I am sure there are letter templates for others as well

Ok, this letter is a little far-fetched ..... or is it?

Don't worry girls, you can take over "The Simple Life" from Paris and Nicole.

Granted, we would like to see a 'REAL' letter for Scotty 'Don't call me Ari' McClellan and Donald 'What the hell are the generals whining about now' Rumsfeld, but we'll take what we can get as long as the Bush Administration continues to drag down the rest of the GOP and slowly drowns itself under the weight of its own egotism.

Ever Arrogant

"I believe this decision today is not in accordance with the kind of public service that I have provided to the people of Illinois over the last 40 years"....."And needless to say, I am disappointed with the outcome."

Former Illinois Governor George Ryan speaking to the media after a jury found him guilty on 22 indictment counts against him in a 6 month long corruption trial.

Funny but it doesn't sound like a person who was wrongly convicted proclaiming his innocence. It sounds more like someone who is guilty trying to justify his wrongdoing.

Or am I just oversimplifying this to much?

The Week Ahead

Following the “guilty-on-all-counts” verdict of former Illinois Governor George Ryan, here’s a few things to keep in mind as this week gets under way…

• The new sheriff in town is promising a “shake-up” in the administration as new White House Chief of Staff Joshua “No relation to Michael damn-it” Bolten has given clues to possible staff shake-ups after his first meeting with Senior Staff ended today. Expect more on this as the week continues… my guess for first one out is Press Secretary Scott “Slowly losing my mind” McClellan. Hopefully Bolten is referring to a more significant shake-up than the one that resulted with him being named COS.
• Debate regarding U.N. sanctions against Iran will get more serious and more heated this week as we’ve had a long weekend to wrap our heads around the fact that the country has ‘enriched uranium.’ Here’s a question for you; seeing as how they folded like origami in regards to Iraq, will the Senate (both sides thank you very much) rebuff and stand up to “President” Bush in regards to Iran? We’ll see, but I sincerely doubt it. What about the U.N.? Again… I doubt it.
• As seven retired generals call for Rumsfeld to resign, his “firm grip on the Defense Department is slipping” as officers are now starting to question his judgment publicly. Because of this, expect the calls for ‘Rummy’ to resign to do one of two (rather obvious) things this week; quiet down to a whisper… or build to a fever-pitch. As I stated in an earlier post… Bush won’t fire him… and he won’t resign under pressure. Stay tuned…
• Congress is still on recess this week… that sound you hear in DC are lobbyists going through a mild case of withdraw.
• Disapproval of the “President” could drive a GOP ousting in November’s mid-terms. According to an article in WaPo, a GOP pollster stated: “Democrats will have an easier time of getting out their vote because of their intense disapproval of the president. That means we Republicans are going to have to bring our ‘A’ turnout game in November.” Bring their ‘A’ game? What’s next? Win one for the Gipper?? Seriously though, he’s right, the Democrats have an excellent chance to win back the majority if they can do what I and hundreds of other Liberal bloggers have said… get united behind a message, an agenda and the candidates and act damn it!
• Life after being an exterminator and a Congressman can be XX too. Look to soon-to-be-former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) as an example. Lobbyists in DC are saying that DeLay could be a strategic lobbying dynamo (does that come with tights and a cape??? Ugh, there’s an image I could have done without) with many lobbyists saying he has the skills to get the job done. Well sure, he’s already shown that he’s adapt at lying, looking out for yourself, cronyism, and behaving with an amazing lack of ethos.
• The Bush Budget is slashing the budget of National Parks with the administration ordering America's national parks to give proof that they can function at 80% of their operating budgets, causing some parks to cut services… despite summer approaching fast.
• From Thinkprogess, keep an eye on this as it will alter how things are done in the if it’s passed: “Conservatives in Congress are resorting to gimmickry to try to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. ‘A Senate rule designed to make it harder to increase the deficit would be circumvented with a maneuver that would end up increasing the deficit. And a tax cut for wealthier Americans that would cost $50 billion over 10 years would be ‘paid for’ in part by another tax cut for the well-off, which would end up costing billions more.’” Conservatives using subterfuge to get what they want?? I’m sorry, I can’t except that… I just can’t… unscruoulous morons.
• Is Tony Blair snubbing Dubya? The Huffington Post certainly thinks he is as he has canceled an upcoming visit to the U.S…. lest he have his picture taking with Dubya and mar his image in the U.K. even more. Now it seems that the only people who will shake-hands and do photo-ops with the “President” are either desperate… or are dictators… or even desperate dictators. Watch this as it unfolds this week as it will be harbinger of things to come in England (like which party will stay in power) and in the U.S.
• When I heard about this I honestly yelled “What!!??” It seems Nebraska has built a time machine and has gone back to the 1960’s as the state legislature has divided the Omaha school system into three districts: “one mostly black, one predominantly white and one largely Hispanic.” The debate about this is sure to get louder as this week continues… and rightfully so; talk about the wrong message to send to children.

