Happy Mardi Gras!

Laissez les bons temps roulez! Bonne chance, Nouveau Orleans!!

WOW...34%

According to today's CBS poll, W has fallen to 34% approval. Only Truman has polled worse.

note

I was out of pocket all day today. Other than the editorial change at New Republic, there wasn't much 'news'. If I get time tomorrow, I'll do a recap of today and try to get all of tomorrow in too. This work shit is interfering with my blogging :)

Or Maybe They're Just Stupid

Conservatives polled happier than liberals. Now, I'm depressed! Someone do me a favor and run over George Will with a snowplow!

L'Etat C'est Moi!

Great catch by Marty Kaplan in a pronouncement of Bush's on the DPW mess.

Bush:

"The more people learn about the transaction that has been scrutinized and approved by my government, the more they'll be comforted..."

Read Marty's take on the imperial George.

On The Same Logical Note....

Maybe we SHOULD stay in Iraq. O'Reilly thinks we should get out, so.......

Maybe The Port Deal Isn't So Bad Afterall....

Tom Delay is opposed to it, so how bad can it be?

Even Wingnuts Feel Heat

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch tried today to backpedal from his comments of yesterday:

Appearing before a group of Iron County, Utah, business leaders Saturday, Hatch said: "And, more importantly, we've stopped a mass murderer in Saddam Hussein. Nobody denies that he was supporting al-Qaida," he said, according to The Spectrum newspaper in St. George. "Well, I shouldn't say nobody. Nobody with brains."

This is so patently untrue that even the notoriously truth-impaired Bu$hCo crowd has distanced itself from it. Today, Hatch tried the same, with uninspiring results (but then, he's pretty uninspiring at the best of times.)

On Tuesday, Hatch said he may have misspoken at the event, and he was speaking of conditions in post-Hussein Iraq and the terrorist network led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
"Saddam clearly had a long history of supporting terrorists, but I was not talking about any formal link between Saddam and al-Qaida before the war," Hatch said in a statement. "Instead, I pointed out that the current insurgency in Iraq includes al-Qaida, under the leadership of al-Zarqawi, along with former elements of Saddam's regime."

...

Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland said the Republican Hatch can't credibly claim to have misspoken.
"Senator Hatch, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, no less, stood in front of a crowd of people and made a statement, a statement that is just not true, in what seems to be an attempt to mislead and misinform the people of Utah," Holland said in a statement. "This is not leadership. This is not honesty. This seems nothing more than dirty politics and negative messaging. This is insulting to the people of Utah."

I guess tomorrow we'll here that he misqouted himself misquoting himself.

It's Over

Mark your calendar. Today was the day Iraq as a cohesive whole ended. The bombing of the Samarra mosque will prove, in my opinion, to the sputtering of the long smouldering fuse into the body of the dynamite stick. There can be no reconcilation now between the Sunni and the Shia, and the long feared civil war, which has been simmering since the war ended, will burst forth. Hopefully, our troops on the ground can escape unscathed, but I fear not, particularly if the dimbulbs in DC decide to put down one side or the other, or intervene in any way.

Port-O-Mania

I don't know enough to form a hard opinion on the Dubai Ports World takeover of the six American ports, but my gut instinct is that this is mostly a flap over very little. The takeover involves a number of ports in other countries, all of whom seem (at least publicly) sanguine about it. Kevin sums it up well think:

UPDATE 2: I just want to make something super clear here. If jumping on the Dubai hysteria bandwagon merely hurt George Bush politically and prompted some additional interest in port security, I'd be all for it. What do I care if the DPW/P&O deal goes through? But the whole thing feeds on a mindless anti-Arab jingoism that's genuinely dangerous, and that's why I'm not joining the fun unless I hear some really good reasons for doing so. As liberals, we're either serious about engaging with the Muslim world in a sensible, non-hysterical way or we're not. Which is it?

I Screw Up, Therefore I Am

Josh has a summary of the Preznit's latest (oy! who can keep track!?!?) screwup. Think switchgrass.

Beware the Donut Hole

The GOP may soon discover the price of being venal little buttboys to any industry with cash and lube. The Medicare nightmare is continuing as we speak, but the Republicans (or at least Frist) have indicated that as things shake out, there won't be any long term damage to the GOP's relationship with older voters. Well, he/they are forgetting one big problem. The Donut Hole.

