Here comes the smack-down

The House Judiciary Committee just voted (along party lines of course), 20-14 to hold Karl Rove in contempt of Congress. The contempt charges stem from Rove’s constant ignoring of subpoenas and his unflinching refusals to testify.

The resolution now heads to the full House, where a straight majority vote will be a necesity in order to formally and officially lock in the contempt citation.

Karma baby!

Karl Rove is Mr Irony

Last Sunday the NY Times ran an article that looked at the CIA’s interrogation of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, and in the process identified the name of the CIA agenct that interrogated him.

On yesterday’s “The O’Reilly Factor” former Bush crony Karl Rove criticized the Times for leaking the name of the CIA agent, saying; “T]hey’ve got a very callous view about our nation’s security and interests.”

Rove then went on to say that the US is put at risk when a CIA agent’s identity is leaked.

I love irony…

Same thing, different name

It was reported this week that former Bush aide Karl Rove said in the past to avoid making attacks on Sen. Obama’s middle name. After a speech earlier this week in LA, Rove was asked if he knew how to get Sen. Obama or Sen. Clinton elected. Said Rove; “Yes, and I ain’t telling ya. I only work for Republicans — and Joe Lieberman.”

Don’t know how to tell you this Karl, but Joe IS a republican… and anyone who says otherwise is either fooling themselves or is a fool…

You can be both.

Quick, call hell to see if it's frozen over

From The Atlantic;

No less an authority figure than Karl Rove has warned Republican operatives from demagoguing Barack Obama's middle name. […]

At a closed door meeting of GOP state executive directors in late January, Rove said the safest way to refer to Obama would be to use his honorific, “Sen. Obama.” […]

The context was, you're not going to stigmatize this guy. You shouldn't underestimate him," one of the executive directors said. Rove said that the use of "Barack Hussein Obama" would perpetuate the notion that Republicans were bigoted and would hurt the party.

Don’t know if I find it interesting or worrisome that I’m on the same wavelength about something that Karl “Palpatine” Rove is.

And when the voice of reason in the republican party is Karl Rove, you know things have gotten topsy-turvy…

Perhaps we should look outside to see if pigs are flying…

Rove’s Ridiculous Rhetoric

Outgoing White House adviser Karl “Presdident” Rove wrote an op-ed in the National Review recently that extolled Bush’s greatness and predicted that “history will provide a more clear-eyed verdict on this president’s leadership than the anger of current critics would suggest.”

Uh-huh… anything more to say on the subject Karl?

“President Bush will be viewed as a far-sighted leader who confronted the key test of the 21st century. […] He will be judged as a man of moral clarity who put America on wartime footing in the dangerous struggle against radical Islamic terrorism. […] President Bush will be seen as a compassionate leader who used America’s power for good. […] I have come to understand true leadership leans into the wind. It tackles big challenges with uncertain outcomes rather than taking on simple, sure tasks. It does what is right, regardless of what the latest poll or focus group says. History demands much of America and its leaders and I am confident it will judge the 43rd president as a man more than worthy of the great office the American people twice entrusted to him.”

Uh… okay…I suppose anything is possible…

Apparently we CAN’T stop fellating Rove

Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes can’t at least… look at what he says about Rove;

“Rove is the greatest political mind of his generation and probably of any generation. He not only is a breathtakingly smart strategist but also a clever tactician. He knows history, understands the moods of the public, and is a visionary on matters of public policy. But he is not a magician.”

Seriously? That’s what you think?? Tell me Fred, what color is the sky in your world??? Rose-colored, or is that color reserved for your official glasses?

And just in case you need more proof that Rove gets it wrong more often than he gets it right, during an interview with Rush “BFI” Limbaugh this afternoon, Rove said that the people criticizing Bush are “sort of elite, effete snobs who can’t hold a candle to this guy. What they don’t like about him is that he is common sense, that he is Middle America.”

Limbaugh then suggested that Bush critics are frustrated with Bush because he “outsmarts ‘em.”

There are so many things wrong with those statements that I don’t even know where to begin…

Can we stop the Rove fellating now?

For far too long politicos have swooned over Karl Rove like he was Corbin Bleu…

Granted, he did tower over his peers in the Bush(whacked) Administrationostly by just being competent. But it’s high time someone tells it like it is: Karl Rove has, for all intents and purposes, destroyed the republican party…

Rove was wrong about a LOT of stuff… actually let me rephrase that, he wasn’t just wrong… he was spectacularly wrong.

Yes, pandering to the republican base worked in the current, but it’s beginning to look more and more like the long-term effects of Rove’s wheelings and dealings could be potentially fatal to the gop.

When Rove entered the White House, he had visions of a “permanent” republican majority… and now, after 6 ½ years, the chances of that happening are highly unlikely...

A permanent 51% majority is an idea so utterly devoid of logic, that it’s hard to imagine someone taking it seriously… even if you did believe in it – and anyone with a brain shouldn’t - the smallest demographic shift would undermine this "brilliant" strategy.

In politics, there is nothing permanent about 51%… Joe Lieberman deciding to stop being a schmuck and acting like a Democrat again would alter that scant margin.

