Flag Folding Fiasco

I received an email from an old high school friend and wanted to add my two cents. I am urging everyone to please check facts before forwarding emails like this because it can have a great impact on our political state of affairs at a very important time in our country.

The basic premise of the email was that the Veteran’s Administration banned flag folding ceremonies because of a reference to God. This is not true.

Let’s break down the website’s article:

The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued a ban that removes any mention of God from Honor Guard Flag Folding Ceremonies at veterans' funerals. FALSE

In a simple Google search of “VA bans flag folding” I came across an article entitled “VA rescinds ban on flag-folding recitation at veterans' funerals”

The article states that the flag folding ceremonies weren’t banned; it was the recitation that was banned. And why? Not because it made references to God. On the contrary, it was because it made references to “Gods” (plural). Apparently, the handouts of the recitation had a typo that referenced “the Gods Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” It is supposed to read the “God OF Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

From the article: “Washington banned the recital after receiving one complaint about the 11th fold, a tribute to Jewish veterans that "glorifies the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." In detailing its reason for the ban, the government said a handout accompanying the script used at some burial services included a "gross error" that glorified "the Gods Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

In an attempt to cause people to react negatively to the VA, right wing hack Jay Sekulow's website page misinformed and misinterpreted the facts to suit his needs. I say this with confidence because his article states, "We have recently received a complaint sent to the President of the United States that there was a gross error in the handout with reference to the eleventh fold involving reference to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Sekulow omits that the “gross error” was that the “OF” was missing, thereby proclaiming that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all referred to as Gods. He conveniently excludes what the error was in an attempt to make those of us who are religious froth at the mouth in a frenzy and further perpetuate the falsehood.

And ultimately, let's not forget that the Veteran's Administration is being run by the administration of Mensa Man. So even if the allegations were true, who would be to blame?

It only took me 30 seconds to Google the subject of the article and find out the real facts. I ask everyone to please, please, please check your facts before you automatically assume what you read is true. Otherwise we’d all still believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, Barack Obama is Muslim and Anna Nicole married for love.

Pervasive Sickness

pro·jec·tion [pruh-jek-shuhn] -noun

Psychology.
a. the tendency to ascribe to another person feelings, thoughts, or attitudes present in oneself, or to regard external reality as embodying such feelings, thoughts, etc., in some way.
b. Psychoanalysis. such an ascription relieving the ego of a sense of guilt or other intolerable feeling.


trans·fer·ence [trans-fur-uhns, trans-fer-uhns] -noun

Psychoanalysis.
a. the shift of emotions, esp. those experienced in childhood, from one person or object to another, esp. the transfer of feelings about a parent to an analyst.

Many years from now, if and when the country ever recovers from the corruption, criminalization and dismembering of the US Constitution by this evil administration, I have no doubt that psychoanalytical reports done by the government will reveal George W. Bush to be a certifiable sociopath.

Now I know that he has speechwriters, but it's really spooky to me that Bush would say something so indicative of what his crime syndicate has done over the past 7 years and have the brass balls to say it with no regard, or even an inkling that his statements actually describe him to a tee.

Listen to what Chickenhawk George had to say to the Heritage Foundation, that bastion of conservative "values":

"...some in Washington should spend more time responding to the warnings of terrorists like Osama bin Laden and the requests of our commanders on the ground and less time responding to the demands of MoveOn.org bloggers and Code Pink protesters."

Spend more time responding to the warnings of terrorists like Osama bin Laden?! Who the fuck does he think he's kidding?! I distinctly remember an August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing entitled, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US" that was ignored by King George because he was too preoccupied clearing brush and playing cowboy while vacationing in Crawford.

More time responding to the warnings of terrorists like Osama bin Laden?! This from the same idiot who said this: " So I don't know where [bin Laden] is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him... to be honest with you."

Or this: "I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."

Or this: "He's on the run, if he's running at all. So we don't know whether he's in cave with the door shut, or a cave with the door open -- we just don't know..."

And who disbanded the CIA unit dedicated to finding Bin Laden?

But in King George's pathetic speech which mentioned 9/11 eight times and "terror" 28 times, here is the classic psychoanalytical transference line: "History teaches us that underestimating the words of evil, ambitious men is a terrible mistake."

Truer words were never spoken by a lying, rat-bastard coward. And when the nuclear cloud clears years from now, people will look upon this phrase and wonder why the American public didn't see the danger in this psychotic bastard and remove him from office.

America's Mayor: Urban Legend

Rudy "Noun-Verb-9/11" Giulani is out of control.

As Arianna Hufington posts, "Giuliani's latest testosterone-fueled rant found him arguing that if we hadn't invaded Iraq, Saddam (who had no nuclear program) would be "becoming nuclear right now," and making the jaw-dropping and stomach-turning claim that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama "are kind of debating whether to invite" Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Bashar Assad "to the inauguration or the inaugural ball."

What kind of outrageous statement is this and why isn't the media calling America's Mayor to task?

The myth of Giulani's role on 9/11 is exactly that. A myth. Rudy Giuliani was responsible for moving New York City's Emergency Command Center into World Trade Center Tower 7, AFTER the 1993 bombing of the WTC. When it was revealed that radio communications during the '93 attack were faulty, he waited 8 years before finally approving a no-bid contract to Motorola, who supplied the city with... more faulty radios. This was discovered in March of 2001 when a firefighter was trapped in a basement of a burning house was calling for help that wasn't heard by other members at the scene, but was heard by firefighters two miles away. This happened six months before 9/11, and instead of doing something about it, the city's answer was to swap back to the old radios.

The IAFF (Firefighter's Union) has put out a video setting the record straight. Who are you going to believe? The firemen who lost their bretheren on 9/11, or the "pandering lunatic" seeking the GOP nomination for President of the United States?

Also check out: Crooks & Liars - NYC to Investigate Giulani, faulty 9/11 radios

Say It Ain't So, Charlie!

Charles Schumer says he will vote in favor of Michael Mukasey's nomination as the next Attorney General... A shocker? Not really. Schumer was uncharacteristically quiet during the qustioning of Mukasey since the waterboarding issue came up. Schumer kept quiet because he actually recommended Mukasey.

"This is an extremely difficult decision," Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement, adding that Mukasey "is not my ideal choice."
...Schumer's announcement followed a private meeting Friday with Mukasey to discuss waterboarding."I deeply oppose it," Schumer said of waterboarding. "Unfortunately, this nominee, indeed any proposed by President Bush, will not agree with this. I am, however, confident that this nominee would enforce a law that bans waterboarding."

