Is Dick screwed?

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

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

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

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

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

Mr. Waxman pointed out three such incidents…

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

The Weekly Rewind

It’s that time again… The. Weekly. Rewind… but before we begin, some changes are coming here at TBWA… a new look and… well, really that’s it… but isn’t that exciting enough???

Well... it is for Scott and I…

So in the next few days you can expect to see some changes here, but we’ll still be doing our thing, that will never change…

You may all read in awe… or mass indifference… whichever you prefer.

Applaud: to knowing how to make our point. Liberal leftwing blogs are more likely to use profanity than conservative rightwing blogs by a ratio of 18 to one. To that I say, effin’ a!!!

Heckle: to porous reasoning. Vice President Dick “Dick” Cheney said earlier this week that a “too-soon withdrawal” from Iraq could make the war in Afghanistan worse. (Actually, what I think could make that war worse is pulling troops out of there to escalate the war in Iraq, but that’s neither here nor there. The real reason for this heckle is the fear campaign that this administration is waging once again… give it up Dick. It hasn’t worked in the past; I doubt it will work now…)

Applaud: to the jury at the Scooter Libby trial, who are expectd to deliberate into next week, as they’re progressing in the trial and getting the weekend off… they’ve asked the judge for a plethora of office supplies which they’ve received, but were denied a dictionary. So far, save for one, they’ve all done what they had been instructed to do, let’s hope it continues and in the end someone from this administration is sent to jail… at least until Bush pardons them at the end of his term… which can NOT come soon enough.

Heckle: to censorship. According to an article in the Army Times, soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Medical Hold Unit say they have been told that they must not speak to the media. Soldiers said an official told them that “they must follow their chain of command when asking for help with their medical evaluation paperwork, or when they spot mold, mice or other problems in their quarters.”Army Military reporter James Crawley says yesterday’s Army Times revelation “that Walter Reed patients had been barred from speaking with reporters is not the first case of tightened restrictions. In recent months, he says several MRE members have reported similar crackdowns. What’s worse, many of the denials are apparently in reaction to the potential negativity of a planned story.”

Applaud: to (finally!) trying to get something done in Iraq. House Democratic leaders have (finally!) agreed to legislation that would require troops to come home from Iraq within six months if the country’s leaders don’t help reduce violence there. “The plan would retain a Democratic proposal prohibiting the deployment to Iraq of troops with insufficient rest or training or who already have served there for more than a year. Under the plan, such troops could only be sent to Iraq if President Bush waives those standards and reports to Congress each time.”

Heckle: to the fact that close to “90% of National Guard units in the US are rated “not ready” because of escalation issues, budget costs and supply shortfalls and are jeopardizing their ability to respond to crises at home and abroad… but this administration is all about keeping us as a nation safe… yes Virgina, I am being sarcastic…

Applaud: to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) for this quote: “You can’t catch a socially transmitted disease by sitting down with people who hold ideas that are different than yours.” (very well said Governor… very well said… I don’t know what’s more surprising; that I’m applauding Gov. Schwarzenegger or saying that he said something well?)

Heckle: to really bad intel. For five years, the Bush(whacked) Administration has pointed fingers at North Korea and accused them of developing enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb, straining tensions with a country that we should not be straining relationships with. We cut off aid to the country and they responded by throwing out international inspectors, building up their plutonium arsenal and producing a nuke. Now comes word that the administration is admitting (albeit very, very VERY quietly) that its intelligence may have been faulty… (Allow me to give my shocked face at this bit of news… One has to think, had the U.S. not so loudly accused them of enriching uranium, would they have become so hell-bent on creating a Nuke? One (with a brain) would have to think the answer would be ‘no.’ Kim Jong Ill is crazy… but he’s not mad)

Applaud: that the number of female politicians around the world is currently at 17%, which is an increase of 6 percentage points in the last decade. (I perceive this as good news, though my brother would say; ‘Someone didn’t show-up for work today…’ Emails can be sent to…)

Heckle: to the media. When Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says “We have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted,” we get a media firestorm… when republican presidential candidate John McCain says “We've wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives,” we get nothing… we get crickets chirping and tumbleweeds tumbling down the street. Here’s some advice. YOU, the media, does not pick the president, the American people do. Why don’t you report on both parties with equality and let US decide… fuckin’ media idiots…

Applaud: to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) who said earlier this week that he would support legislation by Sen. James Webb (D-VA) that would bar a “U.S. attack on Iran” unless Congress gave “President” Bush a green light. (As has become a common saying on this site; I’ll believe it when I see it…)

Heckle: to more moronic quotes from White House spokesman Tony “Job of” Snow. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (New motto: We Hate Everyone) Snow said that the Bush Administration “didn't create the war in Iraq.” (and Tony will admit to smoking crack when?)

