Judge Dismisses Lawsuit By Valerie Plame In CIA Non-Scandal

How do you like that, you wretched beast?!

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed former CIA operative Valerie Plame's lawsuit against members of the Bush administration in the CIA leak scandal. Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had accused Vice President Dick Cheney and others of conspiring to leak her identity in Plame said that violated her privacy rights and was illegal retribution for her husband's criticism of the administration.

This is breaking news, I will update later when/if more information comes out.

 

Here's the latest.

Former CIA operative Valerie Plame lost a lawsuit Thursday that demanded money from Bush administration officials whom she blamed for leaking her agency identity. Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had accused Vice President Dick Cheney and others of conspiring to disclose her identity in 2003. Plame said that violated her privacy rights and was illegal retribution for her husband's criticism of the administration. U.S. District Judge John D. Bates dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds and said he would not express an opinion on the constitutional arguments. Bates dismissed the case against all defendants: Cheney, White House political adviser Karl Rove, former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. Plame's lawyers said from the beginning the suit would be a difficult case to make. Public officials normally are immune from such suits filed in connection with their jobs. Plame's identity was revealed in a syndicated newspaper column in 2003, shortly after Wilson began criticizing the administration's march to war in Iraq. Armitage and Rove were the sources for that article, which touched off a lengthy leak investigation. Nobody was charged with leaking but Libby was convicted of lying and obstruction the investigation. Bush commuted Libby's 2 1/2-year prison term before the former aide served any time.

 

Technorati tags: CIA, Valerie Plame, Non-scandal, Lawsuit, Joe Wilson

Good News From The War On Terror 7/18

Update: Detainee captured June 28 identified

BAGHDAD – A detainee held in Coalition custody since June 28 and alleged to be a key leader of a rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi militia element, known as a Special Group, is identified as Sheikh (Ahmed) Mohammad Hassan Sbahi Al Khafaji. Al Khafaji was detained during an operation in Nasiriyah. During the operation, Iraqi Special Operations Forces, with Coalition Forces present as advisors, detained Al Khafaji without incident and also detained five other suspicious individuals during the operation. Al Khafaji is allegedly responsible for direct attacks on Coalition Forces, rocket attacks on Coalition bases and has been implicated in the kidnappings and murders of Iraqi citizens.  It is also believed he provides financial support to weapons trafficking networks which supply Iranian affiliated Special Groups in the Baghdad area. The Special Groups received training, arms and funding from Iran’s Quds Force.

 

Coalition Forces kill three terrorists, detain two suspects

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces killed three terrorists and detained two suspected terrorists during two coordinated operations targeting an al-Qaeda in Iraq weapons facilitator July 17 southwest of Tarmiyah. During the first precision operation, Coalition Forces approached a vehicle believed to contain a terrorist weapons facilitator connected to al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders.  As Coalition Forces neared the vehicle, three men emerged from the vehicle and engaged them with small arms fire.  Coalition Forces, responding in self-defense, returned fire and killed the three armed men. Nearby, Coalition Forces conducted a second precision operation targeting associates of high-level al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders and detained two suspected terrorists.

 

Iraq Army and Coalition Forces detain two al-Qaeda Iraq leaders in Baghdad

BAGHDAD – Members of the 1/6th Iraqi Army Scout Platoon, with Coalition Forces advisors, detained two suspected al-Qaeda leaders July 16 during an intelligence driven operation in western Baghdad. The operation was conducted simultaneously at three separate locations. At one location, Iraqi Forces subdued a suspect who attempted to engage the team with a screwdriver.  Thirteen other suspicious individuals who were present during the operation were also detained. The primary suspect is believed to command three cells under the al-Qaeda Iraq banner.  He allegedly distributed money, weapons, and equipment among his subordinates. The second suspect is alleged to lead at least two of those cells.  He allegedly constructs vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, conducts cells meetings at his home and creates terrorist video propaganda materials. The targeted individuals are suspected of using foreign fighters to facilitate attacks against Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces, using direct fire and improvised explosive devices.  They are also accused of kidnapping and extorting local Iraqi civilians who disrupt al-Qaeda Iraq efforts in the area.