So instead of saying he made a mistake and sit there with egg on his face, Schumer will just slink back into the corner of the room... with egg on his face, hopefully never to be heard from again.

Damn you, Chuck. I'll never believe another word you say, ever again.

Diane Feinstein has also decided to back the AG nominee, but that's not a surprise, is it?

UPDATE: Nov. 6, 2007

Schumer, Feinstein ‘surprise’ thwarts efforts on Mukasey

Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) effectively thwarted plans by the activist left to use the weekend to mobilize ahead of Tuesday’s Judiciary Committee vote and pressure wayward senators to reject the nominee, activists said.

“It was a surprise attack,” said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the Washington legislative office for the American Civil Liberties Union, which wants the Judiciary Committee to defeat the nomination. “There was a limited opportunity to say much about what Schumer and Feinstein had done because the timing was very cleverly calculated to avoid scrutiny.”

King George on Mukasey

BUSH on Mukasey: “He’s a good man, he’s a fair man, he’s an independent man, and he’s plenty qualified to be the attorney general,” Mr. Bush said at the airport here. “And I strongly urge the United States Senate to confirm this man, so that I can have an attorney general to work with to protect the United States of America from further attack.”

This "plenty qualified man" also said he didn't know what waterboarding was and then when he found out, refused to make a call on determining whether it was considered torture or not until AFTER his confirmation. Well Mike, how about if we call it what it actually is: SIMULATED DROWNING. But to tell the truth, it's not simulated at all. It's real drowning and stopping just short of killing the victim.

As Senator Pat Leahy said, "...no American should need a classified briefing to determine whether waterboarding is torture.”

Krugman on Giuliani

When is someone going to call out Giuliani for the warmongering, lying asshole that he is?

PAUL KRUGMAN, NY Times: “My chance of surviving prostate cancer — and thank God I was cured of it — in the United States? Eighty-two percent,” says Rudy Giuliani in a new radio ad attacking Democratic plans for universal health care. “My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England? Only 44 percent, under socialized medicine.”

It would be a stunning comparison if it were true. But it isn’t. And thereby hangs a tale — one of scare tactics, of the character of a man who would be president and, I’m sorry to say, about what’s wrong with political news coverage.

Read Krugman's article here.

Bukowski: The Genius of the Crowd

I just finished watching a documentary on Charles Bukowski that I highly recommend.

About an hour into the film, Bukowski read from one of his more famous poems, "The Genius of the Crowd". What really struck me were the first five lines.

there is enough treachery, hatred violence absurdity in the average
human being to supply any given army on any given day

and the best at murder are those who preach against it
and the best at hate are those who preach love
and the best at war finally are those who preach peace

Robert Goulet Dead at 73

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer-actor Robert Goulet, whose rich baritone voice made him an instant success when he played Lancelot in the original 1960 Broadway hit "Camelot," died on Tuesday at age 73.

The performer, who suffered from the lung disease pulmonary fibrosis, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was awaiting a decision on whether he could receive a lung transplant...

Here's Goulet singing from Carousel.

Bill Maher - For Halloween, Fear Global Warming

Not the Fearmongers

FEMA: Fraudulent Embarrassing Moronic Administration

By now we've all heard that in an attempt to show how great FEMA was handling things while fires raged in southern California, external affairs director Pat Philbin staged a fake news conference. How insane is it, that an organization under the Office of Homeland Security, after their response in New Orleans (or lack of) to Hurricane Katrina, has to stage a news conference to show the country how much better they are handling the latest disaster?

Of course, the White House claims not to know that this happened and does not condone it. Yeah, right.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said it was not appropriate that the questions were posed by agency staff members instead of reporters. FEMA was responsible for the "error in judgment," she said, adding that the White House did not know about it beforehand and did not condone it.
"FEMA has issued an apology, saying that they had an error in judgment when they were attempting to get out a lot of information to reporters, who were asking for answers to a variety of questions in regard to the wildfires in California," Perino said. "It's not something I would have condoned. And they - I'm sure - will not do it again."

An error in judgement?! Perino also reported that any action taken against those responsible would be handled by FEMA. And to her credit she was right.

CNN reports that John "Pat" Philbin, the Director of Public Affairs responsible for FEMA's recent faked news conference, is effectively receiving a promotion... Philbin is slated to become Director of Public Affairs for the Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell.

Heckuva job, Pat.


UPDATE: Philbin denied!

Olbermann: “…We’re told that a high ranking member of the Bush administration reviewed someone’s record, found him lacking and then severed ties with him. An event some have long prophesied as the first horseman of the apocalypse.”

Permission to Fly?

Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during the Reagan Administration, and editor of the Wall Street Journal and The National Review, puts BushCo. in perspective and highlights the Evil Empire's latest attempt to subjugate the citizens it claims to protect for freedom's sake.

Excerpt below:

...the Bush administration wants to take away the American people's freedom to travel within their own country by airplane. Not content with an 80,000 "no fly" list, a subset of a 500,000-750,000 "watch list," the Bush administration's Transport Security Administration has proposed new rules that will require Americans to get government permission 72 hours in advance prior to being allowed to board a domestic flight.

...What American wants his travel plans dependent on a government bureaucracy capable of putting US Senator Ted Kennedy on the "no fly" list and capable of issuing US visas to two of the alleged 9/11 hijackers six months after they allegedly died in the 9/11 events?

...A country in which people cannot make airline reservations without the government's permission is not a free country.

Read the entire article here.

How Do We Perpetuate the War?

Just Miss Bin Laden Again.

Col. David Hunt, FOX News:

We know, with a 70 percent level of certainty — which is huge in the world of intelligence — that in August of 2007, bin Laden was in a convoy headed south from Tora Bora. We had his butt, on camera, on satellite. We were listening to his conversations. We had the world’s best hunters/killers — Seal Team 6 — nearby. We had the world class Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) coordinating with the CIA and other agencies. We had unmanned drones overhead with missiles on their wings; we had the best Air Force on the planet, begging to drop one on the terrorist. We had him in our sights; we had done it. Nice job again guys — now, pull the damn trigger.

Unbelievably, and in my opinion, criminally, we did not kill Usama bin Laden.

You cannot make this crap up; truth is always stranger and more telling than fiction. Our government, the current administration and yes, our military leaders included, failed to kill bin Laden for no other reason than incompetence.

The current “boneheads” in charge will tell you all day long that we are fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan to stop terrorists there so they do not come here. Nice talk, how about — just for a moment — acting like you mean what you say?