Applaud: to Ambassador Tim Carney, one of the U.S. coordinators for Iraq’s reconstruction, was interviewed on NPR earlier this week. During the interview, he said that the post-war decision to exclude Iraqis from governing the country was “incompetent, foolish, dubious in all of its aspects.” (Nice… always happy to see people tell the truth about the incompetent handling of the war and its aftermath. It should also be known that the White House shipped out Carney to Baghdad recently so they could avoid his testimony before a congressional committee and not be able to give interviews … oops, guess the administration forgot that in this day and age, interviews don’t have to be done on-site…)

<Heckle: to “President” Bush and his budget cuts. Despite 84% supporting the expansion of the Childrens’ Health Insurance Program so it covers all uninsured children, Bush has proposed cutting funding for the program. Add to that the fact that 56% of Americans think the federal government has a responsibility to provide health care for all… (And yet… nothing is happening. He talked big about it during the SOTU, but since then – nothing. Smoke and mirrors only work if you’re good at it George…and you and your administration are NOT good at it)

Applaud: to the administration being proven wrong… again. Earlier this week, U.S. officials displayed bombmaking parts that were said to have been transported by Iran into Iraq. The problem was the cache of arms included boxes that appeared to contain shipments of tubes that came directly from factories in the Middle East and, well, none of them in Iran… (That has to be like, what, strike 22 for proving Iran is behind the insurgency in Iraq?? Give it up guys… ya ain’t gonna be able to tie them together…)

Heckle: to, once again, “President” Bush. This one is for stating his intention to veto a “broad counterterrorism bill” that would implement many of the remaining recommendations of the 9/11 commission. (The man is a tool. Do you want to know why he wants to veto it? Because the legislation would extend union protection to 45,000 federal airport screeners… and heaven knows we can’t have that…)

Applaud: to the House for passing, with a vote of 241-185, the Employee Free Choice Act, thus making it easier for workers to organize while at the same time establishing stronger penalties for employers who intimidate workers. A similar bill will be intro’d in the Senate by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) within the next few weeks. (republicans must hate this Act since it will make it easier to create their horror of horrors… unions)

And finally… a recap of this week’s happenings regarding the 2008 Presidential race… African-Americans are starting to swing to Obama, Clinton forgot to include a family-charity on Senate disclosure forms… Edwards is learning that you don’t always speak the truth on the stump… Edwards is unsure about public money should he win the nom…and Vilsack is still bitter about having to drop out. On the republican side Romney smeared Giuliani on “The 700 Club” (Yeah, but HE was on 700 Club)… Giuliani reaffirms his core beliefs (and yes, they are conservative beliefs)… Romney’s campaign tries to cover-up a leaked strategy memo… Huckabee is still trying to showcase himself as a real candidate (Good luck)… ditto for Hunter… and McCain officially announced his candidacy while still pandering to anyone who will listen.

Take ‘em as you will...

The Weekly Rewind

It’s Friday, you all know what that means… it’s time for our ever-popular, ever-knowing feature; The Weekly Rewind… long-winded edition.

Applaud: to low polling numbers for the President and the Vice President. According to a new Harris Interactive Poll, “President” Bush’s approval is hovering at 32%, while Dick “Dick” Cheney’s numbers have him at an all-time Vice-Presidential low at 29% approval. (Hee hee hee hee… I love when hubris come back to bite people in the ass. What is it I used to say a lot here? Oh yeah… ‘Karma, baby!’)

Heckle: to the Department of Homeland Security for failing to tell Congress how the department is spending billions of dollars on major programs that run the gamut from aviation security to Gulf Coast rebuilding. (Checks and balances? What checks and balances???)

Applaud: to the republicans who are supporting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s right to travel back and forth from DC on a military plane, like her republican predeccesor, Dennis Hastert (R-IL) did. According to the New York Times (new motto: all our reporters are now out of prison), a lot of republicans were put off by the flight fight. Said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL) “This is a bunch of baloney.” Rep Jeff Flake (R-AZ) followed that up by declaring; “Next week, we are going to steal their mascot and short-sheet their beds.” Now the White House is backing Ms. Pelosi with Spokesman Tony “Job” Snow saying in a briefing earlier this week: “This is a silly story, and I think it's been unfair to the speaker.” (I never thought I would say this, but nicely said Mr. Snow. This is a non-story that is being brought up by a slew of junior gop representatives who apparently have absolutely nothing better to do but criticize something that their former leader did and something aimed at protecting the SECOND person in the Presidential line of succession. To everyone who is making this molehill into a mountain; STFU)

Heckle: to the Bush(whacked) administration. According to the bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the administration, in its elan to secure the nation’s borders and slow the flow of illegal immigrants, might be leaving asylum seekers vulnerable to deportation and harsh treatment. (I’m sorry, what were the principles this country was founded on?)

