We're getting ready to attack Iran.

Could be weeks, could be days away. Seymour Hersh:

Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program. ...

“The Finding was focussed on undermining Iran’s nuclear ambitions and trying to undermine the government through regime change,” a person familiar with its contents said, and involved “working with opposition groups and passing money.” The Finding provided for a whole new range of activities in southern Iran and in the areas, in the east, where Baluchi political opposition is strong, he said.

Although some legislators were troubled by aspects of the Finding, and “there was a significant amount of high-level discussion” about it, according to the source familiar with it, the funding for the escalation was approved. In other words, some members of the Democratic leadership—Congress has been under Democratic control since the 2006 elections—were willing, in secret, to go along with the Administration in expanding covert activities directed at Iran, while the Party’s presumptive candidate for President, Barack Obama, has said that he favors direct talks and diplomacy.

The request for funding came in the same period in which the Administration was coming to terms with a National Intelligence Estimate, released in December, that concluded that Iran had halted its work on nuclear weapons in 2003. The Administration downplayed the significance of the N.I.E., and, while saying that it was committed to diplomacy, continued to emphasize that urgent action was essential to counter the Iranian nuclear threat. President Bush questioned the N.I.E.’s conclusions, and senior national-security officials, including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, made similar statements. (So did Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee.) Meanwhile, the Administration also revived charges that the Iranian leadership has been involved in the killing of American soldiers in Iraq: both directly, by dispatching commando units into Iraq, and indirectly, by supplying materials used for roadside bombs and other lethal goods. (There have been questions about the accuracy of the claims; the Times, among others, has reported that “significant uncertainties remain about the extent of that involvement.”)

This follows on the heels of this, last week:

Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen leaves Tuesday night on an overseas trip that will take him to Israel ... The trip has been scheduled for some time but U.S. officials say it comes just as the Israelis are mounting a full court press to get the Bush administration to strike Iran's nuclear complex.

CBS consultant Michael Oren says Israel doesn't want to wait for a new administration.

"The Israelis have been assured by the Bush administration that the Bush administration will not allow Iran to nuclearize," Oren said. "Israelis are uncertain about what would be the policies of the next administration vis-à-vis Iran."

Israel's message is simple: If you don't, we will. Israel held a dress rehearsal for a strike earlier this month, but military analysts say Israel can not do it alone.

"Keep in mind that Israel does not have strategic bombers," Oren said. "The Israeli Air Force is not the American Air Force. Israel can not eliminate Iran's nuclear program."

Cheney wants to strike, Mullen and Defense Secretary Gates do not.

How are we going to stop a third war in the Middle East, which will quickly send oil to $200 a barrel and beyond and gasoline past $5 the week the attack commences?

For starters, contact Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi -- they're on their Independence Day break, if you recall from my many FISA postings -- and tell their staff to pass on along your exhortation to stop the Bush administration's rush to another war.

You can also spread the word about it. E-mail this post to your list. Talk about a third war with Iran out loud, in public, with people where others can overhear you. You can also contact your locals, but for now start at the top, and speak out forcefully and clearly.

This shit has got to stop, and we're the only ones who can make them.

The Weekly Wrangle

Time for yet another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly blog round-up. Posts included in the round-up are submitted each week by Alliance member blogs, and compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.

Maybe PDiddie at Brains and Eggs was wrong about Obama and Texas. Decide for yourself.

Off the Kuff has one last belated interview from the state Dem convention, with CD32 candidate Eric Roberson.

There is a new email scandal in Harris County. XicanoPwr writes about the offensive emails discovered at the Harris County sheriff's office by a local media undercover investigation. One email has Osama bin Laden urging folks to vote Democratic. In another, a top commander suggested that alligators should be put in the Rio Grande to cut down on illegal immigration.

Big Drunk at McBlogger points out, again, the flaws in the R's "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" strategy. Which really isn't hard to do since the R's don't excel at critical thinking, are in love with fantasy and are (to a large extent) willfully ignorant.

refinish69 of Doing My Part For The Left is delighted to announce that the Texas Medical Association rescinded their endorsement of Senator Box Turtle, and shares Rick Noriega's response to Big Bad John.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the cracks forming in the Texas Republican base in A Cooling Off Period For The Texas GOP.

Vince Leibowitz at Capitol Annex takes a look at the Texas Supreme Court's recent opinion declaring, essentially, that if you are injured by a church, you are screwed, which stems from the case of -- get this -- an exorcism gone horribly wrong.

North Texas Liberal reports on the charge that John McCain and his wife Cindy have defaulted on four years of back taxes for their La Jolla, Calif. residence.

The Texas Cloverleaf helps expose the fact that oil companies are not drilling on 3/4 of the land they already lease, because it will cost them too much. Corporate greed, anyone?

Over at Texas Kaos, it is Kenneth Foster all over again, as it looks like Texas' law of parties is fixing to execute another man, Jeff Wood, who didn't kill anyone.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes John McCain shows his true colors by choosing Phil 'Enron' Gramm as a close associate.

NyTexan at BlueBloggin tells how the Bush administration has hit the pinnacle of security chaos. We can rest easy now, knowing that we have outsourced the outsource: Department of Homeland Security Outsources National Security.