 

Iraqi National Police officers graduate from NCO Course

BAGHDAD — Twenty Iraqi National Police corporals graduated from the Warrior Leader Course at Forward Operating Base Falcon in the Rashid District last week. Five corporals from each of the three battalions of the 7th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi National Police Division and the unit’s headquarters attended the class and graduated, said Lt. Col. Michael E. Lonigro, commander of the 7-2nd’s National Police Training Team. The course consisted of classes on noncommissioned officer responsibilities, force protection techniques, close quarter battle drills, map reading, a sand table exercise, basic medical training and human rights, he said. Iraqi Brig. Gen. Karim, gave a 10-minute graduation speech, lauding the course and the hard work put in by the graduates.  He told the policemen that their discipline and training and non-sectarianism will help the country. Lonigro said the course takes place every other week.

 

 

Technorati tags: Iraq, War on Terror, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Military, Coalition, Terrorists, Insurgents, al-Qaeda, al-Qaida, Quds, Iran, Middle East

British RAF Scramble To Intercept Russian Jets

It appears they're looking for a fight with Britain also.

Two RAF fighter jets were scrambled on Tuesday to intercept two Russian planes on course for British airspace, it emerged yesterday. The incident marked the latest escalation of tensions in the standoff between London and Moscow. As Moscow hesitated in its response to Britain's expulsion of four Russian diplomats, two Tornado fighters raced to meet the Tu95 "Bear" bombers that had been dispatched from their base near the northern port city of Murmansk in the Arctic Circle. The planes turned back before they reached British airspace. The incident, now rare according to the RAF, but once commonplace during the Cold War, may be seen as a show of defiance by the Kremlin. But Moscow said the Russian planes were on a training flight unrelated to the current diplomatic crisis over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

 

 

Technorati tags: Britain, U.K. Russia, Cold War

Parents Force Their Children, 5y And 2y, To Snort Cocaine

They receive a measly 5 year sentence. It's pathetic that the lives of children have become meaningless to liberal politicians and the courts. Children don't ask to be created, it's caused by either the intent or stupidity of adults post-pubescent individuals.

In a 5-year-old’s eyes, his parents’ greatest sin was stealing. Living in the back seat of a green 1994 Buick — between mushed food in the seats and overturned drinks on the floorboard — the child was appalled that his parents would steal four food trays, dinner rolls and a half-gallon of tea from a Piggly Wiggly to feed them. As for the “white medicine” he said his parents forced him and his sister to snort through a straw, all he knew about it was that it made his nose burn and his 2-year-old sister throw up. The boy’s parents — 24-year-old Brandon Suggs and 30-year-old Ragane Suggs — pleaded guilty Wednesday to child abuse with great bodily injury. Judge Kenneth Goode sentenced them each to five years in prison. Detective Danielle Belk interviewed the 5-year-old boy for the Cayce Department of Public Safety. “He was very explicit as to that they had to suck it up through a straw, him and his sister, and that sometimes (his sister) would cry and it would choke her — and that mom and dad were present,” she said. The parents admitted to smoking crack cocaine in front of their children, but both vigorously denied forcing their children to snort the drug.

These parents should be charged with attempted murder. Every time those kids snort coke, it could be their last. They could O.D. or the coke could be mixed with something else. I know a person, who is now clean and sober for many years, who ended up snorting coke mixed with Cascade automatic dishwashing detergent. It caused him temporary blindness and profuse bleeding.

 

Technorati tags: Child Abuse, Cocaine, Drugs, South Carolina

Lab Worker Steals Nuke Secrets

He was planning to sell the secrets to a "unspecified" country. I would like to know which country. If he was planning to sell it to a state sponsor of terrorism, he should be charged with treason. After all, we are engaged in a War on Terror. That includes terrorists and the countries that harbor them.

Federal prosecutors on Thursday accused a low-level contract worker at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory — birthplace of the nuclear bomb — with stealing highly classified information about how to make enriched uranium, a key ingredient in nuclear weapons. The suspect was allegedly caught trying to sell it to someone he thought was representing another country, someone who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent. Federal officials will not say which country the agent was pretending to represent. Federal officials told NBC News that the suspect worked as a contract employee at East Tennessee Technology Park, located on the Oak Ridge reservation. He worked at a site that is conducting clean-up on Cold War items that are being decomissioned. WNBC’s Jonathan Dienst reported the suspect was arrested Thursday. Sources reportedly said money, and not ideology, was the motive for the theft. An official announcement about the sting was expected later in the day. The alleged security breach was discovered before it could do any damage, officials said. But the incident also exposed another serious security breach at the national laboratories. Last fall, for example, a large cache of classified documents from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico was discovered when police, looking for drugs, conducted a search of a mobile home.