Applaud: that all 435 House members will be allowed to view the classified version of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq which should provide some much-needed “fuel for a House debate” on Iraq and escalation next week where every single Rep. “will be given five minutes to speak” on Bush’s escalation plan. (Bush has to be feeling scared now… things are seemingly starting to slowly unravel regarding his build-up for not only the escalation plan, but for the whole Iraq war… makes one smile ear to ear…)

Heckle: to news that should not be a surprise to anyone with a brain. The Pentagon’s Inspector General has found that Donald Rumsfeld’s aide Douglas Feith’s rogue pre-war inteligence group was an “inappropriate” use of intelligence by Pentagon civilians, and was also “predisposed to finding a significant relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda.” (I am shocked… shocked to find gambling going on in this establishment…). Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), the Senate intel chairman, vows that his panel will probe whether the Pentagon broke the law by “failing to notify Congress about the group’s work.” (This is definitely a step in the right direction, though one has to wonder if anything will actually be done… I guess only time will tell… and remember, you read it here first second third again…)

Applaud: to “widespread” dissatisfaction. A lot of voting conservatives say they pick “none of the above” when faced with the options of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MT) and Rudy Giuliani (R-NY) as the 2008 republican presidential nominee. Such dissatisfaction with the leading Republican presidential candidates is widespread among the party's conservative stalwarts and should make this presidential election the most contested in decades.

Heckle: to Budget waste. “President” Bush’s proposed budget includes a slew of high-cost weapons that will not even be in operation for years to come, thus using a funding request aimed at supporting the troops to actually get money for some of the Pentagon’s pet projects… (and the White House and Pentagon have the audacity to say people against escalation and the budget don’t care about our servicemen/women… give me a break. I’m all for making new weapons to help our military, but right now, in the middle of fighting two wars and possibly a third with Iran, instead of funding tools that cant be used now, how about giving them the best of what we have now. Or would that make too much sense?)

Applaud: to the Fark.com political headline of the week: “Rice grilled over lack of smoking gun in allegations against Iran. Critics demand evidence, saffron”

Heckle: to Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) for announcing that he will be skipping a forum for Democratic presidential candidates in Nevada later this month, despite assertions that seven other announced or expected Democratic candidates, including Hillary Clinton (D-NY) & John Edwards (D-SC), will participate in the forum. Obama’s campaign spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said that they couldn’t fit the forum into his itinerary. (This is disappointing… this is the first chance for a lot of people in this country to see Obama with the other cast of characters and thus giving them the chance to start thinking about whom they want as the Democratic nominee… Personally, I think his campaign team should do some re-shuffling in order to make sure Senator Obama can be at this forum…)

Applaud: to becoming spectators instead of players. With neither a president seeking reelection nor a vice president being a presumptive nominee, the Bush(whacked) Administration has been turned into mere spectators for the 2008 presidential election. Ya think the gop wishes they could have had their 2000 VP nomination back instead of giving it to someone who they had to have known would not run for the big office in ’08. Personally, I think the fact they even chose Cheney in the first place shows just how much the gop was not confidant in Bush’s ability to run the country…

Heckle: to lying liars… Last week in the Rewind I applauded a White House proposal to increase Pell Grants. While it was announced and meeted with great fanfare last week, Dubya’s FY08 budget contains no new money to pay for it… (Bat rastards…)

Applaud: to Democratic presidential candidate and former governor Tom Vilsack (D-IA). No particular reason other than the fact he needs a little reassurance, doesn’t he? He’s gonna be this race’s Dennis Kucinich…

Heckle: to republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R-MT). No particular reason other than the fact he needs a little smackdown, doesn’t he?

Applaud: to resting cases. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald wrapped up his portion of the Scooter Libby trial this week… a week that saw jurors hearing Libby’s grand jury audiotapes in which Libby claimed he learned about Valerie Plame’s CIA identity from Vice President Cheney, and that he then “forgot it, then learned it again” from Tim Russert (who said is was “impossible” for him to have told Libby about Plame). It was also revealed this past week that Cheney was “upset” at Ambassador Wilson for his criticism about the lead-up to the Iraq war. (All of this stuff coming out… and it’s getting more and more interesting…)

That’s all I got, take ‘em as you will and have a good weekend. Later.

He’s at it again

Once again, despite getting stopped in his tracks the last time, “President” Bush has set his sights on the dastardly evils over at PBS by slashing funding for NPR and PBS in his new budget and thus enacting devastating cuts to public broadcasting.

