Walter Mondale comes out for Hillary, and so does . . . Charles Krauthammer.
First, before any other yapping and commentary, a big congratulations to Al Gore.
There are several layers of irony and poetic justice wrapped into this honor. The first is that the greatest step for world peace would simply have been for Gore not to have had the presidency stolen from him in November 2000. By every just measure, Gore won the presidency in 2000 only to have George W. Bush steal it from him with the critical assistance of the US Supreme Court. It’s worth taking a few moments today to consider where the country and world would be without that original sin of this corrupt presidency.
And yet this is a fitting bookend, with Gore receiving this accolade while the sitting president grows daily an object of greater disapproval, disapprobation and collective shame. And let’s not discount another benefit: watching the rump of the American right detail the liberal bias of the Nobel Committee and at this point I guess the entire world. Fox News vs. the world.
And not to forget what this award is about even more than Gore. If half of what we think we know about global warming is true, people will look back fifty years from now on the claims that “War on Terror” was the defining challenge of this century and see it as a very sick, sad joke — which rather sums up the Bush presidency.
But more than thinking only of what might have been, where can we go from here?
Remember Ohio? Find out more about how the Bush DOJ ran interference for the GOP in stifling complaints about African-American Voter Disenfranchisement.
NYDN …
Bernard Kerik’s legal nightmare is about to get worse, with federal prosecutors expected to file charges against the former police commissioner that will likely include allegations of bribery, tax fraud and obstruction of justice, the Daily News has learned.
The indictment, expected next month, could prove to be an embarrassing obstacle for Kerik’s former mentor Rudy Giuliani, who is cruising at the top of the polls heading into the presidential primary gauntlet.
…
Another Giuliani commissioner and a top inspector general during Giuliani’s years as mayor will be called as witnesses to describe the secret meeting in Tribeca.
The Giuliani officials are Raymond Casey, former head of the Trade Waste Commission, a city agency set up to keep the mob out of the carting industry, and Michael Caruso, former inspector general with the city Department of Investigation.
In July 1999, Casey and Caruso met with Kerik, then the city Correction Department commissioner, at Walker’s bar on North Moore St., court papers reveal.
At the time, Casey was investigating Interstate Industrial Corp., a company that employed Kerik’s brother Donald and the best man at Kerik’s wedding, Larry Ray.
An Interstate affiliate had applied to operate a waste transfer station in Staten Island, and Casey was looking into allegations that the firm had ties to the Gambino crime family.
Last week I told you about International Peace Operations Association, the DC lobbying outfit and professional organization for military contractors. And then just yesterday we brought you word that Blackwater, a member of the group since 2004, had cancelled its membership in the IPOA.
So what happened to spoil the relationship?
Seems the folks at the IPOA had commenced a review to make sure Blackwater was in compliance with the IPOA Code of Conduct. Apparently it was scrutiny Blackwater didn’t think it could bear.
Great company.
You know, with Al Gore winning the Nobel Prize for his environmental activism, it really makes the Nader voters look prescient, doesn’t it?
CNN’s front page blurb on Gore’s Nobel …
The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore and environmental scientists has incensed some CNN.com readers while pleasing others. While Robert Ellis of Ohio says the award is “well-deserved”, Matthew Whitley of North Carolina says the peace prize is now a “laughingstock.”
Stand-off between pro-torture CIA chief and anti-torture CIA Inspector General to be refereed by notorious Bush crony.