Stay tuned…

They have reached a verdict- Part 2

GUILTY !!

Former Illinois Governor George Ryan and friend and lobbyist Larry Warner have been found guilty on all charges against them.

They have reached a verdict

Breaking news in Chicago is that jurors have reached a verdict in the criminal trial of former Governor George Ryan and his friend Larry Warner. They are on trial to answer charges of Racketeering Conspiracy, Mail and Tax Fraud among others.

TBWA first wrote about this trial way back when we were a fledgling blog. It's been a long road, but the trial is now nearing completion. (This phase anyway....you know there will be an appeal)

We will follow up once a verdict is announced later today.

The Weekly Rewind

It's the end of another week. We all know what that means.

The Weekly Rewind... rewind... rewind... (did anyone else hear that echo...echo...echo...?)

Take 'em as you will... the Weekly Rewind starts in "Bush's America"... [rimshot]...

...right now! [plink]

Sigh, well, that's what happens when you buy a gong off of ebay...

Applaud: to military-types that haven’t drunk the Kool-Aid and are calling for Secretary of Defense Donald “sorry, I'm too tired to make up a nickname, so please make your own” Rumsfeld to resign. It seems the calls for him to go quietly into that good night are getting louder and louder as two more retired U.S. generals called for him to resign yesterday. Nice… about 6 years too late, but at least it’s coming around.

Heckle: to the events that transpired 141 years ago yesterday (Friday April 14), specifically that of John Wilkes Booth assassinating President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre.

Applaud, Heckle, your choice: to U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walston for threatening to impose a gag order by barring statements or disclosures to the news media by both Libby's defense team and the special prosecutor investigating “Scooter” Libby. Not sure if this will work as leaks tend to happen in D.C., but I suppose it’s worth a try.

Applaud: to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for “temporarily suspended” Operation Last Call (for those of you who hadn’t heard, this was a plan to send undercover agents into bars to arrest drunks. You read that right, into BARS to arrest drunks. I could understand if they sat outside the bar and arrested drunk people getting behind the steering wheel, but arresting people in a bar… even if they’re not disorderly sounds a little preposterous… but that’s just me and my silly love of civil liberties)

Heckle: to “President” Bush, and his puppet Scott McClellan, for standing by Rumsfeld. Bush didn’t actually speak on Rumsfeld, but had McClellan talk him up at a briefing yesterday with Scott saying things like “The president believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job during a challenging period in our nation's history,” and reading quotes from Marine Gen. Peter Pace that praised Rumsfeld's dedication and patriotism. My personal opinion is that Rumsfeld WAS one of the great political minds of the country and may have been a brilliant mind earlier in his career, but I think his time has come and he needs to resign before he allows more U.S. servicemen to be killed or, to a lesser importance, harms Bush’s administration… I really don’t care about that mind you.

Applaud: to the ever-dropping approval numbers for Dubya. WaPo-ABC poll is 38% and AP-Ipsos poll is 36%, and now 54% don’t feel confident with Bush handling the situation in Iran… I wonder why??? Iran needs to be stopped (and to those who are asking ‘why didn’t Iraq have to be stopped’ show me the proof that Iraq had uranium and nuclear weapons, than we’ll talk – remember, conservatism is a mental disease) but I don’t think Bush is the answer. Allow the U.N. to actually do something (that wouldn’t be a first would it?) and let’s see what happens before we get all “Rambo’ed” up and get involved in a 3rd war.