Climate Change Benefits? Less Colds!

Dana Perino: " ...this is an issue where I'm sure lots of people would love to ridicule me when I say this, but it is true that many people die from cold-related deaths every winter. And there are studies that say that climate change in certain areas of the world would help those individuals... "

...Say what now?... Well she got the "ridicule" part right.

Also check out: Max and the Marginalized - "Dana Dana"

Zeitgeist

Zeit·geist [tsahyt-gahyst]n.

The taste, outlook, and spirit characteristic of a period or generation. Zeitgeist is German for “time-spirit.”

I finally had some time to sit down and watch "Zeitgeist" today. It is mind-numbing. It's also a must see. So when you have a chance, sit down, take a deep breath and watch it. I'm sure some people will be offended by some of the content, whether it be religious, political or conspiratorial, but in my opinion, it is healthy to question oneself.

As far as the quote below, part of it is in the movie, which stirred enough interest in me to look for its origin.

The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment.

...For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence -- on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice... It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific, and political operations. Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed.

...I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people. For I have complete confidence in the response and dedication of our citizens whenever they are fully informed...

Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed - and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy.

...It was early in the 17th Century that Francis Bacon remarked on three recent inventions already transforming the world: the compass, gunpowder, and the printing press. Now the links between the nations first forged by the compass have made us all citizens of the world, the hopes and threats of one becoming the hopes and threats of us all. In that one world's efforts to live together, the evolution of gunpowder to its ultimate limit has warned mankind of the terrible consequences of failure.

And so it is to the printing press -- to the recorder of man's deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news -- that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent.

John F. Kennedy
April 27, 1961
Address to the American Newspaper Publishers

Chris Matthews: Journalist?!

I know, I know, it shocked me as well. Chris Matthews posed some serious questions to Warmonger of the Day, Joshua Muravchik of the American Enterprise Institute. Muravchick wants to bomb Iran now and came across as a blubbering fool unable to answer legitimate concerns of the repercussions of such an action.

No Need To Worry About Voter Disenfranchisement

...Minorities Die Young Anyway

What does it say about the Bush Department of Justice when its top ranking voting rights official says photo ID requirements do not disproportionately disenfranchise elderly minority voters because they die first?

NY TIMES: In a speech to a Latino group earlier this month in Los Angeles, Mr. Tanner said that a disproportionate share of elderly minority voters did not have identification, but added that it was not a widespread problem because of their life expectancy.

“Creating problems for elderly persons just is not good under any circumstance,” Mr. Tanner told the National Latino Congreso... “Of course, that also ties into the racial aspect because our society is such that minorities don’t become elderly the way white people do. They die first.”

Nah, he couldn't have said that... could he?

What a moron. Click here to send a letter demanding his ouster through Barack Obama's website.

Glenn Beck Makes Me Vomit

How many times do I have to ask, "Where's the outrage?!"

Glenn Beck is probably the lowest of the low. He's actually giving O'Reilly and Hannity a run for their GOP money. On his radio program today, (do I have to wonder why these douchebags have radio programs?) Beck was ranting about people who, in his estimation, hate America and went on to say, "I think there is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today", referring to those who have been devastated in the San Diego area due to the fires of the last two days.

What an asshole.

More War Money Please

...Actually I Don't Think He Said Please

Nevermind about that $35 billion for providing health care to 10 million children in the United States for the next 5 years. Remember the United States? Bush vetoed that faster than you can say "nukular".

And oh, by the way, give me $46 BILLION MORE FOR THE WAR IN IRAQ! It's an "emergency".

From Congress Daily, 10/22/07:

The amended foreign aid request in President Bush's supplemental package would fund infrastructure and development projects in Iraq and Afghanistan and extend to projects beyond the Middle East. That could provide Democrats with added leverage in their battle with Bush over unrelated domestic spending. Afghanistan is a major aid recipient in the amended request -- about $322 million would be for diplomatic operations there, including $160 million for construction of residential housing and the remainder to provide security for U.S. personnel. Another $100 million is included to help prepare for that country's elections in 2009 and $225 million for the central government to help extend its reach and build trust in outlying regions. The request would provide $115 million for power generators in Kabul and electric power in the northern part of the country and $5 million is for "reconstruction opportunity zones" to help build the economy. Another $50 million would be used to build a road from Kabul to Bamiyan in central Afghanistan, and $5 million is included to help protect Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Iraq would receive about $239 million for the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, while another $125 million would go for economic aid, including $100 million for restarting state-owned enterprises and $25 million for a new private-sector development fund. Another $240 million is requested for Iraqi refugees, with about $160 million to aid refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, and $80 million to aid displaced refugees inside Iraq.

Well, as long as it's important...

Watch the CNN video.

UPDATE: Oct.23, 2007 - Bush’s Request for Wars Increases to $196 Billion

Representative David R. Obey, Democratic of Wisconsin, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, criticized Mr. Bush for pushing the extra financing even as the president attacked Democrats as spendthrifts.

“It’s amazing to me that the president expects to be taken seriously when he says we cannot afford $20 billion in investments in education, health, law enforcement and science, which will make this country stronger over the long term,” Mr. Obey said in a statement.

“But he doesn’t blink an eye at asking to borrow $200 billion for a policy in Iraq that leaves us six months from now exactly where we were six months ago.”

Mr. Bush, appearing at the White House with veterans and relatives of soldiers, warned Congress to move quickly to approve the added spending, though he did not make his final supplemental proposal until three weeks into the fiscal year.

Kasparov on Real Time

Former World Chess Champion and current candidate for president of Russia Garry Kasparov was Bill Maher's guest on HBO's Real Time, and told it like it is in Russia, the U.S and the Middle East.

If only there were more straight shooters in the political arena, we wouldn't be in the global mess we're in now. A riveting interview.

World War III

Yes, Bush has hit a new low with his latest press conference. He used the term "World War III". And he said it with a smile on his face.

BUSH: "But this -- we got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."

He said this while smiling and chuckling.

My bewilderment turned into outrage. What the hell is so funny about this? Why is this diluted bastard giggling like a schoolgirl? I was going to write about it but Bob Cesca beat me to the punch.

