Blue Blogs: Worthy Mentions from the Liberal Blogosphere

Crooks& Liars: ‘Fourth Branch’ Cheney strikes again - We all had agood laugh last month when Dick Cheney’s office argued, in all sincerity, thatthe Vice President could ignore executive orders because he’s not part of theexecutive branch of government. Eventually, the Bush gang dropped the argumentfrom their talking points, but until after they’d humiliated themselves.Yesterday, CBS News’ Mark Knoller sat down with Cheney for a fairly longinterview, which included this follow up to last month’s absurdities:(transcript via Nexis)

Q: There was an aide in your office who said that one of the reasons youweren’t abiding by that executive order was that you’re really not part ofthe executive branch. Do you have — are you part of the executive branch, sir?

CHENEY: Well, the job of the Vice President is an interesting one, becauseyou’ve got a foot in both the executive and the legislative branch. Obviously,I’ve got an office in the West Wing of the White House, I’m an adviser ofthe President, I sit as a member of the National Security Council. At the sametime, under the Constitution, I have legislative responsibilities. I’mactually paid by the Senate, not by the executive. I sit as the President of theSenate, as the presiding officer in the Senate. I cast tie-breaking votes in theSenate. So the Vice President is kind of a unique creature, if you will, in thatyou’ve got a foot in both branches. Readon...

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Similar to above, but with audio.

ThinkProgress: 'Cheney Says He Is A ‘Unique Creature,’ Refuses To Say HeIs Part Of Executive Branch' - In June, House investigators revealed thatVice President Dick Cheney had exempted his office from an executive order orderdesigned to safeguard classified national security information by claiming thatthe Office of the Vice President is not an “entitywithin the executive branch.”

After Congressional Democrats calledhis bluff by threatening to withhold funding from his office, the WhiteHouse was forced to roll back their rhetoric, claiming “that the rationale hadbeen the view of the vice president’s lawyers, not Cheney himself.” Readon...with audio

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MSNBC Article Via Raw Story: 'CorruptionReigns in Iraq Ministries' - Supplies and medicine in strife-tornBaghdad's overcrowded hospitals have been siphoned off and sold elsewhere forprofit because of “untouchable” corruption in the Iraqi Ministry of Health,according to a draft U.S. government report obtained by NBC News. The report,written by U.S. advisers to Iraq's anti-corruption agency, analyzes corruptionin 12 ministries and finds devastating and grim problems. "Corruptionprotected by senior members of the Iraqi government remains untouchable,"the report sad. Read on...

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The Huffington Post: (Storyfrom 'The Hill') 'GOP'sSpecter: Bush Admin Has Until Noon To Defend Gonzales' - The SenateJudiciary Committee's ranking Republican, Arlen Specter (Pa.), emerged from acrucial Monday briefing and gave the Bush administration 18 hours to resolve thecontroversy over apparent contradictions in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales'scongressional testimony.

Gonzales took issue last week with former Deputy Attorney General JamesComey's description of internal dissent in 2004 over the legal authority for theNational Security Agency's (NSA) warrantless eavesdropping program. FrustratedDemocrats called for a special prosecutor to investigate Gonzales for perjury,noting that...Readon...