Today, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Chairman, Henry Waxman, has sent out letters  requesting additional documents regarding what he has termed "the Politicization of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy". The letters request any and all additional documentation referring to meetings directed by Sara Taylor in November of 2006. From the Oversight and Government Reform website today :

At the request of Sara Taylor, the former White House Director of Political Affairs, John Walters, the nation’s drug czar, and his deputies traveled to 20 events with vulnerable Republican members of Congress in the months prior to the 2006 elections. The trips were paid for by federal taxpayers and several were combined with the announcement of federal grants or actions that benefited the districts of the Republican members.

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These aren't your ordinary activists, these are people who impersonate the very officials they oppose. These pranksters thrive on the media attention they get, and in getting people to rethink their assumptions.

Democracy Now! has reported that The Yes Men have struck again this past Tuesday, this time claiming to be a representative of Haliburton Corporation, where The Yes Men gave a presentation at the "Catastrophic Loss" conference at the Ritz-Carlton in Ameila Island, Florida. The phoney spokesman gave his name as "Fred Wolf". Mr. Wolf presented his new invention called "The Survival Ball" to the many conference attendees, which included many leaders of the insurance agency. Mr. Wolf's invention was an orb-like inflatable product to protect corporate managers from the effects of global warming. Wolf said "It's essentially a gated community, for one". The conference attendees seemed to really like the idea, judging from the photos.

Additional pictures and more after the fold.

Defending Backwater Private Security Contractors in Iraq is the last thing I thought I'd be doing with my first few diaries on Daily Kos, but after the fold, that's what I intend to do. I wrote a diary yesterday that outlined some aspects of what is being referred to as a groundbreaking lawsuit, brought before the courts by the families of the four Blackwater contractors that were slain and hung from a bridge.

The families are alleging wrongful death and fraud. The case was originally filed in Wake County Superior Court in Raleigh, North Carolina, and was later moved to federal court.  At present, the company and the plaintiffs are contesting which court should hear the case. Also, Blackwater has recently filed a motion to dismiss the case, providing copies of contracts signed by the four saying they would assume any risks from working under "volatile, hostile and extremely dangerous circumstances."

Why do I feel this case is so important? More after the fold.

On this second anniversary of the siege of Fallujah, the families of the four Blackwater contractors, whose ambush led to the Fallujah invasion, have filed a ground breaking lawsuit.

The families are charging the company with wrongful death, and also fraud. Blackwater has fought to have the case dismissed by claiming that all liability lies not with the company but the U.S. government.

Links and more after the fold.