Heckle: to Zacarias Moussaoui. I think we all know why. What have I said on this blog before about him?? I remember now, ‘Kill the fuc***’ my thoughts on this haven’t changed one bit.

Applaud: to a universal lack of kool-aid drinking. Commander Cuckoo-Bananas speeches about Iraq aren’t working at convincing Americans to not only approve of the way Bush is handling the war (the numbers for that have dropped back to 32%) but to also have faith that his administration knows what they are doing and have an exit strategy. (Finally! A glimmer of life and intelligence in the American public in finally seeing Bush as what he is. Let’s hope it lasts…)

Heckle: to the “discovery” that FEMA “produced vast sums of waste and misspent funds…” Well, duh… did we really need an internal Department of Homeland Security audit to tell us this?? Didn’t we all know this already?? Talk about waste and misspent funds.

Applaud: to Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) for trying to demolish partisan politics (did I just write that?? Wow, I did…). Once again, the Gov. has appointed a Democrat (and one of his harshest and most outspoken critics) to a prestigious position within his administration, this time to the California Board of Education.

Heckle: to the Bush Administration for their pathetic response to the break of the mobile weapons lab story this past week. From McClellan asking for an apology from the media to trying to pass it off as a non-story (here’s a question, if it’s a non-story, why is the White House so keen on gettting an apology from the media?? Hmmmm… I wonder…)

Applaud: to inner-party lethargy. And by ‘lethargy’ I mean indolence towards their party leader. It seems quite a few Republican politicians are declining visits by President Bush. Due to constantly low approval ratings, some Republicans are suddenly unavailable when the president comes to town. Examples: Ohio, Sen. Mike DeWine cited scheduling conflicts during three presidential visits this year. Pennsylvania, Sen. Rick Santorum appeared briefly with Bush during a visit late last month, but held no public events together. Illinois (and this one is my favorite example of displaced loyalty) Gubernatorial candidate Judy Baar-Topinka stood quietly by as an aide stated that her campaign would like the president to raise money in the governor's race “late at night, in an undisclosed location.” (Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant…the more in-fighting and discourse in the GOP with their leader can only help us in November…if the Dems ever decide to get off their asses and ACT)

Heckle: to the politicizing of a tradition, namely the White House Easter Egg roll. I don’t care about your politics, I don’t care about your sexual orientation, what I do care about is taking something that is for children and turning it into a (essentially) poltical sit-in. And before we blame the parents, let’s also blame the media, who were it not for them, would we even know that this was taking place??

Applaud: to ‘A Republican on the Edge.’ It’s about Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) and the perception that he’ll have a tough road to re-election. I don’t really know, or care quite frankly, who he is, but I love the phrase ‘a Republican on the Edge.’ The edge of what I ask? Of a nervous breakdown… of a building… of the world… the mind just explodes with possibilities. Having said that, he is a Republican running for reelection in this November’s mid-terms, so a loss by him would be a good thing.

Heckle: to Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-MI) for making staff members baby-sit his children while they were on his congressional payroll. I always knew that politicians on both sides had a tendency to be unethical, but having a staff-member baby sit your kid is better than taking money from a lobbyist in order to stiff some Native Americans or funnel money to a business where you receive kickbacks. Unless of course the kid has a messy diaper… then all bets are off!

Applaud: ???? I certainly hope this is an applaud. The U.S. government has released their plan for a Bird Flu outbreak. Pray we don't need it, and pray that the plan works.

That's all we got. See you all next week.

Rumsfeld out? Not a chance...

Despite overwhelming shouts to oust him (including an editorial in today's WaPo, which can be read HERE, one in the The Capital Times which can be read HERE and a handful of others) "President" Bush is standing by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Keep in mind that there is no way Bush will ever fire "Rummy," and it's even less likely that he would resign now (keeping in mind that before all the recent calls for him needing to resign, it was thought in some circles that he would resign before the end of this year)

But now... with former generals along with editorials calling for him to resign coming out of the woodwork, there is NO WAY that Donald Rumsfeld would resign.

Rumsfeld has always been the type that does his own thing and doesn't allow his actions to be predicated by what others do or say.

