T Minus 354 Days

"I think we need not only to eliminate the tollbooth from the middle class, I think we should knock down the tollbooth."

- The New York Times (as quoted by Gail Collins), February 1, 2000

Olbermann's Special Comment: Of FISA and the Telecoms

Our stalwart Commander in Chief wants the FISA bill as soon as possible to protect us from the evildoers. That is of course only if it includes retroactive immunity for the telecom companies. Otherwise, he'll veto it. Boy, I'm sure glad he's watching over us, aren't you?

This is probably the best Special Comment I've seen from Keith Olbermann.

The eavesdropping provisions of FISA have obviously had no impact on counter-terrorism, and there is no current or perceived terrorist threat, the thwarting of which could hinge on an e-mail or a phone call going through room 641-A at AT&T in San Francisco next week or next month.

Because if there were, Mr. Bush, and you were to, by your own hand, veto an extension of this eavesdropping, and some terrorist attack were to follow, you would not merely be guilty of siding with the terrorists, you would not merely be guilty of prioritizing the telecoms over the people, you would not merely be guilty of stupidity, you would not merely be guilty of treason… but you would be personally, and eternally, responsible.

And if there is one thing we know about you, Mr. Bush, one thing that you have proved time and time again under any and all circumstances, it is that you are never responsible.

FCC Fines ABC Big Do-Re-Mi?

Who are the idiots heading up the Federal Communications Commission? Some nitwit at the FCC has decided that an episode of NYPD Blue that originally aired on February 25, 2003, five fucking years ago, is subject to a $1.4 million fine for indecency because it "depicts sexual organs and excretory organs - specifically an adult woman's buttocks."

I remember watching this particular episode and was pleasantly surprised at viewing Charlotte Ross' "buttocks" for about .2 seconds. (Okay, I just found the video and the total amount of nudity time is about 5 seconds over a 42 second clip.) But maybe someone should remind the geniuses at the FCC of their own definition.

Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 1464, prohibits the utterance of “any obscene, indecent or profane language by means of radio communication.” Consistent with a subsequent statute and court case, the Commission's rules prohibit the broadcast of indecent material during the period of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. FCC decisions also prohibit the broadcast of profane material between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

They're going after NYPD Blue, a show that's been off the air since 2005, and aired its episodes from 10p.m. to 11p.m., outside the FCC's own "indecency" time guidelines. Here's the YouTube clip in its entirety.

For this, the FCC wants to fine ABC $27,500 per affiliate (52 in total) for a jackpot of $1.4 million. Luckily, ABC is fighting back. " 'ABC feels strongly that the FCC's finding is inconsistent with prior precedent from the Commission, the indecency statute and the First Amendment, and we intend to oppose the proposed fine,' the ABC network said in its defence."

But the real moron seems to be FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, who apparently can't trust America's parents to judge or police the television content their children watch.

"Our action today should serve as a reminder to all broadcasters that Congress and American families continue to be concerned about protecting children from harmful material and that the FCC will enforce the laws of the land vigilantly," Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate said.

We can't let our children watch this kind of filth on television because it'll prevent them from developing normally, cause them to go on sex rampages and become sexually deviant Republican politicians. Initially, ABC argued against the FCC's contention that buttocks are a "sexual organ", but the FCC rejected that argument apparently because they have anal sex on the brain.

If they really want to prevent children from watching something harmful, why do they keep allowing those damned Republican debates on the air?

Non-existent Homeless Vets Fight O'Reilly

When this story started emerging a few weeks ago, I knew something like this would happen. I wonder how Bill O'Reilly and Fox News will (or won't) cover it.

John Edwards, who until bowing out of the campaign, was making poverty and homeless veterans a staple of his stumping, was being lambasted by O'Reilly when he would let the American people know the truth and point out the fact that over 200,000 veterans of our Armed Forces are sleeping on the streets on any given night.

As recently as January 16, O'Reilly took to the airwaves to rain ridicule upon Edwards, saying, "Well, we're still looking for all the veterans sleeping under the bridges,...so if you find anybody, let us know." As we reported two days later, Robert Greenwald and his crew at Brave New Films did exactly that.

Now, a group from Fitzgerald House, an "organization representing homeless veterans," plans to bring their fight for recognition to Fox's doorstep. They plan on visiting the Fox News Channel Studios today at 3:00 pm, and will come carrying a petition signed by 17,000 people demanding an apology from O'Reilly for his ignorance and abuse.

Leave it to Robert Greenwald, slayer of all things Fox, to take this head on and expose Bill O'Reilly as the egomaniacal misinformationist that he is. Take a look at the video.

CDC Suppressed Toxic Trailer Warnings

FEMA, oh FEMA... is there nothing you can't fuck up?

An exclusive CBS report reveals that the Center for Disease Control suppressed warnings of dangerously toxic levels of formaldehyde in the trailers that have been used for displaced persons from New Orleans provided by FEMA for two years, unless they've been evicted that is.

...the nation's top public health agency, suppressed repeated warnings from one of its top scientists, raising questions about whether the CDC bowed to pressure from FEMA to conceal the long-term health risks of formaldehyde in the trailers it distributed to hurricane victims - health risks like cancer and birth defects...

...Dr. Christopher De Rosa, director of the CDC's Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine, told his superiors "there is no safe level of exposure" to formaldehyde in trailers. That warning never made its way into any public report about the trailers...

...two of his staff members had been directed by FEMA officials to not "address longer term health effects" of formaldehyde in this February 2007 report... In fact, it wasn't until October 2007 - after eight months and pressure from congressional investigators that the CDC revised its February report and finally issued warnings about cancer and other long-term health risks of formaldehyde.

We all know that FEMA has been a dismal failure when it comes to basically anything they are involved in, from the response to Hurricane Katrina, to the fake news conference regarding the California fires last October. The whole department is a microcosm of the unethical cronyism and broken bureaucracy that has permeated this government to the core under the intrepid leadership of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney; and now we find out that this corrupt administration has so systematically and thoroughly destroyed every governmental agency and department that even the CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL has been treated like a crack whore by the pimps in the White House.

This is unconscionable. There are about 40,000 families still living in formaldehyde-laced trailers that have been forgotten not only by the government, but by all of us. They've been displaced for over two years, breathing in toxic, cancer-causing fumes, left to rot while Bush and all his buddies raze low income housing in New Orleans that was only slightly damaged by Katrina in order to cleanse the city of these "undesirables" and dole out the land for high income hotel and construction projects. And now comes word of a CDC report that came out in February of 2007 omitting vital health threatening information but is revised eight months later only after pressure from the Homeland Security Committee?