CESCA: They're marketing Iran with more psychotic voracity than Michelle Malkin attacking an injured baby...
Is it any wonder why we occasionally succumb to outrage fatigue: that deflated, windless sense of numbing futility we feel when confronted with the illogical and the absurd? We've only begun to dig into the upper strata of lawlessness this regime has perpetrated over the last seven years. And now, in this desperate dying twilight of their existence -- now that they're gravely unpopular and on their way out the door -- reckless and without anything to lose -- why shouldn't they do all the crazy shit they've talked about? Bomb Tehran? Yeah, that'll be awesome and hilarious. More war means more war powers. If you thought the administration's war powers were crazy huge, just imagine their World War powers. Score!

...Just like so many powerful men, he appears to be able to switch off his conscience (if one exists in the first place). It's the same switch that allows him to say "we don't torture," or to smirk and laugh while discussing Iraq casualties and World War III. "Everyone else" won't include him because he'll always be safe. He'll always have Crawford and the twins; his fake accent and his delusional view of history; his nicknames and his eh-eh-eh laugh.

The rest of us -- unless we can find a way to stop this Iran drumbeat -- won't be laughing so much.

What A Way To Go

Houston Chronicle:

Prosecutors have dropped charges that a Lake Jackson woman caused her husband's death by giving him a sherry enema, leading to alcohol poisoning.

...Michael Warner, a 58-year-old machine shop operator, died at the couple's Lake Jackson home on May 21, 2004. According to an autopsy report, Warner had been administered an enema with enough sherry to get a blood alcohol level of 0.47. That is almost six times the level that can lead to a driving while intoxicated charge.

At the time Tammy Jean Warner was indicted, Lake Jackson police detective Robert Turner said that Michael Warner was a longtime alcoholic who sometimes used enemas to get drunk because a medical condition made it painful for him to drink.

...In a 2005 interview, Warner said her husband often drank alcohol, but that he had been addicted to enemas since he was a child. She said he often used alcohol in that manner to get drunk.

This story gives a whole new meaning to "dead-ass drunk", doesn't it?

Ann "Eva Braun" Coulter

I try to stay away from the subject of the ever-evil Ann Coulter, but this one I couldn't pass up. Hawking another crap-ass book, Coulter sticks her large foot in her larger mouth again and makes a blatant anti-semitic comment.

From Media Matters:

During the October 8 edition of CNBC's The Big Idea, host Donny Deutsch asked right-wing pundit Ann Coulter: "If you had your way ... and your dreams, which are genuine, came true ... what would this country look like?" Coulter responded, "It would look like New York City during the [2004] Republican National Convention. In fact, that's what I think heaven is going to look like." She described the convention as follows: "People were happy. They're Christian. They're tolerant. They defend America." Deutsch then asked, "It would be better if we were all Christian?" to which Coulter responded, "Yes." Later in the discussion, Deutsch said to her: "[Y]ou said we should throw Judaism away and we should all be Christians," and Coulter again replied, "Yes." When pressed by Deutsch regarding whether she wanted to be like "the head of Iran" and "wipe Israel off the Earth," Coulter stated: "No, we just want Jews to be perfected, as they say. ... That's what Christianity is. We believe the Old Testament, but ours is more like Federal Express. You have to obey laws."

Is there any group that the new Queen of Mean doesn't hate? (She inherits the name since Leona Helmsley kicked the bucket.) Democrats, liberals, progressives, Muslims, African-Americans, Latinos, gays, and now Jews - you name it, Ann hates it. But hate sells, and Coulter knows this all too well.

Oh Those Tough On Terror Republicans

Can someone please tell me why anyone thinks Republicans are better at national security?

A private intelligence company that infiltrated terrorist groups and had obtained the latest Osama Bin Laden video ahead of it's schedule release, informed the White House with the caveat that secrecy was of the utmost importance.

Within 20 minutes, a range of intelligence agencies had begun downloading it from the company's Web site. By midafternoon that day, the video and a transcript of its audio track had been leaked from within the Bush administration to cable television news and broadcast worldwide.

...this premature disclosure tipped al-Qaeda to a security breach and destroyed a years-long surveillance operation that the company has used to intercept and pass along secret messages, videos and advance warnings of suicide bombings from the terrorist group's communications network.

Heckuva job, Bushies.

Is This How We Support The Troops?

You gotta hand it to the Pentagon and this evil, corrupt administration. They sure do know how to cover their bases.

Over 1,100 members of the Minnesota National Guard who have been deployed to Iraq for 22 months, longer than any other unit currently serving, are being denied education benefits because their orders were written for 729 days - one day short of qualifying for extra tuition to pay for school.

1st Lt. Jon Anderson said he never expected to come home to this... "It's pretty much a slap in the face," Anderson said. "I think it was a scheme to save money, personally. I think it was a leadership failure by the senior Washington leadership... once again failing the soldiers."

And yet another failure chalked up for the "fourth branch of government", who failed to report this news nationally. I bring this up once again: the "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" ad gets non-stop coverage on major news outlets, but this sickening story of our government screwing yet again the very troops they claim to support is only reported on an NBC affiliate in Portland, Maine.

Read the entire article here.

Screw The Kids

Mr. Compassionate Conservative has vetoed the S-CHIP bill.

The bill was approved by Congress with unusual bipartisan support, as many Republicans who side with the president on almost everything else voted to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or Schip, from its current enrollment of about 6.6 million children to more than 10 million...

Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey said: “Once again, President Bush has missed an opportunity to display compassionate leadership. Instead, he has resorted to political and ideological gamesmanship rather than seek a bipartisan solution that would protect this nation’s most vulnerable children.”

Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said: “We have no choice but to try to override his veto. The Senate already has the votes to do it, so it is now up to the holdouts in the House to decide whether to vote their conscience or join the president in putting ideology above kids.”

The Senate voted with a veto-proof majority, 67-29. The House is a couple of dozen votes short of the two-thirds needed to override Raisinbrain's veto. Now we'll see what the Republicans are made of. Are they going to do what's best for their constituents or are they following the Pied Piper of Pissants down the road to unelectability?

And can we please stop saying that this bill is a step towards the "evil" of socialized medicine? If socialized medicine is so evil, then I defy any Republican elected official to stop using it. Let Bush go somewhere else to get his pre-cancerous polyps removed from is ass. Let Darth Cheney go to the local hospital to recharge his pacemaker batteries instead of going to Bethesda Naval Hospital. If this bill can help an extra 3.5 million children to receive health care, what's the problem? Do we seriously believe that a family of four pulling in about $50,000 a year before taxes can actually afford health insurance at a cost of $500-700 a month? If you do, do the math and stop kidding yourself.

