Tonight’s horrifying story about the Bush administration’s moral bankruptcy: they reportedly kept some of their most public top officials deliberately ignorant of CIA torture practices after the 9/11 attacks.

In common human terms, this is “knowledge of guilt.” They knew the public wouldn’t support this, so they just … hid it. Even from the most senior officials in the government, charged with interacting with the public on these issues.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Senate report on the CIA’s interrogation and detention practices after the 9/11 attacks concludes that the agency initially kept the secretary of state and some U.S. ambassadors in the dark about harsh techniques and secret prisons, according to a document circulating among White House staff.

The still-classified report also says some ambassadors who were informed about interrogations of al-Qaida detainees at so-called black sites in their countries were instructed not to tell their superiors at the State Department, says the document, which the White House accidentally emailed to an Associated Press reporter.

The 6,300-page Senate report on the CIA’s interrogation program has been years in the making. The findings are expected to reveal additional details about the CIA’s program and renew criticisms that the U.S. engaged in torture as it questioned terrorism suspects after the 2001 attacks.

A congressional official who has read the Senate report confirmed that it makes the findings outlined in the document. A former senior CIA official said the secretary of state at the time, Colin Powell, eventually was informed about the program and sat in meetings in which harsh interrogation techniques were discussed. But Powell may not have been informed when the techniques were first used in 2002, the official said. A spokeswoman Wednesday said Powell would not comment.

I have no idea how anyone could look at the insane impeachment talk coming out of so many Republicans these days and still find a way to invoke the Magical Balance Fairy and say “both parties are equally responsible for this.”

But Chuck Todd did.

Chuck Todd on Wednesday railed against both the White House and congressional Republicans for engaging in “disgusting” and “embarrassing” rhetoric on impeachment and suing the president.

“This is sort of an embarrassing moment for Washington,” the NBC News chief White House correspondent said. “The leaders for both parties here — they’re driving away people from the polls, they’re driving people away from politics. This is cynical, it’s ugly, it’s disgusting.”

[…]

Todd declared a plague on both their houses, criticizing both Boehner and the White House for “embarrassing” tactics.

“This is the most cynical — Boehner’s up there with this ridiculous lawsuit, Josh Earnest sitting at the podium trying to tick off names of, ‘Look at Republicans who want impeachment’ — it’s not serious,” Todd said. “The lawsuit’s not serious. The impeachment talk’s not serious. This is playground stuff. This is embarrassing.”

Ooohkay. So in the weird world of Chuck Todd, pointing out that Republicans are increasingly ranting about impeachment is the same thing as ranting about impeachment.

It’s the privileged Beltway “view from nowhere” at its most ridiculous.

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Well, it’s crazy day in the right wing universe and the xenophobic insanity over migrant children just keeps getting worse.

Now Michele “Crazy Eyes” Bachmann is weighing in on the religious right radio program Wallbuilders Live, with a new theory, that is her theory, which is hers, that President Obama is sneaking all these children into the US so the evil liberal medical community can grab them and use them for medical experiments.

This is real, by the way, not from one of those “satirical” fake websites. She really said this. Gah.

Click for Video

Today in Mississippi, Attorney General Jim Hood told the Clarion-Ledger that his office is investigating “political blogger” Charles C. Johnson (who is NOT ME), after a self-proclaimed pastor admitted to the AG’s office that he was paid by Johnson to lie about participating in a vote-buying scheme.

Right wing hatchet man Charles C. Johnson

Hood said he wasn’t sure of the blogger’s name but that he was the one who posted a video. When asked if it was Charles C. Johnson of gotnews.com, Hood said he believed it was.

Hood said Stevie Fielder claims he was paid $2,000 to lie on a recording where the Meridian man said campaign staffers with U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran asked him to pay people to vote for the incumbent. Fielder told Hood’s office he was not asked to do that and had not done that.

Fielder later recanted most of what he told Johnson and what Johnson reported on gotnews.com.

According to Hood, Fielder says he was told what to say by the political blogger and others involved in recording the video.

