A Refusal of Law

It’s official; Attorney General Michael “The Refuser” Mukasey is indeed the second coming of former AG Alberto “Albatross” Gonzales…

Speaking before the ABA today, Mukasey said that the “negative publicity” those that politicized the DOJ’s internship and Honors programs was punishment enough and out-rightly rejected any possibility of prosecution. Said Mukasey; “That does not mean, as some people have suggested, that those officials who were found by the joint reports to have committed misconduct have suffered no consequences. Far from it. The officials most directly implicated in the misconduct left the Department to the accompaniment of substantial negative publicity. … To put it in concrete terms, I doubt that anyone in this room would want to trade places with any of those people.”

Negative publicity is enough of a deterrent for crime… really? Granted, I’m not an attorney, but it seems to me that Mukasey’s view is spectacularly minimalistic and naïve.

Why have laws if all it takes is “negative publicity” to ensure someone doesn’t do something again?

Why have the death penalty? If someone kills someone, the “negative publicity” would be more than enough of a deterrent to stop them from doing it again…

Granted, it’s two totally diverse law breaking… but when the AG of the United States says that the “negative publicity” faced by someone who broke the law is enough… that’s just wrong.

Mukasey is the man confirmed to head the nation’s law enforcement… the man confirmed to ensure laws are followed and not broken… the man confirmed to be everything this administration wasn’t.

And now Mukasey has done nothing but prove himself as incompetent as Gonzales… perhaps more so.

And Mukasey wasn’t done as he said “not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime.”

Not every violation of the law is a crime??? Isn’t that the definition of crime; a violation of the law?? So the man heading the nation’s law enforcement is, essentially, refusing to enforce the law?

And does Mukasey truly expect anyone with a brain to believe that “negative publicity” is hampering the job search of any of Bush’s former cronies?

Name one, just one, person with direct connections to this administration whose life or career has been ruined by “negative publicity.”

I’ll be waiting…

It's like a chess game...

In an example of strategic genius, Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) declared yesterday that “President” Bush was in no way involved with the 9 US Attorney firings… as the White House has long maintained.

In that case... the pretense of Executive privilege is out the window, which means that Karl Rove, Josh Bolten, Sarah Taylor and her assistant Scott Jennings can no longer avoid giving their full and honest testimony… as well as turning over all documents relating to the firings.

At last! A Democrat is showing some balls…

Said Leahy;

“The president's lack of involvement in these firings — by his own account and that of many others — calls into question any claim of executive privilege.”

So Leahy is now free to order them to comply, immediately, with the Judiciary Committee's subpoenas or they will be held in contempt… legal contempt mind you, as they are held in personal contempt by an incredibly large number of people already…

From Leahy's website;

“I hereby rule that those claims are not legally valid to excuse current and former White House employees from appearing, testifying and producing documents related to this investigation. Accordingly, I direct Mr. Bolten, Mr. Rove, Ms. Taylor and Mr. Jennings to comply immediately with the Committees subpoenas by producing documents and testifying or face possible contempt citations.”

YES!

Now I realize that some people, myself included, have been asking why this wasn't done months ago when Subpoenas were issued on June 13th and July 26th.

I don’t have an answer for that… and as of right now, I honestly don’t care. It’s better late than never, and now we get to see how the White House will react to this news.

Your turn White House…

Here we go again...

Attorney General Alberto “Albatross” Gonzales is at it again… but this time it looks as though impeachment could not only be a possibility, but a reality.

Let’s fall back a few months ago when Gonzales was on Capitol Hill regarding his and the White House’s role in AttorneyGate ®… he answered question after question with a Ollie North-like “I don’t recall.”

People on both sides of the aisle were calling for Gonzo to go-zo… but “President” Bush was satisfied and Gonzo’s job security was stronger than Dick Cheney’s clenched jaw.

Some time goes by… and Gonzales’ turn in the AttorneyGate Cavalcade is up again and no one thought that he could do worse than his first foray…

Wrong-o.

Everyone with a brain knew that Gonzales was going to be asked about his bed-side visit to a hospitalized and semi-conscious John Ashcroft in an effort to get approval on an illegal surveillance program that Ashcroft was unsure about.

Everyone except Gonzales apparently.

But Sen. Arlen Specter (r-PA) did ask Gonzales about it, and Gonzales threw down some inanity that’s so profound… it’s almost an art form;

“The disagreement that occurred, and the reason for the visit to the hospital, Senator, was about other intelligence activities. It was not about the terrorist surveillance program that the president announced to the American people.”

Really, it wasn’t?? It seems to me, and everyone else paying attention, that that’s what it was about…

This testimony might make someone wonder what the hell Gonzales is thinking… but wait… it gets better…

Gonzales: “… there are no rules governing whether or not General Ashcroft can decide, I'm feeling well enough to make this decision.”

Specter: “But, Attorney General Gonzales, he had already given up his authority as attorney general ... was no longer attorney general.”

Gonzales: “And he could always reclaim that. There are no rules...”

Specter: “While he's in the hospital under sedation?”

Gonzales: “Again, we didn't know -- we knew, of course, that he was ill, that he'd had surgery...”

Okay, let me see if I have this straight.

Despite the fact that Ashcroft had indeed surrendered his authority…

Despite the fact that Ashcroft was recovering from surgery…

Despite the fact that Ashcroft was not totally coherent… the long and short of it is that no matter what Ashcroft’s state of mind was… he could still be coerced into signing away civil rights if that's what the president wanted.

The whole thing was an amazing display by Senator Specter who refused to back down;

Specter: “How can you get approval from sedated Ashcroft?”

Gonzales: “Can I continue?”

Specter: “No, answer my question.”

Gonzales: “Obviously there was concern about Ashcroft's condition. There are no rules governing when Ashcroft decides he is well enough.”

Specter: “He had given us AG duties.”

Gonzales: “We knew he was ill...”

Specter: “Not making progress. Moving on. Do you think constitution govt can survive if Pres has unilateral authority to reject congress inquiries for Exec Privilege and prevent prosecution of claim?”

Gonzales: “Ongoing matter, I am recused, I cannot answer.”

Specter: “I am asking about constitutional law.”

Gonzales: “You are talking about an on-going issue.”

Specter: “No. Answer.”

Gonzales: “I won't answer - it is ongoing controversy and I am recused.”

[Calls for decorum as the room is protesting]

Specter: “Won't pursue. This is hopeless. You are not just AG, you are a lawyer. This is a fundamental issues separate from USA resignations. Other subject. Do you have a conflict regarding the firing of US AGs?”

Gonzales: “Yes.”

Specter:” Do you have a conflict of interest about Miers?”

Gonzales: “Yes. I won't answer.”

Specter: “Let's find one you will answer. How about death penalty case? Charlton contacted your office and said case was not appropriate for dp. Testimony that AG spent 5-10 minutes on the issue...is this accurate?”

Gonzales: “I have no specific recollection of this case. But we have a detailed process for capital case review.”

Specter: “I am not interested in that. I want an answer to my question. You don't remember a case regarding a man's execution?”

Gonzales: “I have no recollection of the conversation.”

Specter: “Do you disagree with the testimony?”

Gonzales: “I can't agree or disagree.”

Classic…

Or how about this exchange between Gonzales and Charles Schumer (D-NY)?

Schumer: I'll let you speak in a minute, but this is serious, because you're getting right close to the edge right here. You just said there was just one program -- just one. So the letter, which was, sort of, intended to deceive, but doesn't directly do so, because there are other intelligence activities, gets you off the hook, but you just put yourself right back on here.

Gonzales: I clarified my statement two days later with the reporter.

Schumer: What did you say to the reporter?

Gonzales: I did not speak directly to the reporter.

Schumer: Oh, wait a second -- you did not.
(LAUGHTER)
OK. What did your spokesperson say to the reporter?

Gonzales: I don't know. But I told the spokesperson to go back and clarify my statement...

