The Weekly Rewind

Whoo-hoo! It’s the end of another week. Sure, I’m happy about the weekend, but I’m more happy about The Weekly Rewind…

Applaud: to prooving that not all high school students don’t pay attention to the world around them. Earlier this week “President” Bush was given a letter that was signed by 50 high school seniors from the Presidential Scholars program. The letter urged a halt to “violations of the human rights” of terror suspects held by the US. (Nice going kids… keep it up)

Heckle: to yet another deadly week in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Applaud: A new poll finds that “liberal ideas” are gaining with young Americans, who are “more likely than the general public to favor a government-run universal health care insurance system, an open-door policy on immigration and the legalization of gay marriage.”

Heckle: to the staggeringly high number of recess appointments used by “President” Bush; 105… To give you some comparison, at the same point in his presidency President Clinton used his recess appointment powers to install a scant 42 people. (But then again… Clinton was for the people, Bush is for himself…)

Applaud: to the news that the American bald eagle was officially declared safe from extinction in the lower 48 states and has been removed from the Endangered Species list… now let’s hope we don’t push it to the brink of extinction again…

Heckle: to News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch… I could just say on general principles alone, but I’d rather throwdown with the fact that his “vast media holdings” give him a “gamut of tools” that he could use to enhance his financial and political interests to attack “adversaries, sometimes viciously.”

Applaud: to the U.S. Conference of Mayors who endorsed, albeit narrowly, a resolution that calls for the Bush(whacked) administration to “begin planning for the swift withdrawal of troops from Iraq” because the war, in their words, is reducing federal funds for “needed domestic investments in education, health care, public safety, homeland security and more.” (Nice move by the mayors that endorsed it…too bad it, like everything else, will fall on deaf ears at the White House)

Heckle: to the number of bills (239 to be precise) the House of Representatives has passed and sent to the Senate only to see them get held up by conservatives who are “objecting to just about every major piece of legislation” brought up by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)… insert your own snarky, smart-ass comment here.

Applaud: to telling it like it is. Earlier this week, U.S. attorney John McKay, one of the attorneys thrown out in AttorneyGate, spoke out. Turns out he initially supported the nomination of Alberto Gonzales to AG and even told some of his “lawyer friends” (who knew lawyers had friends…) that “Yyu’re gonna like this guy — he’s humble, he’s honest, he’s hard-working, and he’s smart.” Mr. McKay followed that up by saying that Gonzales’ “proved me wrong.” (Wow, who knew attorneys had feelings…)

Heckle: to this bit of news. The U.S. commander of a new offensive north of Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Mick Bednarek, said earlier this week that Iraqi forces “may be too weak to hold onto the gains.” (Well, duh) He went on to say that the Iraqi military doesn’t even have enough ammunition and that they’re “not quite up to the job yet.” (Well, duh again… especially when you take into account the findings of a bipartisan congressional investigation released earlier this week. The report showed that the US has invested $19 billion to train and equip nearly 350,000 Iraqi soldiers and police since toppling Saddam Hussein, but added that the “ability of those forces to provide security remains in doubt.” Kind of makes you doubt our troops will ever come home…)

Applaud: to the House for passing voter deception legislation. The bill aims to increase punishments for those who “knowingly convey false information with the intent to keep others from voting.” (Great news indeed… but it still has to gain approval elsewhere… and that might directly contradict their voting strategies…)

Heckle: to Hallicheneyburton. A federal audit found that KBR, a former Halliburton subsidiary, didn’t “keep accurate records of gasoline distribution, put its employees in living spaces that may be larger than warranted, and served meals that appeared to cost $4.5 million more than necessary under a contract to perform work in Iraq.” (And this surprises you… how?)

Half-hearted Applaud: to the Bush(whacked) administration for (finally!!) “exploring ways of offering Congress a compromise deal on Iraq policy.” Even though they’re looking into purely to avoid some harsh battles in the coming months, the fact that they are even discussing something like the advocation of a “sharply decentralized Iraq” is a step in the right direction… let’s just hope it’s not a rope-a-dope

Heckle: to ending something that most people realize should have ended years ago. The U.N. Security Council voted 14-0, with Russia abstaining for reasons passing my understanding, to “immediately shut down the U.N. bodies key to monitoring Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programs under Saddam Hussein.” (Well… I guess it’s “official” now, huh… idiots…)

Applaud: to a plan that U.S. commanders took their sweet ol’ time to arrive at… namely their plan for a summer of “stepped-up offensives against Al Qaeda in Iraq.” Granted, they’re doing it to “tailor their strategy” because they expect that “Congress soon will impose a timeline” of troop withdrawal…

Heckle: to just not getting it. The immigraton debate is done George, let it go… get over it…

Applaud: to a bipartisan group of 145 members of the House that sent a letter to “President” Bush that urges him to close Guantanamo Bay and transfer the detainees to military prisons in the US. The letter, in part, stated:”The global war on terror cannot be won through military might alone. It is a war of ideas and philosophies. A liability of our own creation, the existence of the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay is defeating our effort to ensure that the principles of freedom, justice and human rights are spread throughout the world. We look forward to working with you on what we hope is a shared objective to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay.” (Nicely put everyone, keep the pressure on him… hopefully he’ll get the hint someday)

Applaud: to approval numbers that only a mother could love… and she’s getting more and more distant. A new Fox “News” poll shows Bush’s approval rating at a paltry (or scant if you prefer) 31%… which is a new low from the previous low of 33%.. awwwww, poor Georgie…

Applaud: to Rep. Rahm Immanuel (D-IL) for pushing an amendment to defund Vice President Dick “President” Cheney’s office since, as Dick said earlier this week, he’s not a part of the Executive Branch… nicely played Rahm… too bad it didn’t work.

All I have, take 'em as you will.

The Friday ‘BushWhack’ing

Have a quick and fragmented one…

• London police defused a car-bomb outside a club in the city’s nightclub district. Click the links to see stories from WaPo, CNN & the Chicago Tribune.
• I’ve always liked Colin Powell… though I did lose some respect for him when he agreed to be a member of Bush’s first cabinet… then gained some of it back when he decided to jump ship. Last night I gained a lot more respect for him after his appearance on ‘Larry King Live’. Yes, King is a media-pop culture-tool as he showed this past week when he interviewed she-who-will-not-be-named-on-this-blog. But last night he had Powell on, and Powell smacked the Bush(whacked) Administration around like they were a ragdoll. Click this LINK TO THINK PROGRESS to read more.
• The Democratic presidential candidates staged another debate last night at Howard University that primarily focused on minority issues. No one won the debate per se as most pundits say that every candidate performed well and excelled… so now we’ll wait to see what the post-debate polls say.
• “President” Bush continues to act like he’s above the law by claiming ‘executive privilege’ as a response to subpoenas sent by the Senate. The Senate is not amused and a Constitutional battle is looming… last one standing wins.
• After seeing his pet project of immigration reform get blown out of the water by the Senate, the chances for “President” Bush to achieve a domestic political victory are slim to none… couldn’t have happened to a more deserving putz…
• And have we mentioned? While thousands of people line-up for an iPhone, SCOTUS has been doing it’s best to screw-up the country even more than “President” Bush already has. Now they’re going to review whether “Guantanamo Bay detainees may go to federal court to challenge their indefinite confinement.” (Yeah… I don’t feel confidant in this being overturned… do you?)