But Rove didn't just break the gop… he broke a president, an army, a plethora of laws, and the country.

And now… with Rove officially walking the plank… the fourth estate is having its way with him

And while the television media was kneeling in front of Rove toasting Rove yesterday, the print media was able to actually analyze Rove’s roll in the Bush presidency and this morning a lot of them unleashed polar opposites of what TV pundits had said (Hat tip to ThinkProgress…)

• Bloomberg: “[Rove] is quitting his White House job with little likelihood that the political agenda he set will be fulfilled…more recent attempts at major changes in the law — overhauling the Social Security and immigration systems — failed. … Rove’s vision of an enduring Republican majority was deat a blow by defeats in congressional elections last November.”



• New York Times: “Mr. Rove leaves the White House anything but victorious. His legendary reputation…was seriously diminished by the Republican defeats of 2006. He is blamed in Republican circles for many of the political problems President Bush has suffered in a difficult second term.”



• Chicago Sun-Times: “[I]t’s hard to believe he’d be going home if his grand vision of Republicans forever had held together instead of imploding.”



• Salt Lake Tribune: “Fortunately, reality finally is catching up with Karl Rove. Lincoln famously said that you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time. Rove has pushed those boundaries, but ultimately, he could not escape them.”



• LATimes: “[T]he politics of polarization that once served President Bush so well eventually undermined his quest for a legacy of achievement in office, while deflating Rove’s own dream of a Republican ascendancy at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. On Monday, Rove quit while he was behind.”

Now with Rove gone, Bush is left to deal with the presidency using his own brain…

God help us.

Will the last person in the Bush White House please turn off the lights?

The Svengali of the Beltway… the King of the Swamp… the head rat of the sinking ship… Karl Rove is resigning.

According to an interview in the Wall Street Journal (new motto: “Now with more right-wing”) Karl Rove is resigning as White House Supreme Commander Deputy COS effective Aug. 31 in order to, as usual, spend more time with his family… though it’s anyone’s best guess if they want to spend time with him.

Rove’s resignation is a major turning-point for the Bush(whacked) Administration as one of the most polarizing figures in this White House leaves and, as the WSJ article states, signals the “effective end of the lame duck administration's role in shaping major domestic policy decisions.” (Not that it was doing that well with Rove involved anyway…)

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said, “Obviously it’s a big loss to us. He’s a great colleague, a good friend, and a brilliant mind. He will be greatly missed.”

During the interview, Rove couldn’t help himself and had to offer his opinions on just about everything, saying that he expects the Democrats to give the 2008 presidential nomination to Sen. Clinton (whom he described as "a tough, tenacious, fatally flawed candidate – hello kettle, this is the pot; you’re black) and that republicans have “a very good chance” to hold onto the White House in next year's elections… (not unless Ronald Reagan comes back from the dead to run…) Rove also expects Bush's approval rating to rise again, that conditions in Iraq will improve as the U.S. military surge continues and that Democrats will become divided this fall in the battle over warrantless wiretapping.

Never mind that his prognostications have lately been WAY, WAY off… the most glaring being his declaration on NPR about a week before the midterm elections that there would be “a republican Senate and republican House” when, back here on planet earth, the Democrats won both the House and the Senate in 2006…

And lest Rove think he’s getting away with something; his resignation will NOT help him avoid Congressional investigation as Senate Judiciary Chair Pat Leahy issued a statement today vowing to continue the investigation into Rove's involvement in the prosecutor purge.

Stay tuned, this could get interesting…

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 Weekly Rewind

In this corner, weighing in at a staggering debt load of over $8 trillion, and bloated with two-faced beaurocrats, in the black trunks, the Bush Administration. And in this corner, in the White Trunks, two guys who are not quite so much in debt, and are out to open the eyes of the willing everywhere, the “Bush”-Whacked Administration. Now let’s get ready to Rewinnnnnnnnnnnnnnd!!

Sorry folks just felt a little bit of an attitude coming on.

Heckle: We’ll send you there, but once you’re there, you’re on your own. U.S. Embassy employees in Iraq are growing increasingly angry over what they say are inadequate security precautions in the heavily fortified Green Zone. Most staff members still sleep in trailers that one described as ‘tin cans’ that offer virtually no protection from rocket and mortar fire. The government has “refused to harden the roofs because of the cost”, one employee said. When will the various agencies in our government get treatment for their Cranial-Rectal Inversion and start to take care of our people serving overseas?

Heckle: to opening mouth and inserting foot….or, just another day in the life of a conservative. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) yesterday defended the decision to place scandal-plagued Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) on the Appropriations Committee. “Where do you draw the line?” Boehner asked. “We do not want a blanket allegation to rise to the level of credibility where we are basing our decisions on it. It’s unfair.” Hmmmm, I think we draw the line at appointing corrupt or possibly corrupt officials in positions of authority…..just a thought….

Heckle: to President Bush on principles alone.