Schumer: Well, wait a minute, sir. Sir, with all due respect -- and if I could have some order here, Mr. Chairman -- in all due respect, you're just saying, "Well, it was clarified with the reporter," and you don't even know what he said. You don't even know what the clarification is. Sir, how can you say that you should stay on as attorney general when we go through exercise like this, where you're bobbing and weaving and ducking to avoid admitting that you deceived the committee? And now you don't even know. I'll give you another chance: You're hanging your hat on the fact that you clarified the statement two days later. You're now telling us that is was a spokesperson who did it. What did that spokesperson say? Tell me now, how do you clarify this?

Gonzales: I don't know, but I'll find out and get back to you.

This would be downright comical if it weren’t really happening…

This has got to be the final straw with Gonzales. He has, as Sen. Schumer stated, "deceived the committee" and continues to do so... yet he's still the AG...

It's just sad...

Have executive privilege, will travel

As briefly mentioned this morning in the “Daily ‘BushWhack’ing,” executive privilege is once again the order of the day as “President” Bush has invoked executive privilege in an attmept to “defy Congress’s latest demand for information” and to prevent Sara Taylor and Harriet Miers from testifying before Congress regarding the dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys or, as I call it, Attorney Gate. (It’s worth noting that this is the third time Bush has invoked executive privilege, and the second time he’s done so regarding AttorneyGate… conservative readers trotting out number of times Clinton did this starts in five, four, three…)

Per AP;

“President Bush invoked executive privilege Monday to deny requests by Congress for testimony from former White House aides Sara Taylor and Harriet Miers. It offered once more to make the pair available for private, off-the-record interviews on any role the White House might have played in the firings of several U.S. attorneys.”

White House counsel Fred Fielding sent a letter to the heads of the House and Senate Judiciary panels that insisted that Bush was “acting in good faith and refused lawmakers’ demand that the president explain the basis for invoking the privilege.”

Sure he is...

The invoking of executive privilege drew a heated response from House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI);

“ We are extremely disappointed with the White House letter. While we remain willing to negotiate with the White House, they adhere to their unacceptable all-or-nothing position, and now will not even seek to properly justify their privilege claims. Contrary what the White House may believe, it is the Congress and the Courts that will decide whether an invocation of Executive Privilege is valid, not the White House unilaterally…”

And this from Senator Patrick Leahy (D-CT);

“I have to wonder if the White House’s refusal to provide a detailed basis for this executive privilege claim has more to do with its inability to craft an effective one. […] The privilege claim on testimony by former aides won't necessarily prevent them from appearing under oath this week, as scheduled. Leahy said that he expected Taylor, Bush's former political director, to testify as scheduled before the Senate panel on Wednesday.”

Now what?

It’s almost certain that Congress will go to court to contest Bush’s invocation of executive privilege… what happens after that is anyone’s guess, though there are two possible reactions to this, one a ‘real world’ response and another that fits perfectly into the world of George W. Bush… meaning it’s a fantasy-based option that only conservative Bushies can believe in.

I talked to my future sister-in-law, an attorney, and asked her a little about executive privilege, and she said that there are two types of it; ‘presidential communications privilege’, and ‘deliberative process privilege’, each of them covering a different type of privilege.

The ‘presidential communications privilege’ is the stronger of the two and applies to… oddly enough… communications… more specifically, it applies to actual communications with the president that occurred during the decision-making process and that’s it. And in order to invoke this privilege, the “administration” will essentially have to admit that the president was personally involved in the decision-making regarding the firing of the U.S. Attorneys

Wait, what?

Bush will have to admit that he was personally involved in the decision-making process regarding the firing of the U.S. Attorneys… something he and the White House have constantly denied to this point…

Veeeeerrrry interesting...

The other privilege, ‘deliberative process privilege’, allows the governmen to withhold documents and other materials that would reveal “advisory opinions, recommendations and deliberations comprising part of a process by which governmental decisions and policies are formulated.”

That sounds a little more like the current situation… but it doesn’t allow as much blanket protection as the first one does.

And then there’s the fantasy… according to David Rivkin, a senior lawyer under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George “I’m not my son, please don’t confuse me with my son” Bush, the White House may be eager to go to court on this issue because Fielding believes he has a strong case and that Congress has a weak claim to demand internal documents and testimony from the executive branch because the president has the right to fire U.S. attorneys without input from lawmakers...

The long and short of it is thus; unless Congress is willing to avail itself of either of the two more direct remedies available, censuring or impeachment, we should expect a long court fight… and even then, no promise of any action...


Stay tuned...

Stayin' Alive

On the same day that saw one of “President” Bushes closest advisers, Dan Bartlett, flee the sinking ship resign, and heard an attorney for U.S. GSA chief Lurita “Cookies” Doan yesterday say her client didn’t violate the Hatch Act; Attorney General Alberto Gonzales decided to hold a quiet press conference where, according to CNN, reporters were kept away so he couldn’t be questioned.

And like a battered Energizer bunny, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales just keeps going, and going, and going… and like a bad SNL skit, this story just keeps going and going.

Yesterday the embattled, beleaguered, bewildered Gonzales vowed to remain in his post through the end of President Bush’s second term, despite a plethora of calls for his resignation and a looming no-confidence vote. Said Gonzales;

“I know that I only have 18 months left in my term as attorney general, and that really does not feel like a lot of time to accomplish all of the goals that are important to me. So often Washington seems to run at a marathon pace, but I intend to spend the next year and a half in a sprint to the finish line.”

What has become clear, especially since we seem to be treated to a press conference every week where “President” Bush comes out and gives Gonzo a vote of confidence is that Bush and Karl “President” Rove want him there… they need him there… they need him to continue to be their human shield from a full functioning Justice Department that seems to be getting tired of this administration’s actions. And because of that, Gonzales will be the AG until Bush and Rove decide they’re ready for him to go… or unless Congress decides to do something about it.

Stay tuned…

Now what?

Monica Goodling’s testimony yesterday, while not earth-shattering, did contain some revelations that the Dems will be able to use as talking poins.

What exactly did we learn?

That Ms. Goodling thinks Paul McNulty, the Deputy Attorney General, misled the Senate in his testimony about how the White House played a limited role in the firings because she knew that he personally knew otherwise.

Fighting point number 1.

That Mr. McNulty withheld information from the Senate of concealing Senator Domenici’s role in the termination of Attorney Iglesias.

Fighting point number 2.

That, as mentioned in this morning’s ‘BushWhack’ing; Ms. Goodling has admitted to taking inappropriate political considerations into account when hiring DOJ employees.

Fighting point number 3.

That Ms. Goodling believed that Gonzales made public statements that were inaccurate and that he appeared to be engaged in "coaching" witnesses, even though he said in his testimony that he had gone out of his way to not talk to any of the witnesses and that he had coached her, coaching that made her feel “uncomfortable.”

Fighting point number 4.

That the White House was far-more involved in the process than has ever been suspected… and that Ms. Goodling believes that Karl “Emperor” Rove was directly involved in the process.

Fighting point number 5.

That, contradicting Gonzales’ testimony, there was indeed another U.S. Attorney, number 9, on the list to be fired.

Fighting point number 6.

We got ammo… now it’s time for the Judiciary Committee to investigate this matter with a fine-tooth comb.

They need to get McNulty, Sampson, Rove and Gonzales’ asses in front of them and rip up a new one…

NOW.

A Disturbing Saga

The story that came out of James Comey’s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday is, if nothing else, disturbing.

To summarize a long story, Comey was acting Attorney General in early 2004 after John Ashcroft was hospitalized. Long story short, Comey was hesitant to reauthorize the NSA domestic spying program. Then-White House COS Andy Card and then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales literally went to Ashcroft’s hospital room, shortly after he had had surgery, in order to get him to approve the program and override Comey’s decision.

Ashcroft, naturally groggy after surgery, balked… and led the White House to approve its own domestic surveillance program despite DOJ objections.