WMD Lie Just Doesn't Stop

Des Moines Register: Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson said today he was certain former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction prior to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, a point of contention in the 4.5 years since the war began.

"We can't forget the fact that although at a particular point in time we never found any WMD down there, he clearly had had WMD. He clearly had had the beginnings of a nuclear program."


It's incredible that this is still an issue. Although when pressed further, Thompson did say he also still believed that Anna Nicole married for love. His wife Jeri had no comment.

What An Embarrassment

Washington Post: As a candidate, George W. Bush once asked, "Is our children learning?"
Now he has an answer.

"Childrens do learn," he said Wednesday.

The setting was, yes, an education event where the president was taking credit for rising test scores and promoting congressional renewal of his signature education law...

The test results released Tuesday are not the ones used under No Child Left Behind, but the administration said that they show the progress since the law was passed with bipartisan support. Math scores improved among fourth- and eighth-graders, and black and Hispanic students made gains, although they still trailed their white counterparts. Eighth-grade reading scores, on the other hand, have not changed much since 1998.

...Bush was pointing to the test results when he stumbled. "As yesterday's positive report card shows," he said, "childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured." Bush pushed on without pausing to correct himself, but the official White House transcript released later cleaned up the sentence for him by making it "children."

The gaffe came a day after a White House draft of his speech to the U.N. General Assembly was mistakenly posted on the U.N. Web site, complete with phonetic guides to the names of various foreign countries and leaders -- "KEYR-geez-stan" (Kyrgyzstan), "moor-EH-tain-ee-a" (Mauritania), "sar-KO-zee" (French President Nicolas Sarkozy). A White House spokeswoman said it was "offensive" to ask if that indicated Bush has problems pronouncing foreign names.

I find it offensive that someone so stupid and lazy is in the Oval Office.

Bill O'Racist

How can there possibly be an excuse for this kind of crap or attempted to be explained away by Fox News?

During the September 19 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, discussing his recent trip to have dinner with Rev. Al Sharpton at Sylvia's, a famous restaurant in Harlem, Bill O'Reilly reported that he "had a great time, and all the people up there are tremendously respectful," adding: "I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship... There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea.' You know, I mean, everybody was -- it was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people were sitting there, and they were ordering and having fun. And there wasn't any kind of craziness at all."

What did you expect, Bill? Did Don Imus tell you there were nappy-headed hos serving fried chicken and watermelon at Sylvia's? Of course O'Reilly realized his remarks were blantantly racist and has since apologized and resigned from his radio and television programs... HAHAHAHA! Just kidding.

He's blaming CNN for reporting the incident and claiming he was misquoted. And Fox News actually defends it: "This is nothing more than left-wing outlets stirring up false racism accusations for ratings. It's sad."

Yes it is, Faux News. It's very sad.

For a complete transcript and audio, check out the Media Matters article.

Hey Blackburn: SHUT UP!

I love David Schuster. The Republicans want the New York Times' MoveOn.Org ad front and center as the latest distraction to what's really important in the real world. So David Schuster (filling in for Tucker Carlson - I still don't know why that guy has a show) obliges Rep. Marsha Blackburn with some air time to try and continue to pull the wool over the eyes of the public. He's trying to figure out the usual Republican hypocrisy in calling out the MoveOn ad, yet keeping silent on Rush Limbaugh's program where he chuckles through someone calling Senator Hagel "Senator Betray Us".

Little did Blackburn know she was going to get exposed as the imbecile she is. And then the bombshell: Schuster asked her to name the last soldier killed in Iraq from her district. She didn't know.

Shuster: “Let’s talk about the public trust. You represent, of course, a district in western Tennessee. What was the name of the last solider from your district who was killed in Iraq?”

Blackburn:”The name of the last soldier killed in Iraq uh - from my district I - I do not know his name -”

Shuster: “Ok, his name was Jeremy Bohannon, he was killed August the 9th, 2007. How come you didn’t know the name?”

Blackburn: “I - I, you know, I - I do not know why I did not know the name…”

Schuster: "...don’t you understand, the problems that a lot of people would have, that you’re so focused on an ad — when was the last time a New York Times ad ever killed somebody? I mean, here we have a war that took the life of an 18 year old kid, Jeremy Bohannon from your district, and you didn’t even know his name.”

Watch as the stunned Rep. Blackburn tries to weasel her way out of the hole she's dug for herself. When is MSNBC going to give Schuster his own show?

Fallon Calls Petraeus "Chickenshit"

Why Didn't Bush Defend Him?

With all the uproar regarding this past week the MoveOn.Org ad, where was Chimpy and the rest of his Republican thugs when CENTCOM Chief, Admiral William Fallon called General Petraeus an "ass-kissing little chickenshit"?

In January, President Bush replaced Abizaid and Casey, who were “surge” skeptics, with Adm. William Fallon and Gen. David Petraeus. This week, Petraeus — in the first public hearings since taking on his new role — delivered his Iraq assessment to great media fanfare. But where was his boss, Admiral Fallon? Inter-Press Service suggests animosity between the two might be one reason for Fallon’s absence:

Fallon told Petraeus [in March] that he considered him to be “an ass-kissing little chickenshit” and added, “I hate people like that”, the sources say. That remark reportedly came after Petraeus began the meeting by making remarks that Fallon interpreted as trying to ingratiate himself with a superior.

...Nice...

Republican "Scheduling Conflicts"

The Republican Party's group of presidential hopefuls are writing off 30-40% of the voting population. Why bother showing up to a debate hosted by black or latino constituents? Is it going to get you anywhere? An African-American or latino voting Republican would be like chickens voting for Colonel Sanders... and yet, some will still do it.

The leading contenders for the Republican nomination have indicated they will not attend the "All American Presidential Forum" organized by black talk show host Tavis Smiley, scheduled for Sept. 27 at Morgan State University in Baltimore and airing on PBS. Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.) and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) all cited scheduling conflicts in forgoing the debate. The top Democratic contenders attended a similar event in June at Howard University.

...Making matters worse, some Republicans believe, is that the decision to bypass the Morgan State forum comes after all top GOP candidates save McCain declined invitations this month to a debate on Univision, the most-watched Hispanic television network in the United States. The event was eventually postponed.

"What's the win?" said the adviser, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. "Why would [the candidates] go into a crowd where they're probably going to be booed?"

Even Newt Gingrich --NEWT GINGRICH!-- who basically made the Republican Party what it is today , got into the act when he said, "For Republicans to consistently refuse to engage in front of an African American or Latino audience is an enormous error. ...I see no excuse -- this thing has been planned for months, these candidates have known about it for months. It's just fundamentally wrong. Any of them who give you that scheduling-conflict answer are disingenuous. That's baloney."