Heckle: to once again proving that this administration acts before it thinks, and then has to back track and look stupid. The White House confirmed yesterday that the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad is likely to meet in the next several weeks with Iranian officials about stabilizing Iraq, as the administration embraces a tactic outsiders have long recommended as essential to reducing sectarian violence in Iraq. Ok, we didn’t do the job right to begin with, we know you are causing trouble for us and are a main supporter of violence against us and we should do something about it, but we have lost face in the world, other countries laugh at our sabre rattling, but we want to talk and make nice…. we still hate you, but we acknowledge the power that you have in the region…..do I need to continue?

Heckle: to the sheer stupidity of a statement. Afghanistan now produces 92 percent of the worlds opium. Bush administration officials acknowledge that until recently, “fighting drugs was considered a distraction from fighting terrorists.” The problem has become so severe that American officials now “hope that Afghanistan’s drug problem will someday be only as bad as that of Colombia.” And remind me again how our ‘War on Drugs’ against Columbia is oh so succesfull ……

Heckle: to diverting funds from our deserving troops. Nearly two dozen officials who received hefty performance bonuses last year at the Veterans Affairs Department sat on the boards charged with recommending the payments. Remember all those stories about how well things are at Walter Reed, and how the VA is on the cutting edge of Technology and taking care of our troops…..I’ll continue while you keep thinking…

Heckle: to Alberto Gonzales, on principles alone, and this week also due to the allegations of former Deputy AG James Comey.

Applaud: to Bill Maher. As we’ve said before on this site, it’s not often we applaud him, but sometimes he nails it. Case in point:

New Rule: You can’t send the National Guard to Iraq and then claim it’s still here. The helicopters, the Humvees, the men…Like Dorothy and Toto, they’re not in Kansas anymore. Sorry Mr. President, but the last documented case of a National Guardsman able to be in two place at one time…was you.”

Well said Bill….

Heckle: to the continued raping and pillaging of the average American. “Households are spending about $1,000 more per year for gasoline than they were just five years ago, an 85 percent increase” according to consumer groups’ analysis prepared for the House Judiciary Committee. “In the past five years the oil industry has picked consumers pockets for 200 billion in excess profits,” said the Consumer Federation of America. Next time you fill up remember that it’s too expensive to build a new refinery, or that many Oil Company CEO’s are taking home $100 million + a year….remember that as the pump passes $50 or $75 while you are filling up….

Applaud: to not quietly taking what bones the administration is willing to throw. The Justice Department on Wednesday told an angry Senate Judiciary Committee chairman it does not have documents described in a subpoena that demands all materials relating to Karl Rove’s possible involvement in the U.S. attorney firings. Instead, it said, “ Rove’s lawyer must have them.” And if there is nothing to hide, why haven’t they been turned over….??

Applaud: to more from Gore…. Al Gore will release his new book The Assault on Reason next week. Gore tells Time that he began questioning why “our democracy hasn’t responded” to both the climate crisis and the Iraq war. “So I started thinking, What’s going on here? … Our democracy was pushed around by false impressions and wasn’t able to hold its focus,” he says. “That’s the common denominator. Once I’d thought through all of that, I couldn’t not write this book.” Does anyone else think that the contry may be better served with Mr. Gore in a Whistle Blower, serving the public interest kind of way? In that capacity he is beholden to no one….

Heckle: to more of the same old stuff. Several senators have urged President Bush to withdraw his nomination of Michael Baroody — a corporate lobbyist picked to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission — saying the candidate was “unqualified and the appointment posed insurmountable conflicts of interest.” Am I the only one that sees this as the Fox guarding the Hen House?

This one does not qualify for either an Applaud or a Heckle. Earlier this week the Senate passed a bi-partisan bill that would make the estimated 12 million plus illegal immigrants currently in the United States eligible for legal status. Some of the main provisions are that they would have to pay a fine, wait a certain period of time, and return first to their country of origin, to then enter the country legally. The bill also contained a provision to allow ‘new’ U.S. citizens to sponsor relatives for immigration using a complicated point system that rewards points based on certain competencies. Among these are if someone is a skilled/educated worker, as well as the ability to speak English. The better you are the more points you get. Right away people on both sides of this issue are crying foul. Liberals are complaining about the fines, Conservatives are complaining about this bill granting ‘amnesty’ to illegals. This story is far from over….

Well there you have it. Not too many applauds (of course), but enough heckles to go around. Don’t worry we will have more heckles next week. Until then…

Be good, stay informed…..later.

The Weekly Rewind

Hello Sports Fans! That is if your favorite sport takes place in the political arena! It’s Spring, the Bulls have advanced in the playoffs, the Kentucky Derby is this afternoon (gotta get there one year), well anyway lets get to this sport of the everyman a little thing we like to call The Weekly Rewind…..

Heckle: My boss is going to pout and stomp his feet until he gets his own way. “President Bush will not sign any war spending bill that penalizes Iraq’s government” for failing to meet the benchmarks that his own administration has set, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last Sunday, a fresh warning to Congress about challenging him. Ohhh I am sure the leadership of the House and Senate are shaking with fear….more likely they are laughing at how rediculous George is being.