For more, click HERE to read a fantastic diary on Daily Kos, which explains it in a better way than I ever could.

Political Cartoon of the Day

by 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner Nick Anderson of the Houston Chronicle.

Random Thoughts UPDATE

Feeble spin-moves. More proof that White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan is slowly losing his mind and needs to resign. During today’s briefing he demanded a public apology from the news media for covering the mobile weapons lab story. When pressed about when the White House became aware of the Pentagon field report, McClellan couldn’t say and told the press corps “I’m looking into that matter” but that the answer was “not the point.” (Than what is the point Scott? Could you explain it to me and the others out here who are wondering what the hell you’re talking about??? Your press briefings are getting as bad as a Katherine Harris senate campaign… and by that I mean they’re a train wreck. Resign now Scott, before you do something or say something you shouldn’t and get your boss into more trouble)

Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

It’s that time again, it’s time to check in with our editorial department and find out what passes for Random Thoughts today.

We have a wide-array of things today, Medicare and phone scams, polling numbers and immigration, lies and spin… all that and Katherine Harris too.

So sit back, pull down the shades, grab a drink and read Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon.

It starts…

When Medicare attacks. There’s barely a month left to sign up for the new Medicare drug benefit, and because of that, “President” Bush is traipsing across the country this week (Jefferson City, MO on tuesday) to encourage seniors to enroll in one of the plans. He acknowledged that the process is confusing, what with dozens and dozens of plans to choose from, but still opposes extending the May 15 deadline that so many other lawmakers (both Democrat and Republican) want. Bush’s chief Medicare official, Mark “Don’t call me Scott damnit!” McClellan, stated that more than 29 million seniors have enrolled with 400,000 more enrolling each week. But they still won’t extend the deadline. (It’s hard to figure out why they won’t extend it, but since it’s the Bush administration, we’ll have to consider the far-fetched possibility that it’s for unethical reasons… it’s so hard to express sarcasm in the written word, isn’t it??)

When Medicare attacks…again! Democratic lawmakers are pushing the Bush administration to repay tens of millions of dollars to 46 states that took action and covered Medicare patient prescription drug costs during setbacks with the program's launch back in January due to the administration’s incompetence (yeah, like that’s anything new. Maybe, just maybe, lawmakers should consider this; if anything to give them something positive to report on, seeing as how almost everything else coming out of DC right now is, by and large, negative)

When telemarketers strike back? According to phone records introduced in criminal court, key figures in a phone-jamming scheme that was meant to keep Democrats in New Hampshire from voting in the 2002 presidential election had regular contact with the White House and the Republican Party as the plan was unfolding. (There’s only one thing I can say to them… ‘Cheater, cheater pumpkin eater’… so there…)

The truth is an illusion. President Bush has acknowledged that he declassified parts of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) to answer questions about why the United States invaded Iraq, it was to counter critics who charged he manipulated intelligence to justify the war. (I am shocked, shocked to find gambling going on in this establishment. This isn't by some chance a desperate attempt to cover one's ass, is it?? Nah.. couldn't be. Bush isn't that clever to have come up with that... Cheney on the other hand...)

And the lying continues… The Washington Post is reporting that the Bush(Whacked) Administration knew that two trailers captured by U.S. troops in Iraq in May 2003 were NOT mobile "biological laboratories," (UPDATE: There are conflicting reports on that with varying experts in the article taking both sides that the trailers were/were not weapons labs) even though they publicly asserted that they were. (Just keeps on piling up, doesn’t it? When are people going to see Bush for what he is? He lies and so far, no one is calling him on it, and I want to know one thing: WHY THE HELL NOT???)