Just as they get the insanity of the transition period under control (assuming they do), seniors are going to get hit with the donut hole. This is the 'gap' in coverage between about $2500 and $5000 (figures VERY approximate) when Medicare coverage lapses till the higher figure is hit. This is going to hit a lot of seniors like a 16 ton anvil in a Monty Python skit, but without the laugh track.

The one PLUS to all this is that it will hit most of them between late spring and early fall. In the run up to the elections. Assuming the gap doesn't kick them all off their Alzheimers' meds, do ya think its fair to assume the senior vote may go DRAMATICALLY Dem this fall?

Shades of QB VII

Holocaust Denier and author, David Irving, was sentenced today to three years in Austrian prison for, well, denying. He had made statements in Austria denying the Holocaust, and apparently, this is against the law.

While most of me is annoyed at stupid laws that oppress anyone's right (even morons like Irving) to speak freely, a small part of me, WAYYY in the back, is snickering that he got prison time. These folks are, frankly, loons, and he can thank whatever God he believes in that he's doing time there now, and not 60 years ago. Helmut, check for gold in his teeth......

Blogger/Blogspot Problems

If you're having trouble view the blog, it appears blogger is still having technical problems. I can post okay (there just hasnt been much to post about the last couple of days), but the blog itself is all screwed up, display-wise. Hopefully, it will all be back to normal soon.

Have a great weekend.

Freedom Fries, Anyone?

Iran Renames Danish Pastries - Yahoo! News

TEHRAN, Iran - Iranians love Danish pastries, but when they look for
the flaky dessert at the bakery they now have to ask for "Roses of the
Prophet Muhammad."

...

"Given the insults by Danish newspapers against the prophet, as of
now the name of Danish pastries will give way to 'Rose of Muhammad'
pastries," the union said in its order.

"This is a punishment for those who started misusing freedom of
expression to insult the sanctities of Islam," said Ahmad Mahmoudi, a
cake shop owner in northern Tehran.

Funny, we copy their ruthless, yet hapless dictator, and now they copy our pointless response to France and freedom fries. It may not be democracy, but we're spreading something.....

Bush's Long Dark Night Continues

Bush's poll ratings (WSJ, this time) continue to decline. He's down to 40% (from 43), with negatives of 58% (up from 56.) There was joking that Cheney's stunt could get him to 20%, and there may more truth there than the joke intended.

Ann Speaks

Well, sorta.

Booze, Drugs, and Guns

Cheney is an older man with a LONG history of heart and circulatory problems. For these conditions, he must be on a veritable pharmacopia of medications. There has been much speculation today as to how whatever amount of drinking would have had interacting with these meds. No one has an answer (yet, anyway), but it is one more factor to consider.

I've had a bad back for several years and early on in the process was taking a LOT of medications for it (hey! I couldn't work, couldn't sleep, couldn't do much of anything, I had to have something for entertainment!). The few times in that period when I drank, I would not have wanted to drive, let alone hang around with a bunch of other inebriated fools with high powered weaponry. I'm not saying it affected his judgment, co-ordination, or reactions, but it sure as hell could have.

Cheney Speaks

I didn't see the Cheney interview on Faux News this evening, but apparently Kevin did and reports in some detail on it. A couple of interesting points:

First, Cheney acknowledged that the White House wanted him to issue a statement Saturday night, but he refused. "That was my call, all the way," he said. Translation: he doesn't take guidance from the White House. They take guidance from him.

Second, he said that he had held up issuing a statement because he wanted to make sure Harry Whittington was all right before saying anything. I don't even know what to make of this. Is he suggesting that his story would have been different if Whittington's injuries had been more serious? That the White House never issues statements about breaking news until it knows how things are going to turn out? Or what?

Finally, Hume suggested that since this was obviously a national story, Cheney should have informed the national press and gotten the word out sooner. Cheney's reply: "It isn't easy to do that. Are they going to take my word for what happened?"

Seriously? Cheney's story is that his own credibility is so poor that a statement from him would have been worthless? Is he really going to stick to that as his explanation?

Chappaquidick II?

The Blog | RJ Eskow: Cheney's Chappaquiddick II: The Real Story Emerges | The Huffington Post

This may, indeed, end up being Chappaquidick Redux. It seems increasingly obvious alcohol was involved (Katharine Armstrong admits as much, if a bit sleight-of-handedly). It is coming out today that Cheney was out hunting with a woman that lil Lynne isn't real fond of.

At least he didn't have drown her.

Bob Cesca also notes this (via Sirius Radio)

Put Ann in Jail!