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing’

Rather slow day… but here ya go:

• It’s high noon in DC this week as the Senate committee that’s investigating the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program issued subpoenas Wednesday that ordered the White House to turn over any and all documents that are related to the program. The issuance has prompted a legal showdown between Congress and the Bush(whacked) administration when Bush rejected the lawmaker’s request. (Knowing how this administration works, I’ll be surprised if anything actually is turned over… though in the mean time it does make for some interesting theater…)
• The Immigration debate is making John McCain’s campaign suffer…(And this surprises you… how?)
• China has taken an unprecedented interest in the 2008 presidential race, having a top government official meet with top advisers to Biden (D-DE), Clinton (D-NY), Edwards (D-SC), McCain (r-AZ), Obama (D-IL), & Romney (r-MA) during last week’s talks with the Bush(whacked) Administration.
• Headlines you don’t want to see; US-India Relations Hit Rough Patch. (Yeah, this should end well…)
• In a move that makes the gop wince, Hispanics are returning to the Democratic Party just in time for the 2008 presidential and congressional elections. (Add this bit of news to the fact that more younger Americans are flocking to “Liberal ideas”, the republicans are going to be getting desperate… ain’t it cool?)
• And have we mentioned? That it’s hard being a pimp second-tier presidential candidate… Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM), Gov. Mike Huckabee (r-AK), Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), and Rep. Ron Paul (r-TX) are desperately trying to scratch their way out of the second tier into the top tier but are finding it a hard task and a rough road. Richardson started making some headway as recently as 2 months ago but saw it evaporate after some interviews where he inserted his foot into his mouth. Then Paul saw an upswing after the second republican debate, which many say he won, but that surge quickly disappeared. With the number of second tier candidates in this election, this race should be very, very interesting. So, as always, stay tuned…

Is Dick screwed?

I posted about this last week, and the story isnt going away anytime soon, not with the Washington Post’s 4-part series about Vice President Dick “President” Cheny having just concluded this morning.

Cheney obviously thinks he is above the law and can do no wrong, and that seems to have risen the ire of House oversight chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), who has revealed some damaging new evidence that both Cheney’s office and the White House have “flaunted multiple requirements for protecting classified information” and that those go far beyond the violation of the executive order reported that I wrote about last Thursday.

White House deputy trainwreck press secretary Dana Perino stated last Friday that Bush and Cheney are “complying with all the rules and regulations regarding the handling of classified material.”

Uh… I think Mr. Waxman would disagree with that statement Ms. Perino.

Waxman wrote a letter to White House Counsel Fred Fielding in which he detailed the administration and their habit of repeatedbly breaking their “own guidelines for securing classified information.”

Mr. Waxman pointed out three such incidents…

• The White House Security Office (WHSO) who, like The National Archives, is supposed to ensure that White House officials comply with the requirements for protecting classified information had their security officers blocked . Waxman states that WHSO employees “have been blocked from conducting inspections in the West Wing of the White House, where most of the President’s most senior advisors work.”


• Even though the “deliberate or negligent disclosure” of classified information can be a “disqualifying” condition to receive security clearance, White House advisor Karl “President 2” Rove has had his security clearance renewed “and not altered in any respect” despite the fact he admitted that he publicly disclosed Valerie Plame’s status as a CIA officer.


• The management at the White House Security Office has been unwilling to “take actions that could embarrass White House officials,” which has been “condoned” by the White House. Waxman points to an example where the office ignored security breaches that were reported by the Secret Service or CIA agents, and gives a specific example of the time a “White House official left classified materials unattended in a hotel room. (oops)

Waxman has been trying to arrange interviews with White House officials overseeing security matters but those requests have always been ignored, but now Waxman says that if interviews are not granted, he will bring a motion to subpoena the officials on June 28th.

And to add more deliscousness to the troubles Dick Cheney is having is Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), who has announced that he will introduce an amendment aimed at cutting off funding to Cheney’s office. Said Emanuel on MSNBC;

“[Cheney] is acting like he’s unaccountable to anybody…and he’s taking an unbelievable step saying he’s not a member of the executive branch, he’s a member of the legislative branch, therefore he doesn’t have to provide information. … So I said, If that’s your logic, then we shouldn’t be funding you through the executive branch. Either Wednesday or Thursday my amendment will be on the floor, because the funding for the executive branch is on the floor. And I’ll strike the money for the Vice President’s Office. He can live off the Senate presidency budget that funds him up here. And that’s fine. But if he’s going to be funded in the executive branch, he complies with the rules that apply to everybody. He is not above the rules of the executive branch.”

Sucks to be a Dick this week, doesn’t it?

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

• As republican senators & representatives, along with conservative voters, continue to grow more skeptical of the war in Iraq, a key group of republican senators have called for a reduction in US forces and have already started to draft rebuttals to whatever “progress” the administration claims in its “September barometer.” (Wow… it only took republicans HOW long to realize that the Iraq war is a quagmire with no exit strategy and… well… really no strategy at all. Now if only the members of the Bush(whacked) Administration could see that, we’d be making progress)
• Bush lap dog British Prime Minister Tony Blair has officially resigned. It’s expected that he will take his place on Bush’s lap within the week…
• The Washington Post’s series on Vice President Dick “President” Cheney continues… it’s definitely worth a read
• The immigration bill is quickly turning into the “Bill that won't die” If “Schoolhouse Rocks” did a segment about that, I would have watched…
• A new CNN poll finds 30% of Americans, which is a new low btw, support the U.S. war in Iraq and. What’s bigger news from this poll is that now, for the first time, a majority of Americans, 54%, say they don’t think the war is “morally justified.” (Well, duhhhhh. I’m just amazed it took some of the lemmings people this long to see that…)
• Despite conservatives coming out of the woodwork to drum-up support and ask for leniency on his behalf, former deputy interior secretary J. Steven Griles was sentenced to 10 months in prison for a felony conviction of obstructing a Senate investigation into corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. (Wow… this Abramoff story just won’t go away, will it? Who’s next? Cheney? Bush? Rove? Stay tuned)
• And have we mentioned? That there was almost a ‘cat fight’ on MSNBC the other day when Elizabeth Edwards, wife of presidential candidate John (D-SC) confronted conservative bitch pundit Ann “rhymes with runt” Coulter. Ms. Edwards said that Coulter’s “personal attacks” on her husband and others were based on “the language of hate.” When her lame and pathetic attempts to spin it her way went awry, Coulter responded like anyother wild animal would, she attacked… and fell flat on her face. (Ann Coulter is a great example of what’s wrong with conservatives in this country. Rather than discuss the issues, they make personal attacks and ignore the people. I am not at all surprised by Ms. Coulter’s reactions, and would love the opportunity to buy Ms. Edwards a drink for standing up not only for her husband, but for the people. Way to go Elizabeth, keep it up)

The Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ing

Back after a short vacation, so let’s get on with it…

• Proof that high school kids pay more attention than our president. “President” Bush was given a letter yesterday that was signed by 50 high school seniors from the Presidential Scholars program. The letter urged a stop of “violations of the human rights” of terror suspects held by the US and said “We do not want America to represent torture.” While Bush took a moment to read it and talk with the young woman that handed it to him, he was more interested in how she learned to write so well…
• SCOTUS has weakened restrictions on television ads that air close to elections in a ruling that significantly dilutes a key provision of campaign finance law… right before an election where the gop is lagging behind… but I’m sure it’s just a coincidence… right??
• The only real “achievement” (and I’m using that term very loosely) of “President” Bush’s reign of terror term has been No Child Left Behind. It’s up for renewal now, but faces a stiff battle… and now some of the architects of the plan are “speaking out against the law with increasing boldness.” (NCLB was a good idea in theory but had a LOT of loopholes and was screwed-up from the get go by the usual Bush(whacked) Administration antics. If George wants this to be his legacy, he better start making some changes to the law now…)
• There’s a plan within the gop to oust Vice President Dick “President” Cheney. Even before WaPo published a series this past week that slammed the veep, his office and pretty much any thought that went through his head, there has been a movement afoot to replace the “toxic” Cheney. (I don’t think I like this. While it would be incredibly great to kick Cheney to the curb, that would give the gop and the White House an opportunity to replace him with a hand-picked successor to Bush who would then have the “power” of the White House, such as it is. Keeping Cheney in power might be beneficial to the Democrats as he’s bound to do something more to embarrass himself and the party)
• And have we mentioned? That it’s a bad week to be a Dick… Cheney that is. Rep. Rahm.Emanuel (D-IL) is going to propose cutting all funding for Cheney's office. The move is a response to recent reports that Cheney's office refused to let National Archives officials review its handling of classified material, which is required, and then proposed abolishing that oversight office… Cheney has a mark on his back from the left AND the right… so stay tuned.

The Weekly Rewind

No witty or snarky opeing line, just getting right to the business at hand….The Weekly Rewind.

Heckle: to not seeing the forest for all the trees. Fallout from the U.S. attorney scandal is starting to hit the department in federal courtrooms around the country. In a “Who couldn’t see this one coming a mile away” move, defense lawyers are raising questions about the motives of government lawyers who have brought charges against their clients, and are citing the furor over the U.S. attorney dismissals as evidence that their cases may have been infected by politics. And who couldn’t see this one coming? Thats right, the dog and pony show that calls itself the Bush administration.

Heckle: to nothing good can come of this. In Iraq’s Diyala province, U.S. soldiers are willing to risk teaming up with Sunni militias to fight insurgent groups. Ali al-Adeeb, a prominent Shiite lawmaker, said the U.S. is “trusting people who have previously attacked American forces and innocent people. They are trusting people who are loyal to the regime of Saddam Hussein.” Come on what is with the 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' crap? I think George and Dick have been watching to much TV.

Just a damn shame and inexcusable: “The Army has no PTSD center at Walter Reed,” the Washington Post reports in a new expose, and its psychiatric treatment is weak compared with the best PTSD programs the government offers. Instead of receiving focused attention, soldiers with combat-stress disorders are mixed in with psych patients who have issues ranging from schizophrenia to marital strife. As I said, this is inexcusable. Our men and women deserve better than this.

Heckle: to bringing peace and democracy to the new Iraq. Sunni families remaining in Shia neighbourhoods of Baghdad are being forced to flee their homes: A 72-hour deadline announced by militants for them to leave these areas or face death expired yesterday. One aid official said, “Dozens of Sunnis have been assassinated in their homes” since last week’s bombing of the Samara mosque. I wonder if the administration has already hired the architects to design all the hip new Iraq resorts for all the tourists who are just chomping at the bit to visit the new and improved Republic of Iraq?

Heckle: to opening mouth and inserting foot. Several conservative House members who last week “vociferously” (and falsely) attacked Rep. David Obey (D-WI) for weakening earmark disclosure rules have chosen to keep their lists of personal earmarks secret. They include House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Dan Burton (R-IN), Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Patrick McHenry (R-NC). Methinks they dost protest too much!

I am not going to applaud or heckle this one. Eight months after President Bush signed a bill authorizing the CIA to resume using ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ on terrorism suspects, the administration has been unable to agree on what constitutes ‘humiliating and degrading treatment‘ of detainees.” Call me old fashioned but if they are terrorists or suspected terrorists I am all for humiliating and degrading treatment in order to obtain information that may prevent innocent death and destruction, that is just a no-brainer for a liberal or conservative.

Heckle: to the never ending legacy of being know as the dumbest administration in history. President Bush issued the third veto of his presidency this past week, killing a bill that would have eased restraints on federally funded embryonic stem cell research — work that supporters say holds promise for fighting disease. The mantra of this administration continues to be “lie, lie and ignore the will of the people”. How about a 'Disabled Million March' on Washington to get someones attention....more than a million will work even better...

Heckle: to 1 in 8. Which is the number of U.S. veterans under the age of 65 who lack even basic health insurance or access to care at Veterans Affairs hospitals. … The ranks of uninsured veterans have increased by 290,000 since 2000. What happened to the battle cry and chest beating of the conservatives being the party that supports our troops? All rhetoric and no backbone….

Heckle: to just plain crap. The recent rise in U.S. troop deaths in Iraq is the ‘wrong metric’ to use” in assessing the effectiveness of escalation, outgoing Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Peter Pace said yesterday. “[I]t’s not about levels of violence. It’s about progress being made, in fact, in the minds of the Iraqi people, so that they have confidence in their government in the way forward.”. Excuse me Mr and Mrs American Citizen, don’t think of it 3,000 + of our sons and daughters dying, think of it as bringing our system of free elections and policital discontent to an area that may or may not want it. Give me a f**king break…

Ok folks, I think I need a shower to cleanse myself of the crap that was thrown around this week.

Be good, stay informed….later.

And when the law breaks, the vp will rock

Back in 2004, the Information Security Oversight Office of the National Archives wanted to conduct an on-site inspection of the offices of Vice President Dick “President” Cheney. Cheney and his staff blocked the inspectors from their White House offices.

Now, House investigators have learned that Vice President Cheney exempted his office from Executive Order 12958 that was designed to safeguard classified national security information at the strong objections of the National Archives.

Cheney’s office maintains that it is not an “entity within the executive branch” and, because of that, is not subject to presidential executive orders.

Naturally, the ISOO tried to resolve the matter and sent letters, on two separate occaions in the summer of 2006 to Cheney’s chief of staff David “Don’t Call me Scooter” Addington that disputed the claims made by Cheney’s office. They then requested that the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel settle the matter.

Again naturally, Cheney’s office ignored the letters.

Flashforward to January 2007, the ISOO directly asked AG Gonzales to resolve the issue on whether the executive order applies to Cheney’s office or not.

(That was smart… leave it up to someone who is SO FAR up Bush and Cheney’s ass you would need a proctologist to find him…)

Cheny, again naturally, didn’t like that either and has now requested a change in the EO that would completely abolish the ISOO AND eliminate the ability of the National Archives to appeal disputes to the AG.

The whole scenario has drawn a stinging response, in letter form, from House oversight chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) in which he writes, “I question both the legality and the wisdom of your actions.”

Mr. Waxman went on to write that it would be “particularly irresponsible” to give an office “with your history of security breaches” an exemption such as they one they are seeking and that “to my knowledge, this was the first time in the nearly 30-year history of the Information Security Oversight Office that a request for access to conduct a security inspection was denied by a White House office.”

