. Now I have to admit that yes, it is mezmorizing - I can't look away - I can't take my eyes off her. Either because she's obviously jazzer-sized herself down to a size freaking ZERO - or that fact she's about to do something creepy and weird again.

But this time- this time, all I can say is that her rendition of "I'm not an addict" by K's Choice was a snooze fest. Zayra simply doesn't have the vocal quality or magnetism to just stand their with a microphone without moving and truly deliver chills with a song. She aint got it. Dilana can do it (and has), even Dana has shown she could do it last night. But Zayra brought nothing to the table tonight except possible eyestrain with yet another radioactive outfit.

When she was done I fully expected this to be Zarya's Last Stand.

Last up was Phil, and I've had my doubts about him. Mr head-bob seems to be in his own world and this performance he finally let us join him with a song by Failure. It was a real quirky song - right up his alley, but what got me was his physical performance. He completley took command of the stage - and I could absolutely see what he was doing work in a heavier context like Supernova's with an EMO twist. I'm not an Emo fan, but there are millions of them out there - and they would absolutely love to see a band with some chops and a unique, different and daring singer leading them. Just think about Avenged Sevenfold and how rabidly intense their fans can and you get the picture. For the first time I was really feeling Phil, more than his performance of "White Rabbit" last week - where his stage precense was fine, but the vocal was all over the map. Tonight he had both under control, and did a great job IMO.

So now we get to the Shock and Awe part of the evening. Supernova decides to keep Patrice (good move) and to Dump Phil! It was a moment nearly as suprising as Ty's sudden exit last year was to the hamsters. The look on their faces was total surprise.

I think the band already knows who they want, they've already narrowed things down to their top two or three - and that's Storm, Dilana and possibly Magni - with Lukas being an outside dark horse unless he can show the boys a different voice, and Toby being a distant possibility. What happens to anyone before they get down to the nitty gritty of chosing between the frontrunners is really just irrelevent minutia in the end -- but there's is that basic nagging concept of fairness. I know - silly me.

There is simply no good reason why Zayra is still on this show. I admit I've felt this from the first scene in the first reality show where she gave this cringe-worthy performance in the recording studio - she doesn't belong here. Sure, the black catsuit and Wonderfriends Wear have been delicious eye-candy -- but it's just not enough damnit.

On the other hand there are tons of bad reasons for her to remain -- the first I won't even voice - too icky, but the second is obvious - ratings. Keeping her on the show a little longer before she finally gets shuffled off is going to keep the viewers who either love her or fucking hate her (like I do) watching a bit more intensely. Of course the other option is that it might cause a backlash from people feeling that things just might be a little hinky.

The excuse that Phil just didn't have the "commitment" was just plain lame. Where the hell did that shit come from? If it was so important that they let Phil go because of it don't you think they would have mentioned it to him before? What is this - a rerun of the sacking of Dave Mustaine from Metallica? ("Hey dude, wake up - you're out of the band - here's you bus ticket home - cya!) That crap has caused him issues to this very day (as was shown in Metallica documentary "Some Kind of Monster")

I don't buy it.

Especially when they used the lame "Duran Duran" excuse on Matt in week 1, and then tossed out Chris right after he put on his best performance, and the best of that night.

So far the only person who left when the should have left has been Jenny. Meanwhile we're stuck with Zazoo the Martian for another week (and I would expect more) - Yikes!

During the outro credits Z stated that her remaining on the show was even a shock to her - "It's a Miracle". Honey, "Miracle" doesn't even begin to describe it.

Update: After looking in on the Rock Band.com forums - it appears that the missing information regarding Phil's exit may or may not have had something to do with comments made in this article:

Jenny Galt, a contestant on Rock Star: Supernova who was eliminated from the competition, is criticizing both the band’s first single and the commitment to the new band’s long-term success.

“Tommy Lee’s got Motley Crue and Jason Newsted’s very passionate about (Canadian metal band) Voivod, there are a lot of questions as to whether this band is going to really take off. That’s up in the air,” she said. “And then, how much commitment do the actual members of Supernova have? There was a lot of chit-chat in the (Rock Star) mansion about that.”

She also says the contestants in the house aren’t thrilled with the band’s first single. “A lot of people in the group are skeptical about what kind of music they are playing. (Supernova) say they want to do something fresh and new, but then the first track we got to hear, a lot of people were just like, ‘Eww, I’m not sure if I like this,’” she said. “It sounded just like that same old, boys’ rock ‘n’ roll kind of glam thing they said they weren’t going to be doing. It was a bit surprising.”