Ballot botch: Coulter votes in wrong precinct

Ann Coulter apparently voted at the wrong precinct and has been using an incorrect address for her registration. Both are felonies in Florida.

ELECT CIRO! NOW!

MyDD :: Cuellar Wants To Deputize Minuteman

Shoot me, just shoot me now.

Tuesday (?) Roundup 2/14

Nothing much of note today, aside from Whittington's 'heart attack.'

Sherrod dropped, angrily, out of the Ohio Senate primary. He has a post up on TPMcafe (see the blogroll) that is probably calmer than I'd be, but still angry.

The WH Press Corps (particularly David Gregory of NBC) continues to eviscerate poor lil Scotty. Let's hope this keeps up till they can make him cry.

I'm sure there's other stuff that glanced off my brain, but that's really all that made an impact today.

Watch Them Thar 'Pellet Guns' Boys.....

Whittington has a heart a attack.... still 'okay'

Monday Roundup 2/13

Due to the way I’m having to do this tonight, there won’t be any imbedded links, so just click the links following the snippets to connect.

1) Oh Goodie! Apparently, before the announcement was made that Cheney had shot a man (‘just to see him die’), Karl Rove had a co-ordinating phone call with Anne Armstrong (the owner of the you-see-it-you-shoot-it-GOD-not-him! Ranch they were ‘hunting’ on.) It’s probably entirely innocent (the chief PR guy would want to find out what happened) but combined with Cheney’s non-chalance, the delay in reporting it, etc, it just keeps looks worse and worse for Bu$hCo. I don’t think there was any intention by Cheney to shoot the guy, but it just looks fishy. Of course, Teddy didn’t mean to drown Mary Jo either.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/13/politics/13cnd-cheney.html?hp&ex=1139893200&en=181b942291c6b3ef&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Speaking of Chappaquidick, John @ Americanblog calls this Cheney’s Chappaquidick and details the ‘charges.’

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/02/cheneys-chappaquiddick.html

The Houston Chronicle says Whittington was hit by 10 pellets; the Austin American Statesman says 200+. Either way, OUCH!

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/02/14whittington.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3656140.html

Paul Begala opines that Cheney was being reckless, well, just being Cheney, I guess.

http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/26663

2) Kevin weighs in on the absurdity (and probably inconsequentiality) of the whole affair. But he notes, Cheney was hunting without a license. Now THAT, Texas might get serious about prosecuting. They take hunting SERIOUSLY in my home state.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_02/008219.php

Reddhedd @ FDL takes on the whole hunting safety issue.

http://firedoglake.blogspot.com/2006_02_12_firedoglake_archive.html#113985176383965724

3) I don’t even know how to approach the venality and mendacity of this. Apparently, Bu$hCo is about to let oil companies pillage federal land for oil, WITHOUT paying royalties. Someone explain to me again why we have to wait til ’08 to get rid of these guys?

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/14/business/14oil.html?ex=1297573200&en=87dc413fa6add582&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

4) Everyone’s favorite weasel got into a shouting match with David Gregory, NBC’s WH correspondent, over the Cheney brouhaha. Good to see these guys finally calling him on his inability to report anything accurately (or ability to report nothing accurately.) He’s moved beyond spin into gyroscope territory.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2006/02/no_lights_no_ca.html

5) Numbnuts falls below 40% again in the latest CNN/USAToday poll. And this was before ‘pellet-gate.’

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/13/poll.iran/

6) UN DEMANDS closure of Gitmo. Says it’s torture.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/13/wguan13.xml&DCMP=EMC-new_13022006

New Schedule

For the foreseeable future, I'm going to be out of pocket during the daytime (PST) so will be shooting at posting a summary each evening. Probably a little less individual coverage, but the summation may allow me to hit on more subjects. TBD

Ouch!

In the back of my mind, I still think of the NYT as the NYT of my youth (yes, we had newspapers way back then!); noble, liberal, concerned, combative. Lately, it's been pretty much a lapdog to the powers that be (why run a controversial story before the election? isnt that inserting ourselves into politics?) Today, they may have started a comeback.

This editorial is about as pointed an attack on anyone as I've seen in an MSM publication. Wow! Go Times!

We can't think of a president who has gone to the American people more often than George W. Bush has to ask them to forget about things like democracy, judicial process and the balance of powers — and just trust him. We also can't think of a president who has deserved that trust less.

This has been a central flaw of Mr. Bush's presidency for a long time. But last week produced a flood of evidence that vividly drove home the point.

