Not under oath, no transcriber and testifying together. Any thoughts?

[deacon]

I think it shows that Bush is simply incapable of testifying on his own. Furthermore, I think it indicates that they wouldn't stand a chance of getting their stories straight if they were to testify seperatley.

[BlueEyedSon]

1. I screams guilt

(of something)

[ewagner]

2. No transcripts = no fingerprints

they can't be held accountable for anything they say or do....

[kentuck]

3. Yes, they have to read their lips...

They will not get to hear the actual words...

[ewagner]

12. Upon further consideration

I think I know how this will go.

Dubya and Cheney have maybe 5 or 6 talking points memorized. Therefore, no matter what question is asked, the answer will always be one of the prepared talking points or some variation of them. (no counting the possibility that Dubya will mix-up or muddle the points )

IOW there won't be anything productive coming out of the "gathering"

[truthspeaker]

my thought: there are several small, concealable digital audio recorders

on the market. Expensive, but not unreasonable on a senator's pension.

[tom_paine]

4. Indicates that LIHOP is likely true

Although the stark contrast in the specificuty of tesimony of Richard Clarke vs. Sleezy Liar certainly reinforced that notion, as well.

[rucky]

21. Yep. Fell short of believing it until just now. n/t

[rumguy]

5. why would they not be under oath?

[leftofthedial]

6. they will both lie and lie and lie and lie

and L'il Georgi is too stupid to keep his lies striaght on his own.

[MrSlayer]

7. They aren't even going to answer anything.

This whole thing is a charade, no questions will be asked or answered. They'll sit in the room bullshitting for 2 hours and then come out and lie about how "insightful" Chimp was and how "honest and forthcoming" uncle Dick was. This is a joke and I'm not laughing. The public will eat it up and life will go on as before, the criminals free to do more looting and pillaging.

[Aunt Anti-bush]

8. It is bull crap!

My opinion is that they must be hiding something. (Obviously, they are well known for that.) The only positive thing about this is that some of the people who have been supporting Bush all along are finally seeing that this administration is VERY secretive and hush-hush on matters and the intelligent among his supporters will realize it is time for change in America.

[No2W2004]

9. A caller said today

on the O'Franken report that Cheney & Shrub ARE under oath.

When they took the oath of office, it is implied that they will not give false testimony to congress. So yes, Shrub violated his oath when he lied to congress during the state of the union address. The caller said she had been calling various govt. offices to verify this, and the few that would talk with her did in fact say that she was correct.

Too bad impeachment is a pipe dream right now...

[Qutzupalotl]

10. Somebody sneak in a tape recorder

or bug the place.

Sneaky, but if they won't hold themselves accountable, we will.

[arcane1]

11. "We expect there to be transparency..."

"We expect there to be transparency. People have got something to hide, make us nervous..."

Bush, Feb 16 2002

http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0202/16/cst.21.html


no shit, George

[Sparkly]

13. It looks terrible

Given how bad this all looks for them, they must feel they've got quite a lot more to lose by testifying separately and with transcripts.

[mitchum]

14. You are absolutely correct

[hippiegranny]

15. they'll lie,

talk in circles and basically just waste time. then they will get little gold stars to wear on their lapels and they will go on to commit 6 more months of outrages and atrocities. yawn, ho hum, move along, nothing to see here. democracy a la cheney/bu$h in action.

[RBHam]

16. They are declaring their complicity in the attacks...

What do they have to hide? Don't they want the American people to know the truth?

[number6]

17. I think so too ..

"I think it shows that Bush is simply incapable of testifying on his own."

He's a moron and he can't form a complete sentence or
make a coherent thought.

[revcarol]

18. It shows the commission is a sham.

That they would give in to this blackmail or greed or partisanship when the nation is at stake is despicable.

We EXPECT this kind of behavior from the Bushies, but the commission is a farce for agreeing to their conditions.

[deacon]

23. I am thinking that maybe after the hearing, Kean may just come out ...

...and say 'they were forthright and honest blah, blah blah...' and it may very well just clear bush of all the question marks surrounding him about 911. We know that is the bush/cheney goal for sure, but we have seen how bush handles press conferences and shows like meet the press so that would be hard to believe.

[leetrisck]

19. And by the way, Attorney Gonzalez

will be with them - why?

[revcarol]

22. Ya mean, "Enron Gonzales?"

THEN EVERY SENTENCE WILL BE A LIE FER SURE!!

[deacon]

30. yahoo news is saying not 1 but 2 lawyers will be present taking notes n/t

[deacon]

25. an attorney too?? i didn't know that, why doesn't he just bring along...

...the UCLA marching band for godssakes.