These criminals should be taken into the main square and shot.

T Minus 355 Days

Since today's calendar "quote" isn't really a quote at all, but a description of Google's "miserable failure" link bomb that would link directly to the White House website bio page on Herr Bush, I've decided to take a quote from Bush's latest State of the Union address. Can you tell who he's talking about?

"The advance of liberty is opposed by terrorists and extremists -- evil men who despise freedom, despise America, and aim to subject millions to their violent rule."

- State of the Union Address, January 28th, 2008

Edwards To Drop Out of Race Today - UPDATED

The only remaining candidate to run an honorable campaign thus far is bowing out of the bid for the presidency. John Edwards will make his announcement at 1pm today.

The former North Carolina senator will not immediately endorse either candidate in what is now a two-person race for the Democratic nomination, said one adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the announcement. Both candidates would welcome Edwards' backing and the support of the 56 delegates he had collected.

Edwards waged a spirited top-tier campaign against the two better-funded rivals, even as he dealt with the stunning blow of his wife's recurring cancer diagnosis. In a dramatic news conference last March, the couple announced that the breast cancer that she thought she had beaten had returned, but they would continue the campaign.

Let's face facts. The only remaining candidate willing to take on corporate interests and insurance companies, and whom corporations viewed as the most dangerous of the three top Democratic candidates, was John Edwards. He also played a major role in the Democratic debates and on the campaign trail, focusing the discourse on the issues rather than on backbiting. Edwards will be sorely missed.

You can call me a conspiracy theorist if you want, but you have to believe that the mainstream media shut Edwards out because of his message. He was the only candidate consistently talking about poverty, the saving of the middle class, corporate greed and lobbyist corruption. The MSM is owned by corporations and therefore ignored him completely even after beating Clinton in Iowa and being outspent by his opponents 9 to 1.

UPDATE: TIME - Why Edwards Never Caught On

...The strategy at first seemed shrewd: build on Edwards' surprisingly good showing in Iowa in 2004 and make his native South Carolina his firewall while garnering union support. It was designed to take on the establishment candidate that everyone knew was going to run: former First Lady Hillary Clinton.

What no one, not Clinton or Edwards, was prepared for was the insurgency candidacy of Senator Barack Obama. Suddenly Edwards was running against a version of himself in 2004: the young, fresh, optimistic face, the Washington outsider with a thin resume but lots of charm, ruffling some feathers as he jumped the line. Except this version was an African American celebrity candidate with a cult-like following. Big and small donors flocked to Obama, the freshman senator from Illinois, as did the endorsements, and suddenly Edwards seemed like a third wheel.

...Edwards leaves the race having made a big impact on the two remaining candidates. His populist rhetoric forced his rivals to compete for union support, and he was the first out of the gate with detailed plans for universal healthcare and education, putting pressure on the field to match him. The former trial lawyer arguably won a majority of the debates, time and again challenging his opponents to refuse money from lobbyists and speed up their plans for withdrawing combat troops from Iraq.

Mets Land Santana

Today, I'm a happy Mets fan. I hope it holds.

At a seemingly reasonable price -- swift outfielder Carlos Gomez and young pitchers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra -- the Mets have satisfied the Twins. Now, they have until 5 p.m. ET on Friday to satisfy Santana, who, armed with a no-trade clause potentially as effective as his world-class changeup, can veto the trade if the Mets don't make him happy.

Margaret Truman Daniel (1924-2008)

NY TIMES: Margaret Truman Daniel, the president’s daughter who achieved renown in her own right as a concert singer, radio and television host, and author of best-selling biographies and mysteries, died on Tuesday in Chicago. She was 83 and had lived until recently on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

T Minus 356 Days

Let's not forget Dick Cheney's birthday today. So here's a myriad of quotes from the man who shoots the faces off of his hunting buddies.

"Except for the occasional heart attack, I never felt better." –June 4, 2003

"I had other priorities in the sixties than military service." –on his five draft deferments, April 5, 1989

"There are a lot of lessons we want to learn out of this process in terms of what works. I think we are in fact on our way to getting on top of the whole Katrina exercise." --Sept. 10, 2005

"Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy." –April 30, 2001

"My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators." --March 16, 2003

"We know he's been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons." --March 16, 2003

"In Iraq, a ruthless dictator cultivated weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. He gave support to terrorists, had an established relationship with al Qaeda, and his regime is no more." –Nov. 7, 2003

"I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency." -- on the Iraq insurgency, June 20, 2005

"Go fuck yourself." --to Sen. Patrick Leahy, during an angry exchange on the Senate floor about profiteering by Halliburton, June 25, 2004

And let's hope he's finally right on this one: “The days of looking the other way while despotic regimes trample human rights, rob their nations' wealth, and then excuse their failings by feeding their people a steady diet of anti-Western hatred are over.”

White House: Troop Cuts? ...Nevermind

President Bush is rethinking cutting troop levels in Iraq after announcing that he would do just that this past September.

Four months after announcing troop reductions in Iraq, President Bush is now sending signals that the cuts may not continue past this summer, a development likely to infuriate Democrats and renew concerns among military planners about strains on the force.

Mr. Bush has made no decisions on troop reductions to follow those he announced last September. But White House officials said Mr. Bush had been taking the opportunity, as he did in Monday’s State of the Union address, to prepare Americans for the possibility that, when he leaves office a year from now, the military presence in Iraq will be just as large as it was a year ago, or even slightly larger.

Well, well... did we really expect any different from the reverse King Midas? Everything this lazy, dim-witted bastard has ever touched has turned to shit. His only successes throughout his entire life are those that his family has handed to him; his failures covered up by bailout after bailout. And now it's up to the next President to clean up this man's murderous mess.

McCain Wins Florida - Rudy's Out

While announcing and analyzing McCain's win in Florida, MSNBC and others confirm with two separate sources that Rudy Giuliani will drop out of the race tomorrow and endorse John McCain at the Reagan Library. Talk about irony! Is this a good thing for McCain?

...given Rudy's stands on abortion, guns and gay rights, his endorsement of McCain would also add some ballast to Romney's central argument going forward -- that of the two remaining contenders for the GOP nomination, he is the more conservative.