...

Like many other administrations before it, this one sometimes dissembles clumsily to avoid embarrassment. (We now know, for example, that the White House did not tell the truth about when it learned the levees in New Orleans had failed.) Spin-as-usual is one thing. Striking at the civil liberties, due process and balance of powers that are the heart of American democracy is another.

The is a detailed indictment of Bu$hCo... go read it.

To The Moon, Alice.....

One of the few things that Shrub has proposed in his ghastly reign of terror that I agreed with was the idea of going to Mars. Well, according to the LATimes, there's a new race to get to the moon. Frankly, this is a race we can NOT afford to lose.

First arrivers (Leif Eriksson excepted) tend to be the dominant factors in new 'territory'. Add to that the new technologies that will be developed in the process of getting there, and for us to fall behind is a recipe for disaster, geopolitically (at least for US!)

Nixon blinked in the late sixties/early seventies, and we've been stuck in low Earth orbit ever since, with no profound movement to go higher. We need to shake off the malaise inherited from Watergate and get moving again. Heute der Mond, morgens das Universem!

Hillary Mania

Kevin has an interesting post on why he thinks Hillary might be able to win in '08 after all. I tend to agree with him. I'm not an overwhelming devotee, altho I like her a lot, just as a person (I'm little less excited about her politically, finding it hard to forgive the flag-burning amendment thing.) That said, if she's the candidate, I'll back her 100% and work my ass off to get her elected.

Kevin has links to three posts that discuss her candidacy: pro, con, and overview

Well, I Feel Safer, Don't You?

Cheney even tries to kill his FRIENDS! (But, as usual, fails....)

1984 Redux

Apparently, I'm not the only one seeing the 1984 parallels in the Bu$hCo management of mass psychology. Arianna weighs in.

New Depths

Just when you thought they'd hit rock bottom on the old sleaze meter, Bu$hCo is apparently trying to 'draft' soldiers to speak at Republican Party events. Josh at TalkingPoints.com has the scoop, via Bob Novak.

Josh:

Now, we don't know if these military personnel are appearing in uniform or not. And much of this probably turns on what constitutes a 'political event'. But to my mind, an event organized by a Republican party official at the direction of the White House political office is by definition a political event. That's just obvious, isn't it?

Another question. We know how the White House political office knows who's a Republican County Chairman. How do they know which active duty military officers in a given area want to make speeches supporting the administration current policies in Iraq? Think about that.

In the United States, hearing from soldiers fighting in foreign wars has long been a way to maintain morale on the home front. But soldiers (& sailors, airmen and marines) aren't supposed to be dragooned by the president's political operatives into the GOP spin operation.

It seems that they are.

Libby/Cheney Leak Connection

I didn't report or comment on the announcement yesterday (from the files of Fitz) that Libby said that 'his superiors' had authorized him to leak Plame's identity. Given the rigid discipline of this WH, that just seemed to me to go without saying.

Well, the story has gained major traction; apparently the MSM is aghast that such things could occur. Well, duh, guys. Haven't you been paying attention the last five years, or are you all just too dimwitted to connect the dots? I guess that's a two-fer.

Speaking of Molly....

She's pissed at Al "Abu" Gonzales.

I realize it's a cliché for those of us who remember the Beach Boys to mourn the days when giants roamed the Earth and all was on a grander and finer scale. But I knew Barbara Jordan, and I know Al Gonzales, and it is damned depressing -- he's too lightweight to even be a mediocrity.

China and the Trade Deficit

TomPaine (good day for them) has yet another recommended post, on China, the trade deficit, and what we can do about, and why we should handle it now.

Make no mistake, trade wars are costly for all involved, and it is far better to resolve disputes by negotiation. But that said, a U.S./China trade war would have far greater costs and consequences for China than for the United States. This is of critical significance. China’s policymakers are rational and can do the math. It means they will quickly seek a negotiated settlement if confronted by a credibly exercised U.S. threat of a trade war that avoids national pride entanglements. Congressional trade legislation that sanctions China for its exchange-rate manipulation by imposing tariffs is the perfect vehicle for this. Legislation along these lines has been proposed by Sens. Schumer and Graham, and by Reps. Hunter and Ryan.