The scene unfolded like a movie:

Comey learned, Ashcroft's wife who was at his bedside, that Gonzales and Card were on their way to the hospital. He immediately ordered his driver to turn around and head to the hospital with sirens blazing. He calls the head of the FBI, Robert Mueller, who promised to meet him at the scene. Comey gets out of the car and literally runs up the stairs to Ashcroft's room. The head of the FBI orders the agents outside Ashcroft's door to not allow Comey to be removed from the room under any circumstances. Comey tries to explain the situation to a clearly groggy and disoriented Ashcroft, but mnutes later, Gonzales and Card arrive entering the room with papers in hand, without acknowledging Comey's presence. After hearing Gonzales' spiel, Ashcroft finds the strength and temporary focus to sit up and coherently explain to Gonzales why the program is illegal. He then says that it doesn't matter what he thinks anyway because he, at the time, was not the Attorney General and he points to Comey and said; “he's the Attorney General.” Card and Gonzales storm out of the room and soon thereafter Comey gets a call from an irate Card who demands that he come to the White House. Comey tells him: “After what I just witnessed, I will not meet with you without a witness, and I intend that witness to be the solicitor general of the United States," with which Card replied; “What conduct? We were merely there to wish him well.”

You can read the whole transcript HERE.

But the story didn’t end there as the “sickbed visit” was only the beginning of a tense and dramatic showdown between the White House and the Justice Department. According to Comey, the issue was only resolved after Bush overruled Gonzales and Card, and that didn’t happen until Ashcroft, Comey, Mueller and their aides prepared a mass resignation.

Which also suggests that the NSA’s domestic spying program went of for several weeks without DOJ approval.

That’s disturbing and stressing enough, but also consider how John Ashcroft was eventually replaced by one of the men that tried to convince him to sign an important legal document that contradicted the reasoned legal opinion of the Justice Department and whom had neither the official authority nor the legal capacity, due to his heavily-medicated state, to sign.

Think about that for a second. This man essentially took advantage of a man who had just had surgery… and that “man” is now our Attorney General.

What an absolute fucking disgrace…

So what can we take from this example of a pathetic and desperate man?

For starters, that Alberto Gonzales acted in a manner that is, at the very least, ethically questionable. Not only was Gonzales trying to circumvent James Comey's lawful authority as the acting AG, but he was also looking to have a person who had just had major surgery the day before and was heavily-medicated, execute a legal document… a very important legal document at that. Sounds to me that that is something that can get attorney disbarred.

Another? The implication that Robert Mueller didn’t trust Card nor Gonzales as he gave instruction to the agents outside Ashcroft's room to not allow Comey to be removed, implying that he was worried about what could happen in the room if there weren’t ant witnesses. Good to know that someone who didn’t have the trust of the FBI director would become the U.S. Attorney General, which I think speaks volumes about Gonzales and the way he does things and the person he is.

And finally, that the White House was willing to authorize a program that the Justice Department, including the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, the head of the OLC, and the FBI Director, had determined to be illegal.

But as startling as it was to hear this story, there’s something else we shouldn't forget…

We shouldn’t forget that we, the American people, should have known about this story a long, long time ago…

Two more out the door

Coming from an administration that cares so little about personal privacy, this news shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who isn’t a lemming.

The first report by a civilian board created to oversee government protection of personal privacy has… well… has seen its privacy violated.

The Bush(whacked) administration had made more than 200 revisions to the first report by the civilian board, including deleting a passage on anti-terrorism programs that intelligence officials deemed "potentially problematic" intrusions on civil liberties, according to a draft of the report obtained by The Washington Post.

One of the panel's five members, Democrat Lanny Davis, resigned in protest Monday and cited those deletions by White House lawyers and aides as the primary reason.

Davis is, at best, a fleeting Democrat who has, in the past, been overly apologetic for gop transgressions and had become a gop ass-kisser & a BushCrony.

But in recent months Davis’ Democratic conscience has seemingly re-taken his brain as he’s had clashes with other board members and White House officials over what he saw as attempts by the administration to control the panel’s agenda and edit its public statements.

The very idea that a Bush(whacked) administration “Privacy and Civil Liberties Board” would function as any kind of an independent watchdog is as derisory as thinking that lobbying reform would ever happen. It’s as preposterous as thinking that the administration’s “Clean Skies Initiative” and “Healthy Forests Initiative” were anything more than kick-backs for the energy and timber industries respectively.

When Davis protested over the editing of the report, the board was told that White House lawyers feared, because U.S. attorneys used the material witness law, that a new probe of that issue would become a part of the larger AttorneyGate controversy.

So Davis resigned and he did it the same day that Assistant AG McNulty did.

We’ll ignore the fact for a moment that he thought that this administration would ever do anything NOT like that and concentrate on what this means to the administration… especially coming on the heels of McNulty’s resignation.

It means plenty.

For one thing his resignation shows the panel for what is really is and was, another White House mouthpiece; a concept strengthened back in March when they announced that Bush's warrantless surveillance program was no cause for concern.

And another thing, with Davis leaving the same day McNulty did, the White House is now faced with a daunting task of filling two positions at once while simultaneously protecting Alberto Gonzales, Paul Wolfowitz, Karl Rove and the President himself.

Something that seems to get harder and harder each day.

Stay tuned…

Short-stacks: A collection of short posts

King George & Jester Gonzales

After hearing “President” Bush’s news conference this morning and his defending of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales I want to ask him one question…

What color is the sky in your world George?

What the hell have you been watching?

Politicians from both sides of the aisle, along with employees in the White House, have lambasted Gonzales’ testimony last week as “pathetic” and described Gonzales as “going down in flames”.. but then Georgie-boy comes along and feeds us this malarky:

”The Attorney General went up and gave a very candid assessment and answered every question he could possibly answer, honestly answer, in a way that increased my confidence in his ability to do the job. One of the things that it's important for the American people to understand is that the Attorney General has a right to recommend to me to replace U.S. attorneys. U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president. In other words, we have named them and I have the right to replace them with somebody else. And as the investigation, the hearings went forward, it was clear that the Attorney General broke no law. Did no wrongdoing. And some senators didn't like his explanation, but he answered as honestly as he could. This is an honest, honorable man in whom I have confidence.”

I’m sorry… what??

Gonzales answered every question he could possibly answer honestly???

What about the dozen or so questions he didn’t answer?

Rather than do what hundreds of people are calling for you to do to him (here’s a hint Mr. Bush; it rhymes with pire, you reiterate your faith in him and say that the attorney general’s testimony last week “increased my confidence” in him and that he answered every question

One would think that Cronyism has its limits… but juging Bush’s action today, it’s clear that HE doesn’t.

A handful of republicans have called for Gonzales to resign while others have stated they’ve lost confidence in him, but stopped just short of calling for his resignation (which is an idiotic concept since an AG with no votes of confidence is an effective AG, conservative pundits and the editorial board of the National Review want Gonzales to go as do a plurality of Americans.

It’s too bad that Bush can’t see that through his rose-colored glasses.



Crow vs. Rove: The Grudgematch

Singer Sheryl Crow, who is currently amid a cross-country global warming awareness trip, got into a dust-up with Karl “President” Rove over the weekend at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

The subject of the dust-up? Global warming.

Crow’s friend, Laurie David, describes the scene:

”We asked Mr. Rove if he would consider taking a fresh look at the science of global warming. Much to our dismay, he immediately got combative. And it went downhill from there. We reminded the senior White House advisor that the US leads the world in global warming pollution and we are doing the least about it. Anger flaring, Mr. Rove immediately regurgitated the official Administration position on global warming which is that the US spends more on researching the causes than any other country. […] In his attempt to dismiss us, Mr. Rove turned to head toward his table, but as soon as he did so, Sheryl reached out to touch his arm. Karl swung around and spat, ‘Don’t touch me.’ Unphased, Sheryl abruptly responded, ‘You can’t speak to us like that, you work for us.’ Karl then quipped, ‘I don’t work for you, I work for the American people.’ To which Sheryl promptly reminded him, ‘We are the American people.’”