(This whole scenario is not only pathetic, but downright scary… and not at all surprising. Cheney has long maintained that he and his office are above the law, and this story prooves it without a shadow of a doubt. I have never been one to call for the impeachment of Bush – primarily because it wouldn’t happen but more so because it would probably do more harm than good, but that’s a story for another day – but I firmly believe, support, and think that impeachment should be brought against Cheney… before it’s too late and he does something from which this country will not recover)

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing

• Democrats in Congress are making good on at least one of their midterm vows, they are making a push to overhaul the nation's student loan system. The Senate education committee overwhelmingly approved legislation that would cut federal subsidies to lending companies, by as much as $19 billion, would channel most of those savings to student aid and would also ease repayment rules for borrowers. (Well, it doesn’t end the war or eliminate bribery, but at least its something…)
• AttorneyGate just will not go away as McNulty is making his way back to Congress today to defend “his past statements”. (One has to think that if AG Alberto “Albatross” Gonzales were to resign, the interest in this story would ebb something fierce)
• The Washington Post is slowly becoming all Hillary, all the time.
• Congress acted yesterday (wait? They actually did more than one thing yesterday?? Wow, will wonders never cease) to block “President” Bush “from developing a new generation of atomic warheads.” All because the administration hasn’t developed an adequate post-Cold War nuclear strategy, and by that they mean having developed one at all. Not surprisingly, Bush has once again promised to break out his veto crayon because the bill would deny him the $89 billion he requested for the program. (Sigh…the man is a tool, what more can be said?)
• And have we mentioned? That “President” Bush is talking with outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair about taking a role as a Mid-East peace envoy. Despite being fragged about it at home, Blair continues to “strongly defended intervening in Iraq.” (My question though is wasn’t it hard for Blair to talk with his lips on Bush’s ass??)

The galloping vetoer strikes again

“President” Bush got out his veto crayon again and, once again, decided to ignore the will of the American people as he brushed back legislation that would have “eased restraints” on federally-funded embryonic stem cell research.

Bush tried to smooth things over with an executive order that intends to “encourage scientific advances in regenerative medicine.” The prolem with that, as the New York Times writes, is the effort is “largely symbolic” as there is “no money attached — and some scientists were instantly skeptical” of the order.

And with good cause…

White House spokesperson Tony “Job” Snow tried to placate the masses by stating;

“This is, certainly not an attempt to muzzle science. It is an attempt, I think, to respect people's conscience on such an issue.”

Not really there Skippy… 70% of the American people want this bill, but you seem to be more worried about… what exactly? The unborn? Sorry Georige, this bill had absolutely nothing to do with protecting the unborn because the embryos covered in this legislation were embryoes that were already scheduled to be destroyed… so this veto does absolutely nothing to prevent that so it seems that the veto is more about Bush guaranting that private industry will get the right to charge everyone an arm and a leg for the cures that they come up with through private funding of stem cell research…

Of course that’s just my opinion…

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

• New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a former Democrat who was elected as a republican, has officially left the republican party yesterday while declaring himself free of a “rigid adherence” to ideology. The move has stoked further speculation that he will mount an independent bid for the White House and would use his multibillion-dollar fortune to avoid having to pander… (Hmmmmmm, this race may be getting interesting very, very soon. Stay tuned…)
• Remember how yesterday’s ‘BushWhack’ing included the item about Congress blaming the State Department for an incredibly large passport backlog? Well, now they’re promising “passport solutions”… way to be vague there guys…
• Just when you think the saga of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff has died down, someone does something to bring it back into the American conscience. Former deputy interior secretary J. Steven Griles, who was found guilty of obstructing the Senate's investigation into Abramoff. Now Griles’ attorneys are asking a federal judge to turn-over the government's recommendation of jail time in favor of three months of home detention. (With the Scooter Libby sentencing still fresh in people’s minds, the chances of Griles getting a lighter are unlikely, but still very possible…)
• Seriously? People are going to base who they might vote for on a video making fun of the series finale of The Sopranos??? Stop the world I want to get off…
• There are 200 U.S. Foreign Service Officers at the Baghdad Embassy. Out of those 200, TEN are proficient in Arabic… (that seems like poor plannning on someones’s part, doesn’t it? Oh right, poor planning thy name is Bush…)
• A new Gallup poll shows that 70% of Americans believe that the economy is getting worse, which is the “the most negative reading in nearly six years”…(but don’t tell Bush that, he’s still under the impression that everything is hunky-dory)
• And have we mentioned? That you can chalk up yet another former general who has taken the Bush(whacked) Administration to task for past transgressions. The latest is retired (“kicked out” is more apt) two-star General Antonio Taguba, the man who investigated the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison. He looks past the rose-colored glasses and says the top of the pecking order is where the faults lay. Said the General;

  “There was no doubt in my mind that this stuff was gravitating upward. It was standard operating procedure to assume that this had to go higher. The President had to be aware of this ... [W]e violated the laws of land warfare in Abu Ghraib. We violated the tenets of the Geneva Convention. We violated our own principles and we violated the core of our military values. The stress of combat is not an excuse, and I believe, even today, that those civilian and military leaders responsible should be held accountable.”

  
  

The Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ing

• Congress is placing blame on US passport issues squarely on the shoulders of the State Department as they say that State didn’t do enough to intercept an immense backlog of passport applications before this summer's peak travel season began. The state Department was warned, some say as early as November 2006, that demand was running incredibly high and exceeding projections by 250,000 last November and by 600,000 in January, which was (surprise, surprise) the month that the controversial travel rule took effect that requires Americans to present passports when returning by air from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean. (I refuse to believe that the changes in January can account for the entire backlog, there’s something else at play here and the matter DOES need to be investigated to see exactly what happened…)
• This news should NOT come as a surprise to anyone with a brain… a congressional study has found multiple examples in which the Bush(whacked) Administration has not complied with the requirements of a plethora of new statutes that “President” Bush has asserted many times that he is not necessarily bound by, which would be his “signing statements” where he invokes presidential authority to challenge legislation passed by Congress…(Once again, something comes out that shows that this administration doesn’t give a damn about the laws of society… when will it end and when will they be called on it? Yeah… seeing who we have in DC right now, I’m not gonna hold my breath…)
• The Immigration battle still isn’t over...
• More than eight months after “President” Bush signed a bill that authorized the CIA to start using “enhanced interrogation techniques” on terrorism suspects again, the administration has yet been able to agree on what constitutes “humiliating and degrading treatment”… (well… how about making them work in the Bush White House, that would we pretty humiliating and degrading…)
• And have we mentioned? It’s a well-known fact that the US and Russian still have thousands of nuclear weapons aimed “at one another.” But the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START for you acronym-lovers) created an “elaborate scheme of inspections, data sharing, advance missile test notifications and satellite surveillance” to monitor them, but that accord expires in December 2009 and the two sides have been trying to re-vise that program. How’s it going you ask, well, you may want to get that bombshelter built because it IS the Bush(whacked) Administration we’re talking about here and, like everything else they do, are trying to cut corners and make it so the US can make changes to the bombs but the Russians can’t. (Now… where did I put that radiation suit??)

When emails attack

For the last few months, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has been looking into accusations that the White House “violated the Presidential Records Act” by using email accounts maintained by the RNC and the Bush-Cheney ‘04 campaign for “for official purposes” like communicating with federal agencies about federal appointments and policies and the like.

House investigators learned months ago that the Bush(whacked) Administration used republican National Committee email accounts, but now it’s looking as though the use was far greater than previously disclosed, including 140,216 emails sent by Karl Rove alone.

And have I mentioned that the RNC oversaw “extensive destruction” of many of the emails, including all email records for 51 White House officials.

Something’s rotten in the state District of Columbia… and it ain’t the swamp.

The report states:

“Given the heavy reliance by White House officials on RNC e-mail accounts, the high rank of the White House officials involved, and the large quantity of missing e-mails, the potential violation of the Presidential Records Act may be extensive.”