Today’s cost-benefit equation decisively favors the U.S., but that balance is shifting. The U.S. is losing manufacturing capacity, and becoming more dependent on Chinese imports. 2005 data will show that the U.S. trade deficit with China grew 25 percent. Meanwhile, China’s manufacturing capacity and sophistication are increasing. Time is therefore on China’s side

Texas Redistricting

For those who've lost track of the fact, it was the campaign for stealing Texas that got DeLay in trouble, not any of the current brouhaha in DC. Although, some of that may come back to bite him in the ass, as well. Lou DuBose, Molly Ivin's partner of the incredible book on Bush, SHRUB, has a lengthy post on the Tx redistricting issue on TomPaine. The suit against the redistricting is about to hit SCOTUS, so it's worth reading to catch up on the issue; if the Court rules against the plan, it's a major step towards honest redistricting. Anyone think that will happen?

The Long War

Oh Jesus! Robert Dreyfus at tompaine.com analyses the Pentagon's current QDR and assesses the realization of the Project for a New American Century thru it. Scary stuff.

He's BAAAAAAACK

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the Congress...... Tom DeLay has been appointed to the committee that oversees NASA (at least partially located in his district.) Stop them before the steal again!

Ignatius on NSA Situation

David Ignatius at WaPo has a great column framing the NSA debate. Must read!

As quickly as you can say the words "Karl Rove," the debate over the National Security Agency's anti-terrorist surveillance program is degenerating into a partisan squabble. Rather than seeking a compromise that would anchor the program in law, both the administration and its critics are pursuing absolutist agendas -- insisting on the primacy of security or liberty, rather than some reasonable balance of the two. This way lies disaster.

The NSA surveillance debate truly deserves the overworked moniker "historic." This is a fundamental test of the authority of Congress and the executive in wartime. It pits the president's power as commander in chief under Article II of the Constitution against specific legislative rules mandated by Congress in the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. A stable, legal foundation for the NSA program can come by placing it under FISA jurisdiction, or by amending FISA, or perhaps by a judicial review that might support the administration's argument that Article II trumps FISA. Instead, we have none of the above.

...

The surveillance issue will test whether America really is a nation of laws. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican who is one of a handful of legislators refusing to play the partisan game, argues that the NSA debate cries out for a modern equivalent of Marbury v. Madison , the 1803 case that established the parameters of judicial review of Congress and the executive branch. He and Sen. Arlen Specter are urging the administration to seek legal review of the NSA program, through the FISA court or some other means. Rep. Jane Harman, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee and one of the few people who know what the NSA program is, argues that it can be accommodated under existing FISA rules. Others favor amendments to FISA to better embed the program in law. Any of these approaches would be better than the administration's insistence that there isn't any legal problem at all.

The air was thick with historical analogies at Monday's session of the Judiciary Committee, but there's one that is actually worth studying. When the Southern states seceded in 1861, President Lincoln took radical -- and almost certainly unconstitutional -- steps to preserve the Union. He raised an army without legislative authority, blockaded Southern ports, arrested a Baltimore militia commander without charges in an effort to intimidate Maryland against seceding and, when the Supreme Court tried to block him, suspended habeas corpus.

But soon after taking these emergency steps, Lincoln went to Congress to seek explicit legislative authority for what he had done. "These measures, whether strictly legal or not, were ventured upon under what appeared to be a popular demand and a public necessity," Lincoln wrote in his July 4, 1861, message to Congress seeking retroactive legal authority. Lincoln told Congress he had done what he thought was his duty in using his war powers. "You will now, according to your own judgment, perform yours."

Lincoln did precisely what Bush has so far refused to do. He sought clear legislative authority for his actions, knowing that he could not win the Civil War except by building a national consensus under a sound legal canopy. "Lincoln never did anything to prove a point. He had one goal, which was to keep the Union together and win the war," says Garrett Epps, a visiting professor of constitutional law at American University. That unifying vision is one the Bush administration and its critics must embrace. Either there is a center line in the surveillance debate, or there is no line at all.

Thanks to ReddHedd at FDL for the heads up.

Rove CYA?

Karl Rove has been strong-arming GOP Senators to ensure that nothing comes out of the NSA snooping hearings. Threatening them with campaign fund cutoffs, etc, Rove has made it clear that Bu$hCo wants this squashed.

The White House has been twisting arms to ensure that no Republican member votes against President Bush in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation of the administration's unauthorized wiretapping.

Congressional sources said Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove has threatened to blacklist any Republican who votes against the president. The sources said the blacklist would mean a halt in any White House political or financial support of senators running for re-election in November.

"It's hardball all the way," a senior GOP congressional aide said.