Maybe now that he’s being relentlessly exposed as a dishonest hack, people will stop paying attention to this buffoon, and I can take a rest from pointing out that Charles C. Johnson is NOT ME.

(But knowing how the right wing echo chamber works, this will probably just boost his credibility in that closed system.)

Related:
Former Breitbart/Daily Caller Blogger Pays Bogus Source for Bogus Anti-Cochran “Scoop”

Yes, the looniest member of Congress is at it again, spreading hateful xenophobia and freakish conspiracy theories to the right wing base. Last week on a conference call with the “National Emergency Coalition” (a right wing group dedicated to spreading fear about migrant children, led by theocratic nutcase E.W. Jackson), Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) announced that the children coming across the border are not really fleeing violence in their home countries — they’ve been “coached” to say this.

According to Rep. Gohmert, these children are actually coming to America because they want to murder us and rape our women. Yes, really; that’s exactly what he said.

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More at Right Wing Watch.

Well, we see it at home with false Breitbart posts and a host of other places (anyone remember the false pieces on ACORN?). NOW, in an effort to drive a wedge between Jewish American voters, 70% of whom voted for President Obama in 2012 we have this nightmare:

Reporter Oren Nahari at Israel’s Channel One reported that he received a leaked conversation between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu:

The following is an English translation of the Hebrew account of the talk given in the report:

Barack Obama: I demand that Israel agrees to an immediate, unilateral ceasefire and halt all offensive activities, in particular airstrikes.

Benjamin Netanyahu: And what will Israel receive in exchange for a ceasefire?

BO: I believe that Hamas will cease its rocket fire — silence will be met with silence.

BN: Hamas broke all five previous ceasefires. It’s a terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

BO: I repeat and expect Israel to stop all its military activities unilaterally. The pictures of destruction in Gaza distance the world from Israel’s position.

BN: Kerry’s proposal was completely unrealistic and gives Hamas military and diplomatic advantages.

BO: Within a week of the end of Israel’s military activities, Qatar and Turkey will begin negotiations with Hamas based on the 2012 understandings, including Israel’s commitment to removing the siege restrictions on Gaza.

BN: Qatar and Turkey are the biggest supporters of Hamas. It’s impossible to rely on them to be fair mediators.

BO: I trust Qatar and Turkey. Israel is not in the position that it can choose its mediators.

BN: I protest because Hamas can continue to launch rockets and use tunnels for terror attacks -

BO: (interrupting Netanyahu) The ball’s in Israel’s court, and it must end all its military activities.

This was immediately picked up by the Times of Israel and then went viral throughout the Right blogosphere where Republicans are doing everything they can to try to sway Jewish voters away from the Democratic Party.

Now, anyone reading this conversation who is familiar with either of the actors (Pres. Obama and PM Netanyahu) can immediately tell this is false. Rather, the thing reads like some Rightist conspiracy dream. It doesn’t resemble the style of either man and/or their discussions with each other even when the two were extremely at odds.

Of course the White House AND the Government of Israel are denying the content of this snippet of a thirty five (35) minute discussion saying “Neither reports nor alleged transcript bear any resemblance to reality.” Both governments tweeted out their denials within minutes after the story broke at that the Times of Israel.

The question of course remains: “How low does one have to sink to completely create a false story, in the Middle of a War, to try to manipulate sections of the American voting public? And if they will do this, what else will they try before November 2014?”

I don’t think this is news to anyone nor is it a surprise that the Republicans and their Rightist allies are so desperate that they will concoct stories out of thin air to try to discredit the administration, but, I am really surprised that most of their followers simply accept these fabrications as truth without question. AND even those who do question things still trust these sources as places to be informed.

One other thing… IF this is an Israeli only report than it is very sad that a completely made up story makes it to a press that is generally more reliable than any other in the region (except for Arutz Sheva or Israel Hayom). BUT, if there is an American Official spreading this, than that is straight out sedition where an American creates a complete lie out of thin air regarding the President and then presents that lie to a foreign nations press in order to subvert an alliance.

What depths will the Right sink to in the coming months as the election draws near… who knows? One thing is for certain, I think that from here on in, if the Right reports that the sky is blue, the informed reader should still go outside to make sure that it is indeed blue.

