The Week Ahead

Following the “guilty-on-all-counts” verdict of former Illinois Governor George Ryan, here’s a few things to keep in mind as this week gets under way…

• The new sheriff in town is promising a “shake-up” in the administration as new White House Chief of Staff Joshua “No relation to Michael damn-it” Bolten has given clues to possible staff shake-ups after his first meeting with Senior Staff ended today. Expect more on this as the week continues… my guess for first one out is Press Secretary Scott “Slowly losing my mind” McClellan. Hopefully Bolten is referring to a more significant shake-up than the one that resulted with him being named COS.
• Debate regarding U.N. sanctions against Iran will get more serious and more heated this week as we’ve had a long weekend to wrap our heads around the fact that the country has ‘enriched uranium.’ Here’s a question for you; seeing as how they folded like origami in regards to Iraq, will the Senate (both sides thank you very much) rebuff and stand up to “President” Bush in regards to Iran? We’ll see, but I sincerely doubt it. What about the U.N.? Again… I doubt it.
• As seven retired generals call for Rumsfeld to resign, his “firm grip on the Defense Department is slipping” as officers are now starting to question his judgment publicly. Because of this, expect the calls for ‘Rummy’ to resign to do one of two (rather obvious) things this week; quiet down to a whisper… or build to a fever-pitch. As I stated in an earlier post… Bush won’t fire him… and he won’t resign under pressure. Stay tuned…
• Congress is still on recess this week… that sound you hear in DC are lobbyists going through a mild case of withdraw.
• Disapproval of the “President” could drive a GOP ousting in November’s mid-terms. According to an article in WaPo, a GOP pollster stated: “Democrats will have an easier time of getting out their vote because of their intense disapproval of the president. That means we Republicans are going to have to bring our ‘A’ turnout game in November.” Bring their ‘A’ game? What’s next? Win one for the Gipper?? Seriously though, he’s right, the Democrats have an excellent chance to win back the majority if they can do what I and hundreds of other Liberal bloggers have said… get united behind a message, an agenda and the candidates and act damn it!
• Life after being an exterminator and a Congressman can be XX too. Look to soon-to-be-former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) as an example. Lobbyists in DC are saying that DeLay could be a strategic lobbying dynamo (does that come with tights and a cape??? Ugh, there’s an image I could have done without) with many lobbyists saying he has the skills to get the job done. Well sure, he’s already shown that he’s adapt at lying, looking out for yourself, cronyism, and behaving with an amazing lack of ethos.
• The Bush Budget is slashing the budget of National Parks with the administration ordering America's national parks to give proof that they can function at 80% of their operating budgets, causing some parks to cut services… despite summer approaching fast.
• From Thinkprogess, keep an eye on this as it will alter how things are done in the if it’s passed: “Conservatives in Congress are resorting to gimmickry to try to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. ‘A Senate rule designed to make it harder to increase the deficit would be circumvented with a maneuver that would end up increasing the deficit. And a tax cut for wealthier Americans that would cost $50 billion over 10 years would be ‘paid for’ in part by another tax cut for the well-off, which would end up costing billions more.’” Conservatives using subterfuge to get what they want?? I’m sorry, I can’t except that… I just can’t… unscruoulous morons.
• Is Tony Blair snubbing Dubya? The Huffington Post certainly thinks he is as he has canceled an upcoming visit to the U.S…. lest he have his picture taking with Dubya and mar his image in the U.K. even more. Now it seems that the only people who will shake-hands and do photo-ops with the “President” are either desperate… or are dictators… or even desperate dictators. Watch this as it unfolds this week as it will be harbinger of things to come in England (like which party will stay in power) and in the U.S.
• When I heard about this I honestly yelled “What!!??” It seems Nebraska has built a time machine and has gone back to the 1960’s as the state legislature has divided the Omaha school system into three districts: “one mostly black, one predominantly white and one largely Hispanic.” The debate about this is sure to get louder as this week continues… and rightfully so; talk about the wrong message to send to children.

Stay tuned…