Bay Area Houston writes about state senator Kim Brimer keeping campaign cash for himself.

Extra Sunday Funnies

Still 317.

Had to think hard about changes from last week, but there is consensus that Nevada currently sits in McCain's camp, and that Alaska has moved to toss-up, again due to the Bob Barr phenomenon. But that doesn't change Obama's numbers.

<p><strong>><a href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign08/electoral-college/'>Electoral College Prediction Map</a></strong> - Predict the winner of the general election. Use the map to experiment with winning combinations of states. Save your prediction and send it to friends.</p>

Maybe I'm wrong about Obama and Texas

After I wrote this, then the campaign appeared to take my challenge and made several promising announcements about moving staff into and spending money in the Lone Star.

Obama's 50-state strategy, (Obama campaign manager David Plouffe) said, is designed to help the party increase its majority on Capitol Hill and to try to regain control of state legislatures, including Texas, where the Democrats need to pick up just five House seats to control the chamber.

Another goal is to force the Republicans to spend money in "red" states so they have less available for swing states.

Obama's aides told the Houston Chronicle that the Texas expenditures could increase party turnout in targeted races such as Harris County district attorney, sheriff and county judge.

The national campaign's presence in the state also could help Democrats in closely watched Houston-area congressional races for the seats of incumbent Democrat Nick Lampson and Republican Michael McCaul.

"It'll help us create a government majority," said Plouffe. "In a state like Texas, there's House races, there's state Senate races, and we're going to encourage people to get involved in their local elections."

In Texas, for instance, Obama’s three dozen offices were overrun with volunteers during the primary; the campaign’s challenge is, in part, to find something useful to do with all that free labor. But, while Hildebrand said Obama is unlikely to pay for television advertising outside a core of about 15 states the candidate thinks he can win, he will spend some money on staff. Obama’s chief strategist, David Axelrod, reportedly told donors in Houston that he would send 15 staffers to Texas, and the campaign has committed to having some staff on the ground in all 50 states.

Harris County Democratic Party Chairman Gerald Birnberg said his ears perked up when Axelrod brought up, without being asked, redistricting after the 2010 Census.

"He said they were acutely aware that 2010 will be a redistricting year and that Texas presents some real opportunities."

Estimates are that Texas will gain four or five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives at the expense of northern states because of population growth.

That last part is emphasized because it means that, as a result of the 2010 census, the Lone Star adds Congressional districts -- likely Austin, San Antone, and a couple each in D-FW and Houston. Those districts get drawn by the majority in Austin, as Casey reminded re: DeLay.

I think fifteen staffers in Texas is -- well, something at least. Emphasis on voter registration is slightly disappointing, because of what Greg Palast has uncovered regarding state voter registrars' ability to throw out new registrations. You know if you read here regularly that countering voter suppression is much higher on my personal priority list.

And finally, if they're going to train a bunch of people here and then send them out to Virginia and Michigan and Nevada then I fail to see the positive impact on Texas.

But I will hold off for the moment on being a grouch, subject to how well the Obama campaign's words match their deeds.

11-10.

What a ballgame last night.

The home team overcame deficits of 4-0 and 9-6, then hung on in the ninth to win. They held Man-Ram nearly hitless but couldn't get Dustin Pedroia out. They rocked Bosox starter Jon Lester -- particularly Mark Loretta, who hit the first pitch he saw out of the park, after Lester had gotten struck on a comebacker and limped around the mound before resuming. They blasted reliever Manny Delcarmen in the eighth, in particular Lance Berkman, who had whiffed three times against Lester but turned around as a left-hander and delivered the game-winner.

Delcarmen entered in the eighth ("a short inning and I probably would have gone out for the ninth") and that dominance didn't last another batter. Ty Wigginton, the former Tampa Bay Ray, led off the bottom of the eighth with a tying, opposite-field home run, and Lance Berkman, who had been tied up in knots by Jon Lester in whiffing his first three at-bats, sliced an opposite-field, two-run double to climax an improbable comeback.

"I just looked at the video," Delcarmen said. "The pitch to Wigginton was away, and he just got his bat out there. When he hit it, I thought there was no way it had the height to go out. A 3-and-2 pitch, I didn't want to walk him with anything offspeed."

Darin Erstad followed by lining a pinch single ("A hanging curveball," said Delcarmen), and Brad Ausmus, the Dartmouth grad, showed that at 39 he can still drop down a bunt, sacrificing Erstad to second after being sent to pinch hit by manager Cecil Cooper.

Delcarmen struck out Michael Bourn, but walked Hunter Pence before Berkman delivered.

"We made some mistakes out over the plate and we about paid for every one of them," said Sox manager Terry Francona.

A full house of 43,000+ fans, split pretty evenly, screamed and chanted and stood throughout the ninth, yelling with the strikeout of Manny by Astros closer Jose Valverde, groaning with the Crawford Boxes home run shot by Mike Lowell, and rejoicing on the K's of Kevin Youkilis and Jason Varitek.

The pre-game New England buffet, complete with brats and chowdah and prime rib and Italian sausage and pasta and baked beans and Boston creme pie -- was very nearly as spectacular as the baseball playing.

If you have a ticket to this afternoon's matinee, you can't do much better than what we did last night for food, fun and games.