Jenny's been gone since last week, so she must have been refering to the tracks the SN was playing in the studio during the first Reality Segment, which each contestant had a chance to make up words and melodies for right then and there (except Ryan who punked out). Phil at that point just scatted some melody lines, and actually managed to impress Butch Walker with his voice -- although it appears that in reality he wasn't that much into the actual music itself, and when you consider the song he choose to exit with, I can see that his musical direction is vastly different from that of Supernova.

Here are some more examples:

Ritchie said his primary goal for competing is to gain exposure for his band. "I mean, really I just hope to gain exposure. I love my band and I love the music," he said. "I'm not stoked about the music Supernova's popping out."

He said he knows if he wins the competition he's obligated to tour with the band, but that's a risk he's willing to take.

"I may have taken a risk. I love my boys back home, but you know I still have to look out for myself in this world," he said. "I've got to create opportunities for myself, and this is too huge an opportunity to say no to."

Supernova are actually in the same position that I've faced in my previous bands like Planet X, where doing the music you love to do sets you adrift in a sea of people chasing the modern rock dragon - trying to out-grunge grunge and out-emo the Emo bands. They say it makes you seem "Dated" simply because you refuse to jump on their trend-o-mat band wagon - which is just a bunch of fucking bullshit.

If some of those guys didn't feel it in their bones that they want to be in this band - the way I did when I first walked into that storage shed back in 1998 and heard the riff for what eventually became Pay Your Dues (the CD is out of print but downloads and samples are availble on MSN Music and Rhapsody) the first time - they shouldn't be in this band, period.

Yes, that includes Phil, but it also IMO include Zayra and a few others (Jill) who seem to have completely different musical ideas than those of the band.

Vyan

Rock Star Supernova - Week 4 Performances

Ok, this is going to be a rip n run review of the performances because I spent all of tuesday night in the Emergency Room with my wife who had a bladder and kidney infection flare up. (She's resting fine now).

After about 17 hours in the waiting room, I realized I'm totally addicted to this show when the prospect of having to sit through "The One" - which was locked into the overhead tv screen - practically brought me to tears. Yeah, sure i was recording Rock Star at home but I wouldn't see it for I had no idea how many hours. Fortunately we managed to move to an adgacent area and switch a tv to CBS without anyone bitching. Waa hoo..

We didn't manage to pull this off until the first four performances had already gone by - so the first thing I saw was Magni doing "Heroes". He sounded good, but let me lodge a little complaint about so-called "singer-songwriters" who never freaking PLAY THEIR GUITAR. It's not an ornament dude, either play it or put it down. I've been singing and playing guitar for over 20 years, and if I had an opputunity like this I'd bloody well *play* something - in fact, I'd play some lead guitar just because I can, and it's something Supernova actually needs as far as I'm concerned. I mean, Gilby's cool and all - but he ain't SLASH. (The little guitar segment during this weeks Reality Episode made that abundantly clear)

Ok, Dilana sounded great. Even though her voice has some odd inflections and her technique is actually bad - it works for her. It gives her character and personality. Sometimes being an overtrained singer can make you sound generic, and Dilana is not generic. Her delivery of Cindy Lauper's "Time after Time" was mezmerizing. This is a performance who you simply can't predict, never does the obvious thing - and always delivers. She remains probably the number one contender to win this entire thing IMO, even if she did miss a few notes -- she did everything else so well it doesn't matter.

Phil - was weak. He just didn't bring it at all. And the head-bobble was back. He just fell right back into all of his habits - but I will say this, he's learned to enunciate and has lost his "mumble mouth" status. The main problem he had this time was the song, which I frankly think he did better than Jason Dylan's original performance -- but that ain't saying much.

Ryan has been getting better, and his performance of "I Alone" was probably his best yet. But he was still flubbing the low notes in the intro - which is inexcusable for a song he's been singing since he was 15. I mean c'mon dude - if you can't get it after a dozen years - when *are* you gonna get it? He still didn't look like he knows what he's doing on stage, at least not until the second chorus - and by then it was too little, too late. If he isn't B3 fodder this week, he should be.

Update: On rewatching when I finally got home - 23 hours later - this performance looked better, a lot better. Ryan is safe for now and if he keeps this level of intensity up he might make it to the final five - but can he?

