The Good Soldier

The testimony of Kyle Sampson on Tuesday was reported not to be a "smoking gun" in the US Attorney purge scandal, but it was hardly benign.

As Dana Milbank of the Washington Post reports, it looks as if Sampson was willing to fall on his sword, but after over seven hours of testimony, there were a few things that he couldn't be responsible for, even if he did try to take the blame.
Sampson admitted that Carol Lam, the prosecutor who nailed Randall Duke Cunningham, was never told of the Justice Department's disaffection with her performance on immigration prosecutions, the reason they claim she was fired.

He did say he "didn't remember" 122 times to different questions. Let me repeat that: ONE HUNDRED TWENTY TWO TIMES.

The hearing's strange procedural error also made it look like the Republicans were trying to stop the hearing, which they have the right to do under Senate rules. And as Think Progress reports, it seems they were objecting to having the hearing last for more than two hours, but after realizing how bad it looked to stop the procedure altogether, they quickly changed their minds and continued with the testimony.

Here's Chairman Sen. Leahy's statement regarding the "error": "Somebody here just asked me if this all could have just been all an accident, that we had this lack of concurrence by the Republicans to go forward. I grew up in a faith that believes in miracles, and it’s conceivable as an accident, I’ve been here 33 years and I’ve never seen it happen before. So maybe it was, but I suspect it was not.”

Sampson Testifies

Karl Sampson, former Chief of Staff for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, testified today before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Here is his opening statement courtesy of PoliticsTV.com:

Now, remember that Gonzo earlier stated that he was not involved "in the deliberations over whether or not United States Attorneys should resign... and that he had Kyle Sampson "coordinate a performance review of the Dept. of US Attorneys."

Well Kyle Sampson said this: “I don’t think the attorney general’s statement that he was not involved in any discussions about U.S. attorney removals is accurate... I think he’s recently clarified it. But I remember discussing with him this process of asking certain U.S. attorneys to resign, and I believe that he was present at the meeting on Nov. 27.”

The one constant phrase that's been used over and over again is that these US Attorneys were not fired for "improper reasons". Well how about we cut to the chase and they just let us know why they were fired? If the reasons were not improper and weren't performance related, then just let us know why. But they can't tell us - because the reasons were improper. They were politically motivated for something as simple as having a crony fill the vacancy, to something as tragic as anticipating the 2008 elections and perpetrate voter fraud and begin frivolous investigations against certain candidates to instigate voter doubt and begin smear campaigns against Democrats running for election.

And the truly terrifying part of this whole fiasco is that if these eight fired attorneys were forced to resign because they did not play ball, think about how many kept their jobs because they did play along and what they might have done!

Gonzo Must Go!

What in the world is happening here?!

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who previously stated that he "was not involved in any discussions" regarding the firings of US Federal Attorneys, did just that. "Documents released on Friday [March 23] showed Gonzales attended a November 27 meeting to discuss a plan to remove the U.S. attorneys, who were fired 10 days later."

Of course, Chimpy reaffirmed his support for Gonzo, which doesn't bode well if you care to remember The Decider's support of Donald Rumsfeld.

Then Gonzo went on NBC to try and set the record straight when he said this:

GONZALES: "Let me try to be more precise about my involvement. When I said on March 13th that I wasn't involved, what I meant was that I had not been involved - was not involved - in the deliberations over whether or not United States Attorneys should resign... I had Kyle Sampson coordinate a performance review of the Dept. of US Attorneys... I was never focused on specific concerns about the US Attorneys as to whether or not they should be asked to resign... I depended on the people who knew about how these US Attorneys were performing... "

PETE WILLIAMS: "Given that, then how can you be certain that none of these US Attorneys were not put on the list for improper reasons?"

AG: "What I can say is this: I know the reason why I asked these US Attorneys to leave. And it was not for improper reasons... but just to be sure, I have asked for an internal review by the Office of Professional Responsibility working with the office of the Inspector General and of course the Congress is going to be doing it's own review because I want to know as well, if in fact there were improper reasons, we should know about it and there will be accountability."

WHAT?! So he knows the reason he fired the attorneys and it was NOT improper, but he's having reviews done to find out if it WAS improper. This guy is either completely incompetent or trying to wriggle out of a legal straight jacket. Here's more!

PW: "To put this question another way, if you didn't review their performance during this process then how can you be certain that they were fired for performance reasons?"

AG: "I -I - I've given - I've given the answer to the question, Pete. I know the reasons why I made the decision. Again, there's nothing in the documents to support the allegation that there was anything improper here..."

So now Sampson is being set up as the fall guy. Or perhaps it could be Monica Goodling, Gonzales' senior counsel and White House liaison, who "will refuse to answer questions at upcoming Senate hearings, citing Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination."

Well that doesn't sound good. Is she looking for immunity to then testify? The potential for taking the blame for the department's bungled response "is very real," [her attorney John]Dowd said. "One need look no further than the recent circumstances and proceedings involving Lewis Libby," he said, a reference to the recent conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff in the CIA leak case.

Watch the Gonzo/NBC Interview here.