Ch.1's Oren Nahari, who brought the allegedly false transcript of Obama-Netanyhau call, stands by story and says he got it from US source

— Chemi Shalev (@ChemiShalev) July 30, 2014

Exhibit A

'Jew-hating bitch Pelosi' says Hamas is a humanitarian group http://t.co/EMN37OxqKL

— TwitchyTeam (@TwitchyTeam) July 30, 2014

A screenshot:

CNS also reported as Pelosi: Qataris Have Told Me ‘Hamas Is a Humanitarian Organization’ which is more accurate.

What Rep. Nancy Pelosi really said with context:

PELOSI: Well, we all — war is a deadly thing. And I have many Palestinians who live in my district and I am hearing them regularly about how their families are affected who live in the region. It’s a terrible thing. But let me just say that any missile that comes from someplace has a return address. And if Israel is responding to that address, then that’s a shame that the Palestinians are use — are rumored to be using children and families as shields for their missiles.

Should we all try to, first of all, avoid conflict, the Hamas initiated this. So again, this has to be something where we try to have the two-state solution, that we have to support — we have to support Abbas and his role as a leader there. We have to support Iron Dome to protect the Israelis from the missiles. We have to support the Palestinians and what they need. And we have to confer with the Qataris, who have told me over and over again that Hamas is a humanitarian organization, maybe they could use their influence to…

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY: The U.S. [thinks they’re a terrorist] organization though, correct, do you?

PELOSI: Mmm-hmm.

CROWLEY: Yes.

PELOSI: We’ve had that discussion.

As you can see Nancy Pelosi did not say Hamas is a “humanitarian organization,” only that the Qataris see them as such. This is also the same perception of Hezbollah being seen as a “humanitarian organization” in many parts of the Middle East. There’s no getting around the reality of such perception whether we agree with them or not. When we negotiate treaties, cease fires, etc, we are given such conditions whether we agree with them or not. The same was true during the Cold War in our negotiations with the Soviets and other communist satellite states.

I happen to not think they are a humanitarian organization and in fact a terrorist group as listed by the State Department. That said, if we are to negotiate with Qatar we can’t get around their own perception regardless of how we think.

It is also important to note that Pelosi states that Hamas is responsible for this latest conflict and relates strong support for Israel.

Factcheck Conclusion

Pants on fire.

Related:

Israel has every right to defend herself - Hamas attacks against Israel must stop immediately. We mourn loss of innocent lives.

— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 16, 2012

Nancy Pelosi on Israel - Wikipedia

Pelosi reaffirms that “America and Israel share an unbreakable bond: in peace and war; and in prosperity and in hardship”. Pelosi emphasized that “a strong relationship between the United States and Israel has long been supported by both Democrats and Republicans. America’s commitment to the safety and security of the State of Israel is unwavering,…[h]owever, the war in Iraq has made both America and Israel less safe.” Pelosi’s voting record shows consistent support for Israel. Prior to 2006 elections in the Palestinian Authority, she voted for a Congressional initiative disapproving of participation in the elections by Hamas and other organizations defined as terrorist by the legislation. She agrees with the current U.S. stance in support of land-for-peace. She has applauded Israeli “hopeful signs” of offering land, while criticizing Palestinian “threats” of not demonstrating peace in turn. She states, “If the Palestinians agree to coordinate with Israel on the evacuation, establish the rule of law, and demonstrate a capacity to govern, the world may be convinced that finally there is a real partner for peace”.

During the 2006 Lebanon War, Pelosi voted in favor of Resolution 921 on the count that “the seizure of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah terrorists was an unprovoked attack and Israel has the right, and indeed the obligation, to respond”. She argues that organizations and political bodies in the Mideast like Hamas and Hezbollah “have a greater interest in maintaining a state of hostility with Israel than in improving the lives of the people they claim to represent”. Pelosi asserts that civilians on both sides of the border “have been put at risk by the aggression of Hamas and Hezbollah” in part for their use of “civilians as shields by concealing weapons in civilian areas”.