Heckle: to the Ghosts of Ousted Dictators. It is said that a member of Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki’s office is reportedly playing a leading role in the arrest and removal of senior Iraqi army and national police officers, some of whom had apparently worked too aggressively to combat violent Shiite militias. Hang one and sure enough there is always another crazy waiting in the wings….

Heckle: I’ll say it again, we have way too many lawyers. The New York City Bar, one of the largest lawyers’ organizations in the country, charges that the Bush administration is trying to evade responsibility for problems at the Guantanamo Bay prison by falsely blaming defense lawyers for the trouble. The association’s criticism comes as the administration is proposing limiting attorneys’ access to detainees. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced a measure Monday to force the Pentagon to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and move the trials of Al Qaeda suspects to the United States. Ok, I don’t like the administration, but I have no problem with holding detainees in Guantanamo Bay. Break em, and jail em…

Heckle: Ok, so the number is a little skewed but is anyone at all surprised? The number of terrorist attacks worldwide rose by 20,000 (40 percent) last year, mostly due to greater violence in Iraq. … Iraq alone accounts for nearly two-thirds of all terrorism-related deaths last year. I guess our presence there is truly making a difference! (it’s so hard to express sarcasm in written form…)

Heckle: This thinking would give anyone whiplash. Paul D. Wolfowitz defended himself vigorously on Monday, declaring that it would be ‘unjust and frankly hypocritical’ for the World Bank’s board to find him guilty of ethical lapses. But he also hinted that he would discuss whether to resign as bank president if the board cleared him of misconduct. Ok, he thinks he is innocent of ethical lapses, but he will consider resigning…..my head hurts….

Applaud: to someone finally saying what many of us have been thinking (and saying) for years. In states across the country, local lawyers, politicians, editorial writers, members of Congress and defendants are questioning what they say is a pattern of investigating Democrats. They point to inquiries that drag on for years but end with no charges, an acquittal or convictions for relatively modest infractions. To this I can only say, DUH ! , a perfect example of this is the Lewinsky ‘scandal’. When republicans could not get Bill Clinton on any ‘land deal’ issues they grabed for straws and hounded him over something that was a personal matter that had no bearing on his running of the country….and yet ‘King George’ goes unpunished for killing thousands of US Troops…

Applaud: Scott Bloch has demonstrated a willingness to go after Karl Rove, at least on the small stuff: The Los Angeles Times has learned that Bloch investigated complaints that Rove’s politically related travel had been improperly billed to the government. Bloch’s action resulted in a reimbursement to the Treasury Department for what some described as a “bookkeeping error.” You know had this not been raised no reimbursement would have occurred….how many more things need to be looked into for reimbursement, my fear is way too many with this White House....

Heckle: Heckle to the Deputy chief. Karl (Emperor Palpatine) Rove participated in a hastily called meeting at the White House two months ago to coach a top Justice Department official on what he should say to Congress about the prosecutorial purge. Investigators are suggesting that Rove’s attendance at the meeting shows that he may have been involved in an attempt to mislead Congress. No really, a top administration offical being involved in an effort to mislead Congress or an investigation, say it isn’t so! Once again it’s so hard to express sarcasm in the written form.

Heckle: Monkey see, Monkey do….. Michael Elston, the chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, made calls to the purged U.S. attorneys telling them to keep quiet about their dismissals. Elston recently told congressional investigators that those calls were placed at McNulty’s direction after he learned the prosecutors might testify before Congress about their dismissals. Do I relly need to say anything…

Heckle: It safe to say these guys don’t have a membership to the Museum of Natural History. At this weeks debate, three Republican presidential candidates — Sen. Sam Brownback, Rep. Tom Tancredo, and Gov. Mike Huckabee — said they do not believe in evolution. So I guess we just magically appeared on the planet…sign them up for Scientology!

Applaud: it’s about time. Lawmakers of both parties are making a new effort to pass a federal shield law to protect reporters from being forced to reveal their sources. Such protection would give government whistle-blowers more reason to reveal corruption when they know that reporters will be shielded in most cases from prosecutors’ efforts to reveal information. This can only be seen as a good thing by all, unless you are trying to mislead Congress….

Applaud: Go get em Henry! U.S. News reports, “One of [Rep. Henry] Waxman’s next objectives will be not only to examine false claims by administration officials to justify invading Iraq but also to expose people and companies that have profited disproportionately from the war”, congressional sources say. Hill Democrats think this line of inquiry will be explosive and will tarnish war proponents. All together now…Halliburton….

Heckle: I want what I want when and how I want it. Congressional leaders met President Bush at the White House this week to open negotiations on new Iraq legislation. Several Republican leaders said Tuesday that they were likely to “support such benchmarks”, and White House aides said Tuesday that Mr. Bush…might back such a measure — “but only if the benchmarks are nonbinding.” What a surprise, rhetoric with no accountability, the battlecry of this president.

Well folks there you have em, the few good and the many laughable, questionable or just plain sad.

Be good, stay informed….later.