So when the report says that ‘the potential violation of the Presidential Records Act may be extensive” anyone with a brain has to take pause…

The report concludes that the RNC account use was far greater than they were led to believe when White House spokesperson Dana Perino claimed that 50 White House officials used RNC email accounts “over the course of the administration.” Turns out at least 88 White House officials used the RNC e-mail accounts.

Other findings from the report:

• The committee says it may need to “issue compulsory process” to force the cooperation of the Bush-Cheney ‘04 campaign as the campaign has “unjustifiably refused” to provide the Committee with even the most basic information about the accounts, including the number of e-mails that have been preserved.
• The RNC has preserved only 130 e-mails sent TO Karl Rove during Bush’s first term and NO e-mails sent by Rove prior to November 2003, and for most of the other White House staff the RNC has no e-mails from before the fall of 2006. While there is a thought that some federal agencies “have preserved official communications that were destroyed by the RNC,” there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, more out there that will never be seen again… and that’s just wrong.
• According to a deposition from Rove’s former assistant Susan Ralston back in 2001, Alberto Gonzales, who was then a White House counsel, “may have known that White House officials were using RNC e-mail accounts for official business, but took no action to preserve these presidential records.” Which would put him into even more trouble than he already is in…

What does all this mean other than being a huge wet-dream for Liberals everywhere?

It means that this administration’s actions of doing what they want – law be damned – might be nearing an end.

Stay tuned…

The Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

• WaPo says republican presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-XX) has a huge following on the internets. My first question is, who? My second question is does he have the money to go all the way? And my third question is; who? Though he seems to have higher numbers than Dem challenger Bill Richardson (D-NM) who has seen his campaign fall behind in recent weeks.
• The conservative cries for a Scooter Libby pardon are getting louder and louder but many political insiders say a presidential commutation, a reduction or elimination of Libby’s 2½-year federal prison sentence, is a more likely possibility. (I think that whichever option Bush chooses, the American people won’t like it one bit… but seeing as how it’s Bush, why would he choose to start listening to the people now???)
• More than four years after Baghdad fell, the UN continues to hunt for Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction while spending “millions of dollars in Iraqi oil money” Now a new report in the NY Times says that the search “appears close to an official conclusion.” (Well, at least it wasn’t a total waste as they find about a hund-, oh wait… that’s right… they found none. What else can be said about that that hasn’t already been said?)
• It seems that “President” Bush if finally listening to political insiders and is “shedding” some of his old Texas-cronies in favor of people who actually know what they’re doing and have some experience. The question remains though… is it too late? (Yes… yes it is. Bush has about 19 months left in his term – YAY! – and I doubt that changing horses this late in the game will have a bit of difference. Though I could be wrong…)
• The House passed a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security last week even though “President” Bush has threatened a veto. The White House objects tp a provision that would require DHS contractors to “pay their employees at least the local prevailing wage” (well, sure… why would we want to pay people what they’re worth and what they need?). The White House is also against adding funds to hire 3,000 new border patrol agents… (Because why do that when we can create a really big fence??)
• And have we mentioned? That the US’s efforts to arm Sunnis so they can fight al Qaeda is undermining the Iraqi government (well, duh!) and years of U.S. policy (duh again!) and is an admission that the country is in a civil war (no shit Sherlock…) according to foreign policy and military experts… and what’s even more frightening is that no one in this administration seems to see that…

The Weekly Rewind

Submitted for your approval… a country… whose current state of politics is in turmoil thanks to an incredibly dishonest, out-of-touch and dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks administration. Bloggers, looking to incite change, alter the universe by growing their legions of followers and posting the truth, at least until the black windowless vans show up. Welcome… to The Weekly Rewind…

Applaud: to the ever-falling approval numbers for “President” Bush. This week, a plethora of new polls came out and at least two of them had all-time lows. Quinnipiac University national poll put him at 28%, and a NBC/WSL poll put him at 29%... (Must contain glee... must contain glee...)

Heckle: to the FBI for discovering that they often broke rules in their data collection. (I am shocked… shocked to find gambling in this establishment). It seems that while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years the bureau violated the law more than 1,000 times. The audit that discovered this covered a scant 10% their national security investigations since 2002... meaning that there are probably a LOT more law violations that have not yet been found... (I don't even know where to begin other than to say I am NOT AT ALL surprised...)

Heckle: to the news that mlitary service members have become prime targets of identity thieves who are exploiting the widespread use of Social Security numbers in the military to gain sensitive personal information. The military is attempting to combat the problem through a costly upgrade of its identity documents and systems.

Applaud: to a bi-partisan group of senators who, in response to the piss-poor treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed, introduced a measure aimed at boosting “disability pay to those hurt in combat” and at the same time looked to “improve care for brain injury.” (Good job guys… these veterans are risking/risked their lives for our freedom and making sure they get topnotch care and are taken care of it the least we can do…)

Heckle: to a plan that just sounds bad. The US military is going to arm Iraqi Sunnis to fight al Qaeda… (cuz every other time the US has done something like that, it’s NEVER come back to bite us on the ass…)

Applaud: to the news that “President” Bush’s money-raising ability for the gop is, at best, waning. (Good news indeed, but the Democrats need to make sure they actually DO something with this and not sit on the laurels…)

Heckle: to the senate for beginning debate on energy legislation that would focus on curbing gasoline consumption and increasing the use of cleaner fuels in electricity generation but wouldn’t have any fucking affect on consumers' number one complaint of rising gas prices… (Watch my hands as I move them around and make you think I’m doing something when in reality I’m not doing a damn thing…). The bill has some endearing qualities as it would have raised vehicle fuel-economy standards for the first time in nearly 20 years and make oil-industry price gouging a federal crime. But the heckles continue because senators from states with auto plants are going attach an amendment that would give automakers more time to meet higher fuel mileage targets… (Your tax dollars and your Washington vote at work…)

Applaud: to the House for passing what could become the first major federal gun control law in over a decade. The law, spurred by the Virginia Tech campus killings and buttressed by the NRA, would improve state reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to stop gun purchases by people, including criminals and those adjudicated as mentally ill, who are prohibited from possessing firearms. (Wow…what a concept)

Heckle: to the Bush(whacked) administration (I know, you’re shocked) for altering the Justice Department’s role in civil rights by “aggressively pursuing religion-oriented cases” and diminishing its involvement in the “traditional area of race” by transferring or demoting “experienced civil rights litigators” while at the same time bringing in graduates of religious-affiliated law schools who “favor the new priorities.”

Applaud: to the news that Sen. Tim Johnson’s (D-SD) doctors are saying that he will be able to fully resume his senatorial duties soon? While that is good news for the Democrats who have missed his voice, it’s absolutely terrific and fantastic news for him and his family… and nothing else needs to be said…

Heckle: to having incredibly thin skin. Last month, lawyers for Scooter Libby tried to play the “bloggers can be mean” defense while urging the judge to not release letters to the public that were written in support of their client. Their reason? The “real possibility that these letters, once released, would be published on the Internet and their authors discussed, even mocked, by bloggers.” (Oh. My. God. Who knew we could be such a scary bunch???)