[leetrisck]

20. And another thing, I get angry thinking about i

I think the commission should now refuse to "talk" with them - this is all a sham.

[Harrumph]

24. I agree....

the commission should tell them to testify under oath or not at all. That way the commission could come to a decision based on everyone elses testimony. Forget the chimp and his handler...they will not give any valuable information anyway.

[DoYouEverWonder]

36. I called them a month ago and told the nice lady

on the phone the same thing.

I hate the smell of cover-up in the morning.

[RBHam]

26. The Commission is a whitewash...

Every one of those bastards must know the truth by now.

This cover up is even more blatant than the Warren Commision's farce or the Iran/Contra fiasco.

It also shows just how much contempt the political/corporate elite have for American citizens ("one fodder units" - George Bush Sr.)

Truth and justice need not hide in the shadows - but evil thrives on it.

[stevedeshazer]

27. First, let's define the word "testify":

tes·ti·fy
v. test·i·fied, test·i·fy·ing, test·i·fies
v. intr.

1. To make a declaration of truth or fact under oath; submit testimony.
2. To express or declare a strong belief, especially to make a declaration of faith.
3. To make a statement based on personal knowledge in support of an asserted fact; bear witness
4. To serve as evidence

v. tr.

1. To declare publicly; make known: testifying their faith.
2. To state or affirm under oath
3. To bear witness to; provide evidence for.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, if anyone here believes that Bush and Cheney, who agreed to appear only if no recording is made, no one takes notes to release to the public, and no oath is sworn to tell the truth, are providing "testimony", I invite you to meet me outside in the parking lot so I can give YOU some fucking "testimony". :grr:

Testify THIS, Big Dick!

[11bravo1986]

28. This is a travesty of justice...

to even suggest that they be allowed to appear together let alone without any record (complete) of it. Unbelievable, could you imagine the outrage from the Hannities of the world if the roles were reversed?

This makes me question our entire justice system, where is the justice?

If you commit the, rather if your accused of a misdemeanor and have to go before a judge everything you say is recorded. I know this isn't a judicial inquiry, although it should be for crying out loud, but how the heck are we going to find the truth without documentation?

[RBHam]

29. The fix is in...

It's MEANT to be a travesty of justice. The 9-11 Commission are bending over BACKWARDS to placate, accomodate and protect these scum.

If you actually lived in an open, democratic society they would never be able to get away with it.

But they will - and they'll be cheered on by almost half of the brain washed society they have such contempt for.

[DFLer4edu]

31. Perspective

With the exception of together, Gore and Clinton (unless I''m much mistaken) are under similar conditions. Clinton (who is finished running for office) and Gore (who will maybe run for office again, but the testimony wouldn't hurt him) should have testified, seperate, openly, in public, to contrast the Pres and Vice Pres. They didn't, so there is guilt all around. It does have a smell of guilt and they are a huge part of the problem, but given that Gore and Clinton testified under similar conditions, this isn't a fight I'm going to pick.

[DFLer4edu]

33. I was mistaken

Gore and Clinton were recorded.

[BabsSong]

32. Man when you even have Imus spitting in disgust, you know people

are noticing. He was livid. Just like the split screen that showed "bombs bursting over dawn in Fallujah" and he kept saying "what a mess, what a freaking mess". I love the person who today posted and said that Stern is calling tomorrow: Take a Chimp to Work Day...................kisses to Stern.

[deacon]

34. why did bush stiff the 911 families with this phony cooperation gig today?

why did hamilton leave? what prior commitment could possibly be more important than this historic 911 hearing?

It is said he had to go to hear a speech the canadian pm. if it was so important, why isn't the pm's speech all over the news? what was it about?

why did kerrey leave?

why did bush stiff the 911 families by not making a transcript available to them?

[trof]

35. Sounds fine to me.

My recent letter to the editor:

SUCH A DEAL...

Let's suppose that you have been charged with negligent homicide. There were multiple deaths.
The details aren't important for our hypothetical case. You may use your own imagination.

Prior to trial, representatives speaking for you and your attorney (or "mouthpiece") enter negotiations with the judge who will hear your case. I know...this is quite a stretch and could never happen in "real" life, but this is a fable, after all, so stay with me.

Here's the deal they cut:
1. You will take the stand to testify on your own behalf, but...
2. Your attorney will take the stand with you,
just in case you "misspeak" or your memory needs jogging, and...
3. NEITHER of you will be required to swear an oath that what you say will be the truth.
4. Your "testimony" will take place in strict privacy with no observers or news media representatives present.

Such a deal.
And this is exactly the deal that Messrs Bush and Cheney have cut.
Something is rotten in the District of Columbia.
Oh my.

Massey Lambard
Foley, AL