Looks like we won't have Rudy Giuliani to kick around anymore... and it was becoming one of my favorite pastimes.

As of this writing, Hillary Clinton has won the raw vote over Barack Obama in Florida, but no delegates were awarded due to the stripping of Florida's delegates after breaking party rules and holding their primary early.

Although Michigan (which is in the same boat) and Florida have been stripped of delegates, the Clinton campaign is challenging the Democratic National Committee's ruling.

"Nothing has changed," a party source said. "Florida will still have zero delegates. The party has booked no rooms for them at the convention."

T Minus 357 Days

"The War on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself."

-Grand Rapids, MI, January 29, 2003

Back From Toronto - Address Predictions

Okay, I've been almost completely devoid of the political scene for the last three and a half days (except for a couple of hours of CNN on Saturday watching Obama win the primary in South Carolina) and before I watch Raisinbrain's State of the Union Address, I'll make a couple of predictions on what I might hear:

• Economy is stable but Congress needs to push through those tax cuts ASAP and make the previous cuts permanent.
  
• We are winning in Iraq because the surge worked.
  
• Congress needs to cut earmarks... the Democrats I mean.

I'll have to catch up with the rest of what happened at a later date. If I can stomach the SOTU tonight, I'll have a little critique later.

PS Our trip was relaxing (ahh...). The show was fun and Monica was great.

Toronto Weekend

The wife and I are traveling to Toronto this weekend (I hear the weather is a balmy 24°) to visit our friend Monica and see her in Dirty Dancing, so blogging will be nonexistent until sometime on Tuesday. It'll give me some time to recharge by blogging batteries - there's been so much to write about, but not a lot of time - so it'll be nice to step away from the desk, take a deep breath and get my thoughts in order.

I'm sure I'll have "the time of my life" while I'm up north. In the meantime, I'll finish up with a countdown quote a day or two early. Don't forget to watch the State of the Union (crappy) Address on Monday. I'll TiVo it.

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2008
T Minus 358 Days

"My views are one that speaks to freedom."

- Washington, DC, January 2004

T Minus 360/359 Days

"I've been to war. I've raised twins. If I had a choice, I'd rather go to war."

- Charlieston, W.VA, January 27, 2002

One More Kick For Giuliani

I just re-read the NY Times endorsement of John McCain, the least unattractive of the Republican candidates in their opinion. Isn't it sad that a guy who said he would keep troops in Iraq for 100 years is the best choice? Anyway, I just had a shit-eating grin on my face while coming across the reasons they decided not to go with America's Mayor, so I thought I'd cut and paste for posterity.

NY TIMES: Why, as a New York-based paper, are we not backing Rudolph Giuliani? Why not choose the man we endorsed for re-election in 1997 after a first term in which he showed that a dirty, dangerous, supposedly ungovernable city could become clean, safe and orderly? What about the man who stood fast on Sept. 11, when others, including President Bush, went AWOL?

That man is not running for president.

The real Mr. Giuliani, whom many New Yorkers came to know and mistrust, is a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man who saw no need to limit police power. Racial polarization was as much a legacy of his tenure as the rebirth of Times Square.

Mr. Giuliani’s arrogance and bad judgment are breathtaking. When he claims fiscal prudence, we remember how he ran through surpluses without a thought to the inevitable downturn and bequeathed huge deficits to his successor. He fired Police Commissioner William Bratton, the architect of the drop in crime, because he couldn’t share the limelight. He later gave the job to Bernard Kerik, who has now been indicted on fraud and corruption charges.

The Rudolph Giuliani of 2008 first shamelessly turned the horror of 9/11 into a lucrative business, with a secret client list, then exploited his city’s and the country’s nightmare to promote his presidential campaign.

I never get tired of reading that. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. They could have gone on and on (but only had limited space) about this authoritarian freak who once said, "...freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do."

Freedom is about authority? ... Yeah... that's the kind of guy I want running my country. Just get your sorry-ass debacle of a campaign over with and quit already.

New York Times Endorses Clinton and McCain

That liberal rag ,The New Tork Times, has endsorsed Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain as the presidential nominees for their respective parties.

In endorsing Clinton, they state that at this point for the Democrats, it's hard to get excited about a candidate in a usually "uninspiring pack" but that this year, that is not the case.

However, here is what they had to say about the Republican runners.

We have strong disagreements with all the Republicans running for president. The leading candidates have no plan for getting American troops out of Iraq. They are too wedded to discredited economic theories and unwilling even now to break with the legacy of President Bush. We disagree with them strongly on what makes a good Supreme Court justice.

Given the fact that the horribly liber-ul Times has endorsed McCain, I'm wondering if this is a bad thing for my friend, Mr. Straight Talk. Will Republicans now rally around a candidate who is the opposite of what the New York Times hates least? Will they be that stupid?

They voted for Bush... twice. So it's a possibility.

John Gibson Apologizes for Ledger Remarks

...Probably because his job was threatened if he didn't. He's still an asshole.

From Media Matters: ...I'm sorry that some took my comments as anti-gay and insensitive. I'm aware that Ledger has a family and many fans who were grief-stricken by his sudden death.

As I speak, a crowd is gathering at the funeral home where Ledger's funeral services will be held. Those who knew him say he was a good actor and a loving dad. And what happened to him was terrible, but was evidently an accident. Once again, to anyone offended by my comments, I'm sorry. But I'm also sorry that Heath Ledger is no longer alive and with us.

T Minus 361 Days

"See, one of the interesting things in the Oval Office - I love to bring people into the Oval Office - right around the corner from here - and say, this is where I office, but I want you to know the office is always bigger than the person."

- Washington, DC, January 2004

The GOP Florida Debate

Got home from work and prepared myself to watch the GOP Debate (I TiVo-ed it). So there I sat with my bottle of Tums and a waste paper basket next to me just in case.

Looks like Rudy "3% in the Primaries" Giuliani is front and center as I predicted he would be. At least MSNBC and the MSM plays fair and square in deciding who is to participate in these debates according to viability. I was wrong in my prediction that Ron Paul would be on the end podium.

• Let's see... McCain wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent because people who are trying to figure out their budgets in 2010(?!) need to know sooner than later. I wonder if he knows that many Americans out there live paycheck to paycheck. He's worried about pork barrel spending and bridges to nowhere but doesn't mention the $11 BILLION we spend in Iraq. Each. Month.
  