Here Comes the Probe

Well it’s about friggin’ time…

The Office of Special Counsel is about to do what thousands of Americans have wanted to do for a very long time… stick a probe so far up Karl Rove’s ass that they find his head…

From the Washington Post:

“The Office of Special Counsel is preparing to jump into one of the most sensitive and potentially explosive issues in Washington, launching a broad investigation into key elements of the White House political operations that for more than six years have been headed by chief strategist Karl Rove.

The new investigation, which will examine the firing of at least one U.S. attorney, missing White House e-mails, and White House efforts to keep presidential appointees attuned to Republican political priorities, could create a substantial new problem for the Bush White House.”

One of the OSC’s primary reasons for existence is to enforce the Hatch Act, a law enacted in 1939 to preserve the integrity of the civil service…

Oops…

Obviously the office has been severely lacking in their enforcement and monitoring with the current administration, but now, with a plethora of problems plaguing Bush’s White House, they’re starting to find their courage and are about to embark on a quest that could have wide-reaching implications on many, many people.

One also has to think, and it’s what I believe, that with a Democratically-controlled Congress, all the “non-partisan” agencies within our government (I.E.: GAO, CBO, etc) have become a little more brave in their attempts to point out wrongdoing within the Bush(whacked) Administration.

Think about it… now they can get information to the chairpersons of the various committees in order to, at the least, get the hearing process underway without fear of retribution

So the OSC is going to investigate Rove and try to discover not only what knows, but also what he’s done

Now we only have to hope that Rove has a better memory than Alberto “Bush Still Likes Me” Gonzales… which is highly unlikely. But, in my opinion, I think Rove seems like one to back down from a real fight and will probably plead the fifth…

Stay tuned…

Update: I’ve read a lot of other posts about this today, and badgervan mentioned it in a couple of comments on this story.

I know a lot of people are skeptical of the head of OSC, Scott Bloch, and for good reason as he seems to be a BushCrony in the highest order (I’ll try and hide my surprise…)

But, as I mentioned above, I like the chances of something actually getting done because of the Democratic-controlled Congress.

Also, Mr. Bloch might be looking out for his own ass and doesn’t want to be hungh up to dry like Scooter and, sooner or later, Alberto…

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

Ok, it’s that time of the week again. Yep, the time tested, mother approved, patented….ok so it’s not patented….well anyway, it’s time for The Weekly Rewind.

Before we get to this weeks edition regular readers may be asking “Oh my god, it’s Scott! He’s posting again, where has he been?! Well I have had a number of things going on in my life the past 4 to 5 months that have been pretty stressful. I will write about those on my personal blog shortly for anyone who is interested. And while I may not have been writing and posting myself, Kemp and I talk almost daily and I have tried to keep my hands in with thoughts and opinions. To that point I must also say how much I appreciate Kemp having taken over and running everything for the past few months. He understood at the start many of the things I was dealing with and told me to not worry that he would run with things until I was ready to jump back in. He is a good man and a true friend.

Ok, now it’s time to hand out some applauds and heckles, please forgive me if I am a little rusty on the dive back into the fray.

Heckle: Finding someone who will volunteer to be a scapegoat. The White House wants to appoint someone to essentially be a “War Czar”. Good luck with that! I mena, look at the problems this administration is having with it's failing policy in Iraq and they think that someone is going to jumo at the chance to be named as an Assistant to the President, be given the 'power' to make decisions (again it's so hard to express sarcasm in the written form..) and then when things break bad (as if it could get worse) they would be the one that the White House would point to and blame for Georges ineptitude at running a 'war' that has now gone on longer than our countries actual involvement in WWII. Three retired Generals who have reportly been approached have flatly said 'NO'. Hopefully whoever ends up with this job asks for the giant tube of KY to make thier eventual ass reaming a little easier....maybe Scooter Libby wants the job.

Applaud: let’s keep this moving forward. This week the House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena to none other than Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The subpoena was issued as the committee has grown impatient with the Justice Departments delays in providing information deemed pertinent to the ongoing investigation of the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year. Those of us who think that Alberto will be totally open and honest with the committee, raise your hands……ok, now for the 70% of you who didn’t raise your hands, lets move on.

Heckle: Happy anniversary, now get out. On the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad and the toppling of Saddam’s statue, up to one million Iraqi Shias summoned by Moqtada al-Sadr “have gathered in the holy city of Najaf for a mass demonstration calling for US-led troops to leave Iraq. If you were looking for a sign, this would appear to be a big one.

Heckle: Straight from the horses mouth. The Washington Post interviews a man who helped sledgehammer Saddam’s statue: “We got rid of a tyrant and tyranny. But we were surprised that after one thief had left, another 40 replaced him. Now, we regret that Saddam Hussein is gone, no matter how much we hated him. I think this guy needs to do the Sunday morning talk show circuit.

Heckle: Say what? In a speech on Wednesday, perpetual Presidential Candidate John McCain (R-AZ) defended the ‘war’ in Iraq and stated that history will side with the President and the conflicts supporters. Nevermind that two-thirds of the country totally disagree with this viewpoint, and I have a feeling that number will grow before this is over. He also stated that the ‘war’ is “necessary and just”. I'm sorry, 'necessary'??