The sources said the administration has been alarmed over the damage that could result from the Senate hearings, which began on Monday, Feb. 6. They said the defection of even a handful of Republican committee members could result in a determination that the president violated the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Such a determination could lead to impeachment proceedings.

...

Mr. Rove is leading the White House campaign to help the GOP in November’s congressional elections. The sources said the White House has offered to help loyalists with money and free publicity, such as appearances and photo-ops with the president.

Those deemed disloyal to Mr. Rove would appear on his blacklist. The sources said dozens of GOP members in the House and Senate are on that list.

So far, only a handful of GOP senators have questioned Mr. Rove's tactics.

Can you say 'obstruction of justice?' I knew you could!

Outsourcing In Extremis

New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, has taken outsourcing to a new level. Since the Bu$hCo admin is being, shall we say, slow to help New Orleans dig out from Katrina, he's seeking 'foreign aid' to help rebuild. This sums up the effects of Repug politics in one neat little package.

Shortcomings in aid from the U.S. government are making New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin look to other nations for help in rebuilding his hurricane-damaged city.

Nagin, who has hosted a steady stream of foreign dignitaries since Hurricane Katrina hit in late August, says he may seek international assistance because U.S. aid has not been sufficient to get the city back on its feet.

"I know we had a little disappointment earlier with some signals we're getting from Washington but the international community may be able to fill the gap," Nagin said when a delegation of French government and business officials passed through on Friday to explore potential business partnerships.

Jordan's King Abdullah also visited New Orleans on Friday and Nagin said he would encourage foreign interests to help redevelop some of the areas hardest hit by the storm.

Jordan? We need foreign aid from Jordan?!?!?!

Well, Duh

The New York Observer reports that, despite the opposite results on air, CNN is creaming Fox online. This should be self-evident. Since you have to be able to read to use the internet, Fox viewers are at a huge disadvantage.

Greenwald on NSA, Imperial Presidency

Glenn Greenwald has a great post on HuffPo on why the struggle against the NSA spying fiasco is important, and why everything about the Bu$hCo approach is wrong, and more importantly, profoundly unAmerican.

Arianna has a great post on the effect Murtha is having on the Iraq debate, and his ability to peel off the disaffected in the Repug/conservative ranks. But one line in it really struck me.

Karl Rove, who has a PhD in the ways of the conservative mind, knows that a distrust of imperial adventures, nation building, and a blank check approach to government are deeply engrained in it. The claim that bringing democracy to Iraq -- and keeping our troops there to ensure it -- is crucial to our national security is becoming a harder and harder sell.

Doesn't that PRECISELY describe Numbnut's entire Presidency?

Theorize THIS, Bitch!

George Deutsch, the 24 year old A&M non-graduate that scolded NASA scientists over that silly Big Bang THEORY, is out as NASA flack.

Republicans Starting to Cave?

Bush may have troubles at home. Conservative Republicans are already worried about the NSA spying case on libertarian grounds. Moderate Republicans are worried on separation of powers grounds. Now the idiot wing is starting to worry on electoral politics grounds.

NYT reports that Heather Wilson (THAT HEATHER WILSON!?!?!?!), chairperson of the House subcommittee that oversees the NSA, has serious concerns. I think most of hers relate to the fact that she's in a tough race, but it's still interesting to see.

A House Republican whose subcommittee oversees the National Security Agency broke ranks with the White House on Tuesday and called for a full Congressional inquiry into the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping program.

The lawmaker, Representative Heather A. Wilson of New Mexico, chairwoman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence, said in an interview that she had "serious concerns" about the surveillance program. By withholding information about its operations from many lawmakers, she said, the administration has deepened her apprehension about whom the agency is monitoring and why.

Ms. Wilson, who was a National Security Council aide in the administration of President Bush's father, is the first Republican on either the House's Intelligence Committee or the Senate's to call for a full Congressional investigation into the program, in which the N.S.A. has been eavesdropping without warrants on the international communications of people inside the United States believed to have links with terrorists.

The congresswoman's discomfort with the operation appears to reflect deepening fissures among Republicans over the program's legal basis and political liabilities. Many Republicans have strongly backed President Bush's power to use every tool at his disposal to fight terrorism, but 4 of the 10 Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee voiced concerns about the program at a hearing where Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales testified on Monday.

...

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, for one, said he considered some of the administration's legal justifications for the program "dangerous" in their implications, and he told Mr. Gonzales that he wanted to work on new legislation that would help those tracking terrorism "know what they can and can't do."

...