The man who stole classified documents from the Los Alamos National Laboratory and was selling them to Iran, was charged with violating a trade embargo. You read that right, he was charged with violating a trade embargo.

 

Technorati tags: Nuclear, Laboratory, Classified Documents, Treason

Russian Military Predicting War With United States

Sounds like they're looking for a fight. All we need is another cold war arms build-up and they will go broke again.

The blood-curbing declarations have been made: Moscow military experts are suggesting terrible scenario according to which the USA is going to attack Russia for providing itself with access to the Siberian natural resources .The cold war participants’ assumption is very clear, Manfred Quirring from the “Die Welt” German edition writes. “The war between Russia and the USA is probable in the near 10-15 years”, Major- General Aleksandr Vladimirov does not exclude. And its aim, according to him, “is obvious even now. It is the removal of the powerful geopolitical rival capable of deleting the USA from the earth’s surface within 30 minute”. Furthermore, according to the military man, the USA wishes to provide itself with access to the natural resources of Siberia and the Far East and threaten the rest of the world with “armed victory and technological power of its weapons”. Vladimirov is the vice-president of the Russia’s board of military experts. He met with other Russian distinguished military experts and specialists on the global security for discussing when and why the USA is to unleash war against Russia and whether it is going to enlist it or not.

 

Technorati tags: Russia, United States, War, Cold War, Military

Man Pays $110,000 In Child Support, 30yrs Later Finds It's Not His

This is what happens when you engage in relations with whores.

A former Morris County man who learned 30 years after his son was born that the child was not his cannot recoup $110,000 spent in child support from the biological father, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled yesterday. The 7-0 decision overturned an appellate court ruling in 2005 and found there is no exception in the New Jersey Parentage Act to extend the deadline in a paternity case beyond the child's 23rd birthday. "The Legislature evidently knew what has been known since time immemorial -- that children would be born of adulterous relationships and that the true identity of the father might not be known for more than 23 years," Justice Barry T. Albin wrote. The 28-page ruling lets the biological father, who had been a close family friend and the child's godfather, off the hook for the cost of raising him. Albin noted the biological father had not engaged in "overt trickery" and at worst simply kept quiet about the possibility he fathered the child. "The decision makes clear the paramour has no duty to intrude into the family relationship," said Melvyn Bergstein, the biological father's attorney. "It says if you don't say anything, we're not going to sock it to you after the statute of limitations runs out."

Her name should be public. But it's doubtful she would be embarrassed. It would just bring in more "clients".

 

Technorati tags: Child Support, New Jersey, Parentage Act, Paternity

This Day In History: July 19, 1969, Sen.Ted Kennedy Killed Mary Jo Kopechne

Everything you wanted to know about Chappaquiddick.

 

 

Technorati tags: Massachusets, Senator, Ted Kennedy, Mary Jo Kopechne, Chappaquiddick, The Swimmer

Large Weapons Cache Found In Dallas Apartment

"...tenant travels to the Middle East frequently" 

Federal sources tell CBS 11 News that law enforcement officers have confiscated a large cache of weapons found in an apartment near the federal building in downtown Dallas. Sources say a maintenance man entered the apartment in the 300 block of North Akard to work on some plumbing. Once inside, authorities say, the man found the weapons. He took pictures of them with his cell phone and showed them to police. Police are still taking inventory of all the weapons seized. Among those discovered were two AK-47 rifles, an Uzi 9 millimeter submachine gun, a TEC-9 submachine gun, a 40 millimeter ordnance launcher, a handheld ordnance launcher, and about 500 rounds of ammunition. The tenet left during the police search and hasn't been seen since. Police seized the weapons even though they say they may have been obtained legally. Suspected child pornography was also found in the apartment, which could lead to criminal charges. As of 7 p.m., authorities had not yet arrested anyone, but were searching for the tenant of the apartment. Authorities tell us the tenant travels to the Middle East frequently and just returned from there this morning. That information and the amount of weapons found lead to the involvement of the North Texas Terrorism Task Force. However, authorities say there is no reason to suspect terrorism as a motive.