Applaud: to the CIA for cutting its use of contractors by 10%. The cuts are in response to criticism from Congress about the increasing privatization of intelligence gathering, and while 10% is a small number, we’ll give them the applaud for doing the right thing on a small scale and in hope that it also keeps TBWA out of their minds…

Heckle: to federal judge Reggie Walton receiving death threats and threatening phone calls because he followed the letter of the law and sentenced Scooter Libby. (Sad… just sad…)

Applaud: to the fact that AttorneyGate just won’t go away and that AG Alberto “Albatross” Gonzales’ troubles have gotten worse with the disclosure by top DOJ officials that they are investigating whether Gonzales sought to influence the eventual testimony of one of his former senior aides… (Noooo, I’m sure he wasn’t trying to do that at all… I’m sure it was just a friendly chat and they talked about sports… and the weather…)

Heckle: to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. He called Sen. Craig Thomas’s (R-WY) office Thursday afternoon to request a meeting with the senator… who had passed away Monday after a seven month battle with leukemia. Oops. WaPo wrote earlier this week that “Thomas staffers were stunned.” (Way to stay in the loop there Mike… ya dumbass…)

Applaud: to dodging a bullet. The Wyoming Republican Party released a final list of 31 individuals Thursday night that had submitted applications by the deadline to replace Sen. Thomas. The incredibly good news is that Lynne “Dickette” Cheney, was not among them… (Oh thank GOD!! Though keep in mind that if ANYONE would slip their application in after the deadline, it would be a Cheney…)

Heckle: to the announcement from a U.S. military commander earlier this week when he said that Iraq’s army would have to expand its rolls “by at least 20,000 more. He then added that even if they do do that, Iraq would “remain incapable of taking full responsibility” for its security. Essentially he’s saying that Iraq would have to have a long-term military relationship with the U.S… (Well duhhhhhh)

Applaud: that 2 of “President” Bush’s aides have been subpoenaed for… wait for it… AttorneyGate. Former White House counsel Harriet Miers and Sara Taylor, a former White House political director were served earlier this week in order to determine how involved they were in the firing of nine US Attorneys… (Will these elicit damaging feedback like that of Monica Goodling & Kyle Sampson or will they sneak out of it in some way? Stay tuned to AttorneyGate)

Heckle: to the no-confidence vote against Attorney General Alberto “Albatross” Gonzales going down in defeat in the Senate earlier this week as republicans dubbed the vote a “political stunt.” (Wow… a lot of them favor Gonzales leaving the AG position but none of them want to do anything about. Way to stand by your convictions there guys)

Heckle: to Sen. Joe Lieberman (IR-CT). He’s becoming enough of a tool that we can start labeling his heckle as ‘just on general principles alone’ but this week he definitely has ONE thing that needs to be heckled. On Sunday he spoke out for a military strike against Iran. (It’s official… Joe is an absolute idiot… to call for military action against Iran now while our military is stretched thin because of Afghanistan and Iraq is not only dangerous, but also incredibly stupid)

And finally… we throw out a Heckle: to a politician on the other side of the pond. Italian Sen. Gustavo Selva, frustrated that he was going to be late for a TV interview last week because streets around the Italian Senate were blocked for “President” Bush’s visit, “dialed 118 for an ambulance asking to be rushed to his heart specialist” and gave the ambulance the TV studio’s address. While Selva may now face criminal charges for his stunt, he marks the return of and goes down as TBWA’s first-ever non-American Tool of the Week. Let’s give him a hand people.

All we have, take 'em as you will...

It's bad, but it could be a LOT worse

Sure, Congress’ approval ratings are starting to drop faster than Katie Couric's ratings as they currently stand at a Dubyaesque 23% (Here’s a personal note to Democrats: 23% is what capitulation will do for you. We, the voters, clearly expected you to, if not totally end this war, to at least give some timeline about ending the war. You didn’t, you kowtowed to the Administration and now the voters are pissed)

But Democratic leaders can take solace that at this time, it’s a whole helluva lot worse to be a Republican.

A new NBC/WSJ poll that has not yet been officialy released but is the same poll that gave us the paltry 19% that think the country is on the right track also gave us an approval rating for “President” Bush of 29%… which would be the lowest of his presidency for this poll. And let’s also revel in the fact that Bush’s unpopularity seems to be weighing down the gop as a whole as the gop has a popularity rating of 28%.

28%… and one factor is Bush, whose unpopularity isn’t likely to be helped by this exchange between White House reporting icon Helen Thomas and Press Secretary Tony “Job” Snow. Via Think Progress:

Thomas: Are there any members of the Bush family or this administration in this war?
Snow: Yeah, the President. The President is in the war every day.
Thomas: Come on, that isn’t my question –
Snow: Well, no, if you ask any president who is a commander in chief –
Thomas: On the frontlines...
Snow: The President.

So… not only is “President” Bush on ‘The frontlines’, at least according to Tony Snow, he’s also massively unpopular and dragging the whole party down with him.

Granted, trying to draw a conclusion from a description of poll numbers that doesn’t contain all of the available data is like getting cats to walk in a parade… but what is fairly easy to ascertain is that these numbers do not seem to bode well for the electoral hopes of the republican party. And these numbers should not be viewed as being in a vacuum, that is not supported by the preponderance of evidence but more so as one outlier poll making a conclusion. Polling earlier this year from CBS News and The New York Times showed the exact same thing -- the gop’s image has seldom, if ever, been as bad as it is right now.

But, like I said yesterday; this doesn’t mean the Dems can rest on their laurels and sit idly by… the incredibly pathetic 23% approval rating should be impetus enough to act, but just in case it isn’t, then the absolute possibility that we can get more republicans out of Congress and the White House in the next few cycles should get every Liberal Democrat off the fucking couch and looking to help in any way they can…

Democrats need to keep pounding away… they need to continue to be diligent in their efforts to out-raise the gop, present a single, united candidate who could return something not just to the White House, but the government itself…And that’s the will of the American people. And that’s something that this president, and this Congress, are not doing right now…

The Friday ‘BushWhack’ing

• The Senate has revived the Immigration Bill as “President” Bush had pumped in an additional $4.4 Billion that would boost border surveillance. Senate Majority Leader Harry “Meh” Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Whip Trent “Insert own nickname here” Lott (R-MS) both promised to bring enough votes from their respective parties to AT THE LEAST get the bill back on the Senate Floor… though members of both parties said that passage of the bill is “anything but certain.” (Hard to determine who is bowing down to pressure here, Bush or Congress… but someone definitely is, and I don’t think either groups constituents are gonna be happy…)
• The next line works best if you say it in the voice of Emperor Palpatine; ‘The escalation is now complete.’ The full contingent of new U.S. forces going to Iraq is complete as of today with 28,500 additional troops now posted in the country… (set your watches, the Bush(whacked) Administration tineline starts in… wait for it… waiting… waiting… waiting…)
• Libby, Libby, Libby going to jail, jail, jail as a federal judge denied his motion to stay free while the case is appealed. (The pressure from conservatives is now on “President” Bush to pardon him, though I would have to think that that would make his already-low approval numbers plummet, so stay tuned…)
• The gop is suffering an identity crisis… ‘nuff said.
• Still waiting…
• And have we mentioned? That AttorneyGate just won’t go away and that AG Alberto “Albatross” Gonzales’ troubles just got worse with the disclosure by top DOJ officials that they are investigating whether Gonzales sought to influence the eventual testimony of one of his former senior aides… (Noooo, I’m sure he wasn’t trying to do that at all… I’m sure it was just a friendly chat and they talked about sports… and the weather…)

'Scooter'ing off to prison soon...

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton has rejected defense attorneys' request to allow Irving Lewis “Scooter” Libby to remain free on bond while his attorneys appeal his conviction for perjury and obstructing justice.

That means that Scooter has to report to prison within the next few weeks.