How devastating?

Consider that Commander Cuckoo-Bananas’ budget would cut federal funds for public broadcasting by almost 25% and, according to PBS, the cuts could mean the end of their ability to support some of the most treasured educational children's series, not to mention the myriad of adult programming, and that’s not even bringing up how destructive the cuts would be to NPR.

Now comes the troubling part; Bush has tried this before… he tried it when he had a friendly, republican-controlled Congress. It didn’t work then, what the hell makes him think this Congress will approve these cuts? How stupid does he think we are anyway

Bush knows that this won’t get through Congress, and yet, he’s proposing these cuts in order to add to the illusion that he can wipe out the massive deficits (that he and his administration have created!) within five years… the problem is that his numbers (no matter how much “fuzzy math” you use) just don’t add up.

I think this whole thing is a ploy…

Humor me for a moment and think about this; he’s proposed this budget to slash PBS/NPR funding, and when the Democrats restore funding to these programs, Bush will be able to point to the Democrats and accuse them of not wanting to eradicate the deficit…

Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but I doubt I’m the only one.

With this latest attack on PBS, Bush’s budget has come under attack by, like last time, MoveOn who is leading the charge to protect Elmo and “All Things Considered”.

While I am not a huge fan of MoveOn (they do some good but, like the ACLU, they do tend to go too far), click on their link to sign their petition to rescue PBS.

After you sign your own petition, please forward the information and the link to your all of your Progressive/Liberal family and friends.

We banded together to stop these cuts once, and we can do it again.

Here we go a-budgeting

I’m going to forgo the fact that a group of republicans have stalled the debate on an Iraq troop increase or the “shocking” revelation that the Iraq vote could have a deep impact on the 2008 Presidential election (that’s some crack journalistic work there guys… I’m sure that tidbit caught everyone by surprise… as I’ve always say; it’s hard to express sarcasm in the written word?) or the fact that Katherine Harris just refuses to accept the truth that her political career is over and instead focus on something else today; the budget.

“President” Bush submitted his budget to the Democratically-controlled Congress Monday that has four substantial volumes and will now kick off what I’m sure will be months and months (and months) of debate.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Democrats have already made clear the fact that they have considerably different views on spending and taxes

Bush’s budget comes in at a whopping $2.90 trillion (yes, you saw that right; trillion with a ‘t’) that essentially screws the middle-class with their collective pants on…

Consider (hat tip to Think Progress):

• $77 billion in funding cuts for Medicare and Medicaid over the next five years - $280 billion over the next 10 (This won’t come back to bite us on the ass I’m sure)
• $223 million in funding cuts) to the Children’s Health Insurance Program which represents a 4% decrease from this year’s levels (Damn kids should get jobs and pay for their own insurance)
• $4.9 billion, cut in education, training, employment and social services grants (cause none of these things is imporant when our econmy is oh-so-good…)
• $100 million cut for Head Start, which provides child development services to economically disadvantaged children and families (Nice…)
• $2.4 billion cut in community and regional development grants that often provide funding for low- and middle-income communities (because if a community can’t sustain itself, they shouldn’t be allowed to exist… right?)
• $400 million cut in the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program that provides $2.2 billion to help people pay their heating bills (not really needed since heating a home is oh-so-cheap anymore…)
• $172 million cut in funding for housing for low-income seniors (They don’t need any help since they’ll have social secuirty to rely on… right?)

I apologize for my sarcasm… it’s just that this is getting ridiculous…

Bush's spending plan would make his first-term tax cuts permanent, at a cost of $1.6 trillion over 10 years

Bush maintains that he had made the right choices to keep the nation secure from terrorism and also to keep the economy growing (growing?)

Don’t worry though, despite Bush essentially saying ‘screw you’ to the Middle class, he’s doing the exact opposite regarding the wealthy as, according to Tax Policy Center notes, “People with incomes of more than $1 million would get tax cuts averaging $162,000 a year in perpetuity.”

Originally, the White House had projected a deficit of $244 billion.

Democrats, however, challenged those projections, contending that Bush only achieves a surplus by leaving out the billions of dollars Congress is expected to spend to keep the alternative minimum tax from ensnaring millions of middle-class taxpayers.

Said the “President” about his budget; “My formula for a balanced budget reflects the priorities of our country at this moment in its history: protecting the homeland and fighting terrorism, keeping the economy strong with low taxes and keeping spending under control while making federal programs more effective.”

I prefer Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND)’s take; "The president's budget is filled with debt and deception, disconnected from reality and continues to move America in the wrong direction.” Couldn’t have said it any better myself Senator Conrad…. Thank you.