  
• Giuliani... there's that vomit feeling in the back of my throat - also wants major tax cuts for... wait for it... CORPORATIONS AND CAPITAL GAINS.
  
  
• Huckabee: $150 billion stimulus package will be borrowed from China to buy Chinese products. Fix the infrastructure to fix the economy. The Huckster makes sense. He must have heard John Edwards say the same thing last week.
  
  
• Mitt Romney also favors the tax cuts because according to him, that's what got our economy going the last time. According to me, that's what got us in trouble in the first place.
  
  
• McCain: GOP lost the 2006 election because of their lack of restraint in spending. Silly me, I thought it was about the war.
  
  
• Hey! Ron Paul was finally acknowledged by being asked a question 17 minutes into the debate.
  
  
• Giuliani won't take blood money from a Saudi prince, but same prince can bail out the troubled US banks. Nothing like free trade, huh, Rudy? Actual Rudy quote: "How much can we sell to the rest of the world?" Well, products? I'm all for it. But selling our debt?
  
  
• McCain claims that even though the GOP fucked up the economy over the last 7 years, America should vote for a Republican because you can't trust the Democrats when it comes to spending. Pass the Tums, please.
  
  
• Actually Romney quote: " When Republicans act like Democrats, America loses." He says this regarding our economy after the GOP and Bush has sucked the treasury dry. Russert also prefaced the question by saying when Bush took office, we had a surplus, lower unemployment, lower inflation, and lower gas prices.
  
  
• McCain dismisses a question asking how we're supposed to stay in Iraq indefinitely (as he has suggested) with a broken military and the impossibility of keeping it up financially by stating that the military isn't broken and that we are winning in Iraq. Then takes a swipe at Hillary Clinton who would "raise the white flag of surrender." Romney jumps in on the Clinton bashing.
  
  
• Q: Was the war in Iraq a good idea and worth the blood and treasure?
  McCain: Good idea at the end of the day; badly managed.
  Rudy: Hillary was in favor of it; "I'm for it"; Islamic terrorist war -Boo!
  Ron Paul: Bad idea, not worth the sacrifice and treasure; Al-Qaeda wasn't there before, but NOW they are; no WMD. (Applause during his answer.)
  Huck: We owe George W. Bush our thanks. Just because we didn't find WMD doesn't mean they weren't there.
  Mitt: The surge is working. I'm for the war and will always be for the war.

I can't take it anymore. Taking some Advil for my headache, Tums for my stomach and going to bed. I'll most likely have nightmares about one of these chumps in the Oval Office. Now that's one scary-ass nightmare.

Maybe I'll watch the rest tomorrow... but it's highly unlikely as I value my health and sanity.

Amy Winehouse in Rehab? Yes, Yes, Yes

"Amy decided to enter the facility today after talks with her record label, management, family and doctors," Universal Music Group said in a statement.

"She has come to understand that she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing recovery from drug addiction," the statement said.

Good luck, Amy.

Douchebag John Gibson Defends Mockery of Ledger Death

What a classless asshole that John Gibson is. Not only did he make fun of Ledger's death and claimed he had a serious drug problem even before an autopsy was conducted, but then after the public outrage over his comments (thanks Dan Abrams, Keith Olbermann and GLAAD)... he defends them!

GIBSON: "Yeah, I mean, I feel bad about his death, but that’s…That’s no point in passing up a good joke."

I will be counting the days until that pasty-faced bastard kicks the bucket and have a good chuckle as I piss on his grave. Yeah, yeah, I know that's pretty classless in and of itself, but truthfully tell me he doesn't deserve it.

Bob Cesca's Bush Graphics

Bob Cesca updated an actual Fox News graphic of our pResident.

As Bob himself would say, "Awesome!"

Dennis Kucinich Bows Out

Breaking news from MSNBC asserts that Dennis Kucinich has told the Cleveland newspaper "Plain Dealer" that he is ending his presidential run for the White House.

Kucinich will make the announcement Friday at a news conference in Cleveland. In an exclusive interview with Plain Dealer editors and reporters, Kucinich said he will explain his "transition" tomorrow.

Thank you Dennis for bringing to the forefront, controversial issues that probably would not have been addressed, had you not led the way.

Senate Rejects Judiciary Version of FISA Law

(Updated below.)

The Senate has just voted to kill the Judiciary Committee's version of the FISA reauthoization law that excludes retroactive immunity to the telecom companies that illegally wiretapped citizens at the request of the Bush administration. The vote was 60-34.

There were immediate requests for amendments to be attached to the Intelligence Committee version by Senators Feingold and Rockefeller. Senator Dodd wanted to weigh in as well and there was an obection by Mitch McConnell.

I guess it's time for Chris Dodd to do some filibustering.

UPDATE: Feingold was interviewed by Huffington Post and disagreed with Reid on his initial procedure. But Reid says, "Senators Dodd and Feingold will seek to strike the immunity title entirely. I oppose immunity, and will support their amendment," said Reid. "If this amendment is not adopted, there will be other amendments to limit the immunity provisions in the Intelligence bill... As I have said before, if there are senators who don't like these amendments and think they should be subjected to 60-vote thresholds, these senators are going to have to engage in an old-fashioned filibuster."

By the end of Thursday debate had been postponed to Monday, after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell moved for a vote on cloture on the Intelligence committee version and Reid objected.

The Downfall of Rudy Giuliani

Good op-ed from Timothy Egan in the New York Times.

From "Goodbye Rudy, Tuesday":

...It’s worth stepping back for a moment to recall how far and how quickly Giuliani has fallen. For most of the summer and well into the fall, he was the Republican frontrunner. His campaign consisted of a hagiography: the hero of 9/11. His fundraising was strong. Now the campaign is all but broke and he’s getting his clock cleaned in some states by Ron Paul – Ron Paul! – the 97-pound libertarian who thinks the war on terror is bogus.

...More broadly, you can summarize Giuliani’s problems in the line he no longer uses. When the World Trade Center towers came down, he turned to his loyal sidekick Bernie Kerik, and said he was glad George Bush was president.

Now, that line is a triple loser. Kerik, his police commissioner, is under federal indictment, in a sea of troubles. Bush is despised by two-thirds of Americans, and even a majority of Republicans want to go in a different direction. As for the big scare, give Senator Joe Biden credit for writing what may be Giuliani’s obit: “There are only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, a verb and 9/11.”

Yet Giuliani still wants to frighten people into voting for him...