Leave and don’t ever come back. “Katherine Harris will not be the next senator from Florida. She will almost certainly win the Republican nomination on September 5, but she will not defeat Democratic senator Bill Nelson two months later. For the good of her party, and for the good of her own reputation, she should withdraw from the race as soon as possible and allow another Republican to have a chance at victory." (Kind of says it all doesn’t it? BTW, this isn’t coming from a liberal pundit or politician, it’s coming from the founder of one of the most respected conservative magazines out there, William F. Buckley of The National Review. When Buckley says you won’t win and should drop out, shouldn’t you get the hint? Apparently not… read the next ‘thought’ for more on this topic)

Bite me Bill. How did Harris respond to the column in The National Review that stated “for the good of her party and for the good of her own reputation,” she should drop out of the race? She sent a letter to the column’s writer, magazine founder William F. Buckley. In the letter she stated that she was “disappointed in the short-sighted editorial” and that she “will be the next senator from Florida.” (Wow, she just doesn’t get it, does she?? Can she really be that thickheaded?? Everyone, conservatives, Liberals, Independents, can see that she is embarrassing the party…and that that embarrassment is reaching a national level, why can’t she?? It absolutely boggles the mind…)

Immigration issues, part 134. The fallout from the immigration bill is more likely to hurt the GOP than the Democrats (doesn’t surprise anyone, does it??) as any bill that’s passed is sure to polarize the party as it will appeal to the hard-line GOP base, but will most likely drive moderate conservatives over to the ‘other side’ (and by that I mean Democrats or Independents). This all comes as Republican leaders speak of a massive shift in the language of the immigration bills. (The longer the debate on this issue continues, the worse off the GOP will be. The best thing for Democrats and Liberals to do on this issue is to sit back and let the GOP fight amongst themselves then go in and get the job done when they have exhausted all their options… just sit tight guys… and wait)

Numbers continue to drop. New polls out this week and last find that Bush’s job approval ratings are still dropping and reaching new lows. Really isn’t anything more to say about that is there? Check them out for yourselves: WaPo-ABC poll is 38% and AP-Ipsos poll is 36%. (Nice)

Gratuitous Op-Ed plug of the week. You’ve heard of the ‘Cuban Missile Crisis’, how about the ‘Iranian Missile Crisis’. David Ignatius writes about that possibility in the Washington Post, read it HERE. Runner-up goes to the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board for this ONE calling on VP Dick “Dead Eye” Cheney to answer questions about the Valerie Plame incident.

Speaking of Iran... Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated today that Iran's assertion that they have enriched uranium will require “strong steps” from the U. N. (Which I am positive will do the trick as the UN has had so much luck lately in getting things done that aren’t related to Oil and Food. Anyhow, as Scott said yesterday, you may now resume building your bomb shelters.

Take them as you will...

What's the difference? Part 2

Newsflash....

Iran has announced that they have enriched uranium. But, according to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it's ok as it was done for 'peaceful purposes.'

White House spokesman Scott "Scooter" McClellan told reporters that Iran is "moving in the wrong direction" and if it continues, the United States will consult with other allies about how to respond (yeah, sure, just like they did with Iraq).

Relax, remember yesterday 'Scooters' boss, Dubya, said that the watch word for Iran was Diplomacy.

You may go back to building your bomb shelters...

What’s the difference ?

During comments earlier today at John Hopkins University our ‘President’ spoke to reports that the administration is considering tactical nuclear missile strikes against Iranian nuclear sites. He responded that those reports are "wild speculation".

He went on to emphasize that his administration is trying to resolve concerns over Iran through diplomacy.

"The doctrine of prevention is to work together to prevent the Iranians from having a nuclear weapon," Bush said. He suggested that in Washington "prevention means force." However, he added, "It doesn't mean force, necessarily. In this case, it means diplomacy."

Gee there is an idea… diplomacy !! So where was the idea of diplomacy when talking about Iraq back in 2002?

Iraq- They (may) have WMD’s and we need to go in with force, damn the diplomacy !

Iran- Diplomacy, Diplomacy, Diplomacy !

So what’s the difference? First, Iran didn’t threaten to kill Bush’s father, that was Iraq. Secondly, Iran didn’t have a hand in making Bush’s father a one-termer, than was Iraq. Lastly, at a time when we are now faced with potential adversaries that do posses WMD’s (North Korea and Iran), Bush has absolutely zero credibility. He can’t even get a coalition of his own party, let alone other countries.

So he has nothing left to his disposal but diplomacy.

Way to go George, you and your cronies have destroyed our credibility in the world. Not only that, but our grandchildren will be ‘paying’ for your mistakes, literally…..