Josh just sounded lost on his song. He's struggling to make the song interesting to himself after deleting all the extra notes he's used to throwing in. I know exactly what he's feeling, because I've been through the same thing going from Soul to Hard Rock... but ya gotta SUCK IT UP man. There is a bridge between the two music forms, one that people like Paul Rogers have walked for decades. What you do is trade lots of notes for a few really good ones, and Josh's problems is that he seem like he's been using his vocalese and "melisma" to cover up some bad vocal habits. Rather than amping his performance up by focusing it - those weaknesses are more evident as he slides off notes and looks listless. This boy is in trouble.

Jill Rocked the House with Gilby on "Brown Sugar", she looked totally comfortable and in her element. Good job. He still has the "Bluesy" strike going against her compared to what Supernova is ultimately trying to do - but in her cause she does bridge the gap and does so easily. Josh may be on his last legs, but Jill is standing tall.

The last performance I saw live was Storm's- and she freaking killed it. This is the first modern sounding song she's done so far, and it was no trouble at all - so the likelyhood of her being stuck in a "classic rock" rut is pretty much over. Her technique is a tad better than Dilana's - but she still has character of her own, which is a good place to be. Plus she totally owns that stage - she could probably sing the phone book and keep everyone glued to the stage and TV. She's still my personal favorite, and if she keeps this kind of thing up - she's got a great shot a getting the final gig. One thing about Storm is that she doesn't oversing, she seems to understand about economy of effort and also about the idea of creating a bigger finish than you start with. In most of her songs she doesn't automatically go running for the BIG NOTE - the way that Dana would - she lets the song simmer, before boiling over. That shows good arranging skills as well as being a consumate showman. Can't say enough good stuff about Storm.

Ok - as I type this (from work) - I've taken a look at some of the performances I missed last night via the RS website and the first one up is Lukas doing "Bittersweat Melody" and as usually he has his own take on the song. Unlike his previous ballad in week 2, this one was much more effective. He has quite a few limitations in his voice, but like Dilana, it makes him standout. He could do without the Billy Idol snear though - that was week 1 dude. Also, again with the guitar playing that can't be heard -- enough with that shit already ok? Either let the man be heard, have him play somethng unique, or put the damn guitar down.

Dana IMO made a bad choice by doing "About a Girl" acoustically. She's been in a fight to prove that she can "Rock", and although it was a decent performance and did a decent respect to Nirvana's unplugged original - I think she should've just plugged it in and let a rip. Yet again we're on a trip back to the Lillith Faire - stop with that shit already will ya? Plus the thing about his song is the contrast of subltety and power, but Dana sang nearly the entire song at 9 1/2 - which doesn't leave you a lot of room to put four on the floor once you get to the energetic part (as both Storm and Dilana would do). She did manage to shift into another gear for the finale, but rather than being something that throws you into the back of your seat it was more like coming down off a speed bump. Pretty good, but not what she needs to do.

<>Update: Again, on rewatching this once I got home, I was wrong. Dana did bring it by giving the performance an intensity that wasn't evident when watching through Window Media Player. Our little country flower has done all growed up. sniff



Toby's performance - I couldn't get to play online so I'll have to deal with it when I get home -(Update: Not bad, but nothing special). so the last song I have to review is Zayeeeda doing "Call me" in the alien jumpsuit from HELL. Jesus, this girl is from Mars! Are we sure that Magni is the one from Borjk's homeland of Iceland? Ok, never mind the eye searing outfit - never mind spastic stage performance - she ran into more than a little vocal trouble on this one. Sure, it wasn't as bad as her first crack at "You Really Got me", and she did manage to hit the notes she really needed to hit - but there was a whole lotta fluff and flubbing going on in between. I don't know what to say about this girl - I feel like I have to watch her from between my fingers. And if Gilby thought Jill's bump and grind was cheap- what does that say about Zayeeda in her Skin-tight Superhero outfit? Is she trying out for the Justice League or a Rock Band? Good grief.

Vyan

Lynn Woolsey calls for Repeal of Iraq War

Today on Dailykos Rep. Lynn Woolsey has called for the Repeal of H.R. 141 - the Iraq War Resolution.

Six weeks after we invaded Iraq, President Bush stood aboard an aircraft carrier before a banner that read "Mission Accomplished," declaring that "major combat operations in Iraq are over." From that moment on, we were no longer fighting a war, but rather participating in an occupation.

An occupation cannot be won. The President has put our troops in a position they should not have gotten into in the first place.

Our troops were not prepared to occupy Iraq. They weren't given the proper equipment, nor were they properly trained. And most importantly, the US Congress never authorized this President to undertake an occupation.

This occupation of Iraq must end, now, and President Bush must bring our troops home.

Under our Constitution the Power to Declare War rests exclusively with the Congress, yet with this resolution the Congress actually delegated their authority to the President to make the determination on whether we would go to War or not.