T Minus 362 Days

"He was a state sponsor of terror. In other words, the government declared, you are a state sponsor of terror."

- Discussing Saddam Hussein in Manhattan, Kansas, January 2006

Giuliani's Strategery

Rudy Giuliani has been campaigning exclusively in Florida on the bet that a win there could propel him into the lead and deliver the prize of the Republican Presidential nomination. There's just one problem. He's getting shellacked in the meantime and becoming increasingly irrelevant... which is fine by me.

Rudy's been consistently getting his ass kicked by Ron Paul. Even Fred Thompson beat him on a regular basis... and he's already quit the race!

Wolfrum over at Shakesville has a great take on the whole thing:

MIAMI -- After stumbling through a 1-15 season in 2007, the Miami Dolphins have announced that they will play in, and win Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3 in Phoenix, Ariz.

The stunning announcement came after Dolphins officials emerged from a two-hour meeting with GOP Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani. The former mayor of New York has been campaigning almost exclusively in Florida, and Miami officials credit him for creating the plan that will make them Super Bowl champions.

...Giuliani, a one-time favorite for the Republican nomination for the 2008 presidential election, has stumbled badly in the state primaries, though has insisted all along that his plan for victory is intact.

"It’s playing out the way we thought it would," Giuliani said after polls showed that his one-time 33-point lead in his home state of New York is now a 12-point deficit.

Keep it up, Rudy - it's working out perfectly... for the rest of us.

Why John Gibson is a Fucking Asshole

Opening his radio show with funeral music yesterday, Fox News host John Gibson callously mocked the death of actor Heath Ledger, calling him a “weirdo” with a “serious drug problem.”

Playing an audio clip of the iconic quote, “I wish I knew how to quit you” from Ledger’s gay romance movie Brokeback Mountain, Gibson disdainfully quipped, “Well, he found out how to quit you.” Laughing, Gibson then played another clip from Brokeback Mountain in which Ledger said, “We’re dead,” followed by his own, mocking “We’re dead” before playing the clip again.

WTF, Harry Reid?!

(Updated below)

Listed among Senator Harry Reid's accomplishments is his boxing past when he was a young man. Well, it looks like any fight Reid had left in him remained in the boxing ring all those years ago because he has done nothing but capitulate and kowtow to the Republican minority since becoming Senate Majority "Leader."

The latest insult comes in the form of Reid's insistance that the current FISA bill up for consideration including telecom immunity of the illegal wiretapping that was done on the behalf of the Bush administration, be finished this week, and threatening that filibustering the bill would be a true filibuster. Not like when he licks the boots of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell whenever he threatens a 60 vote majority or filibuster to almost every single bill to which the Republicans are opposed. If that's the case, then Reid just whines and moans and gives in anyway.

Glenn Greenwald: That is what Democrats have been urging Reid to do to the filibustering Republicans all year -- in order to dramatize their obstructionism -- but he has refused to make them actually filibuster anything, generously agreeing instead that every bill requires 60 votes. Instead, he reserves such punishment only for the members of his own caucus trying to take a stand for the rule of law and the Constitution, those who are trying finally to bring some accountability to this administration.

This bill more than any other in recent history puts the country at a Constitutional crossroads. If the telecom industries receive retroactive immunity for illegal eavesdropping at the behest of George W. Bush, it will destroy any chance of investigation and accountability of this corrupt White House and deny any US citizen their fourth amendment rights.

While on the Senate floor, Reid warned against filibustering the bill on the false argument that the current bill will expire on February 1st (there's no chance of the new bill passing so quickly) and due to scheduling, Congress is going to recess again and no one wants to miss their retreats.

Aww, poor Congressional leaders...

Hopefully Chris Dodd will ignore the warnings and come to the rescue again. We'll soon find out.

UPDATE (1/23): C&L - Sen. Chris Dodd is coming out to demand that the retroactive immunity be stripped from the FISA bill, no thanks to Harry Reid. It’s a little confusing, but from what I gather this is NOT the filibuster but will lead up to the filibuster tomorrow.

Meanwhile Reid stated that the true filibuster threat he made was directed at Republicans over a 60 vote majority, not to his Democratic allies, which seems unlikely. He probably received tons of emails and calls saying, "Senator Reid, with all dur respect, What The Fuck?!

UPDATE III (1/24): Kos - Dodd will filibuster if necessary - " If after debate, the Senate appears ready to pass legislation granting telecom providers retroactive immunity I will use any and all legislative tools at my disposal, including a filibuster, to prevent this deeply flawed bill from becoming law. More and more, Americans are rejecting the false choice that has come to define this administration: security or liberty, but never, ever both. For all those who have stood with me throughout this fight, I pledge, once more, to stand up for you."

T Minus 363 Days

"I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."

-Nashua, NH, January 2000

Thompson Is Done

So much news, so little time to blog. Fabulous Frederick of Hollywood has ended his bid for President of the United States. I suppose the rigors of the campaign trail interrupted his naps one too many times.
Its a good thing too. If he had actually won for some reason, I don't know how anyone would have understood his State of the Union addresses in Huttese.

Heath Ledger Dead at 28

NY TIMES: Heath Ledger, the Australian-born actor whose breakthrough role as a gay cowboy in the 2005 movie “Brokeback Mountain” earned him a nomination for an Academy Award and comparisons to the likes of Marlon Brando, was found dead Tuesday in an apartment in Manhattan with sleeping pills near his body, the police said.

... The chief police spokesman, Paul J. Browne, said the police did not suspect foul play.

“There was no indication of a disturbance,” he said, adding that there were no signs that Mr. Ledger had been drinking. Nor were any illegal drugs found in the loft, which neighbors said Mr. Ledger had occupied for several months.

Police officials said that a bottle of prescription sleeping pills were found on a nearby night table, but that they did not know whether the pills had anything to do with Mr. Ledger’s death. Officers who checked the apartment found other prescription medications in the bathroom. A spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office said an autopsy would be conducted on Wednesday.

Mr. Browne said no obvious indication of suicide, like a note, was found in the bedroom.

UPDATE (1/23 11:05am): An autopsy of the actor... was performed on Wednesday morning, but the results are inconclusive...
Additional blood and tissue testing needs to be performed before the manner and cause of death can be determined... the process could take 10 days to two weeks.

UPDATE II (1/24 8:45pm): Pretty in depth coverage of the Ledger story.