Later.

p.s.- Hey George, one more thing, do the troops a favor and fire Rumsfeld. It certainly can't hurt your ratings, but it might help save a few lives.

(Editors Note from Kemp: Hell, getting rid of 'Rummy' may even help your numbers... as would ditching Press Secretary Scott McClellan, he's deadweight on a ship that's sinking fast. Just my opinion)

The Week Ahead

A list of things to keep in mind as the week gets started…

• Did “President” Bush authorize the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame? Inquiring minds, including Republican Senator Arlen Specter, want to know. Stay tuned, as this is sure to be one of the hot-button topics this week even as Bush acknowledges that he declassified intelligence. (Hmmm… this week just got interesting…)
• Tomorrow (Tuesday) we get the special election in the California 50th to see whom will replace disgraced (and, hopefully, the soon-to-be-jailed) ex-congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham. Some analysts say this could be a harbinger of what’s to come in November, but I’m having trouble putting that much faith into this one contest… but it should be an interesting election nonetheless.
• From the ‘what could she possibly say next?’ files comes something that you definitely want to keep tabs on this week, just so you can see the next calamitous thing she can do. In an interview on a local Florida TV station, Florida senate candidate Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) said her campaign is “stronger than ever before.” (Two questions arise from this statement; what is she smoking and where is our share? Hmmmm, maybe she meant ‘stranger’…)
• Immigration reform isn’t dead yet, especially with the news that close to 200,000 people may join the protest in DC today at the National Mall. As we’ve said on this site before, this is not a subject that will go away soon, and this week is building up to offer little more that past weeks have in relation to an agreement being reached.
• From the ‘I better get the bomb shelter in order’ files comes this item that we ALL have to pay attention to in the days and weeks and months ahead. New Yorker magazine had a story this past weekend stating that said the White House was considering striking underground nuclear sites in Iran with nuclear weapons. Bush says that talk of attacking Iran is purely speculation. (This does not bode well)
• Embattled Senator Joe Lieberman (“D”-CT) stated this past weekend that if he lost the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont he would not rule-out running as an Independent. (Someone who might as well have a corporate endorsement and logo tattooed on his chest is going to run as an Independent… it would be funny if he weren’t serious)
• The “swoon” continues as Bush’s approval ratings continue to nosedive to Nixonian-like numbers. (With more polling expected to be done this week, keep an eye towards Friday as Bush could very-well be drinking again by that time… wow, even I thought that was in poor taste)
• Treasury Secretary John Snow refuses to comment on rumors of his possible resignation while Bush endorsing Snow as still being the right man for the job.
• Wonkette is reporting that White House press secretary Scott “I miss Ari” McClellan may be replaced with Dana M. Perino, who was just named by Bush as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Press Secretary. Interesting choice. As my good friend and colleague Scott asked; “How can they pass on Ann Coulter?”

The screws continue to turn…

A short post I did last week on “President” Bush possibly being the one who approved the leaking of Valerie Plame’s name drew some heavy criticism from a conservative who left some comments, believing that I was inferring guilt onto President Bush (like he needs help from me or anyone else to infer guilt onto himself)

Now come incendiary words from a fellow-Republican who wants to know exactly what happened and is demanding that the White House explain the leak.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) told Fox “News” on Sunday that “I think that it is necessary for the president and vice president to tell the American people exactly what happened… We ought to get to the bottom of it so it can be evaluated, again, by the American people.”

This isn’t liberal-conjecture or spin here; this is a conservative Republican calling (on Bush media-whore Fox News) for the White House, specifically President Bush and Vice President Cheney, to tell the American people what happened in regards to the leak.

No spin is needed. Decide for yourself.

The Weekly Rewind

No fanfare, no applause sign, just The Weekly Rewind coming at ya…..

Applaud: to telling it like it is. At a Bush Q&A session, audience member Harry Taylor said to Bush: “I would hope, from time to time, that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself.” Smackdown!!! Way to go Harry!

Heckle: to disgraced and soon to be out-of-work Rep Tom DeLay (R-TX). Hours after resigning his congressional seat and dropping out of his re-election bid, he had the adacity to to threaten Cynthia McKinney (though her actions were contemptible and merited a Heckle as well) by suggesting he may file an ethics complaint against her.