A "presumed" Middle-Eastern male, travels to the Middle East frequently and just returned this morning, yet there is no reason to suspect terrorism. WOW!

I should note that the kiddie porn wasn't as shocking once I finished reading the article. After all, their prophet Mohammed (Piss Be Upon Him), was a child molester.

Finally, why would the police let him leave during the search?

 

Technorati tags: Weapons Cache, Dallas, Texas, Terrorism, Middle East

New York Steam Pipe Blast

It looks like a volcano eruption.

An underground steam pipe explosion tore through a Manhattan street near Grand Central Terminal on Wednesday, swallowing a tow truck and killing one person as hundreds of others ran for cover amid a towering geyser of steam and flying rubble. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the explosion was not terrorism, though the blast caused a brief panic about a possible attack. "There is no reason to believe whatsoever that this is anything other than a failure of our infrastructure," he said of the 24-inch steam pipe installed in 1924. One person was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital from an apparent heart attack, Bloomberg said. About 30 people were injured, at least four seriously. Authorities could not immediately account for how the most seriously wounded victims were injured. The explosion caused widespread chaos as residents and commuters heard a huge blast — and feared for the worst. Thousands of commuters evacuated the train terminal, some at a run, after workers yelled for people to get out of the building. A geyser of steam and mud shot from the center of the blast, generating a tremendous roar. The initial burst of steam rose higher than the nearby 77-story Chrysler Building, one of Manhattan's tallest buildings.

More pics:

 

       

Technorati tags: New York, NY, Steam Pipe, Explosion

Dems Wake Up Alone After Senate All-Nighter

The defense bill was introduced 2 weeks ago and no one would debate it. All of a sudden, the Democrats, not happy with their 14% approval rating, aim for single digits. They insist on round-the-clock debate. They even brought in little cots just in case some of our Senators needed to rest. Those cots weren't needed because the senators went home.

A weary and sharply divided U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked a Democratic effort that would have brought all American combat troops out of Iraq by the end of April 2008. Capping an around-the-clock debate, a majority of senators voted in support of the legislation that would have begun the troop withdrawals within 120 days, but fell short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a procedural hurdle and move forward. The vote was 52-47. The U.S. House of Representatives already has passed similar Iraq war troop withdrawal legislation, which President George W. Bush has threatened to veto. The White House, backed by most Republicans in Congress, has demanded that any change in Iraq war policy be put off at least until mid-September, when the Pentagon is supposed to assess the effectiveness of Bush's troop surge aimed at securing Baghdad more than four years after the U.S.-led invasion.

Even after Petraeus gives his report in September, it isn't likely the Dems will change their mind. They already said they won't believe him if he says the surge is working.

 

 

Technorati tags: Senate, Democrats, Liberals, Political Theater, War on Terror, Iraq, Troop Withdrawal, Military

Another Top al-Qaeda In Iraq Leader Captured

It must be tough these days being al-Qaeda.

The highest-ranking Iraqi leader of al-Qaida in Iraq has been arrested and told interrogators that Osama bin Laden's inner circle wields considerable influence over the Iraqi group, the U.S. command said Wednesday. Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who was captured in Mosul on July 4, carried messages from bin Laden, and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, to the Egyptian-born head of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayub al-Masri, said Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a military spokesman. "Communication between the senior al-Qaida leadership and al-Masri frequently went through al-Mashhadani," Bergner said. "There is a clear connection between al-Qaida in Iraq and al-Qaida senior leadership outside Iraq." The relationship between the two groups has been the subject of debate, with some private analysts believing the foreign-based leadership plays a minor role in day-to-day operations. Some have suggested that linking al-Qaida in Iraq to bin Laden is simply an attempt to justify the Iraq war as an extension of the global conflict that began with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But the U.S. military has insisted that there are links between the local al-Qaida group and the bin Laden clique and has released captured letters from time to time, suggesting the foreign-based leaders provide at least broad direction. Bergner said al-Mashhadani had told interrogators that al-Qaida leaders outside the country "continue to provide directions, they continue to provide a focus for operations, they continue to flow foreign fighters into Iraq." Pointing to the foreign influence in al-Qaida undermines support for the organization among nationalistically minded Iraqis, including some in insurgent groups that have broken with al-Qaida.

