The Week Ahead

A few things to keep an eye on and keep in mind as the new week gets underway...

• Keep a sharp eye on the “President” and his ever-falling approval numbers. 31%, 29%, it looks as though they will get lower and lower… and ignore what the First Lady said when she remarked recently that she doesn’t “really believe those polls.” Yeah, I bet she would if they were… say… 60% approval rather than 29%… keep it to yourself ‘Lady Macbeth’… Oh, and Karl Rove thinks the war in Iraq is responsible for Dubya’s hilariously-low approval numbers… well, duh.
• Keep an eye on Venezuela and Libya… why? Well, the US has imposed sanctions on Venezuela due to terrorism concerns, but is dropping sanctions against Libya. I’m sorry… when did I arrive in Bizarro-world??
• Pay attention as immigration reform steps back into the spotlight. Tonight, Dubya will address the nation that will announce the calling-up of thousands of National Guard troops that will then be deployed along the southern border as a temporary solution to the influx of illegal immigrants. Yeah… that doesn’t sound like a good idea… maybe Bush shouldn’t have cut those 10,000 border patrols jobs in his budget last year after all...
• Keep an eye on Rep. Duke Cunningham’s blood pressure. Federal prosecutors are trying to interview a few more current and/or former staffers on the House Intelligence, Appropriations and Armed Services committees so they can widen their probe into the bribery scheme that he’s already up to his neck in...
• Keep an eye on all those fair-weather-friends and colleagues (and by ‘weather’ I mean ‘approval ratings’. Seemingly in fear of their own political futures, House and Senate Republicans are becoming increasingly “divided and disloyal”in regards to their relationship with Dubya; they don’t agree with his policies (NSA surveillance for one), his nominations (General Hayden) or his announcements (the impending immigration announcement), and now it’s starting to show… poor little President… no one wants him to come out and play with them...
• As the week, and months, go on, we should all pay attention to what happens in the NSA/phone database news cycle. 53% think the program goes too far, 51% dissaprove of the program period… let’s see how the administration spins this… should be entertaining to say the least… and insulting to millions at the most.
• Lawsuit alert. Bruce Afran, an attorney from New Jersey filed suit against Verizon last week on claims that the company violated privacy laws by turning over calling records to the National Security Agency. The attorney is now saying that customers of AT&T and BellSouth want to join the lawsuit, which would make it the largest class-action lawsuit ever filed.
• Keep an eye on Karl Rove this week. While he wasn’t indicted on Friday like many outlets reported (or on Saturday as XX reported, word on the Beltway is that he will be indicted in the coming weeks, or even days, ahead. Stay tuned...
• The Democratic party needs to be watched like a group of children this week… lest we have another temper-tantrum like we had last week when DNC Chair Howard Dean and DCCC mid-term election leader Rahm Emmanuel (D-IL) got into a spat about the party and its money strategy. Then Paul Begala had to get into the fray and insult thousands of party-members with some moronic comments. Here’s some free and simple advice to all of them: shut the hell up and show a united front. We keep acting like this, and people are going to start mistaking us for Republicans… and I don’t think any of us want that...
• Keep an eye on two political females this week. Though they are on different sides of the team, they both have a tendency to put their foots into their mouths. First, we have Katherine Harris (R-FL)… her of the pathetic Senate campaign in Florida. What can be said that hasn’t already been said… granted, it’s been a while since she said anything idiotic, but knowing her it’s only a matter of time. It’s also only a matter of time until Hillary Rodham-Clinton (D-NY) says something else moronic as she did this past week when she disparaged young people and their work ethic… which was quickly followed by an apology to her own daughter, who is a member of the crowd that she just insulted. Brilliant people skills there Senator. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… if she is the nominee in ’08, we should all just kill ourselves. Here’s some free advice to the two of you; keep… your mouths… shut. On second thought, Rep. Harris, you can continue to talk, cause it will only help us in November.
• Keep an eye on another Democrat acting like a Republican as the Washington Post is reporting that Rep. Allan Mollahan (D-WV) “set up a network of nonprofit organizations to administer the millions of dollars he directed to such public endeavors as high-tech research and historic preservation.” It should also be noted that Mollahan’s assets grew from $565,000 to at least $6.3 million from 2000 to 2004… that’s normal… right?? Rep. Mollahan… do the party a favor… stop impersonating a Republican, it’s only going to confuse people.
• Keep an eye on Al Gore… after this past weekend, I think it’s safe to say he’s up to something...