Heckle: Just when you thought the attack on civil liberties had taken a break. National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell has circulated a draft bill that would expand the government’s surveillance powers under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, liberalizing how that law can be used. The court-approved surveillance could include planting listening devices and hidden cameras, searching luggage and breaking into homes to make copies of computer hard drives. You know those e-mails of recipies from your aunt or the chain e-mails for good luck could actually harbor evil thoughts.

Applaud: We need more of this. Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca lambastes the Bush administration in his new book. “Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening?” Iacocca writes. “Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. … But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, ‘Stay the course.’ Ok, where are Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and the other new age ‘captains of industy’?

Heckle: more jobs lost. This week the financial services behemouth Citigroup announced it would cut 17,000 jobs and transfer 9,500 jobs to cheaper locations around the world. Now while 17,000 jobs being cut out a total worldwide workforce of 327,000 (operating in over 100 countries) doesn’t seem like much, nearly half (43 percent) of the positions being cut will be right here in the good ole U.S. of A. And if you think about it, the 9,500 transfers can also be counted as job cuts as those jobs will be moved oversees and will result in 9,500 less jobs here in our country. (Next time you hear the administration talk about how many jobs were created, you also need to remember and offset it with how many jobs were lost. But you never hear the administration make that comparison as it wouldn’t look that good now would it?)

Applaud: The continual awakening of the American public. A new Bloomberg/LA Times poll finds that six in 10 Americans expect a recession within a year and disapprove of President George W. Bush’s handling of the economy even though the unemployment rate is at a five-year low.

Applaud: Standing up to the bully. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have rebuffed an invitation to meet at the White House with the President to discuss congressional funding bills for the ‘war’ in Iraq and Afghanistan. Stating that since Bush has set ‘preconditions’ for any discussions (meaning it’s my way or the highway) any meeting would be an exercise in futility. In case you have been living under a rock recently, Congress wants to pass funding bills with timetables for troop withdrawls, while Bush states that any timetable will force him to veto the bills. Each side says they support the troops, but as we have pointed out before they have very different ways of showing support.

Applaud: Just say no to Fox News Channel. Sens. John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton are not taking part in the Fox News presidential debate cosponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus. Why participate in an event where you know what the outcome is going to be before it even starts. Fair and Balanced my ass.

Heckle: What a surprise. President Bush has threatened to veto a Senate intelligence bill that’s inudated with provisions that would force the White House and spy agencies to be more responsive to Congress. Wow, what a concept, holding governmental actions to a standard of responsibility!

And finally this week’s Wingnut Tool(s) of the Week. Karl “If I were the King of the Forest” Rove. Who this week, through his attorney, on the topic of deleting e-mails from a Republican-sponsored computer system stated that his understanding “was that those e-mails were being archived” in accordance with the law. Nevermind the fact that these e-mails may be pertinent to the ongoing investigation into the firing of US attorney last year due to questions of administration loyalty. It was also disclosed that the Justice Department (co-tools) took political activism and membership in a conservative law group into account when evaluating our nations federal prosecutors. I guess it’s not enough to do your job and do it well, you gotta suck up and suck hard….

Well that’s it for this week. As I said, it’s my first time back in the saddle in a while, it feel good to be back, but if you will give me a week or two to get back into the swing of things, I am sure I will be back in true form.

Be good, stay informed, later…..

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…

Wrong again Dubya...

- Updated Below-

During this whole attorney-canning fiasco both “President” Bush and Karl “President” Rove argued that the administration’s U.S. attorney purge was a “normal” and “ordinary” process that was also carried out not only by President Clinton, but also by President Reagan.

While a plethora of Liberal blogs (like Think Progress) have written that that wasn’t true, it was falling on the deaf ears of conservative pundits who used it as their rallying cry…

Well, they can stop the rallying and start the crying as the fat lady has sung. The Congressional Research Service, CRS, has nailed that possibility shut when they released a report earlier this week that examined the tenure of all U.S. Attorneys that were confirmed by the Senate between the years 1981 and 2006 (from Reagan, Bush #1, Clinton and Bush #2 – how fitting –) in order to determine how many had served and how many of them had been forced to resign for reasons other than an administration change.

The answer is, shall we say, enlightening…

Of the 468 attorney confirmations made by the Senate over that 25-year period, a total of 10 left office involuntarily (prior to the firings that took place in December of course) for reasons other than a change in administration… you read that right; ten. Ten out of 468… why, that’s less than 2%…

‘It was done by every President before me’ Dubya implies… to that I say; “Wronggggggg! That’s wronnngggg!”

Furthermore, in almost every case there were issues of actual personal or professional conduct that seemed to be the issue prompting the axing… (there’s a concept for ya) and was not a retaliation for not playing ball or going against the grain of the party in charge.

This situation perfectly illustrates not only how much this administration lies, but also the fact that the administration pushed out close to as many U.S. Attorneys in December alone that had been let go total over the past 25 years…

Should this action come as a surprise from this administration?
Absolutely not…

Will it actually have any effect on the way this administration operates?

Perhaps…

Will it allow the Democratically-controlled House and Senate to show Bush that he can no longer unilaterally operate anymore?