 

Oh, and the supposed leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi...totally fictional. He was created to give the impression that an Iraqi was leading AQI, not a foreigner.

 

 

Technorati tags: Iraq, War on Terror, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Military, Coalition, al-Qaeda, al-Qaida, al-Mashhadani, AQI, Terrorists

Shooting Investigation Leads To Possible Terror Plot

More Muslim males between the ages of 18-30 involved in possible terror plot.

A search warrant filed in Hennepin County connects a shooting investigation to a possible terror plot. According to court documents, four Somali teenage males were riding in a cab on June 24 the same night a man was shot in the chest around 9:00 p.m. Video surveillance at the Glendale Housing Projects captured the cab fleeing near the scene of the shooting. Police were able to identify the taxicab and located the vehicle at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport four days later. Inside the cab, police found a handwritten note describing acts of terrorism and bombings. Police questioned an 18-year-old relative of the cab owner who confessed to being the driver of cab on June 24. Minneapolis Police turned the terrorism note over to federal authorities and said they will "Further aid in their investigation of possible acts of terrorism against Unites States."

 

Technorati tags: Muslim, Terrorism, Terrorists, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, Somali, Islam

Good News From The War On Terror 7/17

Attack weapons team engages IED triggerman

TIKRIT, Iraq – Attack helicopters from the 1st Squadron 82nd Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade engaged and killed two insurgents and wounded another three in two engagements July 13, near Samarra, Iraq. The first attack weapons team observed a fuel tanker burning after being struck by an IED on a local main supply route.  The team identified and engaged the emplacers, killing one and wounding the other two. Coalition ground forces from D/2-505 Parachute Infantry Regiment moved in and recovered small arms and ammunition and a video camera with tape containing video of mortar, IED and SVBIED attacks. A second engagement took place when attack helicopters observed two insurgents digging and placing an IED next to a road near a village in Tikrit, Iraq. Coalition Force helicopters engaged the emplacers, killing one insurgent and wounding the other.

 

Homemade explosives uncovered

BAGHDAD — Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers, working together with Iraqi Army troops, discovered two caches totaling approximately 700 lbs. of homemade explosives in the early morning hours of July 15. The 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment made the cache finds during Operation Purple Haze, part of an ongoing effort to establish security in the western Baghdad Jamiya’a neighborhood. The homemade explosives, 14 50-lb. bags, were found in an abandoned house along with ball bearings and detonation cord.  An explosive ordnance disposal unit conducted a controlled detonation of the one bag of homemade explosives at the site of the discovery.  The bag was torn and the explosives were leaking, making the bag unsafe for transportation.  All other items in the cache were removed from the house prior to demolition. In a separate raid during the same operation, a smaller cache of munitions and weapons was discovered.  Two machine guns, one AK-47 assault rifle and a variety of knives, grenades and other small explosives were uncovered in a second abandoned home in the neighborhood.

 

One call, 30 residents prevent car bombing in Adhamiyah

CAMP TAJI, Iraq — A phone call to the Adhamiyah Joint Security Station and residents of the eastern Baghdad district helped foil an attempted car bombing July 16. The Adhamiyah JSS received the call, providing the location of a possible vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in the area.  Elements of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division and 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment investigated the area. When the troops arrived at the scene, approximately 30 residents identified a parked vehicle as a possible car bomb.  The explosives were removed from the vehicle and safely detonated without injury or damage to the community.

 

Insurgents killed during Rusafa District firefight

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq — Multi-National Division – Baghdad troops killed approximately 12 insurgents during a firefight in eastern Baghdad after coming under attack by insurgents with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades July 16. Insurgents attacked paratroopers from the 1st “Red Devil” Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, in the Fadhl neighborhood of the Rusafa District. The firefight began as Soldiers received fire from the Islamic Bank Building, with insurgents attacking the troops with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades at approximately 2 p.m. Coalition Forces returned fire and called for attack aviation support in a three-hour engagement.  The insurgents were heard using the public address system of a local mosque in an appeal for more of their forces to engage Coalition Forces.