Tony Snow Has Cancer

CNN has just announced that Tony Snow, while undergoing surgery to remove a mass in his abdomen, was discovered to have cancer in his liver. Snow is a cancer survivor having overcome colon cancer two years ago.
Of course, we wish him well. Why would anyone of any party affiliation hope for anything other than a full recovery? I can't imagine that happening. Right? RIGHT?! ... Right?

Rush Limbaugh: "[M]ost people, when told a family member's been diagnosed with the kind of cancer Elizabeth Edwards has, they turn to God. The Edwards turned to the campaign. Their religion is politics and the quest for the White House."..."If you're [Sen.] Barack Obama [D-IL] or [Sen.] Hillary Clinton [D-NY], how do you now attack John Edwards?" Limbaugh added: "Not a problem for Hillary, the Clinton [inaudible] will find a way. But Barack, it's going to be a challenge."

Katie Couric: "Your decision to stay in this race has been analyzed, and quite frankly judged by a lot of people. And some say, what you're doing is courageous, others say it's callous. Some say, 'Isn't it wonderful they care for something greater than themselves?' And others say, 'It's a case of insatiable ambition.' ...Some people watching this would say, 'I would put my family first always, and my job second.' And you're doing the exact opposite. You're putting your work first, and your family second."

Well, some would say that this is a Karl Rove political move to steer the building media frenzy away from the Attorney firings scandal. Some would say that this is what happens when you make a deal with the Devil. Some would say that Snow's inner demons finally got the best of him as he continued to get up in front of the White House press corps day after day to defend the lying sons-of-bitches. After all, the mounting pressure and bile building up in his gut must have had some ill effect on his health over the course of the last year or so.

Some would say things like that. Not me. I hope he recovers.

Here Come The Subpoenas

Jeff Cohen's New Book

There's a great post on TruthDig.org along with an mp3 interview with Jeff Cohen on his new book, "Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media".

Cohen was the communications director for the 2004 Kucinich campaign, founder of Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting. His life in media includes being a "pundit" for CNN, FOX and producer with MSNBC.

Here's are exerpts from his book:

"What I found inside cable news was a drunken exuberance for sex, crime and celebrity stories, matched by a grim timidity and fear of offending the powers-that-be—especially if the powers-that-be are conservatives. The biggest fear is of doing anything that could get you, or your network, accused of being liberal."

*****************

"As I sat at my MSNBC desk watching Bush or a top associate carry on, I knew painfully well that my network would not be following the administration event with a critical view, no matter how dubious or manipulative were the official claims. To do so—to practice actual journalism—might prompt the dreaded charge of 'liberal bias.' "

*****************

"When Phil Donahue toughly interviewed big-name guests, MSNBC execs were petrified that the VIPs would be offended and not make return engagements. They’d complain that Phil was “badgering” the guests. “Access is everything in Washington,” Phil later told a reporter. “If you’re the executive producer at one of the big news shows and you piss off Karl Rove, you’re not going to get Condi or Rummy or any of those guests who would legitimize your show as a serious, important program.”

Snowstorm At It Again

"Evidently, [the President] wants to shield virtually any communications that take place within the White House compound on the theory that all such talk contributes in some way, shape or form to the continuing success and harmony of an administration. Taken to its logical extreme, that position would make it impossible for citizens to hold a chief executive accountable for anything. He would have a constitutional right to cover up.
... Most of us want no part of a president who is cynical enough to use the majesty of his office to evade the one thing he is sworn to uphold -- the rule of law."

Reading this, one would think that it was written in response to George the Liar's assertion that presidential aides who fear testifying under oath would then be gun-shy to give candid advice to the President.

But no, that was written in 1998 by the current White House Press Secretary, Tony Snow. Yet, Snow continued to pound on the latest talking point, "show trial" regarding the current about the current pressure by Congress to have Karl Rove and Harriet Miers testify under oath regarding the US attorney firings.

Here is part of a Press briefing transcript:

Q: Presidential aides have testified in the past when there was evidence of impropriety. April mentioned Watergate. This is a case in which the White House is asserting that there is no evidence of impropriety and that nothing was done wrong. So how do you face the American public and say, we're telling you we didn't do anything wrong, but we won't let the top advisers to the President speak publicly about it?

MR. SNOW: No, because -- I thought this was a fact-finding mission, and not a ratings-finding mission.

What a punk. How does he sleep at night?

Meanwhile Bush had this to say: “We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants."

Someone should explain to this village idiot that Congress will ask questions regarding what they're trying to investigate, namely the true reason that these US attorneys were fired. First they tell us it is a normal thing, happens all the time. It does not. Then they claim it was poor performance. Well just a cursory look at their performance records tells you it was not. Now they claim executive privilege.

Executive privilege exists between the president and the person he is talking to, but the claim was that the president was never advised on these decisions on the attorney firings. If that is the case, as CNN's Ed Henry pointed out to the Snowman, then why is the White House claiming executive privilege if the President was not involved?

Snowjob's response: "That's an intriguing question."

God! This guy is an asshole of epic proportions.

And what honorable public servants is Chimpy possibly talking about, because from I've seen, there aren't any in this administration. The only honorable public servants we've seen lately are the ones that were fired.