Rove’s version has a slightly different view: “She came over to insult me and she succeeded.”

Wow… Mr. Sensitive. Not only is Rove extremely sensitive, he’s apparently also very easily insulted, especially when the topic is global warming policy.

Here’s a nickels worth of advice to Mr. Rove. Get. A. Clue. While you may not agree with someone’s opinions, to express yourself in the manner that is being reported is not only sad and pathetic but spectacularly un-professional (though coming from someone in “The Huggers” inner circle it’s not entirely surprising). And considering the age we live in, where every cell phone has cameras and video cameras installed, it probably won’t be long before video of the encounter hits YouTube for the entire world to see…



RIP Boris Yeltsin

A man who helped lead a watershed moment in Global politics passed away this morning as Boris Yeltsin died at the age of 76.

Mr. Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, a post he held from 1991 to 1999 before being replaced by current President Vladimir Putin.

The Yeltsin era was a dramatic period in Russian history, marked not only by revolutionary political change and the arrival of democracy in Russia, but also with enormous political and social problems, including widespread corruption.

Picking up from Mikail Gorbechov, Yeltsin was a force to be reckoned with in Russian politics as he took his nation by its hands and led them through a new period. He was a politician who refused to backdown from a fight and, as my esteemed colleague Scott said; “ was instrumental in the collapse of the former socialist republic… in fact it was more his doing than (former President Ronald “Not Grecian Formula 45”) Reagan's.” (Rememeber, that’s S-c-o-t-t and not K-e-m-p… though I do agree with him)

Now it’s interesting to see that the freedoms that he fought for are slowly being challenged and, at times, eroded.

Goodbye Mr. Yeltsin…


And finally...

From Daily Kos:

Just bask in this AP story a bit:

"Campaigning in 2000, Texas Gov. George W. Bush would repeatedly raise his right hand as if taking an oath and vow to "restore honor and integrity" to the White House. He pledged to usher in a new era of bipartisanship.... Now, with fewer than two years left of his second term, the Bush administration is embroiled in multiple scandals and ethics investigations. The war in Iraq still rages. Bush's approval ratings are hovering in the mid-30s. And Democratic-Republican relations have seldom been more rancorous."

Hee hee hee hee...

The Weekly Rewind

I’m back from a nice soothing vacation in Las Vegas. I would tell you all about it but what happens in Vegas… well you know the rest…

Let’s get on with this week’s edition of (patent pending) “The Weekly Rewind.”

Here. We. Go.

Applaud: to the families and friends of those affected by this week’s attacks at Virginia Tech. And while we’re at it, our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to those affected by the Oklahoma City bombing, which occurred 12 years ago yesterday, and the Columbine attacks, which happened eight years ago today. Stay strong…

Heckle: to the Bush(whacked) Administration. Apparently, they keep records of anyone who has ever been prescribed anti-depressants. From ABC News, regarding the VA Tech shooter: “Some news accounts have suggested that Cho had a history of antidepressant use, but senior federal officials tell ABC News that they can find no record of such medication in the government's files. This does not completely rule out prescription drug use, including samples from a physician, drugs obtained through illegal Internet sources, or a gap in the federal database, but the sources say theirs is a reasonably complete search.” (Excuse me? We don't even have a list of gun owners in this country, but we seemingly have a list of every single person who has ever been prescribed anti-depressants…this is troubling…)

Applaud: to a majority of Americans who do NOT consider withdrawal from Iraq as “surrender.” According to a Fox “News” poll (I know, I would have though they would have altered it to fit their opinion also) that asked “Do you think it is accurate to compare withdrawal with surrender?” 61% said no, it’s not the same… so take that!

Heckle: to the prospect of a 3 mile long concrete wall being constructed in Baghdad. Yes… a wall… a wall designed to “cut off one of the capital’s most restive Sunni Arab districts from the Shiite Muslim neighborhoods” that surround it. Never mind that Iraqi’s have raised concerns about how this will enhance the “further Balkanization of Iraq’s most populous and violent city.” (Nice… cuz that idea worked oh-so-well in Germany…)

Applaud: to telling it like it is. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) suggested to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales during his testimony on Capitol Hill that “the best way to put this behind us is your resignation.” Gonzales naturally disagreed, but one has to think that Coburn is absolutely correct and curious as to just how much longer Gonzales can hold on to this job…

Heckle: to the “masked-senator” who has placed an “anonymous hold” on legislation that’s moving through the Senate requiring lawmakers’ campaign finance reports to be electronically filed and thus, made public more quickly. (Nice… nothing like blocking progress. Odds are 3:1 that the ‘anonymous moron’ is Ted Stevens, a republican from Alaska)

Applaud: to the Trials of Alberto Gonzales. At times he struggled to offer a coherent explanation while appearing frustrated, weary and at times combative, all while angering committee members “as he invoked a faulty memory more than 50 times.” Add to that this nice piece of information: 63% of Americans think Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is lying about the Bush(whacked) administration’s prosecutor purge… (It’s things like this that give me some hope that common sense is making a comeback in this country… though our commander in chief was “pleased” with Gonzales’ testimony… give me strength…)

Heckle: to the White House Correspondents Association dinner palnners. Just when you think they couldn’t get any more pathetic by hiring non-insutling Rich “Haven’t Been Popular in Over 20 Years” Little to headline (and thus giving “President” Bush and his administration a pass) they go out and make it more pathetic by inviting American Idol reject Sanjaya Malakar… (If the entire audience is asleep 10 minutes into the show, I’ll be surprised…)

Applaud: to the news that two republican lawmakers found themselves being raided by the Feds this past week for, how should I put this? “Shady dealings.” Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) had his house raided earlier this week due to his and his wife’s connections to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff (Another good thing was that because of that he is temporarily stepping down from his position on the House Appropriations Committee) Add to that the fact the FBI raided a business tied to the family of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) Thursday afternoon as part of an ongoing investigation. (Like Doolittle, Renzi is temporarily stepping down from a committee seat, giving up his spot on the House Intelligence Committee (Don’t you think that after a while they would realize they’re gonna get caught and stop?? Though it does make for some good theater…)

Heckle: to Senate conservatives who, earlier this week, “blocked legislation” that would have allowed the federal government to negotiate Medicare drug prices. (Never mind the fact that 85% of Americans support such negotiations, it’s the right thing to do. Too bad the conservatives in the Senate can’t grasp that concept…)

Applaud: to even more cracks in the conservative foundation. In what can only be described as another signal of just how much republican unease there is with the president’s Iraq policies, another gop senator (that would make three) gave support for pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq under certain conditions. This time is was Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) who announced that she would sponsor a bill that would require American commanders to plan a withdrawal within 120 days of the bill’s enactment, unless the Iraqi government met a few goals. (Seeing republican/gop support for not only this war but also for Bush’s policies erode is rather enjoyable, so let’s keep it up)

Heckle: to the news that, for the 11th straight week, the national average price for gasoline in the U.S. rose. (What more can be said?)

Applaud: to The House for passing the Taxpayer Protection Act earlier this week. The act looks to protect taxpayers against “identity theft, deceptive Web sites and loan sharks” while also making it easier for taxpayers to retrieve property lost as a result of a wrongful IRS levy and additionaly directing the IRS to inform low-income returnees that they qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. (As a rule we at TBWA do NOT criticize the IRS, so we’re not gonna give any smart-ass comments)

Heckle: to, once again, the Bush(whacked) Administration. According to a post in Real Cities.com, for the past six years, the Bush administration, being aided by Justice Department political appointees, has pursued a legal effort to restrict voter turnout in key battleground states in a way that has come down on the side of Republicans (And I can pinpoint when it started… right when the SCOTUS handed the presidency to Bush in 2000. 1/20/09 can NOT come soon enough…)

Applaud: to the news this past week that the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section is investigating connections between disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the White House… a potential White House problem that is expected to be exacerbated by missing White House emails. (Mr. Rove, please step up to the plate – you’re next)

Applaud: to some thawing (Pun intended) in the public’s views on Global Warming. A new poll shows that a third of Americans say “global warming ranks as the world’s single largest environmental problem” and that seven in 10 Americans want federal action on global warming. This comes as areas in the arctic north have been experiencing some of the worst impacts of global warming with Inuit hunters falling through thinning ice and dying and the fact that there’s not enough snow to build igloos for shelter during hunts… (But ask any republican and they’ll deny it… boggles the mind, doesn’t it?)