Most likely…

Will it make Bush actually change his ways?Abso-fuckin-lutely not… nothing will.

But it should give us some interesting and entertaining viewing for the next few weeks… so stay tuned…

UPDATE: The Bush(whacked) Administration is working overtime to make AttorneyGate disappear… but instead they’re making it look more and more like Watergate.

Most of us remember the 18-minute gap in the Watergate tapes? Well, now it seems that Bush has his own gap of 18… but his version is 18 days.

Researchers have discovered an 18-day gap in the 3,000 documents on the U.S. Attorney purge released this week by the Justice Department, with the gap extending from mid-November to early December, which was a “critical period as the White House and Justice Department reviewed, then approved, which U.S. attorneys would be fired…” all while developing a political and communications strategy that would counter any possible fallout from the firings.

One of the last emails before the gap is from AG Alberto Gonzales’ ex-COS Kyle Sampson to then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers, that asked, “Who will determine whether this requires the president’s attention?”

CNN’s Ed Henry noted that to White House spokesman Tony Snow, and Snow once again refused to explain the gap and told reporters, “I’ve been led to believe that there’s a good response for it,” before adding that “President” Bush has “no recollection of this ever being raised with him.”

Spin away boys… spin away… the more you do, the worse it will all be when the other shoe drops…

The Weekly Rewind

It’s (finally!) the end to a very busy week. Hopefully next week will slow-down a bit. Anyhow, even though we weren’t able to post much this week, we still have this weeks Weekly Rewind, enjoy:

Applaud: to the American public. An overwhelming number of polled Americans, 67% to be precise, don’t want “President” Bush to pardon Scooter Libby. 67… as opposed to the 21% who are absolute morons believe he should (It’s things like this that give me some hope for the common sense of America coming back… )

Heckle: to CNN’s Glenn Beck. Speaking of Hillary Clinton (D-NY), the conservative schmuck commentator said that she is the; “stereotypical bitch”… (People in glass houses Glenn… people in glass houses)

Applaud: to the American public… again… 85% of Americans think that global warming is an important or critical threat and that something needs to be done sooner rather than later, which falls in line with a new poll that finds widespread agreement in 17 countries across the world that say climate change is a pressing problem… now, if only we could get conservatives to see the damn writing on the wall, maybe something could actually get done…

Heckle: to being involved more than they’re letting on. Emails have been leaked that point towards Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales being involved in discussions of a radical shake-up of U.S. Attorneys around the country… this comes amid a growing call for Gonzales’ resignation, Gonzales’ COS, Kyle Sampson, resigning earlier this week… and now, one of the purged attorneys, John McKay, believes a a special prosecutor should be appointed to investigate the entire matter… (this whole thing is funny to me, from the gop trying to claim Clinton did it when he clearly did not, members of the gop asking for the AG to resign, the use of “hazy memories” coming from the White House, the Justice Department saying they would have kept the attorneys on staff… it’s pathetic. But like the Libby trial, it’s a perfect example of the way this administration works. January 20, 2009 can NOT come fast enough…)

Applaud: to republican number 1… no, wait… number 2… no, wait… number 3. Three republicans, Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) & Rep. Dana Rohrbacher (R-CA), have now joined the chorus of Democrats calling for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales… it’s only a matter of time…

Heckle: to the Senate rejection of a Democratic-led resolution aimed at withdrawing most American combat troops from Iraq in 2008 even though a similar measure advanced in the House. An applaud within a heckle to the Senate Democratic leaders who have vowed to keep challenging “President” Bush’s strategy (or lack thereof) in Iraq. (This is insane… this wasn’t going to ‘cut and run’ as the gop so inanely puts it… this was a gradual withdrawal of troops over time… and now even that’s been destroyed. What’s it gonna take for these people to see that Iraq is unwinable??

Applaud: to Senators John Warner (R-VA) and Ben Nelson (D-NE). They’re drafting a joint resolution on Iraq that would consider a “phased redeployment” of U.S. troops. The resolution is contingent on the White House proving that the current escalation strategy has worked… and they’re giving them until September to prove it… (Interesting strategy… this could very well be the only thing that works with the cockiness that this administration has shown throughout its time in office. The only problem though, is I have to believe that this resolution will become as toothless and useless as every other resolution that’s been designed to help the U.S. eventually get out of Iraq… and for that I blame not only republicans, but the Blue Dogs, who seem to have it in their mind that the War in Iraq is a good thing… stay tuned for this one…)

Heckle: to idiotic veto threats with inane reasoning over a bill that is, quite frankly, too damn important to be held up . “President” Bush is threatening to veto a bill that would implement “many of the remaining reforms suggested by the Sept. 11 commission.” Why the veto threat? Because of a provision that would “expand the labor rights of 45,000 airport screeners.” Ignoring the fact that the Senate voted 60-38 to approve legislation that saw ten republicans cross party lines, Bush’s threaten of a veto is not only idiotic, but sophomoric and troubling, certainly more troubling than presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) skipping the vote so he could fundraise in California, but troubling all the same. This bill would make the country safer… isn’t that what republicans are supposed to be better at than Democrats???