Video courtesy of CrooksAndLiars.com

In George We Trust

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty." ~ John Adams, 1772

"After telling a bunch of different stories about why they fired the U.S. Attorneys, the Bush administration is not entitled to the benefit of the doubt. Congress and the American people deserve a straight answer. If Karl Rove plans to tell the truth, he has nothing to fear from being under oath like any other witness." ~ Senator Harry Reid, March 20, 2007

And yet after George the Liar has waived his mighty scepter, he is appalled that his subjects rejected an offer from the Child-King "to allow members of Congressional committees to hold private interviews with Karl Rove, the president’s senior adviser and deputy chief of staff and Harriet E. Miers, the former White House counsel" as long as they did not testify under oath.

How can Curious George and his administration stand there, lying day after day, in front of the American people and think that this generous offer is acceptable?

W. and his corrupt cronies have either never been truthful or never been correct on anything in the past six years in regards to the debacle in Iraq, or anything else for that matter. Illegal wiretaps, suspension of habeas corpus for "enemy combatants" at King George's discretion, rendition of prisoners to other countries for the purposes of torture, prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib, cherry picking faulty intelligence to drum up the case for an illegal pre-emptive strike on a country that had nothing to do with the attacks on our land. And the list goes on and on and on.

“I don’t accept his offer. It is not constructive, and it is not helpful to be telling the Senate how to do our investigation or to prejudge its outcome” said Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Senator Leahy along with Senator Charles Schumer of New York are holding the administration's feet to the fire, but for how long? This is a game of chicken... or at least chicken vs. chickenhawk. I can only hope that the Democrats realize that they are in the driver's seat on this one and don't back down to King Liar and his minions. Why else would anyone suggest a private meeting with no transcripts and not testifying under oath unless they had the specific intention to mislead and lie?

Is Gonzales A Victim?

I just heard this on an MSNBC bumper at 10:32am EDT and had to rewind to make sure I heard it corectly:

"Is the White house already looking for a replacement for Alberto Gonzales? How the US Attorneys controversy could claim another victim in the Bush Administration."

Uh, excuse me, but I thought "victim" had another definition. Let me look it up.

vic·tim [vik-tim] –noun
1. a person who suffers from a destructive or injurious action or agency: a victim of an automobile accident.
2. a person who is deceived or cheated, as by his or her own emotions or ignorance, by the dishonesty of others, or by some impersonal agency: a victim of misplaced confidence; the victim of a swindler; a victim of an optical illusion.
3. a person or animal sacrificed or regarded as sacrificed: war victims.
4. a living creature sacrificed in religious rites.
[Origin: 1490–1500; <>

Okay, I did know the definition. Maybe number 3 fits Gonzo, but then he would be a victim OF the Bush Administration, not a victim IN the Bush Administration.

Here's another definition:

per·pe·trate [pur-pi-treyt] –verb (used with object), -trat·ed, -trat·ing.
1. to commit: to perpetrate a crime.
2. to present, execute, or do in a poor or tasteless manner: Who perpetrated this so-called comedy?
[Origin: 1540–50; <>

per·pe·tra·tor - noun
1. someone who perpetrates wrongdoing

Yeah, this one fits Gonzo better.

War in Iraq - 4th Anniversary

With the 4th anniversary of the official start of the War in Iraq, and as of this writing, 3,217 American soldiers dead, 32,544 wounded, approximately 650,000 Iraqi dead, and an estimated cost to date of almost $500 billion, I thought it would be fitting to go back and quote the thoughts of some of our fearless leaders in the war on terror.

*September 17, 2001-
President George W. Bush on Osama bin Laden: "I want justice. And there's an old poster out West… I recall, that said, 'Wanted, Dead or Alive.'"

* March 14, 2002-
Bush on Osama bin Laden: "I truly am not that concerned about him."

* Feb. 7, 2003-
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: "It is unknowable how long that conflict will last. It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months."

* Feb. 27, 2003-
Rumsfeld: "What is, I think, reasonably certain is the idea that it would take several hundred thousand U.S. forces I think is far from the mark."

* March 4, 2003-
Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz: "The notion that it would take several hundred thousand American troops just seems outlandish."

* March 16, 2003-
Vice President Cheney, on NBC's Meet the Press: "I think things have gotten so bad inside Iraq, from the standpoint of the Iraqi people, my belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators. . . . I think it will go relatively quickly, . . . (in) weeks rather than months."

* April 23, 2003-
USAID Director Andrew Natsios: "In terms of the American taxpayers contribution, [$1.7 billion] is it for the US. The rest of the rebuilding of Iraq will be done by other countries and Iraqi oil revenues...The American part of this will be 1.7 billion. We have no plans for any further-on funding for this."

* May 1, 2003-
President Bush: "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended."

* June 14, 2003-
Cheney: "...I think has been fairly significant success in terms of putting Iraq back together again and certainly wouldn't lead me to suggest or think that the strategy is flawed or needs to be changed."

* June 20, 2005-
Cheney: "The level of activity that we see today from a military standpoint, I think, will clearly decline. I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."