CNN Debate in South Carolina

Quick note. I just finished watching the debate in Myrtle Beach, SC. I thought I would like the freer form... and I did! But I must say that Wolf Blitzer is absolutely useless as a moderator. There was really no reason for him to be there except as emcee.

It was nice to hear the candidates get passionate and defend their policies and positions against the rhetoric that's been thrown around... I suppose Barack Obama did the best in that sense since most of the arrows were aimed at him regarding his "present" votes in the Illinois legislature and his recent quotes on the Republicans and Ronald Reagan.

Two questions were completely idiotic (paraphrasing): 1- Asking Obama if Clinton was the best black president we ever had and 2- asking if we should withdraw from Iraq or win. Who the hell submitted that question, LIEberman? McCain? Giuliani? Karl Rove?

And once again, just like MSNBC and ABC, CNN excluded Dennis Kucinich from the debate presumably on the opinion that he is not a viable candidate.

So help me God, if MSNBC or CNN or any other "news" organization carries the next Republican debate and INCLUDES Rudy Giuliani, after Mr. 9/11 has gotten trounced in every primary so far by almost every candidate including a continual ass kicking by Ron Paul, I'm going to stick an ice pick in my eye. Let's see how serious these supposed serious news organizations are when the time comes to pick who will debate then.

I predict as always, they will kowtow to the corporate demigods and all six, SIX!, remaining Republican candidates will be on the stage. And just like they did with Kucinich and Mike Gravel early on (when they were still included), they'll place Ron Paul on an end podium and have Ghouliani dead center. And why? To have a man with a vote count average 3% seem like he has any shot at actually winning this thing? Please.

Enough of the media deciding for us who the viable candidates are. One more lackluster finish for John Edwards, and I can see them excluding him from the next Dem debate as well.

Armadillo Joe: ...I fear that [Edwards] is suffering from a tacit conspiracy to exclude candidates who could actually shake-up a system (for better or worse) that works really well for the people who run it; Kucinich and Paul also come to mind. Edwards is just the most high-profile, successful and legitimate of the group.

Time will tell soon enough.

T Minus 364 Days

"Then I went for a run with the other dog and just walked. And I started thinking about a lot of things. I was able to - I can't remember what it was. Oh, the inaugural speech, started thinking through that."

-US News & World Report, January 22, 2001

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam"
April 30, 1967, Riverside Church, New York

This seems to be an edited audio recording of the entire transcript. But on this day, take the time to listen to it. Substitute "Iraq" for "Vietnam" and this speech rings as true today as it did over forty years ago.

It's a dark day in our nation when high-level authorities will seek to use every method to silence dissent. But something is happening, and people are not going to be silenced. The truth must be told, and I say that those who are seeking to make it appear that anyone who opposes the war... is a fool or a traitor or an enemy of our soldiers is a person that has taken a stand against the best in our tradition.

...change came from America as we increased our troop commitments in support of governments which were singularly corrupt, inept, and without popular support and all the while the people read our leaflets and received regular promises of peace and democracy and land reform. Now they languish under our bombs and consider us... the real enemy.

...I oppose the war... because I love America. I speak out against this war, not in anger, but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and, above all, with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as the moral example of the world. I speak out against this war because I am disappointed with America. And there can be no great disappointment where there is not great love. I am disappointed with our failure to deal positively and forthrightly with the triple evils of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism. We are presently moving down a dead-end road that can lead to national disaster. America has strayed to the far country of racism and
militarism...

... I call on every man and woman of good will all over America today. I call on the young men of America who must make a choice today to take a stand on this issue. Tomorrow may be too late. The book may close. And don't let anybody make you think that God chose America as his divine, messianic force to be a sort of policeman of the whole world.

T Minus 365 Days

"One year ago today, the time for excuse-making has come to an end."

- Washington, DC, January 2003

Superbowl XLII: Patriots vs. Giants

Wow! What a shock to see the Giants make it to the Super Bowl.

Tynes’s 47-yard field goal 2 minutes 35 seconds into overtime gave the Giants a 23-20 victory in the National Football Conference championship game. The Giants will next head to Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz., where they will be two-touchdown underdogs to the undefeated New England Patriots on Feb. 3.

Suzanne Pleshette Dies at 70

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Suzanne Pleshette, the husky-voiced star best known for her role as Bob Newhart's sardonic wife on television's long-running "The Bob Newhart Show," has died at age 70.

Pleshette, whose career included roles in such films as Hitchcock's "The Birds" and in Broadway plays including "The Miracle Worker," died of respiratory failure Saturday evening at her Los Angeles home, said her attorney Robert Finkelstein, also a family friend.
Pleshette underwent chemotherapy for lung cancer in 2006.

Bobby Fischer Dead At 64

NY TIMES: Bobby Fischer, the Chicago-born, Brooklyn-bred genius who became one of the greatest chess players the world has ever seen, died Thursday in Reykjavik, Iceland. He was 64, and had for decades lived in obscurity, ultimately settling in Reykjavik after renouncing his American citizenship.

...Mr. Fischer was the most powerful American player in history, and the most enigmatic. After scaling the heights of fame, he all but dropped out of chess, losing money and friends and living under self-imposed exile in Budapest, Japan, possibly in the Philippines and Switzerland, and finally in Iceland, moving there in 2005 and becoming a citizen.

T Minus 367/366 Days

From the calendar: "The night before Bush's first inauguration, members of Clinton's staff reportedly removed the "W" key from White House keyboards in protest of his election."

Kinda pisses me off that they couldn't find a quote for this day, he's had so goddamn many gaffes, but because so many people still believe the vandalism story to be true, let's research this, shall we?

ARI FLEISCHER PURPOSELY DECEIVED HIS PRESS COLLEAGUES RE CLINTON WHITE HOUSE BEHAVIOR

"NOT LONG after George W. Bush was sworn in as president, many were aghast to read in newspapers and hear on television that in the final days of the Clinton administration, employees had trashed the White House. Democrats were embarrassed, and Republicans, stroking their wallets, gloated that they knew all along the Clintons were hillbillies. The story began as a gossip item in The Washington Post that the letter ''W,'' Bush's middle initial, had been removed from keyboards, and within days it had mushroomed to a scandal reported prominently on TV and the front page of the Post. The details were startling: Walls had been desecrated with obscene graffiti, file cabinets glued shut, telephone wires cut, presidential seals steamed off doors and pornography left on fax machines. So extensive was the damage that a communications worker was said to have been reduced to tears and a national magazine hinted that the White House was spending $10,000 a day to repair phone systems damaged by departing Democrats. Talk-show hosts from the nutty right, like Jay Severin in Boston and his audience of dumb and dumbest, all congratulated themselves on having been proved right that the Clintons were trailer-park trash.