The administration, backed by Republican leaders in both houses, has also resisted calls for inquiries by either Congress or an independent investigator.

As for the politics, some Republicans say they are concerned that prolonged public scrutiny of the surveillance program could prove a distraction in this year's midterm Congressional elections, and the administration has worked to contain any damage by aggressively defending the legality of the operation. It has also limited its Congressional briefings on the program's operational details to the so-called Gang of Eight — each party's leaders in the Senate and the House and on the two intelligence committees — and has agreed to full committee briefings only on the legal justifications for the operation, without discussing in detail how the N.S.A. conducts it.

...

Asked whether the White House was concerned about support for the program among Republicans, Dana Perino, a presidential spokeswoman, said: "The terrorist surveillance program is critical to the safety and protection of all Americans, and we will continue to work with Congress. The attorney general testified at length yesterday, and he will return to Capitol Hill twice more before the week ends."

Aides to Representative Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, who as chairman of the full House Intelligence Committee is one of the eight lawmakers briefed on the operations of the program, said he could not be reached for comment on whether he would be open to a full inquiry.

Someone Drive a Stake Thru This

Just when you thought it was safe..... social security privatization is BAAAACK! In Numbnut's new Budget Proposal, there's a section for the costs of privatizing. Didn't we kill this already? Doesn't the Preznit have a single clue as to his non-royalness? Or is this another thing that God has directed him to do. 'First, kill those annoying Muslims, then screw the old folks?' The Old Testament God must be back......

Abramoff Shadow On White House

The investigation surrounding Jack Abramoff appears to be moving up Pennsylvania Avenue and into the White House. It's coming close enough that even the WSJ can't ignore it.

Out of Pocket

I was out today (quality time with the bf and a major meatloaf) so I missed blogging about Abu Gonzales and the Judiciary. However, since he said nothing of import, and he wasn't sworn in anyway, no big loss. I'm browsing the newssites now and will hit the comment sites in a few minutes, so if I stumble across anything seriously newsworthy, I'll post it.

Superbowl Thoughts

1) Good game

2) Seattle got screwed

3) We'll miss The Bus

RIP Betty Friedan

Pioneering feminist Betty Friedan died yesterday. If you don't know who she is, read the LATimes obit.

Your Privacy Isn't Worth One Cent!

It's only worth 1/4 cent!

NSA Q&A

Today's WaPo has a comprehensive article on the NSA spying program. Kevin at washingtonmonthly.com has a good wrap-up of the article in a very good Q&A style. Highly recommended.

Blue And Silver Superstars

As a guy who grew up in Dallas in the 60's and 70's (we'll not mention the 50's since the Cowboys didnt show up til 60), needless to say, I bleed silver and blue and live and die with fortunes of da Boys, even tho I now live in pro football free land (Southern Cal- well, if you don't count USC!). So today was a good day.

Troy Aikman was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as well as 70's mainstay, Rayfield Wright. Aikman's achievements, being relatively recent (and on tape vs film) are well remembered. First player overall in his draft class (one of three QB's taken first overall to win a Superbowl), three Superbowls in four years, 90 wins in the 90's (best record of any QB in a decade), etc ad infinitum. Rayfield was one of the best linemen in the game in the sixties and seventies and (I believe it was) Mean Joe Green of the Steelers called him the toughest offensive linemen he faced. His election, by the veterans committee is long overdue, as is Drew Pearson's (hint hint, election committee!)

Next up: The Playmaker (Michael Irvin) ?

Unbelievable

Apparently, global warming isn't the only scientific concept the Bushies have trouble with. Actually, it seems like they have problems with any scientific idea not covered in Genesis, but hey... Jesus is coming soon, so who needs this science shit!?!?

The Big Bang memo came from Mr. Deutsch, a 24-year-old presidential appointee in the press office at NASA headquarters whose résumé says he was an intern in the "war room" of the 2004 Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. A 2003 journalism graduate of Texas A&M, he was also the public-affairs officer who sought more control over Dr. Hansen's public statements.

In October 2005, Mr. Deutsch sent an e-mail message to Flint Wild, a NASA contractor working on a set of Web presentations about Einstein for middle-school students. The message said the word "theory" needed to be added after every mention of the Big Bang.

The Big Bang is "not proven fact; it is opinion," Mr. Deutsch wrote, adding, "It is not NASA's place, nor should it be to make a declaration such as this about the existence of the universe that discounts intelligent design by a creator."