Sec 3. (b) PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATION.
In connection with the exercise of the authority granted in subsection (a) to use force the President shall, prior to such exercise or as soon there after as may be feasible, but no later than 48 hours after exercising such authority, make available to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate his determination that
(1) reliance by the United States on further diplomatic or other peaceful means alone either (A) will not adequately protect the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq or (B) is not likely to lead to enforcement of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq, and
(2) acting pursuant to this resolution is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorists attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.

We now know unequivically that Iraq had already complied fully with all relevant UN resolution as was made clear by the Dulfer Report, claims of ignorance by the Bush Administration are hard to fathom when Saddam Hussein provided the US and UN with a full and complete disclosure of the status of thier WMD programs five months before the war.

We now know that all claims of links between Saddam and 9-11 were false and the work of fabricator who provided this information most likely to put an end to being tortured in Gitmo.

This Resolution clearly required the President to ensure that all Diplomatic means of disarming Saddam were employed before we invaded. He failed at this.

Rep. Woolsey is absolutely correct that a lengthy occupation of Iraq was never authorized by Congress. We have completely botched the job of training the Iraqi Military so far, but it's high time that we put some fire under their feet to get their shit together, not simply to save our own skins -- but because it's the best thing for the Iraqi people to take control and responsibility for thier own country.

What's that old conservative adage about giving a man a fish and him eating for a day - and teaching a man to fish and he eats everyday?

It's long past time we turned over the fishing pole. Back to Woolsey:

That is why, today, I am introducing the Iraq War Powers Repeal Act of 2006. It is past time for Congress to demand that the Bush Administration come clean on Iraq, and put the safety of our troops, and the security of our nation first.

By repealing the Iraq War Powers, Congress would resume its Constitutional role overseeing the use of military force, and would reassert its authority by bringing our troops home.

Of course, the passage of this bill will be an up-hill struggle, but it is a fight that we can no longer avoid. Rescinding the President's war powers in Iraq is the least that we can do for our troops, and for their families who anxiously await their return. With over 2,550 brave men and women having given their lives, and thousands seriously wounded, how many more must die before we put an end to this madness?

With over 100 Iraqis dying each day -- how many indeed?

Vyan

Rock Star: Supernova - Week 4 Reality Show

Well, it's been an entire month now and for the most part the hamsters in the mansion are getting along. All except for Ryan and Dana who were still cat-fighting over Ryan's comments about Dana looking and sounding like a pop star. (Which she did, and even admitted after seeing the footage) But watching that little tiff was hardly worth the effort to download.

On the other hand, this week was also the songwriting contest - where last year J.D. pulled away from the pack by pitching a fit over what eventually became his own personal anthem - "Pretty Vegas", this years group had some much less pointed results.

Splitting into three teams of 4, led by each of the first three weeks encore performers - Dilana, Toby and Magni - whose primary job was essentially picking who they wanted on their team. Dilana's strategy was to choose Lukas first - because she "would prefer him closer, rather than further away". And just like on every playground all over the world, someone had to be last picked -- in this case it was Dana.

However, Dilana's choice of Lukas almost became their undoing - as once he did manage to come up with a chorus melody and hook line for the song, he basically shutdown and stopped participating other than to become passive-aggressive about pressuring the others (Dilana, Ryan and Storm) to write the rest while spending most of his time wandering the mansion and drinking. Class-y.

Team leader Magni also butted heads with Jill the Italian powerhouse on the issue of songwriting methods. Magni is one who likes to listen to the song over and over to let it soak in - Jill likes to try out different riffs as she listens and you can't do both at the same time. Magni has already written and recorded six albums in Iceland, so he's pretty comfortable and confident on his methods -- Jill was a little rattled and frustrated by him, to say the least.

After an afternoon of drinking, Lukas wasn't able to lay down the vocal line that he himself had written - so Storm had to take over. In fact, Storm essentially took over the entire "band" from that point forward, becoming the lead singer on their version of the song and running their entire song-writting session. It was good to see Storm finally get some screen time during one of the Reality Episodes since she been persona non drama up until this point. She's a total pro - she is already is a Rock Star and it shows.

The one element, the process of songwriting is what makes this show stand out above and beyond all the other "Band" reality shows out there. This week I actually watched an episode of P. Diddy's "Making the Band 3" where his fresh faced set of wanna-be Divas finally went into the studio to record their first song -- and they spent the entire time having their lines and melodies fed to the by the real song writer, a heavy set cream puff of a man named "Pooh Bear". He'd squeak out the vocal line in a tiny little falsetto (head voice) in order to make it sound like a girls, they they tried to echo it back into the mic.