This was a hard week to determine this award, what with all the inane and idiotic comments coming from a handful of conservative pundits about the Virginia Tech attack, but I think we found a winner. This week’s gop tool of the week is former republican presidential and U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes. During an appearance on the Caplis & Silverman radio show, Keyes was asked about Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). Said Keyes: “He's an evil man and he needs to be stopped” and then proceeded to compare him to Adolf Hitler… (Besides it being an incredible case of the pot calling the kettle black, keep in mind that Keyes always has been and always will be a danger to common sense, and now he’s crossed the line and passed over to cartoon villainy. Alan Keyes: What. A. Tool.)

And finally…this week’s rundown on the 2008 presidential race.

On the Left: Richardson announced that he’s going to start airing ads in Iowa & has already bought airtime in New Hampshire… Clinton picked-up the endorsement of Hef & is going carbon neutral for a day… Edwards paid his campaign back for some obscenely expensive haircuts & hired a new strategist… Obama was out fundraising & announced that he would attend Rev. Al Sharpton’s NAN conference. The lower tier candidates? Meh…

On the right: McCain tried out for the Beach Boys & got heckled… Giiliani spoke this past week at Pat Robertson’s university & saw his lead in the polls start to shrink… Fred Thompson continues to “dazzle” even though he hasn’t announced his intentions yet… Tommy Tutone Thompson has already put his foot in his mouth and apologized for it… Huckabee had a ‘fun run’ in New Hampshire &… well, that’s really it… Romney flip-flopped on Clinton’s ‘It Takes a Village’ motto & managed to not stick his foot in his mouth for a week…

All I have, take ‘em as you will…

Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday

How’s about some Random Political Thoughts…

Be Strong.Our thoughts continue to go out to anyone effected by the senseless tragedy at Virginia Tech University. Stay strong and know the country is behind you…

Testify! AG Alberto Gonzales’ former COS, Kyle Sampson, in an interview with congressional investigators last Sunday, said that Gonzales was “inaccurate” in his assertion that he didn’t have a role in the deliberations about individual U. S. attorneys that were later dismissed.” This comes at the same time that Congress considers offering former Gonzales Aide Monica Goodling immunity in exchange for what is expected to be damaging testimoney. (Postponed because of the incident at VTU earlier this week, it’s only a matter of time before Gonzales has to face the music… and I don’t think it’s gonna be pretty… at least I hope it won’t be pretty…)

And Speaking of US Attorneys... 67% of Americans, “including a narrow majority of Republicans,” see political motives as the primary reason behind last year’s firings of eight federal prosecutors. Throw in the fact that 45% of those polled believe Alberto Gonzales should resign and you have the makings of yet another mis-step by the Bush(whacked) Administratioin… (Kind of brings a smile to your face, doesn’t it?)

Our Downward Spiral Continues. A new poll by the Program on International Policy (hence called PIPA) shows that 10 out of 15 countries believe that the United States cannot be trusted to “act responsibly in the world.” The new PIPA poll also finds that majorities in 13 out of 15 publics polled say the U.S. is “playing the role of world policeman more than it should be.” Furthermore, the poll shows that majorities in all 15 of the countries polled reject the idea that the U.S. should “continue to be the preeminent world leader in solving international problems.” (At one time, the United States was the country that other countries aspired to… we were the worldwide leaders… we were the ones they came to in their time of need… we were the one that other countries looked to to lead the way…Oh, how times have changed. Essentially, it took “President” Bush a few scant years in office to systematcially undo every damn thing that America ever stood for from an international standpoint. The way we as a nation are viewed by the rest of the world is pretty pathetic. At best they laugh at us for our choice of leadership – remember the headlines in Europe when Bush was re-elected? – and at worst they believe that Bush and his Administration are representative of ALL American values. This is just sad…)

Poll Positions. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll finds that 66% of Americans don’t’ support the war in Iraq. This comes as widespread feelings about the war going badly and the additional troops not making a difference come to the forefront.

Wolf Out the Door. Even as the World Bank’s board of directors gets ready to meet today to discuss the possibility of making him resign, World Bank President Paul “Socks” Wolfowitz is vowing that he will not resign over his role in securing a State Department job along with a huge raise for his girlfriend, a former communications official at the bank. (Wow… it’s almost as if Wolfie had someone teach him in the fine art of cronyism… I wonder who that could be??? Sarcasm Alert: Stage Magenta)

Op-Ed Piece of Mid-Week The New York Times says that there are still “64,000 people sleeping in trailers in Louisiana” and that “President Bush has reneged on his promises to Katrina’s victims.” (This albatross just won’t get off from around his neck, will it?)

More Poll Positions. According to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) drew (relatively) high approval ratings as they passed their 100-day mark as leaders of their respective chambers. Pelosi had an approval rating of 53% while Reid hit the 46% mark. (While the numbers may not be astronomical, they are good, and that’s something that can only help the Democratic agenda. Keep it up guys…)

And the Hits Just Keep Coming. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will meet this week to consider whether to subpoena Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Rice has repeatedly blown off Rep. Henry Waxman’s (D-CA) requests for information on her pre-war claims about Iraq’s WMD programs and now they might try to do something about it. (While it’s obvious that Rice will NEVER allow herself to answer questions truthfully, muhc less be subpoenaed, it’s a nice move by the Democrats and one that shows some balls. As I said above, let’s keep it up.)

Take 'em as you will...

The Weekly Rewind

Short week, short rewind… enjoy:

Applaud: to Joe Klein. (Yes, you read that right, we’re applauding Joe Klein) It seems as though the comprehension of just how big a mess Bush has made things has reached his brain. In the coming issue of Time magazine, he concludes with a statement that is making some wonder if he is hinting that “President” Bush ought to be impeached. He claims, in referring to the president, that he has “tried to be respectful of the man and the office” but now he recognizes that the “defining sins” of his administration “are congenital: they’re part of his personality. They’re not likely to change. And it is increasingly difficult to imagine yet another two years of slow bleed with a leader so clearly unfit to lead.” (Welcome to the club Joe, we’ve got jackets…)

Heckle: to conservative pundits that have been piling on Madame Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for covering her head with a scarf while in Syria this past week. Uh, excuse me… I seem to have recollections of Laura Bush AND Secretary of State Condi Rice doing the same thing so, rather than take the high road I’ll just say this: STFU.

Applaud: to once again showing that she has bigger balls than the “rich white men” in the White House. After numerous conservative pundits and the president attacked her trip to Syria and claimed she delivered the wrong message to Syria from Israel, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is asking, nee, begging the White House to prove it… and oddly enough, the White House hasn’t said a damn thing yet… I wonder why??? It is so hard to express sarcasm in the written form…

Heckle: to, as always, “President” Bush as he’s decided to once again flip-off the Constitution and appointed three officials that wouldn’t have been approved by the Senate so he decided to take the cowards way out and once again did what he wanted and ignored little things like process and law… 2009 can NOT come fast enough…

Applaud: to the release of the British sailors, which, according to a lot of policy experts, was aided by the Bush(whacked) Administration NOT helping. That says a lot about our standing in the world, doesn’t it?