Expect the whining calls for “President” Bush to pardon him to get louder and louder…

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing

• Two of “President” Bush’s aides have been subpoenaed for… wait for it… AttorneyGate. Former White House counsel Harriet Miers and Sara Taylor, a former White House political director were served earlier this week in order to determine how involved they were in the firing of nine US Attorneys… (Will these illicit damaging feedback like that of Monica Goodling & Kyle Sampson or will they sneak out of it in some way? Stay tuned to AttorneyGate or… ‘The Story That Won’t Die No Matter How Badly The White House Wants It To’ to find out)
• Hillary Clinton (D-NY) received the endorsement of Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg, which some people are saying indicates that Hollywood is getting off the Obama bandwagon… (and we should care about this becauuuuuuuuuuuuuuusee??)
• “President” Bush has named Edward Gillespie as his replacement for outgoing WH counselor Dan Bartlet. And his choice is an experienced and qualified non-partisan attorney… (just kidding, it’s ANOTHER BushCrony who has a vast lobbying history and is a former RNC Chairman. You’re shocked, I know…)
• According to a new NBC/WSJ poll 19% of Americans think the country is on the right track. I want to know who these 19% are and ask them one single question; what color is the sky in your world?
• The Pentagon is reporting that violence in Iraq rose in the months of March, April & May. Seems the “surge” IS quelling violence a little in Baghdad… the only problem is that the “surge” has pushed the insurgents into other areas that were more peaceful before the U.S. military “surge”…(Sigh...)
• The FBI has discovered that they often broke rules in their data collection… (I am shocked… shocked to find gambling in this establishment... uh-huh…). It seems that while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years the bureau violated the law more than 1,000 times. The audit that discovered this covered a scant 10% their national security investigations since 2002... meaning that there are probably a LOT more law violations that have not yet been found... (I don't even know where to begin...)
• And have we mentioned? That the judge presiding over the Scooter Libby trial is scheduled to decide today whether Vice President Dick “President” Cheney's former chief of staff must report to prison within weeks or can remain free pending his appeal. If Judge Walton orders him to report to prison sooner rather than later, you’re going to hear the calls for his pardon grow louder and louder. As of right now it’s 50-50 as to what the judge will decide. Stay tuned…

Let's not get complacent

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for “President” Bush within his own party… something comes along that makes you giggle like a schoolgirl.

During the most recent campaign finance-filing period, covering contributions and spending through April 30, the NRCC (National republican Congressional Committee) trailed the D Triple C (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) by $7.75 million in cash-on-hand or $9.87 million when debts and obligations are included.

Usually, republicans could bank on the President to bail them out of a financial mess such as this… but therein ‘lies the rub.’

During last year’s midterms, some gop lawmakers and candidates didn’t want the leader of their party to stump for them… then some of them started to break away from him about Iraq… then it was his Immigration bill that caused some inter-party friction.

And now? Now it’s “President” Bush’s money-raising ability ( or rather, the lack thereof) that’s garnering attention from Liberals and is putting republicans into a tight spot.

In the last few weeks, his money-raising prowess for the party has waned, ebbed… and yes, even diminished.

Case in point; the organizers of a congressional republican fund-raising dinner happening tonight don’t think they will be able to raise the kind of money they used to, despite Bush being the “main attraction.”

All of this is indicative of two things: first, President Bush isn't just unpopular with some of the more Liberal republicans, but with the republican base as well… but anyone with a brain probably knew that already.

Second, the Republican base is not getting engaged in this cycle's elections, which could be a real problem for the gop as we inch closer to election day.

All of this brings to mind one question; is this a good thing for the Democrats?

While it would be easy to say ‘yes’, I would suggest a little cautious optimism.

Sure, it would be great to say that the Democrats have the elections in the next couple of years all sewn-up thanks in part to the gop’s current fundraising strife, but let’s keep in mind that we are talking about republicans, and they have shown many, many times before that they can raise money faster than John Kerry can flip-flop.

And let’s also keep in mind that we could be only one polarizing event away from the conservative base regrouping, most likely under a different standard bearer (they seem to be pinning their hopes on Fred Thompson as of now) but regrouping nonetheless.

And with a regrouping comes a re-energizing of the party anda rise in contributions as a major effort to shore up a now floundering party and advance whatever they will come to accept as their rallying cry (Immigration? Terrorism? Healthcare? Oil?)

The point is that Democrats cannot sit idly by and think that they have the next couple of election cycles in the bag. Instead they need to continue to be diligent in their efforts to out-raise the gop, present a single, united candidate who could return something not just to the White House, but the government itself…

And that’s the will of the American people.

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

• “President” Bush is not letting his last chance at a legacy Immigration reform legislation die. The problem is that republicans don’t care and won’t listen. (Bush’s stance within his own party is getting increasingly worse and probably won’t get better anytime soon, even in regards to fundraising, something you can expect to see a post about later today. With more and more republicans shying away from the immigration bill, the chance of it passing are getting slimmer by the day)
• Pork is alive and well and hampering the passing of a Homeland Security bill. (I’m sorry… did I miss something? Didn’t the Democrats say they were going to cut Pork and pet-projects? Did the republicans take back control or are the Dems converting? This is just sad and pathetic as this re-enforces the general public’s concepts that ALL politicians only look out for themselves…)
• Rudy Giuliani has entered a 12-step program… sometimes they just make it so damn easy to snark them that there’s no sport in it…
• A top U.S. general is saying that Iraq needs to expand its 348,000-strong security forces by at least 50,000 (That should be simple enough, right? He said sarcastically). The General also said that it would take at least five years before Iraq could control its airspace, which seems to suggest a significant U.S. role in Iraq for some time… (which I think everyone with a brain foresaw a very, very long time ago)
• The Bush(whacked) Administration wants to create a new State Department Unit called CTU… sorry, I meant CCC, the Counterterrorism Communications Center. The goal of the agency would be to “counter the spread of terrorist ideology.” (Uh… yeah… this should end well…)
• And have we mentioned? That AttorneyGate just won’t die… Justice Department documents released Tuesday night show new emails that link Karl “President” Rove’s top aides, including former White House political director Sara Taylor (who convienenttly resigned last month) and her deputy Scott Jennings, to AttorneyGate. While Congressional subpoenas have been authorized for both, they have not yet been approved, so stay tuned…

The Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ing

• The no-confidence vote against Attorney General Alberto “Albatross” Gonzales went down in defeat in the Senate as republicans who won’t defend Bush but saw this as a “political stunt.” (Wow… a lot of them favor Gonzales leaving the AG position but none of them want to do anything about. Way to stand by your convictions there guys …)
• A new poll shows that Hillary Clinton (D-NY) owes her lead in the presidential race to women voters…(well, duhhhhhhh….)
• “President” Bush is SO desperate to have one of his policies actually, you know; work that he’s making a “rare” trip to Capitol Hill to twist some arms urge Senators to vote for his immigration bill. (Personally, I don’t think this will work. The bill is too polarizing within his own party, and I highly doubt Bush’s political skills at this point in his presidency…. Yes, I’ve always doubted his skills, but now, with his approval numbers in the cellar, the Iraq war, and the albatross around his neck that IS Gonzales, he has NO political capital to spend. Guess he’ll have to be satisfied with “disciplining” GSA Chief Lurirta “Cookies” Doan… does that come with its own S&M gear?)
• Special Prosecutor Patrick “Next AG Under a Dem President” Fitzgerald is urging the judge to send Scooter Libby directly to jail without passing ‘Go’ OR collecting $200.
• And have we mentioned? That Sen. Tim Johnson’s (D-SD) doctors are saying that he will be able to fully resume his senatorial duties soon? While that is good news for the Democrats who have missed his voice, it’s absolutely terrific and fantastic news for him and his family… and nothing else needs to be said…

Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

• As American commanders are turning to a strategy that even they acknowledge is “fraught with risk;” Arming Sunni Arab groups that have promised to fight al Qaeda.” Some critics say the plan could “amount to the Americans’ arming both sides in a future civil war” (and that strategies has worked oh-so-well in the past…)
• The vote of no confidence against Albert Gonzales is today… stay tuned.
• Oh… and Tony “Job” Snow said Bush will ignore the vote if it goes against his albatross friend. (Way to be mature there Georgie…)
• Immigration reform apparently isn’t dead as “President” Bush has vowed to do all he can to protect his legacy revive his plan. (Uh… yeah… don’t think you have the legs to do that Dubya… give it up)
• Remember all that rhetoric about how the Dems were gonna overhaul ethics enforcement? Yeah, most of them would like that you all forget that… mmmkay?
• Libby, Libby, Libby in the slammer, slammer, slammer… though a plethora of ‘Legal Scholars’ are lining up to appeal his sentencing… good use of your times there guys…
• And have we mentioned? That Sen. Joe Lieberman (RI-CT) is speaking out for a military strike against Iran. (It’s official… Joe is an absolute idiot… to call for military action against Iran now while our military is stretched thin because of Afghanistan and Iraq is not only dangerous, but also incredibly stupid)

The Weekly Rewind

Woot! It’s Saturday! What more has to be said other than it’s time for The Weekly Rewind.

Applaud: in case you hadn’t heard, former White House aide Scooter Libby was sentenced earlier this week. Thirty months in prison and fined $250,000. Bush has said he won’t get involved but I sincerely doubt that… so stay tuned.

Heckle: to Arkansas State Party Chairman Dennis Milligan. Earlier this week he said in an interview; “At the end of the day, I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001], and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country.” (Mo. Ron. Essentially his prescription for what America needs most right now is more terrorism and mass civilian casualties… he’s openly advocating a terrorist attack on U.S. citizens… What a fucking tool)

Applaud: to the US legal system. Sure, it has a lot of problems, and while I hate mentioning her name on this blog, I have to give it up for the judicial system this week. First they took the wheels off of Scotter and sentenced him to 30 months in prison for obstructing justice. Then righting a wrong by the County Sheriff, Judge Sauer threw Paris Hilton’s ass back in jail. (There are times that I truly believe that Common Sense is making a comeback in this country… and then it quickly vanishes

Heckle: to the G8 countries that kowotowed to Bush and backed down from their strong global warming stance and embraced the Bush(whacked) Administration’s proposal that would move towards unspecified “substantial cuts” in carbon emissions and that the G-8 countries will “seriously” consider cutting emissions in half by 2050, but, like the administration’s Iraq policy, sets np benchmarks or true timelines. (Way to be indecisive and meandering everyone! Way to go!! Yes Virginia, that was sarcasm…)

Applaud: to the House oversight committee. It seems they’re expanding their investigation into ties between jailed gop lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the White House. They’ve gone so far as to have contacted several Abramoff associates about testifying to Congress… (Heh. Heh. Heh. Here comes the justice…)

Heckle: to “nagging worries about gasoline prices” that are dragging consumer confidence down to a 10-month low. (Great… just great…)

Applaud: to a few “Senior House Democrats” that are threatening the issuance of subpoenas in order to “obtain secret legal opinions” and other DOJ documents related to the NSA’s warrantless domestic surveillance program. Granted, this is the most aggressive action by Congress in its oversight of this program, but let’s not get TOO excited yet. Let’t first see if this is a true threat or mere posturing…

Heckle: to “President” Bush. Apparently he has a phobia of timelines and benchmarks as he refused to have the US agree to targets and timetables for cutting greenhouse gases at this week’s G-8 summit. The President’s science adviser (Wow, if that isn’t an oxymoron I don’t know what is…) said; “At this point in time we are not prepared to adopt that proposal.” (Timelinaphobia? Benchaphobia?)

Applaud: to a bipartisan group of senators (including “several conservative Republicans” who introduced legislation this past week that aims to use the Iraq Study Group’s recommendations “as the foundation for future U.S. policy in Iraq.” The bill also looks to begin withdrawing American forces by early 2008 if “certain benchmarks are met.” (About. Fucking. Time.)

Heckle: to the military panel that recommended earlier this week that Iraq war veteran Marine Cpl. Adam Kokesh, who wore his uniform during an anti-war protest, should lose his honorable discharge status, despite his claims (rightfully so) that he was “exercising his right to free speech.” (This is just sad and pathetic. You would have thought that the military learned their lessons regarding this during and after the Vietnam war… but you would be mistaken. Apparently when you leave the armed forces, you no longer have your Constitutional rights…)

Applaud: to more falling approval numbers for “President” Bush. A new Washington Post/ABC News poll puts him at 35% and puts Congress’ approval ratings five points lower than previous polls at 39%, thanks in large part to their inactions towards the Iraq war. (Here’s a bit of advice to Congress; the American people elected you because they were sick of last year’s Do-Nothing Congress and the direction of the Iraq war. Not doing anything is going to make the American people kick all of you out of office in the next election, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or a republican. So you better get your asses off the mat and do something. I would give advice to Bush to help his numbers, but it’s much too late for him, he’s boned)

Heckle: to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). They courted controversy this year regarding their pay-for-performance system that denied nearly 17% of its employees cost-of-living increases, but at the same time, 72 senior executives and senior-level employees received bonuses totaling more than $900,000… (It seems the accountability office isn’t being held accountable for anything…)

Applaud: to the news that the FBI is widening the investigation into Sen. Ted “The tubes” Stevens (R-AK), and has asked him to preserve records as part of that widening investigation…(Apparently when he was talking about the tubes he was referring to the place where his political career was headed…)

Heckle: to William Jefferson (D-LA). He was indicted on numerous corruption charges this past week and has, as of now, refused to step down from any committees. And today he pleaded not guilty as maintains his innocence. (Yeah, and the money was in your freezer so you could have cold hard cash… we’ll ignore the fact that Pelosi should have NEVER placed him on any committee and instead rail against the fact that he is sticking around. Mr. Jefferson, do us all a favor and step down now instead of dragging the party down like an Alberto Gonzales albatross…)

Applaud: to ignoring veto threats. A House spending committee approved a homeland security bill earlier this week that includes close to $50 million more for customs and border protection than Bush wanted and $2 billion more than his February request for security preparedness and disaster relief. (the fact that Bush would threaten to veto something that would give more money to disaster relief – his presidency doesn’t count – speaks volumes to his uncaring attitude towards the citizens of this country… what a tool)

Heckle: to the ornately huge US embassy currently being erected in Iraq. As we mentioned earlier this week, it will be as big as Vatican City and will make the foreign embassies dotting the tree-lined streets of Washington, D.C., look like carriage houses. Oh… and they’ve already got plans to expand it... (Hmmmm… almost seems as though someone is planning on being in Iraq for a very, very, very, very, very, very long time

Applaud: to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). She’s approved a proposal that calls for an independent outside panel to decide which ethics complaints merit investigation by the House ethics committee.

Take ‘em as you will…