Forum host Tavis Smiley: "When you reject every black invitation and every brown invitation you receive, is that a scheduling issue or is it a pattern? I don't believe anybody should be elected president of the United States if they think along the way they can ignore people of color. That's just not the America we live in."

Well Tavis, that may not be the American you or I live in, but it's definitely the America they've been living in for quite a while now.

Hey Republican candidates: I can't wait to support you! "The check's in the mail."


ALSO READ: Vernon Jordan - The Whites Only" Sign on the GOP's "Big Tent"

Hypocrite in Chief

As I sat mouth agape on my couch listening to Chimpy's latest press conference, a press gaggle riddled with so-called journalists who only agree with what the President has to say, my brain began to melt at the nonsense that was oozing out of his mouth.

Of course they saved the best question for last asking him his opinion of the MoveOn.Org "Petraeus/Betray Us" ad.

BUSH:

I thought the ad was disgusting. I felt like the ad was an attack not only on General Petraeus, but on the U.S. Military. And I was disappointed that not more leaders in the Democrat party spoke out strongly against that kind of ad. And that leads me to come to this conclusion: that most Democrats are afraid of irritating a left-wing group like Move-On-Dot-Org — or more afraid of irritating them, than they are of irritating the United States military. That was a sorry deal.

And there he is once again, with the usual "if you're anti-war then you are against the troops" bullshit. Bush insists that the Democrat-IC Party is making this a political issue, when all the while he's the one who set up General Petraeus as his front man. He's the one who crossed the line with using a military man as the latest mouthpiece for this administration.

I suppose it was alright and not "disgusting" when the Bush campaign slung mud at John McCain and Max Cleland. And where was the outrage after John Kerry was swiftboated?

If General Petraeus has betrayed anyone, it's himself. He wrote the book on battling counterinsurgency in which he quotes one soldier is needed for every 40 on the ground. That would equal approximately 650,000 US troops, the same number Generals Shinsecki and Abizaid said would be needed for success in Iraq before they were fired or resigned rather than deal with the know-nothings of the Bush administration.

Keith Olbermann's special comment was on point when it came to Bush's remarks yesterday:

OLBERMANN:

...you were the one who inappropriately interjected General Petraeus into the political dialogue of this nation in the first place!
Deliberately, premeditatedly, and virtually without precedent, you shanghaied a military man as your personal spokesman — and now you’re complaining about the outcome, and then running away from the microphone?

... The Republican Hamstringing of Captain Max Cleeland and lying about Lieutenant John Kerry met with your approval? But a shot at General Petraeus — about whom you conveniently ignore it is you who reduced him from four-star hero to a political hack — that merits this pissy juvenile blast at the Democrats on national television?

... Mr. Bush, you have hidden behind the General’s skirts, and today you have hidden behind the skirts of ‘the planted last question’ at a news conference, to indicate once again that your presidency has been about the tilted playing field, about no rules for your party in terms of character assassination and changing the fabric of our nation, and no right for your opponents or critics to as much as respond.

That, sir, is not only un-American — it is dictatorial.

The worst part of all of this is that 22 Democrats in the Senate bit hook, line and sinker into the Bush bait and voted on a non binding resolution to condemn the MoveOn ad.

Don't they have better things to do than waste time talking about an ad? By the way, they just denounced free speech. I suppose we can just scratch out the 1st Amendment to the Constitution.

Habeas Corpus Mortuus

This is shameful. 44 United States Senators have voted against restoring "The Great Writ" that spans back at least 700 years.

For a complete list of those who failed to uphold their oath to defend the Constitution, click here. But just to be clear, of the 44 Senators, 43 are Republican, and one claims to be an Independent.

Here's Chris Dodd making a statement before the vote:

Here's what Dodd said after the vote:

“America’s moral standing, and with it the security of the United States, suffered another setback today, atop a pile of setbacks that has accumulated over the past six years. The outcome of this vote is both symbolic and tragic. Each of us in the Senate faced a decision either to cast a vote in favor of helping to restore America’s reputation in the world, or to help dig deeper the hole of utter disrespect for the rule of law that the Bush Administration has created. Unfortunately, too many of my colleagues chose the latter, and my disappointment runs deep. But I will not rest my case with this vote. Instead, this defeat will only deepen my resolve to restore the rule of law and with it American security, for far too much is at stake - for every American - to simply give up the fight.”

Start making those calls and writing those emails.

On Vacation

Sorry for the lack of posting these past few days. I am on my honeymoon in Italy with my lovely new bride and won't be back til next week. I'll tell you all about it when I return.

Republican Voters

Well, here's the problem. Republicans have a lackluster block of candidates, and yet listen to the responses you get (emphasis mine):

NEW YORK TIMES:

Mr. Goulet, 38, a welder foreman, voted for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, then did not vote in the next two elections. He now likes Mr. McCain, because of his military background. “It’s tough to send troops somewhere if you haven’t been there yourself,” Mr. Goulet said.

Josh Schultz, 28, of Lancaster, Ohio, who drives a bulldozer and also works as a mechanic, said was starting to like Mr. Romney "because he seems downt to earth."

William Sedlak, 47, a flight attendant who lives in Aliso Viejo, Calif., said he liked Mr. Giuliani because “he’s conservative enough but he’s still a little liberal enough.”

Wayne Horton, 53, who works in construction as a house framer and lives in Burton, Ohio, has been mulling the field and has decided he likes Mr. Romney because he looks presidential... Mr. Thompson? “I really don’t know much about him. I’m not that informed. Really, I just rely on TV and what my wife tells me from reading the paper, and then we talk about it over supper. We’re out
trying to make a living, so we rely on the media to tell us about the candidates’ qualifications.”

And there, in a nutshell is the mentality of the Republican voter. "He looks presidential" is a perfectly good reason to vote for someone to be President of the United States.

Mr. Horton relies on the media for the candidates qualifications but admits he's not that informed. Tells you something about the media, doesn't it? Do you think Mr. Horton knows much more about Paris Hilton or Owen Wilson than Sam Brownback or Ron Paul? Mr. Sedlak wants to be a conservative but is a closeted liberal and therefore likes Giuliani. Mr. Goulet likes McCain for his military service but his quote is confusing. “It’s tough to send troops somewhere if you haven’t been there yourself.” Does that mean that since McCain has visited Iraq he knows what it's like and can send more troops or does he hope that McCain's Vietnam experience will prevent him from causing further chaos in the Middle East?