Heckle: to AG Alberto Gonzales. Why? Two words: Attorney. Gate. Even while another member of his staff takes the fall resigns, he’s practicing his testimony while the Senate threatens subpoenas. (again, as I’ve said before, how much longer can Bush keep this albatross around his neck until he gets rid of him?)

Applaud: to more facts & records coming to light that show (surprise, surprise) Iraq and Saddam Hussein’s regime was “not directly cooperating with al-Qaeda” before the US-led invasion… despite the Bush(whacked) Administration’s insistence that it was… (Color me NOT surprised)

Heckle: to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). We at TBWA have, in the past, voiced our support and backing for the former POW… but now he seems to have turned into a gop version of John Kerry; flip-flopping to appease the audience he’s talking to. After a disastrous fundraising quarter, he was further criticized for taking a photo-op “stroll” through a Baghdad neighborhood that subsequently blew up in his face… now after all that, word has leaked that next week he will try to turn his campaign around by suggesting that the war in Iraq is winnable. (You sometimes have to wonder just how much he wants to be president…)

Heckle: to messing with tradition (again). “President” Bush didn’t throw out a first pitch this baseball season, making it the second time in as many years that he didn’t. His people said he was too busy, people with a brain say he didn’t want to get booed… who do you think is right?

This week’s WingNut Tool of the Week: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (D-GA). For putting his foot into his mouth about Spanish being the ‘language of the ghetto’ than, when trying to back-peddle in a panic, trying to say he was referring to Hebrew… wait, what?

And the week that was in the 2008 Presidential election. As mentioned earlier this week, First Quarter fundraising numbers were released and the Dems kicked butt… let’s hope they can keep it up. On the left: Obama moved to a larger campaign headquarters… Clinton got some R&R… Edwards announced he won’t be attending the Fox “News”/CBC debate… Richardson announced that he will co-head a private bipartisan delegation to North Korea next week… Biden and Dodd kept relatively quiet this week after their relatively poor first quarter fundraising results. On the right: McCain screwed up (again)… Romney tried to act more macho than he is (again)… Thompson is threatening talking about running (again)… Giuliani is severing ties with his business… Brownback was to participate in the Annual Statewide Iowa Prayer Breakfast and… well, that was really it for him…

Take ‘em as you will…

The Weekly Rewind

Friday… time for, well… you know. . Relax… and enjoy!

Applaud: to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who told “President” Bush to “calm down” earlier this week after Bush threatened to take his ball and go home crying to momma renewed his threat to veto legislation that would set a time line for withdrawal from Iraq. Said Pelosi: “Calm down with the threats. There is a new Congress in town. We respect your constitutional role; we want you to respect ours. This war must end. The American people have lost faith in the President’s conduct of the war. Let’s see how we can work together. This war is diminishing the strength of our military, not honoring our commitment to our veterans, and not holding the Iraqi government accountable.” (Well said Madam Speaker. Democrats, trying to raise the bar despite Bush setting it so damn low. He acts like a spoiled brat – which he is – and the Dems try to act like adults. This should end well…)

Heckle: to Karl Rove. Usually it would be just on general principles alone, but he’s been working under the radar the last few weeks and is driving a “bold, behind-the-scenes” push to ensure that “President” Bush will achieve at least one crucial policy victory in the last two years of his presidency; immigration reform. Under the plan that began to circulate around Capitol Hill Thursday, undocumented workers could apply for three-year work visas, which would cost $3,500 each time, the undocumented workers would have legal status with the visas, but in order to get a green card, they would have to return to their home country, apply at a U.S. embassy or consulate to re-enter legally and then pay a $10,000 fine… (I am split on the immigration issue, but I can say that these monetary amounts are obscenely high…

Applaud: to the American people. 59% of Americans want their congressional representative to support a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by August 2008, with a scant 33% percent opposing…(That number is almost as dismal as the incredibly low – and seemingly idiotic – 36% that believe the escalation plan will work…)

Heckle: to even less time at home and a more-strained military. Air Force Gen. Lance Smith said earlier this week that if “President” Bush’s escalation goes beyond this summer, there would be a “high probability” that many Army units would have less than a year at home between combat rotations, further constricting the already limited time to train and the chance to “reconnect with families.” (Once again, the party that supposedly cares about the military shows the exact opposite…

Applaud: to the House of Representatives who unanimously voted to “improve the care of wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan,” by adding caseworkers and counselors to the military’s medical system.(About time…)

Heckle: to spin gone awry. This past Monday, on “Bill Bennett’s Morning in America” radio show, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) claimed that the U.S. “is beginning to succeed” in Iraq and said that “there are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through…today.” This past week has seen two truck bombs go off that killed at least 85 people in Tal Afar, along with a group of gunmen, a group that included Shiite policemen, began going door-to-door and assassinated 70 Sunnis… and did we mention the insurgent attacks on the Green Zone have increased recently, with attacks “on six of the past seven days.” A State Department official then noted, “There are increasing attacks on the [U.S.] embassy.” (But things are getting better…)

Applaud: to telling it like it is. Retired General Barry McCaffrey wrote in an assessment on the situation in Iraq, based on a recent round of meetings there with Gen. David H. Petraeus and 16 other senior U.S. commanders that the Iraqi population “is in despair,” while life in many of the urban areas is “desperate.” (But according to McCain, Iraq is getting better…)

Heckle: to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It was revealed this past week that they are maneuvering to fundamentally weaken the Endangered Species Act. The proposed changes include limiting the number of species that can be protected (Stupid Idea #1), it would “curtail preserved acres of wildlife habitat (Stupid Idea #2), and would “dilute legal barriers that protect habitat from sprawl, logging or mining.” (Stupid Idea #3) Add to that the fact that Interior Department inspector general is now reporting that a senior Bush political appointee, Julie MacDonald, repeatedly altered scientific field reports “to minimize protections for imperiled species.” (Well… at least we know now that this administration will never use the motto; ‘Friend of the Environment.’ Thankfully though, when word of these actions and plans leaked, it lead to an:)

Applaud: to a gaggle of Senators who vowed, after environmental groups leaked the Interior Department’s secret plan to “gut” the Endangered Species Act, to block the proposed changes through appropriations legislation.

Heckle: to this news: a pair of aircraft carriers, backed by warplanes, took up position off the coast of Iran, bringing together two strike groups of U.S. warships and more than 100 U.S. warplanes in order to conduct simulated air warfare in the crowded Gulf shipping lanes. This is the largest demonstration of force in the Persian Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq… (Wait… what? Oh shit…)

Applaud: to refusing to be thrown under the bus. Sensing that he was about to go the way of Scooter Libby, former Chief of Staff for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is apparently refusing to play the pats and, while in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday offered testimony that did not disappoint, telling the committee that AG Gonzales and Harriet Miers approved the firings of eight federal prosecutors. Said Sampson; “I and others made staff recommendations but they were approved and signed off on by the principals.” (The “principles” would be Gonzales and Miers, btw) When asked a question by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Sampson rejected Gonzales’ theory that the dismissals were ordered by young or inexperienced Justice Department officials, saying; “The decision makers in this case were the attorney general and the counsel to the president.” (In other words, Alberto Gonzales is a big ol' liar… granted, that’s not really news to most of us, but it’s still enjoyable to read in print, isn’t it… and also makes one ask just how long Bush can keep this albatross around his neck…()

Heckle: to cockfighting (no smart-ass comments Scott…), or rather to a unfathomable attempt to keep it legal. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) is holding up a very popular and very bipartisan bill that would crack down on cockfighting… a bill that was expected to pass easily in the Senate yesterday. House bill co-sponsor Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) said that Coburn’s hold “testifies to the powers of these shadowy forces” that allow this “illegal and barbaric” concept continue. (This one just boggles the mind. Maybe Sen. Coburn has another type of cockfighting in mind and NOT the ones with chickens. Sorry, couldn’t resist)

Applaud: to columnist Bob Novak (wait – did I just write that??). He wrote this past week that “With nearly two years remaining in his presidency, George W. Bush is alone. In half a century, I have not seen a president so isolated from his own party in Congress. The saving grace that some Republicans find in the dispute over U.S. attorneys is that, at least temporarily, it draws attention away from debate over an unpopular war.” (I’m not sure how to feel right now… am I smug in my opinion that Bush is losing his grip on his own party or scared that I agree with Bob Novak?? Help me please…)

Heckle: to losing more allies. Remember how I wrote that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia had canceled a dinner with the White House? Well, it might have something to do with King Abdullah’s recent declaration that the U.S. is “illegitimately” occupying Iraq… which left the White House, a tad “surprised.” White House spokesman Dana Perino responded that “it is not accurate to say that the United States is occupying Iraq.” (What would you call it then Dana?)