It was pathetic.

And then after that P. Diddy comes in and say- ok, you can't sing that - so you need to sing this, and you shouldn't do that you do this instead. And people's feelings get hurt because someone actually had the balls to point out that they SUCKED on that part - But that's what happens in Pop. Other people make the creative decisions and the "talent" has to do what they're told.

In Rock - it's different. You have to stand up for yourself, make your own choices and deal with your own consequences. The only other show I've ever seen address this was Vh-1's Supergroup, where Sebastian Bach and the rest of his band Damnocracy - featuring Ted Nugent, Scott Ian (Anthrax), Evan Seinfeld (Biohazard) and Jason Bonham - went head to head with the corporate handlers and shapers for the eleven days they were trapped in front of the cameras, and eventually came back with a couple decent tracks from the deal.

This is the stuff you are not going to see on American Idol, America's Got Talent or "The One" - the ugly frustrating wonderful process people go through to create that song you loved so much.

There's a reason that I spend so much time writing about this show or Supergroup - it's because Rock matters. Real Rock and Roll is the music that came directly from the cry from freedom by people oppressed by Jim Crow and the fight against the social strangle-hold of the 50's mindset. What I'm writing about on most of my other blog posts is the ongoing struggle to keep that bullshit from returning - the inspirational and liberating power of Rock Music was a vital tool in reshaping America and the world. It was crucial to the Civil Rights movement. The Soviet economy collapsed the way it did, not simply because of the arms race, but also because young Russian kids were in love with blue jeans, Coke Cola and Rock and Roll. They desperately wanted the Freedom that Rock represents. Rock bands - good ones like the Beatles the Clash, the Ramones, U2, Van Halen and the groups who participated in the Moscow Music and Peace Festival (Bon Jovi, Cinderella, Skid Row, Ozzy Osborne and Motley Crue) in 1989 just a couple years before the Berlin Wall fell - were our most vital cultural ambassadors to Soviet Russia. They matter. They helped tear that wall down. They helped change the world.

It's not entirely an accident I think that two of the songs from last week "Fortunate Son" and "White Rabbit" were 60s protest songs while Brooke Burke wore a "Make Music Not War" t-shirt. We should all take heed.

Anyway...

When time came to perform their songs for Tommy Lee and the Supernova boys - the Dilana/Lukas/Storm group was up first and gave them chills with their rendition. Storm sang the verses while all four of them came together for the choruse, the song was strong, damn near radio ready - but not something that any single member could claim. Still the point was made that Lukas had written the chorus riff, and he recieved an extra slicing of praise - even though he'd spent the rest of the writing session acting like a punk-ass.

The second track was written primarily by Phil, and was extremely - quirky. Kinda like Radiohead on Meth. But it apparently seemed to work as Jason stated - "It was just quirky enough to be interesting".

The third and final track was the Magni/Jill magnum opus - which featured a syncopated vocal rythm and lush four part harmonies. Rather than being another over the top "Stop/Go" vocal excersize in excess - this one seemed to also blow the SN boys away.

In the end, they decided that all three groups had "won" the contest and invited them all enjoy a victory feast with the band. Personally I think this was a bit of a cop-out, and a failure on their part to make a decisive choice. The did still indicate that the gospel tinges of the Magni/Jill song isn't the direction they intend to go - a fact that was further illustrated when they let the hamster finally hears some Supernova tracks.

Ironically, it was Storm who the producers let described them - which she did as "Top down, cruising, rock and roll" - which just might indicate that they've finally noticed she has some interesting things to say and isn't shy about saying them.

This weeks song selection went somewhat smoother than last week, and yet again - it was thanks to Storm who was essentially running and organizing the show by ensuring that each person preferrence was written on the song before it was taken down off the wall. Her ability to jump in marshall the troops and get the job done is showing more and more.

Still there was some game-playing as Ryan maneuvered Dana away from his favorite choice "I Alone" and onto a Nirvana song. Sneaky. Underhanded. And pretty much what we're used to by now, particularly from the weaker singers who feel they're "on the bubble" right when it's about to pop. Storm on the other hand took the position that Lukas had taken the other week -- "I can rock anything!", and literally ended up with the left over song -"Anything Anything".

It seems to me that some of the dynamics in the house have somewhat shifted and a bit of tarnish might be showing on Lukas' shiny exterior - whether this translates on stage or has any impact on the members of Supernova remains and open question.

Vyan