GREETINGS FELLOW DEMOCRATS!





Fiestas Patrias Mexicanas Committee and The Hispanic Forum are sponsoring an event...

On Wednesday, December 12 from 7-9 p.m. There will be a dinner so you are asked to RSVP to 979-575-2910 ASAP.





CIA Destroyed Videos Showing Interrogations
Harsh Techniques Seen in 2002 Tapes

By Dan Eggen and Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, December 7, 2007; A01

The CIA made videotapes in 2002 of its officers administering harsh interrogation techniques to two al-Qaeda suspects but destroyed the tapes three years later, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said yesterday.

Captured on tape were interrogations of Abu Zubaydah, a close associate of Osama bin Laden, and a second high-level al-Qaeda member who was not identified, according to two intelligence officials. Zubaydah has been identified by U.S. officials familiar with the interrogations as one of three al-Qaeda suspects who were subjected to "waterboarding," a technique that simulates drowning, while in CIA custody.

The tapes were made to document any confessions the two men might make and to serve as an internal check on how the interrogations were conducted, senior intelligence officials said.

All the tapes were destroyed in November 2005 on the order of Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., then the CIA's director of clandestine operations, officials said. The destruction came after the Justice Department had told a federal judge in the case of al-Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui that the CIA did not possess videotapes of a specific set of interrogations sought by his attorneys. A CIA spokesman said yesterday that the request would not have covered the destroyed tapes.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/06/AR2007120601828_pf.html





Bush Goofs Again

by Grace Stevens

In a briefing today held by President Bush, he announced his plan of action to help the millions of homeowners struggling to fight foreclosure on their homes. He then immediately gave out the wrong number for the hotline used to access the program.





Speaking of evolution, the TEA should stop monkeying around

COMMENTARY: JOHN KELSO
Friday, December 07, 2007

I think I've figured out why some folks get their nighties in a gnarl over the theory of evolution, the one that says man evolved from critters.

It's because they have kin in states like, say, Arkansas who lend credence to the concept. Here's my theory. If your family tree has people living in it, you're more likely to think unkindly about evolution.

Now, why people find it insulting to be accused of evolving mystifies me. It's when someone points out that you stopped evolving halfway through the process that you've got your slur.

I've become ecclesiastical today because of the case of Chris Comer, the former director of science curriculum at the Texas Education Agency, the outfit that regulates what kids study in public school.

Comer, who taught science for 27 years, recently was given the boot by the agency for forwarding an e-mail that her bosses thought dumped on the theory of "intelligent design," which as best as I can figure is creationism with a fancier name. Creationism is the theory that God created the world in six days and then took Sunday off. To get the job done that fast, He must have used undocumented workers. Although the "Sunday off" part smacks of union help.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/12/07/1207kelso.html





Hispanics' support for GOP declining: study

Republican Party efforts to attract Hispanic voters, the fastest-growing minority in the country, have faltered in the last year as many prefer the Democrats' position on illegal immigration, a study found.

The study by the Pew Hispanic Center released on Thursday said: "After spending the first part of this decade loosening their historic ties to the Democratic Party, Hispanic voters have reversed course in the past year."

Illegal immigration has been a prominent issue in the contest to be the Republican nominee for next November's presidential election, with candidates vying to appear toughest on an issue that sparks strong emotions among many Americans.

The study found 57 percent of Hispanic registered voters now call themselves Democrats, or say they lean to the Democratic Party, while just 23 percent align with the Republican Party.

The survey of 2,003 Hispanics conducted in October and November found support for the Democrats had increased from 49 percent in a national survey taken last year, versus 28 percent who identified with Republicans.

"The new survey finds that a plurality of Hispanics view the Democratic Party rather than the Republican Party as the one that shows more concern for Latinos and does a better job on the issue of illegal immigration," it added.

The Pew report said that "a substantial minority of Latinos see no difference between the parties" on their attitudes toward Hispanics and illegal immigrants.

Earlier this year President George W. Bush, a Republican, suffered a bruising defeat after the U.S. Congress rejected a bill that sought to offer legal status for many of the 12 million illegal immigrants living in the shadows in the United States, as well as toughening border security.

Of the U.S. population of about 300 million, Latinos numbered around 43 million last year, up from 36 million five years earlier, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. In the last presidential election in 2004, some 7.6 million Hispanic citizens voted.

Campaigns by Latino activists have sought to get a million new voters to register before the election in November.

The Hispanic bloc is tipped by analysts to play an important role in several battleground states, including Colorado, Florida, Nevada and New Mexico, which could determine the outcome of a close election.

(Reporting by Tim Gaynor; editing by David Storey)





Brazos County Democratic Party
P.O. Box 4568
Bryan Texas 77805
979-779-5600 Fax 979-779-5601

America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.
Harry S. Truman, Democrat, President of the United States of America