Krugman: Don't Cry For Reagan

Today's NY Times opinion by Paul Krugman (password protected by TimesSelect unfortunately) is very telling of the modern conservative movement. He states that as conservatives long for the good ol' Reagan days, the realization is that given the chance, Reagan would have been what Bush is, had it not been for a Democratically controlled Congress.

Krugman quotes Johnathan Cohn's 1993 American Prospect article, in which "Changing just a few words in that article makes it read as if it were written in 2007."

KRUGMAN: "Thus, Mr. Cohn described how the Interior Department had been packed with opponents of environmental protection, who 'presided over a massive sell-off of federal lands to industry and developers' that 'deprived the department of several billion dollars in annual revenue.' Oil leases, anyone?

Meanwhile, privatization had run amok, because 'the ranks of public officials necessary to supervise contractors have been so thinned that the putative gains of contracting out have evaporated. Agencies have been left with the worst of both worlds — demoralized and disorganized public officials and unaccountable private contractors.' Holy Halliburton!"

Modern conservatism isn't what the party of Eisenhower once was, and that is what is misleading those who misunderstand the definition of conservatism. What you're seeing now is what could have happened in the 80's, had we not kept the system of checks and balances in place.

Falling To Earth

It is only matter of time before George the Liar and the rest of his corrupt administration is in such shambles that, in this writer's opinion, the White House of Cards will finish its collapse. Will the media feeding frenzy start then or will it just be more conservative spin?

With the calling of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' head (including increasing Republican members of Congress) in the wake of the ever growing federal attorney firings, the Chimp-Man threatening veto power with the latest Congress "transparency" bills, another protest march on the Pentagon, the moral musings and subsequent non-apology of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace, former CIA operative Valerie Plame's testimony this past Friday, and [INSERT SCANDAL HERE], it won't be much longer before more Rovian rats desert the sinking S.S. Moron and the abundance of subpeonas and indictments begins.

Plame Testifies

Valerie Plame, whose covert CIA operative status was compromised by Bush Administration officials, testified today before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

BREITBART.COM:
Plame said she had no role in sending her husband on a CIA fact- finding trip to Niger. Wilson said in a newspaper column that his trip debunked the administration's prewar intelligence that Iraq was seeking to buy uranium from Africa.

"I did not recommend him. I did not suggest him. There was no nepotism involved. I did not have the authority," she said.

That conflicts with senior officials at the CIA and State Department, who testified during Libby's trial that Plame recommended Wilson for the trip.

This is a horse of a different color after constantly hearing that Plame herself send Joe Wilson on the "junket" to Niger. I wonder who to believe..

Other wingnuts like FOX puke John Gibson had his own far-fetched theory: "There was a cabal inside the CIA working against the president's policy and they wanted to hide behind their secret status while they did what was essentially an anti-war political hitjob."

Like Father, Like Chimp

Improper pressure on US attorneys from the powers-that-be seems to be nothing new for the Bushites. A story written by Joe Conason explains what happened in the summer of 1992 in regards to a little thing called Whitewater.

CONASON: "In September 1992, a Republican activist employed by the Resolution Trust Corporation provided [an] opportunity [to stop the Clintons and preserve the George H.W. Bush presidency] by fabricating a criminal referral naming the Clintons as witnesses in a case against the Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association (the small Arkansas savings and loan owned by Whitewater partner and Clinton friend James McDougal). The referral prepared by L. Jean Lewis lacked merit—as determined by [US Attorney Charles A.] Banks and the top FBI agent in his office—but she commenced a crusade for action against the hated Clintons. The FBI repeatedly rejected or ignored her crankish entreaties." Read rest of story.

In this case, US Attorney in Little Rock, Charles Banks, refused to implicate the Clintons in a baseless scandal just two weeks before the election under political pressure from Bush's Attorney General William Barr. Banks knew (and so did everyone else) that the smear would "lead to media and public inquiries of matters that are subject to absolute privacy. ... an investigation in today’s modern political climate all too often publicly purport to ‘legitimize what can’t be proven’ . . . ". Banks honestly "forfeited his promised judgeship and returned to private practice with his political career ended."

L. Jean Lewis however, "disappeared from public view until 2003, when the White House rewarded her with an important federal job. Those who had observed Lewis in action were astonished when she was named chief of staff to the Pentagon inspector general, at a salary of $118,000 a year."

Is anyone really surprised when it comes to this den of thieves, this crime family? The grandfather financially supported Hitler, the father can't remember where he was on November 22, 1963, when everyone else in the world does remember where they were the day Kennedy was assassinated, and the chimp-son lies the once honorable United States into a war with Iraq under the guise of fighting terrorism, while using the Constitution that he swore to protect as toilet paper.

This is just par for the course for the Bush Crime Family.

The Chiquita Banana Song

WASHINGTON - Banana company Chiquita Brands International said Wednesday it has agreed to a $25 million fine after admitting it paid terrorists for protection in a volatile farming region of Colombia.

Let's not forget that the Bush Administration is doing the same thing, not to protect anyone, but to perpetuate the violence in the Middle East.