In September 2008, Pelosi hosted a reception in Washington with Israeli Knesset speaker Dalia Itzik, along with 20 members of Congress, where they toasted the “strong friendship” between Israel and the United States. During the ceremony, Pelosi held up the replica dog tags of the three Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah and Hamas in 2006 and stated that she keeps them as a “symbol of the sacrifices made, sacrifices far too great by the people of the state of Israel”.

Pelosi Statement on House Resolution in Support of Israel’s Right to Self-Defense
By: Nancy Pelosi
Date: July 11, 2014
Location: Washington, DC

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement after the House passed Congressmen Steve Israel and Tom Cole’s bipartisan H.Res. 657 by unanimous consent earlier today:

“With Israel’s citizens once again under assault, our bipartisan resolve to stand by Israel is firm and unwavering. I am pleased the House acted unanimously to reaffirm our support for Israel’s right to defend itself against unprovoked rocket attacks from Hamas.

“No family should be forced to endure constant threats to their lives or the persistent fear of rocket attacks. We call on Hamas to cease their attacks on Israel and stop endangering Palestinian civilians by using them as human shields.

“Congress will continue to monitor this situation closely. Our hearts go out to all the innocent civilians wounded and killed in these latest hostilities on both sides, and we continue to hope and pray for a swift and peaceful conclusion to the conflict.”

Update - Nancy Pelosi: Qataris have told me ‘Hamas is a Human Rights Organization’

Video

We now find Twitchy backtracking on their original smear of Nancy Pelosi:

Editors note: The original headline was intended to be a partial quote, partial paraphrase of a tweet from David Horowitz but it was clumsily written and misleading. It has been corrected.

Original Screenshot

Update Screenshot

You’ll note that it still maintains the original title of “‘Jew-hating bitch Pelosi’ says Hamas is a humanitarian group” from the first Twitter posting.

Twitchy Very Sorry For Calling Pelosi 'Jew-Hating Bitch,' Meant To Quote Someone Saying It http://t.co/dT1nWhsY0E

— Wonkette (@Wonkette) July 30, 2014

And from Twitchy:

Note from the managing editors: The original title of this post did not make clear that it was quoting David Horowitz and we apologize. Twitchy does not endorse that kind of language in politics, and in fact, the site has a long record of condemning it on both sides of the aisle.

We regret that this post was published when a managing editor was not available to review and correct it, and again, we apologize.

In addition, the original headline misrepresented what Pelosi said. Here is the relevant portion of the CNN transcript:

PELOSI: Well, we all - war is a deadly thing. And I have many Palestinians who live in my district and I am hearing them regularly about how their families are affected who live in the region. It’s a terrible thing. But let me just say that any missile that comes from someplace has a return address. And if Israel is responding to that address, then that’s a shame that the Palestinians are use - are rumored to be using children and families as shields for their missiles.

Should we all try to, first of all, avoid conflict, the Hamas initiated this. So again, this has to be something where we try to have the two-state solution, that we have to support - we have to support Abbas and his role as a leader there. We have to support Iron Dome to protect the Israelis from the missiles. We have to support the Palestinians and what they need. And we have to confer with the Qataris, who have told me over and over again that Hamas is a humanitarian organization, maybe they could use their influence to -

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY: The U.S. (INAUDIBLE) organization though, correct, to you? [Twitchy’s transcript of this portion: “The U.S. thinks they’re a terrorist organization though, correct? Do you?”]

PELOSI: Mmm-hmm.

CROWLEY: Yes.

PELOSI: We’ve had that discussion.

Comedy Central Video

YouTube

Live from the White House South Lawn.

YouTube

It’s going to be awfully hard to find a loonier right wing rant than this one, as Americans for Legal Immigration PAC president William Gheen goes on the whacked-out Alex Jones show and concocts a freakish conspiracy theory (on the spot!) that President Obama is bringing in Central American children, giving them “Obamaphones” and “Obamacare” and paying for their housing and food, so they’ll act as a private army (just like “African child slave soldiers”) and start confiscating all the true patriotic Americans’ guns.

A great picture of the completely deranged mindset driving the anti-immigration fever of the right wing. These people are not well.