Applaud: to, once again, the American people. 48% of Americans believe that the fired U.S. attorneys were fired because they “refused to be pressured by politics”… with a scant 22% believe that the Bush administration dismissed them “for proper reasons.” To add to your enjoyment, 55% of those polled also believe Bush is refusing to allow top aide Karl “President” Rove and other White House aides to testify under oath “because he’s trying to cover up the reasons for the firings” and not, as he repeatedly has said, because he “wants to preserve the Constitution’s separation of powers…” (Game over man… game over…)

Heckle: to the question of whether the Justice Department and the White House worked together to mislead Congress in AttorneyGate. (I vote ‘yes’)

Applaud: to not buying it. House Minority Leader John Boehner was booed earlier this week by members attending the AFL-CIO’s Building & Construction Trades Department’s legislative forum for saying the United States needs to fight the war in Iraq or face terror attacks at home. “Who doesn’t believe that if we just pull out of Iraq and come home that the terrorists won’t follow us here and we’ll be fighting them on the streets of America?” (Well… apparently most in the crowd don’t believe that ridiculous reason Mr. Boner… get a clue)

This week’s Wing-Nut Tool of the Week is: Rush Limbaugh. Essentially, Limbaugh said this week that Bush shouldn’t fire Gonzales, despite the fact he’s incompetent, because winning elections is much more important. Said Limbaugh: “I’m at a loss to understand why it is that even some people on our side and the conservative media think throwing Gonzales away is going to stop this. Now, they’ll say, “Well, that’s not what we’re trying to do. We want competence. We are conservatives, and we have high values, and high standards.” This is a battle going on here. There’s an election that’s going to hinge on stuff like this, and everybody the administration throws overboard is a tantamount admission to people that pay scant attention to politics there’s all kinds of corruption going on in there.” The man Al Franken likes to call a ‘Big Fat Idiot’ went on to say “USA Today’s got a poll: ‘Do you think something’s wrong about the firing of eight US attorneys?’ 72% said yes. 72% of the American people, a bunch of blithering idiots who have no idea what they’re talking about, but yet they voted, so these polls matter.” (Do I even need to say it? Ok, I will; What. A. Tool.)

And finally… the week that was in the 2008 Preznit race. On the left; Edwards told people not to vote for him because of sympathy or compassion for his wife’s cancer & is enjoying his status as the most wired-in candidate… Clinton tried to lay a smackdown on McCain & enjoyed a lengthened lead in Pennsylvania … Obama received an endorsement from George Clooney (so?) & chatted it up with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. On the right: Romney threw out some possible VP names (including Jeb Bush – EVERYONE PANIC!!!!)… Giuliani says he would want his (3^rd) wife Judith to sit-in on Cabinet meetings should he become President & showed that he can flip-flop with the best of them… McCain had to defend himself from accusations that he almost left the republican party & tried to persuade people that the Iraq war is changing… and a newcomer to the bunch, with Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) set to announce his bid for president on Monday in Iowa (I join everyone when I say; ‘Who?’)

And we all know that 2008 may see us elect the first female or first minority president, but have you considered this earth-shattering question from heavyweight Fox “News”: Are we ready for our first bald president in modern times? (That’s some damn-find reporting there Fox… don’t tax your “journalistic” abilities TOO much… give me strength )

Take ‘em as you will…

Random Political Thoughts

It’s Wednesday... We haven’t done this in a while so, have a couple of random political thoughts:

Nail, meet Mr. Coffin. I’m not a big fan of his, as he tends to go too far and usually ends up sticking his foot in his mouth…but at times, Bill Maher just nails it, like this one from his most recent show:

“Valerie Plame was the CIA's operational officer in charge of counter-proliferation. Which means she tracked loose nukes. So when Bush said---as he once did---that his absolute, number-one priority was preventing terrorists from getting loose nukes, okay, that's what she worked on. That's what she devoted her life to, staying undercover for 20 years, maintaining two identities every goddamn day. This is extraordinary service to your country. Valerie Plame was the kind of real-life secret agent George Bush dreams of being when he's not too busy pretending to be a cowboy or a fighter pilot. ... George Bush likes to claim that he doesn't question his critics' patriotism, just their judgment. Well, let me be the first of your critics, Mr. President, to question your judgment and your patriotism. Because let's not forget why they did it to her. Because Valerie Plame was married to this guy---Joe Wilson---who the Bush people hated because he busted them on one of their bullshit reasons for invading Iraq. ...Mark Twain said, "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." And I say Valerie Plame is a patriot because she spent her life serving her country. ... Valerie Plame kept her secrets. The Bush Administration leaked like the plumbing at Walter Reed.”

Nicely done Bill… you can read the whole thing here, or watch the whole thing here.

Good luck, Tony. Despite what we think about his abilities/bias as White House Press Secretary, our thoughts and prayers are with Tony Snow as he battles his recurrence of cancer…

It starts? Senate Democrats got a victory earlier this week in their pursuit to make “President” Bush end the Iraq war. The win was notable because they were able to turn back an amendment from some republicans that would have erased the troop withdrawal plan from emergency military funding legislation. (It’s a start… it’s definitely a start…).

Guess Who’s NOT Coming to Dinner. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah inexplicably cancelled a formal state dinner with the White House… and Jim Hoagland of the Washington Post says that the cancellation was “One more warning sign that the Bush administration's downward spiral at home is undermining its ability to achieve its policy objectives abroad.” (At this rate, the only person who will still be counting Bush as a friend is XX)

The ERA returns, & I don’t mean earned run average. There’s new and sudden movement underway to pass an Equal Rights Amendment… and that’s all I dare say about that…lest I get smacked upside the head…

Another Scooter? Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ former COS, Kyle Sampson, is heading to the Senate tomorrow to tell them what he knows about AttorneyGate… and I’m sure he’ll be entirely truthful… (Note to self, don’t be a COS or DCOS in the Bush White House, it means almost certain employment termination and Senate appearance…)

As always, take 'em as you will...

The Weekly Rewind

Friday… time for The Weekly Rewind, in five, four, three, two, one…

Applaud: to Elizabeth Edwards as she once again faces a battle with breast cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with her, John and their family.