SO LET'S ALL SING!

I’m Chiquita Banana and I’ve come to say
That I’m in a lot of trouble and I have to pay
Twenty five million dollars is the fine for me
Because I paid protection money to the A.U.C.

Gave money to the terrorists
Protect the employees
We know it was illegal
And so now we’re copping pleas

If you ever own a company and want to make a profit fairly quickly
Make sure not to fund the terrorists or it can get real sticky

Biden On Senate Floor

BIDEN: "Mr. President, you're leading us off a cliff! Stop!"

Not much more I can say about Biden's speech on the Senate floor today. Just watch.

Gonzales: "Mistakes were made."

Alberto "Torture Boy" Gonzales promised to “find out what went wrong here" in the dismissal of federal prosecutors. As Kyle Sampson, chief of staff for Gonzales, resigned on Monday, there was a lot of buzz equating his resignation as being a fall guy on the heels of Scooter Libby taking the heat and his subsequent conviction. But Sen. Chuck Schumer called for Gonzo's resignation "for the sake of the nation."

“Attorney General Gonzales is a nice man,” Mr. Schumer said. “But he either doesn’t accept or doesn’t understand that he is no longer just the president’s lawyer but has a higher obligation to the rule of law and the Constitution, even when the president should not want it to be so.”

Gonzales promising to find out what went wrong is the equivalent of O.J. Simpson vowing to find his wife's killer. Even though e-mails show that White House involvement regarding the attorney firings began with correspondence between former WH counsel Harriet Miers and Sampson, there can only be two options in this matter: 1) Either Gonzales truly didn't know and therefore has no clue what going on under his nose in his office or 2) he knew full well and is equally responsible. Either way, it's a bad state of affairs.

And let's not forget that we are shown yet another example of the abuse of power in this Administration. What on earth could this amendment in the Patriot Act, enabling the President to replace federal attorneys for an indefinite period and bypassing Senate confirmation, have anything to do with the war on terror?

“We now know that it is very likely that the amendment to the Patriot Act, which was made in March of 2006, might well have been done to facilitate a wholesale replacement of all or part of U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, who serves on the Judiciary Committee. “Who authorized all of this? Who asked for that change?”

Who indeed? Federal prosecutors are usually replaced when a new administration takes over. But it is unprecedented that a wholesale change of 93 prosecutors be replaced in the middle of an administration. Sure Clinton did it. So did Bush 41. But it was done at the outset of their tenures, and I defy anyone to find one example of eight prosecutors being dismissed simultaneously while they were either in the middle of investigations against Republicans or unwilling to leak information about investigations against Democrats.

*NOTE: My apologies to the Muppets for using an image of such a likable character in an article depicting such a vile one.

You turn your back for a second...

...and the world goes wacky! Well at least a little wackier than usual.

After a well needed weekend getaway with my lovely fiancee, I come back to find that Chuck Hagel has announced that he'll announce his political future later this year, Alberto Gonzales is feeling his collar tighten (and Jack Cafferty calls him a weasel!), Karl Rove is implicated as being involved in the federal attorney firings and the White House admits it, Pappy Bush collapses on a golf course, Max Cleland bitchslaps Cheney and Bush in a TV interview with Wolf Blitzer, and General Kevin Kiley is the latest head to roll in the continuing Walter Reed scandal.

MAN! What a weekend! I'd love to continue because there's plenty more to cover, but alas, it's accountant appointment day to deal with my 2006 taxes. So hopefully I'll have time to comment on the above stories later.

But let me get an easy one out of the way now. What the hell is an 82 year old man doing playing golf in 94° heat?! Even I get faint after 18 holes in that kind of weather. What an idiot.

Off For The Weekend

Well, I have to tell you, I have thoroughly been enjoying my blogging for the past few months and it seems I've had less and less time to do it. It gives me an outlet to vent my frustrations and also gets the creative juices flowing.

There's been so much to write about this week! The Walter Reed scandal and the Scooter Libby verdict alone is enough for any "full-time, I get paid to blog" writers to develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. And let's not forget the hearings on the fired Federal Prosecutors and the daily FOX News distortions. The possibilities are endless and make my head swim.

But shlubs like me who do this as a hobby don't have the time to be able to put it all down, let alone develop informed opinions while making it entertaining to read. So, as my fiancee would kill me if I brought my laptop on our weekend getaway, I'll be walking away from my desk and leaving the bitter cold of New York for sunny Las Vegas for three fun-filled days. (I'll keep a note pad handy and scour the local papers in search of my next topic.)

In the meantime, those who read my blog (all three of you), continue to search for the truth on any of the sites listed on the right, search for new blogs and support the writers who post fervently by leaving them a comment. Believe me, it makes all the difference in the world when you realize someone might actually be interested in reading what you write. Let them know you're tuned in - leave your own opinion. If a blog is never read, does it still rant?

I'll be back soon enough and ready to pounce on the next insane story. I most likely won't write about my weekend, because what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Have a great weekend!

Bush Is Unclean

How does the world feel about George the Liar? An educated guess would indicate that his approval rating is probably far lower than the 29% he is currently holding in the United States. But hold on!

