The (Abbreviated) Week Ahead

A few (just a few) things to pay attention to as we embark on yet another week in the month of May...

Keep one eye ahead of you, and one to the side… lest AG Alberto Gonzales sneak up on you. He made the rounds on the Sunday news shows, at one point suggesting that journalists could be prosecuted for publishing classified information, saying; “There are some statutes on the book which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility,” – (I’m sorry… did I black out there from boredom?? Every time someone from the administration opens their mouth, it sounds the same…blah, blah, blah…)

Watch Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) this week as he continues his masterful impersonation of a Republican. After authorities searched his DC office this past weekend, news was released that an FBI informant posed as a Virginian businesswoman and succesfully videotaped him accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from the informant. ( Mr. Jefferson, you need to resign.. and right now. We don’t need the likes of you in our party…)

Keep an eye on Iran and the Bush administration this week and in the coming months. It seems the administration is “shunning pressure from allies for direct dialogue with Iran [and] shifting toward a more confrontational stance” (shocked, aren’t ya?) and are also trying to intensify efforts to undercut the country’s ruling clerics. Additionally, four of the biggest European banks have started curbing their activities in Iran,” due to pressure from the US… (that reminds me, I really need to get to work on that bomb shelter…)

Watch the courts this week as yet another WhIte House aid goes on trial.The former top procurement officer in the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), David Safavian, goes on trial this week to face charges, that “he concealed [Jack] Abramoff’s interest in government business when seeking permission to accept airfare for a Scotland golf trip from the lobbyist in 2002.” He is also accused of obstructing inquiries into the matter. (Not surprisingly, he says he’s innocent… prosecutors say there are e-mails that say different…I say don’t bend over for the soap…)

Watch Commander Cuckoo-Bananas this week as he tries to resusitate his pathetic approval numbers by dropping the immigration reform ball and going back to the subject that has become the most pressing issue of his administration: Iraq. First stop; Chicago as Dubya intends to deliver a speech on the "Global War on Terror." His audience? The National Restaurant Association… (uh, okay… global war on terror… restaurateurs… I can see the connection… can’t you??)

Speaking of his Nixonian-level approval numbers, keep an eye on those incredible shrinking numbers as political pundits have stated that there is no precedent for climbing out of the abyss that are his approval numbers. Even some White House strategists have made this realization and have concluded that no level of staff shake-ups are going to change that path. Because of that, the President and his cabal are focusing on the fall midterm elections as the best chance to salvage his presidency. (Call me strange, but I don’t see that happening… I really don’t…)

Keep an eye on the GOP as a whole as the party is starting to see losses “in morale, in fundraising and in early election contests.” (Fantastic news, isn’t it? We can only hope it contines well into November 2006… and November 2008…)

Pay attention to Patrick Fitzgerald and his “Scooter” this week. Seems ‘Fitz’ is trying to prove that Scooter Libby lied based on his knowledge of Valerie Plame’s classified status as a CIA agent when he told (read: lied to) the Grand Jury that he found out from NBC News's Tim Russert that Plame, (who is the wife of former ambassador Joe Wilson) worked for the agency. (Nice… here’s to hoping that Fitz gets his man, or men, this week and in the weeks ahead…)

Keep an eye on the First Stepford Wife as First Lady Laura Bush is using “her popularity” to help boost Republican candidates when her husband can’t. (Uh… okay… sure…)

Watch as two congressmen; Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-MI) and Kendrick Meek (D-FL), demand 118 reports from the Department of Homeland Security that are late… really… really late (they were due in 2003… yes, you read that right; 2003) The reports all deal with security plans for mass transit, rail, aviation, ports and borders. (Uh… this is kind of important isn’t it?? Maybe we should, I don’t know, all be putting pressure on the department to get Congress the reports…)

Continue to keep an eye and ear on Al Gore… he’s… en fuego.