Heckle: to the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War this past Monday. I don’t think anything more needs to be said…

Applaud: to Al Gore. He was on Capitol Hill this past week speaking about global warming and laid a smackdown on Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) when Mr. Barton tried to de-rail Gore’s speaking points. (Lesson learned, you don’t fuc* with Al…)

Heckle: to something I posted about earlier this week. The percentage of Iraqis that have confidence in U.S.-led coalition troops is 18%. Six in 10 Iraqis say their lives are going badly, and nearly 90% say that they “live in fear that the violence ravaging their country will strike themselves and the people with whom they live.” (When I posted this earlier this week, a meandering, yet well intentioned, comment was left. While I applaud their commitment to the troops, their pathetic attempt to tie the Iraq war into terrorism was inconceivable at best…)

Applaud: to the House Armed Services Committee, for passing The Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007 by a 59-0 vote earlier this week. The bill aims at “making immediate improvements in the treatment…of wounded combat veterans.” (About. Effin. Time. Rather sad though that an Act even had to be created for something that you would have thought was common sense… best treatment for the brave men and women risking their lives for our freedom… go figure)

Heckle: to Bush, Cheney, Gonzalez, et al. The New York Times reported that in his first weeks on the job, defense secretary Robert Gates repeatedly argued that the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay had become so “tainted abroad” that any legal proceedings there would be viewed as illegitimate and that it should be shut down ASAP. The idea was quickly shot down by AG Alberto “Whadya mean George isn’t taking my calls anymore” Gonzales first. This initial rejection came despite the fact that Mr. Gates gained an ally in Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who joined Gates in urging the closing of the detention facility… those discussions were then thrown-out after Bush rejected the suggestions outright… (Wow… Mr. Bush went against Condi… things must have been frosty in the bedroom Oval Office that week…)

Applaud: to Chris Matthews (mark the day & time – it probably won’t happen again). He interviewed ex-Senator Tom DeLay (R-TX) and talked about passages in DeLay’s new book where he ripped into fellow (corrupt) Texan Dick Armey by describing Armey as “drunk with ambition.” When Matthews brought it up, DeLay denied writing that and said; “I wrote that he was ‘blinded by his ambition.’” Matthews then started to flip through the book and found the “drunk with ambition” quote and read it to DeLay… with DeLay STILL denying it. Finally, Chris handed the book to Tom and told him to read it himself. DeLay looked down, paused, and said; “I don't have my glasses.” (Once a tool, always a tool. Here’s a personal note to Mr. DeLay; Go away… no one cares…)

Heckle: to just not getting it. Tom DeLay still refuses to admit any impropriety in his dealings with Jack Abramoff. “So yes, I took a trip to Scotland. Yes, I played golf. Yes, it was privately funded… If I had the opportunity, I would do it again.” (What is it I said about DeLay above? Oh right; the man is a tool… always has been, always will be…)

Applaud: to biting the hand that feeds you because you know they’re wrong. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen has stated in a pronouncement that at best can be described as “a stinging, wide-ranging assessment,” found that the U.S. was “unprepared for the extensive nation-building required” after it invaded Iraq, and every time there was a chance to alter their efforts, they still “failed even to understand the problems it faced.” (Once again, the ego of this administration has hindered its ability to do something properly and has screwed the country with its collective pants on…color me surprised…)

Heckle: to censorship. The censorship issue returned to Congress this week as the House oversight committee resumed its inquiry into reported “Bush administration interference in federal climate science.” The inquiry is expected to see testimony by one-time Bush crony turned Exxon lobbyist Philip Cooney. Heckle within a heckle to Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) who stated at the hearing that “free speech is not a simple thing and is subject to and directed by policy.” (I>Uh… no, it’s not; it’s the constitution you putz… and it’s not subject to and directed by policy. Can’t we have a law passed where candidates, before they get elected, have to take a Constitutional exam???)

Applaud: to the Fark.com political headline(s) of the week: “A new study finds that one-third of D.C. residents are functionally illiterate. Bush would like to address this, but he's in that one-third.” Runner-up: “When historians sort out what happened to the U.S. in the 21st century, one of the mysteries will be why the press ganged up on Al Gore while giving his dimwitted Republican opponent a free pass”

Heckle: to “President” Bush (I know, I know; you’re shocked aren’t you?). This one is for his promise of a veto on the narrowly passed $124 billion supplemental war spending bill… all because it does something revolutionary… it sets a timeline that calls for the removal of troops from Iraq by August 31, 2008. (Tool.). An extra ‘heckle’ thrown-in for this quote from Bush; “Democrats in the House, in an act of political theater…” (Hello kettle, this is the pot… you’re black.)

Applaud: to sweet, sweet irony. The Department of Homeland Security's new HQ is going to be located in a former insane asylum… sometimes the jokes just write themselves…

Heckle: to stupidity as there is really no other way to describe Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ assertion that the U.S. “could fight a third war.” (Glad that bomb shelter of mine is almost done…)

Applaud: to those in the know that say the EXACT opposite of what Gates said above. Army Chief of Staff Peter Schoomaker told Congress last week that, essentially, the military is ill-prepared to fight a major ground conflict elsewhere, saying “We have a strategy right now that is outstripping the means to execute it.” (Well said Mr. Schoomaker, very well said. Let’s hope it doesn’t fall on deaf ears…)

Heckle: to incompetency. According to a GAO report released earlier this week, the U.S. military’s “faulty war plans and insufficient troops in Iraq” after the 2003 invasion left thousands, possibly millions, of tons of conventional munitions unsecured, allowing them to fall into the the hands of insurgent groups, thus allowing widespread looting of weapons and explosives that have then been used to make the IED’s that cause “the bulk of U.S. casualties.” (That’s just sad… it’s almost as if they were thrown into a hastily-arranged war and weren’t given the proper amount of time to stratgize and plan… but then that would mean the White House was to blame… oh, wait…)

Applaud: to the fact that we got rid of John Bolton before he caused even more damage. This past week he admitted to deliberately blocking peace efforts in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict… if he was still our UN Ambassador and did that to North Korea or Iran, we’d all be glowing within 2 years…

Heckle: to the Pentagon for “quietly seeking congressional approval for significant new military sales to US allies in the Persian Gulf region” in order to offset Iranian influence. The sale of arms could make some people concerned that it brings “Washington closer to a confrontation with Iran.” (Yeah… selling arms… this should end well…)

Applaud: to Defense Secretary Robert Gates (he certainly is getting a lot of our attention this week, good and bad, isn’t he?). Every evening Mr. Gates writes letters of condolence to families of soldiers killed in Iraq, saying; “I feel a personal responsibility for each one of these men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.” (Beautifully put Mr. Gates… and one thousand times more than your predecessor EVER did… please keep it up)

Heckle: to breaking the law and ignoring the Constitution, The Justice Department’s Inspector General told the House earlier this week that “the FBI may have violated the law or government policies as many as 3,000 times since 2003” as agents ‘covertly’ collected telephone, bank and credit card records of “U.S. citizens and foreign nationals residing here.”

Heckle: to Rep. Jean “Shrill as a Banshee” Schmidt, who said earlier this week that the Walter Reed Hospital scandal was “overblown” by, naturally, the media. An applaud within a heckle to Schmidt's congressional district colleague, and fellow republican, Rep. Steve Chabot. When told of Schmidt’s comments, he said that it is wrong to suggest that the media or anyone else has “overblown” the problems at Walter Reed. (Maybe she’s trying to replace Katherine Harris as the certifiable loon on the republican side of the aisle… that can be the only explanation, right?)

New feature in The Weekly Rewind: the Conservative Wing-nut Tool of the Week. This week’s inaugural winner is conservative columnist Ruben Navarrette. He wrote this week that the only people who want Gonzales gone are racists on both sides of the aisle and that Gonzales was being “whacked like a piñata.” (Speaking as a Hispanic, that’s bullshit… speaking as a Liberal, that’s an inane argument. The people who want Gonzales gone are the ones who have seen through the smoke and mirrors of AttorneyGate. I’ll ignore the hypocrisy of using the piñata metaphor for now. All together now; What. A. Tool.)

And finally…

The week that was in the 2008 presidential race. On the Left, Gore was on Capitol Hill this week (I know he’s not running, but I like playing with the minds of those who think he will)… Clinton picked-up an endorsement from former candidate Tom Vilsack… Edwards is still running, despite some incredibly bad news received this past week (see top)… Obama made-up some ground without him actually doing anything, thanks to YouTube… and Kucinich and Gravel haven’t done a damn thing.

On the right, McCain apparently ditches pandering for flip-flopping as he backs-up his thoughts on immigration… Tancredo's presidential campaign (who? what?) has enlisted Republican strategist Bay Buchanan… Romney is talking immigration in Iowa… Giuliani, like McCain, is now working on his flip-flopping as he dramatically changes his gun views as he works to be more like ‘log-cabin republicans.’

That’s all I have, take ‘em as you will…