Someday, the GOP voters will start asking questions that matter. I'm not saying that issues like immigration and right to privacy aren't important but in my opinion, health care, the war in Iraq, our straining economy and diplomatic standing in the world are priorities over the wedge issues that the Republican party uses time and time again to divide the citizens of this country.

Craig Resigns

Senator Larry Craig's (R-ID) last day will be September 30th. Claiming that the constituants of Idaho deserve a Senator who can concentrate on his job 100% of the time, Craig said that his upcoming legal battle will prevent him from doing so and therefore be unfair to Idahoans.

And to top it off, Craig hired Billy Martin as his attorney. Who is Billy Martin you might ask? He's the 21st century Johnnie Cochran. Martin's latest defense case involved a certain football player named MICHAEL VICK!!!

Senator Craig had better hope that martin will do a better job on his case than he did on Vick's.

Tony Snowjob Resigns

The latest rat to desert a sinking lame duck ship,Tony Snow, White House Press Secretary will resign as of September 14th. Snow has been looking more and more feeble in his ongoing battle with cancer.

He will be replaced by "Legally Bland", Dana "Too Much Cappuccino" Perino. If you don't understand the cappuccino moniker, you will as soon as you hear her speak.

She's a hottie - unfortunately she becomes less and less attractive with each Republican talking point uttered from her mouth.

The Hillary Hate Factor

For quite a while now, I've been thinking about the Democrats running in the Presidential primary looking to get the votes needed to be the next nominee for President of the United States. As we all know, it's been Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama who have been leading the pack in the polls, campaign contributions and in media exposure.

Both are worthy candidates, in my opinion, but there are always a couple of questions that come across my mind as I imagine either one as the Democratic nominee. Could one of these two actually win? It would be devastating for this country to elect another Republican. I don't say this because I'm a Democrat or a liberal or progressive or whatever label you want to put on it. I seriously believe that if we, as a nation, elect another Republican to the highest office in the land, we'll continue down this horrible road we've been traveling with Bush and his band, and the rest of the world will conclude that this is where we all want to be. Not just the people that vote Republican, but all of us, and needless to say, we're not anyone's favorites right now.

There may be an exception or two. I've been listening to Mike Huckabee on different talk shows and debates and he seems to have his head on straight on certain issues. But he's not a front runner. The leaders in polls on the Republican side show Rudy Giuliani holding a double digit lead over Fred Thompson, who hasn't even announced yet! And believe me as a New Yorker, living in a Giuliani world is not all its cracked up to be. Mike Huckabee has been holding steady at 3% for the last three months.

Anyway, back to my point. The Republican Party is on the ropes. Their base has had their head smashed in with scandal after scandal, the Iraq War is a mess, resignations are crippling White House computer printers and Congressional subpoenas are flying out of the Capitol Building fast than you can say "Alberto Gonzales". At this point, the Republican base will stay at home on Election Day. But the one thing they will rally around is who their political opponent will be .

Hillary Clinton has this hate factor that has manifested itself into an 800 lb. gorilla. And hell, where did it come from? What did Hillary do to make her so vilified, not only among Republicans, but some Democrats as well?

I had a conversation with a colleague at work who said she would vote for John McCain before Hillary. JOHN McCAIN!!! Mr. Baghdad Is Doing Great, Surge Is Working While Helicopters Protect Me From Overhead McCain. When I mentioned to her that there was probably no way McCain would get the nomination and asked her who she would vote for if it were Hillary or Giuliani, she begrudgingly said Hillary. "But I don't trust her as far as I could throw her" was her caveat. Why did this African-American woman not trust Hillary?

Is the distrust a culmination of Hillary's ambition to high office, so much so that she stood by her husband after it was revealed that he had an affair? Did my friend feel betrayed as a woman, perhaps thinking that Hillary lost some dignity in staying with Bill? We all assume the Clintons moved to New York so Hillary could run for office, but everyone does it, and I have to say that she's done a pretty good job as a New York Senator (despite voting for the war), so why is this so different? What is it about Hillary Clinton that pisses people off?

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a strong Hillary supporter. I don't approve of what she says regarding her foreign policy. I do belive she's trapped herself in a corner and is now beholden to lobbyists and corporate interests. This is especially upsetting to me, because she's gone from being the most outspoken person on a national health care system as First Lady, to accepting campaign contributions from insurance and phamaceutical companies (that's for another post). But I'd still take her over ANYONE on the Republican ticket.

Barack Obama first got my attention at the 2004 Democratic National Convention with his Keynote Address. That great speech that literally took my breath away and got me excited about politics for the first time in a very long time:

"...there's not a liberal America and a conservative America - there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America."

That galvanized me, and I hope most of the Democratic party, into thinking of what could be possible. It fell on deaf ears, however, to the other side. Before long, they were trying to make Obama the latest demon, calling him Barack Hussein Obama (his real middle name) in an attempt to associate him with Saddam, and saying he went to a madrassa when he was a boy. Now they claim his downfall is his inexperience, to which he replies, "Nobody had a longer resume than Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld and that hasn't worked out so well." I sensed the attacks coming, but what are you going to do?

My one hesitation about Barack: he's black. I have absolutely no problem with Obama's African-American heritage. However, I think too many other people in this country still do, including many in the Republican party. So the question there is: Is America ready to vote for an African-American to be President?

Which comes to my final point. This week's Time Magazine has a John Edwards article worth reading. I've always liked Edwards. He comes across as genuine to me. Not looking for the patented, rehearsed answer, or not saying what any particular audience wants to hear. But I believe he deeply cares about people and trying to make it better for everyone. He's big on health care and hasn't taken any money from lobbyists, corporations or political action committees.

His wife Elizabeth is quoted in the article regarding what I call the Hillary Hate Factor:

TIME MAGAZINE, Elizabeth Edwards: "The media goes to this very engaging story about a legitimate woman candidate and a legitimate candidate with an African-American heritage, and that drives up their fund-raising numbers," says Elizabeth, the unfiltered voice of the campaign, during an interview on the bus a week before that speech. "Then the media folks say, 'See, that proves we were right to focus on these two candidates' ... It's enough to make you tear your hair out." Soon she's pressing the argument that her husband is the most electable candidate, the one who will help other Democrats win in the South and West--and she's managing to attack Clinton while defending her. "I want to be perfectly clear: I do not think the hatred against Hillary Clinton is justified. I don't know where it comes from. I don't begin to understand it. But you can't pretend it doesn't exist, and it will energize the Republican base. Their nominee won't energize them, Bush won't, but Hillary as the nominee will. It's hard for John to talk about, but it's the reality."

