Various

I'm under the pressure of what used to be called (in Marvel Comics parlance) the Dreaded Deadline Doom. So posting will be light today. But some kind readers sent me a few goodies which I would like to share.

Irangate 2 makes the big time! The adroitly-named Brian Hicks, of the Charleston Post & Courier, plays up the local angle, naturally...

For the past week, conspiracy theorists have been spinning an elaborate tale of how the U.S. government will turn a terrorism drill in Charleston into a nuclear attack.

Why? To give the country a reason to invade Iran, of course.

If this makes no apparent sense, then your other car isn't a black helicopter, and you've never mistaken Crab Bank at low tide for a grassy knoll.

Gosh. That's ever so clever. Black helicopters. How droll. Of course, if Hicks were a real wit, he would have made reference to tin foil hats. That one never fails to slay me.

Of course, I'm always amused when a hick hack from a Darwin-hating red state dares to give me a lecture on rational thought.

Does Hicks make mention of the "Vigilant Guardian"-9/11 connection, which would put the current "rumor" in credibilizing context? Of course he does not. Instead, we get this nonsense...

Problem is, the terrorism drill, which will focus on bad guys getting nukes, will take place this week at Fort Monroe in Hampton Roads, Va. -- about 400 miles up the coast. Charleston was apparently mentioned on a lark. The organization charged with homeland defense has no plans to stage a drill in the Lowcountry.

To my knowledge, nobody who has discussed this matter cares very much where the drill will take place.

What I have been talking about -- what I have tried to publicize -- was the basic idea of the thing. I want to see the country talking about the very concept of a fake terror attack being used as an excuse to go after Iran.

I want to see that scenario widely discussed before the next terrorist event occurs -- not after.

And Hicks, bless his heart, has seen fit to give that proposition some ink. So in the end, we must give him our thanks.

Der Gropinator: I should have mentioned in a previous post that Gigi Goyette's upside-down oral sex revelation did receive some publicity when Ah-nold ran for governor.

At the time, of course, we had no idea that he first hooked up with her when she was sixteen, which is under the age of consent in California. (I'm not so very bothered by that part, since sixteen is legal in other states. He was 28 at the time, incidentally.)

And we had no idea that they renewed the affair while he was married.

And we had no idea (this is the important part) that his business associates paid her hush money.

That's the impeachable offense. That's worse than anything Clinton ever did, and the standard for impeachment is more elastic in California than it is for the Federal government.

CNN, I'm told, has video on this story. I've yet to find the link. Can readers help?

The Niger Forgeries. A reader sent me a link to this page (originally in French) which states that the Italian Parliament is fingering four individuals as the perpetrators of one of the world's most deadly hoaxes: Michael Ledeen, Dewey Clarridge, Ahmed Chalabi and Francis Brookes.

Unfortunately, the story also briefly references "EIR" -- which may mean Executive Intelligence Review. They're the LaRouchies. I want nothing to do with those fellows, thank you very much.

Still, keep an eye on those four names. See if that fearsome foursome doesn't pop up in the news again.

Who is Ahmed Chalabi? That question gives the title to this piece by Michel Chossudovsky. Chalabi's relations with CIA are explored, as is the possibility that the raid on his home (remember that?) was staged. But the piece does not properly address the rift between CIA and the Ledeen group, to which Chalabi now belongs. Still, the article is worth reading.

Police action after shameful attack on Fearless Leader! A 77-year-old veteran named Don Stout -- of Albany, Ohio -- called Dubya a liar on the radio. As a result, the cops swarmed over his property as a chopper flew overhead.

Hey, all you cops in Albany, Ohio: Why not pick on someone a little younger? Bush is a liar! Bush is a liar! I dare you to come for me. Neener neener neener...

Bush goes nuts! A flurry of stories (and even a book) addressed this theme a few months ago. But this Capitol Hill Blue piece tops 'em all -- and in my view, it has the feel of real:

Buy beleaguered, overworked White House aides enough drinks and they tell a sordid tale of an administration under siege, beset by bitter staff infighting and led by a man whose mood swings suggest paranoia bordering on schizophrenia.

They describe a President whose public persona masks an angry, obscenity-spouting man who berates staff, unleashes tirades against those who disagree with him and ends meetings in the Oval Office with "get out of here!"

In fact, George W. Bush's mood swings have become so drastic that White House emails often contain "weather reports" to warn of the PresidentÂ’s demeanor. "Calm seas" means Bush is calm while "tornado alert" is a warning that he is pissed at the world.

Hm. You think this is the real reason he won't meet with a certain lady standing outside his ranch?

Come to think of it, is this the reason why he takes so many vacation days?

"There's real concern in the West Wing that the President is losing it," a high-level aide told me recently.

A year ago, this web site discovered the White House physician prescribed anti-depressants for Bush. The news came after revelations that the President's wide mood swings led some administration staffers to doubt his sanity.

Maybe it's a good thing that Cheney seems to have taken over all military planning for the upcoming Iran invasion.

Then again, maybe it's not.