It continued: "This is more than a science issue, it is a religious issue. And I would hate to think that young people would only be getting one-half of this debate from NASA. That would mean we had failed to properly educate the very people who rely on us for factual information the most."

The memo also noted that The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual specified the phrasing "Big Bang theory." Mr. Acosta, Mr. Deutsch's boss, said in an interview yesterday that for that reason, it should be used in all NASA documents.

The Deutsch memo was provided by an official at NASA headquarters who said he was upset with the effort to justify changes to descriptions of science by referring to politically charged issues like intelligent design. Senior NASA officials did not dispute the message's authenticity.

Convenient

Indicted Veep Chief of Staff Scooter Libby's trial date has been set for January of next year. After the midterm elections. Because one of his attorneys has a 'scheduling conflict'. How convenient.

Doldrums

I guess DC is basking in the afterglow of yesterday (how many times do we get to watch the Repugs cheat themselves?) cuz it's quiet today. The day's almost over on the East Coast and no one has said or done anything stupid or amusing enough to make news. Come on Guys (and Girls!), get with the program!

Be Afraid

John at AmericaBlog has a link to an NJDC post about what a loon Boehnert really is. Mama! Ten Reasons to be TERRIFIED!

Another British Memo

Maybe Bush should just set off an EMP over London and get rid of all this crap......

The Guardian reports that the disclosure of yet another memo revealing that Bush planned to go to war long before the 'decision'. Blair apparently was all for it. ... just bloody

Baby Steps

For those that were frantic over it, your Congresspersons are now safe from those VILE and oh so mysterious lobbyists. At least while Sweatin' to the Oldies.

House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.), after a three-hour huddle with his Republican colleagues, announced that he would introduce legislation that "will underscore the fact that the Republican Party has been and continues to be the party of reform." And what would this weighty reform entail? "A ban for registered lobbyists who are former members of Congress from having access to the floor of the House and to the House gymnasium," Dreier announced solemnly.

Wow! The vision! The awe-inspiring reach of the legislation. That'll teach those bastards to try and corrupt OUR Republic!

(You'll have to figure out who the bastards are on your own... I've lost my scorecard and given trying to figure it myself)

The Repugs delayed announcing their full plan (what? Lobbyists won't be able to use the bathroom?) till next week. If this is what they came up with after a six week recess, I don't think another week is gonna help much.

Jesus They're Crooked!

Fine, Fine! John "here, have a check" Boehner is now the House Majority Leader. Great! Whee! Feel the integrity! The Republic is saved!

In the 'Well, there wasn't an open bible in the room' category*, the stupid sons of bitches even try to steal their own elections. On the first ballot, there were more votes casts than there are Repub members. Someone call the White House, THEY know how to steal these things!


*In the eighties, during the scandal that stripped SMU of it's (near) national championship caliber football program due to alumni interference (think buying recruits cars and hookers....), Bill Clements, then Governor of Texas (and SMU alum) was quoted as saying the above after being caught lying to investigators. SMU received the death penalty from the NCAA; the state of Texas received it in the form of GWB as Governor.

Atrios Sums Up Bush on Iraq

So, anyway, even in normal times it would be expected for isolationism on the left to have a wee uptick and isolationism on the right to be reduced. But, now, in addition to that we're at a time when George W. Bush lied to take us into war and then totally fucked it up. Fucked it up more than even I imagined they could fuck it up. Fucking it up so badly that we're constantly having to come up with new words to describe the degree of fuckingupness.

WOW

For a really concise background into why the Abramoff affair is important for the Indians, read this post by mbw at dailyKos. I consider myself pretty well informed, but I didnt know any of this.

SOTU

Well, when the most memorable part of the speech involves 'human-animal cloning', you know the speech sucked. Is it just me or is it a little tiresome watching him pander to the drooling mouth breathing wing of the Christonazis at the expense of Downs patients and others? Nah, Dave, that's just politics.

I was a little surprised that there was so little on HSAs after all the whoopla last week, both from the left and the right. Expected some grand gesture and barely got a wave.

Other random thoughts.... what do Palestine and New Orleans have in common? Both got brushed off by Shrub last night.

Hmmm, Cindy Sheehan gets removed and arrested. So for balance, they remove (but dont arrest) the wife of a repug Congressman? US Capitol Police... we arrest, you decide.....

(thought I had posted this hours ago..... it's been sitting as a draft all day )

Back

Well, I picked the wrong day to be out of pocket!

I'm back now and will weigh on the Lies of the Union speech in a few.