Applaud: to allowing the public to see what is going on… with broad bipartisan support, the House passed three bills that are going to “roll back administration efforts to shield its workings” from the American public as the measures will “streamline access to records in presidential libraries, expand safeguards for government whistle-blowers, and strengthen the Freedom of Information Act,” (The going-ons in the federal government are our business and we should be allowed to see what’s going on… about time someone noticed that this administration was doing its hardest to shield itself…)

Heckle: to the government flipping-off the city of New Orleans… again. The Army Corps of Engineers, who were hurrying to meet Bush’s promise to protect New Orleans by the start of the 2006 hurricane season, “installed defective flood-control pumps” last year even though they were warned by one of their own experts who said the “equipment would fail during a storm.” (I don’t even know where to begin…)

Applaud: to someone hopefully clearing things up a little. Outed CIA agent Valerie Plame is on Capitol Hill today giving her side of the leak story… all I’ll say is; let the chips fall where they may, but when she says and does things like accusing the White House and State Department of "carelessly and recklessly" destroying her cover for political purpose… people are gonna listen…

Heckle: to Haliburton moving their base of operations to Dubai. Senate Commerce Committee member Byron Dorgan (D-ND) asked earlier this week; “I want to know, is Halliburton trying to run away from bad publicity on their contracts? Are they trying to run away from the obligation to pay U.S. taxes? Or are they trying to set up a corporate presence in Dubai so that they can avoid the restrictions that currently exist on doing business with prohibited countries like Iran?” (Uh… let’s see…I think I can succinctly answer this question; yes)

Applaud: to doing things by the letter of the law. Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald was asked to appear on Capitol Hill to give testimony about the Plame-outing, but he said he did “not believe it would be appropriate for me to offer opinions…about the ultimate responsibility of senior White House officials for the disclosure of Ms. Wilson’s identity.” (very classy Fitz, very classy indeed. Question; could anyone have seen Ken Starr doing that? I didn’t think so…)

Heckle: to Fox “News”. Just on general principles alone…

Applaud: to picking up the slack for a temporarily sidelined colleague. A handful of Democratic senators have been holding fundraisers for Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) as he convalesces from a December brain hemorrhage.

Heckle: to the White House for just not getting it… and for being dumb enough to NOT cover their tracks regarding PlameGate. The Director of the Office of Security at the White House, Dr. James Knodell, told a Capitol Hill committee that the White House never ordered a probe, report, or imposed sanctions as a result of the outing of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame. (Talk about ego… Every politician knows to cover their tracks if they do something wrong– unless you’re so goddamned smug and egotistical that you don’t think you’ll ever get caught. All I can think of to say is this warning; karma’s a bitch boys, you better watch out)

And finally… what have the 2008 Presidential nominees been up to this week? Clinton has found a new strategy regarding Iraq, including keeping some troops stationed there… Richardson is pondering legalizing medicinal marijuana… Edwards is calling for the creation of a new cabinet position aimed at fighting poverty… Obama is vowing to not get personal in the campaign… On the gop side, McCain has stuck his foot in his mouth again, but quickly apologized… Romney has publicly condemned the comments about homosexuals made by JCOS Chairman Pace, but remained silent when Ann Coulter called Edwards a “faggot”, interesting isn’t it… Brownback agreed with Pace…Giuliani’s lobbying firm has ties with Hugo Chavez…

Take ‘em as you will...

Guilty

If you've been living under a rock for the last 24 hours or so, you probably don't know that Scooter Libby was found guilty on four of five counts in his trial of outing CIA agent, Valerie Wilson, and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of $1 million with a presentencing report hearing scheduled for June 5.

Naturally, Libby's attorneys are vowing to either seek a new trial, or, failing that, appeal ing the jury's verdict.

The breakdown of counts:

Count 1 (Obstruction): GUILTY
Count 2 (Perjury): GUILTY
Count 3 (False Statement): NOT GUILTY
Count 4 (Perjury): GUILTY
Count 5 (Perjury): GUILTY

This is a major strike at the entire Bush(whacked) Administration... a point that was eloquently brought home by House Speaker, NancyPelosi (D-CA);

"Today's guilty verdicts are not solely about the acts of one individual. This trial provided a troubling picture of the inner workings of the Bush Administration. The testimony unmistakably revealed – at the highest levels of the Bush Administration – a callous disregard in handling sensitive national security information and a disposition to smear critics of the war in Iraq."

Well said, Madame Speaker.

Is Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald finished with his investigations? Will the investigation go deeper?

These are questions I am sure will be answered in the days and weeks to come, so stay tuned.

And, this being the United States where a juror on a massive trial such as this can become a 15-minute celebrity, we already have heard from one of the jurors.

While all of the jurors in the trial were certain of Libby's guilt, they also had a little sympathy for him as well because most, if not all, saw him as the "fall guy."

After the verdict, juror Denis Collins told reporters, “It was said a number of times, ‘What are we doing with this guy here? Where’s [Karl] Rove … where are these other guys?‘”

Interesting question there Denis... where are the others?

As always... stay tuned.