 

Iraqi Army, Coalition Forces capture Al Qaeda Emir in Qayyarah

BAGHDAD – Elements of the Iraqi Army Second Division, with Coalition Forces as advisors, captured the alleged emir of Qayyarah for Al Qaeda during an intelligence driven operation July 15 in Qayyarah. During the operation, Iraqi Army and Coalition Forces also detained three other individuals at the residence and recovered terrorist propaganda, passports and Korean currency. The capture of this individual will disrupt terrorist networks operating in eastern Ninewa Province. The individual has high level contacts in the Al Qaeda network, cells for foreign fighters and improvised explosive devices.

 

Coalition Forces detain suspected al-Qaeda senior leader in Mosul

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces detained three suspected terrorists during operations in Mosul targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders Tuesday. Coalition Forces captured an alleged al-Qaeda in Iraq leader in Mosul who is believed to have been promoted within the organization after recent Coalition operations created numerous vacancies in the terrorist leadership structure.  Intelligence reports also indicate the individual is responsible for mortar and sniper attacks against Iraqi forces and a December attack against Coalition Forces.  Two other suspected terrorists were also detained during the Tuesday operation.

 

Precision-guided munitions kills top al Qaeda leader

BAGHDAD — The top target for al Qaeda in Iraq south of Baghdad was killed July 14 in Arab Jabour by precision-guided munitions, the Excalibur. Shortly after 12 p.m., 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, received a call that Abu Jurah and 14 anti-Iraqi forces were meeting at a house in Arab Jabour. Abu Jurah was an AQI cell leader and was responsible for improvised explosive devices, vehicle-borne IED and indirect fire attacks on Coalition Forces in Arab Jabour. At approximately 1:12 p.m., the house was positively identified allowing 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Regiment to fire two Excalibur rounds destroying the meeting house. An unmanned aerial vehicle observed persons leaving the house, loading injured individuals into a sedan and fleeing the scene. An AH-64 Apache helicopter engaged the sedan destroying it. Three people were observed running from the meeting house to a nearby house. A U.S. Air Force F16 Fighting Falcon dropped two 500-pound GPS-guided bombs on the second house.

 

 

Technorati tags: Iraq, War on Terror, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Military, Coalition, Terrorists, Insurgents, al-Qaeda, Middle East

Dow Hits 14,000; AP Downplays The News

I've heard the media is biased. This is a great example of how the media can take good news and try to smother it with bad news. They are in full freak-out mode now because it's becoming harder to silence news about economic growth. Bush's economic plan is working.

NEW YORK - The Dow Jones industrial average swept past 14,000 for the first time Tuesday after a relatively tame inflation report gave investors reason to extend an extraordinary — but questionable — Wall Street rally. The stock market's best-known indicator crossed 14,000 in the first half-hour of trading and rose as high as 14,011.79, having taken just 57 trading days to make the trip from 13,000. Stocks have risen fairly steadily since the spring amid a continuum of buyout news and evidence that despite higher fuel prices and the ongoing problems in the housing market and mortgage lending industry, consumers are spending and companies remain optimistic about the future. With the Federal Reserve ever vigilant about inflation, any news that prices are rising at a moderate pace has added to the market's momentum, as it did Tuesday. The release of moderately upbeat earnings reports helped reassure a market that had worried that a slowing economy and rising energy prices would slash into corporate profits. But the Dow's latest accomplishment does raise questions about whether investors are buying more on speculation than fundamentals. A week ago, the average tumbled nearly 150 points after disappointing forecasts from Home Depot Inc., Sears Holdings Corp. and homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc., but only two days later, the Dow barreled 283 points higher as investors chose to put a positive spin on a generally lackluster series of retail sales reports.

In late 2002, the effects of the terrorist attacks and the dot com bubble-burst hit Wall Street. On September 24th, the Dow lost 27% of it's value from Jan 1, 2001. On that day it closed at 7286.27. Fast forward five years later, it has almost doubled. Add that to the near historic low unemployment rate around 4.4%, and it makes one wonder how people can continue to believe the economy is so bad.

 

Technorati tags: Dow, Economy, Stock Market, Bush, Media Bias, AP, Unemployment