It seems that Bush's Latin-American tour has been causing quite a ruckus south of the border. It includes a stopover beginning late Sunday in Guatemala. On Monday morning he is scheduled to visit the archaeological site Iximche on the high western plateau in a region of the Central American country populated mostly by Mayans.

Of course after he leaves, they'll have to cleanse the site. Mayan priests will purify the sacred archaeological site to eliminate "bad spirits" after President Bush visits next week, an official with close ties to the group said Thursday.

"That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture," Juan Tiney, the director of a Mayan nongovernmental organization with close ties to Mayan religious and political leaders, said Thursday.

How do you like that? They are fearful that even Bush's presence will offend the Gods. Maybe Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez wasn't so far off the mark when he called Bush "the devil". There's been a lot of bad joojoo going on in the West Wing lately. We don't want it spreading like the plague and causing some kind of famine or earthquake in Guatemala.

Boehner Threatens Cutting Off Funds for Iraq

SF Gate: (03-02) 04:00 PST Washington -- The House minority leader threatened Thursday to get his members to vote against a $96.3 billion spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan if Democrats persist in plans to attach conditions to the money that would tell President Bush how to conduct the wars.

Murtha's plan would "attach requirements that no units could be sent back to Iraq until they are fully trained, equipped and rested." Sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?

But here is what John Boehner said: "We will not support a bill that inhibits the president's ability to wage this war,'' he told reporters. Boehner added that if the committee bill includes such conditions, he will direct top House Republicans to press their members to vote against it.

So let me get this straight:

The "We-Support-the-Troops" GOP House leader is saying that they will vote against funding $96.3 billion for the war because of the condition that the troops should be fully trained, equipped and rested before being deployed... is that what I'm hearing? These pigs would cut off funding for the troops they say they support if there is oversight on how the money is spent?

The only thing inhibiting the president's ability to wage war is his myopic view of the world through his rose-colored glasses.

The blank check days are over, Johnny! Get that through your thick skull. And you sons of bitches have the audacity to crow about the Democrats not supporting the troops when you'd rather send them into a meat grinder ill-equipped and poorly trained? How are poorly trained troops supposed to win your war on terror if they don't know what the hell to do once they get there, you idiot? Go ahead, vote no. You'll save the Dems a lot of trouble answering questions from the morons who insist Dems don't support our military.

You and everyone like you make me sick. Support the troops my ass! You bastards will do anything to further the corporate cause, making money hand over fist while American blood soaks the sands of Iraq in a pre-emptive, illegal war that is destroying their country when THEY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 9/11!

The Libby Verdict Spin Begins

No sooner is Scooter Libby found guilty of 4 counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI that the conservative spin begins on the verdict.

John Gibson, FOX: "So the vice president and Libby wanted the press to know because they were getting pointed questions about why did you send this guy if you weren't going to pay attention to his report. And they found out that his wife had sent him. They wanted people to know. Problem was, she was a covert spook, at least technically.

So if you are the vice president or his assistant, can you out the spook if the spook is pulling strings behind your back to make you look bad? Evidently not.

Personally, I'm glad they did. There was a cabal inside the CIA working against the president's policy and they wanted to hide behind their secret status while they did what was essentially an anti-war political hitjob.

...So why would Cheney send an anti-war activist to investigate a key fact in the decision to go to war? Answer: He wouldn't. And the person who did was trying to sabotage the president."

Sure, that's it John. They were just trying to protect themselves against a vast left-wing conspiracy. A "cabal inside the CIA"? What are you smoking, Gibson? You're right on one count. Cheney didn't personally send Wilson. He asked the CIA to investigate to try and give credence to the ridiculous 'yellowcake-from-Niger' story. Plame, a non-official cover CIA Agent (NOC) sent Wilson, the most qualified person with the most knowledge of the region to assess, and he found nothing.
When his findings were ignored and he saw that we were being lied into a war, he spoke out. That's when Cheney went psycho and became obsessed with punishing Wilson by outing Plame. As SilentPatriot at Crooks and Liars says, Gibson manages to rewrite history in three minutes.

But that's only the tip of the iceberg. The Washington Post Editorial of March 7th calling the Libby trial a "pointless Washington scandal" was a ridiculous tirade of misinformation and revisionist history, so much so that of the 36 pages of posts I scanned through, I couldn't find one that was in agreement with the editorial. Most posts gave vague little pieces of advice like, "You should retire", "I'll be expecting a retraction" , "You should read the paper you write for" and "This is the worst piece of editorial drivel that the Post has published in a very long time."

Of course, this gave more ammo to the right-wingers.

DNR Online, Harrisonburg, VA: "The verdict of guilty in the case of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney is one more step in a "pointless Washington scandal."
Those last three words are not those of rightwing extremists, but the headline of an editorial in The Washington Post."
Oooh! That radical left-wing rag, The Washington Post! It must be true, unless we disagree with it, of course. Then it's all lies from that radical left-wing rag!

Here are some other quotes I came across in the OCRegister's Opinion Page:
"Anyone should get a pass when you can’t remember specifically what you said, especially considering numerous daily contacts that Libby made over the span of months."