My only reaction? She's right. But where do we go from here? Is middle America ready to vote for a woman? Or a black man? Can people who say they support either candidate be completely honest with themselves when they are all alone in the voting booth with no one looking over their shoulder?

Do yourself a favor and read the entire Edwards article in TIME (linked above).

(In the interests of total disclosure, I have donated to the Edwards and Kucinich campaigns.)

2nd Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Can you believe it has been two years already? I wonder how many Bush photo ops we'll see of Chimpy and his wife, Bubbles, in New Orleans today? Perhaps sitting in Jackson Square having a bignette at Cafe DuMonde or maybe they'll go visit a school! You know, it's all about the children, isn't it?

He can sit there and tell them how he's fucked up so badly, that the students and their own children someday will still be footing the bill for the War in Iraq. But don't worry, I'm sure the Bushies will pray for them.

Guardian Unlimited:

There are residents who want the city rebuilt as it was, but there are many others - city officials, engineers and environmentalists - who argue that there needs to be a more compact city, built on higher ground, more easily protected. Many of the areas to be abandoned would be the poor, black ones.

The Army Corps of Engineers, a mainly civilian organisation, has rebuilt the levees, pumps and locks over the last two years but admits that is not enough. There was nervousness in the city last week as the residents watched Hurricane Dean cross the Caribbean, and the hurricane season is not over yet.

Jeffrey Buchanan, Huffington Post:

When confronted with the failing Katrina recovery, President Bush and his various spokespeople continue to insist the federal government has done its job. The proof, they say, is "the big check" Washington has allegedly signed for the Gulf Coast, allegedly more than $114 billion.

Chris Kromm, executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies and I just issued a report to get to the truth and weed our way through the White House talking point on Gulf Coast rebuilding and why alleged federal funds had not made a greater impact.

You can read it as part of the report Blueprint for Gulf Renewal. We found less than $35 billion in federal funds actually available to rebuild the region. Most of the $114 billion Bush administration officials refer to was for the emergency response, not to help rebuild the region. Still the White House continues to mislead the public about our country's investment in rebuilding the Gulf Coast and New Orleans to avoid its obligations to aid in recovery and help families and communities rebuild.

The region suffered $150 billion in damages, more damage than the September 11th attacks, Hurricane Andrew and the Northridge Earthquake combined, and displaced over 400,000 people (the largest displacement in U.S. history) yet our federal government has relied on old systems and paradigms meant to repair damage from much smaller disasters.

Even more shocking: less than 42% of the money set aside for rebuilding has even been spent, much less gotten to those most in need.

Another Anti-Gay Republican Caught With His Pants Down

Republican Senator Larry Craig of Idaho is the latest in a string of "Family Values", anti-gay, conservative politicians in trouble with the law for illegal homosexual exploits.

The GOP may as well call itself the Gay Ol' Party after Senator Craig entered a guilty plea on "misdemeanor charges stemming from complaints of lewd conduct in a men's restroom at the Minneapolis airport."

Craig was arrested by an undercover agent in a Minneapolis airport after playing footsie with the man in the next stall. His excuse? "I have a wide stance."

He must need a wide stance to accomodate the size of the balls it takes to think the public would believe that excuse plausible. Of course, everyone is having a comedic field day with this one.

Here are a couple of goodies:

Martin Lewis, Huffington Post: Senator Larry Craig has not only been a vociferous opponent of the gay movement (except apparently his own gay movements) but it turns out to that he is yet another steaming hypocrite who has pandered to the vast gay-loathing base of the Republican Party.
Only like so many Republicans who have come before him (insert your own joke here) - he is revealed by his recent actions and guilty plea to be a self-loathing gay.

Nick Gillespie, Reason Magazine: The 62-year-old Craig doesn't just put the party back in the "Grand Old Party," though he certainly does that. Back in the day, he voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, a clearly anti-gay measure, and he supported the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
America is the land of opportunity and more power to Craig if he wants to have consensual sex with men in toilets (although, good libertarian that I am, I do believe the owners of said facilities should be allowed to regulate what behavior goes on in their crappers).
But I find it despicable that Craig would deny the option of matrimony to gay men who want it. Shouldn't the people he wants to fuck have the right to decide if they, like Craig, want to enjoy the bounty of marriage? (Not to mention, as seems likely in Craig's case, the right of divorce?)

Since his guilty plea, Craig has resigned from his post as a co-chairman of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's Idaho Leadership Team, and is due to have a press conference in Boise, Idaho today at 4:30 EST.

UPDATE: Senator Craig denies any wrongdoing, blames the press, infers that the officer arresting him lied and claims, "I am not gay!" He starts his news conference with the unfortunate phrase, "Thank you for coming out today." If only you had, Larry, you might not be in this predicament.

Here's what hypocrite Craig had to say regarding Bill Clinton's heterosexual affair with Monica Lewinsky:

Reaction to Gonzo's Resignation

Here's some video I put together of the reaction and speculation that arose from the Alberto Gonzales resignation, including Hillary Clinton at the Livestrong Presidential Cancer Forum, CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin and CNN Chief National Correspondent John King.

The Gonzales Spin Begins

Republican pundits everywhere are trying to spin the Gonzales resignation as a "win for the White House."

Tucker Carlson just called him a liberal!!!

Carlson: I'm not defending Gonzales, I just attacked him. I thought he was mediocre, another baby boomer... talking about himself and his stupid personal journey and he's doing better than his dad, like we care. I don't care.

However, the guy's actually kind of liberal. He's kind of inoffensive. Of all the people you could attack in the Bush administration... I get why the left hate Karl Rove, but this guy?

I guess Tucker was sleeping during the torture memos, the Patriot Act, firing US attorneys for political reasons and not remembering a single thing about it when asked.

Luckily, Rosa Brooks of the Washington Times slaps him back into place, and Tucker laughs it off like the punk that he is.

Gonzo Gone!

Alberto Gonzales Resigns

Of course, Bush called Gonzo "a man of integrity, decency and principle" and an "honorable person" whose "good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons", but did you expect anything else? An honorable man to Bush is someone who will do your illegal bidding and take the fall for it.

I have a suspicion that there hasn't been a truly honorable man in Bush's presence in quite some time.