Heckle: to DeLay (sense a theme do ya) for dispatching his winged monkeys (read: his aides) to disrupt a Nick Lampson press conference and assault little old ladies. DeLay’s campaign manager (what exactly does a campaign manager do when there is no campaign left you ask… I’ll tell you) Chris Homan, sent out an email to his staff that stated: “Let's give Lampson a parting shot that wrecks his press conference.” (If you can’t beat them legitimately… act like a thug… or a goon… you’re choice) For photographic evidence of DeLay’s hired goons, click HERE. For video, click HERE and scroll down

Applaud: to Karma biting you in the ass. Seems that Clueless George himself authorized I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby to disclose highly sensitive intelligence information to the news media. According to court papers filed by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, the reason for the disclosure was an attempt by the administration to discredit Joseph Wilson (husband of Valerie Plame), because his ‘views’ were publicly undermining the rationale for the invasion of Iraq. Seems ‘Scooter’ has taken the position ‘If I fall you’re going down with me”. Keep talking ‘Scooter’.

Heckle: to ‘Scooter’ McClellan. In trying to ‘spin’ the Libby grand jury papers, Scotty said that the President has the constitutional right (excuse me while I laugh, a republican concerned about the constitution) to declassify intelligence data and sensitive information “when it is in the public interest”. Watch out Scotty, it’s hard to keep so many plates spinning at the same time….ooops I think I see about a dozen starting to wobble !

Applaud: to kicking a couple of those plates. A former administration official said that “rebutting Wilson and other critics was an obsession of Cheney, Libby and many others” within the Bush White House. Also that there were frequent discussions about declassifying information to support the “Bush” argument for the war. (Scott you do realize that we can all tell when you are lying…)

Heckle: to taking more and spoiling it for everybody. Republican Senators proved why their approval numbers are diving like their leader. On Thursday Senators announced a bipartisan compromise on the very difficult task of re-writing the country’s immigration laws. But 24 hours later the deal was on hold as Republicans were demanding numerous changes to the agreed upon proposal. So now the issue has been tabled while the members of congress take a two week Easter recess. (since they act like children, they get recess)

Heckle: to censorship. Once again we are hearing that the Bush Administration is censoring our scientists. (I’m sorry is this 1930’s Germany?) It seems that the administration has been busy reprimanding and altering information released by employees and contractors working for, or at NOAA. Why the problem? It seems that these folks have been speaking out on policy questions, investigated news leaks, removed references to global warming from reports, news releases and Web sites. They even had the brass to tell people to stop talking to the media at all. Seems that the White House is not eager to have it’s ecological position challenged by actual experts.

Applaud: to telling it like it is part 2. The judge in the Zacharias Moussaoui trial had some sharp words for the Bush Administration. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a ruling granting families of 9/11 victims access “to the same unclassified aviation security documents that the government turned over to the al Qaeda conspirator’s defense team.” After granting the request Judge Brinkema said, "I've always been troubled to the extent which our government keeps things secret from the American people." She went on to add, "It is amazing what some agencies think is secret…..As a culture, we need to be careful not to be so wrapped up in secrecy that we lose track of our core values and laws." Slap !!! Way to go Leonie!

Heckle: to Katherine Harris, why? There are sooo many reasons…

Heckle: to the politician who cried ‘race’. On Thursday, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) made a brief statement in which she apologized to the House for an ‘altercation’with a Capitol Police officer that occurred back on March 29th. When the story of the incident first broke Rep. McKinney was stating she has been the victim of racial profiling (she is black and the police officer is white). Capital Police stated that the officer was stopping Rep. McKinney as she entered a House building without identification, bypassed a metal detector and ignored the officers repeated requests to stop and identify herself. Let’s look at this one….. Congressional Building, tight security (post 9/11 and during a time of “war”) no I.D., and just strolling into the building around various security points ….hmmm, oh yeah she must have been stopped just because of race alone. (Insert sarcasm in previous sentence) Not even the members of her own party or the Congessional Balck Caucus believed her. Here’s a tip, get the chip off your shoulder and follow the rues like everyone else.

Be good, stay informed….later.