"And what of the Globe? At a time when Bush aides were privately promoting the story, Anne E. Kornblut of the Globe's Washington Bureau was filing stories that were skeptical. For example, at a briefing Jan. 25, Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer deceptively encouraged reporters' suspicions while refusing to confirm or deny reports of damage. The next day, in a 620-word account, Kornblut wrote: ''No public evidence exists that Clinton and Gore staff members vandalized the White House or Old Executive Office Building.'' For that statement, she was denounced by some for political bias and for not reporting in greater detail what one reader said was further evidence that under Clinton, America had seen the greatest moral decay since the founding of the nation. ''Kornblut either knows the truth and she wrote a blatantly dishonest, biased story,'' wrote Lee Vincent of Groton, Conn., ''or she is incompetent or inexcusably clueless about a widely known set of facts.'' Now, three months later, buried in the national briefs column in the Globe a few days ago was an AP story four sentences long that said an investigation by the General Accounting Office found no evidence of vandalism, no evidence of wires slashed, no evidence of equipment damaged, and no evidence or anything to match the allegations.

"Knowing how difficult it is to write against the current and risk the wrath of readers, not to mention the censure of editors, I called Kornblut to congratulate her for having covered the story with temperance and, above all, for having gotten it right. 'Just basic reporting,' she said. 'What made me suspicious was the fact that the White House wouldn't give specific examples and wouldn't say, on the record, that this happened here or that happened there. I made phone calls to people who told me it just wasn't true. Also, there were no pictures, and they never seemed to be able to say on the record, in public or at a press conference, here is what happened.'" --Boston Globe, 5/28/01

The General Services Administration has found that the White House vandalism flap earlier this year was a flop. The agency concluded that departing members of the Clinton administration had not trashed the place during the presidential transition, as unidentified aides to President Bush and other critics had insisted. Responding to a request from Rep. Bob Barr, a Georgia Republican, who asked for an investigation, the GSA found that nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. "The condition of the real property was consistent with what we would expect to encounter when tenants vacate office space after an extended occupancy," according to a GSA statement. No wholesale slashing of cords to computers, copiers and telephones, no evidence of lewd graffiti or pornographic images. GSA didn't bother to nail down reports of pranks, which were more puckish than destructive. Among those pranks was the apparent removal, by aides to former President Bill Clinton, of the "w" key from some computer keyboards and the placing of official-looking signs on doors, saying things like "Office of Strategery," after a popular "Saturday Night Live" spoof on Bush. But the vandal scandal, tales of torn up offices and items stolen from the presidential jet, was the hottest story in town during the early days of the Bush administration until White House furniture and last-minute pardons pushed it off the front page. "I think it was this calculated effort to plant a damaging story," said Alex S. Jones, director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. "There was a sort of fertile ground for believing anything bad." Typical was Tony Snow, a syndicated columnist and former presidential speech writer for President Bush's father, who wrote that the White House "was a wreck." He also said that Air Force One, after taking Clinton and some aides to New York following the inauguration, "looked as if it had been stripped by a skilled band of thieves -- or perhaps wrecked by a trailer park twister." He went on to list all manner of missing items, including silverware, porcelain dishes with the presidential seal and even candy. "It makes one feel grateful that the seats and carpets are bolted down," Snow fumed. Except none of it happened. An official at Andrews Air Force Base, which maintains the presidential jets, told The Kansas City Star at the height of the controversy that nothing was missing. Bush himself acknowledged the same a few days later. And now GSA has made it official. --Kansas City Star, 5/17/01

Even back then, with the Clintons on their way out the door, these bastards had the nerve to kick them one last time, in true Rovian fashion, with lies about vandalism. And after they had handed the election on a silver platter by the Supreme Court. This is just another of many reasons why I hate these fucks. Looking at it in hindsight, it shows just how diabolical their thinking has been from the very beginning. It's not bad enough that they stole the election to begin with, they started spinning and mudslinging the very second they stepped in the White House.

The mentality on this one was, 'This has to be true. Why would anyone make up something this outrageous if they couldn't prove it?'. And they couldn't, but it didn't matter. It was the first of now hundreds of times the press became repeaters, not reporters. This was the turning point of where true journalism fell. Perhaps it was a test by then Press Secretary Fleischer to gauge the press corps he had to deal with, to see just how far he could get away with what would become the norm in the Bush White House. If they investigated, then he would know he'd have to be careful. If they just became human mimeograph machines, then all bets were off. Lie, lie, and lie became the status quo for the Bush Administration.

Huckabee: No Bestiality In My America!

That's right. You don't have to worry about the definition of marriage with good ol' Mike Huckabee. In response to a question regarding adapting biblical laws into the Constitution, Schmuckabee said this:

Well, I don’t think that’s a radical view to say we’re going to affirm marriage. I think the radical view is to say that we’re going to change the definition of marriage so that it can mean two men, two women, a man and three women, a man and a child, a man and animal. Again, once we change the definition, the door is open to change it again. I think the radical position is to make a change in what’s been historic.

That's right, goddammit! 'Cause everyone knows that if we define homosexual marriage legal, the next logical step is bigamy, pederasty and bestiality. I can't wait for them to pass that bestiality law. I've had my eye on this chicken for quite some time now, and I don't know how much longer I can hold out. She's a hot little chicken.

How is a Christian fundamentalist freak like Huckabee a viable candidate for leader of the free world? Oh, and by the way, nice little dig at Mitt Romney and the old Mormon teachings by throwing "a man and three women" in there. You're good, Huckabee... you're gooood. Sly fox... Hmmm... foxes...

T Minus 368 Days

"I want everybody to hear loud and clear that I'm going to be the president of everybody."

-Washington, DC, January 18, 2001

Chris Matthews Apologizes For His Clinton Comments

...and sounds sincere. Of course, you have to guess that he was probably getting major pressure from MSNBC and his viewers.

White House Admits Recycling of Backup Tapes

From C&L:

CREW: The White House has now admitted that it does not have an effective system for storing and preserving emails. This is no mere technicality; it is this failure that led to the likely destruction of over 10 million email. What the White House has not explained is why it abandoned the electronic record-keeping system used by the prior administration — a system that properly preserved White House email — but did not replace it with another effective and appropriate system.

