Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, a leading conservative mentioned as a potential presidential candidate, admitted Tuesday he had an extramarital affair with a woman who was a member of his campaign staff. “Last year I had an affair. I violated the vows of my marriage,” Ensign said at a brief news conference. “It is the worst thing I have ever done in my life. If there was ever anything in my life that I could take back, this would be it.”

Ensign spokesman Tory Mazzola said the affair took place between December 2007 and August 2008 with a campaign staffer who was married to an employee in Ensign’s Senate office. Neither has worked for the senator since May 2008.

Ensign, 51, said he would not mention the name of the campaign aide involved in the affair. He described the woman and her husband as good friends.

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I mean really, who is the idiot who wanted a resolution to be passed on the House floor about Michael Jackson’s death.  I mean, don’t we have other pressing issues to worry about and that need our country’s focus.

Press Release on resolution

WASHINGTON (CNN) –The House of Representatives will not take up a resolution honoring the late entertainer Michael Jackson, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday.

Pelosi called Jackson “a great, great performer” and acknowledged there is “lots of sadness.” But the speaker said at a press conference that while members could express their sympathy on the House floor, she added “I don’t think it’s necessary” to pass a resolution.

“A resolution, I think, would open up (debate) to contrary views that are not necessary at this time to be expressed in association with a resolution whose purpose is quite different,” Pelosi explained.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, who spoke at the memorial service for Jackson on Tuesday in Los Angeles, has introduced HR 600, “Honoring an American legend and musical icon.”

The resolution states, “Whereas Michael Jackson was not only an accomplished recording and performing artist, he was a noted humanitarian.”

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., criticized the media’s extensive coverage of Michael Jackson’s death earlier this week, calling Jackson a “pervert,” a “pedophile,” and “child molester.”

A good article I found.

By Mark H. Gaffney

July 07, 2009 “ICH” — The evidence was crucial because it undermined the official explanation that Hani Hanjour crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon at high speed after executing an extremely difficult top gun maneuver. But to understand how all of this played out, let us review the case in bite-size pieces…

In August 2004 when the 9/11 Commission completed its official investigation of the September 11, 2001 attack, the commission transfered custody of its voluminous records to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).[1] There, the records remained under lock and key for four and a half years, until last January when NARA released a fraction of the total for public viewing. Each day, more of the released files are scanned and posted on the Internet, making them readily accessible. Although most of the newly-released documents are of little interest, the files I will discuss in this article contain important new information.

As we know, the 9/11 Commission did not begin its work until 2003–––more than a year after the fact. By this time a number of journalists had already done independent research and published articles about various facets of 9/11. Some of this work was of excellent quality. The Washington Post, for example, interviewed aviation experts who stated that the plane allegedly piloted by Hani Hanjour [AA Flight 77] had been flown “with extraordinary skill, making it highly likely that a trained pilot was at the helm.”[2] Yet, strangely, when other journalists investigated Hani Hanjour they found a trail of clues indicating he was a novice pilot, wholly incapable of executing a top gun maneuver and a successful suicide attack in a Boeing 757. By early 2003 this independent research was a matter of public record, which created a serious problem for the 9/11 Commission…

Well it’s about time.  Don’t let the door hit you on your way out!  Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has announced she’ll step down later this month. On Friday, Palin said she wants to avoid becoming a lame-duck governor after deciding not to seek re-election.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin: “I promised efficiencies and effectiveness. That’s not how I’m wired. I’m not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual. I promised that four years ago and I meant it. That’s not what is best for Alaska at this time. I’m determined to take the right path for Alaska, even though it is unconventional and it’s not that comfortable.”

Palin ran as Senator John McCain’s Vice Presidential nominee in last year’s elections and is a considered a top Republican hopeful in 2012. Her replacement, Alaska Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell, says he thinks Palin’s mounting legal bills over a series of ethics complaints forced her to step down. Palin’s legal team meanwhile has warned news outlets not to publish stories speculating whether she’s under federal investigation. In a four-page letter, Palin’s attorney warns that media groups could be sued if they grant space to rumors that Palin is being investigated for alleged embezzlement in the construction of a sports arena. The FBI says Palin is not under investigation.

Off with their heads–well so to speak!

A coalition of liberal groups filed petitions Monday seeking disbarment of Bush administration attorneys linked to memos on harsh interrogation techniques of detainees.

Complaints were filed against 12 individuals, including former attorneys general John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales and Michael Mukasey and former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, said a member of the groups. The complaints filed with bar associations in the District of Columbia and four states — New York, California, Texas and Pennsylvania — say their licenses should be revoked for “moral turpitude.”

“These lawyers misused their license to practice law to provide legal cover for the war crime of torture,” said Kevin Zeese, executive director of VotersForPeace.US and a board member with VelvetRevolution.US, the two groups leading the effort.

Memos by the Bush Justice Department contended that waterboarding — a form of simulated drowning — as well as sleep deprivation and other extreme techniques were legal under U.S. and international law.

The other attorneys who are targets of the campaign are:

• John Yoo, Jay Bybee and Stephen Bradbury, who worked in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel

• and Alice Fisher, former director of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

The publication Aviation Week reports the Pentagon is requesting a record $50 billion for its secret black budget. This marks a three percent increase over last year’s total. The Pentagon budget for secret operations is now larger than the entire military budget of Britain, France or Japan.

The group Physicians for Human Rights is calling for an independent investigation of the role of the American Psychological Association in the US torture of foreign prisoners. The APA has come under wide scrutiny for allowing psychologists to oversee abusive and coercive interrogations of prisoners at Guantánamo and secret CIA black sites. Physician for Human Rights says newly released documents show the APA’s ethics task force altered its policy to conform with Pentagon guidelines on interrogations.