"This farcical verdict should be summarily overturned and the rogue “special” prosecutor should get a taste of his own medicine. Better yet, he should be disbarred. What a disgrace."

Reading posts on conservative blogs and websites, it is amazing to me how the GOP has convinced the kool-aid drinkers and FOX News have convinced their viewers that:

1) Libby did nothing wrong: "Scooter Libby is going to jail for not remembering who he told what. He didn't lie, evidently. He didn't remember right, and that is a federal crime, of course, if you happen to be speaking to a FBI agent when your memory fails."

2) Valerie Plame was not covert, therefore no crime was committed.

Once again sheeple, the trial was not about the Plame leak. It was about Scooter Libby perjuring himself in front of a Grand Jury, the FBI and hindering an investigation.

Verdict: Guilty.

I don't think Libby could have gotten as far as he did professionally if he had a "forgetful memory". C'mon John, "he didn't lie, evidently"? This kind of classified information isn't what you might tend to forget, especially when your boss is obsessed with the Plame/Wilson affair. It's not as if he couldn't remember where he'd left his keys. It isn't that trivial. Besides the fact that people who know Libby are crediting him with an excellent memory and being incredibly sharp. Oh and by the way, Mr. Gibson, if you're "personally glad they did" leak the name of a CIA covert operative, then you should be investigated for treasonable offenses as well. A man in your position in agreement with treason? Par for the course for FOX News.

Of course no one has been charged with leaking Plame's name - the investigation into that matter was OBSTRUCTED BY LIBBY! And let's not start discrediting Patrick Fitzgerald in all this. Remember, this "rogue 'special' prosecutor" was appointed for this job by the WHITE HOUSE! But he didn't play their game. How soon before he gets fired? Anyone starting a pool?
Everyone is also acting as if this thing is over because it isn't as big as Watergate. It is not over. This can of worms has just opened. There will be plenty more to spill out of this administration before it's all over.

Do a little research yourself today. Google "Libby verdict" and you'll get a pack of editorials all trying to suggest that this was a non-crime, Libby was a scapegoat, Patrick Fitzgerald should be disbarred, Libby didn't leak the name, blah, blah, blah.

It's amazing what people still won't believe when it is staring them right in the face.

McCain Campaign Falling Apart

Due to his early presidential run announcement and "wasted" lives comment on Letterman, falling behind to Rudy Giuliani AND MITT ROMNEY?, not appearing at the Conservative Political Action Conference and his constant support for the war in Iraq and George the Liar, John McCain's fledgling campaign may be over before it even begins.

McCain was supposed to announce much later in the year. Many of his staff were blindsided by his [Letterman] campaign announcement. " ...When you do that, and you're not prepared for it, the staff goes crazy. Some of his coordinators in different states were pulling their hair out!" And several aides were so outraged that they've quit, say Republican insiders.

"One of the top aides to the Republican leadership told me that McCain has lost so much support, he's simply beside himself. He's wringing his hands. Things are sinking fast—in two or three weeks, we'll know if there is any recovery."

Libby Found Guilty

On 4 of 5 Counts

NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 — I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted today of lying to F.B.I. agents and grand jurors investigating the unmasking of a C.I.A. operative amid a burning dispute over the war in Iraq.

The question remains if there will be further investigations including Cheney's involvement and obsession with discrediting Joe Wilson and triggering the Plame leak. Initial reaction from prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald indicates that as of now, "the investigation is inactive."

In an unrelated(?) note, the Dow is up over 80 points today and climbing since the verdict.

UPDATE: (5:04pm EST)

VP CHENEY: "I am very disappointed with the verdict. I am saddened for Scooter and his family. As I have said before, Scooter has served our nation tirelessly and with great distinction through many years of public service. Since his legal team is seeking a new trial, persuing an appeal, I plan to have no further comment on the merits of this matter until these proceeding are concluded."

How convenient. Oh, and the Dow closed up 157 points.

Ghosts of Abu Ghraib

"There is no such thing as a 'little bit' of torture."

The HBO Documentary "Ghosts of Abu Ghraib" is a must see. There isn't much more I can say about it. If you don't have HBO, find someone who does and have them record it for you.

It's a shameful, horrific situation not only that this could happen, but that it was condoned in the highest levels of the Bush administration.

Abu Ghraib may seem like an old story, but the US Military has still not released how many people died at Abu Ghraib.

New York Times Review

HBO Viewing Schedule

Companies Respond To Coulter

The blogophere strikes back as Verizon, Sallie Mae and Georgia based NetBank pull their advertising from Ann Coulter's website for the comments made last Friday against John Edwards at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

It was initially brought to their attention by VelvetElvis, a diarist on DailyKos, who posted contact information for companies hosting ads on Queen Ann's website, in the hopes that complaints to these companies would cause them to act. Great job, Elvis!

UPDATE:
Arianna Huffington: Has Ann Coulter (Finally) Had Her Macaca Moment?

29%

Yes, George the Liar's approval rating is now at 29%. That is a very sad number indeed. An even sadder number is 65%. Yes, 65% of Republicans still approve of the way our fearless liar is doing his job.