David Brooks: Republicans Fall Looks Dim

I can't believe I'm quoting David brooks here (I can't stand to read his crap most of the time) but at least he was honest in this assessment:

...the Republican prospects in the fall just got even dimmer. I say this not only because a weak general election candidate won a primary, but because Mitt Romney’s win pretty much guarantees a bitter fight for the nomination. If you doubt that, here is what Rush Limbaugh said about McCain and Huckabee on his program today: “I’m here to tell you, if either of these two guys get the nomination, it’s going to destroy the Republican Party, it’s going to change it forever, be the end of it.” This week, Rush and his radio mimics have been on the rampage on the party’s modernizers, from Newt Gingrich on over.

This thing will only get uglier.

Even Limbaugh is this forlorn?! It's says something about the incredibly weak candidtates on the GOP side that the pundits and wingnuts are starting to eat each other.

Wexler Calls For Impeachment Hearings Against Cheney

Last night, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) took to the floor of the House of Representatives and outlined the case as to why Congress must hold immediate hearings on Dennis Kucinich’s Articles of Impeachment.

"History demands that we take action because the case against Vice President Cheney is far stronger than the illegality surrounding Watergate.

When compared to the partisan and petty allegations made against President Clinton by Ken Starr and the GOP Congress, the true gravity of the case against the Vice President appears at its most devastating clarity. In fact, in the history of our nation we have never encountered a moment where the actions of a President or Vice President have more strongly demanded the use of the power of impeachment."

It's nice to see someone with balls speak on the floor instead of hearing those tragic and empty words, "my good friends on the other side of the aisle."

T Minus 369 Days

"I'm hopeful. I know there is a lot of ambition in Washington, obviously, but I hope the ambitious realize that they are more likely to succeed with success as opposed to failure."

-To the Associated Press, January 2001

Schmuckabee and God's Laws

"[Some of my opponents] do not want to change the Constitution, but I believe it's a lot easier to change the constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God, and that's what we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards."

Did Mike Huckabee just disqualify himself from consideration for the office of President of the United States? The Presidential oath states, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Nowhere in that sentence does it say, " ...and I swear to amend it if it doesn't fit my religious beliefs."

But there he was in all his glory, Huckabee "preaching" in front of knuckle dragging, mouth breathers in Michigan of all places, who were cheering his statement that he would amend the Constitution to conform to "God's standards" rather than "preserve, protect and defend" it.

I can almost understand it if Huckabee was stumping this type of speech in his home state of Arkansas, or in Alabama or South Carolina. Actually, fuck that! I won't even make an excuse for it.

Mike Huckabee is also in favor of HR 536. If you haven't read this little gem of a bill, it attempts to define human life at the point of fertilization and would outlaw all forms of birth control.

But let Dr. Robert Hatcher, professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine, explain it.

I am concerned about the impending visit of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Jan. 22, the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion. He is here to encourage the passage of House Resolution 536, supported by Georgia Right to Life.

Most Georgians are unaware of the full implications of HR 536, which designates personhood in the state of Georgia beginning at fertilization and continuing to natural death. The intention is to ban legal abortion in Georgia. Additionally, defining personhood as starting at fertilization is contrary to the medical definition of pregnancy by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which is at implantation — when the embryo adheres to the wall of the uterus.

HR 536 would impact all hormonal methods of birth control, including birth control pills, the patch, the Nuva-Ring, injections like Depo-Provera and both currently available IUDs. It could even prevent the use of some forms of assisted reproductive technology and cast a shadow on the reporting of miscarriages.

Huckabee is coming to Georgia to highlight his support of legislation that could prevent public health facilities in Georgia from providing the contraceptives that 95 percent of women use at some time in their lives. Is this what anyone in the United States would want to see happen?

When did the United States become a fundamentalist country? If this is the direction that we are headed in, I'd better bone up on my Canadian history so I can pass their citizenship test. It doesn't matter what religion you are. As my friend Armadillo Joe and I were ranting today, he said,"A fundamentalist is a fundamentalist is a fundamentalist." If this is the road Huckabee is taking, then he isn't running for President, he's running for Ayatollah of the United States.

Dumbest Leader On The Planet

I was watching "Morning Joe" just now and was interrupted by a live Bush speech with Egyptian President Mubarak . In the span of one minute, Raisinbrain used the word "appreciate" at least eight times. Every time this guy opens his mouth, he's an embarrassment to the United States.

What a way to start the day...

Broadway's "Rent" To Close

NY Times: ...recently the show’s take at the box office was consistently less than its costs. A closing date was on the horizon, and after some not entirely amicable back-and-forth, the Broadway producers, Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum and Allan S. Gordon, agreed to a guarantee to keep the show running through June 1.

Mitt Takes Michigan; Dem Debate Docile

Okay, just quick one before hitting the sack.

Mitt Romney wins in Michigan, where he was born and raised; where his dad was Governor. If he hadn't won there, where could he have won? A loss in Michigan would have sent the Mittmobile to the garage for good. So, in three primaries on the GOP side there have been three different winners... and none of them were Rudy. Mr. 9/11 got 3% of the vote coming in sixth. Ron Paul got double the support. Jeebus, even Fred Thompson beat Ghouliani!

Does it say anything about Clinton's electability that she got 55% of the vote in a state primary where she was the only "major" candidate on the ballot? 40% voted "uncommitted." Not that it mattered anyway in terms of delegates won (zero) because Obama and Edwards withdrew their names at the request of the national Democratic Party, which penalized Michigan with the loss of its convention delegates because the early date of its primary violated party rules.

As far as the Democratic debate in Las Vegas went, it was docile. No stupid questions from the moderators. Only twice did candidates challenge one another on possible misrepresentations of what they've said, how it was perceived, or how they've voted in the past. They all looked good. I'm still a little leery of Hillary only because until she proves otherwise, I still consider her part of the old establishment. But it was nice to see a calm, respectable, smart debate based on the issues. (Only one "who's ready to lead on Day One" soundbite from Hillary.)

Dennis Kucinich was not allowed to participate after all.

One day after a lower-court judge had threatened to block the debate from being broadcast if MSNBC did not provide a space on stage for Mr. Kucinich, the network won its appeal to the state Supreme Court.