bilbray & busby

* stirling: "But once... the attempt to topple Saddam by coup and economic coercion taken, the reality is that there was no turning back. The very process of attempting to overthrow Saddam by proxy was pulverizng the base of his society, was also destroying the social infrastructure which would have made a democracy possible."

* laura highlights that the people in the bus when the cbs crew got hit were MEK. Laura:

"The story goes on to cite a bus passenger who survived the blast who theorized the bus was targeted by Shiites who hate the MEK. But it doesn't sound like the MEK is confined to Camp Ashraf anymore, does it?"

* from the same article, this is also interesting:

"The soldier grabbed him by the hand, apparently intending to take him to his officers for questioning, but then the man detonated his explosive belt, which also set off a bomb in the box."

is that true? a guy puts a box in a bus, walks away, and then remotely detonates the bus and himself? that's an odd strategy.

* SDSU is throwing a democracyfest.us party in july. let's hope there are some semblances of democracy left by then. howie dean is gonna be there, and robert greenwald too. even brad friedman.

* calipendence has a challenge. in the msnbc article, bilbray distances himself from the corruption stench: "I wouldn't know Wilkes if I saw him in the street" - can anyone find a pic of bilbray and wilkes together? there's just one week till the election...

* calipendence:

"Now this story that just came out is funky. It basically postulates that someone from Busby's campaign is calling up right wingers to tell them to vote for Griffith... Hah! Noone I know is doing it. But if it works, I'm happy!"

funny. the wingers aren't very happy with billbray.

* usnews:

"Staffers from the National Republican Congressional Committee are quietly telling GOP House members to prepare for a possible loss in the June 6 special election to fill the seat of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, now in prison for taking bribes. The Southern California district is heavily Republican, but some GOP insiders believe that Democrat Francine Busby will defeat former GOP Rep. Brian Bilbray and go on to win a full term in November. More alarming some worry that a Bilbray defeat could signal the GOP's loss of control of the House."