Are they blissfully ignorant? Are they that partisan that they refuse to see what is happening to this nation and the world with their own eyes? I cannot fathom the idea that ANYONE would look at the Chimp's handling of anything - Iraq, Iran, Katrina, Abu Ghraib, the Plame/CIA leaks... the English language - and find it in their "wisdom" to still think they approve of the Commander in Thief. Did the pollsters get a hold of an insane asylum patient list and start calling before they realized who they were polling?

Pollster: "Hello sir, do you currently approve of the job that President George Bush is doing?"

Patient: " Why, yes. Yes I believe the President is doing a wonderful job on all fronts. GET THESE SPIDERS OFF MY SKIN! STOP LOOKING AT ME!!!"

I only have one question for those 29% that still approve of the job that Bush is doing: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

Ann Coulter Is Truly Insane

Wingnut Ann Coulter spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday. She is certifiably insane. Here is one of her comments:

“I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot'–so…"

No, no really...she actually said that. Here it is - see for yourself.

The audience's reaction? Audible "Oooh"s.. and then laughter, cheers and applause. Applause?! ...APPLAUSE!
After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I couldn't help but feel torn. I laughed at the thought that this was the best that CPAC had to offer and I was outraged at the fact that yet another Republican smear was going to permeate the simple minds of the country and before you know it, John Edwards drops out of the race after falling behind in the polls because 35% of the country thinks he's a closeted homosexual.

Oh, Ann, Ann, Ann. It's a shame that you have to resort to these type of attacks for lack of any substance. But then why would you be any different than any other Swiftboating Republican hack? You're their Queen. The drones swarm to you in order to propagate the species.

From Think Progress: The Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese issued the following statement:
“We demand that every single Presidential candidate in attendance at this conference, along with Vice President Cheney stand up and publicly condemn this type of gutter-style politics,” continued Solmonese. “If not, then their silence will be deafening to the vast majority of Americans who believe this type of language belongs no where near the discussions about the future of our country.”

The Conservative Political Action Conference was attended by 2008 Republican Presidential candidates: Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and former Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA). Vice President Dick Cheney also attended the event.

I believe that Mr. Solmonese's request is a valid one, and can't possibly be ruled unreasonable or out of the question. Surely the "liberal media" in this country have jumped all over Queen Ann to condemn her comments as despicably bigoted and trashy. Without fail, Vice President Cheney, who attended the conference, and who is the father of a pregnant, lesbian daughter, would make a statement disapproving of Coulter's smear... No? No one?

Wait a minute... why didn't I initially hear about this on televised news? Why did I hear about this on the Internet? Oh right, we were inundated with Anna Nicole's funeral all day long. You know, important stuff.

What vexes me about Coulter's statement is that, once again, if the very pointy shoe was placed on the other foot, if a Democrat had made a similarly disgusting remark, the Limbaughs and Hannitys of the world (and the Coulters too for that matter) would attack like the hyenas they are and the said bigot would be exiled to a remote island or launched away on an ice floe.

I keep waiting for the day when Queen Ann goes too far in her attacks, even for neocons, and says something like: "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama, but it turns out you get a cap popped in your ass if you use the word ‘nigger'–so…"

Then perhaps finally, she'll no longer be able to hold a job in which she can spew her hate, except for maybe standing in the middle of a corn field scaring the crows away. Unfortunately, it's more realistic to assume that there would just be another media blackout to further protect the likes of Ann Coulter.

Also read: Steven Weber - My Date With Ann

UPDATE:
NY Times: Republican Candidates Criticize Slur by a Conservative Author
John McCain (who did not attend CPAC): “The comments were wildly inappropriate,” said his spokesman, Brian Jones.

Rudy Giuliani: “The comments were completely inappropriate and there should be no place for such name-calling in political debate.”

Kevin Madden, a spokesman for Mitt Romney: “It was an offensive remark. Governor Romney believes all people should be treated with dignity and respect.”

Ann Coulter's e-mailed response: “C’mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean.”

She just doesn't get it. And she never will.

UPDATE II:

Glen Greenwald: Terrible Hatred and Anger on the Left

Don Hazen: Ann Coulter's 'Faggot' Remark Smears Mitt Romney Too
Bob Geiger: Will Republicans Apologize for Hanging with Hatemongers this Week?

Kucinich in Newsweek

Susannah Meadows' Newsweek interview with Dennis Kucinich is available online. She questions his thoughts on the Democratic race, the war in Iraq, domestic issues and his new marriage.

'It's Called Heart'
With Vilsack out, there's one less dark horse in the running. Can Dennis Kucinich capitalize? The pride of Cleveland on how his anti-war politics went mainstream, what he's got on Obama and Hillary, and what makes him run.

KUCINICH: Four years ago, people weren’t sure about the war. Today, my stand is mainstream. Four years ago, people weren’t sure how they felt about a not-for-profit health-care system, Medicare for all. Today my position is mainstream. And so I think what’s happened is on the biggest international issue and on the biggest domestic issue, my candidacy emerges as the one to win.